The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan – Episode 9

Oh hey, this episode wasn’t totally terrible! Was pretty happy to see that. Watching shows that are consistently bad is really just tiring for me at this point – even when SAO was bad, it was at least visually interesting and moved well, whereas Nagato Yuki-chan’s bad stuff is just absolutely interminable. But this episode had good scenes! A couple solid jokes, and a legitimately nice moment between Asakura and Haruhi. You get a pass this time, Nagato Yuki-chan.

Here’s my full episode post. Notes below!

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan

Time for tea again!

Kyon and Koizumi enjoy a quiet moment of reflection before Haruhi interrupts

This really has become Haruhi’s show entirely

Mikuru and Tsuruya are resting

Time for card games

“Miss Tsuzumiya, you’re too loud.” Yep

Figuring out which game to play based on who knows what games. Again, this is the kind of scene editing would normally cut. We just get a flustered Nagato moment out of it

“Winning in old maid is a matter of luck and life. If you start with the joker, that’s your luck. But if it stays with you, that’s your life.” Koizumi the philosopher

Nagato and Kyon have crap hands to start

Haruhi and Asakura want to add in a penalty for losing

Getting some okay Nagato faces, though this whole scene’s pretty sterile

Kyon trying to defend Nagato from harsh penalties is cute

“The distance between them is shrinking nicely these days.” If you say so, Asakura

Asakura worried it’ll get out of hand if they’re alone. She shouldn’t worry – we saw last week that they won’t do anything

So now Kyon and Nagato are going to get snacks and the others are going to spy on them

He offers to hold her hand! Scandalous!

Okay, Asakura and Haruhi freaking out while Koizumi just laughs in the background is really great

But it was all a fantasy! The game isn’t over, it was all in Asakura’s head

Why is she even worried about them hooking up in the first place? Isn’t that what she WANTS? Or are we reaching a frustrating edge of the interplay between wanting romance and wanting everyone to be pure forever

So now Asakura’s worried about Nagato losing because it could actually make the relationship progress. Wonderful

This episode is making me miss the old Asakura

I like that in the following scene, we see everyone else has left and Nagato and Kyon are perfectly normal together

Tsuruya suggests the two of them go check out an observatory. Go Tsuruya!

Nagato’s too bashful to hold hands in the dark

Aaand Asakura and Haruhi are tailing them anyways

They discover a dinosaur park. Nice visual idea, and nice piano track for this part.

“So what needs to happen between those two for you to chill out?”

Wow, Haruhi actually spelling out the hypocrisy in what Asakura’s been doing! This show is maybe smarter than I thought!

“I feel like the closer they get, the further we drift apart.” HOLY SHIT, IS THIS A RELATABLE CONFLICT WAAAAAAT

“It’s not worry. It’s simple jealousy.”

Haruhi’s response is very Haruhi. “That’s really stupid. You and Yuki are so close, I can’t imagine what you’re worrying about”

Kyon deadpan “this dinosaur’s got a hole in its side. That must hurt.”

Ooh, another nice track at the end here, with vocals

Mikuru complaining and then promptly falling back asleep is good stuff

Nagato raising her hand to the stars, raising the specter of the old Haruhi series. Another link?

“They seem close enough to touch, but they aren’t” syyyyymbolism

And they finally hold hands at the end

What the shit! We end with a goddamn car crash and “Someday in the Rain” as the next episode title? So is she going to go amnesiac and become her other self?