The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Volume One
Written by Jeremy Snow
Published on 05/30/2007
Originally from Binary Culture / [the-lowdown.net]
http://www.binaryculture.net

Well folks, rejoice. The SOS brigade has landed stateside and it is looking absolutely amazing. Let me first say that its official launch date is May 29th. However, having attended Fanime this last weekend, there was a very interesting item on Bandai’s booth table: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Vol. 1- Special Edition box. I looked at it for a good 5 minutes, then looked up at the vendor and mumbled something incoherent that included 29th and she said “Yeah, it’s supposed to come out on Tuesday but we sent some to famine for you guys.” It was about 5 seconds after ‘…guys.’ That I dropped 65 dollars for the box.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “65 dollars…for a DVD and some bonuses? Are you insane?!” Maybe I am. However, let me first start out by describing the contents of the box that I received. Included in the box is a CD which includes the opening and closing themes of the series (both very well known), a pencil board, a very fashionable box, the DVD (duh), a headband and a cool little shelf to hold stuff in built into the box.

So to start, the packaging is great. All the bonuses that come with it, the box itself (which is one of the nicest boxes I’ve come across so far with stunning artwork on every side) As a final note on the packaging and price, the 65 I paid was on the higher end. I know people who have picked up the DVD for around 40-45 dollars, so fear not. The DVD won’t be 65 everywhere (yay ebay).

Of course, what really matters is the quality of the DVD itself. And in that, it does not disappoint either.

The dub is very strong, and delivers excellently where it matters the most. I’ll just say that first. The two strongest performances, luckily, are found with the two main characters. Wendee Lee and Crispin Freeman have really nailed the roles of Haruhi and Kyon respectively. Haruhi’s schizophrenic vocal tones (varying from ambitious and energetic, to bored, to angry and annoyed in 2 seconds flat) are depicted brilliantly by Wendee. Crispin Freeman adapts the same incredulous tone we’ve all come to know and love and uses it brilliantly so that the English dub doesn’t lose any of its flair. Yuki and Itsuki also have strong English voices, with Mikuru presenting a voice that some would guess is expected for her character. Personally, I found Mikuru’s English voice to be the least impressive of the bunch. While the Japanese actress could get away with that kind of high, squeaky voice, it just doesn’t pan out very well in the English dub in my opinion.

In short, other than Mikuru’s voice, as I said before, all of the other English dubbed voices are very well done.

The special features on the DVD are also well done. It includes two different commercials that aired in Japan advertising The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya as well as your regular trailers and textless openings and closings. I personally found the second commercial really funny.


So, dub, features, packaging…what’s left? Ah yes, the story. The US releases are putting the show in actual chronological order as opposed to the unorthodox mixed-up order that it was originally aired in. I thought that the unorthodox order was pretty cool, but the story is just as solid and entertaining.

For those of you not in the know, let me try and put it in a nutshell. Kyon is a regular high school student who has long abandoned his dreams of Aliens, Time-Travlers and Espers.

Now developing into a perfectly logical young man, the last thing Kyon was expecting was meeting Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi Suzumiya is, to say the least, eccentric. Unsatisfied with any boy she’s ever dated, bored at each and every club at the high school, Haruhi Suzumiya decides that she will form her own club, and that is where the story begins. It starts out as a seemingly normal high school comedy with some slight tinges of romance, but trust me when I say that by the end of the DVD you’ll discover that things are not all they are meant to be. The show is popular in Japan and has become a phenomenon in America due to not only the dynamic characters, but also the story.

All in all this is a great addition and a must-own for any Anime fans. Memorable characters, great music, awesome packaging and (you can find) a great price makes this box a great buy.