I
had the same feeling as you. I was in Hong Kong in early Feb, and could have gone to Japan much more easily (I'm now back in Baltimore). However, my rationality told me it doesn't worth it. It costs money (I'm not rich). It costs time (I've work to do). And most importantly I don't speak Japanese; even if I manage to get there, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the movie.
But no, that's not rationality. I find that it's fear that blocked my thinking. The fear of not following universally accepted behaviors. Flying to another country just to watch a movie <= how crazy you are!
I truly want to see the movie. Life is short; I don't want to spend my life doing the same things everyday. Adventures are fun and add good experiences and memory to your life. That's all I care about at this moment.
If I give up the idea that "flying to another country just to watch a movie is crazy/a waste of money/a waste of time/etc" and think really rationally, making it happen becomes much easier. It's NOT easy at all, but certainly much easier.
To make it happen, I need to do the following:- Learn Japanese. I just need to understand most of the common words/phrases/sentences in Japanese. Given that we understand Suzumiya/Nagato/Kyon/etc so well, and given that KyoAni is so good at showing emotions of the characters in the drawing, you don't need perfect Japanese ability to understand the movie. It might actually be more enjoyable if you don't 100% understand what they say (so that you keep guessing...)
- Earn an extra $1000. (It's not that I don't have the savings to spend, but I just don't believe savings are to be spent on unplanned entertainments. If I allow myself to spend savings on things like this, I'd probably end up having a lot of credit card debt like some people.) The majority of the money I'm going to spend on this must be newly earned. This also serves as a test for my willingness. The last time I searched, the cheapest round-trip ticket costs about $750 from Baltimore to Tokyo.
Thus why I kept asking when is the movie going to stop showing in the movie theaters. Timing is critical. If I still have two month to prepare (and if I study/work hard), there is no way I can't make it. As an experienced IT freelancer, earning $1000 in 2-4 weeks out of my full-time job is completely feasible (but it takes effort, of course). However, if there is only two weeks left, there is no way I can make it (especially as I'm not a genius in languages...)
The possibility depends on how long the movie will last, and I hope that it will still be shown in April.
If you like Anime, chances are that you love the world where dreams
do come true. So re-evaluate yourself. How strong is your desire to watch 涼宮ハルヒの消失, probably the first and the last (i.e. the only) movie of our beloved series?
If you are also truly interested in the movie, why don't you seriously think about how you can make it? The things that you need to do in order to make it will be different from mine. But I believe, most futile dreams are futile only because their owners denied the possibility before exhausting the ways to make it happen.
PS: Watching Anime makes my mind younger, but hopefully the above doesn't sound childish to you. I just don't like the fact that many people easily give up their dreams or wishes. I hope you're not one of those people.