The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya certainly has a dedicated fan base. The first two seasons of the anime were well-received and fans were deeply disappointed to learn of the cancelation of the anime’s third season due to the Covid-19 outbreak that has plagued the world since 2020.
That said, despite its popularity, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya doesn’t possess great replay value. While it can be entertaining and does contain a plethora of amusing moments, the series doesn’t hold up particularly well for returning viewers or those endeavoring to experience it for the first time in 2022.
CONTENT WARNING: Sensitive topics discussed below!
10 The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya Squanders A Promising Start
Outside of some objectionable depictions of teenage girls, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya does indeed have a promising start. Witnessing Kyon learn about the world he inhabits and Haruhi’s part in it all is interesting and helps to generate intrigue for the episodes to come.
The series seems to peak very early, however, hitting a noticeable plateau after “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 5.” Following the short stint that Haruhi and Kyon spend together in one of Haruhi’s created closed spaces, the anime never quite capitalizes on its promise, failing thereafter to provide enough reason for the audience to care about the stakes due to an excessive amount of filler.
9 An Over-Reliance On Exposition
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is an incredibly straightforward anime. It isn’t particularly layered and lacks substance. It also doesn’t offer any interesting plot twists to move the narrative along. Everything seems to play out in far too convenient fashion, leaving little for the viewer to get excited about.
The series is also terribly repetitive and often over-reliant on exposition to move the story forward. As a result, it appears that the center of focus is the SOS Brigade’s trivial pursuits when in fact the viewer is expected to care about the potential consequences of Haruhi’s world-ending capabilities.
8 Poor Character Development
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya isn’t exactly overflowing with great character development. In fact, the characters develop so little across the two seasons that there is very little reason to care about them at all. There isn’t much for the audience to invest in with protagonist Kyon and deuteragonist Haruhi remaining the same throughout the series.
Any change that does occur is very subtle, such as Kyon ever so slowly becoming more outspoken about Haruhi’s mistreatment of Asahina. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya certainly asks a lot of its viewers, yet rarely ever pays off their patience with something truly worth the wait Unfortunately, that rings true not only for the story but also for the characters.
7 The Adventures Of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00
“The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00” does absolutely nothing to develop the story and comes across as complete and utter filler. While the episode seems to exist solely to appease Mikuru fans, it offers little else for anyone interested in seeing some sort of advancement in the storyline.
The episode appears not to take itself too seriously. Under different circumstances that might be fine, but due to how unnecessary it feels and its placement towards the end of the series, it stands to reason that there are far better ways to make use of the anime’s final episodes. Simply put, this episode did not need to exist. At the very least, it shouldn’t have encompassed one entire episode’s runtime.
6 Haruhi Suggests Koizumi Kiss An Inebriated Mikuru
In “The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya IV”, Haruhi dresses Mikuru in a revealing nightgown and spikes her drink with sake, then justifies her own despicable behavior by declaring that it makes Mikuru appear sexier. Thereafter, she commands Koizumi to kiss Mikuru despite her being clearly unaware of what is going on.
The scene is incredibly tasteless, but what makes it even worse is the lack of reaction from Mikuru’s classmates. The only person that protests Haruhi’s behavior is Kyon, and only then does Koizumi say something. This is yet another reason why Haruhi is easily one the most unlikeable deuteragonists in all of anime.
5 The Endless Eight Arc Is Painfully Long
Not only is the “Endless Eight” arc unnecessarily drawn-out, but it is also excruciatingly repetitive, scarcely advancing the story while presenting the same information over and over. The arc spans eight episodes and is covered in both the latter portion of Season 1 and the first five episodes of Season 2.
As a result, Season 1’s finale is almost identical to Season 2’s opening episode, giving viewers little to sink their teeth into when returning to the series. To make matters worse, the material covered in the eight episodes could quite easily have been condensed into just two and still had the same, if not greater, impact.
4 An Uninspiring Protagonist
It quickly becomes tiresome watching Kyon, the series’ protagonist, constantly undermined and walked over by Haruhi. It’s equally tiresome watching Kyon allow Haruhi to treat Mikuru poorly on so many different occasions. Granted, Kyon does defend Mikuru from time to time, it isn’t enough to overlook how often he doesn’t.
Kyon spends most of his time complaining about Haruhi or delivering repetitive monologues about the SOS Brigade’s activities. There simply isn’t much else to the character, which makes Kyon’s journey very difficult to invest in.
3 A Journey Not Worth Embarking On
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya scarcely rewards the viewer for their patience. Across the 28 episodes that exist in Seasons 1 and 2, there is little attempt to subvert the audience’s expectations. A lot of what happens is explained through uninspired exposition with many of the series’ key events feeling less significant than they should.
A prime example of this is the “Endless Eight” arc, which, due to being dragged out for far longer than necessary, rapidly loses intrigue. By the end of the arc, it’s near impossible to sympathize with the characters being forced to endure the same period of time over 15,000 times after having to sit through what feels like the same episode eight different times.
2 The Over-Sexualized Portrayal Of Mikuru
It seems that Mikuru’s existence in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is largely predicated upon fanservice. Though her character is significant to the story, Mikuru is often depicted in scantily clad fashion. The storyline explanation for this is that Haruhi deems Mikuru to be cute and therefore treats her like no more than an object of desire.
Mikuru’s characterization is tasteless, as is the constant need to show her wearing revealing outfits. These are schoolchildren, after all. Regardless of whether Mikuru has supposedly been sent from the future, her character model is that of a teenage girl.
1 Haruhi’s Improper Treatment Of Mikuru
Haruhi’s treatment of Mikuru is not only indecent, but it’s also quite frankly disgusting. Throughout the series, Haruhi abuses Mikuru both verbally and physically, often berating her timid classmate and talking down to her, or striking her and tugging away at her clothing for no reason other than to assert her dominance.
Even more disconcerting is the number of times Haruhi blatantly sexually harasses Mikuru, frequently molesting the unsettled redhead or stripping away garments of her clothing in front of Kyon and Koizumi. This makes for some extremely uncomfortable viewing and rapidly renders Haruhi an unlikeable protagonist.
About The Author
