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The manga for the fan favorite series, “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu), drawn by Gaku Tsugano, will release its final chapter in the next edition of the monthly manga magazine, Shonen Ace (on sale 9/26), and fans are already feeling a little bit down in the dumps.

The original ranobe (from “light novel”, a common name for short, easy-read novels) story of Haruhi was written by Nagaru Tanigawa in 2005 and illustrated by Noizi Itou. From there, the idea spawned its first manga adaptation by artist Makoto Mizuno, which ended after just one volume. Tsugano then took up his pen and kept the story of Haruhi and her impossible adventures going for 19 full volumes to date.

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Since its explosion of popularity, Haruhi has seen many incarnations, including anime series, hand-held games, and spin-off manga like “The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan” (Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu) and “The Intrigue of Itsuki Koizumi” (Koizumi Itsuki no Inbou). This isn’t even counting the plethora of fan made goods and short gag comics about Haruhi and her S.O.S. Dan.

It’s no wonder fans felt a pang of sadness when they read the manga artist’s comment in this month’s issue of Haruhi: “Next issue is the final installment! I’ll do my best to the very end!” (次回最終回です!最後までがんばります!)

Though we’ll miss the crazy series, its characters shall live on through its fans. We salute you, Haruhi Suzumiya!

Source: NariNari.com
Inset image: AnimeVice
Additional resource: Wikipedia