is a 2010 Japanese
animated drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film based on the fourth ''
Haruhi Suzumiya''
light novel of
the same name written by
Nagaru Tanigawa. It was produced by
Kyoto Animation, written by
Fumihiko Shimo and directed by
Tatsuya Ishihara and
Yasuhiro Takemoto. It was released in Japanese theaters on February 6, 2010 and on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
and Blu-ray Disc on December 18, 2010.
The film has been licensed by
Bandai Entertainment in North America and
Manga Entertainment in the UK. With a length of 162 minutes, the film was the second-longest animated film at the time of its release (only surpassed by ''
Final Yamato
is a 1983 Japanese anime epic science fiction film and the fifth film (fourth theatrical) of the ''Space Battleship Yamato'' saga (known as ''Star Blazers'' in the United States). Its extended 70mm cut was the longest animated film in the world ...
'', with its 70mm print release being only one minute longer).
Plot
Following on from the events of
''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'' television series, the story takes place in December. The SOS Brigade, led by
Haruhi Suzumiya, makes plans to have a
nabe
''Nabemono'' (鍋物, なべ物, ''nabe'' "cooking pot" + ''mono'' "thing"), or simply ''nabe'', is a variety of Japanese hot pot dishes, also known as one pot dishes and "things in a pot".
Description
Nabemono are stews and soups containing ...
party for
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
. However, on the morning of December 18,
Kyon arrives at school and finds that the nature of his reality has changed; Haruhi and
Itsuki Koizumi
This is a list of the characters featured in the ''Haruhi Suzumiya'' franchise, written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito, which contains a multitude of other secondary, and minor characters who are introduced throughout the course ...
are missing,
Ryoko Asakura
This is a list of the characters featured in the ''Haruhi Suzumiya'' franchise, written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito, which contains a multitude of other secondary, and minor characters who are introduced throughout the course ...
has mysteriously returned,
Mikuru Asahina does not recognize him and
Yuki Nagato
This is a list of the characters featured in the ''Haruhi Suzumiya'' franchise, written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito, which contains a multitude of other secondary, and minor characters who are introduced throughout the course ...
is an ordinary human. Only Kyon is aware that everything is different, and no one else remembers Haruhi or the SOS Brigade.
Searching the SOS Brigade clubroom, Kyon finds a bookmark left by Yuki before everything was changed, telling him to gather "keys" to run a program. Not knowing what the message means, he accepts a dinner invitation from the new Yuki, who reveals a fondness for him owing to the fact that, in this reality, he once helped her get a library card. Asakura prepares dinner for them, and warns Kyon to be mindful of Yuki's feelings.
On December 20, Kyon learns from
Taniguchi that Haruhi still exists, and simply went to a different high school; Taniguchi knows of her because they went to the same middle school. By revealing his identity to her as 'John Smith', an alias he used when he traveled back in time to assist a young Haruhi, Kyon convinces Haruhi of his story. Excited by the concept of the SOS Brigade, Haruhi assembles the club's members and brings them to the club room. These prove to be the required "keys" for Yuki's program.
Kyon activates the program, which sends him back in time to the
Tanabata
, also known as the Star Festival ( 星祭り, ''Hoshimatsuri''), is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair res ...
of three years ago. The adult Mikuru meets with him and takes him to the past Yuki, who says that in the early hours of December 18 Yuki stole Haruhi's powers from her and used them to alter the world such that no paranormal beings or powers exist. She attributes her actions to an accumulation of errors, which Kyon interprets as weariness from having to monitor Haruhi's behavior and protect Kyon. Why Kyon's memories were unaffected by the change is left for the viewer to speculate. Yuki gives Kyon an uninstall program which needs to be shot at her right after the change. Traveling to December 18, they find Yuki. Kyon reflects on his choice to undo the change, reaching the epiphany that he enjoys being with Haruhi Suzumiya and the SOS Brigade and thinks the world is more interesting and fun with paranormal beings in it. He tries to install the program into Yuki but is stabbed by Ryoko, who Yuki altered to be her personal bodyguard and perceives Kyon as a threat to her.
He is rescued by future counterparts of Yuki, Mikuru and himself, and wakes up on December 21 in a hospital. The world is back to normal, but Kyon has been in a coma since falling down the stairs on December 18. Yuki mentions to Kyon that the Data Integration Thought Entity is considering decommissioning her, since continued accumulation of errors is inevitable and will likely lead to further destructive behavior. Kyon tells her to let them know that if they ever try such a thing, he can tell Haruhi about him being John Smith and have her alter reality so aliens would cease to exist. As December 24 comes, Kyon postpones going back in time to save himself from Asakura and joins in on the Christmas party.
