[DVD] Anime Review: The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan

You may have heard of Haruhi Suzumiya, the outlandish leader of the SOS Brigade who loves to send messages to aliens. While she is quite the female heroine who has the ability to create chaos as she pleases, another heroine takes the spotlight in her very own spin-off series. We’re talking Nagato Yuki in … THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NAGATO YUKI-CHAN.

Set in an alternative world, The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan revolves around Nagato Yuki and her friends hanging out at the Literature Club. For what was going to be a simple slice-of-life series — we totally thought wrong. 

Being the geeky girl she is, Nagato is actually the President of the Literature Club. Often found playing games in the corner of the room, Nagato is accompanied by other members including her best friend Ryoko, Mikuru Asahina, Tsuruya, Haruhi Suzumiya, Itsuki Koizumi, and long-time crush Kyon. 

For a literature club, they sure have a lot of fun. From beach outings to the hot springs, this group of friends are having the time of their lives. And while you’d think that we might get an insight into what a literature club might entail, it really comes down to the interaction and relationships between the club members.

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan is foremost a romance story from Nagato’s point of view. Wanting Nagato to find her own happiness, Ryoko encourages Nagato to confess her feelings to Kyon. But with Haruhi causing lively ruckus on a daily basis and the others rising to the challenge, this did not make it an easy task for Nagato.

Like any typical adolescent drama, it wouldn’t be a rom-com without some sort of rivalry. Unfortunately for Nagato, the gauntlet is thrown into the battlefield when the audience discovers that Haruhi also has feelings for Kyon. A confident girl vs a shy girl — this was no doubt a landslide victory for Haruhi, much to Nagato and the viewers’ melancholy. Will Nagato succeed in her quest to get closer to Kyon?

But as we swing past the halfway mark of the series, we begin to wonder — when on earth was Nagato going to ‘disappear’? In what appears to be a 180° twist, the story suddenly shifts from a happy-go-lucky romcom to a complex supernatural story that involves a second Nagato with a whole new personality. We’re now asking questions: Who on earth is this other Nagato? Will this other Nagato prevent the original Nagato from coming back? And will Kyon fall in love with this Nagato instead of the original Nagato? You will need to watch the show in order to find out!