Despite the fact that the first (or “zero”) episode completely throws people off for the quality of the animation, the ending scene completely destroys that reputation. The motion quality of this anime far exceeds those of many recent action animations. The movements are smooth and quite intricate.

While the background settings for each character are not exactly original, that seems to be the whole point. The author ingeniously puts together the typical Japanese anime characters to back his satirical sense of humor.

Throughout the animation, it becomes clear that author makes fun of “typical Japanese anime” in a subtle tone. In fact, the whole setting of the super natural characters surrounding “Kyon” and Haruhi brings out the words, “Are you kidding me?” from the lips of the viewers. Regardless whether the author was just having fun or decisively planning it out, the structure of the scenario is ingenious.

In honest opinion, this is one element that may potentially place the animation Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya at a greater level than its original novel.

Besides the fact that the music are very enjoyable (everything ranging from “God Knows” to “Mikuru Song”), the overall choice of music fits the tone of the anime very well.

So all in all, I must say this once again. Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is probably the most ingenious creation in animation history.

The animation of this show was very pleasing to watch, bright and easy on the eyes. The character designs are interesting as the main characters are seemingly typical high school students yet, they are an android alien, a time traveler and an esper, along with 2 regular students one that wishes to interact with these beings yet does not know they exist, and another who now knows they exist.

The story of Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was as interesting as it was unusual. The presentation of the show was out of order. Because it was shown out of order it was interesting to see the story unfold, as new characters and situations arose. It kept me wanting to watch more, and left me bummed that it was only 14 episodes. The main characters are typical high school students (seemingly) and their interaction at times is mundane giving the show its somewhat realistic portrayal of the students.

The actors that were chosen for this show are wonderfully talented. The cast performed both the opening and ending themes; I felt that this gave a bit more depth to the series making it more personal. The character personalities are well done and the voices are well suited to them.

The soundtrack was somewhat bland, but because of this it was a wonderful compliment. It is bold when it is needed, as well as soft when appropriate; Because the soundtracks are not so overpowering to the series it lets you get in to the series for what it is, a fun, and interesting story.

I like how in this anime they made the main girl bossy and weird. She's into all the alien and paranormal stuff. Usually in animes you either just see pretty girls just in to boys, nerdy girls, or some kick ass girls that can fight but you hardly ever see the geeky strange type. The funny part is that the main guy is bossed around by the main girl which makes the situations funny, and though some of them look like normal humans they are really aliens in disguise. I really like how the characters’ personalities are developed but when it comes to the animation it lacks originality. They look a lot like characters from any other anime you might watch.

If you like aliens, time travel and esp then this anime is definitely for you. This show is funny, while being original and weird at the same time. Also the characters are fun to like which makes the anime/story a lot of fun to watch and pay attention to. What I like is that they have the main guy every now and again voice his opinions by narrating which at times can be quite humerous.

Kyon (the main guy) is played by the guy who does the voice of Hideki from “Chobits ”. He is very good as his character and makes it seem very natural which I really like. The other voice actors do a very good job also. The lady who does the voice of the main girl does a good job with making her sound like the typical nagging, hyper girl.

While the beginning and ending theme song are catchy they don't really play a lot of songs throughout the anime which makes the soundtrack dull.

Kyoto Animation is the studio behind MoHS, with character designs done by Shoko Ikeda who was also the chief animation director. Quality is solid, atypical of most shows these days, and since this anime is largely dialog driven with only a few action scenes, this is to be expected. Kyoto Animation is the studio behind the Full Metal Panic! series, and keep an eye out for the names of the 2nd and 3rd seasons of the anime to be dropped in one episode.

To be honest, while I was watching this show for this review I kept wondering where they were heading with the storyline, but in the end we had a satisfying conclusion while leaving room for a second season. I ’m not particularly fond of their decision to bounce around in the storyline (or perhaps “timeline” would be more appropriate), particularly when you had a 2 part story arc with a shocking finish to part 1, then moves away from it to come back to it later.

“Koi no Mikuru Densetsu (Mikuru Legend of Love)” by Yuko Goto (as Mikuru Asahina) is a cute number used for the open of episode 0, which in essence is a movie created for the cultural festival by the SOS Brigade. Thereafter the show opens with the number “Bouken Desho Desho? (It ’s an adventure, right? Right?) ” by Aya Hirano (Haruhi Suzumiya). “Hare Hare Yukai (Sunny Sunny Happy) ” by Aya Hirano (Haruhi), Minori Chihara(Yuki Nagato), and Yuko Goto(Mikuru Asahina) is the peppy and fun close where the members of the SOS Brigade perform a dance routine that never gets old. Hirano (as Haruhi) also performs a couple of enjoyable insert songs during the cultural festival.

Overall Review:

Being largely unfamiliar with the show and source manga, I wasn ’t sure what to expect of this show. Although the bouncing around in the storyline was annoying, the show still delivered plenty of laughs and smiles, and I just couldn ’t get enough of that dance routine in the close!

One thing that caught my eyes were their eyes. They have this type of colored glow to them that attracts you to their faces. Also the lip flaps for the stand in band episode were well done. It was like they were matched to if you were really singing, that’s what the mouth movements would be.

It’s so out there with characters that are aliens and beings that have ESP. Oh and a girl who is a cyborg. It’s all in good fun. I love it!

