Guillotine

So the first volume of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Manga arrived in stores last week, and of course I scoured the town looking for a copy (Don’t know how others may fare but the only local stores here carrying the book are Books A Million, and they only received 2 copies per store.) At any rate I secured my own copy and read it tonight while tossing candy at trick or treaters. Read my impressions after the jump.

I was a bit hesitant to even purchase this as I’ve read how much of a failure this manga was, but being an addict I can’t resist something new and shiny. About 1/4 of the way into the book I decided I wasn’t liking it, BUT… I found my self warming up to it at the end. For anyone that has misgivings about the manga I suggest you at least give it a try.

Now… Here’s why I think people are quick to judge. This is the same story as the novels and anime, but there are lots of changes. At first it may seem like there was a lot left out, but upon closer inspection the manga is simply taking a different path to get from point A to point B. Which makes sense… Between the novels and anime we already have a textual and visual representation of the story, so to print a manga with exactly the same story would be a bit pointless. So while the manga still gets to the same place in the end it tends to take a few detours and a few events are mixed up in the time line (not a big surprise with Nagaru Tanigawa who’s trademark seems to be writing things out of chronological order).

The artwork will probably send people who have become accustomed to the cuteness of the anime versions of these characters for a bit of a loop. They are drawn a bit different in the manga… I find they tend to look a bit dark and sinister (some of the expressions are even a bit creepy looking). There is also an abundance of chi bi-fied drawings (possibly an over abundance) that takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s another characteristic that gives the manga a different flavor than the anime.

A perfect example is Nagato… In the novels there was an ongoing plotline about Asahina being scared of Nagato. Of course knowing what Nagato is capable of we know she has a good reason to be scared, but how can anyone be scared of the cute Nagato from the novels and anime??? In the manga this fear is quite understandable as Nagato looks rather intimidating. A bit of a shock at first, but it has some potential to see the character in a different way than we are used to. It’s much easier to believe that Nagato is more than your average bookworm in this version of the story.

Asahina’s expression is understandable
given the way Yuki is drawn in the manga

Yuki Nagato definitely seems more intimidating

So while it’s a different experience I wouldn’t say the manga is “bad”, but rather that instead of simply adapting the same story to a third format the author has changed things up a bit. There are moments you will scream “That’s not how that happened!!!” as well as a few bits that seemed they should have been included in the original story from the beginning (like the bits of detail revealing Suzumiya’s manipulative nature that are openly portrayed rather than implied). I can honestly say that I am now anxiously awaiting the 2nd volume to see what else is different… Unfortunately the 2nd volume won’t be out until March 2009 *sigh*.

Another treat is in the back of the book… A 14 page preview of the translated volume 1 novel. All I can say is… I’m liking it. While I think the person (or persons) who took time out of their lives to do the unofficial translated versions that are floating around the net deserve massive props for the effort I was extremely pleased by seeing a bit of the official book. While it was nice to read the whole story I find that nothing substitutes the physical book being in one’s hands. I can’t wait till april comes so I can grab a copy.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of the manga online or can’t find it locally Amazon has it available here:

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya