[Kaioshin Sama]

Starting over since my reflection was deleted as I was writing it.

Spoiler for reflections so far:

About 30 minutes into the movie and have to appreciate the animation quality. When it's good it's good. Also looks like Kyoani went and made themselves a signature logo, though what a floating planet has to do with anything I'm not sure. Anyway they are coming along in that regard, but unfortunately this work is suffering from the same problem as all of their works so far and the same problems I've always found the Haruhi franchise to have.

For all the franchises glitzy animation I still find roughly 80% of the cast intolerable and underdeveloped even after 2 14 episode seasons of them. As expected Mikuru is exploited, Haruhi is obnoxious (and especially overacted by Hirano in this particular movie) and Yuki just kind of sits there like a statue for the time being. Plus Taniguchi is also pretty annoying during his bit and thus I find myself turning to Kyon. It says something when he's still the only character I really find tolerable and I find myself actually becoming more engrossed in the scenes that are just him alone or talking with another one of the male characters as opposed to one of the moe moe girls. Still the pacing so far is atrocious and I find my interest starting to wane.

Things picked up a little bit after the actual Disappearance part and I find the absence of Haruhi a huge refresher...but then I remember from the book that she's not really gone and I die just a little more inside.

The scene with Asakura's reintroduction was bloody hilarious if you ask me. The whole slasher villain feel as she strolls up acting all cutesy and polite actually slayed me quite a bit. What followed it with Kyon going absolutely ballastic over the lack of Haruhi was also pretty amusing, proving once again that the only scenes that really succeed in this franchise for me are the ones involving Kyon since honestly Sugita Tomokazu is about the only actor good enough to carry a particular scene IMO besides Yuko Goto who is unfortunately stuck with a dumb as rocks character to play.

Gotta take a break....I'll be back to finish up the movie (thank god I have this option), but it's easily the best thing that Kyoto Animation has produced in a long time even if I want to most of the characters to suffer some horrible fate and for the pacing to pick up already. Strip all the hype/fanboyism away from this affair and I think we still actually have something going here for a change which is a huge relief and surprise. Of course the night and the movie is still young.....

Spoiler for continuing on from the 30 minute mark:

What's with all the shots of people's feet in this movie? It's just a little weird as all and it's like the 5th time I've noticed one so far. Maybe it's because much of this movie so far has been composed of Kyon walking around for the most part. Anyway Kyon talking to Mikuru came across a LOT creepier than it did in the book....like wow....in this case I can't blame Tsuruya at all for using Self-Defense techniques on him whereas in the book it came across more like a misunderstanding and nothing more. Anyway Kyon's apparently a huge wimp if that maneuver somehow hurt that much with her arm on the bottom of the lock, which come to think of it would have made it extremely breakable. Maybe he just likes playing the sub by this point, who knows....he does seem to actually like hanging around Haruhi now. And Mikuru's thing....that was not a punch lol. Oh Mikuru....

Speaking of submissive, the creepy scene is over and another kind of creepy scene with Alt!Nagato starts up. I have to say she wasn't anywhere near as gag me with a spoon moe as I had anticipated and other than her saying a lot more than usual she didn't really strike me as all that much different from the usual Nagato baring a tendency towards more facial expressions. Not what I was expecting at all, but not complaining either as it's somehow more intriguing to see this way if still creepy as hell.

Hmmmm....this is starting to feel a little drawn out again though. I'm almost wanting him to find Haruhi so that we can get moving with the narrative here. This movie obviously had a really high budget though and they want to show off every little bit of it so I guess we're going to stare at some pretty background scenery for a little while longer. In fact I kind of regret what I said about the scenes with Kyon only earlier as this is starting to get surprisingly dull watching him walk sullenly around the school for the past 15 or so minutes straight. I'm not even really noticing the gorgeous animation anymore because it's starting to all blend together into one long walk cycle.

