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Melancholy of.... Overrated


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m00nshine



Joined: 08 Jun 2006
Posts: 62
Location: Knoxville
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:31 pm Reply with quote
I watched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya a few weeks back due to all the hype it was recieving and I must say that I believe this anime is severely overated. I am not saying it was a bad anime (i rated it good) but to be number 2 on the Top 10 list is too much praise for this anime. I only found 4 of the 14 episodes funny and the characters to be B quality at best.

What pissed me off the most was how during the whole series spoiler[the alien, esper, and time traveller kept saying she could change the world or make events happen the way she pleases and yet nothing happens until the very last episode and then we get a 15 min climax with a VERY predictable ending.]

The anime as a whole had some memorable scenes but not enough depth in it to warrent being labled as one of the best ever. I probably made a lot of people angry at me but I had to say this. Now let the back lashing begin!!! lol

[Fixed spelling in thread title, which I couldn't do when this thread was started. ~Zalis]
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:46 pm Reply with quote
I didn't hear a single bit of praise or animosity before I saw the series. I only knew it was rated #2 and decided to watch it myself.

I rated it Masterpiece because of the writing style and comedy. Granted, there's not much plot, but I felt for the characters, their little quirks, and really enjoyed the overall atmosphere. It felt like a far-out version of Azumanga Daioh. But getting to the writing, I thought the way they purposely wrote it out of order and aired it in a way to which you'd have to rewatch it was sheer brilliance, but that's just me... I never saw anything like it. It is a very unique series.
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Stupidman007



Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 394
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:49 pm Reply with quote
I think Suzumiya Haruhi is a very subjective form of work as far as viewers and raters feel about it. Personally, I loved pretty much every part of the show, and rated it Masterpiece, but some of my friends who have seen it didn't like it very much. It's different from typical anime series because it's way out there. Meanwhile, there are those who don't see it that way, which right off the bat destroys half of the possibility for enjoyment. However, much like how Suzumiya Haruhi gets a lot of negative feedback, there are also those who think that Cowboy Bebop and Samurai X aren't as good as the ratings say. Nevertheless, in the end, the ratings don't lie. Instead of arguing against it, I would say that it's better to look back and try to understand why it received such ratings.
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Pleroma



Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Posts: 443
Location: Eromanga island
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:54 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
What pissed me off the most was how during the whole series spoiler[the alien, esper, and time traveller kept saying she could change the world or make events happen the way she pleases and yet nothing happens until the very last episode and then we get a 15 min climax with a VERY predictable ending].


Oh but thats the thing, stuff DID happen, it just did so in a subtle manner since Haruhi did not get "provoked" as much as in the climatic episodes.

I think most people love this series because as Tony K said it is really one of a kind. In many years of watching anime I have never seen anything like it. It is incredibly well animated, completely unconventional and cleverly written. Its cute and funny without pandering and gets serious in a realistic manner, never falling to melodramatics. Its not my favorite ever (maybe after season 2 ^^) but it definitely deserves all the praise it gets if only for being such a breath of fresh air to the whole industry.
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epixeltwin



Joined: 08 Apr 2006
Posts: 325
Location: Montreal, Qc, Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:54 pm Reply with quote
I'm up to episode 8, and I find it excellent, but what makes me back away from rating it masterpiece is that it's a comedy series.

The only comedy that I rated masterpiece was GTO, and there's so much more to it than comedy. (Yeah I know I rated Pokemon masterpiece but that's just because of childhood memories).

It's so much tougher to rate a comedy since the plot and character developments are not as present (I know the character development is there, but they are overwhelmed by whacky jokes and sheer insanity).

Also, since it's not R1 released yet, I can't watch it on DVD, so the drawings and the animation are not as neat as they should be.

