Suzumiya Haruhi and a question

[insaneneko]

I have noticed that some people on my flist have seen the anime The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi (Suzumiya Haruni no Yuutsu), but not many (or are people just not talking about it?). Is it not that popular or something? I mean, it's such a great parody of a huge anime genre and a fun story in and of itself. There's something extremely appealing about the idea that the person around whom the entire world revolves around is not aware of that fact, and that everyone else around her does. The dry, cynical voice of the narrator helps a lot, too.

It was a shock to find out recently that the voice actress of Haruhi in The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi can sing...and that she sang the opening and the songs the character sings in the school festival. So with that knowledge I downloaded her character single, and yes she can sing. I like the first and third tracks, because they are upbeat and fun. I uploaded the first three tracks (removing the karaoke tracks):

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi Character Song Vol. 1 - Suzumiya Haruhi (Hirano Aya)

And from the school festival: God Knows...

I keep meaning to rewatch the series in chronological order but haven't gotten around to it. I wonder how different the experience will be? I am very attached to linear storylines (yes, I'm boring), or at least storylines that don't jump around too much (far too jarring for my taste). I felt that while the order they broadcast in was interesting (and I do like the placement of the last broadcast episode as last) it was a bit frustrating to try to put each episode in context as I watched it. And oh man was the first episode difficult to get through.

BTW, would anyone be interested in a summary of the third Only the Ring Finger Knows CD drama similar to the summary I did for the second one? I figured I wouldn't bother because the third book is coming out in October, but if people want one I can do it.

Comments

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Hey, I watched it! And blogged about it.It is quite good, and much better characterized than it appears at first.

Maybe not as many people are watching it because it's more of a fanboy series than a fangirl series? Don't know. Nowadays it seems like people are not watching as many series as they had in the past, because there are so many and we are all so busy.

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

*laughs* You were included in the "some people" in the first sentence. I'm glad I got the series shoved at me, because it certainly was better than I expected...especially after seeing the first episode.

I suppose it is more of a fanboy series, but...I'd think anyone who's seen a decent amount of more or less mainstream anime in the last ten to fifteen years would get a lot of the elements being parodied...

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't see too many direct parodies, more just general elements, although there was a Gyakuten Saiban (Phoenix Wright) parody in ep 8.

[mirichan.livejournal.com]

I downloaded it but had not watched it as of yet. I'm glad to hear I should like it and it won't be a waste of my download bandwidth.

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

I hope you like it, because it's a fun series. ^^

[modorenai.livejournal.com]

I watched The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, but as is usual with me, I planned to write a long babble on it and never got around to doing so. :p

Although I do agree that Hirano Aya can sing, I feel like she's a rather over-rated seiyuu - granted, I'm not sure if I've seen her in other roles, but well I think she put up a great performance as Haruhi, I didn't think it was that great to warrant the level of rabid fanboyism she's attained.

I definitely need to watch this series in chronological order as well, since I was muchly confused when I watched them in the order they were broadcast. Maybe I'll force my friends to watch it with me in the proper order since they haven't seen this series yet. XD

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

There are so many things I keep meaning to babble about (or start writing but never finish...) but never get around to it. :P

I didn't realize Hirano Aya was so intensely fanboyed. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Seeing the rabid fangirls for male seiyuu, why wouldn't the guys also be as nuts? *shrugs*

I kind of like the idea of seeing it in the aired order first, mostly because I really like the last aired episode being the last episode. In chronological order it's sort of in the middle...

[modorenai.livejournal.com]

I suppose it helps that Hirano Aya is really pretty - I recently saw some pictures of her when she was at some Death Note event/interview, and she looked really good in that.

And well, I don't really have a problem with fanboys going crazy over female seiyuu, since I fangirl shamelessly over male seiyuu - it's more of the fact that I feel like they're fanboying over her only because she was just lucky enough to voice the main character from a really popular anime and not because of any real talent on her part. Though I suppose it's just the way the seiyuu world workd - most seiyuu who are popular now DID get their lucky break from a particular role that really made them stand out and then they just continued to get more and more popular from there.

I suppose it's kind of like what Harry Potter is to me - I enjoy that series as much as most fans of the series, yet I don't see why it's as enormously popular as it is. I can see why it's popular, since it really is a great read despite its flaws - I just can't understand why it's so insanely popular, precisely because it has its share of flaws.

Though I suppose I really should see Hirano Aya in a couple more roles before I pass judgement since for all I know she could be an amazing actress. (And she definitely gets the thumbs up from me for being able to sing, which isn't as common in a seiyuu as we'd all like it to be. :p)

And yes, I agree with you that the last aired episode was really the best place to put it due to the fact that it made such a good climatic end to the series. But iit'll be interesting to see how things actually go chronologically, and hopefully it'll make more sense to me in that order. :)

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

So Hirano Aya is a total newbie seiyuu? Didn't know that.

I am completely indifferent to seiyuu appearances because...frankly, it seems the better the male seiyuu's voice, the less I want to see their faces. I know the females tend to be much easier on the eyes, but since I care about the males more I just have this attitude built in. *shrugs*

I am with you on the bafflement over sheer popularity of Harry Potter. I really like it, I know why I like it, but...why is it popular with everyone? I've come to accept it, but I'll probably never get it.

I keep saying I'll "watch it in order someday" but I really wonder when that "someday" will be.

[modorenai.livejournal.com]

Oh no, I don't think she's actually a total newbie seiyuu. Relatively newer, yes, but not really a total newbie. It's just that I've personally never noticed her in other roles before, so I've never really been exposed to her voice. Though now, looking at a list of other stuff she's done, I HAVE actually heard her before, just that her voice never impressed all that much before. I don't actually think her Haruhi is all that difficult a role to play, either - I suppose it's mostly that a lot of guys find Haruhi attractive and hence are attracted to th eperson behind her voice as well.

And yes, I agree with you about the not wanting to see seiyuu appearances thing. I much prefer to be able to delude myself into thinking that the voice behind the character looks just as good as the character. *grin* Though I must say sometimes it's interesting to stumble upon some seiyuu pictures and realise that they look totally different from the way their voice sounds, or they way you imagine them to look like.

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

She was well-cast as Haruhi AND Haruhi is the type of female character lots of fanboys just adore, which makes her appeal understandable.

"A face made for radio voice acting," indeed. Sometimes I wonder if there's some kind of perverse law that the more gorgeous the voice the uglier/weirder-looking/creepier-looking the actor is...

[modorenai.livejournal.com]

Haha, actually I think it makes sense that voice actors tend to be rather ugly. Since if they were good looking, they would most probably have gone on to be actual actors and/or singers where appearance is key (Talent? What talent? Is there such a thing?). But since they aren't, they settle for a job which has many of the same perks but which doesn't rely on appearance. I think that's probably why voice actors tend to be better actors as well then actual actors, since good looking actors can scrape by with horrible acting skills if they look good *coughcoughF4coughcough* whereas voice actors won't be popular if they just read off scripts emotionlessly.

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

In Asia especially actors (and singers) seem to manage well enough with looks and/or an image (or sadly enough a gimmick), which is why I often feel that voice actors are so much more versatile and able to emote than regular actors.

[modorenai.livejournal.com]

Agreed. As much as I love watching Asian dramas, sometimes I just have to cringe at how terrible some of the actors and actresses are. Not to mention the countless boy bands who don't seem to be able to carry a tune. Though to be fair, I think a lot of Western boy bands can't really sing either. ^_^;;