Review of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Can it be a coincidence that the best animated entry in the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise is the story with the least Haruhi Suzumiya in it? I'm going to say no. I tore through Kyoto Animation's two seasons of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya this past week, and it's been a rollercoaster, with some highs matched by abysmal lows. A big part of my problem with the story of Haruhi Suzumiya is that Haruhi, the unwitting God of all creation herself, is a repugnant, detestable brat and the show only seems fleetingly aware of this fact. Beyond the admittedly ballsy and experimental Endless Eight (in which the showcommits to a groundhog loop plot so hard that 8 episodes of a 14 episode season depict almost the exact same scenes happening over and over and over again), I think what made Season 2 such a miserable slog is that the two arcs it adapted feature Haruhi at her most unrepentantly obnoxious; when a character almost socks her in the face and I'm rooting for him to do so, there's a problem.

The moments where the show worked best, however (almost all being in Season 1), focused on the relationship between Haruhi and her put-upon straight man foil, Kyon, as he challenged her, grounded her, and, through their interactions, brought out her more redeeming qualities. I think part of why The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya works so well (apart from Haruhi being absent from so much of it) is that it reorients the focus back toward her dynamic with Kyon.

In this film, Kyon awakes one day to find himself in a world where Haruhi Suzumiya seemingly does not exist; no one remembers her, and all of his formerly supernatural companions have reverted to mundane teenagers. Unlike too much of the show, here there is a genuinely compelling sense of mystery, and the narrative has real forward momentum as Kyon takes an active role in uncovering the mystery. Plus, dropping him into this drab, dull world without the loud-mouthed ball of chaos to boss him around, makes the audience actually come to appreciate Haruhi's presence, even if only in this context.

In a way, this film reminds me of the last five minutes of Neon Genesis Evangelion's final episode, in which Shinji imagines his life as a cliche anime rom-com, but where Eva worked through that premise in about 5 minutes, this is film a languid, measured 160 minutes. Still, despite the film's length, I was invested in the story throughout; as slow-moving as the film can be, the characters are given room for a little more nuance and distinct personality than what they displayed in the series proper, and it goes a long way to giving viewers a reason to care.

I actually found Haruhi somewhat charming and endearing by this movie's end; you cannot imagine how much of an accomplishment that is. If this is indeed the last mainline Haruhi Suzumiya story to receive an animated adaptation, you could do far worse than to end the series on a note like this.