Oh and BTW it's MELANCHOLY not meloncholy
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TranceLimit174



Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 958
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:57 pm Reply with quote
Even though Nagato, Asahina, and Koizumi all speak of Haruhi's power she does not know that she possesses those abilities. Anything that she wills is due to her subconcious. Also, as Tony K. pointed out, part of the reason why this series is rated so highly is because of it's demand that it's viewers pay attention to detail. Until it was just flat out blatant not many realized that spoiler[Nagato had been without her glasses.] Also the true climax of the series technically isn't the climax. Really the show is just very multilayered and does what few series do, which is breed very long discussions about it.
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omar235



Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 1572
Location: Florida, Jacksonvile
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:06 pm Reply with quote
Its impossible for everyone to like a certain thing (in this case an anime), people have diffrent tastes so I dont expect everyone to like it. Of course just because you don't like it dosen't mean its overrated. Now pokemon is overrated WAY overrated because many have come to a general consensus about it.
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m00nshine



Joined: 08 Jun 2006
Posts: 62
Location: Knoxville
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:11 pm Reply with quote
epixeltwin wrote:

Oh and BTW it's MELANCHOLY not meloncholy


Wow can't believe i did that lol. Anyways, i'm just stating my opinions (which is what 98% of forums are for) and not trying to get others on my side, i'm just curious as to why it's rated so highly.
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selenta
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Joined: 19 Apr 2006
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Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:18 pm Reply with quote
While Haruhi is definitely not my favorite show, I'm honestly surprised people call it "overrated" (except perhaps the exact spot on the top 10 list it occupies). While it is an interesting concept and all, it is so much more than that. Haruhi is easily the deepest anime I've ever seen, and I've seen lots of the good ones. I don't mean "deep" in a philisophical sense (though, it IS quite interesting there too), I mean in a writing and directing sense. There are SOOOO many things that happen, so many comments, so many artistic shots that the viewer doesn't understand at first, but as the show goes on, different levels of understanding come into view.

Although calling it "deep" sounds kind of melodramatic, I loved this show as it was coming out, and after each episode came out, I would end up going back and rewatching the entire series over again. I can name probably 200+ revelations that occured to me only after understanding more of the story and seeing episodes after said revelation. The witty dialogue is absolutely THE best out there, bar none. The animation is also one of the cleanest I've ever seen, and I've never seen another show with as much attention to detail. Visually, I can think of a few shows that had higher quality animation, but as for the little things like beads of sweat, steam on the tea, I've yet to see another show encorporate them as successfully and casually.

If you go into it with expectations, you're bound to be disappointed, just like with any unique classic. I had heard of Kino's Journey, but didn't know anything about it except that Kino was in fact spoiler[not a boy], but when I saw it a few days ago, I was absolutely blown away in every respect. I won't call it my favorite of all time before I watch it again... but I can say for a fact, that if I had read a lot of hype about it and went into it with expectations, I wouldn't have liked it nearly as much.

My recommendation to you (and everyone else who seems to find Haruhi to be "weak" or "shallow")? Wait a few weeks, and try not the think about the show while you mentally erase your expectations. Then watch the show again, preferably with someone who's likes anime but has never heard of it.

Or... you could just be a rebel like free2slap and rate it a 0/10 because you either can't see past your own personal bias to at the very least recognize what the show DOES offer (as opposed to what you THOUGHT it offers) or you just can't stand the idea that people like different things and for some reason came to the conclustion that if your favorite anime isn't number 1 on the top 10 list, your life will end.
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epixeltwin



Joined: 08 Apr 2006
Posts: 325
Location: Montreal, Qc, Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:24 pm Reply with quote
What I absolutely hate about it...

Is the fact that I know I'm missing so much details, yet I also know about my laziness and how I won't watch it again. Evil or Very Mad
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undeadben



Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 1212
Location: West Texas
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:26 pm Reply with quote
I rated it very good, but only because it is not my prefered style of anime and I tend to rate on how entertained I am personally. However I can definitely see how most people do rate it as a masterpiece. The animation is wonderful except for a few burps. All of the characters, especially Kyon in my opinion, are incredibly likable and the dialogue is smartly written. There is a sense of mystery and supense that hangs over nearly every episode, which is hard to produce and works incredibly well. And placing the episode out of order was just another device that really helped in getting me to really think about, and draw me into the story.

m00nshine wrote:
What pissed me off the most was how during the whole series spoiler[the alien, esper, and time traveller kept saying she could change the world or make events happen the way she pleases and yet nothing happens until the very last episode and then we get a 15 min climax with a VERY predictable ending.]


spoiler[Since the majority of the story take splace after the climax it just wouldn't have worked the same if Haruhi really had changed the world], but I can see what you mean, I think many of us had more than just a passing interest in the spoiler["what kind of world would Haruhi create?" or "what would change"] line of speculation.

