20 December 2010: More about Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu
Reflections appear a lot in this movie.
There is finally a Blu-ray release for The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. As I said earlier, this is an amazing movie. After watching it again, I must say I do enjoy it more than Summer Wars, more than Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works, easily more than Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 1st, and even more than both of the Rebuild of Evangelion movies that have been released thus far.
It can't be that cold, Kyon. It's not even below freezing.
So what new insights and benefits can one derive from re-watching The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya via a high definition release compared to an amateur cam rip (besides the plainly obvious)? Well, for one thing, it is much more apparent how warm all of the scenes with Disappearance Nagato Yuki are. Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu is very much a winter movie, with a mostly gray palette and bitterly cold scenes. In contrast, Nagato appears to fill the clubroom with warmth. Likewise, although her apartment is spartan—almost barren—it radiates with a glow that one does not typically associate with the quiet and unassuming Nagato.
I gotta say, that is one awesome apartment.
Additionally, it's much more apparent now when Kyon sees himself reflected in Yuki's eyes. I've claimed before that this is very much her movie. I amend that statement now to say it is very much their movie. Without revealing too much about the plot or the movie's secrets, Shoushitsu gives us a privileged look into the mind of a girl we thought we knew—one we've perhaps taken for granted because she has been so reliable. In so doing, the motion Yuki makes with her arm towards the end of the film, when she is doing something almost indistinguishable from magic, seems to both beckon while at the same time waving farewell—an appropriate gesture she arguably makes to herself, to Kyon, and to us.
