If you're one of those lazy tl;dr types and want to avoid the wall of text below, this movie can be summed up in one sentence below:

Completely redeems the franchise and undoes all the damage inflicted by the Endless Eight fiasco. Two and a half hours (of Yuki goodness) well spent.

Review (loads of spoilers included)

For those that have read the novel, most would probably agree that the fourth volume, the Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi to be best in the series.

After the fiasco that was Endless Eight, Kyoto Animation has to make sure they don't lose the fans faith in the series with Disappearance, and boy have they pulled it off, with spectacular results.

Kyo-Ani has more or less stuck to the novel, yet has somehow managed to pad it out to a whopping two and a half hours and STILL doesn't feel dragged out. Credit must go to novel author Tanigawa Nagaru for his involvement in the screenwriting process as well.

My review will also go on a chapter by chapter format, based on the novel:

Prologue (December 16th to December 17th):

Opening scene is similar to the opening scene in the first episode of Melancholy, with the caption "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" at the bottom and Kyon's narration in the background. A nice touch as this reconnects us with how we got fascinated with the series in the first place.

After having Kyon climb up the hill to school as before, the familiar season 1 OP Bouken Desho Desho plays out, though in the montage of what the SOS Brigade are doing.

The prologue felt long but also not long, due to the content and mostly Kyon's narration (Sugita Tomokazu must really be enjoying himself as the Straight Guy firing punchlines with extreme prejudice).

Chapter 1 (December 18th)

With the world turned upside down, Kyo-Ani decides to have the audience join Kyon in slowly realizing this cruel reality, and they did it brilliantly.

First it was denial at the odd reactions from his friends and thinking it must be just him, then feeling awkward from further conversations with them, to the point of him getting a bad feeling about all of this. Fear took him when he saw Asakura Ryoko reappear, panic ensues as he frantically asked every classmate whether they knew who Haruhi was, and despair sets in when he discovers Haruhi was never a student in his school as well as finding out Koizumi and his entire class has disappeared as well. All this coupled with the full-blast orchestral only serves to intensify Kyon's feeling of despair.

There were still some funny spots, like Kyon telling a seemingly oblivious Mikuru and Tsuruya-san about Mikuru's birth mark (on her chest) and ended up getting falcon-punched by Mikuru. And then there was Yuki. Though more of her next chapter below.

Chapter 2 (December 19th)

YUKI KAWAII YO, YUKI~~~

We have waited for far too long to see Yuki behave in such a cute and shy way, and we are not disappointed, let's just say. Words alone cannot describe how I feel.

First she gets all flustered at Kyon staring at her. I literally heard the entire cinema go "HNNNGGG", both boys and girls (and there were quite a lot of otaku girls who came to watch alone, I kid you not).

Then she goes to invite Kyon to her apartment (Kyo-Ani did well to include them walking side by side in the cold night) where she narrated her version of how she came to know Kyon, which was nicely contrasted with Kyon's visual memories of what really happened that day.

When Ryoko came to visit, Kyon decides to leave, but right on cue, Yuki gives the cinema yet another HNNGGG moment which I think I will cherish all the way to my grave.

Another mention must go to the effort put into showing Kyon's feeling of salvation amidst all the despair upon seeing the hidden bookmark left behind by "Original Yuki" - his ticket to get out of this upside-down world.

Chapter 3 (December 20th)

Kyon's hopes are rekindled as he realizes Taniguchi knows of Haruhi's existence, and Kyo-Ani duly invited us to join along in his quest to return to his own world. (Upbeat music certainly helped)

The scene with Kyon reuniting with Haruhi (and Koizumi) was just priceless, long hair Haruhi was just mesmerizing, especially when she had it tied in a ponytail per Kyon's request.

Haruhi deciding to reassemble the SOS Brigade in this world, thus triggering the Original Yuki's Escape Programme for Kyon, was also fun to watch, especially the part where she locked the room door and freaking out Mikuru, whom she once again kidnapped. (As well as making Kyon feeling nostalgic once again. )

As Kyon made his choice to go back to his own world, he had to first turn down Disappearance Yuki's offer to join her Literature Club, and seeing her look heartbroken was painful to watch for Kyon and for us as well.

Chapter 4 (July 7th, 3 years ago)

Much of this chapter overlaps with scenes from the Season 2 episode Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, yet it doesn't mean Kyo-Ani has slacked off and reused those animation reels as they're drawn largely from this Kyon's perspective.

