Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu

Ah yes, the spinoff about an alien without facial expressions from the main series of haruhi but this time, the opposite. But hey, even aliens deserves to have a happy ending right?


Story - 8

The story has a slice of life romance vibe that you can find anywhere but this time, you already knew the characters. Well, not exactly, as the main protagonist is the opposite of that in the main series as it starts off with Yuki Nagato being shy and reserved.

The manga suffered from a rough start mainly due to the introductions being convoluted and fast paced. I can understand that since everyone who gonna read this possibly already knew the characters and it's hard to make an introduction of an already introduced set of characters.

But as the story goes on, it becomes lighter and easier to follow like your average slice of life story so I suggest not dropping it and continue reading until the end because I guarantee you that it is worth it.


Art - 9

Just like the story, the art at first has excessive use of tones and stacked panels per page, this is one of the reason why I said the introduction is convoluted.

The character designs are also hard to be distinguished but it will be fixed later on. To be honest, I had a hard time knowing who is who between Tsuruya and Asakura at first chapters because of that. But yeah it gets better and better until you can easily recognize the characters distinctively.

And lets not forget the use of chibis and the artist's deformed style that gives uniqueness and cuteness to the manga. But the main reason why I gave art a high score is the facial expressions of the characters especially Nagato's. You'll know when you read it.


Characters - 8

As for the characters, the development is there but it is not so much. First off, obviously Nagato's personality is the main thing to be develop but that's it. We see Kyon being Kyon but with a little courage, Haruhi, Mikuru and Koizumi being as they are but without the mysterious vibe around them, oh and Asakura who became conscious about her goals in life. There is nothing to write about the development (except I write one lol) but seeing them living their lives happily gives you contentment.

Yuki Nagato's character is easily the best out of all, she's the main protagonist afterall. What I'm saying is her character surpassed my expectations. I was reluctant at first and saying that I like the silent type Nagato in the main series more, but after reading, I can proudly say that I like both of them now, or maybe even more than the silent type. You have to really read this manga if you want to get to know the new and improved Nagato.


Enjoyment - 9

For me, the definition of enjoyment when reading manga are: when you look forward to reading more chapters, when you unconciously smile while reading, and when you feel that you became a part of the characters' lives. This manga captured it all. I always find myself smiling especially on later chapters which makes this a really enjoyable ride. There are so many happy moments and a one sad specific arc.


Overall - 9

Overall I find this manga as somewhat like any other slice of life/romance I've read but with a pinch of uniqueness. Why did I gave it a 9 then? Because I love slice of life genre as it gives a breathe of fresh air to my mind and maybe soul. Mind you I only read the ones I really like or want to read that's why I have a high mean score on my list, 7 being the lowest and 10 as the highest, but some scores are outdates so I will work on that.

And lastly, I would like to thank the author for bringing new life to Yuki Nagato! Hope you guys will try this heartwarming manga too!

If you're looking for more Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, this is not for you.

This has a COMPLETELY different feel compared to it's original series. This, at foremost, is a SLICE-OF-LIFE manga. If you're expecting supernatural, then you will be disappointed.

That being said, I am an avid fan of slice-of-life. To be honest, this series is the first series to really want me to read the manga after watching the anime. I COULD NOT GET ENOUGH!

I don't have much a review because I don't really know what subjects to critique, but all I can say is that I absolutely loved it. Would I recommend it to an avid Haruhi fan? No, I would not. Unless they were really aware that this series is something else, I would not recommend it to someone who loves Haruhi and *expecting* Haruhi.

And unlike other SOL + romance productions, THIS ACTUALLY GOES SOMEWHERE. I'm sorry if this disappoints some people, but from what I understand, most SOL + romance productions don't go anywhere.

Also, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS SERIES TO ANYONE WHO HAS NOT ATLEAST SEEN THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA ANIME AND DISAPPEARANCE MOVIE. There is A LOT of context that needs to be known prior to enjoying this series. If not that, then there are A LOT of references that are made to the original. You *may* not care about references, (I love Gintama and similar productions) but they totally pay homage to the original. Also, it is important to note that THIS NAGATO YUKI IS NOT THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL SERIES, NOR THE DISAPPEARANCE CHARACTERS. This main protagonist is a dandere that sees quite the character development. SHE IS NOT THE ALIEN, NOR THE SHY & TIMID GIRL (okay maybe the latter, but she is clearly diferent from her Disappearance char acter).

In conclusion, here is my checklist to see whether this series is for you. Have you *atleast* seen The Melancholy and Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya? Do you like the slice-of-life genre? Do you wish to see more of Nagato Yuki (my best girl of all time) and the rest of the original cast? Do you not mind having much supernatural elements compared to the main series? Do you not mind extreme, K-ON! style moe? If yes to all of these, then this is a good series for you.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with a "Meh." for this one. I think it could have been quite interesting to see how the alternate world from The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya may have developed, but this manga definitely fails to deliver. Though the story and art aren't anything to write home about either, the main problem is that every character just feels like a watered down version of the original. Kyon is no longer a knight in sour armor, just some generic nice guy for Nagato to fall in love with. Haruhi seems to have lost her edge and is a lot more empathic and less domineering than the original. Nagato herself is an incredibly boring and utterly forgettable "socially awkward shy girl with glasses" type of character you have seen a bazillion times already. I get that a different world would logically lead to divergent personality traits, but the problem is that the manga throws out all the quirks and traits that originally made the characters so memorable and lovable, and adds absolutely nothing to replace them, so you end up with these cardboard cut-outs running around.. The end result is a generic love story featuring generic and boring characters who happen to resemble the main cast from Haruhi Suzumiya. It's just forgettable, boring and uninspired, and I'm surprised they're bothering to turn this into an anime. Nothing to see here.

