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It's every bit as cute as it looks.

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan (in Japanese, Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu) is a Spin-Off slice-of-life manga for the Haruhi Suzumiya series. Serialized from 2009 to 2016 in Young Ace and compiled into 10 volumes, the manga is written and illustrated by Puyo, creator of the official Haruhi Gag Series Haruhi-chan. In this alternate universe, Yuki Nagato is not an alien; she's a quiet, ordinary girl who is the president of North High's Literature Club alongside her best friend, Ryōko Asakura, and Kyon, whom she harbours feelings for. As such, the bashful Yuki becomes even more uncertain around Kyon, who's enjoying the idle, calm environment that the Literature Club provides. With the ever-watchful Ryōko keeping an eye on Yuki, the latter's feelings do not go unnoticed; Ryōko soon pushes the reluctant Yuki forwards in expressing these feelings towards Kyon.

However, these peaceful days do not last: shortly after celebrating Christmas together, Kyon and Yuki encounter none other than Haruhi Suzumiya, who'd been camped out at the park in an attempt to capture Santa Claus. Her boisterous presence and actions result in Itsuki Koizumi, Mikuru Asahina and Tsuruya joining the Literature club. Kyon and Yuki are suddenly thrown into adventures and mysteries that gradually, but surely, closes the distance between the two. As they spend more time together, hints of a Love Triangle begin to materialise, as well. An Animated Adaptation produced by Satelight was aired as part of the spring 2015 anime season, and an OVA also aired during October 2015.


The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan provides examples of:

  • Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Ryōko exercises her powers as class representative in an effort to accommodate for a Christmas party in their clubroom at Yuki's request. However, there are limits to what she can do, such as being unable to alter the minimum requirements for a club's member count.
  • Acquaintance Denial: Episode 7, "Wish", Haruhi is trying to untilize a "Power Spot", having Koizumi toss a bundle of incense into a smoker once a minute. Asakura is trying to drag her away, with much noise and commotion. Yuki asks if they should intervene, and Kyon says no, they should pretend they don't even know them. Mikuru agrees with Kyon.
  • Adaptation Expansion: The anime expands on the group's stay in the inn during the trip, adding in a few scenes in which the group plays ping-pong and has dinner, among other things.
  • Adaptational Heroism:
    • As Yuki's best friend, Ryōko resembles a doting parent, displaying none of the psychotic tendencies seen in the original series beyond occasionally joking about snapping at Kyon.
    • While retaining a mildly manipulative attitude and blasé outlook towards rules, Haruhi is less selfish and abrasive, and her actions never quite get as heinous as they could be in the original series.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Kyon and Haruhi are both noticeably nicer than their original characters, but this is most apparent with Ryōko, whose psychotic tendencies are discarded entirely, even though she can project a substantial aura of menace whenever angered. Even Yuki comes off as less like a Sugar-and-Ice Personality and The Stoic, and more of a Shrinking Violet Nice Girl.
  • Adaptational Personality Change:
    • Haruhi is still very excitable and ever-ready for pursuit of the mysterious, but her Jerkass behaviors are dialed back, and so, while retaining her independent Genki Girl and Cloudcuckoolander character, she develops a Big Sister Mentor/Cool Big Sis dynamic with Yuki. In some instances, Haruhi even serves as the Straight Man to Ryōko's antics. Sasaki says that Haruhi comes off as completely different to her classmates at Koyouen, seeming like a model student that everyone looks up to, although she does point out that the way Haruhi seems at North High is in all likelihood her true self.
    • Ryōko's Cute and Psycho traits are gone; rather than any homicidal tendencies (which even the alternate version of her from the original Disappearance story had), she acts as a big-sister figure to Yuki, periodically advising her on how to get along with Kyon. While sometimes coming across as overbearing, she generally concerns herself with being a Proper Lady who keep the others in check.
    • Tsuruya is friends with Ryōko, and Mikuru is a more independent individual, no longer being required to follow orders from any higher-ups. Mikuru also ends up being a Cool Big Sis figure to Yuki in her own way.
    • Koizumi's Ambiguously Gay tendencies are less apparent in the manga, because he's in love with Haruhi. Within the anime, some of the Ambiguously Gay elements resurface; during the group's visit to a hot springs, Kyon finds himself uncomfortably close to Koizumi on two separate occasions while in the men's bath.
    • Kyon is much friendlier all-around except when dealing with Haruhi, during which some of his old sarcasm reappears in response to her remarks. His Oblivious to Love status is also more genuine obliviousness rather than Selective Obliviousness.
