On April 2, 2006, one of the greatest moments of anime history was made when "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" was first animated and aired. It's been a little over 10 years since then, and the voice cast has returned to commemorate the occasion.
In a recording posted on Lantis Channel's YouTube channel, the cast of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" came together to advertise the upcoming release of a compilation album to advertise the anime's 10-year anniversary.
The compilation album, titled "The Complete Soundtrack of Haruhi Suzumiya" ("Suzumiya Haruhi no Kansō"), will feature the complete soundtracks of the first and second seasons, including previously unreleased tracks. Furthermore, the opening and ending themes, as well as insert songs and radio theme songs, will be included.
It will arrive in Japan on July 7 and be priced at about $46 (4,700 yen). In addition, certain retailers will offer unique bonuses based on one of the five main characters if you do them the honor of purchasing the soundtrack from their store:
Gamers: B2-size poster of Haruhi Suzumiya
chara-ani: 75-millimeter or 3-inch pin badge of Kyon
Sofmap: Mini shitajiki board of Mikuru Asahina
Tower Records: A4-size clear file folder of Itsuki Koizumi
Animate: B5-size artboard of Yuki Nagato
The broadcast also had a neat tidbit of information thanks to the musings of Aya Hirano, the voice actor of titular character Haruhi Suzumiya. While gushing about the SOS Brigade's "YouTube debut," she mentioned that future projects for 2016 are in the works.
"We're planning to do lots of other stuff as the SOS Brigade this year, so make sure to check for news!" Hirano said.
It's unclear what she means by "other stuff." Another project is sure to be in the works, but it's highly unlikely to be anything grand, like a third season. Whatever it is, it's sure to be something that will commemorate the anime's 10th anniversary.
"The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya" follows narrator and protagonist Kyon as he's reluctantly dragged around by his female classmate, Haruhi Suzumiya. With his help, she forms the SOS Brigade, whose purpose is to investigate extraordinary events and make contact with the paranormal. Together, they meet and befriend Mikuru Asahina (a time traveler), Itsuki Koizumi (an esper) and Yuki Nagato (a humanoid interface), who reveal themselves to Kyon as the very types of people that Haruhi has been seeking all along. It turns out that each of them had been sent by their respective organizations to observe Haruhi, who, unbeknownst to her, has reality warping powers, and to prevent those powers from being unleashed. This leaves Kyon, as the only normal person in the group, tasked with the unfortunate objective of trying to maintain the illusion of a normal high school life for Haruhi.
Adapted from a light series that ran from 2003 to 2011, the series has been highly popular, spawning various video games, manga adaptations, the aforementioned anime series (as well as a spin off featuring Yuki) and more.
Check out an archive of the broadcast below:
