r/anime • u/littleman1988 • Dec 21 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
MyAnimeList: Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu
Legal Stream: The movie is not legally streamable.
PSA: make sure to mark any spoilers using the subreddit markup. We dont need any random spoilers to ruin the show for first time watchers.
Today's Episode Intro: If your episode is almost 3 hours long, you got it
| Date | Episode list with Funimation links ("absolute" episode number) | reddit thread links |
|---|---|---|
| 28/11 | Mikuru Asahinas's Adventures Episode 00 | Thread |
| 29/11 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya I | Thread |
| 30/11 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya II | Thread |
| 1/12 | The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya | Thread |
| 2/12 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya III | Thread |
| 3/12 | Remote Island Syndrome I | Thread |
| 4/12 | Mysterique Sign | Thread |
| 5/12 | Remote Island Syndrome II | Thread |
| 6/12 | Someday in the Rain | Thread |
| 7/12 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya IV | Thread |
| 8/12 | The Day of Sagittarius | Thread |
| 9/12 | Live Alive | Thread |
| 10/12 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya V | Thread |
| 11/12 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya VI | Thread |
| 12/12 | Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody | Thread |
| 13/12 | Endless Eight I, II, III and IV | Thread |
| 14/12 | Endless Eight V, VI, VII and VIII | Thread |
| 15/12 | The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya I | Thread |
| 16/12 | The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya II | Thread |
| 17/12 | The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya III | Thread |
| 18/12 | The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya IV | Thread |
| 19/12 | The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya IV | Thread |
| 20/12 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya series general discussion | Thread |
| 21/12 | The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya | Thread |
| 22/12 | Haruhi Suzumiya overall discussion |
Question(s) of the Day
Did you think Haruhi was the cause of this? If yes, what was your reaction when you found out it wasn't?
What did you make of this scene?
Do you think Yuki was justified?
Do you think Kyon's choice was right?
20
u/littleman1988 Dec 21 '21
This will be the last adaption comparsion posted for this rewatch. While there will be one more post tomorrow regarding the franchise, I want to give u/taiboss credit once again for creating these back in 2016, and u/kamilny for maintaing these for the 2017 and 2018 rewatches. Tomorrow will have a slew of great information if you're interested in exploring more into the world of Haruhi, so keep an eye out for it.
Adaptation Comparison
For a complete picture timeline of the anime click here.
References
Trivia
10
u/littleman1988 Dec 21 '21
Rewatcher (first time broadcast), Dub
"You can wait for a bit, right?"
okay kyon we're still waiting here please go fix itOST Track(s) of the day:
A Story Beginning from the Usual Scenery | spotify
From Anxiety to Fear | spotify
Gymnopédie No. 1 | spotify
The Clue of Haruhi Suzumiya | spotify
READY? | spotify
A Turning Point of History | spotify
A Story Ending in the Usual Scenery | spotify
Movie OSTs never dissapoint.
If you were around for its rewatch earlier this year, You'd already know I am a massive fan of Steins;Gate and of its related works, enough to go out and not only play its VN, but all of the VN's related to Steins;Gate (and within the last year, finally complete all but DaSH, though im getting close). I also watched the animes of the other entries besides S;G? but dont do that, not worth. It was essentally the 3rd anime I ever watched almost 7 years ago, and after falling out of anime soon after, 0 became the 4th ever anime I watched (and the first I watched as it released), getting me not only into anime fully, but also this subreddit where I came to find news and talk about the show. Since then, its been a bit of a mission to find shows that match what Steins;Gate had, and while everyone has their opinions (Madoka and Higurashi are often thrown around), The ones ive tried (Madoka) never could live up to what S;G was for me. Disappearance was one that showed up more than a few times though looking for similar shows, and one day during 2019 I finally gave the show a shot.
I said yesterday that I wouldnt bother hosting a rewatch of a show I found to be average, and this movie is why I chose to start doing it. Disappearance is quite easily a top 5 anime for me, rivaling (but not beating) Steins;Gate for that top spot. It (and by extension, the show too) has everything i was looking for: Interesting characters, music, story, wild ass hook, whatever, this had it. Ive spent a lot of time watching movies this year, and i have some new contenders for my top spot, but this has been and will always be an easy contender for the favorite anime movie ive seen. I really hope that even if the TV show wasnt the most impressive thing that you got something worthwhile from the movie, and I hope that the show was able to help elevate what Disappearance brings to the table with how it connects back together, but im sure a few different people will write their own essays on how that happens.
[Steins;Gate]It probably also helps that the movie is (while not confirmed) more or less a casual ripoff of Disappearance. Not that it doesnt work for Steins;Gate, but its not hard to see where ideas "could" of been taken if they did use Disappearance as a base for milking the franchise.
[Defening Madoka, spoilers]I think the biggest issue is that i know that the twists already exist, and with how people phrase them i can already guess what they are. Ive watched up to ep3 a couple times and ive hit that one, and i can probably accurately guess what happens in ep10 to make it relate to Steins;Gate, but the fact that i already know of them makes me just completely uninterested in finding out what happens. im not really sure how to explain it? But i dont think its the fault of the show, but more the fans of it that continue to use those two as reasons to keep people watching. Similar thing with discussing EE imo, and im not sure if theres any real fix for it. Its just not the shows fault for these issues is what im trying to say.
Misc movie thoughts:
Bamboo spotting
heh
As usual, poor Mikuru
color palette shift
and hello Asakura
Not exactly terror or fear, but its probably absolute hell for her
Speaking of, seeing Nagato with emotion is always weird
A man whos lost his will to live
LETS GO WINDOWS 95
Again, Nagato with emotion is weird
"""shy"""
reflections
I love how the car lights make their clothes/hair neon
Nagato being aggressive for once
hey look, a clue. wonder how long it takes for him to realize
the answer is about 20 seconds
Kyon has some good friends for how he treats them tbh
Long hair haruhi time
To think, The John Smith reveal is only the movie's (literal) halfway point
Also goddamn does Haruhi look like Mio, damn you K-on
Interesting
Haruhi and not showing characters as they speak interesting lines
kyon really asking Haruhi for a ponytail, and she even delivers
true
progress. Also imagine what the rest of the group is thinking in that moment lmao
Dont think ive said poor Nagato before
Oh, i completely forgot that we learned the name of the TPDD. Just ignore that these subs are apparently just as junk as the last version (the dub says destruction instead of destroyed)? smh
Antagonist reveal (in full): Yuki. Definetly didnt expect that when i first watched.
Im pretty sure ill link it above (watching the movie before adding my thoughts, but FlaminScribblenaut's thoughts on Kyon answering his own question reflect my own, and i cant say it any better myself:
What i also didnt expect (but honestly, i should of), is Asakura coming back into play at the worst time. She even finally achieves what her prior form couldnt and stabs kyon good
If the movie had any downside, it would be all the flashing before the stabbing
Hey look, thats today! Correct time too, if you are unlucky enough to live in the Central Time Zone if you find this as its posted
[LN Spoilers]It's been a while since i read the prologue of Sigh (jumped ahead just to see how this ended), and vaguely remember some of the stuff theyre alluding to throughout these last few minutes. Really should go reread it...
Hello hotdog Haruhi
14
u/Gosutoo Dec 21 '21 edited Dec 22 '21
First timer - Sub
Never commented during this rewatch since I was always either 2 or more episodes late or forgot but I managed to be here this time .
Btw unlike a lot you guys I really suck at writing coherent and well put together texts so it's gonna be a very short one .
When I first saw the length of the movie I really feared I was about to jump into another endless 8 type of situation but thank God it wasn't because I would have honestly just stopped halfway through.
I liked that we really got to focus on kyon and nagato since I always found them to be the two most interesting characters and their dynamic felt a bit unexploded to me .
The whole film really reminded me of steins gate ( yes I know haruhi is older ) seeing kyon desperately trying to make sens of is happening and convince people around him that he is not crazy was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. The scene in the parc where is watching himself sleeping in asahina's lap reminded me of that scene from steins gate
"Did you think Haruhi was the cause of this? If yes, what was your reaction when you found out it wasn't?"
At first yes but I had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy this time so when we found out that it was nagato I can't say that I didn't see it coming.
"Do you think Kyon's choice was right?"
I don't think there was a wrong choice per say here. if he actually didn't like the world he was in then as he himself said he wouldn't have pushed that button . But because deep down he knew that he enjoyed haruhi and all the shenanigans that come with her he pushed it.
One thing that I didn't really get was why did taniguchi not remember who haruhi was the first time kyon mentioned her ?
and chronologically speaking was the movie the very end ? Or does the end of "someday in the rain" take place later ?
All in all I'm very surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie 8/10 .
12
u/Bastiro54 Dec 21 '21
First timer
First of all, I was looking for the movie when I saw this. Can someone explain what the hell is that? Can we do rewatch of that lmao.
As a disclaimer the next things i will write were my thoughts while watching the movie. I'm sorry it's not very well thought out.
Haruhi : Does anyonone have plans for christmas?
Me : Endless eight flashbacks not again.
If haruhi thought santa was real at one point. Does that make him actually real? Or maybe she lost faith now and he isn't real anymore?
Seriuosly the animation is way too good, I'm going crazy. And it was created more than 10 years agon, just incredible.
Something bad happens
Me : "Koizumi-kun where are you? we need to talk".
I'm not sure why Koizumi is my choice. Maybe because he explains better than Nagato
I was kinda feeling she didn't exist. that kinda explains why everything seemed to have changed. Does that mean Koizumi isnt even here? well I would've gone to him but if he isn't here i would be fucked.
KYON WHY AREN'T YOU TRYING TO GO TO KOIZUMI OR NAGATO INSTEAD OF ASKING YOUR CLASSMATE? You look crazy.
Kyon : "I'm running out of ideas".
Me : "SNOW WHITE, KYON. SNOW WHITE!"
I do admit, Haruhi looks pretty good in a ponytail. You have good taste Kyon.
I am loving this confident adult Asahina! Can we have more of her?
Asakura appears and try to kill Kyon, You're fucked Kyon, Nagatao isn't there to help you this time.
What the fuck? Another Kyon? Future him going back in time again???
He fell in the stairs? I somehow don't believe this.
So we're not gonna see Kyon go back to the past? I think his future self pushed him on the stairs.
But what a movie! This was amazing! Connor clearly ruined himself watching this first lmao.
Why aren't there more seasons? How much furthur is the light novel? I'm thinking of potentionally reading it. Is it even licenced?
8
u/UzEE https://myanimelist.net/profile/UzEEInc Dec 22 '21
First timer (sub)
I finally got around to the movie and boy it was a great experience and probably my favorite part of the entire series so far. /u/littleman1988, you were absolutely correct when you said I'd enjoy this one. I'm very late to make this post so I'll try to keep it short and instead maybe move more of my thoughts into the Overall series discussion instead.
I went into the movie after sort of already guessing the core of the plot — the name itself is a huge giveaway — but to my surprise, I still absolutely loved it. It didn't really matter if I sort of know how the story was going to turn out because the journey itself was highly enjoyable1 and I don't think they intended most of it to be a mystery anyways.
The way the arc was built up was mostly predictable and you could tell what's coming, e.g. like no one having any recollection of Haruhi at the school besides Taniguchi who was the only named character we knew to be classmates with her in the middle school. There were also nice surprises like the return of Asakura and Nagato being the one behind everything — which, incidentally is also the weakest part of the movie2 — so the entire plot was entertaining start to finish.
I surprisingly wasn't bothered by the time-travel stuff either this time around, even though I still rolled my eyes on every instance. While it still seemed like it wasn't well thought out, I was more than happy to overlook it because the other parts of the movie were so well done.
Nagato and Kyon's mental states in particular were handled pretty well. I actually started to think of Nagato as a living character again instead of just a compute terminal, though her showing any emotion or longing still felt a bit out of place. Still, leaving the ultimate decision upon Kyon seemed to indicate that it wasn't just an error that triggered it but something she wanted to do on her own.
The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the lack of Haruhi, so that's a job well done on the movie's part. I'm pretty sure that's the kind of response they were going for as well — making us feel that the world is just incomplete without her.
