Retsgip’s Anime Blog

Is there anything worth watching anymore? I almost feel depressed now that The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi is done. I’ve kind of been roaming through anime that I’ve got stored on my computer and haven’t watched anything new in the past week (which explains my lack of blogs recently).

Why do I feel like this? Maybe because this anime was by far the best anime I’ve ever watched. Who would have guessed by the first episode? Not me.

Some of the things I really enjoyed about The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi:

The artwork. I’ve never seen so much detail and consistancy in my life. This is almost revolutionary! Everything I watch now seems somewhat bland in terms of artwork and style. Also, the way they presented everything was extremely artistic. When I go back through the episodes and watch them, I notice how good the angles and positioning of characters are. There’s usually many layers to every scene. For example:

You can see Mikuru’s expression in this pic but also it shows Haruhi in the background. Where’s this shot coming from? Probably Kyon’s stomach, but thats what makes it so cool. In a normal anime, this scene would have been zoomed out and you’d have beena ble to see every character in the room. They’d probably throw a sweat mark on Mikuru or something. But no, here they actually show her facial expression and on top of that, you get to see Haruhi’s facial expression at the same time. It’s poetic, its artistic, its just downright awesome. It feels like I’m watching a real life painting…who needs a art gallery when you have this anime???

The sound. Ever watched an anime that took into consideration all the layers of sound that happen in the real world and stick them in their episodes? I surely haven’t. The most you usually get for background noise is Cicadas in most animes…wow original? Try and really listen to some of the stuff they do, it’s actually kind of amazing. Here’s little things I noticed:

• Episode 1: There’s a small almost unnoticable ring in the background. This would most likely be due to the crappy camera they use to film their Adventures of Mikuru Video. I love all the background noise in this episode as well. When Haruhi talks while filming, it sounds exactly like someone talking behind the camera while filming. Wow?
• The music is never too loud or too soft. The background music is used in such an amazing way. You can cleary hear the music, but GASP you can still hear Kyon ranting in the background. It’s ridiculously well done.
• Random noises made by people that you don’t really notice or listen to. Little things like when you move, you can hear clothes ruffle a little, or your desk squeeks a little. Stuff like that are all over the place in this anime. Just pay close attention and you hear a lot of it.

Voice Acting. A lot of times, especially in dubbed versions or American version of anime, the voices make or break the show. From my experience, most Japanese anime have pretty good voice acting, but I’d have to say this one takes the cake. Each character has his or her unique style of talking and it holds pretty steady throughout the entirety of the series. It amazes me how well some of them do. For example, Yuki sounds like a god damn robot when she talks…wtf? What’s so amazing about it is that it doesn’t sound like her voice was changed at all. When Kyon is being sarcastic or cynical, i can feel it oozing out of my speakers so much that I feel like I’m there and he’s having an actual conversation with me. Mikuru’s wimperings and stuttering is just too classic and real sounding. We can’t forget Haruhi and her overly dramatic voice. Plus when she sings, its actually the voice actress singing…thats so many kudos I’d go broke (pun intended k?).

Easter Eggs. There are tons of little things riddled throughout each episode that make me love them more and more. For example: Go watch Live Alive(episode 12) and go in about 4 minutes and 20 seconds. You’ll see two members of ENOZ run by the screen as Kyon and his buddies oogle at Tsuruya-san. I would also throw their sometimes subtle, sometimes not, tributes to other animes in this section. Also, watch for hair movement, blinking, facial expressions. It’s all there. There’s an immense amount of detail in little movements and mannerisms by every character.

Fanservice. I’m extremely happy with the way they incoperated fanservice into all the episodes. Usually, company’s will just toss a “beach episode” into their series to handle the obligatory fanservice for the series. I’ll admit, there’s a beach episode, but the it was cleverly disguised as a real episode, and frankly, it was so nonchalant that I wouldn’t even count it as a “beach episode.” The usage of cosplay and shots of Mikuru changing was not only classic, but did its job to appeal to the masses. Even though I’d prefer to see Haruhi in most of the outfits, I didn’t mind seeing Mikuru dressed up in a ton of crazy clothing. I’ve also read that some females enjoy seeing Itsuki dress up for his plays and also having his gay “moments” with Kyon. Cleverly disguised and abundant fanservice makes the world go round.

So yup, thats just a few things I really enjoyed about this anime. I’m sure there’s more, and I’m sure there are different outlooks on the topics I mentioned above, but I’m sure lots will agree that this is and will be a ground breaking anime for seasons to come.

I don’t know if I can ever enjoy another anime again. I’m going to really need to be impressed by the plot or the characters to even be remotely interested anymore. Haruhi has ruined me (much like she ruined Mikuru)! Once you’ve experienced it, you can never go back.

They better make another season (perhaps another 12 episodes) or at least a few OVAs or “heads will roll.”

-Retsgip