The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan
All it takes is just one person at a specific time and place to turn your whole world around, be it for the better or worse. The right person can turn your gloom into joyous laughter, and the wrong person can turn your tranquil happiness into unending chaos. However, there are also individuals whose behavior we struggle to comprehend—weird and eccentric personalities who engage in peculiar actions, making it challenging to determine whether their behavior is beneficial or detrimental. However, those may very well be the most eventful bunch. Either way, change is imminent in our lives, and how well we adapt may well determine the rest of our years.
“The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan,” also known as “Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu” or “The Vanishing of Nagato Yuki-chan,” is a 16-episode TV anime series that aired from the 4th of April until the 18th of July in spring 2015. It was produced by Lantis, Kadokawa Shoten, AT-X, KlockWorx, chara-ani.com, Tokyo MX, Sankyo Planning, Docomo Anime Store, and Kadokawa Media House; licensed by Funimation; and brought to life by Studio Satelight. The 24-minute episodes focused on comedy and romance genres, included a school theme, targeted the seinen demographic, and earned a PG-13 rating for viewers aged 13 years or older. Episode 1 was first previewed at a screening on March 22, 2015, at the Kadokawa Cinema Shinjuku, while the regular broadcast started on April 4, 2015.
Set within the Suzumiya Haruhi franchise, the series is adapted from the manga of the same title. It ran for a total of 10 volumes from July 4, 2009, to August 4, 2016. It is the work of author and artist Puyo and was serialized in Young Ace. It was also published in English by Yen Press from July 24, 2012, to October 31, 2017. A sequel to the anime was released in the form of a single-episode OVA titled “Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu: Owarenai Natsuyasumi” or “The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan: I Cannot Let Summer Break End.” It aired on October 26, 2015, and focused solely on the comedy genre, with a runtime of just 24 minutes. It functioned as an extra episode of the anime, which came bundled with the limited edition manga volume 09. This anime is a spin-off of the main “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006)” and “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 (2009)” series, which are set in a similar yet different universe littered with familiar faces. Additionally, the movie “The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya,” released on February 6, 2010, is also a spin-off of the franchise that shares similar elements with this show.
Set within the Haruhi Suzumiya universe but in a reality distinct from the main series, we are introduced to a very different version of Yuki Nagato: a quiet bookworm and gamer who leads a much less thrilling life in comparison. This is in no way a bad thing, because she is the president of the Literary Club at North High School and is surrounded by quite a distinguished bunch. The extremely ordinary Kyon remains the same as ever, and Ryouko Asakura is overly cautious, the only other member. Outside the club, Tsuruya and Mikuru Asahina are two friends with opposite personalities who often stop by the Literary Club for whatever reason works at the time. This peaceful and silent environment is something that Yuki enjoys very much and is glad to share it with her two companions, especially Kyon, on whom she has a particular crush. But her life was never going to enjoy such tranquility for long, because she ended up meeting THE Haruhi Suzumiya on a cold December day.
While walking back to her apartment on that fateful day, she is coerced into drawing strange symbols on the ground by Haruhi, who is supposedly trying to capture Santa Claus. After introducing herself, it is revealed that she is from the prestigious Kouyouen Academy and is currently hunting for aliens, time travelers, and espers. Haruhi’s eccentricity does not end there, because she and her friend, Itsuki Koizumi, suddenly appear in the clubroom soon after, and they even declare themselves official members of the Literary Club. Going a step further, she even takes up residence as the executive president! This brings the peaceful days of the club to an abrupt end, leading Yuki and her friends to become irreversibly entangled in a series of misadventures all under Haruhi's bold leadership. Still, on the other hand, each chaotic incident serves to bring Yuki and Kyon closer together than ever before.
