After weathering a rewatch of the very inconsistent Haruhi Suzumiya TV series, it was wonderful to learn that Disappearance was actually even better than I remembered. Takemoto is a terrific director, and Disappearance is easily one of the most compelling stories in the franchise so far. I had a whole bunch to say about this film’s visual storytelling, and watching it just made me even more eager to get to High Speed. Haruhi Suzumiya may not be as great a franchise as I remembered, but Disappearance is a tremendous sendoff to one of the 00s’ stranger phenomenons.
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Kyon’s epiphany will always be one of my favorite fictional moments. It’s such an earned explosion of catharsis after 2 seasons of seemingly aimless wanderings through the disjointed Haruhi universe. Sure, the movie’s actual plot is somewhat open-ended, but that’s kinda how Haruhi works: you never get a complete resolution. Honestly, I’ve read the light novels, and while there’s some fantastic character development in there, there’s nothing that feels nearly as much like a capstone for the series. That scene is truly iconic.
You can always count on KyoAni to elevate some light novels!