Features TV

6 Legendary Feats of Haruhi Suzumiya

3. Haruhi Sings

Haruhi5

I was very tempted to put this at number one for two reasons. The first is that the singing is amazing, and the second is the episode really lets Haruhi’s kind side shine through. In the episode, Haruhi stuns the student body when she takes to the stage in a bunny girl outfit and rocks the auditorium by revealing a talent for singing and playing guitar. It turns out Haruhi and Nagato volunteered to act as stand-ins for the school band ENOZ after two members become ill. Yeah, Haruhi does something out of sheer kindness without expecting anything in return, and when the band comes to say thank you, she is unsure how to react. The animation is beautiful and fluid, and the music just made me fall in love with the series. Haruhi’s Japanese voice actress Aya Hirano is a professional musician, and the power she has in her voice is just phenomenal. Wendee Lee’s singing isn’t bad even if the dubbed lyrics make little sense, and Nagato shreds a guitar like a boss.

 

2. “Do You Know the Story of Snow White?”

Haruhi6

Again, this nearly got the number one spot. The first arc of the series ends in dramatic fashion, culminating in one of my favourite moments in anime. In short, when Haruhi catches Kyon flirting with Mikuru, she jealously transports herself and Kyon to Closed Space (an alternate dimension Haruhi subconsciously creates to deal with her stress) where they are the only people around. So when enormous blue giants that Haruhi creates appear, Kyon must convince Haruhi to go back to the real world. This forces Kyon to figure how what Haruhi means to him, and after putting two-and-two together thanks to clues left by his friends, he realises how to go home. By pleasing a lot of fans. I’ll leave the rest up to you to figure out. Another highlight is the use of music, namely “Symphony of a Thousand” to great dramatic effect.

1. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Haruhi7

I can’t even really explain why this has the top spot. It just does. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is the movie tie-in of the anime, based on a popular volume in the novels. What if something you were quite fond of in your life abruptly vanished and the world changed because of it? That’s what Kyon goes through when reality is changed, Haruhi disappears, and his extraordinary life is now normal. It is very harrowing seeing the laidback, snarky Kyon fall apart and try to find Haruhi, as well as finding his supernatural friends are all normal; most notably Nagato who is now an adorable shy bookworm. Everything about the film is beautiful and well worth the watch. It also incorporates some popular “what if” scenarios like Haruhi finding out the truth or having a human Nagato. I really can’t say more than that beyond it is so wonderful and amazing. Go and watch it! Glory to the SOS Brigade!

What are your thoughts on this list? Are you a fan of Haruhi Suzumiya and what are your favourite memories from the franchise? Sound off in the comments or send us your thoughts on Twitter!

About the author

Mark Russell