The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya (light novel) (Volume 5) (The Haruhi Suzumiya Series, 5)

Haruhi is a well known and long running series and if you're reading this review then you know all that already. Like many such series there are expected status quo that you might know, but what this book does that the previous ones did not is break that status quo, if only a little. While Kyon does grow and change by inches over the course of the stories, everyone has leaps forward including the author for this one. For this review I will discuss the Anime, the light novel and the Disappearance of Yuki-chan, as they're all kind of weirdly relevant.First you should know that many, but not all of the stories in this book are in the anime. This isn't always true, as book four had one of the biggest story departures of them all which is kind of important as it is the basis for the spin-off Yuki-chan. For me, the spin off was rather long and took away too much of what made characters likeable, specifically Yuki herself, but this book actually contrasts it in weird ways. Essentially the entire Haruhi universe seems to be oddly connected, including spin off stories in another dimension.My initial question was how the light novel would handle the time loop. If you are not fully familiar with the show then you might not know that the timeloop story is rather infamous. In the anime the same story and even scenes are recycled for many episodes. It is really hard to imagine people coming back to a show week after week to be given more or less the same thing and be okay with it, but they literally do it. Picking this book up a very real part of me dreaded that it would be the same for chapter after chapter. While the time loop felt heavier in the show, the book manages to convey a lot of the say story in a few pages. The timeloop is one of the shortest stories in this book and much better than the anime version.Next up we have the computer club storyline. This one is very similar to the anime version, but this time there is some growth in how the characters interact and more over what Haruhi is saying about it. Before it just seemed like a showcase of Haruhi being Haruhi and everyone else reacting around her, but Yuki's grown is starting to show and so is Haruhi's. This is the first time she starts to make large overtures to friends extending beyond the brigade by calling out the notion of junior members. This is a concept that continues and feeds into the next point.The final story is one the author calls their longest short story ever. It's a really excellent curtain call and I won't spoil it but the entire book was very nearly worth while for that one story. Haruhi herself plays a much smaller role, but instead we see some of the other brigade members get a front row seat. This is excellent because largely they seemed flat going into this. Nagato has had some growth but Koizumi or Tsuruya of all people. Even Haruhi has growth and very real questions of the future starts to pop up. This is also the first time the story made any notions of LGBT being a thing. Haruhi acknowledges that it exists in a non judgemental way and the book suggests that there might even be LGBT brigade members. It's subtle, but rather refreshing.In the end I cannot find fault with this book. It is the most fun I've had with a Haruhi story for a while, since the first three usually start strong and start to get stale. Book four was good and book five really builds off of that. If you're in to the series then you should be glad to know this one won't let you down, there is more depth here than usual and a lot of connections to other Haruhi media.

While the first 2 portions of the book have already been addressed in the Anime Adaption, I found the 3rd tale (Snowy Mountain Syndrome) to be one of my favorite SOS Brigade adventures yet! I cant wait until volume 6 gets translated and released in November, and for any fan of the series this book should make an excellent addition to their collection.

The series really matures along with Tanigawa's writing style. There is fairly decent character development, and even the rampant references get toned down and placed more appropriately.

With this fifth entry in the original light novel series, we finally get a glimpse at what the SOS Brigade gets up to outside of the timeline covered by the anime adaptations (including the 'Disappearance' movie). The third (and longest) of the short stories collected here, 'Snowy Mountain Syndrome', takes place after the Christmas party alluded to in the Disapearance, and it's fascinating to get some new information on the changing motivations and growth of the characters. This is completely unchartered territory for Haruhi fans (and for the characters themselves...).The first two stories, 'Endless Eight' and 'The Day of Sagittarius 3' have already been covered in the anime. The 'Day of Sagittarius 3' plays out pretty much the same as the anime adaptation, albeit with a bit more attention to the actual tactical events of the game, if that floats your boat. As for 'Endless Eight'... I'm a big supporter of the anime adaptation, as I think it was a very subtle and successful experiment with the TV medium that just can't be captured correctly in written form. So here we have just the final snippet of the looped Summer, and the speedy resolution definitely feels lacking if you were a fan of the anime. Otherwise, it's a nice little story that doesn't carry that much of an impact.As for the writing and translation, there's no real difference here compared with any of the other light novels in the series. It's capable and fun, if sometimes a bit convoluted. But if you want to read characterizations straight from the creator of the series, you have to be willing to accept some of the weaknesses that come with it.Recommended, and I can't wait until the next entry (which is out now).

Excelent book, Just what I wanted!

thank you so much and i recommend it a lot, you should buy it quickly you are going to enjoy it

My favorite series of all time!

Love It

O livro veio normal porém uma das páginas no meio do livro veio completamente destruída e amassada teve um pouco de trabalho pra ajeitar mas deu pra ler por cima perdeu uma estrela

Haruhi has a special place in my heart. What can I say except that it is one of the ultimate classics all light novel and Manga readers have to read. "The Day of Sagittarius" is a classic, I watched the anime episode first but I loved reading the story too and seeing the differences. Loved the art especially the front cover which is very cute.

Bonito diseño, fácil de leer.

Aquí termina lo que personalmente considero el primer arco de esta serie, a diferencia del segundo libro, las historias contenidas aquí se sintieron mejor planificadas.

Thank you!