By Nagaru Tanigawa and Puyo. Released in Japan as “Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuutsu” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Ace. Released in North America by Yen Press.

The Haruhi franchise has always had one big problem, which is that the light novel and anime releases are generally (Endless Eight aside) fantastic, whereas the manga is merely a serviceable adaptation. The few places the manga has generally had time to shine is where the author is allowed to do his own occasional side-story original chapter.

That’s why I was so pleased to see Yen license this. It’s a 4-koma gag manga, based off of the original series, which runs in Shonen Ace alternately with the regular Haruhi manga. And being a gag manga, it’s not restricted in any way, either by characterization (Yuki wouldn’t do this!) or by plot. The result is pure fanservice in many ways, being essentially the artist reaching out and pushing as many fan buttons as he can, but given this is Haruhi Suzumiya, he has a lot to work with.

I won’t lie, this isn’t fantastic. The art is just as average as the regular Haruhi manga, but in a different way. And as with all 4-koma mangas, some gags simply don’t work. But it’s funny. Gleefully taking apart its source, this is a manga willing to have Haruhi accidentally roll down a flight of stairs, or have Ryoko come back as a miniature super-deformed version of herself. The essential thrust of the characterization is still there… Haruhi makes unreasonable demands, Kyon makes a sarcastic retort, Mikuru twitches and is tortured, and Koizumi smiles enigmatically.

Well, there is one glorious exception. Yuki Nagato is still her deadpan self, mostly. But then the artist does a gag comic which shows her playing an Ero Game instead of reading, and you can see the lightbulb go off over his head. Suddenly the idea of Yuki the otaku is born, and it leads to wonderful places. This is then combined with her interaction at her apartment with the tiny Asakura, where Yuki not only gets a well-deserved chance to be the boke in a tsukkomi routine, but actually has to control her laughter at some points. Mostly as seeing Asakura frustrated is just too adorable.

(Yuki, by the way, is also the star of a second spinoff manga, The Disappearance of Yuki Nagato, which runs in Kadokawa’s seinen Young Ace. This one takes her 4th movie characterization and spins it into a light romantic comedy. I suspect Yen will license it as well once it has enough volumes.)

It’s hard, as with many subjective 4-koma, to describe why I enjoyed this so much. And it’s possible that the humor may not win over others. And yes, just as with its parent manga, the anime is even better, although there isn’t the same major drop-off, just a minor one. But really, it’s Haruhi with tons and tons of gags, super-deformed madness, and fun. Pandering of the best sort, the type that doesn’t also offend the sensibilities. Heck, the light novel author in the afterward says he wishes his own series was more like this. Even if you’ve avoided the original manga, you should check this out.

By Nagaru Tanigawa and Gaku Tsugano. Released in Japan as “Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Ace. Released in North America by Yen Press.

And here we have another volume of the Haruhi manga, this time finishing off the 2nd novel, and featuring the story Live A Live from the 6th novel. This is, I believe, the first manga volume to not only come out after the anime that North American fans saw before it appeared, but also after the novel itself, which Yen released in November 2009. As such, it’s running at a double deficit. Triple for me – the 2nd novel is my least favorite, as I think it has Haruhi at her worst, with no redeeming qualities.

This is especially noticeable in the most notorious scene from Sighs, where Haruhi behaves so appallingly that Kyon actually moves to hit her. In the book, it’s a startling moment, with an illustration devoted to Haruhi and Kyon facing off. Unfortunately, in the manga it’s far too rushed, merely looking as if Kyon is feeling especially violent that day.

To contrast this, we have a great example of the manga fixing something where the novel was lacking. After this blow up, Kyon is reminded that he needs to stop Haruhi from getting angry/depressed enough to remake the world, so he goes in and basically says to her, “Let’s do this movie, yeah!” It’s utterly unconvincing. The manga, on the other hand, has him trying to think what would make more of an impression, and getting Mikuru to film a new promo for the movie (one without commercials) to air. This galvanizes Haruhi into doing a mega hyper voiceover, and all is well. It’s the best moment in this volume.

The less said about Live A Live, the better. The anime took this story and turned it into the highlight of the entire first season (and possibly the second as well). Without sound, and rushed into a single chapter, it’s just mediocre as all get out. And the cute side-story about Kyon’s sister sneaking into the festival reeks of filler.

However, as ever we are redeemed by the larger original to the manga story, in which Haruhi and the others head to a lake that is rumored to have a Water God. For once, Haruhi doesn’t seem to believe that there’s actually something to this. So why is a boy missing, and why is the fog rolling in? The purpose of this story, besides creating a tense mood while tracking down the missing child, was to give Nagato some depth, and I thought it worked very well. It’s especially nice to see Nagato acting on her own for her own reasons, as opposed to merely interacting with Kyon and doing what he says.

The manga has the same strengths and weakneses as the prior volume, and again I suspect will only be bought by hardcore Haruhi-heads. The next volume should be very interesting, though… it’s the start of Disappearance, which is thought of as the best of the novels, and recently had a kickass anime movie filmed of it. Can the manga rise to its material and make it a trifecta of awesome?

By Nagaru Tanigawa and Gaku Tsugano. Released in Japan as “Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Ace. Released in North America by Yen Press.

I really have to feel bad for the creators of the Haruhi Suzumiya manga proper. Not only do they have to deal with the fact that the original novels and the animated adaptation are superior to it, but also that the two spinoff manga, the 4-koma Haruhi-chan and The Disappearance of Yuki Nagato, are more interesting than their parent manga. And then, to add insult to injury, this volume boasts on the back cover that it’s the manga adaptation of Endless Eight, leading many fans who are still traumatized by the 2nd season of the anime to recoil in horror and flee.

And indeed, when it’s merely an adaptation, the manga is predominately a failure. Endless Eight and the start of the 2nd novel are covered here, and they don’t get the room to stretch that the novel or anime give them, so they look rushed. (Note: Endless Eight is, like the short story, merely one iteration. In case you were worried.) Also, the art is frankly only okay, and sometimes looks sketchy and unfinished. If you’re reading this manga to enjoy the stories you’ve read and watched before, I’d expect to be disappointed.

It’s especially disappointing as whenever the manga *isn’t* doing a straight adaptation, it shines. The short chapter from the POV of Shamisen (who is, at this point, still a “normal” cat is intriguing, and dovetails nicely with the adaptation of the 2nd novel, where Yuki feels a frisson of recognition when she’s given the cat for the filming. And the sports festival chapter, hinted at but never shown in the novel and anime, is simply excellent, showing Haruhi once again altering the universe to her specifications, but also showing her not being a total jerkass (rare at this point in the series – her development is the point, after all) and some nice moments for everyone, even Mikuru!

Unfortunately, these chapters are surrounded by lesser quality adaptations, and I’m not sure I can recommend the manga to anyone who’s not already a Haruhi fanboy and thus would buy it anyway. If you *are*, however, the middle of the manga will give you a nice bonus.