Although she is an odd person, Haruhi is also very talented. She's a natural athlete, and has even showed musical inclinations. However, she's also very selfish and stubborn, but won't harm the other members of the S.O.S. Brigade in her quest to indulge in the unusual.

Kyon - Even when he was a youngster, Kyon hardly ever believed in things like aliens, time travelers and 'Espers', much less Santa Claus. So when he entered high school, he resigned himself to be just an average person that never believed in them. But then, that was before he sat in front of Haruhi Suzumiya, who on the first day announced in class she would only associate with aliens, time travelers, 'Espers' and the like.

Apparently, Kyon found out from the other students in the class that Haruhi often had did unusual things during her time in junior high, not to mention turn-down every date she was even offered. They had one bit of advice for Kyon – stay away from her. However, Kyon was curious about her, and for some reason became the only person in school who would even talk to her.

That was his first mistake. Since then Haruhi has dragged him around to help her find these entities she speaks of.

Yuki Nagato - Yuki Nagato is a student in the same high school which Haruhi Suzumiya and Kyon attend. Originally, she was a member of the literature club... but since the rest of the members graduated the term before, she was present when Haruhi took over the club room when she formed the S.O.S. Brigade. She then became the first member to "join", besides Haruhi and Kyon.

Personality wise, Yuki is a rather dull person. She appears not to pay too much attention to all the chaos Haruhi causes, instead keeping her nose in a book. She also tends to speak in an emotionless monotone. But not long after the club was formed, Yuki had invited Kyon to her apartment for tea. It was there she told him a startling story.

Yuki had revealed that she was, in fact, an artificial data interface serving something called the Integrated Data Entity, and she had been on Earth for about three years – the same time that Haruhi had discovered she was no different than any other person on Earth – and as a result unconsciously recreated the universe. Yuki was assigned to Earth to observe Haruhi, for which the Integrated Data Entity believed that she was the key to human evolution.

Mikuru Asahina - Mikuru Asahina just happens to be one of the students that Haruhi drags into membership into the S.O.S. Brigade, which at the time Haruhi formed to find aliens, Espers or time travelers. Although a very buxom girl, the boys in the school stay away from her because of her innocent attitude. This doesn't stop Haruhi from using the poor girl in many of her hare-brained schemes, from dressing her up either as a maid, a bunny girl or a nurse while in the Brigade's club room.

It wasn't until later when she confided with Kyon the truth about her. It seem that Mikuru was a time traveler herself, and was on a mission to find out why time travel was not possible past a certain point in time – which was when Haruhi found she was as insignificant as any other person. But when Kyon tried to press the girl into proving her story, all he got from Mikuru was the facts he was asking was classified.

As stated before, Itsuki almost always seems to be smiling and not seeming to have a care for the world, even in the face of the moody Kyon. However, on one day, he did confided in a secret to Kyon, when they were not within Haruhi's earshot. It seems that Itsuki is an 'Esper', one of the beings Haruhi is seeking to meet. He only came to realize his powers three years ago – which coincidentally was on the very day Haruhi realized that her life was not as unique as everyone else's lives. Now her occasional moodiness is inadvertently causing unusual events known as "closed spaces" – practically-invisible voids – to appear in the city, which then follow the appearance of 'Shinjins', gigantic entities that represent Haruhi's frustrations, which then wreak the buildings within these closed spaces. If these closed spaces and the 'Shinjins' within them are not dealt with quickly, they have the ability to swallow up the entire earth and in effect, end all existence.

Itsuki is a member of a mysterious organization known as "The Agency", which believe that Haruhi possesses some form of god-like ability, and when her frustrations open the closed spaces, he, along with other 'Espers', do battle with the 'Shinjin' created within, thereby collapsing the spaces. He even shows Kyon what he has to deal with in order to let him know that he is the key to help Haruhi maintain some form of emotional stability... or else the earth is doomed if he doesn't.

Thoughts

Art/Visuals - To be honest I was not all the surprised with how the art itself turned out. However the visuals were actually pretty refreshing. So I'm not exactly sure, my thoughts on this are pretty 'wishy-washy'. 7/10 R.A.S. (Redgame Approval Stars)

Plot/Characters - As far as the plot goes it is actually pretty well developed. It's not really a plot you see very often and because of that adds another refreshing aspect to the anime. It's actually pretty easy to follow (in my opinion). The characters are alright I suppose. They are likable in many ways, the only thing that I thought needed some work on is the development. While the first couple episodes do give some information on the characters it is hardly enough to work with. Plot - 9/10 R.A.S. / Characters - 7/10 R.A.S.

(NEW REVIEW SECTION) Voice Acting - The voice acting is pretty well done in both the original Japanese and the English. While both casts are also the casts for Lucky Star that doesn't seem to change much of anything. Although I must admit, the English dub could of done better in many fields. Japanese - 9/10 R.A.S/ English - 8/10 R.A.S.

Overall - I must admit that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is an anime that I would reccomend to you anime fans out there. Every bit of it will keep you entertained. Although I must warn you. The order of the episodes gets confusing as there is three orders in which you can watch it. I suggest for you seeing it for the first time that you watch the series in the DVD order which is in numeric order so its easier to follow. MUST SEE. Overall Score - 8/10 R.A.S.