So... this show makes you depressed? If the thing about the series is that it makes you depressed because you relate to haruhi or whatever, maybe deal with that a little bit. I don't find it depressing in the slightest, so maybe it's you. :/
Also Mikuru had a pretty standard sounding moe voice, at least in japanese, and I didn't have any problem with it. The animation was detailed and fine (at least for season one before it was k-on-ified), and the character designs were all pretty standard. I don't know how you could have a problem with it. Season 2's kinda irritated me because it was such a shift; not that it was bad, I liked k-on's art style fine, but it didn't really fit. To me the only problem I really had was that the series didn't have as much of an overarching plot as I would like. It kinda sorta did, but not much.
It's not really that I relate to Haruhi as much as it is that I just find the whole situation overwhelmingly sad at times. Like during Endless Eight for example, while most people where upset and pulling their hair out, I just felt very morose.
The shojo-ey character desgins just isn't really my thing. It's personal taste, I suppose. There's just something about the way the eyes are done that I find to be really distracting. And I agree with you about the art shift. S1 was far more richly detailed than S2.
As for Mikuru...I just can't really get over her moe-moe voice. It's a little bit better in Japanese, but I think it has more to do with reading vs. hearing. :/
If you can "somehow" turn yourself into a Reality Warper, doesn't that already make you one?
Murrl LustFatM
While shoujo probably pioneered the big eyed look, it has been a prominent feature in light/visual novels for quite a while, and in recent times, the number of anime adapted from mediums other than manga has risen sharply. To put it simply, it's not as much a shoujo thing as it is a 'moe' thing.
Just watched the first episode. Have to agree with everything said about Mikuru's voice. Was actually pressing mute whenever she talked.
Yea I always did feel something was weird about the character designs. Haruhi especially tends to have this weird look on her face where her eyes seem squinty and too far apart, then her mouth is this big fishbowl below it. Her cheeks seem kinda blobby too.
Mikuru's voice does get annoying, especially when she's whining over being violated, but I was too annoyed with Haruhi to be annoyed with her. That computer club scene, and the effect it had on Mikuru. That was just... Ugh.
When you think about it, Haruhi is somewhat depressing. To quote Haruhi's entry in Parody Sue, "There's also the fact that her "literal" God Mode is a direct obstacle to one of her main goals — to experience the supernatural.Much of the series involves the others running around trying to keep her in the dark. Her presence also makes their lives harder instead of better, with no actual upside." It really does make one wonder if Kyon shouldn't have changed the world back in Disappearance.
I also have to question how much the True Companions trope comes into play, since Yuki, Mikuru and Itsuki don't seem to trust one another, and all of them are essentially putting on facades for Haruhi, so they don't seem to trust her, either.
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Overrated, Overdone, and Surprisingly Sad.
Mostly, my opinion of Haruhi Suzumiya is due to Hype Backlash. I've seen plenty of other series that handle and accomplish Genre Busting much better and leave you more satisfied, so it really fell short for me there.
It's a unique premise, but the characters have all been seen and done before (at least at first - there's some mild Character Development that's lacking from other shows), so if you're looking for something with insanely unique characters and interesting backstories, look somewhere else. The animation is detailed, the atmosphere is nice and some scenes genuinely leave me in awe - but I think the character designs are hideous and tend to take away from that. Thatlast part is subjective and just my opinion, though - the shojo-ey art style certainly isn't for everybody, but there's something about their designs that just grinds my gears. I still haven't really gotten used to it, either.
Next up: Mikuru. To me, she's the most annoying character ever created and hearing her speak in both the Japanese/English dub makes me want to insert pens into my ears. I don't really mind her personality I guess, it's the whining and crying and that damn voice that pisses me off so much that at first it was all the reason I needed to drop the show. I didn't, though.
What I did get from the show, was depressed. Am I the only one who thinks that a girl feeling so lonely in this world that she may or may have somehow turned herself into a Reality Warper just to give her life some meaning to be absolutely depressing? I actually can't more more than two or three episodes of this show at a time without feeling extremely morose. Seriously, it's been around months since I've started watching it and I still haven't finished (it probably has more to do with Mikuru, though). Perhaps it's because I can relate to Haruhi of all people, which is odd for me. Either way, the only thing that keeps me coming back to it is how depressing it is, oddly enough.
I hear Itsuki gets some development in the novels...there also seem to be more interesting arcs there. I'd like to read them, but I'm not really sure if I want to subject myself to this horrendously overrated series in written words.