The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Volume 1
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Minori Chihara, Natsuko Kuwatani, Tomokazu Sugita, Yuko GotoBrand: BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language); English (Subtitled); English (Published); Japanese (Published)
Format: Anamorphic, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-05-29
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Bandai
Movie Reviews of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Volume 1
Movie Review: Spreading excitement all over the world with...
Summary: 4 Stars
The first episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is actually a so-bad-it's-good video created by the cast later in the show's timeline, featuring a Battle Waitress from the future, in a Bunny Suit, defending an Esper who is unaware of his powers from an Evil Witch from Space. It is directed by the main character and narrated by the show's narrator, and is chock-full of obviously-drawn-in special effects and wooden student acting, among other things. Near the end of the episode, a cat clinging to the Witch inexplicably begins to speak; the Witch bops it on the head with her wand before the director notices, saying that as well as being a witch, "she is also a ventriloquist." But is she really?
Though the next episode is Melancholy's "proper" beginning, what's so remarkable about Episode 00 is that it perfectly summarizes nearly everything in the show.
About the show itself--the narrator is Kyon, a student who has recently given up dreams of aliens, espers and time-travelers for high-school life. But when he meets Haruhi Suzumiya (the Director), an eccentric transfer student who longs to meet aliens, espers and time-travelers, he is literally dragged (by his shirtcollar) into the Spreading Excitement All Over the World with Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade, or S.O.S. Brigade for short. Other inductees include Nagato (the Witch), who uses the clubroom as a reading room, Koizumi (the Esper), a mysterious transfer student, and Mikuru (the Battle Waitress from the Future), who Haruhi just grabs out of the hallway so she can exploit otaku fetishes to raise club awareness. Yes, really.
But Kyon quickly discovers that in her search for aliens, time-travelers, and espers, Haruhi has unwittingly gathered together a group of none other than aliens (with magical powers), time travelers (who enjoy dressing up as waitresses) and espers (who are only useful some of the time.) What is even more worrisome, though, is that Haruhi is quite literally Director--and if she ever gets bored of Spreading Excitement All Over the World, she could easily abandon it and everything in it...
Besides the absolutely bizzare first episode, the others are business as usual--establishing exposition, etc. They are, however, pretty funny. Most people seem like the love-her-or-hate-her, unknowingly all-powerful high-school student Haruhi the best, but though she often overpowers everybody else through sheer force of personality, Kyon still holds his own, possibly because he has most of the best lines. The other characters hold their own too, but they don't really come into their own until later episodes. While there's plenty of reasons to watch the Japanese dub--the person who voiced Haruhi is supposedly now legendary--the English dub is pretty good too, with Crispin Freeman nailing Kyon and Wendee Lee holding her own against the Japanese seiyuu with Haruhi.
It's certainly not perfect, but at any rate, this is probably the best high-school comedy drama parodying anime stereotypes while exploiting fetishes and featuring questionable science fiction and crazy battle sequences while presenting metaphysical questions about the nature of reality ever, though admittedly most of the latter come up in the next disc. Reccomended! Also stay for the closer.
Summary of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Volume 1
Despite the series title, Haruhi Suzumiya is anything but melancholy: she's an eccentric, outspoken high school girl who's searching for "aliens, time travelers, and espers." To aid her search, she founds a new club, The SOS Brigade, and blithely usurps space, shanghais members, and steals equipment. When she gives orders, Kyon, the long-suffering narrator, obeys, as do the three other members. Although she doesn't realize it, Haruhi has actually found what she's looking for in her recruits: Yuki is an alien, Mikuru is a time traveler, and Itsuki is an esper. Kyon is normal--at least superficially. Haruhi possesses extraordinary but unrevealed powers that draw the exotic cast to her. Based on a series of best-selling novels by Nagaru Tanigawa, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya overflows with zany energy. Like Dokkoida and Magical Shopping ArcadeAbenobashi, the characters make fun of the clich?s of anime and otaku culture. The challenge for the filmmakers is to maintain this level of insanity while presenting a coherent story. (Rated 13 and older: cartoon violence, risqu? humor) --Charles SolomonI thought that when I entered high school my days of believing in aliens time travelers and ESPers Haruhi Suzumiya was the strangest girls I've met in a long time. Before I knew what's going on I've been dragged into her weird club and it looks like I'm not the only one who has been drafted into this 'SOS BRIGADE' of hers because there are three other students who don't seem to be so ordinary themselves. Either way we've all found ourselves caught up in Haruhi's quest to search for all things extraordinary. And what's this I hear about us making a movie? Genre: Comedy/Action System Requirements:Run Time: 100 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM Rating: NR UPC: 669198208409 Manufacturer No: 20840
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