15 Years Later, This Anime Movie Is Still An All-Time Classic

After the release of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya’s second season, the series was followed up with a theatrical film, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. As the title would imply, Haruhi Suzumiya mysteriously disappeared without a trace one day, and as the only one to remember her, it fell to Kyon to figure out what happened.

It’s been 15 years since The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya came out, and since then, both it and the larger Haruhi Suzumiya franchise have fallen into general obscurity. That being said, even after so many years, it’s still one of the best anime films to watch, and anyone who’s avoided it would be remiss not to give it a chance.

Why The Disappearance Of Haruhi Suzumiya Is An Undeniable Masterpiece

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was already one of the best Kyoto Animation anime around, and everything great about it is perfectly encapsulated in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Visually speaking, the film has all the same creative and overall great animation that made the anime so fun to watch, and it still looks amazing over a decade later.

What especially makes it work is the strong direction; between the great soundtrack, the way dialogue from other characters never stops as if to highlight how Kyon’s story isn’t the only thing going on, and the general amazing shot composition in most scenes, every part of the film is directed with a truly masterful touch that can hardly be surpassed.

All of that, of course, is complemented by the film’s strong story; the narrative perfectly highlights not only Kyon’s anxiety over his life suddenly changing, but how much Nagato has grown to be someone who would want a normal life, as well. Haruhi Suzumiya thrives on character drama, and The Disappearance is easily the best execution of it.

With a combination of gorgeous animation, thoughtful direction, and incredibly strong writing, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya more than succeeds both visually and narratively, even with so much time having passed since its release. Much of that was true of the original Haruhi Suzumiya anime, but it’s safe to say that The Disappearance made it better in every conceivable way.

How Kyoto Animation Accidentally Created The Perfect Ending For Their Best Anime

While The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya was the last animated project in Haruhi Suzumiya’s main continuity, it was never supposed to be the end of the story; at the time of writing, there are still about eight light novels that haven’t been adapted, but that has yet to happen due to the anime abruptly ending after the film’s release.

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Despite all that, though, the film does work as an ending to Haruhi Suzumiya’s narrative. Kyon admitting that he likes all the weird stuff Haruhi puts him through was a great conclusion to his arc, and between Nagato becoming more emotional and the emphasis on the SOS Brigade’s friendship, the anime’s biggest themes were given tremendous payoff in the end.

Granted, there were plenty of loose ends within what the anime adapted, but it’s incredibly common for stories to end without resolving all of their plot points, and with how tight a story Haruhi Suzumiya was, that isn’t much of an issue when looking at how strong the writing was for The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Is There Anything Left For The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya?

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is an incredible anime film and conclusion to the story, but that begs the question of what’s left for the franchise. As previously discussed, there are about eight books that haven’t been adapted, so despite the conclusive nature of the film, there’s still room for those books to be covered in a potential third season.

Fans have been waiting for Haruhi Suzumiya’s return for years with no payoff, but recent years have seen the franchise launch multiple kickstarter projects to great success, and there are even plans for a massive project for Haruhi Suzumiya’s 20th anniversary in 2026, so now more than ever, it feels like the franchise is gearing up for a revival.

All of that is hypothetical, of course, but even if Haruhi Suzumiya doesn’t come back, it doesn’t change how great a film The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is both visually and narratively. Even after 15 years, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya remains one of the greatest anime movies of all time, and it won’t lose that honor anytime soon.