I had very bad first impressions about this spinoff, in the beginning it felt like a fanfiction that is very very very very out of character but it gets better over time.

Story 9/10
It was great. A simple romance and comedy with a bit of punchlines here and there and great plot twists that could keep you hooked

Art 8/10
In the beginning of the series the art was BAD. If I were to compare it to anything, the art was similar to beginning deviantart user's artworks, but after a few chapters or so the art gradually came to improve and reach its peak hence getting an 8/10 from me

Characters 7/10
The characters were great, while some of the characters have not changed, the Kyon in this universe doesn't seem like the same one in the original, and now he is actually able to get along with other people much more better.

Enjoyment 10/10
I particularly enjoyed it. I am a Kyon x Yuki fan after all, but in the beginning it really looked just like a fanficton that went wrong to me, and I just read through for the sake of the pairing never thought it would make me hooked.
I know all other Kyon x Yuki fans would read this to their heart's content too.

This series is a very memorable one, I loved it and I'm never gonna forget this one.

I have to say, you're definitely going to enjoy this adaptation more if you've read the fourth Haruhi novel. It seems to take the story from the bits of the alternate reality created in the book, which is personally my favorite of the series. I really enjoyed seeing the differences in all the characters. I hope to continue following this as it gets released, to see if they end up going to what happened in the novel, or actually develop the relationship between Nagato and Kyon. So far this Kyon seems more oblivious than the one in the novel was.

This was quite an odd spin-off of The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya, very different to the original. As a Haruhi fan the first thing that struck me was how different Nagato was, in this Nagato is much more open and shows a lot more emotion and you could almost forget that she is supposed to be the same distant alien Nagato as in the Melancholy. Another difference is in Kyon, who seems to be much more boring a person than in the Melancholy, however this could be the life that he wanted before Haruhi tore it up. You may think that I'm comparing this too much to the Melancholy but I have reason, there are times when it appears that the author is trying to draw comparisons between the two such as when Yuki and Kyon are sitting in the clubroom and we are reminded of the times when Haruhi is out in the Melancholy. Also of course Haruhi appears with Koizumi almost as though the author in desperation was saying, "It's still got Haruhi, it's still good!". It wasn't bad but it lacks that zing of the original. 6/10

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan exists on two levels, which makes it hard to review:

1) As a Haruhi Suzumiya spin-off. On this level, it mostly fails.

2) As a stand-alone, slice-of-life romantic comedy. On this level it mostly succeeds.

Story:
Kyon joins the literature club, along with the shy Nagato and her best friend/surrogate mother Asakura, thereby saving it. Nagato quickly falls for Kyon, and Asakura tries to help her build confidence to confess. Meanwhile they have stereotypical manga/anime antics (Christmas, Valentines, Tanabata, Fireworks festival, Onsen trip, beach trip, etc.) with Haruhi, Mikuru, and others. Nothing you haven't seen before here, if you've ever read a high school romance manga.

There is one exception: the plot-arc that gives the manga its name. That plot-arc feels more "Haruhi Suzumiya-ish" than anything else in the manga. It has a more serious, supernatural feel to it, and it doesn't really fit with the rest of the manga. But then it's over, and the manga goes back to being about shy people in a zany club.

Characters:
One of the other reviewers described them as "watered down versions" of the Haruhi characters, and that is basically correct. But again, if you forget that this is a Haruhi spin-off and think about it as its own rom-com, the characters work pretty well.

Art:
Sub-par. It fits the silliness, and it gets the job done in describing the story, but it is never pretty, and sometimes weird looking.

Enjoyment/Overall:
If you saw the Haruhi anime/movie and want more of that universe, then you'll be sorely disappointed.

But, if you allow yourself to think of this as just another high school rom-com, you'll find a nice, sweet story about nice, sweet characters, many of whom get their happy endings.

The whole purpose of this manga is to show the alternate world shown in the disappearance. The story is that Nagato has a crushon Kyon and she's shy about it. I actually like Disappearance Yuki more than the silent, emotionless one, and disappearance was a great book and movie, so i really enjoyed reading this.
One of my favorite parts about this manga is Asakura, she was not a Yandere in this, but she was Yuki's best friend who tries to set her up with Kyon, but Yuki does not follow through, but at the same time she is over protective over Yuki. She does not want Kyon to do inapropriat things with Nagato.
The art is kind of sloppy and half the time the characters are chibi, but as the series progresses, the art does.
Mostly I like this series because it's a different take on the Haruhi series. And i bet all thos KyonxYuki lovers kiss this thing every night