Personally I think the original light novels are better than its adaptions. I thought that after reading the first light novel (after the anime of course). But I also like the anime and that will always have a special place in my heart because that’s what got me into the series in the first place.

In my opinion, most the episodes were kept pretty close to the original in 2006 (season 1). But in 2009 (season 2) things started to differ A LOT more, especially with that Endless Eight thing. So what I mean by saying that the light novels I’m not exaggerating. I MEAN IT.

Then I read the the last part of the story where it descends into utter incoherency and pulls one of the most deus ex machina endings I’ve seen in ages. And no I’m not talking Code Geass submarine launching upgrade parts Deus Ex Machina, I’m talking literal out of nowhere, what the heck just happened, oh and now everythings fine just accept it type stuff. And right at the climax too. To add insult to injury they basically hit the reset button on everything that had happened to move the characters along in that chapter, making it ultimately nothing more then a distraction for the readers. That’s about the point I realized that the author will darn well drag out his novel series as long as he wants to, hitting the reset button any time he think there’s been too much progress that he might actually have to end the series. And then that’s when Haruhi just became a wacky antics/fun distraction type series for me. It never was a masterpiece for me, but reading the novels clinched what it would become defined as for me.

To me there is no plot in Haruhi. It’s just a bunch of stuff that happens. I can’t even call it SOL because it has too many science fiction and fantasy elements to really be anything close to normal life, which is supposed to be something the franchise doesn’t want to be like anyway. Haruhi is not a plot driven series, but a character driven one through and through. It relies on it’s main character (Kyon) to convey what is happening, and it also relies on it’s characters actions to provide the stimuli. Unfortunately I do not find the characters particularly deep and thus am required to fall back on their outrageous personalities and actions to make the franchise for me. That is what Haruhi is to me, watching the characters engaging in wacky antics and letting the time go by.

On one hand, I can see that the show (and the novels, to stretch it a fair bit) does have a fair amount of artistic and literary benefit (as much as the Asian/Japanese/Singaporean mindset allows me to). the novels aren’t too bad, really, and the show can be a fun watch.

On the other hand…

Due to all the retarded fan hype, I can see that it suffers from FF7-itis. For all those not in the know, FF7 was touted to be one of the best frickin’ JRPGs of it’s time, and some say for all time. Now FF7 isn’t too bad, really, it does what it does really well. Unfortunately just because it does everything well, that’s where the retarded fan hype comes in. One can only tolerate “OMFGWTFBBQIT FF7 IS THE BEST GAME EVAR!!!!!!!!!!111111111111″ so many times.

It’s the same with Haruhi.Only this time, they’ve mutated retarded fan hype into a frickin’ religion. That’s a lot worse than screaming that it is the best show ever. One one one.

Good post. In my opinion, the Haruhi series is a masterpiece. Actually, I don’t even know what I like about the series, that reason alone has made it a masterpiece. First of all, I want to praise the unique plot of the series. No other animes that I have come across is the same as Haruhi. Also, the good choice of characters made the series more amazing. I love Haruhi so much that I can’t think of any bad things about it (which is rare). Maybe only one thing, it’s too short…(the anime that is).

After reading your post, I feel ashamed for not reading the novels even though I’m a huge Haruhi fan. But I feel glad as well because, according to you, the novels are better than the anime, and the anime is awesome. So, something that is better than ‘awesome’ is just godly. But, I don’t enjoy reading any novels, including Haruhi novels. Yes, I fail as a Haruhi fan. So, I’m hoping that KyoAni will animate most, if not, all the novels. I’m looking forward to The Disappearance Of Suzumiya Haruhi that is in production. People say that ‘The Disappearance’ is the best novel in the series. Being the best among the best must mean something, right?

As for your article, I agree with you immensily, having read the novels too myself. The anime is an excellent adaptation of the first novel and the little side stories later on but if you’re only an anime-watcher of the series, you know you’re not getting the whole thing since there are LOTS of questions that need to be answered (i.e. what happened 3 years ago, etc). Hopefully the next Haruhi series will do the upcoming arcs justice.

Now, for the anime (so far) being masterpiece? I wouldn’t say so. But its definitely an engaging, unique, and FUN series that I think any big anime fan (but not the casual kind) should watch. I don’t think Evangelion is the greatest thing since sliced bread but I can understand why it has such a huge following and gets all its praise of people claiming it to be a “masterpiece.”

Again, nice job. :)