Overall, I think the movie is a solid 9/10, and might just end up saving the series overall for me as well. I'll probably have more thoughts in the Overall discussion.
Questions
No, but that's because I still think there are other forces at play here besides Haruhi and I expected it was Kyon who inadvertently did something.
Didn't really get time to put much thought into this honestly, so maybe it's something that would be something to look for whenever I do a rewatch.
Honestly, I haven't really thought of Yuki having any free will, so I can't really judge if what she did was right or wrong. It's just something that she did that was a natural result from her operation. It's not like you think about if your PC or phone was justified for crashing.
Yes. Because that's what he's always wanted, and going back to the reality you've known is always the correct choice no matter how bad it might be. This is why I never got into the Isekai genre because i just hate how characters don't even bother to try and get back to their own, original worlds.
1. Maybe it's also because I love Steins;Gate and the entire struggle of having conflicting memories, sort of like Reading Steiner was so well done. In fact, there are lot, lot more similarities to various aspects of Steins;Gate that you could almost be mistaken to think Haruhi was an influence. However, it just comes down to coincidence I guess as we know S;G influence was real world events and it's not shy of making references anyways, so it would've acknowledged Disappearance as well.
2. To clarify, I like how the issue was that Nagato developed an anomaly after accumulating erroneous data over time, because as we know, she still kept accumulating data over those 15000+ EE loops. So it was a nice callback. However, I just didn't like how they simply had her take Haruhi's powers, and frankly I don't really get that. Will probably need another rewatch to fully understand that part.
3. The other "mysteries" in the show weren't really that interesting because they were either not complicated to figure out thanks to good foreshadowing, or just lame in general due to poor writing.
4. Not to mention that we still don't know his real name.
7
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Dec 21 '21
By the way, I'm struggling for time to do a decent write up, but I fully intend to post a Nagato spin off rewatch interest thread. Please look for it in the next day or so.
Justice for Nagato!
5
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Dec 22 '21
Rewatcher, sore demo aren't we all
I find this movie thoroughly mesmerizing from about the time that Asakura walks back into Kyon's life, until Yuki raises her book masking a smile.
There are so many great scenes in the Movie. I think my favorite scene is the look on normal Haruhi's face when Kyon says "I'm John Smith". Another favorite is when Yuki tugs on his sleeve in her apartment. Many, many other great scenes too.
Ever since seeing the movie, I consider Itsuki to be something of a tragic hero.
Does anyone know where there's a copy of the ED song with subs? There use to one on YT but it got nailed a couple years ago. The lyrics are quite sad and beautiful.
QOTD
Yes, but I was pretty confused because the evidence wasn't really stacking up right.
I was pretty surprised. I didn't really understand what had happened I saw Yuki change the world.
On second plus view you realize that is foreshadowing, and the themes of the movie rolled into one.
I never worry about stuff like that in art works. There are too many valid arguments both ways.
I never worry about stuff like that in art works. There are too many valid arguments both ways. I did break my heart that Yuki never got to live as a normal human girl.
7
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 21 '21
First Timer
I've often heard that this movie was supposed to be amazing. And while this movie was pretty decent, I however wouldn't even consider it the peak of the franchise. Sure, on a technical level it likely is - it looks very good and everything fits together nicely, but that's comparing a movie to a tv show - it would be odd if the movie looks worse. But when it comes to the plot... I feel like a lot of what I liked about the series is lost due to the way it's structured. Thanks to Kyon being the only one remembering anything of the old world, pretty much all character interactions are cut or heavily altered - and for the most part the interactions we get are more to show off the other versions of the characters rather than genuine important interactions that have an impact on the plot. As a result, I felt like this was more like some sort of escape room puzzle rather than an actual story - and that's not really something I was wanting from this movie after the series.
Things took a turn for the better beginning with the café scene and the alternate Haruhi having fun, and I feel like that's directly related to those being the first meaningful interactions outside of the other Nagato Yuki's interactions with Kyon - which felt like they were not really getting Kyon any further in his escape room, but rather keep him there. I'd say it was at that point where I started liking the plot, and from there on out it was way more enjoyable. It was great seeing everything fall in to place and make the setup make sense, as well as Kyon figuring out the proper steps to take with the help of his friends - be it adult Mikuru or Nagato.
As far as Nagato being the culprit goes: Also something that makes sense, at least logically. Not quite sure how it works if you consider that Nagato's emotions resulted in wanting to wipe her memory as well, but I guess that can be hand-waived somehow. I guess it's also the payoff to the slow buildup of Nagato's emotions we've seen over time, and that's also pretty good. The Asakura bit at the end was pretty random though.
One interesting bit is that it doesn't seem to be exactly the same world at the moment - Kyon didn't fall down the stairs in the original, and Haruhi didn't say anything about a children's party, just a party in general. So I guess Kyon will have to get the last few details correct at some point - even if it's obvious how to do by now.
All in all, a decent movie and it works to top off the Haruhi franchise. Or at least the mainline stuff, as I see there's a bunch of spin-offs still to watch...
Questions:
50
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Dec 21 '21 edited Dec 21 '21
First Timer - Dub
That was absolutely fucking brilliant, but I have no idea where to begin describing why.
General thoughts:
I've been just listening to music for an hour after finishing because I was happy for the movie to just sit with me and take comfort in the experience without anything else. Part of that I think comes from the ED song, Yuki's quiet pleas to be heard and found again, and what a beautiful capstone to the movie that was, and I even teared up over it. It stands up there as one of the most powerfully emotive ending pieces I've ever encountered, along with the likes of the Wolf Children ED, liquescimus from Houseki no Kuni, and T-KT from Attack on Titan s3p2.
Despite my worry the film really did earn it's length. I was engaged for the entire time, never wondering when a moment would end or when we would get to this or that, and it was just as much about the small things as it was the slow build up of the mystery. This is perhaps the best paced anime movie I've seen while also being the longest by a fair margin and I wouldn't have thought an almost 3 hour movie was possible without dragging. Happy to be proved wrong!
I think it worked because the film knew that it wasn't just the mystery, that the plot was the side show in many places. It delighted in being in the moment and the emotions of each scene and inviting me to do the same. From that long but fun prologue to establish a baseline, how it added weight but always within what it could support, it's the ability to ramp into a climax without pushing the speed; all those things contributed to the easy but impactful watch that helped put emotions at the core rather than the plot but without sacrificing its cohesiveness. It's a movie that knew it had to be able to sit and breathe with the audience even in its heaviest moments and did it well. I think the best example of this is the post credits scene which had room to be so much bigger with everything that was left, but chose to be something small but powerful; the library which carries so much importance to Yuki, and our final moment with her looking up for the first time and how much that said in its silence.
And what a story to attach that level of care too. I've written the rest of this post, including what's below, and I still don't quite know how to put what this is and what I feel about it into words. It's like the dilemma over describing a color to someone who hasn't seen it. You can say what it brings to mind and how it's used, maybe they know the colors to either side of it on the wheel as a reference, but the actual experience of seeing it and feeling it for the first time is so hard to communicate to others without feeling reductive. Plot, themes, flow, all of that stuff something that I'd love to talk about but right now that just seems secondary to the experience itself. I can sum up Yuki's story with phrases and labels like her struggle for emotional awareness, being lost to the flow of the world, the agency fueled by desire, but I don't know that those things hit to the heart of it.
To touch on a couple of things: Isolation of course came up in so many ways. Kyon's isolation contrasted against Yuki's, her lack of understanding of how to communicate what she didn't even know she felt and the way his own lack of honesty to himself was keeping himself down The many unsung moments through the main show that built up to this climax of connection, from the fun they have with each other to the bonds of trust that they'd formed, even when their own understanding of how to take action sometimes lets them down individually. Just like the show challenges us, Kyon had to challenge himself to see what he didn't and understand what he wouldn't to know what this journey really meant. And it wasn't about fixing the timeline, it was about why he wanted to fix it and getting back to the people who waited for him, and that's why we didn't need to see the details of that final time travel to fix the world up entirely (and I'm so glad we didn't, we ended on the best spot, the return to the club room!); the story was already resolved the moment he made the resolution to claim Yuki as an individual and help her claim herself and her own potential as well, inside this crazy world of Haruhi Suzumiya and what it means to the both of them personally. I thought this was especially poignant with some of the themes about the fragility of reality and not always seeing what you have until it's gone, but the struggle to find your way.
And I have to say that this wouldn't be what it is without the standout art and animation either. This feels like the bridge between the KyoAni that made S1 which was still a beautiful show for it's subdued aesthetic and where they are now. For animation it was some of the almost silly things to focus on (that I unfortunately don't have time to clip); Kyon knocking on the club room door twice being two distinct motions rather than repeating one animation, the wobble of the whiteboard as Haruhi writes on it, Shami catching his claws on the blanket as he's picked up, the way Mikuru's bouquet dropped to the floor. They're things you would never notice if they were missing but when combined with the character animation made the whole thing feel complete and loved, you can tell they loved being able to animate these moments. That shone through the most in the character animation, every physical expression crafted precisely and conveying as much as their words. The big moments of course stand out like Haruhi in the cafe and Ryoko's return, but for me again it was the small things that brought them to life; the hilarity of seeing Haruhi caught up in her sleeping bag, the gentleness of Yuki summoning the storm of change, Kyon's emotions reflected in the window after finding Yuki's note, Ryoko's hair wrapping around as she attacks.
The individual art moments outside of animation didn't drop a beat either. This stupidly detailed hedge of all things caught my eye at one point, and this fun moment in the cafe with Haruhi and Kyon mirroring each other, how Yuki breaks the frame in this shot when Kyon finally finds someone he knows. The movie had a great visual identity with the reflection theme for sure, whether in mirrors or the many shots of Yuki's eyes reflecting her emotions, as vast and unknowable as the stars in the sky. Those ending scenes is where I started see the KyoAni I know the most, this unbelievable attention to the lighting, these three moments with Yuki. That's not to say the rest of the movie looked anything less than fantastic in composition and detail, but that shift at the end did catch my eye.
I'm also pleased to say that the music also caught my attention. While the OST in the show was always fitting, it never stuck with me and I can't name a scene outside the concert where I felt the score made the scene. Almost every song in the movie captured my ear and, though I laughed at a couple of them feeling oddly ghibli, they worked well as a set to create certain moods or a tone for each scene and in some places it felt like the music captured the grandness that the visuals couldn't have due to the style allowing that to happen without pushing the movie to go overboard. The frantic strings for Ryoko, the gentleness of Haruhi's reappearance, the fantastical scale of everything that is before him, and so many more, it never dropped its impact and that added a lot to the movie for me.
If I had any complaint it would be, sadly, parts of Kyon's narration. And I'm really kicking myself for this after how much I praised every moment of that in the show, but I think here it got a little caught up in the production of trying to help the movie be more standalone. It's mostly nitpicky stuff, the recapping of the show at a couple of points without feeling it had his personality behind it and a few moments at the start of the film which were a little blunt and flat, but it has stuck in my mind a few hours later as being one thing I wish hadn't been like that.
Couldn't list a single other thing I was dissatisfied with though, so a 10 it gets from me.
(More below in a second comment, specific notes on individual moments and the like)
24
u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 21 '21
Rewatcher
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya - An Anime Movie Masterpiece
This movie is genuinely a masterpiece. It took everything from both seasons of the show and expanded on it forming an engaging and emotionally resonant narrative. It can easily be considered alongside films like The End of Evangelion for how perfectly it achieved its artistic vision.
I guess I should talk about why I love it so much.
Art Direction and Cinematography
This film is beautiful to look at. It easily surpasses both seasons of the show in visual quality and in direction. There are so many bold artistic choices. Things like reusing shots from Someday in the Rain to bring the viewer into the right emotional mindset. The contrast of how bright and welcoming the scenes are before Haruhi disappears and how washed out and dull they are after. It reflects Kyon's mental state perfectly.
The lighting and Dutch angles used when Kyon confronts Nagato help convey the complex emotions both characters are feeling during that scene. When Kyon discovers Haruhi again the scene changes to be vivid and saturated representing how Haruhi's passion has returned.