It felt both nostalgic and refreshing at the same time to see Original Yuki again (albeit 3 years younger). (And to an extent, Future Mikuru as well. ) The CG effects of Yuki morphing her specs into a needle gun was impressive, while her injecting the necessary vaccine (needed to protect Kyon and Future Mikuru from the effects of the temporal distortion that they will confront) by sinking her teeth into their arms was cute to watch.

Chapter 5 (December 18th - return)

Once again we see cute Disappearance Yuki return, but the most impressive scene was not Kyon narrating about why Yuki went haywire and decided to change the world, but rather his own monologue explaining why he had decided to reject that world Yuki had offered him and chose to return to Haruhi.

(Visually depicted stunningly as Kyon walking through a train station ticket counter, with Yuki on one side clinging onto his sleeve, as in Chapter 2, with Haruhi waiting on the other end with her back faced to him)

Kyo-Ani had decided to brilliantly visualize his entire monologue, via scenes of Kyon talking to his own reflection in the window, or by kicking his own clone's head, as without this monologue, Kyon's return would have felt rather meaningless and written for the sake of an adventure.

Next would be Kyon reluctantly pointing his gun at a terrified Yuki (even more HNNGs) and blood splattering due to Ryoko appearing to "protect" Yuki. The subsequent blurring of Kyon's vision seems to hint at a possible animation attempt for novel volume 7 and beyond.

Chapter 6 (December 22nd - back to normal)

We have the usual reunion scene, where Koizumi calmly welcomes Kyon back, Haruhi gets all flustered at seeing Kyon alive and well and Mikuru being moved to tears.

But the best scene is still left to Yuki, as this movie is really all about her, despite Haruhi being the title character.

Her scene with Kyon has been switched from Kyon's hospital ward to the hospital roof. It was a nice touch to see Kyon showing his sentimental and chivalric side by offering Yuki his coat and kneeling while holding her hand as though proposing to her as he pledges to defend Yuki from her alien boss should they try to mess with her.

As Yuki proceeds to catch some of the falling snow with her hand, reminiscing a shot seen in the first season OP (as well as in the volume eight novel), and Kyo-Ani added another fine touch by having Kyon say "Yuki", though as Yuki reacted to him calling her first name for what seems to be the first time, we discovered to our disappointment (and probably hers as well) that he was referring to the snow instead.

Don't leave until all the credits have rolled out

Ending song 優しい忘却 Yasashii no Boukyaku (A Gentle Memory Lapse), sung by none other than Chihara Minori (Nagato Yuki).

Unlike the version below, the version sung in the movie only contains Minorin's vocal, which amplifies Yuki's feeling of loneliness and sadness.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A nice bonus scene shows Yuki in a library, where she sees a little boy helping a girl register her library card, to which Yuki raises her book and covers her mouth (implying that she smiled), and the movie ends.

Final thoughts

What have I not said that is contained in the brief conclusion in red above? If I have anything to add, I would say my faith in the series has been totally restored, so I hope Kyo-Ani don't screw us all again with another Endless Eight. That said, I don't think they could.

Full praise must be given to Chihara Minori, Yuki's seiyuu, for virtually voicing two characters, as she has to perform her usual calm Yuki persona, as well as the cute and shy Yuki persona.

Music is top notch as well, especially when used to convey the various changes in Kyon's mood as the story progresses, from fear to despair and then hope.

Besides Minorin's moving ED, another mention must go to the use of Erik Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1 - The Colours of Autumn piano composition. The ambience fits Yuki's personality like a nice warm glove.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, to conclude, if you're a certified Haruhi-ist or jaded one (due to Endless Eight) and the movie appears in a cinema near you, go watch it. If the DVD or BD comes out, go get it.

The hall before the storm.

The Prelude:

At around 2pm or so there was a catastrophic communications breakdown of sorts as the lights went out across the hall for the stage preparations to take place. I heard from a source that the vendors and doujin groups attending the event raised all sorts of hell for the organizers. Some vendors actually began packing up and left the hall to my amazement. Wonder why didn't they stick around for a bit? I also met tj_han, Owen_S, and DarkMirage today. Sadly, I couldn't have a good chat with them due to time constraints.

The Climax:

At around 3.30p.m. The ticket holders were seated and I was rather pleased that the organizers provided the fans with some glow sticks for us to wave around in unison during the concert. Good one guys! Chihara Minori performed a grand total of 10+3 songs, which was totally awesome on her part for willing to sing quite a few extra songs for her fans. I was impressed by her stage presence as well as her voice during the live. It was quite a sight to behold seeing her strutting her stuff on the stage. Sadly, I only knew two of the songs she sang which were "Yuki Muon, Madobe Nite" and "Paradise Lost". I knew I should have attended a crash course in Minoriism before the event. To make things even better, she donned a baju kebaya that showed off her extremely sexy curves. The roar from the crowd when she appeared on stage with the baju kebaya shredded my eardrums. I am now looking for donors who have eardrums to spare. While I'm at it, my legs are dead from all the jumping and cheering.

