willa.dickinson - 2017-02-07 18:41:37

Y’know, if you are a fan of the original ‘‘The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya’’ (Which, if you’re watching this, you should be) you’ve prob wanted a continuation. Well, maybe not all of us, but I certainly did. So, this anime suddenly stepped and caught me by surprise, and got me really anxious for it. But, do you know a way to throw off a fan of the original?

Well, switching the main character is a good start. Unexpected choice or no, Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu is obviously enough focusing on the beloved other member of the SOS Brigade, Yuki Nagato. At this point, calling this show a spin-off is undeniable, but, you might be asking, what’s the problem with this shift in focus?

Well, a problem or not, the sudden change of personality with the main character is certainly uncharacteristic of the original. Yuki Nagato, for the lack of a better way of putting it, gains a personality. That might sound a bit harsh to the original, but trust me, the original Yuki Nagato’s lack of emotion is what made her such a fun character. So, it’s odd to change that into a shy, clumsy girl, who suddenly has a crush on Kyon. It’s not that I think the character of Yuki Nagato in this anime is necessarily bad, it’s just an odd choice to me.

All the characters surrounding Yuki have changed as well, including the genres the anime uses. Instead of the awesome Sci-fi feel the original gave, this anime decides to go the Romance route, and a much more predictable kind of romance at that. Kyon, being the love-interest of this story, has still kept his snarky attitude, but is now fused with typical romance characteristics, which… Alright then, that’s something. All the other characters, without trying to spoil much of the original, have also changed to suit the much more light-hearted tone of the anime.

As it is expected with anime nowadays, the animation is quite good, and fits the tone of the show. The fluidity from pretty romance bits to wacky comedy bits is fine enough. The character designs, whilst slightly different (Actually, very different with Yuki herself), are still reminiscent of their previous selves. Not much to fault, really.

The soundtrack? Eh, can’t really remember much at all, unfortunately. However, the opening and ending are actually rather stellar, the ending especially is a really beautiful mix of song and animation.

Even though I know full-well that this show is indeed a spin-off, I can’t help but feel a bit empty after watching this show. It was certainly not the continuation people were looking for, but it’s a fun distraction for those who are waiting for the third season. As a member of the Haruhi family, this is nothing that special, and kinda underwhelming. But, on its own, it’s an enjoyable little rom-com, although one that definitely is required to have seen the original to fully enjoy.

So, with all that being said, I crown Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu with a score of 6/10. Really though, anything Haruhi related is at least worth checking out regardless, and this is definitely not an exception.

davonte.jacobson - 2016-01-02 15:32:56

The only worth while episode to watch is episode 8. It had the most content and was probably the most original episode throughout this whole series that fits in with the original Haruhi comedy and story aspects. 

markus97 - 2015-07-18 17:25:33

Let’s be up-front: this is a side-story AU, with a revised canon that you really have to jam into the “Disappearance” storyline to even accept it making sense. It’s based on a separate manga with a different artist from the one who created the character designs that served as the basis of KyoAni’s adaptation, and it’s animated by a different studio. Everything going in spelled disaster. Coming out, though, I think this series succeeded… but certainly on the terms laid out above. If you go in expecting “Suzumiya Haruhi 3”, you’ll be disappointed. But come on: the title is “Nagato Yuki-chan”. This is different.

The story itself, like the manga from which it is adapted, is much lighter fare. The central conceit, as near as I can tell, is that Kyon chose to stay in the world the “aberrant” Nagato created in “Disappearance”—where she herself (as well as the prominent other members of the main cast) was a powerless, normal human, in a world without “uchuujin, mirai-jin, isekai-jin, chou no riyakusha”—and lost his memories of the other world. So immediately you’re set up for a much more conventional “high school relationship drama” story. That said, there are constant (perhaps too many?) references that long-time series fans will appreciate. I found myself regularly chuckling at how the series plays on events of the original. So, if you need aliens, time travelers, sliders or espers to enjoy the Haruhi universe, you might as well dip out early. But, if you’re a fan of more traditional shoujo relationship fare, this series plays with those tropes in (I think) a knowing way—in much the same way that “Haruhi” played with both high school & sci-fi anime tropes with a healthy wink and nod.