Something finally happening now at around the 55 minute mark with Kyon very slowly figuring out to do with the key that real Nagato seems to have left him. Nothing seems to come of it though...at least not yet.

Well Kyon's walking Nagato home it seems, maybe something will actually come of this scene....then again maybe not. We've got a boring sarcastic guying drinking tea with a girl that barely talks. Just when I thought this movie couldn't possibly get any more dull at this point. Oi Oi Oi....... We've hit the one hour mark so something has got to start happening again soon.

Yeah I think we've figured out that Haruhi is missing and that a lot of things are different now Kyon, thank you for the extended exposition. Now can you please get to actually doing something? Jesus it's like with his indecisiveness at the end of each Endless Eight repeat all over again. Just be a man and do something, cause you know nobody here is really going to be able to help you.

Look even the guy doing the filming at a dutch angle seems to be getting restless since he keeps shifting his weight and coughing/groaning a little.

Haha, okay the scene with Asakura in the elevator was pretty interesting and telling that this versions is obsessed with and overprotective of Nagato. Actualy character development is nice.

This is dragging pretty bad at this point as I had heard it would from some of the reviews I've read and the Daily Show is coming on so I'm going to go take another break. I get the feeling it's about to finally pick up though so hopefully that is the case when I get back in 30.

Good episode of the Daily Show...well back to the movie then.

Spoiler for From the 1:20 minute mark:

Finally things starting to happen again as Kyon finds Haruhi and Koizumi is the first person to prove useful in this whole affair. I always kind of liked his character too for when Kyon is being especially dull and sullen. 60 minutes into the Disappearance event and finally Kyon is able to figure out that this is an alternate dimension through sheer dumb luck....wow. Still kind of tempted to fast forward through this whole part as it's bloody obvious to anyone watching by this point who has at least a quarter of a brain what is going on.

Hahaha! Haruhi looks so smug in that one shot of her in the back of the car. And don't worry kids, there's no nudity in this film, just gym outfit fetishes being fulfilled.

This scene with Haruhi doing what she always does with Mikuru set to orchestral music is probably the most surreal thing I've seen in this film so far actually. So now everybody is gathered in the classroom again and really there's not a whole lot different from this alternate universe anymore is there?

I actually forgot about this part from the book. So the whole point was to gather the group to the clubroom for regular Nagato to be able to communicate with them eh? Looks like we're getting back to the intrigue of the first season a little bit. Kyon even gathered up some balls and told everybody to be quiet so that he can concentrate.

That part with Yuki (I think?) saying she won't forgive Kyon after he works the escape program was pretty telling.

Cool, so we're back to the day three years ago with a Back to The Future Part II like scenario to try to fix the timeline. In fact now that I think of it this whole movie kind of reminds me of Back To The Future II if back to the future II had dragged horribly during it's first half instead of showing off that cool future world and keeping things interesting for the casual audience. To be fair though this is definitely starting to get interesting again finally and it's these parts of the franchise that I actually really do like a lot and wish they'd do more of.

Yugo Goto always gets to shine as the adult version of Mikuru. I love these parts where she actually gets to sound kind of sexy and intelligent instead of like a mewling cat.

Hahaha, I liked how spooked young Haruhi acted when Kyon called out the John Sumisu line to her.

One thing I noticed that is consistently good about this movies animation versus the TV series is that usually any shot of a window shows it filled with eye searing bright light as if the sun is directly outside the window itself. Not so in this movie where there's actually an outside world that is shown and drawn in striking detail.

Chihara Minori's creepy whisper voice that she uses for Nagato's exposition dialogue still gives me uncomfortable shivers even now.

Yeah I wouldn't be jabbing a needle some girl randomly conjured up out of her glasses into myself either Kyon. Your a dull man, but an introspective and cautious one. Anyway that little blocky animation they used when Nagato rearranged the thing into a gun reminds me of something but I can't think of what.

