I was looking around for info on the Haruhi novels for a friend who was too lazy to do it himsefl, and I came upon this: a book from a company called Cocoro Media titled Haruhi Suzumiya Yearbook: A Guide to the Many Moods of Haruhi Suzumiya. Here’s the blurb on the book and author:
Product Description
This fanbook explores the world of a teenager named Haruhi Suzumiya, who holds the fate of the universe in her hands. Unfortunately she doesnt even know it! Even the most mundane aspects of daily life become perilous when she is around. A simple game of softball could lead to the end of life as we know it. Luckily for Haruhi a dedicated group of super-powered teenagers have assembled to protect her from herself, all the while protecting the world from Haruhis monstrous creations. This companion guide provides insight into her life, where the travails of being a teenager are magnified into earth-shattering events. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has been described as the most popular anime in Japan and has become a big hit in America as well.About the Author
Kazuhisa Fujie is an Über otaku and proliferate writer on anime and manga related themes, and author of numerous books in the Mysteries and Secrets Revealed! anime sourcebook series. He lives in Tokyo with his bass guitar and tropical fish.
Now, Cocoro Media (who I knew as the publisher of those Cosplay Girls and Japanese Movie Posters) has actually published any number of anime guidebooks, including Death Note, Nodame Cantabile, Bleach, and even Mushishi…how did I not know about those? Have any of you spotted these and picked them up? The reviews on some of them on Amazon are rather scathing (particularly when it comes to spelling/typos), but I’m kind of curious now, honestly.
Tags: random, Suzumiya-Haruhi-no-Yuuutsu
July 14th, 2008 at 10:45 am
I bought one way back and I keep picking them up to see if they get any better. They don’t. They really are awful. Some of the “questions” they answer, they answer with an opinion. Really, that’s all they do. They answer their own made-up questions with either opinions or spoilers. And you can’t even know what’s true or not since a lot of the answers are just opinions anyway.
They’re a complete waste of money basically.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:57 am
I’ve seen them around but never gave them much thought. Just figured they were just trying to cash in on what’s popular with some quickly-made fanbook. Can’t really speak towards the quality of the content myself though.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Wow, I’ve never seen those books before either. I’m always on the look out for goodies like this so I can’t understand why I’ve never seen them in bookstores like Border’s where I see a lot of other English books about anime. But they sound interesting, though maybe not the best for really die-hard fans (probably better for younger or beginner fans). About the Haruhi yearbook, I wonder if the author will incorporate info about the novels in the book or if he’s just gonna focus on the anime.
And if you’re still looking for info about the Haruhi novels (I assume you want info without actually having to read the entire novels) I wrote summaries and a chronological timeline on my site if you’re interested: http://www.animeyume.com/suzumiya_haruhi/tmohs_timeline.html