I have to say, the two biggest things that saved this series from the handicaps it starts with are the presence of the full original voice cast and the excellent music. I found myself immediately swept back into the feelings of the originals as soon as the characters started talking, and was consistently noticing and deeply appreciating the background music—both in terms of its appropriateness for the scenes it scored as well as simply on its own merits. I sincerely hope this series gets an OST release. As far as the original cast goes, while “Yuki-chan” certainly left me craving a proper “Haruhi Season 3”, expanding the series to include the as-yet-unadapted chapters & books of Tanigawa’s original light novels, revisiting these characters almost 10 years after the original was deeply nostalgic. I know all of these actors have done work since, but to me they’ll always be the cast of Haruhi—especially Sugita (he’s Kyon first, everyone else second).

It’s hard for me to have an objective view about Haruhi universe media. Having visited Nishinomiya two years ago and hiked to the top of the big hill to visit the high school on which the series’ North High is based, I have an even more powerful connection to the series now than I once did. Combined with almost a decade of on-and-off exposure to the characters, there’s almost a real history that’s been built up in my brain. This series, while not perfect (and certainly a departure from its predecessors), still managed to well up the same feelings in me as the original anime, the light novels, and the movie did. I can think of no better testament to “The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan” than that.

wunsch.frederick - 2015-07-11 15:52:59

A small disclaimer. You should not watch this anime if you want more Haruhi or something that continues the Haruhi franchise that many know and love. To many people have went into this show expecting that and left disappointing. This is a spin-off series meant to piggyback off of the fame of the original series. If you liked the original series you may find some enjoyment out of this but outside of having the Haruhi cast there is not anything special about this anime.

Story: Outside of one arc this show has a slice of life style format.  The types of episodes they give you are the kinds you can find in any slice of life. The romance doesn't go anywhere and pretty much amounts to them holding hands and awkwardly talking to each other. Its the same old girl like boy and boy likes girl but neither is willing to date the other person type of scenario.  And nothing happens to the relationship until the last episode. The story goes relatively no wear and the only character that gets any sort of development is Nagato. This was one of the few redeeming aspects of the story. Outside of that they do a few homages to the original series but one episode is almost a complete copy and past of an episode from the original series. That is the cicada catching competition episode. 

Animation: This is not kyoto animation that is for sure. So the characters don't share much resemblance to their franchise counterparts. But, if you have looked into the manga you realize that they are an exact copy and paste from the manga. So, I can't really fault it for not being like the rest of the franchise. Its not the studio's fault that the manga characters don't look that good to begin with. Overall the animation is pretty average for a slice of life. 

Sound: One of the best things about this series is the fact that both the dub and sub got their original voice actors back. It was one of my favorite parts of the series in general. It did make the show seem more authentic as a spin-off. Outside of that The soundtrack that they used really worked well with the series. 

Characters: The cast from the original franchise reprises their roles in this anime.  Outside of Nagato and Kyon the majority of the cast acts just like they did in the original series.  Harhui is bursting with energy and Mikuru is a moe blob. If you are aware with these characters then you will know what I mean. 

 Kyon starts off a different character in the first few episodes.  He doesn't have his usual snarky personality but after Haruhi appears he gains back some of the character traits that fans of the series know so well. Kyon is our main character again and tries to get into a romantic relationship with Nagato but as I mentioned earlier this romance doesn't go anywhere until the last few episodes. 

Nagato is one of the only characters that sees any type of development. This is really apparent after the completion of one of the arcs in the series.  But, outside of that there isn't much else to say. The characters are basically the same as they were in the original series and nothing really helps them develop.

Enjoyment: As a fan of the original series I found this show enjoyable but not great. Its definitely nothing special and seems to be more of a cash grab then anything else. The show doesn't even get interesting until Haruhi appears and even then I just feel like they are doing things that the original series already did.  This isn't a show that I feel many will want to run out and watch right away

Score: based on Story, Animation, Sound, Characters 6.2/10

Enjoyment: 6/10

howard.klein - 2015-06-25 01:23:23

If you are expecting this to be more Melancholy then you will be disappointed. This is a series based on the Disappearance movie version of Yuki. If you like more slice of life and more of a romance vibe then I highly recommend this but if you want more of what you know and are not willing to see the characters being slightly different may want to avoid it.

albina.johns - 2015-05-11 07:21:17

Say what you want about The Melancholy of Haruhi, it practically defined an entire genre of bored, sarcastic high school students with a penchant for crazy, sexually frustrated girls. Back when the show came out, there was a different climate. It was before Sket Dance, Love Lab, 8th Grader Syndrome, Hyouka, and what have you. And although the anime industry has wrung out that formula and squeezed it drier than citrus zest, The Melancholy was once a quirky science fiction crossover that mixed time travel, mystery, and romance in the right proportions, an attest to its popularity.

