The event “SOS Brigade in Nishinomiya, Assemble! Over♪,” organized by Nishinomiya Style, will finally begin on July 7.
This event is being held to celebrate Nishinomiya, the setting of the anime series “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” being officially recognized as a sacred anime site.
“What is Haruhi Suzumiya?” “What does ‘sacred site’ mean?”
I can almost hear those questions, so let me explain a little.
What Is the Haruhi Suzumiya Series?
The “Haruhi Suzumiya” series is a series of light novels published by Kadokawa Shoten, written by Nagaru Tanigawa.
The first book was “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” followed by “The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya,” “The Boredom,” “The Disappearance,” “The Rampage,” “The Wavering,” “The Intrigues,” “The Indignation,” “The Dissociation,” “The Surprise,” and so on.
It was later adapted into a TV anime, and the high quality of the ending animation, where the characters dance to “Hare Hare Yukai,” became a hot topic. Incidentally, I’ve danced it before too.
The “SOS Brigade,” which appears in the title of this event, is the name of a group that appears in the series.
In fact, the series includes many place names that strongly evoke Nishinomiya.
The anime version also recreates Nishinomiya’s scenery with astonishing accuracy, and for a long time people have said there is no doubt that Nishinomiya is the setting of the story.
What Is a Sacred Site?
Originally, the term referred to a place of religious importance, but it has come to refer to locations that serve as the setting for anime, comics, and similar works.
Visiting such places is often called a “sacred site pilgrimage.”
People have been visiting locations that inspired fictional works for a very long time. In Nishinomiya, for example, The Makioka Sisters and Grave of the Fireflies are well-known examples. But it seems the expression “sacred site” spread among anime fans in the 2000s, after the internet became more widespread.
One theory says the first anime sacred site pilgrimage was for “Please Teacher!,” but you probably haven’t heard of that…
So Nishinomiya has long been familiar to Haruhi fans as a sacred site.
Naturally, many fans came here on pilgrimages.
However…
For a long time, neither Nishinomiya City nor Kadokawa Shoten officially acknowledged that Nishinomiya was the setting of the series.
After that, they gradually began hinting, in an almost officially approved sort of way, that Nishinomiya was indeed the setting. And now, a third-party organization has formally certified it as a sacred site.
That organization is the Anime Tourism Association.
In its annual list of “88 Japanese Anime Sacred Sites to Visit,” Nishinomiya was certified as a sacred site for “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.”
The chairman of this organization is also the chairman of KADOKAWA, formerly Kadokawa Shoten, so it would not be an exaggeration to call this Kadokawa-approved.
At last… at long last, it has been recognized!
The first book was published in 2003, so it took 16 long years. It really was a long road…
Summary
That is how much feeling is packed into this event, at least I think so.
We’ll continue sharing updates as soon as more information comes in.
Let’s all help make it exciting!!!!
(The official website is here)
https://haruhi.info/