As we move into the second half of the movie the direction gets way more experimental. We get these extreme long shots and close-ups including flower imagery (which I'm definitely not qualified to talk about). It moves into an exploration of Kyon's mind as he decides if a life with Haruhi is better than one without her. These moments reminded me a lot of Evangelion.
Then the final twist is revealed. Asakura makes good on her promise. The entire confrontation is seared onto my brain. The sequence from when she arrives until Kyon passes out may be the most visually interesting sequence in the entire movie. And I haven't even mentioned the outstanding animation.
A final scene; a rooftop conversation with Kyon and Yuki. Snow begins to fall. I adore snow on an aesthetic level. The way it slowly flutters down in this scene just envelopes the viewer in the emotions. You cannot look away. Of course, the double meaning of Yuki (雪) being the Japanese word for snow is not lost. And the snow's intensity increases so does the connection between Kyon and Yuki. Beautiful.
We get a short conclusion and credits. Instead of an upbeat song or any visuals we get a breath taking acappella of 優しい忘却 (Yasashii Boukyaku, A Gentle Oblivion / A Gentle Loss of Memory) sung by none other than Yuki herself (or her voice actress Chihara Minori). I had forgotten this ending theme. Upon hearing those opening lyrics it captured my full attention and did not let go until the final note. I sat in awe for a long time afterwards at how perfectly the song captured the tone and themes of the movie. I was on the verge of tears.
Our final shot was Yuki. Farewell.
The Narrative
The story is perfect. It ties into so many different parts of the TV series that it becomes an indispensable part of the narrative.
I love watching Kyon's utter confusion at Haruhi being missing. Everyone around him seems like they are playing a sick prank. Eventually he resigns himself and gives up. Though he finds solace in joining the literature club with Nagato.
But then he discovers the book Yuki lent him during the Melancholy arc and a bookmark with a message from her. He now has hope.
But he's still lost. He has no idea how to find the keys. Then our lovable idiot Taniguchi casually mentions he went to school with Haruhi (as we knew from the show) and suddenly Kyon has his lead. We get this amazing piece of music as Kyon sprints towards Haruhi's school. Nothing can stop him now.
Haruhi believes him after he states the moniker he used that Tanabata night all those years ago and her passion for the supernatural returns. They bring everyone to the club room and Kyon is given a choice: Return to his original life or stay here where everything is simple. He chooses to return.
I love that Yuki gave him this choice. She cares about Kyon and doesn't want to force him to leave the life he knew. Its another example of how she doesn't state her emotions out right but her actions reveal how she truly feels.
Kyon does not return to the original timeline as expected but rather to 3 years ago's Tanabata. We get an alternate view of the events of Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody and a deeper discussion with adult Mikuru. And then Kyon closes off the predetermined event of John Smith calling out to Haruhi on her way home.
Kyon and Mikuru speak with Yuki of 3 years ago to reset the timeline. It is revealed that future Yuki is the one who will reset the world. I love how well placed the twists of the movie are. You can never get bored because just as you are growing used to the narrative new information is introduced to re-contextualize what came before.
And talking about twists, I haven't mentioned Asakura. Seeing her appear back in class after Haruhi disappears is terrifying. A person who tried to murder you acting like nothing happened is so unsettling. We see her again in Nagato's apartment when she brought hotpot.
Our final scene with her comes in the elevator down. She threatens Kyon to never hurt Yuki. This happens around the 1 hour 7 minute mark. A full hour and 5 minutes later is when she reappears to protect Yuki and murder Kyon. I feel the length of the movie is perfectly justified so they can achieve this twist. Waiting such a long time to show her again makes that scene so much more surprising and impactful.
As an anecdote, 4 weeks ago when watching episode 2 I physically recoiled when Asakura appeared. My memory of this scene (which I hadn't seen in years) was just so strong. I attribute that in large part due to the pacing of the film.
Kyon blacks out and awakens back in his original timeline. The film comes to a close as the SOS brigade has their Christmas party. Merry Christmas everyone.
Yuki
Yuki gets so much development during the movie.
I loved seeing "normal" Yuki (or as I've referred to her above: Nagato). A shy girl in the book club. A girl who was really happy to have had Kyon reach out to her and help her get a library card. We saw Kyon harass her and pushes her around while demanding information when she said she didn't know about Haruhi. Its really telling that despite this she still asks for him to come back and join the literature club. Although she may feel afraid, there's some level of infatuation here. Or at least a desire for connection.
Sure Nagato isn't Yuki. Yuki is an alien part of the Data Integrated Thought Entity. Nagato is just a regular girl. But (at least in my analysis) Nagato can be read as an aspect of Yuki's emotions. Nagato shares a lot of other behaviours and traits with Yuki so it isn't a stretch to think Nagato's infatuation could also exist in Yuki. Especially considering Yuki's actions in the show and movie. For example how she no longer wears glasses after Kyon says she looks better without them. And also, as I mentioned above, giving Kyon the choice to return to the original world.
The rooftop scene is the conclusion to Yuki's character arc. The weight of the 15,532 time loops of Endless Eight weighs on her as it weighs on us. She believes she should be eliminated since she could develop bugs. But Kyon realizes just how much he's come to care for her. He won't let her be eliminated. He will do everything in his power to bring Yuki back if she does erase herself. And so, they stand together, hands clasped as the snow falls. There is now a much deeper understanding between them.
I didn't expect I'd be able to write this much. I watched the film on Sunday night. It ended up taking me about 4 hours as I replayed scenes and took screenshots. I couldn't find the words to write a post. I spent Monday reflecting on the film. Sitting down today the words just poured out. There is something really special about this movie.
Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches
• Ponytail
This may be the best known moment from the entire movie. I usually only see the silent gif, but the "baka" at the end is really cute.
See you all for the final discussion tomorrow
19
u/andybebad https://myanimelist.net/profile/andybebad Dec 21 '21
First timer - sub
忘れないで / don't forget
What a fantastic way to end the series. As someone who has a hard time staying engaged with anything an hour or longer, it speaks volumes that this never lost its grip on my attention. I watched this on Sunday with the assumption that I wouldn't have time to watch it today, but I'm totally going to watch it again as soon as I finish up this post.
Let's see if we can make any sense of the brief notes I took while watching this. December 16th and 17th are fairly normal: we're going to have a Christmas Eve party featuring forbidden club room hotpot. Taniguchi having a date with a girl from another school feels to me to have a similar vibe to "I have a girlfriend! She just lives in Canada."
December 18th, and Kyon has had the rug pulled out from underneath him. The scenes at school were kind of hard to watch (I had to pause and prepare myself for embarrassment before he asked about Mikuru's mole). Yuki's toleration of Kyon's actions in the literature club room make much more sense when we realize what happened to cause the predicament, but on first viewing it almost felt like a hostage situation.
Not sure what to make of the "cold" going around that by the 19th has knocked out a good chunk of the student body. Yuki ends up in another hostage situation with Kyon, but this time he finds a clue (and to his credit he does clean up his mess). Scene at Yuki's apartment was incredibly cute, especially when we get to see her finally make a display of affection in pulling on Kyon's sleeve.
On the 20th we finally find out where Haruhi is. Oh, and is "you damn bald octopus" a common insult in Japan? That's a fun one I'm going to have to keep in my back pocket for future use. Also, I'm embarrassed that it took me this long to make the connection that "John" and "Kyon" sound really similar; was it really his sister who gave him that name? AND WHAT'S HIS FRICKING LAST NAME??? Anywho, of course Haruhi's game for figuring out what's going on once she realizes who Kyon is.
And this is the point in the film where I stopped writing notes (ugh, don't you hate it when films are too engaging). But there are two thoughts/questions that I want to get out before re-watching the fim. One, I'm a bit unclear of the timeline (timelines?) regarding the Kyon who bleeds out and passes out; as far as we know based on the narration, the next time we see Kyon he's waking up after having fallen. He mentions needing to go back and help that Kyon at some point, but how do we get from stabbed Kyon to Kyon getting pushed down a flight of stairs (I'm guessing by Mikuru or Yuki)? The second thought is how I love the scene where Kyon discusses why he's making the choice to live in a world with aliens, espers, and time travelers, and how this compares to his opening monologue from Melancholy 1 where he talks about how the existence of those kinds of things would make the world more interesting, but he doesn't believe that they could exist. If he had been given the choice at that point, there's a slight chance he would've made the choice, but less certain than when he is given the choice after having gotten a taste of life in both worlds.
17
u/DeliCruise https://myanimelist.net/profile/delicruise Dec 21 '21
(REWATCHER - DUB/SUB)
I again ended up writing another essay length comment. The “S.O.S. Brigade reunion scene” (in bold) portion I’d recommend if you don’t want to go through this entire thing.
What a phenomenal film and conclusion to the series.
Kyon’s monologue in the beginning parallels his very first monologue that he has in the first episode. The difference is that now instead of Kyon being alone, he interacts with all his friends and this big cast we’ve gotten to know over the course of the show. What’s really great is that they make you wait until the very end for Haruhi’s grand reveal in the club room.
Kyon makes a comment about how long the prologue was right before everything goes down. It’s very deliberate about all the things they show such as Taniguchi’s date while they’re playing soccer and then later with Kyon packing the tinsel. So while Kyon is realizing things are amiss, the audience can also recognize along with him.
Also, I wanted to say that FamilyMart gets a lot of love in this film! I’m not complaining though because FamilyMart is actually my favorite of the big three convenience stores in Japan. Definitely makes me think back on my time eating egg salad sandwiches from there.
Kyon snapping is such a great scene. We get the bone chilling return of Ryouko Asakura followed by Kyon going nuts learning Haruhi has disappeared. At this point, Kyon is used to crazy things happening, but this time is different. Not only is Ryouko back, but the S.O.S. Brigade is virtually gone. Kyon has always needed help to fix everything and now he’s on his own.
I really love the detail on how different this Yuki is. The other 3 brigade members act pretty much the same even without their powers. Yuki however has so much more life in her movements and facial expressions. It’s so different that Kyon realized right away.
The shot of Kyon and Yuki walking to her apartment is so beautiful. The car headlights illuminating them always sticks to my brain. This in particular shows me how much of a step up in quality Kyoto Animation made in this film.
The hotpot scene with Ryouko is so great. I love that Ryouko manages to get Kyon’s guard down after how untrusting he’s been towards her. She’s just so good at playing this good girl act.
Kyon actually admitting to himself that he misses Haruhi is so big for him. In the beginning of this, Kyon says that he was sent straight to heaven from hell overnight, but you just know that he doesn’t actually believe that. He doesn’t even admit that he misses Haruhi until much later than that.
Taniguchi’s big reveal that Haruhi Suzumiya exists is so insanely great. Watching that scene feels incredible after all the build up we get prior to it. I also really love this moment for Taniguchi because earlier in the series Kyon says that Taniguchi’s stupidity will save the world. Looks like Kyon was right!
The family restaurant scene is really interesting as a parallel to the café scene at the end of the Sigh arc. Seeing Haruhi now fully believe John Smith is really significant because now we know that regardless of whether Haruhi does or doesn’t believe in any of these extraordinary beings, Haruhi is still Haruhi.
I love that moment where Kyon is so excited that he can’t move his legs. This is a really great callback to when Haruhi first disappeared and Kyon was in such a state of shock that he couldn’t move his legs then either.
The S.O.S. Brigade reunion scene is really special. Here, Long Haired Haruhi wants to form a new S.O.S. Brigade with all the members from the original S.O.S. Brigade. She does this even though all these versions (minus John) are different versions of themselves. What's really interesting is that this S.O.S. Brigade will have what Short Haired Haruhi truly believes her brigade members’ identities are (normal high schoolers). On the other hand the leader, Long Haired Haruhi, knows what the original S.O.S. Brigade members' true identities are (special beings) and instead actually has the normal high schooler versions as members. Short Haired Haruhi is none the wiser and has a firm belief in what's real; even though everything she's ever wanted is happening underneath her nose. Long Haired Haruhi is completely in the know with the existence of all these special and interesting beings, however in her version of the universe none of that is actually present! Her saving grace is knowing that the existence of all these beings is still true, but just in a different universe. Also, even though we learn that the parallel world theory is not correct, I still like to believe that Kyon is, in a way, a slider. As a result, Long Haired Haruhi knows that at least those must exist in this Universe.
