Review of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

In a time when originality is something rare to find in animes, it is the way the content is delivered that defines whether a show becomes great or not, and in this aspect the Haruhi Suzumiya series is when it shines the most. Everyone that knows the series knows that this franchise has always been the "odd guy" that stands out when it comes to the way things are presented or given to the fans, with jumbled chronological airing, or slipping new episodes into what would be otherwise a "re-run" of the old series, or repeating the same events for 8 different episodes. While theabove actions gained the love and hate of many, it is without a doubt that the series is one of the most recognized animes of this decade, and after 2 anime seasons Kyoto Animation has decided to continue its adaptation of the light novel series with this movie.

While most fans were expecting this adaptation to occur during the show's 2009 run, Kadokawa and Kyoto Animation decided that a movie would suit the content of this novel more (or because they just wanted more money). And while their execution of the 2009 episodes is questionable, I believe it was worth the wait in order to get this film.

Story:
+ As trademark KyoAni, the movie provides a near carbon copy adaptation of the novel, so fans dont need to worry about this aspect. In fact, KyoAni took some liberties and added a few scenes and dialogue every now and then.
+ At a staggering 2 hours and 42 minutes run, the movie actually manages for the most part to remain interesting leaving the audience wondering just what will come next, so even though its length is intimidating for some people the movie might just go by pretty fast.
+ The movie's story manages to pull from pretty much everything that the series has gone through plot wise and use it in some way or another to further the events of the film. This is not a movie that a newcomer can just walk into, as A LOT of previous events are referenced throughout the movie. Those who sat through ALL the episodes (2006 and 2009) will be rewarded the most.
- While the movie has an incredibly interesting plot, the movie's length itself could also become a problem to some viewers, specially some scenes that could have been trimmed a little to save time and pace since they didnt really include much other than having Kyon sitting, or just walking in silence.
- Those who were turned off by the 2009 episodes might be a bit annoyed to know that while the movie is perfectly watchable as long as you only watched the 1st episode "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody", living through the endless eight could improve your views on the movie.

Art:
+ Unquestionably the most graphically impressive work Kyoto Animation has pulled off yet. And personally I have not seen such impressive and fluid animation from pretty much any anime series/movies before in the past. This movie is a looker, guaranteed.
+ The backgrounds sometimes look like they just got lazy and used real life photos, but I can assure you...they are not...its all drawn and it looks amazing.
+ It is not only the background images but also the actual background objects as well, people, cars, wind...this movie always has something going on in the background.

Sound:
+ Sugita Tomokazu needs a damn award for this, he has always been great voicing Kyon...but this time his performance was just a step up from pretty much anything I've heard him voice before. Chihara Minori also deserves mention for being able to handle Nagato great, especially on this arc which requires extra attention to detail.
+ While a lot of the movie was somewhat quiet. When you started hearing music actually starting to play, you knew sh!t was going down, one of the best uses of soundtrack I've heard in a while.
+ The entire movie is alive with sound, cars, people, even small things like the sound a metal doorknob makes when its grabbed created its proper sound. A truly impressive work to the last detail.
- The only reason I did not give this a 10, is because while the soundtrack itself is truly amazing, a lot of the movie itself did not feature any type of background music except for when actual important events started to happen. Which might make some people lose focus on the film.

Character:
+ This is the movie's main feature, and IMO where it nails it. While Haruhi herself is the title character, this movie really is mostly about 2 characters, Kyon and Yuki Nagato.
+ Yuki Nagato undergoes its most severe character development yet for the series, as fans might be delighted to see her growing on the inside and possibly outside. I dont want to spoil much but this movie might give some people a new view on Nagato's character.
+ The true star of this movie however, is Kyon. He undergoes probably the biggest change out of all the characters as he finally comes to a personal choice about where he stands on the SOS Brigade. And while I dont want to spoil much, watching him struggle with himself and coming to terms with what he truly wants was truly amazing.
- The lack of involvement of Mikuru (small), Koizumi and even Haruhi herself might disappoint some of their fans.

Enjoyment:
Ever since I read novel 4 three years ago, I had been waiting for the time KyoAni would animate it. And now that it has finally arrived, I can say that the many years of wait where worth it. I came into this movie with VERY high expectations because I knew that Kyoto Animation can produce very high quality shows when they try, and even though I had high expectation, I was still blown away even if I watched this from a pretty bad quality camrip. I do not give away a 10/10 score just like that...but if I ever had to give one, this movie definitely earned it.

Overall:
If you have watched the TV series (but at this point who hasnt?), I highly recommend, no...it is MANDATORY that you watch this movie. The 2009 run of the series put off a lot of people from the franchise and left a bitter taste in the mouth of many, but do not turn your backs on the series yet. This movie might just make you regain your faith in what the Haruhi series can deliver and in the case of those who were never really fans of the series, it might just improve your views on it. This movie felt like the culmination of what the first 28 TV episodes of the series has achieved, and with a few more novels still untouched you can bet for sure that the name of the Haruhi Suzumiya series will continue to live for now and for many years into the future.