Yuki’s quiet approach is threatened when a human typhoon pushes her way into the picture.
Creative Staff
Story: Nagaru Tanigawa
Art: Puyo
Translation/Adaptation: Paul Starr
What They Say
The casual, quiet literature club meetings are forever changed when Kyon and Yuki encounter a Kouyouen student collapsed in the street! The girl had been up all night trying to contact supernatural beings, but her chance meeting with these two North High students seems an equally good opportunity to break up the monotony of everyday life. Will Yuki make her voice and her feelings heard over the overwhelming presence of the new honorary lit club member – Haruhi Suzumiya?!
Content: (please note that content portions of review may contain spoilers):
The (maybe not so) quiet days of the Literature Club may be threatened as it is about to undergo its greatest challenge since the threat of being disbanded as a chance encounter in the pre-Christmas days will find the group’s dynamic forever altered. As Yuki and Kyon walk through a local park they find a girl on the verge of freezing to death and take her to a café where she recovers and a strange new friendship is born that will see the Literary Club’s membership climb by two members- too bad the members actually belong to another school and technically are trespassing.
Suddenly the quiet atmosphere of the Club’s room is shattered as the bombastic, impulsive and stubborn Haruhi Suzumiya has decided that this new club may not quite match her dreams of finding aliens, time travelers or ESPERS, but it is alright as this club looks to be interesting in its own way. Of course with Haruhi around “interesting” can be a dangerous thing as one never knows what she may decide on a whim to do and there is a chance that someone (Mikuru) may wind up kidnapped in an impulsive act.
But the most dangerous peril that threatens the balance of Yuki’s world is looming before her on the calendar as Valentine’s Day approaches and the reserved girl has worked up her nerve to make some chocolate for the boy she has been thinking about quite a bit but though she has a plan she may not have the skills. Worse is that even if she does manage to make some chocolate (with some assistance) is she is still going to have to work up the nerve to give it to her intended recipient and the time it takes for her to do so may allow for a major misunderstanding to take place. All may be fair in love and war but is the meek girl going to be able to muster up the courage to fully participate in the battle or will the victory belong to someone else before she can fully take the field?
The first volume of this series was one that had the ability at times to engage is some frenetic pace and energy but which in large part spent a good deal of its time playing t a more low key and measured pace as it explored the somewhat awkward relationship that was forming between Yuki and Kyon that was punctuated by moments of wildness from some of the supporting members. Now that Haruhi Suzumiya has appeared the sheer force of her personality starts to pull the tempo into something closer to her speed, a reality to which Kyon proves rather adaptable but which creates new stress for Yuki as it looks like she now has an additional rival for Kyon’s affections which may place her in the position of having to overcome her fears at an accelerated rate if she hopes not to be left behind.
While much of the humor found here is present in the absurd and over the top reactions that will give the series a rather broad appeal, fans of the franchise will find some rather low key in-jokes present that will reward them with some rather fun moments that play off the original series but do so in a way that won’t cause those who are picking this title up for their first experience with the Haruhi multiverse to feel lost or left out. What is here to be enjoyed by all is a sweet tale of a painfully shy girl trying to come to terms with her first love and discovering within herself how to express it while finding extra motivation to speed up her actions when she suddenly discovers that taking her time and keeping in her comfort zone may no longer be an option and so she will have to look to change herself to gain what she most wants.
There is a minor bit of an issue here in that Haruhi -even this universe’s version of her- has a very large, bombastic and somewhat gregarious personality that tends to draw others in either through charm or force of will and this ability tends to warp the surroundings until they move more as she wants them to then possibly as the others may wish or be able to fight against. Because of this the comic almost feels like it loses some of the identity it worked so hard for in the first volume to set itself apart from the existing portions of the franchise as Yuki at times seems to become almost a bit player in her own story, sidelined by a larger-than-life personality that moves with the charismatic force of a hurricane. While this may serve as an impetuous for the quiet girl the volume almost seems to want to spend a good deal of time with the character of Haruhi not just because she is getting a formal introduction to this version of the series but also to show how she is different from the version that became such a cultural marker which feels like Yuki gets lost a bit in the process.
Luckily Yuki does still get her chances to shine but with her name being the one in the title one can only hope that the balance between Yuki, the North High students and Haruhi comes a bit back to the center as Haruhi managed to pull things rather toward her at the expense of some of the other characters who had gotten a chance to shine in the previous volume. Still the volume works a rather impressive magic that uses its flawed and somewhat venerable in her frailties lead to grant an extra aura of charm to a romantic comedy that manages to both be a side part of the Haruhi multiverse while also having its own voice and capable of standing well on its own while provide some genuinely funny bone tickling moments along the way.
In Summary
The quiet days of the Literary Club are shattered when She-who-this-series-isn’t-named-after appears and blows onto the scene as unstoppably as a force of nature as she starts to drag the club and some of its participants along with her as she engages in her own desire to seek fun. With such a powerful personality making an appearance will the timid and meek Yuki find that she has lost the battle for Kyon’s affections through her slower pace or will she find the courage to fight for what it is she most wants? One thing is for sure, once Haruhi hits the scene the quiet days may be numbered but the result may be one that challenges the series’ lead to achieve more than she thinks possible when it comes to expressing herself.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: October 30th, 2012
MSRP: $11.99
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