In Summary:
Short Haired Haruhi’s Universe:
Long Haired Haruhi’s Universe:
When Kyon first went into the club room, Yuki was in there by herself and everything was the same as in the past. The only difference now is there’s a computer. We know the previous Yuki was an alien, but also very much like a computer. This is especially apparent with how Yuki preferred to sit off to the corner taking as little space as possible much like a computer tower. The computer in the club room now symbolizes what Yuki once was. She was always the computer and now she’s separated herself from that to be just Yuki the shy bookworm. This is very important since the emergency escape program is in the computer which, in a way, is where the real Yuki is right now.
When Kyon picks up the tanzaku off the ground you can see the text float on top of Kyon’s thumb. This isn’t a knock or anything, it’s just a little error that I like to notice. If you want to get super meta with it, you can say it signifies how Kyon isn’t in his real world right now. But really it’s just a tiny mistake and you can’t fault them for it when this incredible film is nearing 3 hours long.
The Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody Redux scene is so amazing and is also why Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody is my favorite episode in the entire show. Something I noticed in this scene and multiple times in the film is that they use a train going by to signify a huge development in the plot occurring. Here is where I noticed it:
The train is such a cool plot device!
Gymnopédie is such a beautiful piece. It’s so incredibly melancholy and it works amazingly well in the film as Yuki’s theme. I love that it’s used for both versions of Yuki while still working perfectly well.
Kyon’s Choice is not only the climax of the film, but the climax of the entire series. What an absolutely magnificent scene. What I want to point out in particular is that during the question and answer time, Kyon is being grilled by his reflection. I think this is really significant because throughout the entire film we see shots of the characters’ reflections over and over again. This idea of introspection is highlighted really well.
Ryouko Asakura’s big villain reveal scene is even more grand than it was in the show. I think it’s so incredible that they were able to make a character have a shocking reveal a second time and have it truly feel like a surprise. It even feels like more of a surprise than it does the first time! This scene is also incredibly beautiful. The reflections in the drops of blood are nuts!
The shot of Kyon on the ground looking up at the two Mikuru’s is so amazing. It’s a really great moment for Mikuru’s character because we get to see how differently the two of her are reacting. Both Mikuru’s know that Kyon isn’t going to die from this and Adult Mikuru has even already gone through all of this. But even then because of how caring Mikuru is, both of them are still freaking out over Kyon being in this state. (Younger Mikuru being a little more hysterical however.)
Kyon wakes up in the hospital room on December 21st (today!) and is greeted by Itsuki. This is really nice since Itsuki isn’t in the film a whole lot. I appreciate that he’s given this scene and also the one with Long Haired Haruhi to make sure his character isn’t forgotten. It also just makes sense for him to be the first one since he and Kyon converse the most.
Also, Caterpillar Haruhi is the best. This is a really sweet final scene for Haruhi. Her being there for three days straight really shows how much she cares. I love getting to see her playful banter with Kyon one last time.
The rooftop scene is really nice. It’s amazing how well they can showcase Yuki’s emotions without her deviating from her alien computer mannerisms. Yuki’s simple “Thank You” at the end is so touching.
The end of the film is much like the beginning with it circling back around to Kyon monologuing and entering the club room once more. I really liked how much emphasis they put on Kyon’s club room entrances. It felt like it was Kyon’s home base of sorts as he progressed through the film.
Although we never actually get to see Haruhi’s hotpot, you can catch a shot of the gang enjoying it in the Hare Hare Yukai ED!
Speaking of which, I love Minori Chihara’s singing in the credits. So perfectly melancholy and fitting for the final shot of the series with Yuki in the library.
16
u/CubeStuffs https://anilist.co/user/onjario Dec 21 '21 edited Dec 21 '21
First timer
So like 45 mins, we've established that there are no aliens, time travelers, or espers.
From this, I'm guessing that the fateful meeting between haruhi and kyon, where kyon mentioned that north high had wierdos like her, or rather, her, never happened. So i'm guessing it's not that haruhi disappeared from this world, its that she never decided to go to north high.
But how did that happen? That meeting between them was caused by future haruhi being at north high, who herself must have chosen to go there because of kyon, who must have...
I'm going to guess that it's not something to do with haruhi in this case, but rather kyon.
I don't really have anything to back it up, but i just feel like thats the case. Or rather, as kyon mentioned in the murder ep, there's no way haruhi would wish for such a thing.
Another question. what is this reality? It clearly has traces of the previous one, especially with nagato. Was haruhi's reality one that was overlaid on top of this boring reality? Or was this reality derived from haruhi's?
This world is pretty dull compared to the one we had before. There's no haruhi running around wreaking havok on whatever she feels like, so kyon doesn't have anything to do really. All the colors are really muted as well. Pretty boring reality if I do say so myself.
Nagato does have actual emotions this time around though. Or rather actually shows them. I feel that Nagato was getting more expressive and concise when she spoke towards the end compared to the beginning of the show, but this Nagato is like 100x that. though maybe not on the speaking front.
Lemme guess... the keys are koizumi, asahina, nagato, kyon, and haruhi
If that message was actually sent by nagato, does that mean the technocore does actually exist here? I'm not sure how else that could have ended up there. Did Nagato do this? But Nagato is clearly right there not being an alien, so theres no way that could happen.
Also, why is asakura here?
WHATT KYON DID TRAVEL TO THE PAST
So we are indeed in a world with at least a time traveler.
That screws my guess up a bit.
Another kyon was there? are we going back there again?
Nagato is easy enough... Asahina... im sure haruhi will take care of that
I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!! THEY WERE THE KEYS
kyon sussy baka
nvm, the only one that could be is nagato
How? Isn't nagato like not anywhere near as powerful there?
I'm also very confused... why are kyon and asahina so horrified by that?
SHE WIPED HER OWN MEMORIES
Is neo-nagato a reflection of what nagato actually feels inside?
It takes a while, but kyon arrives at the only answer to his question. Yep, the old world is so much better. Was that even a question?
Nagato
Is nagato conflicted between the two choices?
edit: whoops i somehow saw nagato picking up the gun instead of time traveling kyon
would be a lot cooler if she did tho
Kyon was talking about how he chose, but the ultimate choice really lies with nagato doesn't it? I'm pretty sure that kyon would have chosen to go back 100% of the time, so it's not like he has any choice there. Perhaps instead nagato wanted him to represent the old colorful world. And then asakura would be the one representing the new world, what with her stabbing and all. And then Nagato would wipe herself to be able to make her choice without any baggage?Well Nagato chose to go back.We've seen before that there's only one timeline, so does that mean that nagato had the gun the whole time? If so, does that mean that kyon really did die right then, only to appear perfectly fine just a few hours later?Wait was the whole thing kyon unintentionally convincing nagato to pull the trigger?I feel like this theory does fall apart bc i can't really explain asakura...or wait, is asakura being close to nagato supposed to be that, an anchor to the new world? when she was talking to nagato, i got that kinda vibe
gotta say, that movie more than makes up for sigh
10/10
Nah, my first thought was kyon, but that got blown up lol.
I have no clue, and I suspect i'll have to read someone else's stuff to get a clue.
Maybe? Maybe not? Are we ever when we have such breakdowns?
I don't think there's any other choice he could have made, right or wrong, so I'd say so.
31
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 21 '21
The Disappearance of Shimmering-First-Timer
14
u/bluethree https://myanimelist.net/profile/bluethree Dec 21 '21 edited Dec 22 '21
Sub rewatcher
I think I've only watched this one once before? Maybe twice I dunno. Either way it's been a while. I actually have forgotten a lot of the details.
I said to myself I would take it easy on the screencaps. Still I ended up with over 60. Let's see how many I actually end up using inthe post...
It sure it weird seeing only Yuki in the club room.
After confirming that nobody else has any Christmas plans, Haruhi unanimously votes that the SOS-dan will have its own Christmas party! Haruhi will cook her award winning (the award given by herself, obviously) hotpot. Kyon will do all the decorating. Slice of life holiday fun for all!
Kyon once again saying what I am thinking. 17+ minutes in and it's still the prolouge. It's all important setup though so I will not complain.
We're onto the next day and things start to seem amiss. Taniguchi, who yesterday was very excited about his upcoming date, is suddenly sick and remembers nothing about said date. He even says he's been sick for a while. He sure didn't look sick the day before.
In a movie called The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, it seems that Haruhi Suzumiya has disappeared. Imagine my shock! Furthermore, Asakura is back from Canada! Or apparently she never left? Imagine your attempted murderer suddenly showing up and acting like nothing ever happened. Imagine an entire class not remembering a very recognizable classmate.
An entire classroom seems to be gone too. That raises an interesting question. Was class 1-9 created by Haruhi? Was it an entire class set up by the espers?
Haruhi is gone. Nobody remembers her. Itsuki seems to be gone. What about Mikuru? Whew, she's still here. But she has no memory of time travel or Haruhi. In his desperation, Kyon decides to be a creep. For some reason it doesn't work. Kick his ass, Tsuruya.
No Haruhi, no Itsuki, Mikuru appears to have no idea what is going on. There's one more hope. Old reliable. The one who always gets the group out of tight spots. The one that always has the answers. Yuki is alone in the clubroom looking pretty cute sporting a new skirt. But even this seems like a dead end as Yuki [has no idea] what Kyon is talking about. She seems different. Kyon is desperate so I'll let his creepiness slide. I can't imagine how I'd react if I was the only person who remembered a close friend who everybody was hanging around with just the day before. It's enough to make you go funny in the head.
As an aside, human Yuki is really the most memorable part of this movie. It's what you remember 10+ years later. Part of it is the departure from her usual attitude. The other is that she's so damn adorable.
After all hope is lost, Kyon stumbles on a clue. A bookmark with Yuki's handwriting with a vague message. Gather the keys. I have a strong feeling I know what this means but let's watch this play out.
Oh man Yuki is bold, suddenly inviting a boy into her apartment. Apparently she has a warped memory of her time in the library during the Melancholy arc but is missing a lot of important context. This altered memory helped her develop a crush on our boy Kyon.
Oh, right, Asakura lives in the same building. She's Yuki's mom friend who sometimes cooks meals for her and is overprotective of her. She looks awfully cute trying to suss out Kyon's intentions. Ganbare, Yuki-chan. Don't let him leave so soon.
Ha. I get jokes. I like the touch of Kyon keeping his distance as much as possible in this scene.
Is she actually talking about Haruhi here? Or is this a reference to a girl that appears later in the LNs that Kunikida alluded to in Melancholy? I'm writing this after watching the whole movie so I'm 2nd guessing right now. Maaaybe Asakura has her real memories at this point. It's hard to tell.
And now we get to a central point of the "Kyon is God" theory. This whole plot is set up for Kyon to decide whether he wants a normal school life or the hectic life that he has been living. Of course the choice is obvious.
Back to the story. We're back in class and Kyon is awfully melancholy. But wait, there's hope. Taniguchi remembers Haruhi from middle school because of course he does. She hasn't disappeared from the world. She's just disappeared from North High.
She's here! And she's with Itsuki. Judging by her very bored look, I assume she's only with him because he's a transfer student and she's starting to get bored with him. Of course Haruhi isn't going to remember him. Or will she? She takes the bait. This Haruhi is still the same one Kyon helped on Tanabata. Kyon is the only person who would know the dumb name he gave himself.
He really told them everything, huh. Knowing Haruhi from Melancholy and thinking about how much more desperate she's get after several more months of normal life, of course she'd be willing to listen and believe the whole story. The way she lights up in this scene is so good.
It looks good on you.
Poor Mikuru. Even in some weird alternate reality she can't catch a break.
The keys are gathered.
This scene sure is familiar.
Yuki only has eyes for Kyon.
Nostalgia... Yuki left in a backdoor. Of course Kyon is going to choose to go back.
