Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu

On a cold December day, Kyon arrives at school prepared for another outing with his fellow SOS Brigade members. However, much to his surprise, he discovers that almost everything has changed completely: Haruhi Suzumiya and Itsuki Koizumi are nowhere to be found; Mikuru Asahina does not recognize him at all; Yuki Nagato is a regular human; and Ryouko Asakura has mysteriously returned. Although he is no stranger to the supernatural, Kyon is disturbed by this odd turn of events and decides to investigate on his own.

Finding himself to be the only person that is aware of the previous reality, Kyon is now faced with a difficult choice: to finally live the normal life he has always wanted, or uncover a way to turn back the hands of time and restore his chaotic yet familiar world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kyon Main

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Nagato, Yuki Main

Chihara, Minori Japanese

Suzumiya, Haruhi Supporting

Hirano, Aya Japanese

Asahina, Mikuru Supporting

Gotou, Yuuko Japanese

Koizumi, Itsuki Supporting

Ono, Daisuke Japanese

Tsuruya Supporting

Matsuoka, Yuki Japanese

Asakura, Ryouko Supporting

Kuwatani, Natsuko Japanese

Kyon's Sister Supporting

Aoki, Sayaka Japanese

Shamisen Supporting

Taniguchi Supporting

Shiraishi, Minoru Japanese

Hatta, Hideaki Producer

Saitou, Shigeru Producer

Itou, Atsushi Producer

Sgroi, Victor Assistant Producer

Reviews

Nov 3, 2023

Artdoroki

Recommended

What to say about this masterpiece? Haruhi Suzumiya's film is incredible, I would even say that it is much better produced than the anime series, which is also very good. The theme of melancholy and nostalgia present for those who watch the anime nowadays also makes its presence felt in the film, in addition to the excellent development of the characters, especially Haruhi and Kyon. The animation is very well produced and in the same style present in Kyoto Animation's anime, especially in anime from the 2000s to the early 2010s. Anyway, what I can say is that I would recommend this film to anyone, ... but as long as you've watched it all seasons of Haruhi Suzumiya as you will understand the movie from the moment you watch both seasons of the Haruhi anime. For those who currently watch the series or remember Haruhi nowadays, it gives them a unique feeling of nostalgia or that "I wish I had seen more from that time, especially from the late 2000s to the early 2010s". Haruhi is remarkable, much more than a simple work, it is a masterpiece of the anime and manga industry.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Oct 19, 2023

SynthwaveCrusade

Recommended

Oftentimes it can be hard to review a piece of media that holds such a special place in your heart. Making a strictly objective review, free of all the nostalgia filled memories and teen angst is a challenge far out of my grasp; which is why that's not what I'm going to be doing for this movie. Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu (The disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya) is my personal favorite anime movie of all time. Past all of the hype of the series, the sloppy writing, the nonsensical story lines and anime cultural zeitgeist of Haruhi in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, The disappearance ... of Haruhi Suzumiya captures the essence of the series for the fans in an Avant Garde stroke of emotional storytelling.

There's a reason that we have the word “Haruhiism”. Haruhi struck a chord in the anime community at the perfect time, creating the perfect storm. It was the FIRST wacky slice of life anime and paved the way for many shows like it. To say that the Haruhi Suzumiya series was anything less than a cultural phenomenon at the time would be disingenuous, and its first season proved to us its merit. However, Haruhi’s second season would be a lot less successful. Whilst still good, the second season left much to be desired. With the monotony of the “endless eight” testing the good will of most fans, it seemed that the Haruhi zeitgeist had finally run its course in the anime community. There would be no next season, or next series for Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, the writing was already on the wall for Haruhi.

I could not have been more wrong.

When in the summer (or winter for you Americans, perhaps a more thematically fitting time.) of 2010 The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya released, it seemed clear that this movie was special. Set only months after the cultural festival at the end of first series, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya sets us in a familiar yet more melancholic north high; however spirits are still high amongst the cast. It’s December 16 and the SOS brigade is up to its usual antics with Haruhi being as energetic as ever. The world is as it always is. But it's not so long after that Kyon is thrown to the wolves, left in an alternate world.

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya’s story sets the tone for the character building while providing a wildly interesting and heartfelt mystery about the circumstances Kyon is put in. While the story of Kyon being transported to an Alien-like world does postulate some ideas about the concept of reality and the world we live in; it is merely a vehicle for a character study on really Kyon, but the whole cast too. Kyon’s situation being so foreign, yet familiar creates this familiar feeling yet an oppressive one too. One thing I really loved is that there is this certain quality of pace to the story, like a ticking time bomb that if Kyon does not solve the mystery soon then things will be stuck this way forever. It gives a great deal of precedent to each action Kyon takes. However, it's in the moments where Kyon stops to think about the new world that has been placed in, that the plot really begins to shine.

The main question that the story asks from Kyon and the viewer is that “is this reality really even that bad?”. What I really love about how this question is presented is how little the story lets you ponder and think about it. Kyon is essentially forced to face the question and give an answer; he is forced to be honest about what he wants. It’s the conclusion to this answer that makes for one of the most emotionally impactful scenes in all of anime.

