Story (6.22/10): The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki, contrary to the rest of the Haruhi series, is very different in its setting. Taking place in the Disappearance world of the Haruhi universe, where Haruhi and Koizumi go to a different school, Asakura isn't a homicidal alien, and Nagato is a moe creature rather than a cool kuudere, the story follows our main protagonist Kyon as he basically...does what he did in the original Haruhi series, which is spending time with the title girl in the series.
In terms of differences to the original Haruhi series, this Spin-off bears only some resemblance to the flow and plot points. For the most part, the series focuses mainly on Kyon and the rest of the Haruhi cast in their disappearance roles, getting into various wacky situations without all of the supernatural business that goes on. The thing that irks me though is the fact that the show plays out like a generic rom-com with many cliche romcom scenes that don't really provoke much feeling. It's so reliant on this way of storytelling, that it really doesn't make the story all too entertaining and rather bland. One of the reasons for this perception is because this show is connected to the Haruhi series, where that show is known for being out there in terms of...well basically everything. Contrasting that with a platonic romantic comedy just sort of clashed.
The actual content of the show has a couple ups and downs. Because Nagato is now a shy, moe creature, the show uses that to create a lot of moe moments that admittedly are cute, but are used quite often and overturn the flow of the story. But my biggest complaint about this show is towards the end where they create the "disappearance". I'll be honest, that didn't really make a whole lot of sense. The issue is the fact that they just throw it right in front of you and expect things to fall into place without really a proper explanation as to why what happened was happening. When introduced, it was just kind of confusing, and when it ended, things just didn't make any sense, and when plot points don't really make any sense, that's considered a flaw in my book.
There is still the upside of this show being part of the Haruhi series. Throughout the show, the show references the original Haruhi in a vast amount of ways, even creating several plot points that have parallel settings; so if you're a hardcore Haruhi fan, you'll appreciate what they throw at you there. (That goddamn endless 8 reference at the end...)
Overall, Nagato Yuki had its ups and downs in terms of story. Without any ties to the Haruhi series, I don't think it would've done as well as it could've just on the simple fact that it was a rom-com story that had no resolution. (Seriously though, don't expect any ships to sail here. They all sunk.) It was a bit of boring because it just simply didn't try and go beyond what it was and it never attempted to create a resolution to the story.
Overview:
+ Haruhi references
- Platonic Rom-com story
- No proper resolution
- Some confusing plot points
Characters (7.01/10): Because this is a Haruhi series, the characters in Yuki Nagato are basically the same people that you see in the original show, just made to be slightly different.
Up first, our main protagonist, Kyon. (Cause apparently, no one knows his actual name and resorts to calling this guy by a nickname.) Contrary to his original counterpart, Kyon isn't the fish-eyed bored person that he was back in the original series. Rather, he's a bit more cheerful, a little more willing to have some fun with people rather than be reluctant as all hell on whatever heinous thing they're doing. (He still keeps his wit, so that's a plus.) While the show is based around his perspective with Kyon doing the narrative and all, his development appears only later on in the series when it takes a different turn, which is ok, but even with it, the show just sort of returns back to the status quo that it had at the beginning of the series, which didn't bode well for it.
Then there's Yuki Nagato, the title character of the series. As I have mentioned before, this spin-off takes place in the disappearance world, meaning that Yuki is no longer the cool kuudere who sits in the corner of the room reading books, but rather is a little moe creature who drools at the word Turkey, and appreciates vita games more than books. Throughout the series, the show focuses on Yuki and her relationship with Kyon, as virtually almost every character knows about her "little crush" with Yuki failing (unsurprisingly) to take a step in the right direction to make her love a reality. The thing about Yuki that I find interesting is what happens towards the end of the series where the show takes a dramatic tone change. There, we have a plot point that makes sense in a Haruhi setting, but the show just doesn't pull through with it, leading up to the aforementioned half-assed conclusion. It's not as if this development of her character is bad, because it put interest back into the series for me, it's just that it doesn't explore it deep enough to get a proper explanation, resulting in some plot holes.
And finally, since I've been saying her name an awful lot, we have Haruhi, who, because she is no longer the title character, is now part of the supporting role. Compared to her other world self, Haruhi doesn't bear any difference in character, as she is still the hyperactive UMA searching, Kyon enslaving girl who just now has longer hair. While the show doesn't specifically focus on her as much, she still plays a very vital role in the series, as she is the one who once again, drags everyone into her schemes and forces everyone to follow what she does. For Haruhi, this is fine for her character. What I didn't like was how they attempted to shove in a love triangle aspect to the series, making some very obvious implications that Haruhi sees Kyon as more than a manservant. It's bad because there really is nothing else that the series did for that plot point aside from a few silent moments form her, so it made me question the point of it since they never went through with it.