Just to be clear, I had watched both seasons of “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” and the movie before I got into this series, and yes, I sat through all the time loops. Needless to say, I am a fan of the cast, even if the story was as confusing to me as ever, and I never really made heads or tails of it. I started watching “The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan” with similar expectations. Still, I was largely let down by this generic slice-of-life show that retained very little of the unorthodox charm I had grown to love. But I still watched the whole thing because I love the characters, especially Kyon and Haruhi, and wondered if they could have funneled all these resources and effort into a different Haruhi project. This does not mean the show is inherently bad; it’s just that you have to let go of any prior expectations and accept it for what it is. This is a "What If?" narrative, utilizing the original series as the primary world and presenting an alternative reality. It uses the movie’s Yuki Nagato, who showed her fragile side, and the original version to create a new one, a very average nerd girl that we have seen a million times. However, this persona of hers clashes well with Haruhi’s eccentric nature, creating a parody-like context that is very lighthearted and fun.
In the character department, Nagato is clearly the main character, but this version doesn’t have enough merit to keep the show running on her own. Meanwhile, I felt a significant absence of Haruhi’s presence because she only appears randomly and creates chaos; nothing can be executed well in this franchise without masterfully utilizing Haruhi. This is where the show suffers: Haruhi easily steals the show whenever she appears, leaving a void behind in her absence. She is obsessed with the supernatural, as usual, is highly eccentric, and bosses everyone around; therefore, she simply must be in charge.
Such behavior causes everyone else to take the backseat, especially Nagato, and you get what I mean here. The rinse and repeat process is as follows: Haruhi does something unusual, and it is either left in the background or used to prompt other characters, especially Kyon, Nagato, and Asakura, to do something. Koizumi, Mikuru, and Tsuruya are all watered-down versions of the originals, who don’t even play any significant part, and Nagato’s arc is just about teenage struggles and love. Kyon is the same as always, but is dealing with drama on top of theatrics this time around. However, as the romantic interest of the main character, he is uninteresting here and is often reduced to playing the straight man role.
The art and animation department is severely lacking for a show released in 2015. Maybe I'm biased because I loved the old-school art style from the processors, but this one looks like every other show on the planet at the time, without much effort being put into it. Satelight’s animation isn’t necessarily bad, but they have gone with this whitish-fading theme that just dulls everything down for no apparent reason. Everything just looks so bright, and the color palette is overly muted for my taste. Bear in mind that Kyoto Animation initially handled this franchise, and they had just dropped it at one point, leaving Satelight with an impossibly high bar to meet no matter how hard they tried. Also, is it just me, or does the majority of the main cast now look like middle schoolers? The character designs aren’t awful, but everyone just looks younger, and I did not like this touch on Kyon, who always had a permanently tired mood.
The sound and music department is well done, especially when it comes to the voice actors. Across all the series, we have always been treated to solid JP-subbed and EN-dubbed versions, and this is no exception. Special credit to Nagato’s voice actors in both languages, Minori Chihara and Michelle Ruff, respectively, who both portray the same character in different lights. Chihara’s version is very meek and adorable, while Michelle capitalizes on the shyness, and they both do a fantastic job. As for the remaining characters, all the original voice actors return in full swing, delivering performances full of confidence and style reminiscent of the previous series. The opening theme is "Fure Fure Mirai" by Kitakou Bungei-bu Joshikai and the ending theme is "Arigatou, Daisuki" by Minori Chihara, the former of which has the usual uppity vibe of the Haruhi franchise coupled with some cutesy- girliness, and the latter is a slow piece that takes on a more emotional tone. The OSTs didn’t particularly stand out to me, but at least they were harmless.
Overall, “The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan” is a spin-off that doesn’t mirror the charm we loved in the older Haruhi series but tries to be something different using familiar faces. I won’t say the creators failed, but with so many shows like it, it becomes easily forgettable and is left in the shadows of its far superior predecessors. If you have no inherent love for these characters, it won’t be as good a watch, and you’re better off dropping it early on if it doesn’t pluck at your strings. If you are a fan of the Harihi-verse, though, give it a try and see~
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