Comments on: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) OP – Super Driver – Review

By: Suzumiya Haruhi Second Season Final Impressions – Grade: F (5.93/10) | Chikorita157's Anime Blog

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:14:37 +0000

[...] music was not great… Tomare was okay, but Super Driver is the WORST OP I ever heard (Yes, this tells you why it’s not good) and made my ears bleed. Personally, I’m not to fond with Hirano Aya’s singing, except [...]

By: zzeroparticle

zzeroparticle — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:25:04 +0000

@Razgriz
There’s really no expectations at all. If all anime OP/EDs were enjoyable listens, I’d be the happiest person ever. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t work that way so you’ll get some occasional flub like “Super Driver” is just business as usual.

Besides, music is one of those subjective elements. Somehow, I never felt that energy that you described, so that’s why I gave it a low rating, but I was somehow able to feel it in “Tomare” and therefore gave it a high rating.

By: Razgriz

Razgriz — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:11:32 +0000

I’m gonna have to side with the few people that like this song, i liked it, i have to listen to it every day in the morning, or i won’t have any energy……so i like it, and not only that….I LOLd AT Endless eight and actually liked it(surprising, isn’t it)….i think your hopes were just TOO high up zzeroparticle

By: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) ED Single – Tomare! – Review | Anime Instrumentality Blog

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:39:49 +0000

[...] From the onset, “Super Driver” and “Tomare!” were in for an uphill climb. “Bouken Desho Desho” and [...]

By: zzeroparticle

zzeroparticle — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:04:00 +0000

@Ivan
I think that even if you took God Knows out of the equation, the song is still pretty bad when you listen to it within the context of anime music in general. There are far better OPs that are worthy of attention than this one.

By: Ivan

Ivan — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:12:34 +0000

I really didn’t get your point.
Both songs were great. Guitar, bass, drums and vocals…

Maybe people thought that she would sing a better song than God Knows, but this is a quite hard to do. I didn’t expect that, so I’m not disappointed.

By: Karisu

Karisu — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:53:11 +0000

Yeah, I want to chime in myself with the rare “I really like this song” opinion.

I really like the energy in the song and am quite fond of Aya’s voice.

Then again, I’m in the minority that hasn’t totally hated Endless Eight (don’t love it, but certainly don’t hate it…think it was an interesting artistic experiment).

Of course topping the first seasons awesome songs was never really going to be possible either.

By: zzeroparticle

zzeroparticle — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:06:31 +0000

@Omisyth
Yeah, I’m just not feeling the energy that I think I was supposed to feel. :\

By: Omisyth

Omisyth — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:25:30 +0000

A shame, I liked it. But then again I like everything.

I SAY, I SAY, MY HEAVEN.

By: rhai saki

rhai saki — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:44:14 +0000

heheh.. hope to see you there..
arigato gozaimasu

By: rhai saki

rhai saki — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:42:41 +0000

huhuhuhu.. i love this anime…

By: zzeroparticle

zzeroparticle — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:16:21 +0000

@Sorrow-kun
Definitely agreed that she’s way overrated as a seiyuu. That is, she’s not bad, but she’s not as good as most people will give her credit for. As for her singing… she’s never really been that great of a singer anyways and I think that the only way she’s been able to achieve the success she has with some of her songs has been through studio tweaking.

@lelangir
I was thinking this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGRHs1BClhw

@Chikorita157
Yeah, I sorta knew what you were getting at. Even if those songs are a high bar to try to measure up to, it’s still no excuse for this huge drop in quality.

Also, right on when you note that most of her songs are ridiculously mediocre. Hyakko’s ED and Daughter of Twenty Faces’ ED have been grating on the ears.

@inhert
I’m not exactly mourning over this and I’m not sure many people are. Welcome to show business where the ability to deliver consistently is what is of prime importance.

@depthcharge101
Well, most of the J-Pop I listen to are related to anime in some way, so I don’t really get a chance to hear out mainstream artists all too often and when I do, the music isn’t that great anyhow.

I suppose not all artists can be like Nana Mizuki who is capable of consistent performances.

By: depthcharge101

depthcharge101 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:49:39 +0000

God Knows probably raised the bar a little too high for Hirano, and if everyone’s expecting that sort of quality from her consistently it’s only natural to be disappointed.

I wouldn’t say it’s particularly bad, it felt just like a majority of the jpop out there.

By: inhert

inhert — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:43:16 +0000

Seems like the hype with Hirano Aya is over…

By: Chikorita157

Chikorita157 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:50:03 +0000

@zzeroparticle
Maybe disaster was the wrong word… but Super Driver does not live up to the likes of Bouken Desho Desho or God Knows/Lost my mustic and it’s a big disappointment…

Although I like few of the songs she sung, most of her songs are either mediocre or not that great.

By: lelangir

lelangir — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:00:07 +0000

It might have been more interesting if they gave us an ominous-sounding OP….ONE THAT REPEATS THE SAME CHORUS 8[MILLION] TIMES.

By: Sorrow-kun

Sorrow-kun — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:23:38 +0000

“Aya Hirano’s inability to sing well”

Scathing. Though you’re quite right. The more I hear of her, the less I’m impressed by her ability as a seiyuu. I think time is going to eventually say that she’s a seiyuu who achieved her success by being at the right place at the right time, rather than her talent compared with her peers.

By: zzeroparticle

zzeroparticle — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:28:40 +0000

@Reltair
It’s actually kind of annoying that I even had to write all of that. What a disappointment it’s been.

@Chikorita157
I’m not sure I’d label the OP a complete disaster, but if you were making a cross comparison to all the Haruhi songs that have been released, “Super Driver” is by far the most lackluster of the lot.

By: Chikorita157

Chikorita157 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:54:05 +0000

This review pretty much agree with my opinions… The OP Single and the current Endless Eight airing is a complete disaster… which is very sad….

By: Reltair

Reltair — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:45:54 +0000

“This single, like the rest of the current Haruhi airing, only makes us want to go back to a time where the franchise was still fresh and enjoyable.”

Sums it up perfectly. =/