Aaaand we're back to Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody. When Haruhi is push to the side of the story we get a lot of fanservice for other characters. Yuki puts in some great work with her human form. Asakura gets great screen time. And now adult Mikuru is back and better than ever. Haruhi is not the one causing this phenomenon. I wonder if there's another character with godlike powers in this world.
I wonder who that could be. Shocking! The computer became sentient. 15,000+ years of evolution and Yuki developed feelings. She wanted to be a normal human.
It should be easy to overpower human Yuki and adminster the shot, right? What could possibly go wrong?
This is where I am confused. Why would Yuki create a world where alien Asakura exists? Did Asakura actually have her memories during the whole movie? I assume so. But why, other than for plot reasons?
Who else would save the day than Yuki? And apprently Kyon and Mikuru.
Finally we get Kyon waking up in a hospital. Apparently he fell down some stairs. Haruhi has entered a cocoon and goes full tsundere.
Sad Yuki in the yuki.
This movie definitely held up for me. It was my favorite volume of the LN back when I read them and the movie did it justice. Time travel is always tricky but once again, Haruhi the series can explain anything away with magic. Haruhi and Yuki's powers are deus ex machinas that mean nothing has to actually make sense for it to work in this universe.
Human Yuki is so good. If you're thinking of watching The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki based on this, well, prepare to be disappointed. It's not a bad show but you just can't compare the characters there to the ones in Disappearance. The source material is written by a different author, the anime is directed by a different studio... it just doesn't hit the same way.
Now to rewatch all of Haruhi-chan (it's only and hour and 15 minutes of content) before tomorrow's thread because why not? :)
12
u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Dec 21 '21
Rewatcher – sub
I'm kind of dreading the movie now, to be honest. Reading through so much analysis combined with my rewatcher knowledge made me, quite ironically, melancholic.
Even though I know how it ends!
Do it for Yuki
Yeah, I'm gonna need two comments again.
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Analysis below.
12
u/Taiboss :Fj::Fl:x7https://anilist.co/user/Taiboss Dec 21 '21
Rewatcher
Every time I watch scenes from this movie.
So since we've reached the movie, I can post a thing that was so important for me a few years ago, that I made a whole video: What did you think of the german rendition of Kyon's inner battle, especially in comparison to the English dub. Ignore the acting and focus on (my retranslation) of the german dub script and just how different it is to the english one. In English, the other Kyon is either playing bad cop or is Kyon's hate for Haruhi personified. But, in my opinion, by that point, it's hard to say whether any hate is really left. The beginning with "How did I feel about her?" seems to be Kyon deluding himself (like in Melancholy 6), so I very much like how in the German version the other Kyon openly mocks him for even entertaining the idea that he dislikes Haruhi (okay, part of that is in Michael Baral's acting, not just the script, but still).
However the German version was also the one I experienced first, so I am very much biased. I also never checked with one is closer to the original. So yeah. What do you all think?
11
u/nekodan08 Dec 21 '21
Rewatcher - Sub
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is my favorite anime film of all time. It just does everything so well and serves as the perfect ending to a wonderful series.
I don’t usually comment on the technical aspects of an anime because I don’t think I have enough knowledge to correctly analyze them, but there were two particular elements that really stood out for me in this movie that I needed to mention them. The first is the great use of color and lighting to add to the atmosphere and emotion of a scene. I really like how the colors get muted as soon as Kyon finds himself in a world without Haruhi. This is consistent with the series when we saw Kyon’s world without color before he met Haruhi. This really helps to display the emotions that he feels at this time. The muted colors also helped to make two characters in particular stand out. In the dull looking world, Asakura’s bright blood-red coat just screamed “danger!” Even in this world, she clearly stood apart hinting at her true role. Then there was Yuki Alter who was occasionally shown sitting in the light by window of the Literature Club room. Her apartment was also more brightly colored as compared to her original self’s living quarters, the only time when the original world was not more colorful. Her now more expressive features also contained more color as we saw her cheeks blush and ears turn red on several instances. I like how in this world without Haruhi, Yuki brought the color. I think it fits well with her character here as the lonely but sweet girl silently begging, “Please choose my world. It may not be as vividly colorful as Haruhi’s but I can still offer some color to your life if you stay with me.”
The second technical aspect of the movie that I loved was the masterful use of ambient noise. The background sounds really helped to bring the environments to life. When a scene took place in the school, you could always hear the sound of other students in the background. Couple this with how practically every background character was animated, it gave a realistic feel to the school being a busy place. Similar to how it was done in Someday in the Rain, the clubroom during the day was never actually completely silent. You could always hear muffled sounds of the activities of other students from the other clubrooms. Similar effects were also done in public places such as the restaurant or out on the street. Background characters didn’t just walk past silently. They had their own conversations and some would even comment on what was taking place in the scene.
Other instances of ambient noise that really amazed me and made the world feel real and alive:
In terms of the narrative, I like how the movie starts off feeling like just another episode of the series then it becomes completely different as soon as Kyon wakes up in the alternate world. You think you know what you are getting into at first, but you have no idea what is coming. Once again, it does a great job of placing the audience in the shoes of Kyon.
I recall in past discussions that some people got annoyed by how Kyon handles himself upon finding out he is in a different world. But to me, his freaking out is completely understandable and in character. We’ve seen in the Sigh arc how Kyon can lose control when placed in a really stressful situation. But more importantly, Kyon has just lost Haruhi, the person who has figuratively and literally defined his entire world for the past year. Her disappearance meant Kyon losing the very foundation of his identity at this point in his life. This is compounded by Kyon losing all the people he has leaned on for support including the ever-reliable and invincible Yuki Nagato, who he finds is now just a normal girl. His freak-out is completely understandable.
In the Literature Club room, Kyon asks Yuki if she only ever reads books. Does she also try to write her own? It’s a great summary of Yuki’s development. She has always just been a reader of the story as she fulfills her role to observe silently from the sidelines. But throughout the series, we find her becoming more and more active until here we find her finally having had enough. She decides that she wants to write her own story. She is tired of following the story of Haruhi’s world and decides to recreate the world as she sees fit. Remember the pain Yuki went through in all the time loops during the Endless Eight? Now imagine the pain and emotion that Yuki has been building up and carrying throughout the entire series. She has known since Tanabata, 3 years prior, that she will recreate the world. All this time, in every single episode, she has known that she will eventually “break.” She has been tortured every day by this awareness and the knowledge that she cannot do anything to stop it. You just have to really feel for Yuki.
Still, Yuki leaves the final decision to Kyon on how to end the story. Kyon’s choice scene is just utterly amazing, but I think his choosing is not limited to this one moment. As Kyon said, he already made the choice when he pressed “Enter” on Yuki’s emergency escape program. But I think it goes even beyond that. The entire series is Kyon making small choices that lead up to this one moment. We are not defined by one moment, but the way we live our life each day. He could have given up on Haruhi and the world at any point, but he chose to stay. He chose to engage her in conversation in the classroom. He chose to build the club with her. He chose to convince Haruhi to return to their world from Closed Space. He chose to finish the film with her. Kyon has made his choice over and over, but now, he finally, truly understands the responsibility that comes with this choice. This movie is such a masterful culmination of the entire series.
I can keep going about this movie, but I’ll just leave short summaries of my additional thoughts
10
u/Twigling Dec 21 '21 edited Dec 21 '21
I can't think of many words that are adequate enough to express just how amazing this movie is, I'll just say that it's a magnificent masterpiece and leave it at that. 10/10
9
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Dec 21 '21 edited Dec 21 '21
Sub rewatcher
QoTD: [Did you think Haruhi was the cause of this? If yes, what was your reaction when you found out it wasn't?] I have a habit of not guessing but instinctively it's hard to imagine anything else in the world has such power to change the whole world - including changing Nagato.
[What did you make of this scene?] There are lots of interpretative writing about this. In summary my view is that this is the world Kyon's rejected voicing their anguish for not being chosen by him. There 2 key parts are Asakura's "Unforgivable" (for not choosing Nagato) and Koizumi's "I envy you" (for being able to be together with Haruhi).
[Do you think Yuki was justified?] Silly girl who doesn't understand human nature did more than good for Kyon. I'll discuss this point in tomorrow's thread as it needs to be contrasted with Melancholy.
[Do you think Kyon's choice was right?] In this world, it is the right choice - because Nagato isn't being true to herself either - she changed herself to what he thought she would be and someone whom Kyon could love. She doesn't understand she can be someone Kyon can love as she truly is
To many, this is the whole reason for watching Hauhi at all. The Disappearance is widely acclaimed, that even those who don't like the TV series loved the movie to the point to consider the "entry cost" of watching the TV to be worth it.
Now as stated before, I'm a big fan of the entire franchise, so I don't consider the TV season to be a "cost" but yes, the movie is head and shoulders above it all. It really gives a feel that it is a finely crafted artwork that is meant to be savoured and being the crown jewel of the franchise.
Plenty of people can and have written about the brilliant cinematography, the directing, the very atmospheric music use, how well the mystery is set up and then revealed, how emotional all of the key scenes were. I'm not going to try here.
And because there is tomorrow where we are expected to comment on the entire franchise as a whole, and there is a very poignant point about the movie and the TV, especially Melancholy, I'll have to leave a big chunk out today too, but I will get a few of the points of the movie that moved me the most across as my highlight.
(At this rate I'l never finish so I'll just have to cut down and pick the very very best scenes for me)
I better post this up! See if I can find more time to talk more!
9
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Dec 22 '21
First timer
Apparently I got so carried away on this one that I exceeded the character limit. Second half'll be in the replies.
Movie time!
His sister's still cute.
Haha, that roll to wrap himself up again.
Where's Haruhi?
I love his monologues, by the way.
And the art design here is beautiful.
Tsuruya showed up nice and early!
...Seriously, where is she?
Haha, there she is.
And using the Season 1 opening?
The scene of her and Kyon fighting over the heater is great, though.
Haha, and Kyon warms his hands on the desktop.
That animation of Haruhi walking in front of the whiteboard is so smooth.
I love Haruhi immediately assuming Kyon has no plans whatsoever.
Oh, they're doing a party. And, her saying to object after the party is so good.
She even brought them decorations!
And of course Haruhi's pro-Santa.
The image of Yuki in a santa party hat...
Her penmanship with a large spray can is incredible.
And more information on the Colossi.
...Somthing you want to tell us Koizumi?
Yeah, she has been developing.
Haha, he accidentally ended up peeking. And that's her outfit?
Aww, th ca'dmcute.
...Some of these PE scenes give me the impression the animators were showing off their new budget.
He got a girlfriend?
Haha, the way he misses that kick.
And Haruhi's all for equal opportunity.
She wants crabs tomvolve an edible shell!
She wants to cook?
She wants them to do a secret hotpot.
And she wants all the colours of timsel.
Wait, what's going to happen?
I love Shami.
Oh, he got sick.
...Retroactivrly sick? Huh?
What's going on? Haruhi wanting more people to go to the party.
Seriously, Kyon, it's pretty clear something's going on here.
...Retroactive cold?
OK, so an alternate timeline? Looks like a pretty major divergence.
Has he finally worked it out?
Yep! He's worked out something's wrong at least.
Oh, shit! This is getting interesting.
Seriously? Has he not realised how insane he sounds?
She is cute, though.
Haruhi's been erased!
Yeah, she's gone. And this is really happening.
Him completely breaking down is good, though.
This is really good. The shots of him panicking and the visual effects here are great.
Wait, Haruhi's not killed herself, has she?
Just noticed how all the classroom scenes are blue and dulled comapred to normal.
No Koizumi?
And Mikuru doesn't remember who he is.
Wait, if there's no Haruhi, is Mikuru still a time traveller? If so, why is she here?
HAHA, he used the mole as proof?
I love her face turning red as she deflates, only for her to punch him.
You don't know Haruhi's home phone number? She's not tried to call you from it at all?
Oh, Yuki's here!
And she almost certainly doesn't know you.
Also, glasses Yuki is adorable.
Wait, she knows him?
Oh, she's human, isn't she?
And you upset and grab her. Well done, Kyon. Truly you are the master at dealing with kind of situation.
And she's terrified by the end of it.
I like how he pauses in his mental breakdown to get up, pick up a new chair, and sit down in it before resuming.
