Suzumiya Haruhi: All About Her Fame! Posted: July 4th, 2008 11:56 am (Fri) by Divine Fang Last Edited: May 4th, 2010 11:42 am (Tue) Views: 13008 [Permalink] Tag: Anime, Suzumiya, Haruhi, Cosplay
Suzumiya Haruhi (涼宮ハルヒ), one of the highest rated anime girl now gets her very own entry here at Shin-Otaku.com. She hardly needs any introduction but this article will serve as a reference to all Suzumiya Haruhi-related entries in the future. This super high-profile 2D girl was actually created back in 2003 and later gained extreme fame internationally via anime "Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu (涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱)" a.k.a "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi".
Suzumiya Haruhi has many entries at Wiki, fan sites, game sites, blogs, Youtube e.t.c as well as many merchandises created based on her i.e figures, posters and games. It may just be confusing to start getting to know who Suzumiya Haruhi actually is. As I walk you through, I will provide links to the most reliable virtual library, Wikipedia to assist your reading. However, if you are willing to invest 14 (episodes) x 24 minutes to watch the anime "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" straightaway, you shall be skipping big part of the following contents. Regardless of whether or not you have watched the anime, I am sure that you'll find part of this article interesting.
Let's skip the history and start off by fast-forwarding to 2006, the time when I discovered her via anime "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" which was broadcasted between April 2 and July 2 in 2006. Watch the opening video of the anime feat. BGM "Boken Desho Desho?" by Aya Hirano (Suzumiya Haruhi's voice actor herself) first of all:
"The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" is no ordinary anime, it progresses in a non-linear broadcast order thus makes the anime itself confusing. I have gone through the anime twice and I find it better to watch in chronological order (depicted "C" in Wiki's episode guide) in order to avoid confusion and to obtain better understanding of minor details in the anime. If you'd like to go through what the Japanese experienced, watch it in its TV broadcast order, depicted "B" at Wiki:
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi) is a story about a high-school freshman, Suzumiya Haruhi, and those who are caught up in her antics. On the first day of school, she introduced herself in a bizarre way.
"From East Middle School, Suzumiya Haruhi. I have no interest in ordinary humans. If there are any aliens, time travelers, sliders, or espers here.. come join me. That is all!"
Her classmates wondered whether she was serious or just kidding around. Kyon, a fellow freshman who sits in front of Haruhi, was interested in her because of her strange introduction. Little by little, he tried to talk to her, but Haruhi's answers would always be "Shut up!" "Moron!" "Be quiet!" "Who cares about that!?". However, as the days went by, Kyon becomes the first ever to talk normally with Haruhi and eventually inspired her to form the SOS Brigade which sole purpose is to find aliens, time travelers and espers, and have fun with them.
"Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu" Anime Screenshots Here's a few screenshots of the anime and as you can see, "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu" is a blend of adventure, 'fan-service', action and sci-fi aspects altogether. It is hard to determine which genre of anime it belongs to.
The "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu" ending theme "Hare Hare Yukai" is incredible, it hits more than 4,000,000 views on Youtube:
Pay attention to the above video as you'll soon find more about the craze of the "Hare Hare Yukai" dance at the end of this article.
Expand your knowledge of Suzumiya Haruhi by reading more about the anime at Wikipedia. There, you will discover that there was actually a concert called "Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou" held for the sole purpose of "Haruhiism" (fandom of Haruhi). The Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou concert DVD was then released later.
History of Suzumiya Haruhi Back to history, the character Suzumiya Haruhi was initially created in 2003 in the form of light novel as printed at Wikipedia:
The Haruhi Suzumiya series is a collection of Japanese light novels written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito centering around the high school girl Haruhi Suzumiya, her strange antics, and her friends in a club she formed called the SOS Brigade. The series started with the release of the first volume on June 6, 2003 entitled The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya which was originally published by the Japanese company Kadokawa Shoten, but has since been licensed for release in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China by Kadokawa Media, in South Korea by Daiwon CI, and in the United States by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Yen Press. The first novel of this series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was awarded the Grand Prize in the eighth annual Sneaker Awards—only the third Grand Prize given out in the Award's history. The series went on to be a huge success in Japan, selling over 4,300,000 copies collectively.
Suzumiya Haruhi Wallpaper Download Tired of reading a bunch of text at Wikipedia? Here goes some nice Suzumiya Haruhi wallpapers to soothe your eyes. I could not provide the source of these wallpapers unfortunately, they were scattered all over my PC folders for already quite some time. Resolution of the below wallpapers vary from 1280x800, 1920x200, 1600x1200 and 1024x768 (click to enlarge). Alternatively, you can Google for more!
