Review of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

I'm not going to make a habit out of reviewing films that come directly from TV shows but with "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya", I am going to make an exception. For those who found the anime ended rather lightly, "Disappearance" is here to rectify that by delivering what is essentially one big love letter to the fans. It's around Christmas time, and Haruhi is planning a big celebration for the SOS Brigade. However, after waking up on December 18, Kyon discovers that several things have changed: Taniguchi has caught a nasty cold despite being in great shape the day before, Mikuru and Tsuruya act likehe's a complete stranger, Yuki's an ordinary human and, most perplexing of all, Haruhi (and Itsuki, for that matter) has disappeared and no-one seems to have heard of her. Basically, Kyon must face his greatest challenge yet as he tries to figure out what's going on and bring things back to normal.

What I really loved about this film was that it took its time. The pacing was absolutely perfect and things always went smoothly, allowing for me to accept the shock of what was happening without ever getting bored. Considering the film is 2 and 3 quarter hours long, making it the longest animated movie ever made, this is very impressive. The visuals are also a notable improvement from that of the anime, with more detailed art and far less repetitive animations. The music is as fantastic as ever and fits every scene perfectly, and all of the voice actors from the anime reprise their roles here, which is a very good thing.

I would definitely not recommend watching this before the series as a lot of things won't make sense if you haven't, or at least won't have the same impact. The real gem of the movie is that it really shows just how far all of the characters have come, particularly Haruhi, Kyon and Yuki. Before I watched this, I wasn't sure if Kyon even considered Haruhi a friend or not because he always appeared to be annoyed by her. But, now that she's gone from his life, he feels very lonely and depressed, showing he really does care for her in spite of everything. It's like they always say. Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone. And now, Kyon is determined to find her again. Additionally, if you thought Haruhi didn't care for her friends, you'd also be wrong because here she proves it beyond doubt. And brilliantly, just when you thought Yuki was a blank alien without any emotions, after watching this suddenly incredibly minor things she's done in the series make sense and imply emotion. And for those who considered the Endless Eight arc to be tedium incarnate, it's given meaning here by being used as the basis for the events of the film. But I won't go into that. It's best if you just see it for yourself.

By itself, the anime series is an 8.9, but this brings the score up to 9.2. It brilliantly develops all of the characters we've grown to love over the series, gives meaning to one of the most boring arcs in anime and brings the story to a satisfactory conclusion while still leaving things open for more. If you've seen and enjoyed the anime, I would definitely recommend this movie. You will not be disappointed.