It’s time for another Rising Sun, and after a look at the serious Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, we’ll be looking at a far more ridiculous series today! In actuality, we’ll be doing a double review of The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron! Churuya-san, which were released as a pair on FunimationNOW.

To tide people over until The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya recieved a second season in 2009, Kyoto Animation opted to produce a series of shorts involving chibi versions of the characters getting into ridiculous situations, occasionaly parodying aspects of the main storyline. Meanwhile, a fan-comic called Nyoron! Churuya-san was picked up as an official installment of the franchise, and it too recieved an animated adapatation.

Haruhi-chan starts off using CGI animation, and while I think switching back to a regular animation style works in the show’s benefit, it was a good attempt at CGI. This is Kyoto Animation, so the animation is as kinetic as always. And trust me, some good running gags are present here, such as Ryoko Asakura (who died in the main storyline) coming back wrong, and Yuki Nagato becoming a games & anime geek. Of course, poor little Mikuru is also the butt of many jokes, screwing something up or being swept away by a gust of wind.

Once all the Haruhi-chan episodes are over, we begin Nyoron! Churuya-san, which is drastically different from it’s sibling. Here, a simple-minded chibi version of Tsuruya from the main series goes on a quest for smoked cheese, failing every time, partially because this series depicts everyone else aside from Ryoko as complete jerks. It still cracks me up to see how many times Tsuruya gets screwed over, and I love the CGI animation here, and the deadpan expressions of everyone in the cast.

The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya & Nyoron! Churuya-san are available together on FunimationNOW, and are well suited for someone who likes madcap humor