The Melancoly of Haruhi Suzumiya Vol.4 Special Edition [2006] [DVD]

After many adventures and many more misadventures the SOS Brigade return once more for the last volume of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
What Kyon thinks will be a normal school culture festival turns out to be pretty bizarre. For starters, Haruhi's surreal movie has just been released, Yuki becomes a freakily accurate fortune teller, Mikuru is working at the cosplay cafe and Itsuki is in a play. and to top that all off, Haruhi and Yuki join a rock band, which to Kyon's surprise aren't half bad.
The wierdness and the laughs continue in the second episode on this disc, 'The day of Sagittarius'. The computer club has made their own war video game and they have chalenged the SOS brigade to an all out battle. Being the arrogant character she is, Haruhi can't turn down this challenge. This battle is hilariously and imaginatively captured by the creators and it makes for one of the finest MoHS in the series. Fans of videogames will really enjoy the parodies that this episode creates. For example Haruhi although being the team leader, always charges into the frontline and keeps acting like a Noob. The final episode of this disc and the series, does little to tie up loose ends of bring any closure - A final defiant disregard of sticking to the stereotypes.
The animation continues to be be simply superb, with the epic battle scenes during the second episode looking absoluteley gorgeous, bright and beautiful. If theres one thing no one will be able to forget, it's the exquisite artwork (or maybe the ridiculously catchy ending theme song). The music and voice acting are all spot on. I absolutely love the English Voice actor for Kyon, Crispin Freeman, who has voiced Itachi in Naruto, Arucard in Hellsing and Togusa in Stand alone complex. I particularly love his nonplussed commentary throughout the series. Haruhi is voiced by anime veteran Wendee Lee who has provided her voice for many famous roles such as Akira, Ninja Scroll and Bleach. Another one of my favourites is Johnny Yong Bosch's voice of the character Itsuki - Anything with Bosch in is bound to good. Other voice actors here are Stephanie Sheh and Michelle Ruff who work together to create a brilliant all star voice over for this series.
Like the previous DVD volumes, this final installment also contains a plethora of special features, including making of featurettes, ASOS Brigade shorts, beez entertainment trailers and more, making this set well worth the money.
Haruhi Suzumiya is a crazy anime that doesn't take itself too seriously yet does not go over the top. It is a series that will appeal to many people but, will have more of an impact on fans of the anime and videogame world. However, there is so much packed into this series that most people are bound to find something that tickles their funny bone. Whether it be the craziness of the characters or the frequent parodies the many references to anime and other areas of Japanese culture.
This anime is definetly one not to miss, and should be on any anime fans shelf. Furthermore, if you enjoy this anime, then you'll be glad to know that this is not the end of Haruhi Suzumiya. In fact there is a sequel series currently being made (at the time of writing this) and there are mangas and the original novels to be released over here. So be prepared to be seeing more of Haruhi and the SOS Brigade in the future...