The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I like Anime. However, I'm one of the rare discriminating anime fans. Unlike some, it takes more than the mere fact that I'm watching a Japanese cartoon to be impressed. I've been a fan of anime since the late 80's when the only way you could get your hands on it was if you were a member of a VHS club that imported tapes straight from Japan and made copies for everyone. I remember the days before subtitles when you had to rely on some guy in the group who spoke Japanese to translate it for you and print off companion guides that you read while watching the movie. I think Record of Lodoss War was the first anime I watched like that. That's old school.

Nowadays however, anime is both popular and abundant. Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad, and now the challenge isn't finding anime, it's finding anime that is worth watching. In the 90's there was a release of some truly terrible anime to the US market targeted primarily at 8-11 year old boys. This type of anime is called Shōnen in Japan. I know it's strange of me to want what I'm watching to be more than narration over a single frame with a background that alternates several times a second (epileptics beware!), and not tied into a collectible customizable card game.

Seinen anime is directed more at men 18-30+. It's generally written and animated better than Shōnen, and isn't the kind of anime that will make most post-adolescents groan when it comes on the TV. There are several different genres of Seinen anime, but most of them are set in contemporary or near future Japan where one or two elements of the story vary a bit from actual reality.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a very good example of good Seinen anime. The writing is excellent, the premise isn't way off in left field and there is humor laced throughout the entire story. Haruhi Suzumiya started out as a manga that has been successfully translated into one season of anime where aliens, espers (psychics) and time travelers exist. The main story revolves around five high school students, three of which are an alien, an esper and a time traveler, although Haruhi doesn't know it.

To give away more of the story would really turn this post into more of a spoiler, and I don't want to do that. You should be able to find this series just about anywhere that sells anime right now, but it not, no doubt you can buy it online, or borrow a copy from some friend of yours who still lives is their parent's basement.