About Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

"About Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu) is produced by Kyoto Animation, shares the first novel's plotline, interspersed with self-contained episodes (with the exception of the two-part Remote Island Syndrome) taken from short stories from later on in the novel series. The first of the fourteen episode series premiered in Japan on April 2, 2006. Notably, these episodes were not originally broadcast in chronological order. There has been news about a possible second season to the anime series to begin in Fall 2007.

I posted this series in DVD episode order. If you'd like a different viewing order, you can use Wikipedia Episode List as a reference.
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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya follows the high school life of Haruhi Suzumiya and those who are caught up in her antics. While Haruhi is the central character to the plot, the story is told from the point of view of Kyon, one of Haruhi's classmates.

Kyon is an ordinary freshman high school student who only recently given up his fantasies of espers, time travelers, aliens etc. as he left middle school. When he chooses to speak to one eccentric girl by the name of Haruhi Suzumiya, he unwittingly sets off a chain of events which drag him into surreal situations; he is drawn further into a world eerily like the fantasies he had just managed to outgrow, with Haruhi Suzumiya at its center.

Searching for a group that interests her, Haruhi joins and quits every club in school finding only dissatisfaction. Kyon makes a snide remark about her actions and accidentally provides Haruhi the inspiration to create a club of her own. To help start the club, Haruhi forcefully drafts Kyon, who only stays in the club to protect (or try to protect) other helpless victims of Haruhi's "voluntary arrests". As the story progresses, Kyon finds that each of these supposedly "helpless victims" has a specific reason to be there.

Except for Kyon, the students in the club are secret agents of various organizations who are sent to observe Haruhi. They gradually explain that Haruhi has superhuman control over every aspect of the universe - an ability which she is unaware of. Whenever Haruhi becomes bored or otherwise dissatisfied with reality, she unconsciously creates a new universe - one more to her liking - and attempts to switch over. This leads to the destruction of the current universe. To prevent this, the members of Haruhi's club spend their time trying to keep their god-like leader entertained, hold her powers in check, and maintain the illusion of a normal life.

The series never clarifies whether the club members gathered around Haruhi by their own free will, were drawn together by her subconscious, or were simply created out of thin air for Haruhi's amusement. The question of their origin is a motif.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Extras

"The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina"
Anitube proudly presents the infamous SOS Brigade award winning, critically acclaimed movie. Rumor says George Lucas once expressed his admiration to the Suzumiya. "She pioneered the coming age of cinematography. Expect to see her name on the next Academy Awards nominees."
Credits:
Planned by: Haruhi Suzumiya
Written by: Haruhi Suzumiya
Directed by: Haruhi Suzumiya
Other Menial Tasks: Kyon
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The SOS Brigade previews their movie of questionable quality. In the movie, Mikuru stars as a time-travelling waitress from the future who must engage in fights with Yuki, who is playing an alien-magician. Mikuru has sworn to protect a young man, played by Itsuki, but before long a love-triangle ensues with both Mikuru and Yuki vying for Itsuki's affections. Kyon is the camera man and narrator of the movie, while Haruhi is the director.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 13

"Someday in the Rain"
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Today is a cold day in the latter part of the year, and the skies are overcast with a high chance of rain. Haruhi instructs Kyon to go pick up a heater from the owner of the store that sponsored the Brigade's movie. With Kyon gone, Haruhi is free to do what she wants with no objections; she starts with taking pictures of Mikuru in various costumes for the movie's DVD cover while Itsuki helps how he can; Yuki is left alone to read. After Kyon returns, he finds only Yuki in the clubroom and decides to wait for the others, but before long falls asleep. When he awakens, he finds Haruhi alone with him, waiting for him to wake up so they can leave. It has already started raining, so Haruhi borrows an umbrella from school for them to use.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 12

"The Day of Sagittarius"
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Hoping to reclaim the computer Haruhi extorted from the Computer Research Society earlier in the year, the Society challenges the SOS Brigade to a computer game they created for the cultural festival entitled "The Day of Sagittarius III". The stakes of the match are as such: If the SOS Brigade wins, they receive four brand-new laptops; if the Society wins, then they get the computer back that Haruhi stole from them. Haruhi accepts their challenge, but soon finds out that playing the game is much harder than she thought.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 11

"Live Alive"
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It is the day of the school cultural festival and the entire school is showing off their projects. Mikuru and her class did a yakisoba café, Yuki attempted fortune telling, and Itsuki was in a play. While Kyon is ignoring the public premiere of the SOS Brigade's shockingly bad video and trying to enjoy the festival normally. During this time, Kyon walks in on the play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Kyon ends up going to the auditorium where bands are playing for the audience. At first the entertainment is nothing much and Kyon falls asleep. When he awakens, he sees that Haruhi has another surprise for the school as she walks on stage in a bunny girl costume while a guitar hangs from her shoulders.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 10