Hmmm...does Nagato biting Kyon classify as a fetish or not? I'm leaning towards yes considering how long they held the particular shot for and how they even give it a cutaway.

Leaving this up to Kyon strikes me as a horribly bad idea. The way this guy meanders and gets all introspective I can see why there's still another 40 minutes left to this movie.

Finally made it to the two hour mark and I guess I'm ready for the finale. Right now I'm thinking that it's not so much Disappearance that is the highlight of this franchise so much as any part surrounding the events that took place during the Tanabata Festival and Kyon getting a chance to be the anime equivalent Marty Mcfly. Going to take one more break and then come back to finish this off once and for all.

Alright let's finish this off:

Spoiler for From the 2 hour mark:

Holy shit it was Nagato all along. Well hot damn. This was actually the only real option in the book so I saw this plot twist coming even the first time I read it but whatever.

Anyway so Yuki used THE POWER to alter the world and erase the Data Entity (not even going to get into how this seems to contradict everything we've been told about Haruhi, Yuki and the Data Entity's powers up until now, which is my biggest problem with this movies plot) and all so that Kyon could catch a break from all of this insanity. What a gal....but if she's so advanced a being wouldn't she have realized that this would have caused him even more distress anyway? Good god this plot....

Kyoani glamour shots of the sky just because.....

I'm assuming I'm supposed to feel something regarding Nagato's discovery of emotions, but it's just not happening. Nagato's literally been such an object up to this point that I just feel nothing regarding her "character" beyond her appearance and use as an exposition device. Nagato really doesn't have a personality so again why should I feel anything regarding what's going on with Nagato.

Kyon introspection set to stock footage. Been here before.....

Wow the part with Kyon talking to himself in text is a pretty brazen ripoff of the train scenes from Evangelion. Still the surreal visual symbolism being used is another one of those clever moments the franchise has on occassion.

Oh my god they just had Kyon proclaim that Asahina is a moe character inside the actual monologue itself. I'm going to need a few minutes.

They keep using that shot of somebody reflected in somebody's eyes, glasses or a window in this movie. They really are trying to impress with the visuals as much as possible, but to what real end?

WHOA AND THERE'S THE RANDOM STABBING! So it really did happen completely out of nowhere just like in the novel. Gotta get some random violence into this storyline before it's over eh?

This dramatic music and Asakura's smiling face is just making this whole scene come across as laughable rather than the tense atmosphere I think they are going for.

Yep that sure is a lot of blood.....

Seriously what is this...she's just spinning in place and acting all smiles and giggles. This is just ridiculously portrayed. I can't believe it but I'm in a toss-up situation between whether I prefer the novel version of not knowing what the hell is going on during this seen or this silliness.

Time Paradoxes.....

The scene with Haruhi by Kyon's bedside is one of the few parts of the franchise that I think shows any sort of progress in their relationship up to this point. Glad they included it. It was also kind of funny how they woke her up. Seriously you have no idea how satisfying and amusing it was seeing her struggle around in a sleeping bag and be at a situational disadvantage for a change. One of the highlights of the movie for me.

In fact this whole ending scene is probably the highlight of the movie for me proving that yes indeed Kyoani did once again save the best for the beginning and the ending while making me suffer through a middling er...middle.

And the world is safe again for Haruhiism. The End

Well that was overall pretty darn good considering how the first hour went. The first part as I mentioned dragged horribly and really made me question whether I wanted to continue watching, but it eventually got going and ended up being well worth my time. I kind of equate it to the anime equivalent of Avatar along with the obvious comparisons to Back To The Future Part II I mentioned. Gorgeous animation quality, decentish story with a few inconsistencies and plot holes here and there that make you question the whole thing by the end. Certainly a far way from the masterpiece it's been hyped as (no surprise) but kind of feels like my first summer blockbuster of the year all the same. Enjoyed parts of it, suffered through others, will probably forget about it soon enough.