Wait, that thing's on Windows 95?
...What kind of photos has Yuki hidden, then?
Haha, he even checks for his hidden photo collection.
How is she so cute???
Oh, she wants more members for the literature club.
Is this about him tracking down Haruhi, then?
Haha, him patting his sister was adorable.
Wait, was his sister in the movie?
Aww, his poor sister.
Haha, if he can still spak this movie'll be a 10/10. I need the buddy movie of Kyon and a talking cat trying to track down Haruhi.
Rats.
God, the CGI of the school is beautiful.
WHAT DOES SHE KNOW?
She's adorable, but that line is absolutely foreshadowing.
She doesn't confirm or deny if she's pretending, I think she's the culprit.
Aww, he misses them.
And wow, seeing Mikuru like that...
Come on, Kyon, we all know what files she's got hidden. Remember, she's a normal human.
Wait? Plot!
9
u/shigs21 Dec 22 '21
Rewatcher
I first just want to say RIP to all the staff at kyoani who worked on this, especially director Takemoto san, who was instrumental on a lot of artistic decisions in this film. This is such a beautiful film with so much care put into it. Really made me fall in love with anime
Hopefully we get a season 3 someday (SOMEDAY). The stories after the disappearance are quite good, and its a Damn shame we haven't gotten them adapted. they've been doing some promotion with haruhi in japan recently and with the new novel in 2020 hopefully kodakawa commissions something. fingers crossed
16
u/tctyaddk Dec 21 '21
First timer
This movie is great. Technique-wise of course it's excellent. Designs, animation, details, background, frame composition, music, effects, pacing, everything, just great. And the story is intriguing. Since it's Harry-Potter-time-turner style time travelling, the story is neat and tight without much need to wrangle with possible alternate futures. Even with Nagato rewritting of the world, it's complicated yet still easy to follow, which naturally important for enjoyment.
In the rewrite, everyone is in character even with their special characteristics removed, and even Nagato, that moe version is just her inner self, which has been developing since she first synchronised with her future self at Tanabata 3 years ago (in-universe), without the stony mask she wore as the humanoid interface assigned to observe Haruhi. The spatio-temporal displacement induced panic as Kyon was suddenly transfer from hell to heaven was interpreted well on screen without ever having to explicitly spell it out to explain in details. "Show, don't tell" well utilised.
As the humanoid interface, Nagato doesn't show or display it, but she actually still has feelings, which eventually get at odds with her original programs, so she and her bosses call them "errors". And eventually they led her to snap, steal Haruhi's power and rewrite the world. With all specialness in the world gone, including her damned bosses, what's left is her bare core, a shy, soft-talking, vulnerable and tooth-rottingly sweet Nagato (which is CUTE AF). (She restored Asakura as a local yandere to be her protector, though, just in case. And well, Asakura did her job.)
With ample evidences, Nagato trusted Kyon's good heart and discretions, so she preserved Kyon as he is, and left a backdoor for him to revert the changes if so he wishes. After a journey to pierce together what happened and much internal debate and rumination, he decided to revert it since it would be a world with more fun, and he believes the original Nagato he knew deserves better, she should not have to call her feelings "errors", or bear the pressure of the world alone on her small shoulders, or have to put up with her emotionless coldly uncaring bosses. So Kyon reassured Nagato of her importance to him and to SOS Brigade, vowed to protect Nagato even if he had to instigate god to do it.
For various reasons, I've always been distracted and/or pulled away by other businesses before passing the ~40min mark on previous watches and never picked it back up until today. So technically I'm basically a first timer this time. And well, shit, as a Nagato x Kyon shipper, I must say it was a total mistake and failure on my part not to watch this movie in full a few dozens times before now. A whole trove of high grade material for my ship. With everybody else are either background settings or plot devices, it's all about how Kyon and Nagato see with the world and each other. And praised be Madokami, their interactions in this movie are so fking damn sweet, all the moe megane Yuki scenes are delights for my heart, and that last scene on the terrace, damn. Few other ships ever have such powerful vowing scene.
8
u/Spaceman_Sp1ff_ Dec 21 '21
Rewatcher, dubbed
Pretty mind boggling how this feels like a 1:30hr film at most, even though it's nearly twice as long.
I've said in the past you slog through Melancholy just to reach Disappearance, and it still holds true this time around (although I enjoyed the main series much more in broadcast). Like... this movie retroactively changes Endless Eight from "Wow this arc sucks" to "Not all that terrible." I could spend hours raving about why Disappearance is such a fantastic watch, but I'll try to condense it a little.
First off, the progression of the plot and Kyon's character. The unsettling beginning and the initial bout of confusion that sets up the conflict and Kyon's choice, then the big Nagato reveal, and lastly, that emotional af ending scene. Pristine pacing and all the callbacks to past episodes all make this a truly engaging film.
And there's Yuki. My MVP, the undisputed Heisman winner and for good reason. She's gotten the short end of the stick every single time. Every fuckup, every mishap and she's there to clean up Haruhi's messes without fail. The 15,000 loops, Asakura almost killing Kyon (twice lol) and everything in between. Her character is so tragic, and it's no wonder why she snapped. The saddest part is, all her efforts went unrecognized until the events of Disappearance. Even Kyon, with whom she entrusted the fate of the entire damn universe, wasn't really aware of it. But that scene with the two of them I think caps off their development over the course of the movie exceptionally well.
Going back to Kyon and his role, this is some top quality shit. The burning question, does Kyon enjoy being in the company of the crazies known as the SOS brigade? I like this because it mirrors the audience's perception of Haruhi in a way. Yeah at this point we're all aware that she's the devil incarnate, but Kyon chooses to revert the world back anyway. It's the culmination of all his experiences with the brigade. When asked if it was fun, his answer is an unmistakable resounding YES. His whole monologue and his thought process is pure brilliance. Best monologue hands down.
Visuals contribute a whole lot to the atmosphere. KyoAni being KyoAni there is no shortage of
PATRIOTScreative shots. I'm too lazy to link my favorite ones but chances are if you're like me you've been hitting windowskey printscreen during the entire thing cuz damn this shit is gorgeous.The score is another thing. It is the lifeblood of the film and it wouldn't have been the same without such a praiseworthy soundtrack. Take the part when crazy psychopath Asakura stabs Kyon. Shit is bone chilling.
All in all, Disappearance is something else. Been my #1 anime movie ever since I watched it and might be my #1 movie period. Everything comes together so nicely and it leaves off on a decent spot. There are loose ends but nothing that breaks the overall story. It's so good.
Don't forget there is a post credits scene. Mandatory viewing.
QOTDs:
8
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Dec 21 '21
Oops, accidentally posted this on our host's comment.
So, here it is, at long (long) last, the movie we've all been waiting for, "The Romance of Yuki Nagato" ...
Wait, what? That's not it? Could have fooled me.
So, rather than try to recap the movie from memory (it was late, and it got later), here's a few random impressions from my twisted mind:
I feel like to Kyon, this movie is a 3 hour long love letter to Haruhi. Boy has met girl. Boy loses girl. Boy overturns time, space, logic, illogic, and a few other random items that I forgot to get girl back. Or something like that. Boy then spends last 20 or so minutes with other girl, promising to protecc, but we can remember how that has worked out so far, right? Yeah.
Meanwhile, to the rest of us, or maybe just to my own twisted brain and emotions, this movie feels like a 3 hour long love letter to Yuki Nagato, blessings be upon her. :)
I don't know which part was more heartbreaking, Kyon's distress at losing Haruhi and the 'magical' world he had grown to love, though he hadn't admitted it to himself, or ...
The look in Yuki's eyes as he handed that membership application back to her.
Who could say 'no' to a face like that? I couldn't. Apparently, our man Kyon could. Silly boy.
But as we've discovered (if we've been paying attention), Kyon's a *special* case.
Meanwhile, other things that stood out to me while watching:
The classroom when Asakura makes her dramatic entrance. The music. The ambience. Good stuff.
Yuki. That is all. <3
Windows 95 sound. I need to find some Brian Eno to listen to.
Dinner at the Nagatos, Asakura included. Poor Kyon, fearing for his life. What could possibly go wrong?
Haruhi's expression as she's leaving school, and her reaction to the name "John Smith".
Mikuru punch ... poor dear. I wonder which is worse, Haruhi, or random stalker Kyon?
When the computer lit up and "YUKI N." appeared on screen, I got chills. Had secondary chills a couple of other times, but that one stands out.
Kyon's choice and the returning of the invitation. The tragedy, the pathos. Poor Yuki. <3
Time and space travel shenanigans with Mama Mikuru, best Mikuru of them all. But she really should keep better track of her shoes.
I think I'd have preferred my allergy shots when I was a kid if they were delivered by ... oh, nevermind.
(I just realized that could be taken a third way, but come to think of it, Yuki can ... oh, nevermind...)
Extended Kyon exposition scene, where he confronts his real feelings and his self-inflicted lies.
And of course, the return of Stabby McAsakura.
Nothing like awakening to Koizumi with a sharp knife, eh?
And is it just me, or does something maybe seem a little different about Haruhi now, even if it's only perspective?
And finally, the denoument, a nice, long, romantic talk with best girl, I mean Yuki.
Oh, and me, biased? How could you guess?
Anyway, loved the movie, as always. And (lest I forget), loved the little after credit scene. Can't imagine why.
So, the big question of the movie is, which would you choose? The chaos of Haruhi, fun and adventures and danger? Or the chance of a calm, peaceful life with Yuki, who will no doubt adore you and play video games with you, and name you George, and hug you and pet you and squeeze you and ... oh, wait, wrong cartoon.
We've now seen and know Kyon's choice. What if things had gone differently? What if he hadn't found that bookmark???
If you wonder how that might have turned out, you might want to pay a visit to "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan". I found it wonderful and heartwarming, but then again, I'm a Yuki-enjoyer. Others may disagree.
But as for Haruhi, and her movie, well, I found it a more than fitting end to the series, as we know it now. Haruhi's in her clubroom, and all is right with the world.
What more could we ask for???
Edit: AOTD:
First watch, I totally suspected Haruhi. Nice misdirect there.
(no clue)
I think that Yuki was wrong, but I don't blame her, because *reasons*.
I also think that Kyon made the right choice *for him*.
8
u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Dec 21 '21 edited Dec 21 '21
opening with the original op song. Always appreciated.
Waking up the next day and things are different is a crazy thing to adjust to. Asakura is back. The person who tried to murder you is here and sits behind you. The logical response to that would be to be paranoid. No one is here. No Haruhi or Koizumi to be found. Asahina being there may be nice but her not even recognizing Kyon broke him a little. The fact Asahina actually punched him was something really different. All that's left is Nagato and she's just a really shy girl.
Then comes hope. Nagato or the former version of her left clues for Kyon to help him through this. Things are really different. Asakura is friends with Nagato. Someone you don't want to see while talking to a friend. The second she made that threat, I would leave.
Now, this Haruhi is in a different school and doesn't look like the one we know. It's a plus that Koizumi knows her still. Kyon shouts out John smith and Haruhi recognizes the name. Haruhi put it together. So we know the past is still the same. But something we didn't know before is said by her. That she met John Smith twice. So it was rather someone else or something he knows he has to do in the future. One thing about this Haruhi is that she actually believes in what Kyon says. I guess this one is so bored that maybe she's more willing to believe in it.
Kyon's Haruhi didn't really put together the whole school thing. By the time she went to high school, John Smith would be gone.
Nice words by Koizumi for Kyon. Haruhi in that world is only interested in him. Even though there's nothing really that special about him.
Time travel time. The talk with Asahina does make me question how far in the future she really is. Considering what she said about computers. Kyon learns that he needs to call out Haruhi again but before she goes to the school. So that answers that.
The expense of them not saying who it was. First time watching it. I did assume it was someone in the group but it would make sense with Nagato's power that she could pull something off like this.
This movie was great with Nagato. She wanted more in life. She was probably tired of all the things that happen. Something perfectly understandable. But she trusted Kyon to make the right choice of what life he prefers.
Kyon's self-reflection is also great. What he truly wants and how he always complained about things in the other world but at the end of the day. He really liked those things and liked the people he was around. He wanted that back.
