Aure0lin's Blog

Anime Relations: Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works Prologue, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season

The overall aim of this post is to try and craft a more complete version of Unlimited Blade Works that doesn't rely on Zero or the VN as a crutch to address its problems. Knowledge of Heaven's Feel would still be necessary for full satisfaction but Heaven's Feel won't guilt trip you into preferring it over UBW this time. The main focus is on some existing scenes being changed and new scenes being added, since most of the scenes still did their job satisfyingly. The anime had a lot of points where there was a bunch of nothing happening, so I don't sweat too much about the clutter that more scenes will bring.

Setup episodes:





Main story:

-The Actual War:

Anime Relations: Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu

originally posted on dec 30 2016 and i will probs never finish this

Story: 9
Character: 10
Sound: 10
Animation: 10
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 10


tl;dr It's really great but needs the context of the show to fully enjoy.
This review also may contain spoilers.


I suppose that anything would have looked like a masterpiece after the fiasco that calls itself Endless Eight happened a year before the release of the movie, but even without something so awful to use as an object of comparison, this movie still holds up really well. Unfortunately, this anime still suffers from needing the previous stories to give proper context to the events surrounding this film; that is to say that this film cannot be fully appreciated as a stand-alone work on its own but is nonetheless a must-watch along with the preceding show as a recommended add-on. Such a statement might imply that referring to the show as such may seem to diminish the Melancholy TV series as its own product, but this movie outshines the show to a far enough degree that I feel this status to be deserved. In spite of this suggestion, however, I actually wouldn't say that the TV series is truly mandatory; the movie does enough to provide exposition towards the viewer on the importance of previous events that are itself sufficient but would be much better understood after having seen the show.


The story in and of itself isn't too complex; even at its most intricate, the storytelling doesn't venture too far beyond a standard usage of conventional time travel tropes. It nonetheless helps to tell the story revolving around Kyon; that is in all honesty the real story of the movie if one would want to look beyond the presentation at first sight. Nagato, the main girl, does receive substantial development within the narrative but is relatively sidelined in favor of Kyon.
Don't let the "romance" tag that MAL has inputted for some strange reason fool you, since romantic love is hardly touched upon in this movie. I'd probably argue that the show has more instances of it, even though scenes that might be interpreted as romantic are pretty rare in both. For the purposes of better meeting expectations, I would label this movie as more of a "coming-of-age" type.

A brief highlight of the story itself goes as follows: the world changes a few days after Haruhi announces a Christmas Party, nobody remembers Haruhi who has disappeared, Kyon is distressed, he finds clues regarding her whereabouts, he goes to fix the changes, a time paradox is thrown in, and the world is restored. There's also a good deal of continuity with previous stories as past events are referenced, with the second half directly building upon the storyline of "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody" from the previous season. The plot moves along smoothly enough as a whole, with few scenes staying in one perspective for prolonged periods unless required. Dialogues and monologues are to the point unless they need to be extended for the sake of drama, which is usually presented in a believable light. The individual events do sometimes seem a bit too convenient, but the revelation near the end does provide a way to explain why. There is a moment at the end that irks me though, with poor foreshadowing that makes the scene feel like it literally came out of nowhere. The scene does hold significance in setting up the next story as well as providing more lasting effects on Kyon through the task that it gives him, but the event itself could have been hinted at better. Otherwise, the story is solid, knows what it wants to do, and accomplishes it.

Of course, it is worth mentioning that the movie uses all two hours and 40 minutes of runtime, though some feel that the first half is too drawn out, and the final 20~ minutes spend too much time resolving the ending. I personally felt that the slow pacing in the beginning, while maybe not necessary, certainly helped to establish the quiet atmosphere that would provide both a great contrast to the second half's quicker pacing. The ending, I likewise felt was important in tying up loose ends and setting up the next story since Disappearance is far from the end of the series. Season 3 when?


Everyone who isn't Kyon or Nagato doesn't get very much screentime, but the Haruhi series was never big on supporting characters. Haruhi continues to provide a cheerful if slightly creepy aura in the original world, while the altered world provides a significant amount of characterization through showing what would have happened to her without the SOS Brigade. Koizumi remains his calm self, although a hint as to his real feelings is touched on in one of his scenes. While Mikuru has nothing substantial to provide through her alternate self, her future self helps to show a Mikuru that holds initiative and confidence. Taniguchi and Kunikida actually play plot-important roles, which help to bolster their significance as characters.

Nagato section
-difference between original and new timeline
-development
-inability to understand influencing decision kyon

Kyon section
-Coming of age story of learning to accept responsibility
-wonderful and emotionally charged moment that pays the viewer back for all the buildup from the beginning


Cinematography
-High contrast in initial scenes with the alternate world
-Shots focused on lower parts of body

Art/animation
-works very well, not as bright as tv series
-high production values, but beginning to show age


music and opening
If someone were to ask what anime music fit its atmosphere best, I couldn't
-perfect for the mood, bouken desho desho

As far as voice acting goes, Crispin Freeman is better than Sugita Tomokazu for his more fitting voice and articulation as Kyon, Aya Hirano is better than Wendee Lee as the cheerful and excitable Haruhi, and Chihara Minori and Michelle Ruff do equally well as both the robotic alien Nagato and the melancholic alternate Nagato. The rest of the characters don't matter that much because they don't have very substantial speaking roles. When it comes to sub v dub, just pick whatever you prefer.
The voices themselves express a wide range of believable emotions from Haruhi's upbeat outbursts to Kyon's sorrow, and it isn't to hard to hear how the actors try and succeed to come off as real, understandable people through their deliveries. Combined with the writing, the voice actors complete the immersion of the movie through the portrayal of fairly normal people in an extraordinary situation, with a notable example being Kyon's initial reactions to the alternate world.


Do all of these factors give reasonable enough evidence to warrant a 10/10? Every work is going to have its mix of good and bad, and an opinion depends on picking and choosing what to focus on and what to ignore. Disappearance is not the type of movie that everyone will love or enjoy, but there is a lot to appreciate.