Still overall, even though I did not rate it as a masterpiece I do not consider it overated, it has a lot of elements that a great anime should have and there are a lot of people that did enjoy it enough to consider it a masterpiece. But your opinion is not wrong either, you just did not enjoy it for your own reasons and that's great too, it's what makes discussions interesting.
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frentymon
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Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 2362
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:29 pm Reply with quote
I thought it was overhyped as well until the series finished airing and I looked back at the air order. I really think that it was brilliantly done; they spaced out the plot and "filler" just right. It throws everything at you right at the beginning to purposely confuse you and make you watch on, and from then on put the episodes in the exact right order to make the viewer as curious and eagerly anticipating the next episode as possible. Character development comes at just the right times, plot comes when you could care less about it before the episode but leaves you eagerly anticipating more plotline, comedy comes exactly when you need some good laughs, and the ending (which is not really the actual ending by the way, that goes to Episode 9) is so conclusive-seeming that you have to go double check the later chronological episodes to slowly pick out what subtle changes have occured in terms of relationship since then. I can see where you're coming from when you say that SHnY is overrated, but a rewatch may very well change your mind. It changed mine.

selenta wrote:
Or... you could just be a rebel like free2slap and rate it a 0/10 because you either can't see past your own personal bias to at the very least recognize what the show DOES offer


free2slap, or Steroid? I remember him calling all of us sheep.
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Fui



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 339
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:36 pm Reply with quote
I agree with the OP with regard to the fact that it's overrated. No matter how I look at it, a lot of the stuff they talk about in the series is theoretical bs. I'm usually skeptical about stuff that people make up about some series like theories and reasons explaining why things occurred the way they did, but that could be what makes it so great in people's opinions. It still had a lot of elements that made it your typical anime, like 萌え (Mikuru, Nagato) and ツンデレ (Haruhi) characters, and the crazy theories that come up in anime aren't a first, either. However, It was very entertaining because of the fun characters with their exaggerated personas. I think the storytelling was also very well done, and there was hardly a dull moment in the series. Even the silent scenes were very well directed in my opinion. Good anime? I think so. I don't think it compares to the Samurai X OVA though, but that's just a matter of taste.
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Samurai-with-glasses



Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 628
PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:04 am Reply with quote
m00nshine wrote:
The anime as a whole had some memorable scenes but not enough depth in it to warrent being labled as one of the best ever. I probably made a lot of people angry at me but I had to say this. Now let the back lashing begin!!! lol
I'm sorry, but you aren't so dishonourable or dislikable as to bring upon yourself the backlashing you desire. Very Happy

It's your opinion hey, and you have the perfect right to it. I *don't* think it's overrated (especially after having so vaingloriously proclaiming myself to be a Harutard, blatantly stealing the term from other people, no less) and considers it a brilliant masterpiece, KyoAni's crowning jewel, the Mughal diamond of the Victorian throne, etc., etc. My only response is: "watch it again, pretty please? You might like it now!" Haruhi is, to repeat others' sentiment ad infinitum (note: using Latin makes you seem smart, even when you use it wrong), very subtle in detail. You might find the second watching to be far more enjoyable, especially if you take the Climax not as the end of the show, but the beginning, before the "fillers."
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:04 am Reply with quote
Tony K. wrote:
I didn't hear a single bit of praise or animosity before I saw the series. I only knew it was rated #2 and decided to watch it myself.

I rated it Masterpiece because of the writing style and comedy. Granted, there's not much plot,


Likewise when I started this series I was checking it out because of the all hype, because normally this isn't my type of series. Although I try not to type cast myself but I do have a style that I enjoy.

But as a whole I didn't really enjoy the writing nor the comedy in the anime. But I actually like the music in the series, specifically the Opening theme, and the inbetween. But as a whole it just wasn't my thing, I can see how people adore this series because of all the small instances poking fun at the industry or references.
Till next time,

Delta Kiral
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