Funny Little Men

Funny Little Men may well be a successful and internationally renowned animation-and-design-studio, but that doesn't prevent us from bemoaning our choice of occupation every now and again. We've been known to consider changing direction altogether and turning Funny Little Men into a toy company or chocolate manufacturer.

Last time we went through such an identity crisis, Suzumiya Haruhi was the one that saved us. She restored our faith in animation and made the world one potential chocolate manufacturer poorer. 

When Suzumiya Haruhi no Juutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) hit the airwaves in 2006, it took Japan completely by storm. And it's easy to see why. The script is one of the cleverest we've seen for a very long time. It's witty but not in a rapid-fire-of-one-liners type of way. The characters and their relationships are perfectly defined with Haruhi being one of the weirdest main characters we've seen for a long time. And despite the fact that we hardly speak any "nihon-go", we love listening to the Japanese soundtrack, such is the quality of the voice acting.

The directing is second to none with an unfailing sense of pacing. The result is a story told with such fluidity, the result looks totally effortless and seamless. The whole series displays a depth and genuine understanding of film language rarely seen amongst animators.

On the credits, someone is referred to as "Director of Photography" which may seem weird in this digital age, until you see the gorgeous, lush imagery. The layouts and camera angles are top notch and always interesting. Every shot has been treated with gradients, glows and colour corrections, creating a visual richness and warmth unlike anything else. It's the fact that these effects change on an almost shot-by-shot basis that really makes them so effective, constantly modulating the camera's perception.

But in the end, it's the sheer fun factor of this series that makes it impossible to resist once it gets under your skin. It's catchy, bubbly, sparkly and bursting with positive energy. The sort of things we old cynics never imagined ourselves embracing so wholeheartedly.

By the way, we wont tell you what the actual story-line is. Those who want to know, should find out for themselves. The rest is unworthy.