The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - a classic that has yet to live up to my expectations
A while ago, I was siting in bed and thinking about what to read next. I had already finished the horrific experience that was "Scum Villain Self-Saving System" and I was not going anywhere close to the second volume, or really any other volume from that author (the people say that her writing gets better, but they also say this first series is still very good so I do not trust their judgement) so I was at loss with what to continue. Of course I could continue my long classical literature to read list, or perhaps read one of the tens of psychiatry books I have in my library, but obviously, I was not yet tired of painfully mediocre writing (not to be misunderstood, I do not believe svsss's writing is mediocre. Bad is a better description.).
Enter the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series. A piece considered an absolute classic in anime culture, her face recognizable to any self respecting otaku and anime fan alike. So of course, I had high expectations. Not to high, of course, I knew in the end that this was a light novel and one written in 2003. But still, pretty high.
So yeah, safe to say I am yet to be satisfied.
Also so it's clear, I know the name The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is used as the name of the anime, but I'll title all my reviews based on the titles of the novels (ex: the second novel review would be titles - The sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya)
Short plot summary
Kyon, our protagonist, just entered high school, but, in the first day during their introductions the girl seated right behind him sits up and says:
"I'm Haruhi Suzumiya, from East Junior High. First off, I'm not interested in ordinary people. But, if any of you are aliens, time-travelers, or espers, please come see me. That is all!"
This introduction, of course baffles everyone, especially when they realize she's dead serious. Her name is Haruhi Suzumiya.
She continues to act weird, and our protagonist has no connection to her, until one day after she complains that all clubs are boring he suggests that she should make one herself. And as such the SOS brigade is formed - a club dedicated to finding any sort of paranormal activity. She gathers a weird bunch of people - an asocial book obsessed girl - Yuki Nagato, a shy but very pretty and friendly - Mikuru Asahina, and the mysterious but also friendly transfer student - Istuki Koizumi.
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| Left - Yuki Nagato Middle - Haruhi Suzumiya Right - Mikuru Asahina |
Haruhi searches desperately for any sight of supernatural, but even with her club members doesn't succeed. Yet in private, each member comes to Kyon and tells him how they're each a supernatural creature (Yuki - alien, Mikuru - time traveler, Koizumi - esper) sent to observe Haruhi who is a sort of all powerful god, who can change the world to match her whims. Kyon of course doesn't know what to make of this until every one of the three shows him his powers, but asks him to not tell Haruhi.
Everything is going fine until Haruhi catches Mikuru and Kyon in a slightly more personal position moment in which she gets jealous. Her jealousy created a closed space (an area where no life exists, created by Haruhi's strong emotions) that is about to destroy the whole word and create it again in a way she likes, until Kyon (the only other person except her allowed in this closed space) goes and kisses her, and the world is back to normal.
The biggest and most glaring issues
I made sure to avoid the biggest issue this novel has in my summary, so I can really put it down here.
SO MUCH SEXUAL HARRASSMENT
Like look, as a person who consumes a lot of 2000s media, I have a bit of resistance to it. I can give it a look and turn my eyes away. BUT GOD DOES THIS NOVEL MAKE IT HARD. It was to a point where around halfway I actually debated dropping it. It was so much and soo big that I genuinely couldn't and didn't want to ignore it anymore. In a way , it really spoiled my experience with this book, since I was loving it at the start. Buy just so you get how bad it is, there is a whole moment where as to blackmail a guy, Haruhi unbuttons Mikuru's shirt and forces a guy's hands on her boobs while Kyon takes photos.
And yes, it's not Kyon doing it, it's Haruhi towards Mikuru. Which was perhaps funny back then for some people, not really that pleasant anymore. She forces her into revealing outfits, she fondles her breasts against her complaints, she takes unconsensual suggestive photos of her and almost uploads them to the internet. It's a mess. Thankfully by the end of the book it does tone down a bit, but I was told there is a worse scene in the next books. Apparently she does calm down by the 4th book, and it's somehow supposed to show how she's so weird and supposed to make you uncomfortable but I have my doubts.
Unfortunately this is Japan, and they don't have the best record with this media. Nowhere in the entire thing is this portrayed as bad except the protagonist's snarky remarks. And now I'm not a person who thinks bad things should be specifically stated as bad for the reader to understand they aren't good but there is a moment where you have to stop and ask yourself "Yes, I find this weird because I don't think sexual harassment is ok. But a person who doesn't have the same morals as me would find it weird as well, or would they find it funny/hot?". I'm not accusing the writer of anything, because from what I've heard it really does get better, but I am offering a perspective not many think about.
Another issue I have is with the ending. While nice, it really feels so out of place with the earlier themes set in the book. Haruhi wants to remake the world she lost any hope in, but she's actually still just a highschool girl and when her love kisses her she realizes this world is worth living in. In an attempt to deepen Haruhi's character I feel like they cheapened it. Her earlier actions are now put through a different lens that makes her actions seem way more mundane in a bad way. She doesn't actually believe in aliens and espers, she just wishes they'd exist, and in her heart what she truly treasures is love. And also she's a tsundere. It's just so... after we've set Haruhi as this intricate almost out of reach existence we suddenly make her so painfully normal that her charm just fades away. She is now quirky at best, and I am scared that even her quirkiness will fade away in some ways.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying normal characters are inherently not interesting anymore. But human and normal characters have to be different and weird in humanly ways, which are way harder to master and do than making an unreachable character into a straight up anomaly. Because the author has been creating the latter all this book, when he tries to switch to the first one she falls a bit flat.
There's other small issues I can talk about as well, but I feel like these are the main and important points.
Verdict
I will probably continue reading the second novel, although after a while as I am back in the mood for reading good books again lol. I am mixed on this book, so I'll see how I'll approach the second one. The only thing really motivating me is this one character I saw that hasn't been introduced yet that looks cute, and this one antagonist that was thrown out of the picture this novel but is on the cover of the 4th volume. I'll see. For now I'll give this book a nice
5/10
wonderfully mediocre
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