    • When she briefly appears in the school festival arc, Kuyō Suō is a normal human girl who’s just as shy as Yuki was, rather than an incomprehensibly alien Humanoid Abomination.
  • Alternate Universe: The series is set in the alternate universe that was introduced in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, where everyone is a normal human and Haruhi and Koizumi never went to North High.
  • Art Evolution: The artwork becomes more natural as the chapters progress, and in earlier chapters, it was quite difficult to differentiate between Ryōko and Tsuruya, particularly in black-and-white.
  • Ascended Extra: Taniguchi and Kunikida have a much greater presence in the anime than the manga. (In fact, in the manga chapters covered by the anime, Taniguchi appears in a whopping one panel and Kunikida doesn't appear at all. They do appear regularly in a later arc of the manga though.)
  • Babies Ever After: Ryōko fantasizes about Kyon and Yuki having a child together and introducing them to her when she gets back from Canada in the final chapter.
  • Beach Episode: Chapter thirty-six (episode fifteen in the anime) follows the Literature Club's visit to Tsuruya's beach house.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me:
    • Kyon and Yuki first meet when she was too timid to ask for assistance in registering for a library card. He ends up helping her to get one so she could borrow a book.
    • Koizumi sticks around Haruhi because when he was the New Transfer Student, he was ostracised by his classmates. However, Haruhi approached him and treated him differently than everyone else. And so, while he knows that Haruhi doesn't seem romantically interested in him, he's definitely in love with her.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Haruhi and Kyon detect hostility from the other from the moment that they exchange names.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: While Ryōko lacks her psychotic tendencies, she still emanates a frightening aura whenever she finds Kyon and Yuki procrastinating or idling.
  • Big Eater: Yuki's fond of snacks and can eat more than her stature suggests.
  • Blank White Eyes: These are visible on Ryōko after she changes her mind about tutoring Kyon when he tries to ask Yuki for some help instead, all the while attempting to coerce him into allowing her to tutor him instead of Yuki.
  • Blind Without 'Em: Yuki appears to be entirely blind without her glasses. Barely able to coherently walk to a nearby store and back, she can't recognise Haruhi's face when she finally sees her without her glasses.
  • Blunt "Yes": When Haruhi and Ryōko are discussing Ryōko's worries about Yuki and Kyon's relationship, Haruhi replies that their friendship is strong enough to handle it.
    Ryōko: The more the distance between Nagato-san and Kyon-kun closes, the more it feels like they're moving further from me. And it's just... I hate it. It's lonely. I know, I know. I'm not protecting anyone. It's pure jealousy.
    Haruhi:(places a hand on Ryōko's shoulder) Ryōko... (with a smile) Yeah, that's really dumb!
  • Book Ends: In volume one, Ryōko wakes a sleeping Yuki by tugging on her hair and asking "Are you quite awake, Your Highness?". In the final volume, Ryōko repeats the action and question when she finds Yuki sleeping during a visit to Japan on a vacation.
  • Bookworm: Despite being fond of games, Yuki also enjoys reading. After the accident, the alternate Yuki prefers books over video games.
  • Boyfriend Bluff: Sasaki asks Kyon to pose as her boyfriend, in order to ward off potential suitors. Kyon, having heard the other Yuki's confession, declines, saying after something like that, he doesn't want to go out with Sasaki, even as a lie.
  • Butt-Monkey: Haruhi's machinations leave Kyon on the receiving end even in this universe; while singing some karaoke at the hot springs resort, they stick around for Mikuru's song. But when it's Kyon's turn, he decides to go all-out on it. Unfortunately, Haruhi gets bored before he even starts, so she leaves. The others following her, leaving Kyon to sing by himself.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: This holds true for both Yuki and Kyon. Initially, Yuki's only able to thank Kyon for helping her obtain a library card, while Kyon finds conversation with Yuki awkward following her vanished alter-ego's love confession. Eventually, he replies in kind under the din of a fireworks show. As of volume nine, this trend comes to an end, as Kyon and Yuki confess their love to each other in front of the Christmas tree at Tsuruya's house.
  • Character Development:
    • Yuki gets better at interacting with Kyon, slowly getting closer to him, as well as more self-confident in general.
    • Kyon loses some of his Oblivious to Love issues, especially with the alternate Yuki.
