The following show is highly addictive - if you proceed further you are are likely to suffer one or more of the following symptoms:
1. Obsessiveness
2. Downloading of pirated episodes
3. Compulsions to dance
4. Delusions
5. Paranoia
6. Pregnancy
That in mind (meaning I've warned you so I can't be blamed for anything that happens hereafter) we'll begin.
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Let me tell you a very strange story. Seven weeks ago the first episode of an anime (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) based off a series of novels was released in Japan - today these novels occupy 5 of the Top Ten slots on Amazon Japan's best-seller list.
Six days ago the end credits CD single 'Hare Hare Yukai' was released - in one business day, every single copy in Tokyo sold - the next day, shops restocked and the exact same event repeated itself.
As for the Anime istelf - in seven weeks, and in just seven episodes, it has been ranked as the second-best-anime EVER MADE using an internet bayesian estimate (this is an estimate, not the average of the votes) - in Japan young men dance the end credits song on street corners and the first EXCLUSIVE convention event has been booked for September.
And abroad? Aside from people walking around E3 with 'Hikaru Suzumiya' armbands, the episodes are being downloaded like crazy in western countries - Youtube is flooded with parodies (300-400 results for the show name on Youtube alone) - and the fanbase is already large enough to spawn a underground fan community (300 members in seven weeks) - there is a good chance that in one year the anime Haruhi Suzumiya will be ruling the governments of most of the Eastern Bloc, with incursions into Western Europe and the USA.
The odds are that when it comes up for English translation, blood will be shed as the studios wage total war for the license!
And we haven't even gotten into the plot yet:
"On the first day of high school a beautiful girl named Haruhi Suzumiya introduces herself as having "no interest in ordinary humans". She asks for any aliens, time travelers, sliders or espers to join her. Watching her weird behaviour is Kyon, a boy who sits in front of Haruhi and is the only person who talks to her. Commenting on Haruhi's joining every club in school and then quitting Kyon unwittingly gives Haruhi an idea to start her own after school club. Thereafter Kyon and several others find themselves literally dragged into the Save our world by Overloading it with fun Suzumiya Haruhi's Brigade (the S.O.S. Brigade for short)."
Minor Spoiler
In short, Haruhi is GOD! Somehow or other she posesses the ability to warp reality to her tastes, but she herself does not realise it - the upshot though is that if her team looses a Baseball game, her disapointment might just wipe out all of Space and Time, in accordance with LTT Theory #281, 'What happens when a teenager is bestowed with Divine powers for Who-the-h**-knows-what-reason!'
The show is very good, but if you want to learn more of the eccentricities, plot-twists, whacked characters or STUNNINGLY GEORGOUS animation, you'll have to see for yourself - but you have been warned!
YOUTUBE LINKS
Opening Credits
Ending Credits
EPISODES - These are hosted on Youtube in several sections, each link takes you to the part A clip of the respective episode.
Episode Zero - Warning, this one is basically a big joke - chronologically #0 comes after all the eps aired to date and is basically a home-movie made by the SOS Brigade, so don't be put off
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Episode Four
RELATED VIDEOS
Strike of the Otaku!
MIKURU BEAM! Female Character #2, Mikuru, takes on the pirates of One Piece with her 'eye-lazer'...
...and Evangelion...
...and Gundam Seed...that girl's got some serious eye-drops!
I leave you to your doom!
Ray
