Review of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Really, I juz knew this movie recently, although I've kept on hearing "The Disapperance of Haruhi Suzumiya" back in 2009, but I really haven't thought of it or somehow maybe watching K-On! and the other KyoAni anime made me lost track of Haruhi. It's already 2014 now, and I saw this movie juz a while ago of May 13. Back in 2007-2009 I have much otaku-connections, which I don't have anymore [I still have 1 to 2 otaku friends whom I can call my friends as well as connections] after 2009, since my otaku-connections were like, from 2007-2009 and I split up with them becausewell, I juz grew up, I guess. The entire Haruhi Suzumiya anime, this brought me to a lot of emotions and events back on those years/days. I remembered "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" were like a fad, especially the "Hare Hare Yukai" danced alongside with Lucky Star's "Motteke Sailor Fuku".
For me, I rated 6 to 7 on the Haruhi series, and I get it that a lot of people like Haruhi because of the KyoAni animation quality rather than focusing the slow-paced, dragging-story; but this movie, I rated it as 9.
STORY = 9
I hope [since I haven't seen anything Haruhi nowadays, guess KyoAni moved on alright] this will be the last thing EVER for KyoAni to produce Haruhi Suzumiya, because this movie settles everything the series worked up so far. This movie is the definite conclusion to the entire reason why a normal high schooler [Kyon], along with a time-traveller [Mikuru], an utsuujin humanoid interface [Yuki], and an ESPer [Koizumi], to entertain and keep on entertaining the melancholic "godlike" Haruhi Suzumiya. Trust me, those who raises brows or even loathe on the entire Haruhi-storyline [I loathed their entire endless-8 episodes, a lot expectation for looping-episodes where only otakus like to point out fine details what differs each of those 8, but I'm only an "anime fan", not an otaku; so IMO that loop could have been a 2 to 3-part OVA and I wouldn't mind.], you juz need to watch this to bury your hatchet. There couldn't be a greater conclusion from the Haruhi Suzumiya series than this movie.
ART = 9
I well-remembered the 2006-esque (or season 1) Haruhi art, and the movie shows the blend of K-On! anime-technology but still retains the distinguishable 2006, which is the reason why a lot of people like this show for its animation rather than saying "why am I watching this again?".
SOUND = 9
Brings back memories hearing "Bouken Desho Desho" again. Yeah my feels man, my feels!
CHARACTER = 8
I mostly got this 8 rating on the conclusion of the movie. But yep, Kyon is Kyon, Haruhi is Haruhi [who has fewer screentime here], Yuki, Asahina-san, and Koizumi are still them, yep that's it. Although I can say that it makes me think Yuki Nagato [due to the events in the movie] must have been turned into a "Windows 8" in this movie, while she's a "Windows 7" in the series. Yeah that was a joke.XD
ENJOYMENT = 8
This movie caught me sitting a well 2hr 42mins and says "worth it!". If they [KyoAni] shortened the prologue, I could have given this a 9. Also, there were some sorts of "anticlimax" so that's also a -1 point deduction, hence a rating of 8.
OVERALL = 9
The ever-known title "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya",
I have lots of reminiscence on this anime: this is the show where an era of my life led me to some otaku-exploits and seeing and befriending real-life otakus in my locality, calling themselves (ourselves) as "Anime Kyoukai" [though I'm not attached much on that kyoukai thing~~goes to show I'm really juz not "otaku" compared to a lot of people there], got a girlfriend (now ex-gf) cosplayer, well, things like that. By real-life otakus, I mean those otakus who really, you know, DUEL with duel cards, they have "chuunibyous" in their system, and are know-it-all in anime that has a manga, anime, and visual-novel versions in it (eg. Fate/Stay Night), so yep meeting them is...somewhat a good experience. BUT I have to grow up, and leave them behind (I still see them in anime-conventions even 'til now, so I guess that's just them, 20+years guys still loving what they love to do).
One thing I can tell about the series Haruhi Suzumiya though, is even though a very very very lot of people like it, me and my ex-gf (and some other anime-fan-friends) never get much of the hype about this show, no matter how KyoAni-ish this is. Sure, it's KyoAni, but back then in 2007-2009, there really never has a term "KyoAni", but more of "Lucky Star", or "Haruhi Suzumiya", or "Clannad" [and only top-otakus got the gag about Konata and Haruhi = because both Konata Izumi and Haruhi Suzumiya are voiced by Aya Hirano; and yes they told me about that so I was able to understand it like them], the term "KyoAni" started to evolve on when K-On! came up. But that itself is the nice ring to it.
With this movie, I guess this is the right conclusion to the entire Haruhi Suzumiya legacy. KyoAni has moved on to make shows like Free! and Kyoukai no Kanata, but the Haruhi Suzumiya is already immortalized. I'm contented and didn't regret watching this movie at all, and I felt I fulfilled that 2007-2009 part of me who wished to see this movie, too, and that's it. Haruhi Suzumiya and her memorable friends lives on as part of the KyoAni legacy, and to the fans who love this ever-bored peculiar tsundere-disputing [I remembered otaku-friends of mine debated if Haruhi's a tsundere or not, and I was like "why are we arguing about this?" but yep that's what otakus are and I guess I would never fully understand why it matters to them, but it was fun] Haruhi Suzumiya, this movie is definitely for them.