Voice cast
Production
''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'', the fourth volume in ''
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'' light novel series, was first planned to be adapted as part of the second season of the
anime show. The studio,
Kyoto Animation, started production of the new season in June 2007. The production team decided not to worry about the runtime of ''Disappearance'' until the script was finished and the
storyboard
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...
s were at an advanced stage, in order to give ample time to all the necessary scenes; they ended up with seven manuscripts for a provisional total of seven episodes. At an unknown point in time, the plans changed to adapt ''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'' as a film instead. This led to the film being 162 minutes long, the second-longest animated film at the time. Director
Tatsuya Ishihara expressed that he wished the film had been a bit longer to adapt even more scenes from the novel, but ultimately was satisfied with the number of scenes they were able to leave in.
Directors Tatsuya Ishihara and
Yasuhiro Takemoto decided to employ little camera movement to emphasize the atmosphere of the scenes and Kyon's loneliness. Noriko Takao joined the directors in drawing the storyboards at her own request. Both directors expressed that it was helpful to have a woman's point of view during the creation process, which was particularly different in regard to the character Yuki Nagato. The storyboards ended up divided into six parts, A-F, with Ishihara and Takemoto splitting the beginning and end, and Takao doing the C and D parts. They discussed the dialogue extensively to make it sound as true to the characters as possible.
Ishihara, Takemoto and Takao said that they spent the most time discussing the depiction of the characters Ryoko Asakura and Itsuki Koizumi. They considered these characters, in the narrative of the film, as people who "hadn't been chosen." In particular, Takemoto asked Koizumi's voice actor,
Daisuke Ono, to express the sadness of a sad clown. Takao was the main responsible for illustrating the "people not chosen" aspect in the storyboards. Contrarily, they wanted
Haruhi Suzumiya's few scenes to create a "sparkling" feeling.
The studio employed techniques like
3DCG
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for th ...
and
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
to increase the level of detail in the layouts when the camera panned out far enough that doing it with traditional drawing methods from scratch would be too difficult.
Each of the A-F parts of the film had a different animation director that would check the work, which would then go to the director, then to chief animation director
Futoshi Nishiya
was a Japanese animator, director and character designer.
Career
After graduating from a vocational college in Osaka, he began to work at Kyoto Animation. His first work as a key animator was ''Inuyasha'' in 2003 (which was contracted from Su ...
, and lastly to super chief animation director Shoko Ikeda. Nishiya put the most care into addressing the posing, gestures, and facial expressions, while Ikeda's role was to ensure the characters matched their design. For a better result, Ikeda gathered the animation directors at the beginning of the film's production to explain the details of each character design, what to bring out, and what to avoid. She also gave advice on how to avoid an excessive level of realistic detail to allow for more flexibility in the characters' expressions and body postures during the dramatic scenes. Nishiya found it the toughest to work on Kyon due to the wide range of emotions he goes through in the film, whereas Ikeda found it more difficult to work on Nagato Yuki due to the unusually high number of gestures for the character and the delicacy in her emotions.
To better convey the emotional development of the protagonist Kyon throughout the film, instead of recording the
voice acting
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
for the scenes where all characters are together first, which is the usual method, ''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'' was recorded in the order the story develops. Sound director Youta Tsuruoka was highly pleased with the result, praising Kyon's voice actor
Tomokazu Sugita for his performance. As for himself, Tsuruoka said that it was a challenge to pack the entire length of the film with the right sounds.
The writer of the novel series,
Nagaru Tanigawa, gave feedback during the
scriptwriting
Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession.
Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...
process. Tanigawa also conceived the epilogue exclusive to the film and wrote the lyrics of the ending song. Producer Atsushi Itō suggested that the ending song be
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
.
Release
On December 18, 2007, the official website of ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'' anime series, haruhi.tv, was replaced by a fake 404 error with five form input fields, a reference to the pivotal date in ''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'', the fourth volume in the light novel series. The story of ''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'' did not appear in the 2009 re-airing of the anime series ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'', which included previously un-aired episodes adapted from the second, third and fifth novels. However, at the close of the 2009 season on October 8, 2009, a 30-second teaser trailer showing Yuki Nagato was aired, revealing that ''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'' would actually be a film, set for a February 6, 2010 release. A one-minute promotional video was released in December 2009. The film was released on
BD/DVD, in regular and limited editions on December 18, 2010 in Japan.