    • Haruhi's Jerkass characteristics dramatically decreases over the series. Additionally, her negative attitude about romance diminishes, becoming a Shipper on Deck for Kyon and Yuki. By the epilogue, she pointedly did not give her usual anti-romance spiel in response to Koizumi’s Love Confession, but a challenge to make her fall for him.
    • Ryōko reins in some of her parental tendencies, dramatically chastising herself at times for hovering over Yuki. By the final volume, she's fully supportive of Kyon and Yuki's relationship, and both are independent enough for Ryōko to have the freedom to study abroad in Canada to be closer to her parents.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Similar to her character in the other spinoff, Haruhi-chan, Tsuruya is in exceptional shape. She declares a what would be considered a physically-taxing hike to be super-easy, hints that she and her family wrestle bears on vacation, and can even bodily throw someone a surprising distance.
  • Chick Magnet: Yuki, her alternate personality, Haruhi, and Sasaki all demonstrate a degree of interest in Kyon. To a lesser degree, Asakura occasionally gets some faux-Ship Tease with him and Tsuruya treats him as part of Mikuru’s fan club.
  • Childhood Friends: Ryōko and Yuki have known one another since childhood, having met when their parents introduced them to one another.
  • Christmas Episode:
    • The first six chapters detail preparations for and partaking in a Christmas party in their clubroom.
    • Volume 7 is set entirely within the December of their second school year, culminating in a Christmas party at Tsuruya’s residence where Yuki and Kyon finally confess to each other and have a Relationship Upgrade.
  • Cliffhanger: The end of volume three leaves the outcome of Yuki's near-accident unknown.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Yuki represents a mild case, becoming distraught whenever she feels that Kyon is becoming closer to another girl. This is especially noticeable when she she sees Haruhi giving what turns out to be nothing more than obligation chocolate, although she seems to take it well when Haruhi says she "doesn't dislike" Kyon. However, Yuki takes it somewhat harder when Kyon reunites with Sasaki, whom he's known for a long time, but Mikuru reassures her that it's natural to feel that way, later giving her advice on how to "recapture" him.
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: While the main series usually has Kyon be this to Haruhi—and he makes an admirable effort to do so in this spinoff as well—here it’s an odd case where this is actually the dynamic of Ryōko and Haruhi to each other. One of them will drop the Sanity Ball for the other to carry, with either Ryōko being the voice of reason to Haruhi’s antics or Haruhi being the voice of reason when Ryōko’s imagination runs wild in regards to the romantic developments between Kyon and Yuki.
  • Club Stub: Yuki's literature club is on the verge of being shut down from a lack of members; Yuki resolves to attain the sufficient numbers to continue the club's activities after speaking with Ryōko.
  • Cold Touch Surprise: in episode 1, Ryoko tricks Kyon into carrying the grocery bags, then puts her cold hands on his face to warm them. In this case, she was instructing Yuki on methods of flirting.
  • Compliment Backfire: Haruhi can't bear for Yuki to thank her, after Yuki is roped into Haruhi's scheme to capture Santa Claus.
  • Cool Big Sis: Haruhi and Mikuru both start to fill this role to Yuki in their own ways. Ryōko tries to be this to Yuki as well, but comes off as more motherly in her efforts. In the final arc, it’s revealed that Yuki actually used to be like this for Ryōko when they first met.
  • Crush Blush: Yuki frequently sports this when her interactions with Kyon get closer than expected. In turn, Kyon admitting to himself that he has this marks his official Love Epiphany for Yuki.
  • Cute Clumsy Girl: Yuki exhibits these traits in both the manga and anime:
    • In the anime's opening sequence, Yuki trips shortly after running in during the title's appearance before picking herself up again.
    • Tsuruya claims Mikuru demonstrates these attributes, but Mikuru protests it only happens occasionally.
  • Dare to Be Badass: Upon learning that the Literature Club faces closure, Ryōko delivers a passionate lecture to Yuki, asking if she's willing to do what it takes to protect the club. Despite her worries about coming across as being too harsh, Yuki gains the courage to find more members.
  • Date Peepers: The ninth episode offers two instances:
    • After Yuki loses in old maid, she's asked to buy drinks and snacks as a penalty. Kyon decides to escort her, provided that it's dark outside. Ryōko, Haruhi, and Koizumi end up tailing the two. They watch as Kyon and Yuki seemingly embrace for a kiss, causing Ryōko to let out a Big "NO!". This is subverted, as it turns out to have been a very long Imagine Spot she was having.
