DGFischer

This is a case of what one would say if not informed by background knowledge.  Without this, one could easily say that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya formed a legitimate premise of an eccentric girl (title character) forming a quaint school club to investigate aliens, time-travelers, and espers ... then unbeknownst to her (but not to her longsuffering colleague [friend? acquaintance? romantic interest? grunt labor?] Kyon) fills up with these very types.  Once this was done, the series broke down to a set of random episodes covering a murder mystery, a botched film production for the school arts festival, a mysterious destructive force derived from Haruhi's depressed emotional states, and a miserable day in the life of Kyon.  Dull, sloppy, boring stories.

Get the basics of the Kyoto Animation production.  The stories are based on a highly popular light novel and manga series which Kyoto picked up for a short run of 14 episodes.  It is better described as a Haruhi Suzumiya sampler.  In 2009 (three years after this edition) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya would go from fourteen flavors of the freaky to twenty-eight.  Flavors of the strange and imaginative world of the characters which make up the SOS Brigade, a club which seeks to investigate the bizarre and supernatural.  And, while some episodes can be perplexing, it is only by understanding the wider range of novel/manga/anime/movie sets can one give this series a fair hearing.

You just must get by the weird twistings around the emotional Haruhi.  Beautiful yes, but equally moody.  Energetic one moment, subdued the next.  Obsessed with her own ideas and unconcerned how they impact her peers, she sexually assaults club member Mikuru Asahina to gain explicit photos in maid, bunny, and nurse costumes.  She proudly believes her arts festival film is a masterpiece of brilliance; it isn't.  She is cruel at times to Kyon, the first boy in her class to dare speak to her.  It is through Kyon that we learn the importance of the unfolding (and oft-times collapsing) of the plotline; Kyon is the narrator throughout, and we gain the perspective of the tormented victim of Haruhi's plans.

While Haruhi's character is vivid to the point of jagged, she is not the only quaint-folk in the series.  The SOS Brigade, Haruhi's club, is dripping with them.  Yuki Nagato is a quiet, bookish type who joined the SOS Brigade since the Literary Club's room transferred to the Brigade and Yuki just didn't move with it.  Highly analytical in approach, Yuki hints to Kyon that she is an alien android on a mission to keep an eye of Haruhi's activities.  Mikuru Asahina is a gorgeous girl who is exploited by Haruhi for her looks.  She hints to Kyon that she is a time-traveler who has come to watch Haruhi.  She even comes as an older version of herself to prove that she is not insane.  Itsuki Koizumi is a transfer student who is witty and soft-spoken (much like Fay of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle) and has revealed to Kyon that he is an esper.  Actually, he is one of a team of espers who have taken an interest in Haruhi.  Why?  Because Haruhi's wild mood swings and depressions can be harmful to the world, bringing on all sorts of destructive entities that could run amok.  Solution:  keep Haruhi's spirits up.  Go along with her crazy notions.  Go with her flow.

This is the gist of the fourteen episodes which plod along.  This is the major flaw in the MofHS enterprise.  You can't guess which direction an episode will come.  And, once it comes, you find it hard to wrap a head around the inconsistent plot offerings.  Expectations solidify and original ideas can't seem to advance beyond Haruhi annoying Kyon and harassing Mikuru.  It was a boon that the expanded series of 2009 did much to make the storyline more chronological.  Still, it was a cultural sensation from 2006 through a series of imaginative movies through 2015.

Haruhi Suzumiya might be an acquired taste, but go in knowing all you can know about the Haruhi phenomenon.  If not, you can't appreciate the wide range of odd characters and outlandish plotlines.