Special thanks goes out to the Minori fanclub who flew in here from Japan for preparing the AWSM flags and for leading the glow stick movements. I think they are either rich or extremely dedicated to even go overseas to attend a live by her in an event in a far-flung place like Cyberjaya.

The Curtain Call:

And so, the curtain falls on one of the best live performances that I have been to. I got to get up close with Minorin, get her signature, go berserk at her live, among other stuff.

The following moments can be described as either my crowning moment of awesome or my height of stupidity. But what's done is done and I do not regret it for a single moment.

After Minori's performance was over, I sneaked up onto the stage and took the bottle of mineral water from which she drank to refresh herself during the live. I couldn't resist, it was sitting there on the table waiting to be taken by someone. After some prodding, brainwashing, and adrenaline-induced mania I did it. There is no proof that I was the one who did it because I don't think anyone got a photo of me jumping off the stage with the bottle in my hands, Toki wo kakeru Shoujo style, but here are some photos of the holy grail of sorts.

This is a bottle of Evian mineral water. There are many like it but this one was Minorin's

Why is it empty?

Because I drank from it.

I'm dead tired, lazy, and about to fall asleep on my feet. A few photos of Minori after the skip. Also, AWSM signature.

You might notice that there isn't much of a variation of poses here because I am only allowed to take photos of her during the Q and A session when she is sitting down. Still I can't complain since it is much much better than not being allowed to take photos at all like some other events.

With awe, down on my knees again

I've got to know you are the one,

The only one reveals the world

I saw you in Heaven and heard of your glory

You saved our world from the fallen angels

When we lost dread a Demon was laughing

But now you are showing us wonder

Giving your love

The King has come!

To lighten up our feet

The King has come!

With justice till the end

The King has come!

To save us from the dark

Who could ever doubt? We have faith.

Let me walk with you when I am lost in the wild

I knew you always lead me to another Eden

Let me bless you name O Lord, O Lord

Your words will never fade away

Since we believe you're the light on earth

Reveals the world.

Note: The lines above were taken from Eden of the East's OP. I thought they were a rather interesting reference to the either Jesus or God and it fits in nicely with the return of the Immortal God-Empress. Ave Imperator.

Today I went to another doujinshi convention.

God, these doujin events just keep getting more frequent. I'm gonna have to cut down on going to too many, or my bank account will die before the economy even recovers, lol.

Maybe it's something to do with convention fatigue, there weren't that many cosplayers that really caught my eye, save these two lovely girls above.

As you can see, it's none other than Kagura and Yomi-onee-chan from Yuri-gore anime Ga-Rei Zero. I assure you these girls are far cuter than my crappy photos would reveal. So if you've got any problem with how they look, blame it on my skillz.

Enough talk and on with the photos.

Kagura

Yomi

Group photo

Pocky moment

At first I made the suggestion, "How about you girls share a Pocky stick?"
After taking the stick out, they then realized they're actually quite uncomfortable with that, and understandably so.
So I said it's fine to snap the stick in half first.

If you're these two lovely girls, my most sincere apologies for putting you through such embarrassment. And my deepest gratitude for granting my requests for such shots.

In Chinese for good measure:
如果你是該位黃泉和神樂的話﹐若小弟的請求令你們感到尷尬的話﹐請接受小弟由衷的歉意。還有非常感謝你們答應小弟這樣的惡搞要求。

That's about it.

PS I came across this circle whose art is so impressive, I decided to buy their character posters. Coincidentally, as all their posters contained my favourite girls, I bought the whole lot.

Miku

Haruhi girls (including Kyonko)

Clannad girls

Speaking of cosplay, I actually saw someone cosplaying as Mio from K-On!, but by the time I got my camera ready, she was gone. Hopefully next time we'll see more K-On! cosplayers. So until then.

This is who you should have thought of first and from now onwards as well.

Through the unlikeliest of loopholes set up by Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, a certain pony tailed girl has found herself as an eligible participant for the upcoming Saimoe 2008. While the true identity of that person is highly debatable, supporters of the genderbending movement like myself are inclined to affirm that she is indeed Kyonko, a fact which we're hellbent in advocating.