There is this one episode where Haruhi stands in for a band and they play two songs. I believe they are the opening and ending songs. I really enjoyed that episode.

The first episode really made me laugh and think, “What is this show really about? A movie?” Boy was I wrong. It’s a lot funnier then that. Animation looks really good. This is a School Life type anime so it’s more based around the urban city. There were some really realistic looking backgrounds. Story: This is one of those fun stories with aliens, but not really the green nasty looking aliens you would think of seeing. These ones look just like real people. Wow. I really loved the story.

The VAs really brought the characters to life. I don’t remember much of the music in the show, but that could be a good thing. Meaning the music fit so well that it didn’t bother me while I was watching. The show ran for 14 episodes and delivered a good hit in my book.

The animation is SO CUTE! all of the characters have cuteness in some way. the way it’s animated it just draws people towards it with CUTENESS AND SPARKLES! KYAHHH ~

It’s extremely entertaining, and what more can we ask for? i laugh so hard at points that I LITERALLY fell off of my chair! At first i was REALLY confused and i had no idea what was going on, but after the first episode, it all cleared up. Very well done!

As is all animes, a lot of times i dont believe the voices match the characters. same goes with this one. i think that some of the guys voices are wayyyy too deep, but who doesn’t like a deep sexy guy voice, right? The girl voice actors, however do an incredible job and fit the characters very well!

AHAHA! I like all of the cute songs from this anime! The ending song and animation is sooo fun to watch! (i dance to it :3) like i said, all of the songs are really cute and fun to sing with... or hum with if you cant quite get the words.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a wonderful anime! It has adorable little girls, crazy chicks you can relate with (or at least I can), Guys that don’t know HOW they got themselves into the situation they’re in and HUMOR. LOTS and LOTS of humor!!!!!! i give it an A! If you’re the... ̶o;mysterious” type, or you just need a really good laugh, then this is the anime you’re looking for!

The animation is pretty cool, it’s very fitting to story and idea behind the show.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has a fairly interesting story. However, what really makes it unique is the way the story is told. It’s as if the main characters are making their own amateur movie, full of cheap graphics and corny acting. But this only makes the show more intriguing and entertaining.

The voice actors do a good job of representing their characters even though their characters may be inexperienced actors themselves.

Although the opening and ending songs may be annoying the soundtrack throughout the show is decent and the sound effects played in some parts really add to the show.

This is definitely an interesting and unique anime. Although the story may take a bit of getting used to, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is certainly entertaining overall.

The animation is really nice & smooth. The characters look great even though there’s nothing special about them because they’re just high school students.

The story is kinda weird & not all that good. It’s not really hard to follow but that’s because there’s not much to it. Most anime with this kind of story in this kind of setting would’ve been in full swing by the 5th episode, but in this anime it’s just getting started. Still a very funny anime though.

The voice acting is good, all the voice actors seem to be really into it. like how Haruhi goes from angry & uninterested to happy & hyper. I like how Mikuru’s voice is soft, sweet & innocent, it totally fits the character.

The soundtrack is pretty good, but it doesn’t really have anything over the other High School anime soundtracks’ out there though.

Although Haruhi doesn’t boast anything exceptional, its characters and animation are quite attractive (particularly Haruhi), and it’s all fairly entertaining. The animation is clean and stands up with any series out today. Still, with a series that boasts about being abnormal, it would have been nice to see something a tad more stylized and out of the ordinary.

The one thing that makes Melancholy work so well is its unique story and characters. Although seemingly normal, this is far from who these characters are or what this story is all about. Haruhi herself, as one might suspect, is the main attraction. In fact, the series makes a point in relishing the strange factors that these characters explore. Each character is as unique as they should be, and the best aspect of the anime is that it takes its time to relish the strange things that are often times only a supporting aspect of other anime.

Haruhi’s voice manages to capture her complicated character nicely by bringing to life someone who is both a bit stuck-up and even stranger. Kyon’s voice is also interesting, though a bit boring, which I suppose suits him well enough.

The soundtrack for the series teeters on interesting and dull, with a few pieces that sound a bit like alternative rock. It is certainly an interesting mix, and half the time it helps keeps things entertaining. However, there is also some very typical and expected music. It would have been nice if the series could have refrained from using typical j-pop, but I suppose it’s not that surprising.

I have seen a whole lot of kids in uniforms and this one is no different. There is a uniqueness to the individual characters which is a little different. The idea of a “God” character that creates this world at whim is interesting. She is an over bearing, take charge, loud mouth, conniving, get whatever she wants kind of character. It is a great concept. The animation itself is like just about everything I have already seen in this particular setting. No special points for that!

I really like this idea. It is neat and fresh. I wish... and I say wish it hadn’t jumped around so much. It gets you going in one episode only to find yourself plunged into a completely different plot line somewhere else. It is all over the place. Despite this fact, I found the depth of the story one worth spending more time with. I believe once you put them in order it is a very good story.

I ran into a lot of the same Japanese actors I have encountered in my travels and I was impressed with the cast chosen for this show. It works well with very little misses in the mouths and words matching. They did a good job with it.

Imagine my surprise in the first episode, the song to start was horrible... only to realize at the end I was watching a movie the SOS Brigade had made. Thank God that was over. The music in the series works well. I like both the beginning and ending songs in this one. Sorry about the skewed score but I had to take off a point for that very first song... it hurt my head to hear it!!!!