Review of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

It was so worth getting through Haruhi's extremely mediocre second season to be able to watch this. I don't think it's quite as perfect as others say it is, but it's hard to imagine a better way to end this show. Similar to the show it's based on, the first few parts are slow and not much happens. It's important setup, but it feels like 15 minutes could've been shaved off without much consequence. Things pick up a lot near the 45 minute mark though, and the actual meat of the story is well-worth the build-up. The art is still pretty good, and has anoticeable increase in quality compared to the show's animation. It goes through huge strides to not just feel like a 3 hour episode of the show, and I'd say it's pretty successful in that endeavor. Another noticeable quality increase was the score. It sounds really great and never felt overbearing. I can think of maybe one scene where it is a little out of place, but most of the time I was really enjoying its use.

It's hard to talk about the plot without spoiling anything, especially if you haven't seen the show, but I will say that pretty much all the good aspects are amplified by the film's confidence and ability to keep it's tone in check. There is still plenty of great character interactions (despite what the synopsis may lead you to believe), and there's a lot to love with Kyon's signature sarcastic dialogue and Yuki's deadpan delivery. Pretty much all the characters are on their A-game here, especially all of the main cast.

Honestly I have virtually no problems with this. It looks and sounds great, it's a well written and satisfying conclusion to the series, and I'm not sitting here with any real conflicted feelings. Honestly my biggest issue is how much it depends on the original show. You absolutely NEED to see all of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya to fully enjoy this (at the very least, the first season), and it's a shame that I won't be able to just pop this off my blu-ray shelf at any time to share with a group of friends at a movie night. BUT, if you can suffer through Season 2 of Melancholy, there's a brilliant, beautiful light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.