The Japanese voice actresses behind Lucky Star and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya appeared for a reunion in an event held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of both franchises. Kadokawa is holding the SOS Appreciation Festival featuring both franchises in Saitama, Japan. The festival’s main highlight is a premium stage event hosting the voice actress reunions, which was held on March 10, 2024. [Thanks, Famitsu!]
Aya Hirano was the main star of the day, as she was the voice actress behind both titles’ protagonists—Konata Izumi and Haruhi Suzumiya. The Lucky Star event ran first at 1:30 PM, and Kaori Fukuhara (Tsukasa Hiiragi), Emiri Kato (Kagami Hiiragi), and Aya Endo (Miyuki Takara) completed the main quartet. Minori Chihara (Yuki Nagato) and Yuko Goto (Mikuru Asahina) later joined Hirano in the Haruhi event that ran at 6:30 PM.
While an image on the webpage also features Tomokazu Sugita and Daisuke Ono—the respective voice actors for Kyon and Itsuki in the Haruhi series, they did not appear in person at the stage event. The male voice actors joined the reunion via a pre-recorded session aired during the live stream.
An archived version of the premium live stream is still available to watch until March 17, 2024. People who are residing in Japan can purchase tickets to gain access to one of the two separate shows on Streaming+ and Niconico, with prices starting from 4,400 yen (~$29.95).
Most people will remember Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star for their anime shows that started airing in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Kadokawa used the titles’ original debuts in printed media to mark their 20th anniversaries. The first Haruhi Suzumiya light novel launched in June 2003, while Lucky Star originated as a manga series that ran from December 2003. The latter manga has had its serialization resumed in MITAINA! magazine in November 2022. The most recent Volume 5 came out on February 14, 2024.
The SOS Appreciation Festival’s Premium Stage Event, which features the reunion of voice actresses from Lucky Star and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya to celebrate the 20th anniversary of both titles, was held on March 10, 2024. The general event is still running in Tokorozawa Sakura Town in Saitama, Japan, until March 24, 2024.
