Guide: http://i.imgur.com/CMaAuPB.png (???) You will need it.
1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 1: Are we live yet?
2. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2: Vietnam (2009)
Then.
3. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (what you're looking at right now)
I'll try to be as spoiler free as possible.
*Review*
It's hard to review this because on the one hand it will look like I'm singing songs of praise due to me being biased and fond of this movie.
But there is a reason to that.
It does movie good. It does it real good. Well at least by my subjective standards.
Even as a standalone film. Without my bias on the context that I need from the show to enjoy this movie from a moviegoer's perspective this a good film at least.
And I'm not talking overhyped good. It's just plain good.
Across all of my media consumption even outside of anime.
It has a solid narrative, structurally and it is easy to follow.
Solid and well developed characters within the movie.
Rich with monologues and dialogues yet not too excessive to the point where it will annoy you or anything like that.
On top of that, it has a vast range of classical and great iconic soundtracks.
And knowing Kyoto Animation's track record with their animation you know they do animation justice. Down to the very hair.
The art and animation in this movie at least was really detailed and beautiful for its time and it still holds up to today's standards of above average. Probably lowballing here.
The angles and perspectives in this was good.
Its atmosphere is dramatic and thrilling while being somber at the same time.
But above all, it was the timing and the combination of all of those elements that made this a good film.
And overall pretty darn engaging, for me at least.
The only problems you might have to not be able to enjoy this movie is if you have a bias on its setting, character designs/quirks, lack of philosophical ambiguity or its genre and themes or just an extremely nitpicky guy.
I mean I'm nitpicky but if you nitpick beyond that then you're just a nitpicky boi. What do you even enjoy? Are you that jaded? I feel you.
If you're in this category then you might not like it as much.
But for me it was fun and I loved every minute of it. Including the first half of the movie where the pacing was a bit slow but it was integral to the experience.
And the protagonist was still just as entertaining to be with, regardless.
If you're really interested in watching this movie I highly, highly suggest you watch the series.
Which really does add to the movie's viewing experience to another level as you get to know these characters, their world and the predicament that they are in.
But don't expect me to tell you the series is a masterpiece or even good. the baseline for the show might probably be average to above average at best.
But if it tickles your fancy then I do highly recommend doing so.
It does add more depth to it. Much more depth.
To this day I still am able to rewatch the movie multiple times and even when I'm sick of it it pulls me right back in.
It definitely has rewatchability value I'd give it that much. But not the series.
But in order to truly appreciate the movie to a level of great magnitude it would be best that you watch the series at least once.
It's sort of like a catch-22. Like I don't want to recommend you the series but at the same time it is a necessary evil to do so.
I'd recommend going about it in chronological order if you're not patient
Refer to the "guide" link.
Also if there's 1 anime that you will break your rules on watching dubbed. It's this one. Crispin Freeman's performance was stellar in this movie.
tldr: Omgz Guyz I love this movie like sooo much like, you are like missing out!! 10/10 recommended.
Personal favourite.
