The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoshitsu) REVIEW

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is to awesome as Endless eight is to ****ing stupid

 

Well, upon realizing that this movie might be the anime equivalent to sliced bread, I decided not posting a review for it on my site would just be silly.

I realize that a couple days ago, I said I was resigning from the Eastern Orthodox Church of Haruhi Suzumiya, but after seeing this movie, my faith hath been restored!

Let’s see, where do I even start talking about this?

Plot Synopsis: Kyon is going through another day in his mundane and boring life in the SOS brigade, where he does the bidding of the local overdiety, Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi has dictated that the SOS brigade will be holding a Christmas party and blah blah blah, the first 20 minutes or so of the movie are kinda slow. But, to offer a counter statement, the first 20 minutes or so of 2009’s Star Trek were boring, so we can live with that. Beginning part just hammers in how everything is normal.

Until 3 days later, when Kyon is walking to school, and realizes that something is off…

He goes to school, and realizes that Huruhi has gone missing, and that nobody even knows who she is. He wonders about her empty seat in the classroom, until the person who belongs there shows up, who is none other than…. Ryoko Asakura

 DUN DUN DUN!

Strangely, none of the supernatural occurrences that normally occur in this series seem to be happening, He asks some of the other Brigade members, and learns that they have no idea what he is talking about, and that he sounds like he’s gone crazy.

Throughout the move, Kyon must go on a journey to find out what has happened to the universe, and attempt to bring it back, but this time he can’t go off and rely on Yuki or Koizumi for help…

MY OPINIONS: This movie manages to break a lot of conventions that most movie adaptations of an anime series go through. Most movies just make a 2 hour long monster of the week plot. Other movies decide to just cram the whole series into two hours. Not this one. This one decides to make a 3 hour epic (okay, 2 and a half) about Kyon’s journey through several universes where he learns more about himself, realizes why he does what he does, and what would happen if he finally got his wish and was allowed to live a normal life. It has twists, turns, and keeps you guessing. Characters come out feeling more fleshed out.

BUT NO, Kyoto animation couldn’t just let it end there. They have to give Yuki’s fans a boatload of stuff too. We get to see what she would act like if she wasn’t some messenger from the universal data being… thingy. Amazingly, Yuki manages to provide more moe than freaking MIKURU in this movie! Mind blowing, I know. Some fans might complain about the lack of Haruhi in this movie, but I find that her lacking presence forced us to see what Kyon would do if Haruhi stopped messing up his normal life. He most certainly loses the things he complains about, which is why we love him.

ASSUMPTIONS: Well, if you want to watch this, you need to have seen the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and the first episode of the second season (endless 8 is mentioned, but you really shouldn’t watch that) Oh yeah, if you didn’t like the first season, you probably won’t like this.

Afterthoughts: You should definitely see this, if you’re a fan of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. No exceptions. I was exited from the moment Bouken Desho Desho started playing. Yuki x Kyon shippers NEED to see this, otherwise they are betraying their ship. I’m now confused about whether to ship Kyon with Mikuru or Yuki. Kyon looks sooo cute with Yuki in this movie though, and there’s that one scene. People who only like the series for Haruhi might be disappointed in her lack of presence, but they should look at the title. Definitely the best movie spinoff of an anime I’ve ever seen.

HOW TO SEE IT: Well, as this blog mentions  there’s going to be a screening in San Fransisco on May 21^st. Let’s see, DVD should be coming soon. There will be screenings in a few other states. Almost garunteed to be shown at Anime Expo.

Update: well, it's past May 21, so the new showing will be in LA. More info here
No info about an anime expo showing

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Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Review and info
My resignation from the church of Haruhi
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