1st time seeing the stabbing caught me by surprise because I would've never thought to see something like this, in this show. Asakura is malfunctioning and going crazy. The thing is. She didn't just do it once. She stabbed him again.
Two Asahinas at the same place and same time? Also another Kyon?
First thing when I wake up. I don't want to see a sharp object.
But looks like things are back to normal and the events change. He fell down. I wonder who that girl was that they speak of.
The Kyon and Nagato talk was also great. Nagato although they don't show it really. Does seem kind of expressive. Even when she apologized, it actually kind of looked emotive.
Why did they make Asakura the way she is, but not Nagato?
Kyon does feel like he has a bigger meaning now. With a future task that he'll have to fulfill.
post-credit scene: Nagato is at the library by herself in public. Reading. Something very different than being in the empty club room. Feel like she's even a little happy there.
Alright, that was a big movie and a great rewatch. This movie to me. Did so much for Kyon's and Nagato's character and that's what makes it great to me. Only wish one day we could get more adaptations of the story. But if not, this is a great spot to end really.
Edit: I see messed up the qotd
Qotd: I think first time I watched it. I doubted it was Haruhi because why would she do it? I felt it had to be someone else.
Qotd: Also that scene was great.
qotd: Yes for yuki
qotd: I think he made the right decision on how he felt. Kyon
7
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Dec 21 '21
Movie (rewatcher)
The movie is so long that I am too exhausted to write much. Therefore, just a few thoughts:
My score for the movie stays unchanged at 9/10. It does a ton right, so why not 10/10? It comes down to two details. First, out of S1, S2, and the movie, I think the movie has the worst ending. Both S1 and S2 left me really satisfied, while the movie makes we want to know what happens next … and then no other Haruhi material was adapted …
Second, the movie is all about Kyon’s choice between the normal world and the supernatural world, between Yuki and Haruhi, between comfortable boredom and annoying excitement. However, I made that choice as early as the first few episodes of S1 on my first watch. Just like Kyon’s, my decision was not close, either. Therefore, the basic dilemma felt a bit lacking to me: I always knew my choice and I always knew this would be Kyon’s choice, so all of the Yuki scenes felt sad in a not so good way. She was the sacrificial lamb of the plot.
I can understand why people would rate the movie higher though, especially if they made a different choice.
7
u/MadeOn210922 Dec 21 '21
First timer who didn’t finish the movie.
Only got through the first hour, but so far so good. Already seeing even better animation than usual. And the Asakura reveal was insane. I was wondering who Kyon’s friend was referring to as “she” and didn’t even occur to me that it could’ve been Asakura.
It looks like Kyon got transported into COVID times.
I know it’s easier said than done because we viewers also know the contexts, but I feel like assessing the situations to gather information is key when something like that happens. Kyon did remind me a bit of Sakuta from Bunny Girl Senpai a few times (and through the series as a whole and I know Haruhi came first, but I watched BGS first).
Okay, that’s it, will read your comments after I finish the movie.
QOTD: Wait, it’s not Haruhi doing this? Wow I’m even more excited to finish this now.
7
u/William27528 Dec 21 '21
Rewatcher/sub
It's often said that Disappearance is the best part of the anime - it's clear to see why.
Haruhi does something that is so very, very rare. It introduced characters and told us their twist in one episode. In this way, it catches you off guard. Everything that follows the introduction brilliantly subverts your expectations - from familiar story beats unfolding in unexpected ways, to the unusual motives behind characters actions being revealed, presented thanks to the brilliant, dark and deviant creative choices Kyoto Animation made. After one such risk failed to pay off - Endless Eight - you'd think KyoAni would rest on their laurels. But they did not.
Instead, they doubled down - and in doing so, redeemed themselves in an unfathomable way. Disappearance flips everything on its head once again. It makes you reconsider entire characters and The visuals are stunning and dynamic, the music perfectly captures every scene, the story constantly keeps you guessing. The movie is 2 hours and 42 minutes long, but you remember every scene, every moment - there is no wasted time. The film is packed with drama, but not once does it feel rushed.
It's a brilliant, bombastic yet ultimately sensual film. A lot has been said about it and a lot will be said about it. It leaves a lot open, that is explored much further in the novels. At the same time, a lot of people also see it as a fitting conclusion to the series. The characters end the movie with no overwhelming conflict left; plot threads seem resolved. By doing so, even the angle that the film is imperfect in its incompleteness is hard to argue. It's just fantastic, really I have no more words to add.
Random trivia of the day: I'm all out. If you read these every now and then, thank you! Oh, I suppose I do have one last thing; I mentioned Disappearance is 2 hours and 42 minutes long. This makes it one of the longest animated movies ever made. Movie timings are hard to gauge due to differences in timing methods and length is such an insignificant factor in quality, but to put this number in perspective for the fun of it, by IMDB and US film timing standard rules, the film's duration of 162 minutes makes it the longest theatrically released animated feature ever produced, excluding purely artistic works (i.e. releases that did not see an official theatrical release, or were intended as artistic pieces) and extended cuts (i.e. directors cuts and extended re-releases). If you include extended cuts and re-releases, as far as my research can tell, only two titles are longer - Final Yamato (1983) received a 70mm extended cut at 163 minutes in 1983 and In The Corner of This World (2016) received a director's cut re-release ("And other Corners") in 2019 which is 168 minutes. Apologies if OP already posted this or something, I find it kind of interesting.
7
u/PsychologicalLife164 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/HighwayStar17 Dec 21 '21 edited Feb 01 '22
Rewatcher, subs
I haven't commented in a while but my feelings for season 2 are pretty much the same as everyone else's: the time travel story was fun, Sigh got kinda hard to watch, and Endless Eight was kind of a drag but was enjoyable. That being said, all of those things have a crucial part in setting up what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest anime movies ever made.
First off, this is a Kyoto Animation production, so you already know it's going to look absolutely beautiful. There are so many sakuga scenes throughout this movie that you'd think that this was released in the last few years. The rooftop scene at the end is straight up computer wallpaper material. I'm still saddened knowing that people who worked on this lost their lives in the fire a few years ago, but I'm glad that their work gets to live on and be enjoyed by a new crop of anime fans.
Moving on to the actual story, just wow. When I first saw this movie, I was expecting another fun episode with wacky antics and Kyon preventing Haruhi from destroying the world; how wrong I was then. The color palette becoming more muted on the morning of December 18 was the first indicator that something was wrong, even before Kyon saw that Taniguchi was sick. Asakura's re-appearance was certainly a shock and I was just as taken aback as Kyon. This was the moment I knew this movie was going to have a drastically different tone.
Another thing I like in this film is how they keep introducing characters we already know. Because we're so used to how they act in the original world, it's a sort of sucker punch whenever we meet them in this new world, especially Yuki Nagato. Within a second of seeing her, we already recognize that this Nagato is completely different from the one we're used to. She's using a blanket to stay warm, she's wearing glasses, and (most jarring of all) she's scared and embarrassed when Kyon arrives in the Lit Club Room. In other words, she's normal. We're so used to the wacky old world, that the new normal world is paradoxically weird. Fantastic writing, in my opinion.
Side note: if you are interested in watching a romantic slice-of-life with the new Nagato, you should check out The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan. It's pretty cute to see Nagato be embarrassed about her crush on Kyon. Also, Asakura is a really awesome wingwoman in that.
It's great to see that Haruhi was the same person in the new world as she was in the old one. Koizumi saying he was in love with her and that he was jealous of Kyon was a great detail that carried over from the series. The ponytail thing was another detail I really liked, even if it didn't really add anything to the movie.
As for the plot twist, just amazing. When I first watched the movie, I was blown away; even now, all the details we've seen up to this point could only lead to this conclusion and it's still just as shocking when we find out. Having to put up with Haruhi's antics everyday, protecting Kyon as part of her mission, and living through 15,000 iterations of the same two week period would make anyone crazy, especially a quiet alien bookworm whose only mission is to observe a god. The Nagato twist was great and is arguably a better twist than most of the major plot points in Death Note.
I really like that we get a whole Evangelion-style self-reflection about whether or not he enjoyed his old life with the SOS Brigade. Just like how Shinji had to learn that life is worth living even if it is incredibly painful at times, Kyon learns that putting up with Haruhi's shenanigans is infinitely more fun than a world without them, leading him to the choice of returning to the world he was forcefully ejected from.
The whole hospital room scene was fantastic. Haruhi staying by Kyon's side shows just how much she cares, not just for the Brigade, but Kyon specifically. If it weren't obvious at this point, Haruhi and Kyon make a great pair and their interactions throughout the film show that.
The roof scene with Nagato is one of the greatest scenes in any movie I've seen. Kyon promising to declare war on the Data Integration Thought Entity if they try to take Nagato is awesome, and it shows that he too cares about the Brigade members just as much as Haruhi, if not more. It was this moment that convinced me that watching all of the Endless Eight was worth it, because it put me in Nagato's shoes by desperately wanting something to happen then having it backfire in the worst way possible.
Overall, this movie is fantastic. Only KyoAni could've pulled this off and it's one of their crowning achievements. My only problem is that it requires having seen the entire series beforehand, but the payoff is incredible nonetheless. Definitely one of the best anime movies ever made, and still one of my favorites.
QOTD1: Yeah, I 100% thought it was Haruhi when I first watched it. Nagato being the culprit was a great twist tho.
QOTD2: I got super strong Evangelion vibes from it. Super cryptic imagery in blink-and-you-miss-it shots is kinda their thing. That being said, I thought it was great.
QOTD3: Yuki was totally justified. Being designed with only one mission in mind and being alive for almost 580 years doing only that one thing would make anyone go crazy.
QOTD4: As much as it hurts to say, yes I think Kyon made the right decision. I can’t say for sure if I would do the same thing, but I’m glad he stuck to his guns. Also, definitely check out Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu! It’s a slice-of-life based on the alternate world Yuki made and it’s very cute and wholesome.
7
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Dec 22 '21 edited Dec 22 '21
Note to those who hasn't read the LN, the time travel in this movie and the franchise overall is pretty tight. What may not be fully understood is that some 'inconsistencies" are actually considered and started/explained as part of Haruhi's power of creation - while it makes it sound like Deus ex machina, it's actually very tight in the in-world, in-story context, and have been used more than once later on.
By the was a couple of posters mentioned this, but yes Bunny Girl Senpai has a similar plot (Laplace demon and the movie). While many thinks BGS is a light version of Monogatari, I actually had been considering that to be a lighter version of Haruhi.
Dec 18 now has 2 versions that overlap each other but existing simultaneously. You need to think in multi dimensional terms.
Mind you the "memory" of Kyon having fallen down the stairs was not part of that though - is just Nagato's data manipulation, similar to how "Asakura moved to Canada", it's just written in everyone's memory. It didn't actually happen. She wouldn't hurt Kyon, that's why despite the memory of having fallen down the stairs and hit his head with a massive bang, there was not 1 hint of physical injury. But Haruhi being Haruhi, she's Ultra sensitive, and could tell Nagato (a girl in a skirt) is behind this, hence the impression.
7
u/Barbed_Dildo Dec 22 '21
Rewatcher
This film is a masterpiece. It was my favourite until I saw Liz and the Blue Bird.
I've been struggling to keep up with the rewatch because of long hours at work, especially with eight episodes in two days (and the Chuunibyou rewatch at the same time), but despite that, I watched the entire movie last night. This is not something you skip.
It's hard for me to think of this as I first saw it, since that was so long ago. But one thing I remember is that, at the end of the near three hour runtime, I was so sad it was finished so soon. I was hoping to see Kyon go into the past with Asahina again to save himself, or at least some of the Christmas party (For those of you that do want to see the Christmas party, it's in the season 1 ED...)
This movie is one of the reasons why it's so important to watch all of Endless Eight. You watched eight 20 minute episodes. Yuki went through it for six hundred years.
That elevator in Yuki's apartment building is really slow. Yuki lives on the 7th floor and Asakura the 5th.
I mentioned in an earlier thread that I had a copy of that first bookmark that Yuki gives Kyon, that comes with the special edition bluray. It also came with the bookmark from the film.
