Personal Review: The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya

Review By Jong Chung

The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya– The second volume of the Haruhi Suzumiya series, and one that is usually referred to as “The Sigh” arc by the fans. A bit direct in terms of naming convention, but at least it doesn't spoil the surprise of what the arc entails.

Kyon and the cast of (the self-proclaimed esper) Itsuki, (the self-proclaimed alien) Nagato, (the self-proclaimed time traveler) Mikuru and (the self-indulgent) Haruhi make a return with The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya. Once again, they divulge in things extraordinary– such as... movie directing?

Most of you that are fans of the series hopefully remember the strange first episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Right, that “movie.” This volume is effectively the “making of” of said movie, more or less. The focus of the story isn't simply that, however. As you may have guessed, the story revolves around the mystery surrounding Haruhi Suzumiya and her suspected powers.

This time, I would like to step carefully around spoilers. The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya in its animated form has not been shown yet to the audience here in the shores of the U.S., after all. And hence, I hope you can bear with me for a rather short evaluation of the novel. I would first like to call attention that like the first volume, The Sigh also has two versions in print: a hardcover version with the original art as the Japanese version of the novel, and a more minimalistic softcover version. While this does not present any big differences either way in terms of content, but it is something to keep in mind if you plan to collect the Haruhi Suzumiya series.

So what makes this worth purchasing/reading? Well, one obvious reason is that for the fans of the series outside of Japan, it is brand-new material. (I realize this review is behind by quite a bit of time, but I hope you will forgive me for that, reader.) This arc is also important in establishing and developing the relationships between the multitude of factions that have an interest in Haruhi behind the scenes. While we know of the “representatives” of the esper, alien and time traveler factions, we also find out that Haruhi's whims have caused not only a stalemate, but also a temporary truce between the three groups. While they are politics in an abstract sense, it introduces the strife from behind the scenes over the rights to wield Haruhi's mysterious powers for themselves. While I felt that was the most important piece of info to be had from this volume, there is also the issue of the volume's conflict. As seen in the first volume, Haruhi's constant self-indulgent mood and whims create (possibly) the most grating experience for the cast. I hesitate to say this, but I suppose Haruhi herself is presented as the antagonism through out The Sigh arc through her angst and manifestation of her powers in strange and seemingly harmless ways that cause the SOS Brigade endless amount of headaches.

Well, that is all well and good but you may be asking yourself now– what makes it NOT worth reading? It is difficult to say whether there is a single factor that put me off from reading The Sigh, but I would have to say that Haruhi herself tired me. Surprise!

I do not know about most of the faithfuls of this series, but Haruhi is a very difficult character to liken myself to, and hence feel very overwhelmed and tired by her selfish acts throughout the series. At times, I verbalize words of gratitude that Kyon is the narrator. What I mean to say is that it felt like a struggle to enjoy the times Haruhi decided to do something simply on a whim regardless of the trouble she causes to everyone around her. Perhaps that is a strange reason to not enjoy it fully, but it is my reason at the very least.

If you've read that carefully, reader, then you know what I truly mean to say: once again, is it worth it? Absolutely. Are you in for a difficult read? Perhaps, if you are anything like me, yes. Then ultimately, should you read it?

Yes! Despite my own minor complaints, it is not a bad read obviously, as the writing style is still as refreshing as The Melancholy was. If anything else, at least help out the Light novel scene outside of the U.S., it is a cause well-worth supporting, I assure you.
© 2010 Linda Thai