Manga Review: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Vol. 1
One of the big licensing announcements at New York Comic-Con '08 was from Yen Press, as they added both the manga and light novel versions of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya to their publishing line-up.
For fans of this anime sensation, this was big news -- but a hit anime doesn't always translate into big manga sales. Nevertheless, anime's favorite headstrong, alien-hunting heroine Haruhi Suzumiya enjoys a cult-like following in certain circles, so anticipation was high for the October 28 release of the first volume of the manga.
If you're already part of the SOS Brigade, you don't need much convincing to pick up this book. And I'm happy to say that if you loved the anime, you will likely not be disappointed by the manga.
If you've never watched the anime or have just been outside the squealing range of otaku who adore this character, then I don't want to spoil the fun. Tanigawa and Tsugano take readers on a wild ride that starts off like a typical high school comedy, but goes way, way beyond that to be almost cosmically, mind-blowing-ly bizarre.
Check out my review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Volume 1 by Nagaru Tanigawa and Gaku Tsugano from Yen Press and see if it converts you to the cult of Haruhi, or if it just leaves you baffled and feeling 'ordinary.'
Also! About.com has added a new feature to the review pages -- now you can add your own ratings and comments for any manga that I've reviewed on this site, complete with the spiffy 5-star rating system. Just look at the top of any review page and click on the "write a review" link to get started. You'll have to register with About.com to get this going, but it's free, so how hard can that be? Check it out and let me know what you think!
Image credit: © Nagaru TANIGAWA, Noizi ITO /KADOKAWA SHOTEN © Gaku TSUGANO /KADOKAWA SHOTEN
Comments
First of all, I wanted to congratulate you for your terrific website. As an anime and manga lover, it has been very helpful and informative.
I am currently doing a project for my Speech class, and we’re studying non-verbal communication used strategically for the job that we want when we are older (I’m in 8th grade and I’m almost 14 y,o,).
Since I want to be a mangaka, and the teacher wants us to interview someone that is in the same field, I was wondering if you would know any mangaka I could e-mail (ANY). I have many favorite ones, but I just really need any e-mail from any mangaka that has been working in this for a few years. I wirte and read Japanese, so e-mailing won’t be a problem.
I’d really appreciate any help you can provide.
Sincerely,
Michelle (Michiko) Daidouji
Hi Michelle,
thanks for your nice words of praise for manga.about.com.
i’m glad you’re finding my site useful and interesting!
now, finding a manga-ka who’d be willing to correspond with you for your school project? that’s a bit tricky. if you can read and write japanese fluently, you could always look up various artists at their personal websites and send them a note that way.
you may have better luck reaching out to an american artist. several post their artwork on sites like deviantart.com or they have their own personal websites.
you could also try to send a note to the various artists care of their publishers. mailing addresses are usually available in the front few pages of any given manga. But this option may take weeks or months to get a reply, if at all, so that might not work for your project.
would anyone out there like to lend a hand?