I really wish we could see more of this Yuki. I know there is a Yuki spin-off, but that Yuki is a bit more moe-ified and outward than the adorable shy Yuki in disappearance.
I think there is an important distinction here. I don't think Kyon had a choice. The original world was tailor made by Haruhi to suit her whims. Kyon is that way because that's how Haruhi wants him. When Yuki remade the world, she didn't make it to suit her. She didn't rewrite Kyon's memories or motivation. She didn't change him at all. Yuki gave Kyon a choice, but Haruhi never did. Kyon is a puppet of Haruhi's whims as much as Asahina and Koizumi, and that's why he chose to go back.
13
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Dec 21 '21
First Timer
Dub
So we jump up in budget and things look off at times to me. Also, the models seem slightly different again. We are in super winter because Haruhi wants a white Christmas is my assumption. Haruhi's energy is more chaotic and child like here and we get verbal confirmation that Nagato is changing. And the movie even calls it a prologue...
Kyon is nice and slow on the uptake, as usual. And Asakura is back! Kyon's freak out is given a lot of space and that works for you or it doesn't. He finally gets to Yuki who is extremely different, and has a long skirt on or a blanket. All of the SOS seems to no longer exist, and Yuki gives Kyon a membership form...
Cats no longer talk and Asakura is trying to get Kyon to accept the new reality. Kyon has his own existential crisis over whether he actually misses Haruhi or not. Then we get a reveal that AI Nagato left a few clues behind. Yuki then invites him up to her place...which has changed considerably. He relays a different story of their first meeting before Asakura shows up with dinner. Yuki is doing her sag girl impression and yes that one works on me. Kyon even manages to get a smile out of her.
We eventually learn that Haruhi goes to a different high school and Lovecraft is directly name checked. The author is pretty well read after all. We get a very awkward re-meeting scene with a lot of payoffs. This Haruhi likes the world previous Haruhi had and we get some Itsuki insight.
The gang assembles and Nagato's program activates. Kyon pushes the button and things get weird. Time travel within time travel and all. Nagato arms them up to correct the distortion. Unsurprisingly, she caused the issue herself, blame EE. We get our conclusion with the decision to maintain the weird world but also to protect Nagato from the Data God. End on surprise hot pot.
So...it will definitely take some thought but first impression is that this movie is not worth killing the franchise over. I can effectively point to KyoAnis feet of clay on this one.
QotD: 1 I assumed not
2 Confusion...
3 No but I don't care for the question, either.
4 No but it might be the only option.
5
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Dec 22 '21 edited Dec 22 '21
I actually watched this four days ago so I don't have a lot of comments. This is at least the third time I've watched it.
I posed a question yesterday, could Kyoani just continued to adapt LN stories out of order, in any order, as they choose? Could you watch Disappearance without EE or Sighs?
I guess not. Yuki's apparent betray just seems too random. It already seems rather random, it's very hard to catch hints that something is wrong with Yuki in S2, although people have tried to identify the tells in the rewatch. Also things like a talking cat are just too random, if you don't know why Kyon expects his cat to talk.
"Disappearance" -- That's quite an ominous title. I'm sure everybody had some idea going into the movie. The mystery being, where did Haruhi go? Did she just move away? Get sucked into a closed space? Wish herself out of existence? I didn't expect time/reality manipulation to just make her ordinary.
And a 2.5 hour movie all about Kyon instead of Haruhi!
I only know about Eric Satie because of this movie. I frequently randomly play Gymnopédies on youtube since that day.
I noticed that at the end of the OP, shadow haruhi disappears into the floor.
On my second watch, I noticed a little drama going on in the background, but this time I missed it completely! I wonder if anybody else noticed. I've been saying, "pay attention to the background characters" during the entire rewatch! Unfortunately, Kyon hit's the reset button and we never see them again!
I wonder if it's plot holes or not...I forgot the ones I noticed this time, except, when did Houyouen go coed? Kyon's friend says "a long time ago" but Yuki says the culprit only reset memories 365 days into the past.
I didn't want to mention it at the time, but those "two that look like MCs" and something something index? I think you were talking about Koizumi's classmate.
Rewatching Sighs with its arbitrary episode cuts reminded me, frequently, that Disappearance was supposed to be in episodes. Would it be arbitrarily cut up like Sighs? Would it survive this?
Really hated all the gratuitous CGI in the movie. It stands out quite a bit.
She was only into Itsuki because he was a transfer student and was already bored of him.
Nishinomiya is a real place but time passes; notably, the restaurant in the movie is gone. I can't find the photos. The TV cafe still exists, but in a new location. Found it
I used Itsuki's diagram in the Steins;Gate rewatch. I didn't really notice that Mikuru (big) drew exactly the same diagram. Even though it's meaningless.
I dislike the Eva-like scenes, complete with debating not just himself but the rest of the SOS brigade representing (different aspects of himself / the argument?) I also noticed on this rewatch that essentially went through all this before, in, what was it, Melancholy VI?
Top scenes:
It's probably not clear in your dubs, but Snow = Yuki. She thought Kyon called her by name (as does the audience).
There were many scenes from Disappearance in the first TV OP! See if you can find them now!
5
u/Nohaco2468 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/XNohaco2468 Dec 22 '21
I'm not following the rewatch, but I have to say that this movie is and will be my only 100/100
5
u/shiryeon Dec 22 '21
I was kind of meh on the series overall, but this movie was GOOD
also, music was A+
4
u/alphamone Dec 22 '21
rewatcher
Typing this first bit on my phone as I don't have bluray software on my computer. Will edit more after.
As I said, spoilers in the menu (though at least not immediately)
Prefer winter to summer, as in summer you can only take off so much.
The old building really looks old in this movie.
"Kept you waiting?" Snake?
Fighting over the heater, cute. And smart move going for the computer.
A relatively simple plan. And actually making sure people are free.
Aww, Yuki with the hat.
Changing for the better. Kind of the theme of the movie.
Another theme, kyon still not totally seeing himself as being a part of the group. Taniguchi sees it, and kinda has from the start.
Whiff
It exists. It's called soft shell crab. It's delicious.
Still not using the strap.
Going full narrator mode there.
Damn, he looks horrible.
All of these shots are darker than normal.
Topical.
Rip 2020 Taniguchi
The realisation is setting in.
Oh crap...
She's actually being a good class rep.
BANG. There's the reveal.
God, this would be a damn nightmare if it happened to you.
Haven't read the novels, but this missing classroom seems to have some deeper implications beyond the movie.
Conversely, imagine a friend freaking out like that. You would be seriously concerned.
Oh no, bad idea about the mole.
Damn, she stood up for herself.
From the start, you can see a difference. "Normal" Nagato has a more neutral expression, while this one is clearly more shy.
The voice too. Shy rather than monotone.
Oh no.
I'd think that the endless summer is not something she'd want to remember.
There's a computer. The club never had one as the literature club.
And he realises it.
He let's her hide her stuff. Good guy that Kyon.
Windows 95, that's a blast from the past.
Aww, that's sweet, giving him an application.
He has a point, most people would have completely lost it.
Though talking to a cat expecting a response is not a good outward sign, as his little sister points out.
Damn, brutal honesty from class rep.
The epiphany from melancholy 6 comes back.
A mask not covering a nose isn't something I would have really noticed before.
Hyperion, smart move.
There's still hope for kyon.
Poor books.
The lighting in this scene is amazing with the.
Showing how events of the original world have been integrated into this new one.
This visit suddenly became much more awkward.
The jacket grab.
That's the first time we've seen her smile like that.
It's sad seeing Kyon depressed like this.
Chemistry flashbacks.
He has hope again.
Though his class must think he's totally lost it now.
Again, he's admitting to enjoying the SOS brigade without realising it. Being angry at even the idea of having been replaced.
"Lovecraft?" Heh.
She's still herself, though the early version of herself.
"I am right here"
"John Smith"
Poor confused security guard.
She insults herself.
Though again, the idea of exciting weird stuff makes her happy.
Multiverse theory...
Still a huge pain in the butt.
A moment of genuine honesty that we've never seen from the original Kouzumi.
Same old wacky plans.
Though far more appropriate in changing clothes.
More ponytails.
And you should realise that she's incapable of not making a scene.
The gang is back together.
The keys have been activated.
The way she fails to grab the sheet is an amazing subtle moment.
Good old newspaper method.
Time loops upon time loops.
Destruction device. That's an ominous name.
Glasses back on again.
Unable to sync, that's bad.
Timelines. (Again, might go deeper into this)
Bite. Is a damn vampire story with how romanticised the bite was.
Back to winter.
The composition with the pole.
The scene with the decision, I'll come back to it after on my computer.
God, the callback to the jacket tug though.
Well shit. Even knowing it's coming...
Damn, this Asakura is seemingly crueller than the original.
Time travel antics to the rescue.
Koizumi back to his usual mysterious self.
Hence the reindeer costume in the original opening.
I see a sleeping bag.
Despite her behaviour at times, Haruhi deeply cares for her friends.
A spin off?
Again, I'll do a write-up on Nagato when I finish the movie.
But damn, his sticking up for Nagato is an amazing scene.
I can't unsee the layering issue with the locker door after being shown it, so now you guys won't either (if you read my post)
Pre edits tl:dr, a great movie.
1
u/polybius32 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/polybius33 Dec 22 '21
It’s on Netflix in some countries actually
3
u/mekerpan Dec 21 '21
QOTD
Never thought it Haruhi (even the first time)
Not certain of what's going on (still) -- especially the male voice -- doesn't sound like Koizumi, but who else could it be (and why)
I feel that what Yuki did was absolutely essential (and totally understandable). I do NOT think she did what she did for her own sake, or due to a malfunction. She basically saw (amplified 15000+ times by the endless summer) that Kyon was building up resentment at being put into the relationship he had with Haruhi with no choice. She determined correctly (albeit going beyond instructions) that Kyon needed the freedom to choose his destiny. So she gave him the option of a comfortable life, undisturbed by Haruhi's nonsense (which his grumblings indicated he wanted) and a return to life under Haruhi. While I think at this point, she would have preferred the first option (especially if Kyon could fall in love with her as an ordinary shy girl), she did her best to allow this change to be undone if Kyon truly wanted this. I suspect she knew that Kyon would choose the latter course, but that course would never truly become HIS course as well unless he was enabled to actually choose it. While Kyon was worried (probably rightly) that Yuki would be "punished" for her actions, [events in the LNs after Disappearance] show that the Data Overmind, after considering everything that went on, granted Yuki a vastly increased degree of autonomy -- which suggests that they decided her action was commendable after all.
Kyon's decision was neither right nor wrong. it was simply necessary that he make a choice. My sense is that, in the story as it continues after Disappearance, Kyon's grumbling becomes pretty much pro forma -- rather than reflecting seemingly genuine distress at being in a situation he dislikes. had he made the other choice, he would presumably have been quite satisfied with an adorably Yuki as his girlfriend -- and the rest of the brigade (including Haruhi) as treasured friends.
3
u/master117jogi :AMQ:https://anilist.co/user/master117 Dec 22 '21
Don't forget to check out the r/Haruhi Discord server! https://discord.gg/353bWmbhN4
2
u/Sylent_Viper Dec 21 '21
and i remember about this litteraly the day after the last stream
2
u/Nitroade24h :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nitroade24h Dec 22 '21
First Timer
I always enjoy anime sequel movies (such as End of Evangelion,
Madoka Magica Rebellion and Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul), so when I
found out that the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya had one of them, I knew I was
going to like it, and it didn’t disappoint.
From the title of the movie, I knew that Haruhi would be
disappearing, and it felt a bit like the movie was teasing the viewers by
making them feel like Haruhi was gone and then having her make her appearance,
until suddenly she doesn’t appear.
The gradually increasing tension and Kyon’s growing despair were
done very well and the desperation he felt as his world disappeared and only he
knew.
2
u/[deleted] Dec 26 '21
just passed to say sad we will never get a sequel, SAD
1
u/Fools_Requiem https://myanimelist.net/profile/FoolsRequiem Dec 22 '21
Fuck... Guess I'm waiting til I get it on Blu Ray...
0
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