Review of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Hmmm writing a review for the Haruhi Movie is a bit tough, as its not something you'd want to screw up, so lets take a quick look back as to why that is. Haruhi started off as an original an innovative series that captured the heart of many portraying the life of a girl with God like powers as seen through the eyes of a sarcastic yet very relatable boy. The series was a huge success and even to this day you can walk into any internet forum, type something about aliens, espers, and time travelers, and at least somebody will understand what your talkingabout. Due to this success a sequel was inevitable and while it was warned that the series would bring nothing really new to the Haruhi table, and just tack on a few stories to help better explain the overall plot, its still presented the endless eight... Which upset more people than there were weeks in that god awful mess. So now the movie comes out with a bit of trepidation, will it bring back memories of the beloved first series, or will it simply throw more oil on the fire. Well lets find out...

The story as always, revolves mostly around the world as Kyon sees it. Its starts off pretty simple, its December, and Christmas is but a week away. As such Haruhi decides that what they need to do is start a Christmas party. Anyone familiar with the series will feel right at home in this little interlude before the main story, it doesn't really provide anything plot wise, but it brings back the nostalgia of Haruhi, as you watch her order Kyon around, force Mikuru into skimpy mini skirts, and listen to Koizumi's slightly mysterious comments. After this ends, Kyon wakes up, and begins what initially looks like a normal school day, only to find that everything has gone backwards. Nobody seems to remember certain events from the day before, and Kyon at first can't seem to figure out way. When he gets to school he is greeted by a horrible realization, Haruhi is missing! (and if you call spoiler on that then I say look at the bloody title). Kyon eventually works out that nobody seems to remember Haruhi, and that everybody but him doesn't have a clue about many things he remembers. Thus the story continues on in Kyon's quest to figure out how this all came about, how to go back... and if he really wants to.

Now that the basic expositions out of the way, how does it measure up. Well I've gotta say, I was amazed by how well it was done. The Haruhi Franchise has always presented a fantastic story telling ability (and yes endless 8 was well told, its just that after seeing it 8 times it gets BORING) and this movie is no exception. The plot provides many MANY unanswered questions at the beginning and slowly but surely ties all the loose ends together creating a creative and thrilling climax, all leading up to a satisfying ending. A few questions get left unanswered, but aren't essential to the overall plot, and make for great points to ponder over. If you loved the original Haruhi, then this wont disappoint. The story is edgy, and thoughtful, but still heartwarming.

I'm gonna try to not explore to much of the other parts of the movie but here's a quick summary of the rest. The art and music are pretty much the same as any of the others, and that's really really good. And of course the characters are still the same as ever. But the catch now, is that Haruhi is missing, so for the most part, we see what everyone would act like if the SOS brigade wasn't around. Its quite fascinating as a loyal fan, to see how different some of their overall personalities are. Kyon, of course, remains largely unchanged as he still retains all his former memories, but we get to see a slightly more desperate state of him than has ever been shown before. Kyon is alone, in a world where everything has changed. Because of Haruhi's disappearance he has utterly no clue what is going on and can only try to piece everything together bit by bit. The cast has always been great, having colourful personalities and great voice work. They deffinatly get a perfect mark in my book.

Overall, the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is really good. Now I have not actually read the light novels, so I am not sure exactly how accurate they are to the original story. As a fan of the anime, I can safely say that it was extremely enjoyable. It creates a new part the time line, that can stand proudly on its own as a great story. There are many memorable moments, that make you want to laugh or cry depending on the situation. Through and through a definite recommendation goes out to the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya for creating a well told, and enjoyable masterpiece.