    • However, the trope is played straight moments later. Tsuruya originally intended to bring everyone up a hidden trail to a quiet spot for stargazing, but upon seeing Ryōko and Haruhi sleeping, she suggests that Kyon and Yuki go together. Both Haruhi and Ryōko wind up awakening and promptly tail the couple, though Haruhi claims she just wants to go stargazing.
  • Daydream Surprise: It initially appears that Yuki lost the card game and has to go shopping, with Kyon accompanying her. However, it turns out to be Ryōko's daydream, and in reality, Ryōko ends up losing.
  • Deadpan Door Shut: Ryoko Asakura, who is an odd combination of Shipper on Deck and Moment Killer for Kyon and Yuki, opens the door to the Literary Club and discovers the pair in a Not What It Looks Like situation, before quietly excusing herself. Twice! She also manages this with the clubroom window during the Christmas party, when Kyon and Yuki were outside together.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Although Kyon is a Straight Man in the series' beginning, his interactions with Haruhi gradually brings out this side of him as time progresses.
  • Death Glare: Ryōko's Yandere Psycho Knife Nut disposition are absent, but she is nonetheless quite capable of frightening Yuki and Kyon. On several instances, she's able to do so with her eyes closed, in conjunction with the Bishie Sparkle.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Yuki becomes melancholy after being told that the Literature Club is to be closed for on account of lacking a sufficient number of members.
  • Deteriorates Into Gibberish: Despite her exceptional intellect, Yuki's explanations for how she reaches a solution are incoherent to most everyone. As such, Ryōko refuses to allow Yuki to tutor Kyon; he likely would not have understood Yuki's explanations.
  • Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: In the very first episode of the anime, Ryōko hums "Hare Hare Yukai" while she cooks. In the final episode, Haruhi hums "Bouken Desho, Desho?", the Haruhi Suzumiya anime's first opening theme.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: Koizumi follows Haruhi everywhere and agrees to be her lackey, despite knowing that she might lose interest in him since he's no one special.
  • Double-Meaning Title: The Disappearance Of Nagato Yuki-chan not only draws its name from The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, the novel which featured the alternate universe that Yuki-chan’s setting is based on, it also refers to Nagato disassociating from her memories after nearly being hit by a car and her original, cheerful personality temporarily “disappearing,” as well as the subsequent disappearance of this alternate personality when the previous Yuki eventually returns.
  • Dragged by the Collar: Ryōko resorts to these means to move Yuki to the clubroom after classes end for the day during the first episode.
  • Drama Panes: During the Christmas Party for the Literary Club in the "Nagato-chan" version, Asakura opens the window to admire the snow, only to realize a moment to late that she's just become a Moment Killer (especially bad for her, because she's a Shipper on Deck).
  • Dying Declaration of Love: The first successful Love Confession in the story comes from Yuki’s alternate self to Kyon, and she gives it over the phone as she begins to fall asleep, telling him that the regular Yuki will return in her place when she wakes up.
  • Dynamic Entry:
    • Tsuruya throws Mikuru, breasts-first, at Kyon's head.
    • Haruhi pops out of a snow covered bush at the park while Yuki and Kyon are walking by, subsequently ordering Kyon to bring her somewhere warm.
    • Kyon's sister does this to Kyon as punishment for not inviting her to the beach with his friends.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Taniguchi and Kunikida appear in the anime much earlier than they did in the manga.
  • Emotionless Girl: Yuki acts in this manner during chapter twenty-six to conceal her dysmnesia after a near-accident. Despite lacking the knowledge of how to behave as the original Yuki did, she manages to remain low-key and eventually falls in love with Kyon.
  • Everyone Can See It: Yuki's feelings for Kyon are noticed by most everyone, save Kyon himself, bearing resemblance to the situation seen in the original series with Kyon and Haruhi. When they begin dating, everyone except Ryōko seems to take notice of it despite not being told anything.
    • Similarly, everyone but Haruhi knows that Koizumi is crushing on her.
  • Evolving Credits: In the anime, the ending credits show scenes of Yuki interacting with all the major characters. During the "Disappearance" arc, the characters are all cast in colored silhouettes. A second is seen Yuki observing them near the end, mirroring how the other Yuki doesn't consider these memories as her own.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: When Yuki is made aware of Kyon’s ponytail fetish, she’s initially dismayed that her own hair isn’t long enough to put in a ponytail like Haruhi’s is. After Yuki and Kyon start dating, she expresses a desire to let her hair grow out, partially for this purpose but also just for the fun of it when he tells her that she doesn’t have to change herself just for him. By the time Ryōko comes back from Canada in the epilogue, she and Kyon are still together and her hair is long enough to put in a small ponytail.