Aya Hirano, the Suzumiya Haruhi Seiyuu (Voice Actor) Before proceeding any further, let's study a bit about the voice actor of Suzumiya Haruhi, Aya Hirano (born October 8, 1987).
After graduating high school, she began seriously pursuing her seiyu and solo singing career. Her big break came in 2006, when she was cast as the voice of Haruhi Suzumiya, the title character of the anime series "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya". The show's public success has greatly enhanced her popularity and career in Japan. Her CD single "Boken Desho Desho?" containing the opening song of the show sold out in Japan the very day it was released.
This success was followed by her voicing two lead characters in anime based on popular manga (Reira in Nana and Misa in Death Note). Her popularity was confirmed at the first Seiyu Awards, where she won "Best Newcomer (female)", for her role as Haruhi Suzumiya; the same role also won her a nomination as "Best Main Character (female)". At the same awards, she was also nominated for "Best Supporting Character (female)", and earned two nominations for "Best Single" (One of which is a solo, Boken Desho Desho?; the other was a group nomination for the single Hare Hare Yukai). In 2008, she won the "Best Main Character (female)" award at the second Seiyu Awards...
Aya Hirano's Live Performance of "Boken Desho Desho?" at "Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou" Concert
SOS-Dan "Hare Hare Yukai" Live Performance at "Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou" Concert
Aya Hirano is making steps into the Jpop arena and her latest single "Unnamed World" was awesome, view full-length PV here. She is also going to release her very first studio album "RIOT GIRL" 15th July 2008, a must-have album for Jpop lovers! (more Aya Hirano releases)
"Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu" Merchandises Almost all animes have their own OST (Original Soundtrack) and the same goes to "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu". Play-asia has an extensive collection of OSTs as well as "Character" CDs for collectors.
• PVC Figures: FREEing 1/4 Series If you are a Haruhi figurine collector, you would have probably had the notably large 1/4 scale Suzumiya Haruhi PVC figure produced by FREEing in your posession. It's quite rare to find a 1/4 scale PVC figure but FREEing has done a great job making these large bunny series as shown below. These girls are dressed in glossy bunny outfit and fish net stockings (except for Kyon's sister).
Above: FREEing Suzumiya Haruhi Bunny version
Note: The above photo does not incude the upcoming "FREEing Kimidori Emiri Bunny Ver" scheduled to be released August 2008. For higher resolution, view this entry for my very own FREEing Suzumiya Haruhi figures collection.
Other popular Suzumiya Haruhi figures would be the posable Figma's Suzumiya Haruhi series, Nendoroid & Nendoroid Petit series, Metamo series and many more. Most websites manage PVC figures business on 'pre-order' basis therefore it is common to see old figures labelled "Out of stock". However, popular ones will most likely get a re-run.
• PVC Figures: Max Factory Figma series Lovely posable 13cm-tall figurines:
• Figures: Bandai Metamo series The Metamos change their colour when the temperature hits below 16°C (cold zone) or above 30°C (hot zone). Their colour do not change between 16°C and 30°C. I placed my Metamos right under my air-conditioner so when I switch on my air-conditioner, the Metamos will enter the 'cold zone' and their colour change magically.
Above: My Metamo Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Figure (hot zone)
Above: My Metamo Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Figure (cold zone)
• Electronic Games These are releases of Suzumiya Haruhi game for multiple platforms including PlayStation Portable (PSP), PlayStation 2 (PS2), PC and the upcoming Nintendo Wii game. They are all only available in Japanese language however.
- Sony PS2: Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi (Official site) Normal Version, Limited Edition It is worth noticed that the limited edition comes with Figma's Chouyusha Haruhi posable figure.
Above: Limited Edition
Above: Normal Edition
Above: Bundled Figma's Chouyusha Haruhi figure with the Limited edition.
Above: Life size Haruhi figure promoting "Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi"
- PC Game: Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekitou Blogger Kyon83 seems to have information about this computer game Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekitou. Visit official site here.
"Basically,its a 3-D versus game and you get to choose from Haruhi,Kyon,Kyon’s sister!!!Tsuruya,Nagato,Mikuru, Itsuki and 1 more Icouldnt remember. You get to go crazy with 4v4 or less, smack people around with hammers and chairs,use your special to do high damage and the list goes on...." Screenshots by Kyon83.
