Creative Staff
Story: Nagaru Tanigawa
Art: Puyo
Translation/Adaptation: Paul Starr
What They Say
When Yuki is grazed by a car on her way home from school, her minor injuries belie the drastic change that has taken place within her: the “Yuki Nagato” after the accident is not the same person as the Yuki from before. The new Yuki has all of the same memories, but they feel as if they were lived by someone else. How will Yuki’s fellow club members react to their new friend? And how will Yuki respond to the lingering impressions of her feelings for Kyon…?
Content: (please note that content portions of review may contain spoilers):
After the quiet and heartwarming events of the previous volume it looked like things were going to be moving smoothly for Yuki and Kyon but life has a way of interrupting those kinds of moments and throwing a wrench into the works. In Yuki’s case this twist takes the form of a near accident as she was almost hit by a car while walking in a rain storm that lowered visibility, but her own storm of ideas in her head probably played more than a small role as well. While she appeared to have escaped the encounter with just scrapes to her arms and one to her head it turns out that much more happened than anyone realizes at the time.
As the days pass after the accident Yuki continues to go to school and interact with her friends but the Yuki doing all of these actions isn’t the same one as from before her near accident. Instead of the quiet, shy and somewhat oblivious girl who loves games, the Yuki that takes her place has all of the same memories but is unable to connect them with emotions leaving her feeling like she knows the experiences but didn’t live them and she has a few other changes, such as now preferring books to videogames. Despite being in this odd state this Yukie does posses a sense of desire to continue her existence so she attempts to hide this change from Yuki’s friends but Ryoko is far too observant when it comes to her friend and she listens to “Yuki” as she tries to explain things and then Ryoko is left having to tell Kyon what is going on. Is this situation something that will be permanent or is it more ephemeral, and if so will it be the kind of dream that is fondly remembered or is it a nightmare?
When it comes to The Disappearance of Yuki-Chan I am really kind of in a quandary as I really like the concept of the series but the execution has been a bit…wobbly and sort of haphazard over the four volumes as it covers so much different ground and if there is some greater plan in place but from the current perspective it is impossible to get a real feel for that- either that or the writer is simply going with what occurs to them at the moment without trying to build everything as part of that overall story. While each of the individual volumes have been rather rewarding on their own, when looked at as a whole things seem incredibly erratic, almost as if the story flops around like a fish on a dock where one can never be quite certain where the next jump is going to take events and what may get knocked over along the way which seems to make the pieces seem random when compared together as they don’t seem to be combining together real well here toward a larger and cohesive goal.
In the case of this story suddenly interrupting the connection that Kyon and Yuki had made seems to undermine the previous work done and it puts that (largely) on hold while this new situation must be dealt with. In addition the story removes Haruhi and Koizumi just after they seemed to have found a place in the group dynamic in this new take and their absence feels like there is a hole missing (and after reading the second volume I admit I never quite thought I’d come to feel that way) as it removes part of what is the group dynamic which lessens just how many different takes on the situation there can be to “just” Ryoko and Kyon. On top of that the reactions of Kyon and Ryoko just feel a bit off as well as while the concept that they will look after this “new Yuki” as they feel she is as real as “their Yuki” is understandable on a certain level, the ease with which they seem to come to and adapt to the situation seems unnatural, particularly in Kyon’s case given where the two had been progressing in their relationship.
It almost feels in this volume like the author wants to try to get a Yuki that is closer to one in the main stories in here and that this attempt was created for that purpose rather than existing as a natural part of the story, as outside of some later moments showing how this Yuki feels much of the character development and interaction between the three main characters feels stymied while this new Yuki needs to consume a rather sizable amount of space in order to get situated with the readers and feel relevant and for me it just never quite clicked completely as it never seemed to get the amount of time such a big change should require. While part of me appreciates the effort as at times this Yuki is more capable of expressing herself (even if just to herself), this is the kind of story that feels like a pause intended to either fill space or give more time for a writer to come up with their next idea and as such it almost feels like filler- canon or not. While this volume isn’t completely one that spins its wheels it certainly does enough of it to throw off the series pace and even though it manages to work up to a satisfying conclusion in its own right at this point and time I am not entirely sure that it is going to be the most well remembered of exploits when the series finally wraps.
In Summary
The fourth entry into this spin off from the popular Haruhi Suzumiya franchise follows up on the cliff hanger of the previous volume as it introduces the readers to Yuki Nagato as a new version of the character steps onto the stage. While the book allows for some insight into Ryoko and Kyon and their relationship with Yuki as they knew her and how they can cope with this change, I can’t help but feel that an opportunity wasn’t fully developed here in the grand scheme of things leaving a final product that is merely “alright” when it had the potential to be so much more and because of that and where the series built with the previous volume it comes off as a shadow of that book and its events.
Content Grade: C+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: May 28th, 2013
MSRP: $12.99
