Young male Japanese manga fans are crazy about the protagonist of this cartoon series.
Haruhi and her club mates
Haruhi Suzumiya is the main character in a cartoon series that’s very popular in Japan, and young male manga fans are especially crazy about her. Japanese Otakus have coined a word, moe, which means something like "having a fetish for something". Many Otaku use this slang expression to express their passion for Haruhi Suzumiya, they say they feel moe towards her.
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) is a series of novels written by Japanese author Nagaru Tanigawa and targeted at Japanese adults. The series won several awards, and, to date, it has sold over 5.6 million copies. In 2006, several episodes of the story were broadcast on television in its anime version and they’ve now been rescheduled at 1 a.m.; a slot targeted at adult viewers.
Synopsis
The series is about Haruhi Suzumiya, a high school student, and about the people who end up getting wrapped up in her mad schemes. Haruhi founded a club called "SOS Brigade" whose aim is to "locate aliens, time travelers, characters with supernatural powers, and beings from other dimensions". The brigade is destined to "save the world from boredom with an overdose of entertainment".
The Characters
The "SOS Brigade" club is made up of 5 members:
Haruhi Suzumiya: The main character, is a very pretty girl, full of energy, intelligent, and often eccentric, who founded the "SOS Brigade".
Kyon: Is one of Haruhi’s classmates. He tries to stop Haruhi from going too far, but he doesn’t always manage to do so. The story is narrated from his point of view and in his voice.
Yuki Nagato: Is a bibliophile that was sent to Earth to keep an eye on Suzumiya. Yuki Nagato loves computers and can change data at will and even create it out of the blue.
Mikuru Asahina: Haruhi considers her the official mascot of the "S.O.S Brigade" and she makes her wear an endless number of disguises. She is a self-proclaimed "time traveler".
Itsuki Koizumi: Always smiling and willing to give his all to meet Haruhi’s demands. He claims he has powers, but they always seem to be on pause, except when Haruhi is under pressure, stressed out, or in a bad mood.
You can watch the series’ pilot episode here:
There’s also an official parody of the series that you can watch here. A great number of related products have been created as a result of the series’ great success, such as video games for Nintendo’s Wii and vinyl action figures of its characters. It’s also become a fad for people in Japan to learn "Haruhi’s Dance".