Haruhi Suzumiya is a Japanese light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. The Light Novels are named as The _____ of Haruhi Suzumiya where the blank is the emotion or the current mental state of Haruhi such as Melancholy, Sigh, Boredom, Rampage etc.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is the first book in the entire series but the anime adaptation is named only after the first book. The adaptation of this Light Novel series was done by the very reputed Kyoto Animations.

Haruhi Suzumiya is a quirky and fun Sci-fi Light Novels series which doubles up as a Slice of Life story at the same time. It is often credited as being the series that almost single handedly started the entire Light Novel craze because of how popular the anime was during it’s broadcast period.

Although an extremely popular adaptation, the anime has a few drawbacks to it, the most major one of which is the broadcast order of the episodes. The episodes were not aired in chronological order and this created much confusion.

So here I am simplifying the Haruhi Suzumiya watch order for you people.

Haruhi Suzumiya Watch Order: The Broadcast Order

When the first season of Haruhi Suzumiya aired on TV, the episodes were aired in a random order. Apparently this was done to give the series a big climax at the end of the Melancholy story arc. But when the series was sold on DvDs, they were sorted into a chronological order.

Later on Funimation re-arranged both seasons. They moved episodes between both seasons so that their version follows a complete chronological order. This version is what most of the streaming sites will have on their catalogue now.

But for fans who want to watch Haruhi the way it was released in 2006, here’s the original broadcast Haruhi Suzumiya watch order of season 1

• Episode 11: The Day of Sagittarius
• Episode 1: Mikuru Asahina’s Adventures
• Episode 2: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya I
• Episode 7: Mysterique Sign
• Episode 3: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya II
• Episode 9: Someday in the Rain
• Episode 8: Remote Island Syndrome (Part 2)
• Episode 10: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya IV
• Episode 14: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya VI
• Episode 4: The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya
• Episode 13: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya V
• Episode 12: Live Alive
• Episode 5: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya III
• Episode 6: Remote Island Syndrome (Part 1)

Season 2 follows chronological order at broadcast, except for the first episode which should be in season 1 timeline wise.

Haruhi Suzumiya Watch Order: The Chronological Order

To make a Chronological order, we are simply going to follow the order of events that took place in the Light Novel –

• Season 1 Episode 2: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya I
• Season 1 Episode 3: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya II
• Season 1 Episode 5: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya III
• Season 1 Episode 10: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya IV
• Season 1 Episode 13: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya V
• Season 1 Episode 14: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya VI
• Season 1 Episode 4: The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya
• Season 2 Episode 1: Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody
• Season 1 Episode 7: Mysterique Sign
• Season 1 Episode 6: Remote Island Syndrome (Part 1)
• Season 1 Episode 8: Remote Island Syndrome (Part 2)
• Season 2 Episode 2: Endless Eight (1)
• Season 2 Episode 3: Endless Eight (2)
• Season 2 Episode 4: Endless Eight (3)
• Season 2 Episode 5: Endless Eight (4)
• Season 2 Episode 6: Endless Eight (5)
• Season 2 Episode 7: Endless Eight (6)
• Season 2 Episode 8: Endless Eight (7)
• Season 2 Episode 9: Endless Eight (8)
• Season 2 Episode 10: The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya I
• Season 2 Episode 11: The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya II
• Season 2 Episode 12: The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya III
• Season 2 Episode 13: The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya IV
• Season 2 Episode 14: The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya V
• Season 1 Episode 1: Mikuru Asahina’s Adventures
• Season 1 Episode 12: Live Alive
• Season 1 Episode 11: The Day of Sagittarius
• Season 1 Episode 9: Someday in the Rain
• The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (movie)

An important thing to note –

An important thing that fans who are looking for the Haruhi Suzumiya watch order should note is that only the season 1 of the anime was broadcasted in a random order and season 2 was broadcasted episode wise.

Most anime streaming websites will have the Funimation version of the anime where episodes are shifted between seasons to keep a complete chronological order.

Endless Eight

Thee Blasphemous Endless Eight, oh should thou watch it or nor? For those who are new to the series, Endless Eight is an arc where Haruhi and her gang of misfits repeat or loop through the same set of days with minor changes. And for those who indeed know what this arc is, it is one of the most definitive experiences of this series.

Why you ask?

Because it seems like the same episode is repeated again and again. So how should you watch it? Or should you even watch it?

As I said, Endless Eight is the one of the cornerstone experiences of Haruhi Suzumiya, something that sets it completely apart from any other sci-fi series. So yes, you should definitely watch it but it will definitely get very tedious for most viewers.

To watch this arc, start with Endless Eight Part 1, which sets up the scenario. Then move on to Endless Eight Part 2, which reveals that something has gone horribly wrong. And then finally watch Endless Eight Part 8, which resolves the whole situation and concludes the arc.

The rest of the episodes could very well be considered filler unless you are a completionist.

Spin-off Series

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan(2009) is a chibi styled gag series, completely non-canon and just for laughs. You can watch this one or skip it.

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan is another anime based on the spin-off manga of the same name. It takes place in a version of The Disappearance movie’s alternate universe. This one contains more romance than the original, especially for Yuki. It’s a very interesting take on the series.