The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
So I finally went and saw 涼宮ハルヒの消失, or The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya today, Saturday, the 27th of March, 2010. I went to a late showing, which is why I’m posting this after midnight Japan time on the 28th. Wow, what an incredible movie. If you’re a fan of the Haruhi franchise at all, you’ll love this movie, IMHO. Wonderful, wonderful film. The above image is of the movie’s program book, called a “pamphlet,” that you can purchase at the theater, along with other goods related to the movies they are currently showing. (Oh and just for the record, it’s “Disappearance” not “Vanishment.” The name even shows up at the bottom of the screen in English as “The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya” at the beginning of the film.)
This film does a really great job continuing where the TV series left off, and manages to also tie up some loose ends that I had forgotten about. Something I found very interesting though was the product placement in the film. Instead of your standard slight spelling change so that it’s similar to the brand you’re trying to portray but different enough that you won’t get in trouble, the actual brands show up. For instance, Kyon buys some stuff at a Family Mart (a convenience store chain here in Japan), and when a computer gets booted up in the film, there’s the actual Microsoft Windows startup screen, with correct spelling and everything.
The background visuals, especially in certain parts of the movie, where this effect seemed more pronounced than others, seemed like they could have just been rotoscoped video. The cars and the buildings had a more real feel to them than the actual characters did, at times. Don’t get me wrong, I dearly love the movie, and this certainly doesn’t ruin it for me. However, it was slightly distracting at times, with the characters almost seeming like they didn’t belong in those scenes, like they were actually just characters drawn onto real-life video footage.
Overall, though, I must say that I quite enjoyed the movie, and was pleasantly suprised how much of the dialog I actually understood. I didn’t get alot of the stuff when they started talking all technical and using alot of sci-fi jargon, but then again, some of that stuff’s hard enough to follow along with when I do have subtitles. ;)
Well, that’s the spoiler-free version. More pictures, followed by spoilers, are after the jump.
This is a knapsack of Yuki standing in the snow that I picked up at the movie theater after the movie. Really like this shot of Yuki. ^_^
Next are some 涼宮ハルヒの消失 “clear files” (basically single-pocket plastic folders), and a cloth to wipe my glasses with.
Okay, now with that our of the way, spoilers are next.
WARNING!!!! 注意!! Spoilers Ahead!!!
Well, as some of you may know, this movie actually foucuses more on Kyon, Yuki, and their relationship than anywhere in the TV series. This story arc really is Yuki’s arc. There were definitely some suprises, such as the entire situation of the movie actually being Yuki’s fault, and not Haruhi’s (for once). Also, holy carp! Asakura is an extremely scary yandere! XD I knew she was kinda nuts originally, but not quite like this.
You’ve really got to feel for Kyon. The world is all of a sudden normal again, Asakura is back, and sitting in Haruhi’s seat, noone knows who Haruhi is, nor do the other members of the SOS団 (which also no longer exists) know who Kyon is. The guy is practically going out of his mind here, and is actually pining for Haruhi, even if he won’t directly admit it at first.
They eventually do find Haruhi, who has long hair again, and wow, I just want to say that ponytail Haruhi is extremely cute. ;) Anyway, I do believe I’m rambling here. It’s extremely late now, so I’ll just finish up this post now. Thanks for reading! ^_^
Tags: Haruhi Suzumiya, Kyoto Animation, movie, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, 涼宮ハルヒ, 涼宮ハルヒの消失