"Remote Island Syndrome Part 2"
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Haruhi and the SOS Brigade attempt to get to the bottom of the murder by trying to find clues. At first it seems that Yutaka, the owner's younger brother, is the culprit as he went missing right after the owner was murdered. Haruhi and Kyon head outside during the storm because Haruhi thought she saw someone out there, but find nothing. While drying off inside a cave, Haruhi comes to a startling conclusion about the murder. The episode parodies the Ace Attorney series, especially during the scene when the plan is revealed.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 9

"Remote Island Syndrome Part 1"
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A "distant relative" of Itsuki's allows the SOS Brigade, along with Kyon's Little Sister, to stay at his newly built island villa. On their first day there, they have fun on the beach, play games inside, and overall have a great time, but then a nasty storm hits, closing off the island with the rest of the world. The group attempts to have some fun inside until the storm passes, but then the owner of the villa goes missing. After breaking into his room, they stumble upon his dead body.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 8

"Mysterique Sign"
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The SOS Brigade's website is started, though the only progress so far with it has been posting a poorly-drawn SOS Brigade logo by Haruhi on the homepage. Coincidentally, the SOS Brigade gets their first case after the website goes up — they are to find the missing Computer Research Society President. Upon going to his apartment, they find that he is not there, and nothing seems too out of the ordinary on the surface. After the Brigade leaves, the members regroup with Haruhi knowing at the apartment where they find that Haruhi's SOS Brigade logo and a Data Entity are behind the disappearance.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 7

"The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya"
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Haruhi has once again become bored and in an effort to alleviate some of this stagnation, Haruhi enters the SOS Brigade into a baseball tournament. Kyon points out that they do not have enough team members to play which eventually leads to friends of Brigade members to join in, such as Tsuruya, Taniguchi, Kunikida, and even Kyon's Little Sister. When the first game of the tournament begins, it quickly becomes apparent that Haruhi team are the vast underdogs and more than likely will lose. Itsuki informs Kyon that if they lose, the world may be destroyed, which leads Yuki to make some alterations to a bat.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 6

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 6"
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Haruhi becomes more frustrated and jealous of Mikuru and her friendly relationship with Kyon. One night, Haruhi's power is activated without her knowing. Haruhi and Kyon become trapped in a sealed reality at school where initially all is calm. Before long, a blue giant appears and begins to destroy the school and the surrounding area. After more appear and wreak havoc, Kyon and Haruhi begin to run for cover, but are almost out of time. Finally, Kyon uses the hints Yuki and Mikuru gave him beforehand to solve the situation.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 5

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 5"
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Haruhi enlists the help of Kyon to attempt to investigate what happened to Ryoko as Haruhi believes it strange that she would transfer out of school so quickly and without notice. After not finding out much, Haruhi tells Kyon about why she changed her personality in junior high school and why she started to do odd things. Later that day, Itsuki tells Kyon his organization's theories about Haruhi, and shows him some of his powers within a sealed reality.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 4

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 4"
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Haruhi is visibly bored and is not her usual energetic self. Ryoko is concerned about her well-being and tries to confront Kyon about finding some way to help her. After receiving an anonymous letter in his shoe locker, Kyon is asked to meet after school in an empty classroom with the one who wrote the note. He finds Ryoko there, who quickly changes in personality and is determined to kill him. Just when all looks hopeless, Yuki interferes and stops her in time. Later, Kyon receives another letter, this time from Mikuru, but then discovers that a far-future Mikuru wrote the note. She wanted to meet with Kyon to give him a clue that he would need for the future: Snow White.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 3

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 3"
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Yuki completes her explanation of the Integrated Thought Entity and how it relates to herself and to Haruhi Suzumiya. Kyon, while simply trying to understand all of what Yuki had told him, was initially skeptical of her story due to her showing no proof that anything she said was true. The SOS Brigade gets a new member — a mysterious transfer student by the name of Itsuki Koizumi. On a day off from school, the SOS Brigade searches the city in groups to try to investigate mysteries, during which Mikuru reveals to Kyon the existence of the time-travelers. Kyon later confronts Itsuki and learns of The Agency from him.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 2"
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Haruhi starts the SOS Brigade with four members: Kyon, Yuki Nagato, Mikuru Asahina, and herself. Haruhi begins to improve the clubroom's appearance but still feels that it is missing something — a computer. Going next door to the Computer Society's clubroom, Haruhi manages to obtain a computer through dubious means and begins. She enlists the help of Mikuru to help promote the SOS Brigade by dressing up as bunny girls and handing out flyers. Later, Yuki invites Kyon to her apartment, where she begins to unveil a secret about Haruhi and herself.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 1

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 1"
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Kyon enters high school as a first year student and meets a strange girl by the name of Haruhi Suzumiya who sits behind him in class. During her class introduction, she states that she has no time for normal humans and for any time-travelers, aliens, or espers to come and join her. Interested to know more about her, Kyon becomes the first to talk normally with Haruhi which eventually leads Haruhi to form the SOS Brigade particularly due to Kyon sparking the idea within her.

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