Unboxing [US]: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Complete Series: Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)

Here's a quick recap to explain this pickup - I pre-ordered the set on the day that the UK officially voted to leave the EU and I pre-paid early because I feared the rate would get worse down the line. And by the time the set had arrived, I was already back in Uni so it was only until now that I was able to open the set.

So here's a look at the recent collector's edition set from Funimation.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (also known as Haruhi Suzumita no Yuuutsu) is a slice of life comedy drama crazy shit that Haruhi keeps pulling out of nowhere series from studio Kyoto Animation (note: they didn't animate The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, Satelight did that) and based on the light novel Haruhi Suzumiya. The series aired in 2006 and became a cult sensation in Japan and throughout the anime community. Eventually the hype died down when the second season aired thanks to the 8 episode arc Endless Eight (which is actually important to watch to understand The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya). But the franchise did continue with an ONA series, film and a spin-off.

The Funimation Ultimate Collector's Edition release includes the following Haruhi Suzumiya titles:
 - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

 - The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya

 - Nyoron Churuya-san

 - The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan

The difference between the standard edition and this collector's edition are as follows:
 - All titles are on Blu-ray (with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya also including a DVD disc for extras)

 - The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron Churuya-san's Blu-ray version is exclusive to this release

 - 8 flimsy artcards

 - Chipboard artbox with a slot for The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya film

There are 7 Blu-ray discs with this release; 4 for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (regions A & B), 1 for The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron Churuya-san (region A), and 2 for The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan (region A). There's also a DVD disc for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for the extras (since the show is SD), however it is region 1 only. All discs have locked subtitles. Note that Season 1 of Haruhi Suzumiya is an upscale while the second season (and the other titles) are HD Native. The subtitles are locked are all titles. Now there's a ton of on-disc extras for this release which is impressive, but it's worth noting that the OVA included for Nagato Yuki-chan is not dubbed and one of the episodes where they had to change one of the VAs due to the show being part of a broadcast dub was not changed at all.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Blu-ray Specs:

Languages: Japanese, English

Audio: Dolby TrueHD 2.0 [Japanese], Dolby TrueHD 5.1 [English]

Video: 1080i SD Upscale 16:9 (Season 1), 1080p HD Native 16:9 (Season 2)

Region: A B

Subtitles: English

Subtitles Locked: Yes

Discs: 4

The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron Churuya-san - Blu-ray Specs:

Languages: Japanese, English

Audio: Dolby TrueHD 2.0 [Japanese, English]

Video: 1080p HD Native 16:9

Region: A

Subtitles: English

Subtitles Locked: Yes

Discs: 1

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan - Blu-ray Specs:

Languages: Japanese, English

Audio: Dolby TrueHD 2.0 [Japanese], Dolby TrueHD 5.1 [English]

Video: 1080p HD Native 16:9

Region: A

Subtitles: English

Subtitles Locked: Yes

Discs: 2

Plot Synopsis:

Kyon is a cynical and sarcastic teenager. The first day of his first year of high school is filled with hopes of a normal school experience hopes that are immediately dashed after meeting the beautiful and eccentric Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi is athletic, brilliant, and completely bored with life. At Kyon's accidental suggestion, she decides to create her own club dedicated to finding and observing life's oddities like the aliens, espers, and time travelers she believes walk among normal people. Now, Kyon and a ragtag group of recruits are Haruhi's right-hand men in the newly formed SOS Brigade. But all is not what it seems. The quiet bookworm? Alien. The busty sophomore? Time-traveler. The handsome transfer student? ESPer. And the biggest surprise? They're all there because Haruhi herself has the ability to reshape the world as she sees fit. Maybe Kyon should have joined the literature club.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - On-Disc Extra Content:

-Blu-ray Disc 3-

Special Ending

Textless Opening & Closing Songs

U.S. Trailer

Trailers

-Blu-ray Disc 4-

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Making-of

New Mysterious Discoveries Journey

Location Scouting Video

CM #1 - Ver. 1 & Ver. 2

CM #2 - Ver. 1 & Ver. 2

TV Commercial Spot Collection #1

TV Commercial Spot Collection #2

Retail Promo Video

Promo Spots 1-14

-DVD Disc-

Behind the Scenes of Aya Hirano's Music Video

Anime Expo 2007 Guest of Honor Intro

Uncut Launch Event Video

Nekoman Gallery #1-#5

Broadcast Previews #1-#13

Special Teaser

Endless Eight Prologue - Summer - An Audio Slideshow

Special Ending

Textless Opening & Closing Songs

U.S. Trailer

The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron Churuya-san - On-Disc Extra Content:

How About Oniguchi? Episodes

Oniguchi Commercials

TV Commercial Spots

Retail Promo Video

Textless Opening & Closing Songs

Trailers

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan - On-Disc Extra Content:

OVA - I Cannot Let Summer Break End

Textless Opening & Closing Songs

TV Spots

Blu-ray/DVD Promo

U.S. Trailer

Trailers

Collector's Edition Extras:

Chipboard rigid box packaging

8 Artcards

Mini Episode Guide Booklet

Here are the photos for the Ultimate Collector's Edition set:

Haruhi Suzumiya is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Funimation in North America. In the UK, Season 1 has been acquired by Anime Limited while the rest (minus Nagato Yuki-chan) are available on DVD by Manga UK.