OMG his singing SUX!

Last night marked the beginning of American Idol. Because I like being annoyingly vocal about how much of a negative impact this show has on my life, I commemorated this tragedy much in the same way my grandfather commemorated the bombing of Pearl Harbor; with Microsoft Paint.
The message I'm trying to reveal here, through my art, is that I will be unable to visit any "news" site in the next five months without being fed an Idol-centric headline. Yes, the 34th season of this talent contest slash freak show is important to our society, and that makes me sighingly sad. Sigh. At least Yahoo! users still have some taste, their number 2 search term yesterday being "celebrity baby news." Only Katie Holmes, the doe-eyed mother of ones of these gems, could peak surfer interest more. Cool!

Seriously, though, Suri Cruise is gorgeous. I so took a number. Invest early.
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Hey! Anime is Okay, Magic Flower!


Did you forget about my newfound passion for anime? Did you try to? I'm a little upset either way. Regardless, this is the second installment, and the most important one yet.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Whereas my previous experience, Elfen Lied, definitely appeals to the more niche, hardcore anime fanbase (what with its naked, blood-lusty women and all), Haruhi Suzumiya presents a totally different side to the anime world. In this hemisphere, dialogue and character rule, bouncy breasts sneak in at second, and the rest serves primarily to complement the story. This is saying a lot, given the high quality art and animation of the series, but it's what I want to say. Kind of. What I really want to say is this:

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya awoke me to the fact that modern anime is a legitimate genre for good, intelligent television. I was as fooled by everyone else by Cartoon Network's imports - always samurai, always weird creature-robots battling for destiny, always formulaic sci-fi melodrama. The American-produced Afro Samurai (starring Samuel "you can't hang out with 20-year olds if you don't love me" Jackson) is a case-in-point example of such lazy anime production for lazy anime fans. That's not to say "traditional" anime is worthless. Frustrating would be a better word, with each series seeming to derivate from the next as slightly as it can. Look! A black samurai! Everything is so different! Completely original ideas may be an impossible expectation, but Haruhi Suzumiya tricked me into believing. Everything really was different, at least to my paduan eyes. The story is philosophically smart. The characters talk in sentences with conjunctions. I was blown away.

I'll stay away from detailing the plot, because the unraveling of what is actually going on in this world drives the first half of the show. I will reveal, however, that I classify the show as "existential frivolity." The first six episodes, which stand alone in creating the crux of Haruhi's universe, tell a creative coming-of-age story, evolving from the horrible recognition that the number of people you see in a stadium represents almost nothing of the real population and you are a part of that nothing. But it's fun! I swear! I've said enough, and I don't know if I wanted to. Here's a preview that reveals nothing, and everything, and features a song by Blogulator-approved (?) Skye Sweetnam:



The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (available on Netflix) comes with my highest recommendation. The first season (it's the only one so far) is only 14 short episodes long, for those of you with little patience. For those of you with a bit more patience, I suggest watching it in Japanese with English subtitles. I've heard some of the English voice-dubbing and it is terrible... as usual. I'll discuss that issue next time, when more than one of you is left to listen. $

Which one of you is left? Quincy?

This entry was posted by DoktorPeace, on Wednesday, January 16, 2008. You can leave your response.