The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is out! (here’s a sneak peek)

“The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya” (Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu) has now been officially released in Japanese theaters, with the first showing today at 8:00am JST. Current news and fan reviews are coming in via AnimeSuki and other sites. Unfortunately, it may be many months before a DVD will come out and allow those of us outside Japan to watch it. So for those of you who have not read the novel and want to find out at least a little of what happens in the story, I’ve complied a “sneak peek” on this post…

A few weeks ago Lantis, the company producing the movie’s soundtrack, released a majorly spoiler-filled PV for the movie, later replacing it with a less spoiler-filled one. The one with major spoilers has since been deleted from YouTube, but I managed to save a copy of it. Together with images from that PV, I’ve complied a synopsis of the first half of the movie below.

WARNING: The images and text below contain spoilers for the movie, but only the first half. They do not reveal the major concluding plot points nor how the story ends. If you want to find out what happens in the first half of the movie, keep reading. If not, quickly scroll down to the bottom of the post.

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“The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya” sneak peek

It’s winter, December 17th, and the day starts off like any other. Kyon is walking to school while Taniguchi brags to him about his girlfriend.

Haruhi is making plans for the SOS Brigade to have a nabe party for Christmas.

Haruhi brought a Santa costume for Mikuru, much to her dismay.

Even Yuki is getting into the holiday spirit.

However, when Kyon comes to school the next day, Taniguchi, who was so full of energy the day before, appears to be sick with a bad cold. A small foreshadowing of what’s to come…

Then the real shocker. Instead of Haruhi sitting at the desk behind Kyon, who should show up but Ryoko Asakura! When Kyon demands to know what she’s up to and what she’s done with Haruhi, she appears to have no idea what he’s talking about.

Kyon desperately searches for Haruhi’s name on the list of students but it’s not there.

He questions his other classmates about Haruhi but none of them know who he’s talking about.

He finds Mikuru and hopes that she can help him figure out what’s going on. However, she has no clue about him, Haruhi, time traveling, or anything else he tells her.

Tsuruya also has no idea what he’s talking about. Thinking he’s harassing Mikuru, she gives him some additional pain.

After vainly searching for Itsuki (his classroom doesn’t even exist anymore!), Kyon goes to the SOS Brigade clubroom and finds a very different looking Yuki.

Unlike the calm, stoic Yuki he knows, this Yuki is very shy and flustered when he questions her about what’s going on. Like Mikuru, Yuki too seems to have become a normal human being with no memory of Haruhi or the SOS Brigade.

Finally Kyon is able to get some help. He finds a bookmark that appears to have been left to him by the alien version of Yuki which reads “Program Run Condition: Collect the keys. Deadline: Two days later.” It’s something, but he still has no idea what’s going on or what to do.

Despite his suspicions, Ryoko appears to have become a normal human being like the others. She’s even friends with Yuki.

When a still bewildered Kyon comes to school the next day, he hears that Taniguchi knew Haruhi from middle school! Finally a connection to the world he once knew! He frantically questions Taniguchi and finds out that Haruhi is going to Kouyouen Academy.

After waiting outside Kouyouen Academy, he finally sees a long-haired Haruhi, surprisingly with Itsuki, come out. Unfortunately, they too have no memory of the SOS Brigade and Haruhi gives Kyon a bit of a beating because he won’t leave her alone. However, he’s able to convince her when he tells her “I’m John Smith,” proving that their meeting three years ago in “Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody” is still a part of this new world.

Kyon tells Haruhi and Itsuki everything that’s happened up until that point – about the SOS Brigade and how they’re not normal humans in the world he knows. Even in this new world, Haruhi retains her enthusiasm for mysteries and is ecstatic about the whole thing.

The three of them come to North High and head to the literature club room, with Haruhi and Itsuki disguised in North High P.E. uniforms.

They figure out that the “Collect the keys” part of Yuki’s message means collecting the five SOS Brigade members in the clubroom.

Suddenly, the computer turns on and a message from YUKI.N appears on the screen.

Via the computer, Yuki asks Kyon whether he will choose to initiate the “Emergency Escape Program” or not.

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What will Kyon choose to do? What will happen to him and the others should he decide to execute this Emergency Escape Program? Will he ever be able to restore the world he once knew? And most importantly, who is responsible for changing the world in the first place?

My sneak peek ends here. You’ll have to find out the answers to these questions when you watch it =)

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Other “Disappearance” goodies

I’ve uploaded all the PV images, both the ones on this post and the spoiler-filled ones from the second half of the movie, into a convenient zip file here.

Lantis’ less spoiler-filled PV for the movie can be viewed here.

An English translation of the “The Disappearance” novel can be read here.

This thread on the AnimeSuki forums is currently being updated with photos of crowds at the theater, the first impressions of fans, and other things related to the release of the movie.

Cartoon Leap’s article about the epic opening day of the movie here.

UPDATE 02/06/10
My friend 2DT was one of the lucky ones who got to see the movie on opening day. His review here. I believe it’s the first full English review.

Via Cartoon Leap, here are videos of the premiere:

UPDATE 02/07/10
More discussion and initial reviews on the MAL forum here.

Below is a video of a TV segment featuring some scenes from the movie and a recent Haruhi event that was held in LA.

UPDATE 02/08/10

Thoughts and review of the movie via J-List.

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UPDATE 04/05/10

A camera rip, filmstrip video, and artbook scans for the movie are now available. More info on my post here.

Feel free to share more info in the comments.