This is my very first review on anime. The chosen anime is "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan" or "Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu". This anime aired for 16 episodes from last Spring 2015 and this series was finished in this early Summer 2015. As you all probably know, "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan" is a spin-off series of highly popular anime "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" or "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu".
*Spoilers alert! Proceed on your own risk*
I am a fan of Suzumiya Haruhi series. I have watched all Suzumiya Haruhi anime series made by Kyoto Animation or KyoAni in short. I have all english release of Suzumiya Haruhi light novel series released by Yen Press except for the latest novel volume, "The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya".
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| My collection of Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series |
What I'm going to talk about here is my views and opinions about the spin-off series, "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan". If you already watch or read "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya", you will know that the spin-off series is based on the alternate world that happens in "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya". Haruhi does not have her godly-like power, Koizumi is not an esper, Nagato is not an alien, Mikuru is not a time traveller, Kyon is just a normal student experiencing normal life, and Asakura Ryouko is alive (in original series, she was an alien like Nagato and when she tried to kill Kyon, Nagato finished her off).
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| Main characters |
"The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan" isn't produced by KyoAni but by Satelight. Satelight's famous anime production included Aquarion series, Fairy Tail, Log Horizon, Macross Frontier, and White Album 2. Compared to the original series, its animation quality is inferior but not disappointed. It match well with its light atmosphere and plot. The characters designs are also different when compared to the original series. For me, the designs look more 'moe'.
In terms of plot, it's totally different than the original series. There is no relation to the original series' plot. The plot is about the shy Nagato Yuki, president of Literature Club experiencing her club activities with Kyon and her best friend, Asakura Ryouko. Nagato is in love with Kyon and Asakura gives her best support to Nagato. In the series, Nagato tried to confess to Kyon but was interrupted. Talking about Nagato Yuki-chan's personality, it's totally opposite to the original Nagato. Yuki-chan shows various emotions, can smile, and obsess in playing games. Meanwhile, the original Nagato does not show emotion, doesn't wear glasses, and she's just like a doll except that she is very powerful.
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| Nagato's routine activity in Literature Club, playing games |
In episode 3, Suzumiya Haruhi and Koizumi Itsuku became new members of Literature Club and both of them received special permission from Kyon's school to get into the school ground. Just like in original series, Asahina Mikuru was kidnapped by Haruhi into the club and Tsuruya just went along with it.
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| Nagato's face that you will never find in original series |
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| Haruhi and Koizumi into the club |
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| Mikuru and her kidnapper |
Most of the series shows the daily lives and club activities of Literature Club members. Valentine Day, hot spring trips, tanabata, beach trip, mountain trip, and fireworks festival. There is no adventures, mysteries, and troubles like in the original series unless one occasion. This occasion is what will be called "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan". After the hot spring trip, Nagato was almost got hit by a car and after the incident, her personality was changed like she's a different person. Nagato Yuki-chan has disappeared and other Nagato has merged. Other Nagato's personality is almost similar to original Nagato except that this other Nagato was able to express emotions like falling in love and fear.
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| Other Nagato emerged after the incident. |
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| Unlike Yuki-chan, other Nagato behaves like a proper Literature Club member |
Asakura and Kyon quickly realized that the Nagato they knew was gone and the one in front of them was different Nagato. Both of them still treated other Nagato nicely. Other Nagato knew that she will disappear soon once Yuki-chan woke up. During her appearance, she also fell in love with Kyon after spending time with him and before she disappeared, she was able to confess her love to him through phone conversation. However, she's gone before Kyon gave his respond to her confession. After that, the one who woke up was Nagato Yuki-chan.
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| Other Nagato's love confession |
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| The 'death' of other Nagato |
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| The awakening of Nagato Yuki-chan |
The rest of the series was all about how Kyon sorted out his feelings after other Nagato's confession. How he should look at Nagato now after what happened. Unknown to him, Haruhi also has develop feelings to him. The one who knew that fact was Asakura only. In original series, it's not known if Haruhi has feelings for Kyon or vice-versa. Fans (including me) suspect that both Haruhi and Kyon have feelings for each other from events that happen in light novel.
Back to the spin-off series, Kyon gave his respond to Nagato's confession in the last episode. Surprisingly, the one who listened to his respond was none other than the other Nagato. She appeared again although it was just for a brief moment. Maybe it was a way to show that Kyon fell in love with other Nagato, not Nagato Yuki-chan. After that, Nagato Yuki-chan woke up back and was confused with what happened just now since she didn't collect any memories of it. The series finished with the summer break almost over and Kyon was being remembered that he forgot to do his homework.
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| Kyon's respond to other Nagato's confession |
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| Other Nagato's face after Kyon's respond before she gone again |
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| Confused Nagato Yuki-chan |
This spin-off series is entertaining but doesn't live up to its original series. The series is all about a bunch of high schoolers going through their club activities. What makes it different to other slice-of-life anime genre is the appearance of other Nagato Yuki. There was no explanation why it happen. I thought that there will be a revelation like Nagato Yuki is actually an alien from alternate world but nope, nothing happened. I never read the manga of this spin-off series so I don't know if some revelations are made in the manga.
This series can be a disappointment to some fans of Suzumiya Haruhi series. For me, it's a good spin-off series. This anime is telling an alternate storyline what if the main characters in "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" are just normal humans, nothing supernatural occurrences happen, and a normal school club activities. The charm of this anime is that you can see various emotions of Nagato Yuki-chan that you can never find in the original series except for in "The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi". It's fun to see Nagato Yuki-chan's reactions and her being scolded by Asakura Ryouko. My rating for this anime is 7/10 in MAL. When you're watching this series and have watched the original series, lower down your expectation. For those who haven't watch the original series, this spin-off series can gives you enjoyment in free time if you are a slice-of-life and romance comedy genre fans.
Feel free to leave your comments here (^_^)
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