Anime's high school fends off fan invasions

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Prefecture--Giddy anime fans are causing headaches for administrators of a high school used as the setting for the popular anime "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu" (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya).

Nishinomiya Kita Senior High School has posted a warning against trespassers on its website after fans entered its premises and scrawled graffiti on the sports ground.

The school is the alma mater of Nagaru Tanigawa, author of the original novel series. It has become a must-visit site for diehard fans of the anime in Japan and overseas.

Heroine Haruhi and her friends attend a high school that is closely modeled after Nishinomiya Kita Senior High School, which sits at the foot of the Rokko mountain range.

The school building, overlooking central Nishinomiya, and its surrounding scenery are faithfully captured in the anime.

In the story, Haruhi launches a group called SOS Brigade, and her schoolmates suddenly find themselves getting involved in mysterious happenings.

Nine volumes of the novel series have sold a combined 6 million copies.

The animated television series was broadcast in Japan in 2006 and 2009. DVDs are sold in the United States, Europe, Singapore and elsewhere.

The school website receives 10,000 hits a month on average.

Fans, mostly men in their 30s and 40s, show up on a regular basis. Many just snap a few pictures of the school gate and building, stroll around the neighborhood and then leave.

Some fans are university students who travel from as far away as the Kanto region.

A 24-year-old student at Kyoto University's graduate school is a self-professed Haruhi devotee.

In 2006 and 2007, he took the overnight bus from Saitama Prefecture, where he was living, to see the high school.

"The line between the real and virtual worlds had blurred, and I felt like I had jumped into the anime world," the student recalled about his visits.

But some overly zealous fans attempt to enter the school premises, pleading: "I've come to 'the holy land.' At least let me take some photos inside."

The request is denied, so fans ask to use the bathroom--mainly because its design is the same as the toilet portrayed in the anime.

From time to time, fans do manage to sneak inside the compound without the knowledge of school officials.

In June 2009, a teacher found a huge "SOS" sketched with a lime line marker across the sports ground. The school filed a report with police.

In one scene of the anime, Haruhi draws graffiti on the school playing field.

Three months later, someone wrote "Haruhi Inochi" (I love Haruhi) in bold letters on the dirt ground, apparently using a stick.

In April, a non-Japanese man was found trying to climb to the school's rooftop.

Neither the high school nor the Hyogo prefectural government wants to deny fans their fun. To welcome them, the prefectural government launched a website in August 2009 that introduced local food treats and anime settings.

The fact that Nishinomiya is the hometown of "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu" is mentioned on the website.

The prefectural government is even considering working with private companies on anime pilgrimage tours for fans.

Nishinomiya Kita Senior High School officials said the school would lend as much support as possible to the project.

Makio Matsunaga, 53, the school's administration manager, who has seen every episode of the series, said the anime is entertaining.

"If I were a high school student, I am sure I would get pretty excited (about the anime)," he said. "In addition, the fact that a school alumnus has become a popular writer inspires our students."

Still, Matsunaga said: "I hope fans can understand and give us some space."