However, the problem with the Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan isn't really that it doesn't live up as its shadows, but it doesn't even try. It might as well be a disappearance of everything that made the Haruhi-verse what it was. A quick Google-search revealed that it is based off a manga by some other author, and that is immediately apparent from the first 10 seconds of the show. The characters became generic: Nagato is no longer a time-traveling alien but a typical shy girl with low self-esteem; and Haruhi is just a boisterous potential love interest. To add insult to injury, the soundtrack reuses various tracks from the original, and the opening is just the same song sung differently. All the voice actors are apparently the same. It's simulacrum: a copy, but not. Which begs the question what is the point of it all to begin with? Couldn't they have just used different characters for this pointless exposition?

In case you're thinking that this show only fails in comparison to the original, let's change that perception. Even without allusions to the original characters, this show boils down to a typical high school harem with a clueless Kyon and a frustratingly awkward girl struggling to confess. The humor is nothing special, with girls doing odd things, and Kyon playing the tsukkomi straight man of a manzai. Much of it revolved around girls doing "cute" things, arguing about who's cuter, or talking about what makes girls cute. Or Kyon falling into a girl's chests, and girls getting embarrassed or mad. In one word: typical otaku fan service humor. Okay, that was 5 words, but they should really come up with 1 word to define that because it's so common. And that's what Nagato Yuki-chan has become: common. From the phenomenon that she originally was.

Even if romantic comedy is your thing, pick up Ore-Monogatari or something. Leave Yuki-chan alone.

brittany40 - 2015-04-18 17:20:31

Thisis not so much a review (for now at least I plan to write one at theend of the season), but rather a warning or a preview... if you will.

Thisshow is not "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" it is alsonot "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya". If you arelooking for a continuation of those shows you will be extremelydisappointed. 

TheStory takes place in an alternate universe within the greater"Haruhi-verse", where Haruhi does not have powers and Kyon,Yuki and Asakura, go about their daily lives. Yuki hopes that one dayKyon will notice her feelings for him and that the literature clubcan gain new members. They will meet some new faces (old faces forus) and their lives will become far more exciting. 

Thestory is good, it has a basic setup, but nothing offensive. The humoris funny and the characters are lively and I will not spoil any facesfrom the main Haruhi franchise who may appear in it; as some thesefaces you may not have met yet (That really depends on how much thisseries adapts from the manga). Speaking of which this anime is basedof "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan" manga and so faris a faithful adaptation of the manga. They have skipped a few of themore dull chapters in order to get to the more fun and exciting partsand I feel that was a wise decision on their part. 

Theanimation is solid, it is smooth and not really choppy. Thecharacters are very expressive and it does feel very much like themanga art by, Puyo is brought to life. The character designs arebased off that of the manga and it is nice to see Puyo's designs geta chance to shine. The animation is by Satalight and considering theshoes they had to fill, they have so far done a very admirablejob. 

The music is ok, so far it really does not have anystandout tracks. Except the opening which is quite addictive andshows off the very expressive art, with this upbeat tune. While theending is a bit more melancholy and somber which is a great way toend each episode. 

Sofar it has been a rather solid series. It is not going to blow yourmind, but if you curve your lofty expectations, you may enjoy thisseries. 

So far I would say this series may score a 6 or7/10 when all is said and done. (This is a on-air rating that maychange at anytime and will be re-evaluated at the end of the season)

swift.mack - 2015-04-08 21:23:21

this is just, so bad. Unbelievably so. 

It's not even really worth a plot synopsis. Although it is worth mentioning that this is based of a manga series of the same name which was just as bad as this. I'm a decent Haruhi fan so this show caught my attention almost instantly. Although I was HUGELY disappointed with the story it was telling. 

The style changes weren't so bad, (although it is very jarring if you're just coming off the original series to this...thing) but it was more so the story it was telling to be the worst thing. There were less than subtle throw backs to the original series, those being in the form of Asakura humming Hare Hare Yukai which wasn't too bad. But it did get to the point of desperation where they reused an entire scene from Asahina Mikuru no Bouken, which was pretty embarrassing. 

Overall, I'd give this one a pass & stick to the original series. (also, just, what happened to Kyon? like really?)