Originally airing in Japan during 2006 and very quickly making its way to western markets, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya proved to be one of the more notable TV anime’s of the early 2000s for all the right reasons. Based on the original light novel by Nagaru Tanigawa, viewers were immersed in the experiences of Kyon, an ordinary high school student who was recruited by the eccentric Haruhi Suzumiya to join the “SOS Brigade”. It is from this point that Kyon discovers that his fellow members are not ordinary humans – with one being an esper, the other being a time traveller, and another being an alien humanoid interface – all three of whom seek to entertain and watch Suzumiya who unknowingly has god-like powers.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya spanned two anime seasons (Totalling 28 episodes) and a feature-length film in 2010. While there was enough content in the original source material to make a third season in my opinion, the production team instead opted to create an anime series based on the spin-off manga The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, which was written and illustrated by Puyo. This series takes place in a universe which is at the very least similar to the alternate reality featured in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, where each character exists, but no longer have their respective supernatural abilities, and in some cases no longer go to North High School.
This story focuses on Yuki Nagato, who is no longer an alien, but instead just a very clever, shy and passive video-game addicted girl. Despite losing some of her notable affinity to books, she remains a member of the North High School literature club as its leader, alongside her caring best friend Ryoko Asakura and newest member Kyon. It is in this reality that Nagato has feelings for Kyon, and one continuing plot in this story is how she continues to develop as a person through both the club and as she builds a relationship with Kyon.
While Nagato, Kyon and Asakura could easily be identified as the show’s three main characters, most of the other notable characters from the original show make an appearance. The shy Mikuru Asahina and the hyperactive Tsuruya are the first to make their re-appearance, where their friendship is compared similarly to the one held by Nagato and Asakura. Haruhi and Koizumi appear a few episodes into the show as students of the neighbouring Kouyouen Academy – with both maintaining similar personalities. Other secondary characters such as Kyon’s Sister, Taniguchi and Kunikida make the odd appearance during the show as well.
While all these characters make an appearance over the episodes, for the most part they have been reduced to secondary character status, with a lot more attention being given to the main trio. This is most noticeably during the main plot arc in the middle of the series which focuses more on Kyon, Nagato and Asakura. Instead, the secondary characters have more prominence in the episodes where the group decides to go on trips or do an activity, which are episodes focused more on the general drama / romantic-comedy elements.
One of the main draws of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya to me was the combination of the supernatural and natural. As this show is at least to a greater degree grounded on reality (although not without its supernatural quirks), this show does put more emphasis on standard drama and romantic comedy than its predecessors. However, there are some noticeable benefits in taking this approach. Namely, that although exactly the same characters as in the main chronology, each character does receive a lot more development in these episodes than before. I also appreciated that they still included or at least referenced several events from the main season, highlighting that this could just be a reality where Haruhi didn’t obtain her volatile godlike powers.
Although purely a matter of personal taste, romantic series don’t usually appeal to me when it comes to choosing anime. However, I would put The Disappearance of Nagoto Yuki-chan on the same level as something like Say, “I Love You” – where it offers an experience something more than a fanservice-laden romance-fest. In the case of this season, the creative team’s use of each character’s unique personality won me over, resulting in an experience which managed to deliver moments that could be either heartfelt or downright entertaining when necessary.
Like many other series, there were points in the story that dragged on a bit too long, but for the most part this tale was well paced and didn’t disappoint with the content that was offered. My biggest concern is that this is a season which doesn’t cover all volumes of the original manga. Therefore for now, this remains an incomplete series in my books until at least a season season is offered – if ever – in the future.
Offered on Blu-ray in addition to the standard DVD offered for pretty much every anime release, I personally feel the design quality justifies the $10 AUD price increase for Blu-ray. Clearly taking inspiration from the source manga rather than offering an identical style to the other TV anime series, animation studio Satelight offered a visual experience which was in my opinion satisfying to the eyes, adequately detailed and animated – and quite often – very adorable. That being said, the design is not over-the-top and has a softer colour palette – which is quiet fitting for the drama/romance series this is.
Many years have passed since Bandai Entertainment first released The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya with dual-language audio. When FUNimation Entertanment first confirmed they had acquired the rights to The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, I was expecting them to do what they did with Shakugan no Shana and have a completely different English voice cast to the original series. However they took a different route. They managed to get back many of the original English voice cast members, with all leading roles making a return, including: Michelle Ruff as Nagato, Crispin Freeman as Kyon, Wendee Lee as Haruhi, Stephanie Sheh as Mikuru, Johnny Yong Bosch as Koizumi and Bridget Hoffman as Asakura. All the English VA’s managed to handle their characters well once again despite the time gap, and ultimately managed to give consistency to the Haruhi anime franchise’s anime dub.
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan does not deliver the frequently over-the-top antics which The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya offers, and this is one of the main reasons why I don’t see this as a series which sticks out in memory for anywhere near as long. That said, it does deliver a very satisfying romantic/drama experience during the time of watching, which takes full advantage of its familiar cast and setting to provide a look into a relationship which is both entertaining and heartwarming. I also appreciated that they didn’t completely abandon the main series’ canon, and it was nice to see some core events from the series either referenced and viewed taking place – albeit with a cast of somewhat normal albeit eccentric high school students.
