The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

The movie 'The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya' was excellent. I went into this watching it with high expectations and it still passed my expectations. If you are already a fan of the Haruhi Suzumiya series then this movie should be seen ASAP.

However, if you have not seen the Haruhi Suzumiya anime beforehand, I suggest you watch the series first. So far there are 2 seasons, each comprising of 14 episodes; making a total of 28 episodes. If possible, all 28 episodes should be seen first. If not, then you will be going into the movie relatively confused(ie. not knowing the main characters and the bulk of the storyline). However, even without seeing the series, this movie can still leave a good impression and will likely lead the viewer interested to watch the original series.

Now, for the movie. The main theme/genre and storyline of this movie tie in with the original anime series. The screenplay itself has a lot of depth and successfully portrays the uniqueness that is The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This movie had me thinking for a very long time. It may even take a second view to understand the movie completely, that depends on how focused and absorbed the viewer is into the movie though. Also, I noticed that it contains "movie-like" features. For example, the scenery and atmosphere is a little different from the anime, but it is for the better. It doesn't belittle the original anime, but it strengthens the movie.

Another thing to note about this movie is its length. This movie is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes long. This could be a good and bad thing. In my case, it is a VERY good thing. For any fan of the series I'm sure the longer the movie, the better. However, some do not feel comfortable sitting through a long movie. Trust me, in this case it makes it all the better. The sheer length of the movie provides a great amount of time for story buildup and more; which makes the impact of the movie all the more greater.

All in all, a great movie with amazing screenplay and animation. Definitely worth viewing.

10/10.

Truth be told, there's little about this film that isn't impressive. I'm not specifically talking about the fact about how this film is the 2nd longest animated film of all time, the flawless animation (especially considering its runtime), or how excellent it is overall as a film and finale to a superb television series.

As giving as little information as possible, the premise revolves around the protagonist from "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", Kyon, and involves him getting in a situation where he realizes Haruhi Suzumiya, whom his life practically revolves around, suddenly disappears, and in a place where everyone knows Haruhi for her eccentricity, has never heard of her. This leaves Kyon not only puzzled, but also looking for answers to hopefully get to the bottom of the situation and have everything return to normal. This isn't really a spoiler as this synopsis is also on the back cover of the DVD and Blu-Ray cases. Anyway, the story itself is fairly straightforward for viewers and fans of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" anime though if you haven't seen said anime, I would not recommend you watch this film as it's almost like "Serenity" to "Firefly" as you would need to see the series first to understand context, characters, and various choices made throughout the film. Despite clocking in at 2 hours and 43 minutes in length (which shocked me when I first found that out) there was never a dull moment, in fact I believe the length is definitely a strong point of the film. I say this because a lot of animated films won't always take time to stop and smell the roses, or something similar, where this film has the excellent pacing of a well-known live action film such as "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", "Apocalypse Now", or "Blade Runner". There was one particular element of the film towards the end where I was a bit puzzled for a particular someone and how the logic behind them being there and how they were supposed to know about the events taking place (RA).

I saw the series and the film both in the English dub, and has quite superb voice acting where I cannot imagine better English voice actors from the list of actors usually involved in Funimation/Bang-Zoom dubbing productions; and I do plan on re-watching the series and film in the Japanese audio at some point down the line. At this point in mid-2018, roughly 8 and 1/2 years after this film was released, (even though we had "The Disappearance of Yuki Nagato") the chances of another season to adapt the rest of the light novels made after "The Disappearance" seems rather slim, though perhaps this fate is better than everything being produced in the "Death Note" franchise.

In the end, this is a film truly like no other, not just because of the length, the animation quality, the excellent and intriguing premise/conflict, but it's because of all these things that this film is as excellent as it is, and hopefully will sometime soon be considered a modern day animated classic.

This is a very long movie, but in my first viewing I found it captivating until the end. I watched this before I watched the TV-Series, which compelled me to watch the TV-Series. I found the movie much better, but I must admit the TV-Series was good as well. I can confirm its possible to watch this without watching the TV-Series, but I cannot confirm this is the best way to watch the movie. The mystery keeps you glued to your seat, the only issue with not watching the TV-Series is the very end lacks punch. ON my second viewing I found the end a lot more moving, which proved this was one of those movies you can keep on re-watching. The only issue with the 2nd viewing is the mystery was gone.

As a fan of the franchise, this was a wonderful treat for me. My expectations were very high ever since the Endless Eight fiasco in Season 2 but the film did much more than just fulfill those expectations.

What I really loved about this film was that it took its time, it did not rush into the situation but lovingly and subtly guide us through it. Never overblown, patient and mild, hauntingly realistic in some cases and plenty of time to express proper emotions rather than make the characters throw in goofy faces and tones.

Though predictable, the story was interesting and rather amusing. The movie was based less on Kyon's Journey, but rather him finding his true thoughts and beliefs at the end of it. These sorts of movies are quite rare, many exaggerate the adventure and its moral message does not reach the audience in the right atmosphere. So bravo to this movie.

Unfortunately, this movie will prove alien to anyone who is not familiar to the franchise, so any casual movie goer will find this film very difficult to follow and hollow in information and detail. Be warned. The movie does not stand alone.

The movie is a masterpiece to someone if they are a fan of the franchise, a puzzle to casual watchers, a surprise to Haruhi haters and probably the best piece of anime of 2010. I am looking forward to Season 3 now more than ever.

I love this movie to death. I started watching the anime at the beginning of 2012 once I saw the first episode online then proceeded to purchase Season One, Two and the movie. While I do love the show, it all just feels like a prologue to this movie. It all flows perfectly and really is a thank you to the fans.

I am saying this because for those who have not seen the show, I can imagine that this movie would be extremely confusing. It constantly references events from the show and interweaves certain aspects of the plot around it. This movie can still be enjoyed by people who have not seen the show but many things will be missed or misunderstood. This movie is not a stand alone piece of content. It is something that needs context to be enjoyed and that context is acquired from the show.

In short, watch both seasons of the show before watching this movie and you will discover one of the greatest movies ever made.