The film was licensed for North America distribution by
Bandai Entertainment. English-subtitled screenings began running in San Francisco's Viz Theater from May 21, 2010, and were followed by a screening at the Laemmle's Sunset theater in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
on June 24, 2010 and a theatrical run in Hawaii in June 2010 through Consolidated Theatres and Artisan Gateway as part of their Spotlight Asia Films program. An English-language version has been co-produced by
Bang Zoom! Entertainment and was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in North America on September 20, 2011.
Manga Entertainment released it in the UK on DVD on November 7, 2011, though a planned 2012 Blu-ray release has been cancelled.
Madman Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia and New Zealand on November 16, 2011. The film had its European premiere on October 17, 2010 at the
Scotland Loves Anime
Scotland Loves Animation is a charity that promotes anime in Scotland. They hold an annual film festival called "Scotland Loves Anime" (often abbreviated to SLA) in October and work with other festivals to programme anime content into their schedu ...
event in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
Animax Asia has aired the film.
Music
The film's theme song is by
Minori Chihara, the
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
of which was released on February 24, 2010. The opening theme is "
Bōken Desho Desho?" by
Aya Hirano. The film's original soundtrack was released on January 27, 2010. The soundtrack also contains music from French composer
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...
, including ''
Gymnopédies'', ''
Gnossiennes
The ''Gnossiennes'' () are several piano compositions by the French composer Erik Satie in the late 19th century. The works are for the most part in free time (lacking time signatures or bar divisions) and highly experimental with form, rhythm an ...
'' and his composition "
Je te veux
"Je te veux" ("I Want You") is a song composed by Erik Satie to a text by Henry Pacory. A sentimental waltz with erotic lyrics, it was written for , whose accompanist Satie had been for a period of time. The text consists of two verses and a repea ...
", which were used in the film. The soundtrack is performed by the
Eminence Symphony Orchestra
The Eminence Symphony Orchestra founded in Sydney, Australia is an independent symphony orchestra which delves into the classical music featured in video games and anime, as well as film scores.
History
Eminence was founded in 2003 by a smal ...
and was produced by
Satoru Kōsaki.
Related media
A
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
titled is illustrated by Puyo and started serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's ''
Young Ace'' in July 2009. An anime adaptation by
Satelight began airing in April 2015. A
visual novel
A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
video game titled was released on May 12, 2011 by
Bandai Namco Games
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are resp ...
for the
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
. The game's story takes place shortly after the events of the film.
Reception
With the film's release on February 6, 2010 on 24 screens in Japan, it placed in the top 10 for Japanese box office sales in its first weekend, and earned an estimated 200 million
yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...
in its first week. The film won the Best Theatrical Film award at the 2010
Animation Kobe
The was an event established by Kobe in 1996 to promote anime and other visual media. The were given annually until 2015 by Kobe and the Organising Committee to creators and creations.
Event
Animation Kobe has been held annually in Kobe since 1 ...
Awards. The BD version sold over 77,000 copies in its first week, topping the Oricon charts, while placing fourth in the DVD charts with 19,667 copies sold.
Minori Chihara won the Best Singing Award at the fifth annual
Seiyu Awards
The are award ceremonies for the recognition of voice acting talent for outstanding performance in anime and other media in Japan. The first Seiyu Awards were held on March 3, 2007 at the 3D Theatre of the Tokyo Anime Center in Akihabara.
Award ...
held in 2011 in Tokyo for her performance of the "Yasashii Bōkyaku" ending theme song.
In
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, the film was forced by the
nationwide floods to be screened only at the Lido Theatre,
Siam Square,
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
, and only for one day, November 6, 2011. However, it is reported that the tickets were immediately sold out on the first day of booking. After the showing,
Rose Media & Entertainment, the Thai ''Haruhi Suzumiya'' franchisee, also held an
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
of the ''Haruhi'' goods, including limited BDs and DVDs, and donated all the earnings to the flood relief efforts.
References
External links
Official website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Disappearance Of Haruhi Suzumiya
2010 anime films
2010s mystery drama films
2010s fantasy drama films
2010s science fiction films
Animated drama films
Anime films based on light novels
Bandai Entertainment anime titles
Drama anime and manga
Fantasy adventure films
Funimation
Haruhi Suzumiya
Japanese animated fantasy films
Japanese animated science fiction films
Japanese Christmas films
Japanese mystery drama films
2010s Japanese-language films
Kyoto Animation
Lantis (company)
Media containing Gymnopedies
Mystery anime and manga
2010 drama films
2010 films