Likewise, most of the other Haruhi characters make appearances in this story. Those characters most prominently being Koizumi, Mikuru, Tsuruya, and Asakura, who, like I mentioned before, is no longer a homicidal alien, but rather more like a "mother" towards Nagato, cooking her food, taking care of her, and the occasional scolding. In terms of development or importance, everyone apart from Asakura doesn't get ample screentime. They for the most part stay with what you would expect from these characters' personalities, minus the supernatural stuff that Haruhi imparted onto them. Because they're virtually the same, there's not really much to talk about since Mikuru is still Mikuru, Koizumi is still Koizumi, and Tsuruya is still Tsuruya.
Overview:
+ Decent Main characters
+ Side characters are the same (basically)
+ Haruhi is still Haruhi
- Some unnecessary characteristics associated with unfinished plot points
Art and Sound (7.00/10): The art for Nagato Yuki was not created by KyoAni like the rest of the Haruhi series, but rather by Satelight, who created an all new style of animation that makes the majority of the characters (noticeably Kyon), a hell of a lot different looking than their original look. The animation itself doesn't really stand out all too much, since it's just standard fare, but it's the characters themselves that have such a big impact since we, the anime community, are familiar with seeing these characters a certain way.
Whether or not you're a fan of this style of animation is up to you, so I can't say anything else beyond the fact that there's ups and downs with the new look of them all. All I can say is, get used to seeing life in Kyon's eyes.
In terms of sound, the show has an OP that bears in some resemblance to the style of music that the original Haruhi series had. With a bright and wacky song to compliment its mother series, it's a decent listen, but it to me, it doesn't resonate with me all that well and I don't find it to be as enjoyable as other people may do. (Thats my personal opinion.) On the other hand, the ED is a more melancholy sound. (Ah...) Contrary to the more bubbly songs of the mother series, there is no signature dance, there is no happy go lucky song, but rather a track that pertains to what happens on in the second half of the series. Personally, I felt like it didn't really fit with the series considering that the majority of the show was a very slice-of-life/rom-com style of story, and it sort of clashed that feeling with the ED.
Side Note: The original cast of the Haruhi series voice all of their respective characters, so you don't have to worry about anyone sounding weird or anything. Except maybe Nagato, because Minori Chihara uses the moe voice of Nagato over the kuudere version in this series.
Overview:
+ Art is standard fare
+/- Different animation (positive or negative depending on whether you're a fan of the new designs.)
+/- Decent tracks, but not memorable for me
Personal Enjoyment (5.44/10): While I am personally a fan of the Haruhi series, Yuki Nagato never truly gave me that sense of entertainment when watching this. I had expected the show to be different, seeing as how Haruhi wasn't the title character of the series, but I never expected the show to be so bland and in some scenes, uninteresting. As a result, the score itself is quite low.
Did I enjoy this show?
While I do have many problems with this spin-off, it wasn't always completely bad. There were the moments where the show at times was rather entertaining. The only issue is the fact that those moments only appeared when Haruhi was around to cause havoc. When she wasn't in the frame in some sense or another, the show didn't really have much to stand on beyond being a boring rom-com plot. A bit of this is partly due to the fact that I'm more of a Haruhi fan than a Nagato fan, but even then, there should be moments in the show that should be able to stand on its own two legs.
What didn't I like the show?
Apart form the obvious generic plotline, the ending really gritted my teeth because there simply wasn't any resolution to the series. It went back to the status quo, which basically got rid of almost every bit of progress this show tried to make when progressing episode to episode. In addition, they put in the whole love triangle thing which really didn't do anything for the series because it was never used and wasn't just implied, it was heavily implied with several scenes devoted to imply it even further.
Would I recommend this show?
If you've seen any part of the Haruhi series, most importantly, The "Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" movie, then I would say you have enough background to understand what is going on in this series. (I recommend that because you will be lost otherwise.) Also, if you're a Nagato fan, you may enjoy this as well. While I may not have personally enjoyed the direction that it went, it's not completely terrible, as there are some aspects that I did actually find enjoyable. However, because it plays out like a rom-com, expect it to be a rom-com because that's the main plot point of the show, and the direction that it goes.
Overall Score: 6.48/10
