Hare Hare Yukai

"Hare Hare Yukai" (ハレ晴レユカイ; lit. "Sunny Sunny Delight") is the ending theme song to the 2006 anime adaptation of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (the first book in the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series by Nagaru Tanigawa and several other short stories). The song is performed by the characters of the series: Haruhi Suzumiya (voiced by Aya Hirano), Yuki Nagato (voiced by Minori Chihara), and Mikuru Asahina (voiced by Yuko Goto). It was released as a physical single of the same title on May 10, 2006 by Lantis with the B-side "Welcome Unknown", the ending theme song to the radio show The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: SOS Brigade Radio Division that was also performed by the same actresses. "Hare Hare Yukai" has also appeared as a song in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Character Song CD series, of which each character has their own solo version of the song, performed by their respective voice actor in the series. "Hare Hare Yukai" generated public interest for the dance sequence in the ending animation, which was produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Yutaka Yamamoto. Known colloquially as the "Haruhi dance", many people replicated the choreography, and it was credited for starting the cover dance video genre on video-sharing websites, particularly Nico Nico Douga and YouTube. The popularity of the song also led to growing interest in the Japanese voice acting industry, a phenomenon known as the "voice actor boom." The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.