To achieve this we're going to have to resort to conditioning, which is being able to associate the neutral stimulus that is "ponytailed girl" to one that is significant, being "Kyonko through a series of well thought out marketing techniques pimp Kyonko all out through whatever means necessary. Of course, it's always so much more easier said than done, as there is no platform other than the usual fanart and character campaignings, but I believe the fans will think of something.

At my end, I have only this measly post to raise awareness levels, as well as the following item,  which after much procrastination and delays is finally completed:

Yeah well, you try finding someone who's willing to produce these shirts well below the minimum order(6 pairs) at a reasonable price. :razz:

Logically, the next best course of action would be to parade these shirts around at otaku events, which incidentally enough there happens to be one on the horizon. Will be heading down south tonight, to attend the inaugural Singapore Toy and Comic Convention. Hopefully I'll get to meet you fellow Singaporean bloggers there as well and perhaps turn a few into my personal uke boytoys. :twisted: Thanks to wolfx for the doujin, although sadly it's not PROMOTIONS material. :cry:

Even Lelouch doesn't know what to make of it.

If that post title doesn't make much sense, then well, it's because I didn't really get what these articles regarding the sequel of Haruhi that was in the works being cancelled and replaced with a new season, really meant. SEITENKAN CONFIRMED! You know what, as long the show stays true to the source material, I'm fine with it. I just hope this doesn't turn out to be Haruhi: Okawari or something.

Long hair Haruhi; not sure if want, since I'm much too used to her old hairstyle. Then again, I'm not a sucker for long haired girls, which probably explains the lack of interest. Other than the central character herself, the rest of the cast doesn't seem to have undergone much change, with Mikuru being as moe as ever, and Itsuki still oh-so fabulous.

Speaking of misleading titles, I saw something peculiar at ANN:

Being the perv that I was, I went HOLY FUCKING SHIT ARE THEY ANIMATING TOMOYO AFTER??!!!

But then after reading the entire news piece, I went like:

Because it wasn't what I thought it was, as it was just the DVD only episode. Twice. That's how many times I got mislead in one night. Damn you, Kyoto Animation.

Oh man, even though I've been keeping tabs on the craze, little did I know that it would escalate to such feverish heights. From a few pieces of artwork parodying the original show, this gender-bending insanity has transformed into a full fledged rewriting project that has found its home in Baka-Tsuki, well known for translating light novels, among other things. Also in an unprecedented might of fandom, cosplay of the gender reversed cast has finally emerged, in the unlikeliest of places.

In a Haruhi festival event organized by Kadokawa Taiwan in Hong Kong, a number of fans were spotted dressing up accordingly to the respective characters of the parody version. And boy, was I amazed:

Kyonko

Haruki

Some Kyonko x Itsuko. OHMYGODYES!!11

Smiling Yuuki? Syntax error detected.

Group shot with Mitsuuru included ( ´∀`)

The gang doing Caramelldansen, with the PS2 version of Haruhi thrown into the mix.

Fuck yes, you are the best cosplay group ever! Sure enough, this bunch won the Best Creative Group award, so kudos to them! Below is a video of them doing the Hare Hare Yukai dance, and despite the obvious fact it's really dated by now, it's great to see the "new" cast perform it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I have nothing but pure admiration for these visionary fans, so to speak, and it's quite a shame that I've yet to come across Japanese cosplayers with their take on the phenomenon, though in retrospect it was the Eleven's fanaticism with the Haruhi series even long after it had ended that led to all this.

A huge thanks to Rikimtasu and Kinny Riddle of the Animesuki forums for the images and video, I couldn't help but make a post on this the moment I was informed on it by the project leader of the genderbending rewriting project currently taking place in Animesuki right now(Arigato RmX!) The post that inspired this article here. More images and links thanks to Kinny Riddle.

At of this post, there's an entire wiki for the project hosted on SOS 団, so do check up on it from time to time for any relevant updates. With that, I can only imagine this venturing even further than it has ever before, and to quote the project leader himself;

YES WE CAN. BELIEVE IN ME WHO BELIEVES IN YOU! - RmX, Seitenkan Danchou

Remember the Olympic Haruhi? A little slowpoke on my behalf, but here's the cast given a modification to complement Harubin.

If for some reason you didn't like that version(why wouldn't you?) here is a collage of the various designs for the characters from the show:

Personally, I love Eretto's Tsuruya(Nyoro~n) more than the original, and everyone by KyoAni, although Noizi Ito's Mikuru look a whole lot cuter. TMA's version is just facepalm and lulz. Source via Danny Choo.