But as I said, the story is simply the catalyst for the characters, and when it comes to character building, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya really ups its game. This is a story first and foremost about Kyon, a character who in my opinion was in severe need of a real identity. Kyon’s ambivalent personality is put on full display in this movie, shattering the cynical wall that he has put up all series. This movie far exceeded my expectations for the character building of Kyon and gave him this sweet, short beautiful character arc. Kyons awkward fumbling and confused stumbling gives his character a sense of fallibility which was well needed for his character. Something that really stood out for me in regards to Kyons development was his inner monologues which was a good way for the audience to gain insight on his thoughts, similar to the light novel. I’d have to say that Kyon was my favorite part of the characters, but it would be seldom to ignore the rest of the cast.

I wanted to focus particularly on Nagato Yuki who got the second most characterisation in the movie. Previously, I was not a fan of Nagato Yuki, she fit the “Rei Ayanami” model of Kuudere which I never really understood the appeal of. I really loved how they characterized her in the alternate universe giving her this more Dandere quality. It just makes the plot and her character a lot more interesting. Without spoiling anything, Yuuki’s role in this movie just adds so many dimensions to her character and completely changed how I looked at her character. Her arch is a master stroke in emotional development and takes a trope that was all but cliche into this really touching character arch. The rest of the cast also gets their fair share of characterisation. Haruhi, who is absent (in spirit) for most of the movie, gets a nice bit of humanity at the end of the movie which I really appreciated. Koizumi’s relationship to and feelings towards Haruhi kind of get elaborated on which I really liked adding dimensions to the character that I see to be the weakest out of the SOS brigade. Mikuru definitely got the least amount of screen time for this movie, but her presence was definitely noticed and an integral piece to the story.

Something that was all but to be expected from Kyoto animation was obviously the excellent animation quality, but the amazing musical score from Satoru Kōsaki. Starting with the animation, Kyoani rarely fails to impress with its incredible quality. Movies do tend to have higher quality animation, but the quality on display from Kyoto animation is really nothing short of breathtaking. Fluid is how I would characterize the animation. It's the type of professional animation that you really only expect from an industry giant like Kyoani. I also love the little subtle changes to the character design with the alternate versions, the more animated expressions and different moods created using the animation. This is definitely most noticeable in Nagato Yuki but it can also be seen with Haruhi too. (Helps that the Cardigan uniform goes hard too).

The music for me was one of the real highlights. Satoru Kōsaki was not a composer that was on my Radar before this movie, but he certainly is after. I already quite like Haruhi’s original soundtrack so I was definitely going to like the soundtrack for this movie. One of the pieces I really loved was the cover of Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedies” (Gymnopedies Dai 1 Ban). In the context of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya it gives this pensive and thoughtful quality to the music. I also really loved the piece “ready” which plays at the emotional climax to the movie. The piece captures the essence of that scene really well and is definitely the most memorable of the soundtrack. One of the songs I was really surprised to see on this track list was “Je te veux” again by Erik Satie. As a pianist, I've always loved the Euphoric, dream-like waltzing quality of the piece. Apart from the fact that it's played quite nicely in the anime, It has the same quality to it that Gymnopedies does. In fact, I was generally really impressed by the classical music repertoire of the movie. Lastly, I have to say I loved the piece “ Itsumo no Fuukei de Owaru Monogatari” which gave this John Williams esc grandeur to the piece “ Itsumo no fuukei”; reminded me a lot of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone.

So to conclude, While the passage of time hasn't been kind to the Haruhi series, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya has aged like a fine wine. Its impact on the anime world is nothing short of historic. For its time, the Haruhi series WAS the anime pantheon, and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya serves as a reminder. Truly, one of the best anime movies to ever do it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 3, 2021

Awoo4U

Mixed Feelings

Story

The premise for this movie is not groundbreaking but it is an interesting one. Aside from that that, the movie is seriously too long with pacing issues especially in the beginning. For such a long movie, not a lot happens that moves the plot foward. I think it could have been condensed half an hour and still get the same point across. Even for this series known for being out there, this film feels very grounded which may or may not be your cup of tea.

Art

It is very noticeable that the animation is extremely fluid. The art style is not too much different from ... the anime series

Sound

Good, but nothing spectacular.

Character

Haruhi which I found to be the most interesting character in the anime series does not have much of a presence in this movie. What a bummer. This movie focuses more on Nagato and Kyon and they get ample development throughout the course of the movie.

Enjoyment

I had high expectations for this movie, but I was ultimately let down. I did not find it very moving or interesting and the very long length does not help. Found myself realtively bored throughout some moments in the movie. To be fair, I was not a big fan of the original anime series either

Overall

This movie is quite a commitement. I would not recommend it unless you really enjoy the Haruhi Suzumiya series

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Movie Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) game8910 - Feb 5, 2010	1,003 replies	by RusiansBF »» Sep 24, 6:24 AM
	SPOILER Can someone explain pls 🥲 fukashiimo - Jul 1	7 replies	by eblf2013 »» Jul 27, 12:45 AM
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