Above: New Suzumiya Haruhi. Vector image source: unknown
- Nintendo Wii: Suzumiya Haruhi no GekidouNormal Version, DX Pack version Aparrently it is a musical DDR-like game where (presumably) you will have to perform the "Hare Hare Yukai" Dance in front of your TV with the Wii Remote! Visit official site. (more info shall be added when this game is released). Screenshots and figure photos available at amiami.com and GameSpot JP.
Haruhi-ism Works Pt.I: Hare Hare Yukai Dance & Bouken Desho Desho? No idol survives without his/her loyal fans. In spite of the fact that Suzumiya Haruhi is a mere 2D anime girl, fans express their worship and craze toward Haruhi & her gang with unexpectedly impressive and remarkable fan works.
Remember the original anime ending theme feat. "Hare Hare Yukai" dance above? The below video proves that its popularity has gone worldwide!!!
Fans will do whatever it takes even if going outlaw is the only mean to pull out the "Hare Hare Yukai" street performance! (Must watch until the end of these videos.)
Since both anime "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" and "Lucky Star" (another anime) are quite closely related to each other (due to Aya Hirano voice-acted their main character -Haruhi and Konata-), this professionally rendered fan works has put the SOS-Dan to perform the "Lucky Star" dance, SUGOI!
There's also a "Miku Star" fanworks where Vocaloid Hatsune Miku performs the "Lucky Star" dance. And certainly, Hatsune Miku would not miss her own version of "Hare Hare Yukai" dance too:
Haruhi-ism Works Pt.II: Suzumiya Haruhi Cosplay & Kigurumi Prepare your drool bucket 'coz here comes moe cosplayer Arisa and Kipi! The first five photos belong to Arisa and the rest belong to Kipi. I especially love Kipi's last photo below.
Above: Suzumiya Haruhi Cosplayer. Kawaiii!!!
I'm quite surprised that there are actually Suzumiya Haruhi Kigurimi (着ぐるみ) too! *Hugs*
Above: Suzumiya Haruhi Kigurumi. Source: unknown
Upcoming Suzumiya Haruhi Anime Reportedly by Asahi news via Wiki, "The new season of the anime series was first announced in a full-page advertisement of Asahi Shimbun on July 7, 2007 in Japan". The article was later superseded by Newtype magazine, revealing that the upcoming Suzumiya Haruhi anime is known as "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu New Animation" instead of "2nd Season". Details are pretty much scratchy as for now.
Above: New Suzumiya Haruhi. Vector image source: unknown
Omake (Extras) Direct download hi-quality full-length video of the original Hare Hare Yukai dance (includes anime version and 3D Chouyusha SOS-Dan version) in ZIP format. Unzip password is shin-otaku.com
For being quite a fan of "Vocaloid Hatsune Miku" and "Lucky Star", I find these masterpieces mesmerizing, check out these parodies from one of my favourite anime "Kannaduki no Miko".
Above: Kannaduki no Miko (original image of Chikane Himemiya & Himeko Kurusugawa)
That's all folks. Thanks for reading this far! Blu-ray, CD/DVD and related releases:
The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya Complete Box (Blu-ray) Release Date: 2010-10-22 Stores: • Amazon JP • Yesasia US • Yesasia Global • CDJapan Description: The ultimate 8-discs Blu-ray box set with English subtitle of anime series "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" including all 28 episodes of the TV series rearranged in chronological order. Also includes two event footage of "The Extravaganza of Haruhi Suzumiya" and "The Symphony of Haruhi Suzumiya" and more bonus video footage. Special Features: bonus video Footage (tentative)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Chan & Nyoron Churuya San (Blu-ray) Release Date: 2010-08-27 Stores: • Amazon JP • Play-Asia • Yesasia US • Yesasia Global • CDJapan Description: Blu-ray box set release from anime series "Haruhi-chan" and "Churuya-san," super-deformed series basded on "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" aired on YOUTUBE. Includes all 25 episodes from "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Chan" and all 13 episodes from "Nyoron Churuya San" with English subtitles! Also includes lots of bonus footage such as TVspots.
@Shin and Fariz Asuka, Arigatou gozaimasu!!! Wow, the word "EPIC" is quite exaggerating but I'm happy to hear that LOL!!! I have had this idea of making an article or a mini site about Suzumiya Haruhi before I started this blog which was about 2 months ago. So I had been gathering info back then and prepared this :) Thanks again for finding this article interesting you guys!
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