anime review (finally?): Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu

Finally! Rickstar has come back to the Nullifier!

Yes, I have not forgotten about this place, but it does not change the fact that I've abandon my duties for over 5 months . I apologize for that.

Note that the following review contains spoilers for this specific anime.


What we got here today is a recent anime that was (and still is) a hit amongst anime viewers. It captured the heart of manys with its characters and unique story line.


The story revolves around the SOS brigade, consisting of 5 highschool students each with unique capabilites and past, going through numerous and sometime stragne events. It ranges from playing baseball to fighting aliens. Of course there is a twist to it, otherwise it wouldn't be that popular.

Although this anime is named after the heroine, Suzumiya Haruhi. The actual main character is in fact a normal high school student (male) named Kyon. The entire show is seen from his perspective.

Of the 5 members, Kyon is....well, lets just say the most normal one. He often acts as the common sense of the group and prevent the group from going out of control. What makes him so interesting is that as the ep goes on, he often narrates (in his mind) the situation, in a down to earth yet not so positive manner. For example, when other characters says they want to go look for UFO and aliens, he'll think "what in gods name is she doing. Theres no way such thing exist, just give it up." In a sense it makes fun of the typical comedy anime characters and story.

Suzumiya Haruhi on the other hand is outrageous, unresonable, dangerous, etc....
She sees the world as something boring and is constantly in search for something fun and entertaining. However, her idea of fun is not something a normal human being can handle. Stuff like a murder at an isolated island, aliens, espers, time travellers, etc.... are what she considers fun. The main problem is that it was hinted (and somewhat proven) that she could be the creator of their world and can alter reality according to her desire. If she really wants someone to be able to shoot laser beam out of their eyes, it could happen. However, she is unaware of this ability and thus not able to create/alter everything she wishes for.

The remaining 3 members are basically the result of Haruhi's wishes. Before she form the SOS brigade, she stated that she wanted to meet and hang out with aliens, time traveller, and esper.

Asahina Mikuru is a cute and sexy (according to the show) looking girl who happens to be a time traveller who came back in time to observe Haruhi. She is the mascot of the brigade and is often forced (by Haruhi) to put on various costume for various reasons. Other then that, she is fairly useless.

Nagato Yuki is a alien made human(oid) to observe Haruhi. She is a quiet person who usually just sits at a corner and read novels. However she is usually the one who saves kyon or the group from trouble. In terms of ability, if Haruhi is rated as god level, then Yuki will be Jesus level. She has the ability to change the "info" of our world and alter her surroundings at will. Think Neo from Matrix and you'll understand.

Koizumi Itsuki is also here to observe Haruhi. And as you can guess, he is the esper Haruhi desires. He is the one who provides most of the info regarding Haruhi as his ability is related to her. His esper ability is mainly for combat and can only be used at a certain time and place. Judging from a few eps, I'd assume that he is the bishounen (good looking dude) of the group.


Overall this is a very interesting anime as it steps away from your typical comedy and looks at all these sci fi/fantasy events and characters from a different point of view. The quality of the animation and attention to details is amazing as well. Parodys of other anime are often found as well.

The character design (appearance wise) isn't something impressive and earth shattering. It has a strong anime feel to it but works pretty well along with the comedy.

After the first few eps you'll notice that the eps are not shown in chronological order. Ep 1 is in fact ep11, ep 10 is actually 4, ep 6 is 9, etc....though confusing at times, it actually generates a sense of curiosity. Ep 1-6 reveals most of the background story of characters and later eps focus on them going through various events as a group, which often touches on certain events from the not yet shown earlier eps.

I would give it 4.5 Rickstars out of 5. A breath of fresh air in the field of comedy with a unique presentation. The only downfall is some story and events are somewhat predictable (meaning it has been done before)

Highly recommended