  • Fanservice:
    • When Kyon joins Ryōko and Yuki for dinner during chapter two, Yuki spills food on her sweater mid-conversation and briefly struggles with Ryōko in pulling it off. They promptly stop when they realise Kyon's still there, but not before he gets half an eyeful of Yuki's navel.
    • Chapter twenty-two takes place at a Hot Spring, and chapter thirty-six is a Beach Episode, so such moments are par the course during these chapters (and their corresponding episodes in the anime).
    • In the manga, two-page spread of all the girls in bikinis is found a couple chapters earlier, while everyone is planning for Tanabata.
  • Forgiving the Accidental Pervert: In the first episode, a question from Ryoko startles Yuki, who coughs and spills oden on her sweater. Ryoko begins to try and pull her sweater off, saying they have to wash it before it stains. The only problem? Kyon is still in the room, which both Yuki and Ryoko realize a moment after Ryoko had nearly stripped her in front of him. But neither of them blame or attack Kyon for this oversight.
    • Ms. Fanservice: Mikuru fulfils this role more prominently in the anime.
  • Fastball Special:
    • Tsuruya throws Mikuru at Kyon in chapter sixteen to give her a Dynamic Entry.
    • Haruhi uses Kyon as a distraction, throwing him at Tsuruya during episode three in order to "kidnap" Mikuru.
  • Flirty Voice Ploy: Ryoko is fond of pulling these on Kyon. In the first episode, she uses it to goad him into carrying the grocies for her.
  • Food and Body Comparison: The OVA episode has Haruhi and company racing for a variety of "exotic fruits". Kyon is very interested in the musk melons, which he frequently compares to Mikuru's chest. He is very disappointed when the musk melons are gone (and Mikuru is now wearing a cover-up) as he asks "Where did my musk melons go?"
  • Funbag Airbag: Kyon is subjected to this after Tsurya tosses Mikuru at him in the aforementioned Dynamic Entry.
  • Gamer Chick: Yuki retains her interest in video games; this trait was is seen in Yuki's Haruhi-chan incarnation (in turn originally derived from the original Yuki's apparent enjoyment of Day of Sagittarius). Conversely, the alternate Yuki prefers books over games.
  • Gone Horribly Right: Ryōko becomes uneasy in response to Kyon and Yuki's growing closeness.
  • Good Morning, Crono: The first scene involves Ryōko waking a sleeping Yuki in a painful fashion.
  • Got Volunteered: Kyon was made a member of the "Mikuru Fan Club" without his knowledge, complete with a membership card bearing a photograph of him that was likely clandestinely taken.
  • Headbutt of Love: Yuki and Ryōko share a heartwarming moment after Ryōko promises to help realise Yuki's desire to host a Christmas party in their clubroom.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: This is Played for Laughs in during chapter ten (episode three in the anime), when Haruhi "sacrifices" Koizumi and Kyon to Tsuruya in order to kidnap Mikuru. The two guys are easily "defeated", and as the Tsuruya prepares to attack Haruhi, she's stopped by a teacher who says jumping down a flight of stairs is risky. While Tsuruya is being lectured, Haruhi uses this opportunity to "steal" Mikuru away to the Literature club.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Ryōko is Yuki's neighbor, but visits Yuki's place so often and minds over so many aspects of her life that they might as well be related. Similarly, Tsuruya and Mikuru are always seen together, with Tsuruya regarding herself as Mikuru's guardian.
  • Hostile Show Takeover: Haruhi, despite not being a student of North High, quickly takes over the Literature Club room, and brings in much of the antics that she does in the original series.
  • Hot Springs Episode: Episodes seven to nine in the anime (and the corresponding chapters in the manga) follow the group as they vacation at a hot springs.
  • Hot Teacher: Ryōko changes into a suit while tutoring Kyon, prompting him to wonder why she changed her clothes.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Ryōko is exceptionally skilled with school and housework, further finding the time to help Yuki out, and gives her encouragement when the latter is feeling down. However, her abilities have their limits: she eventually gives up on a textbook problem that Haruhi goads her into trying to solve.
  • Identity Amnesia: After her near-accident during chapter twenty-five, Yuki suffers from temporary dysmnesia. While she still retains her memories, she no longer recognises them as her own and is effectively a completely different person. This aspect is treated quite seriously, as her friends come to terms with how to best interact with the alternate Yuki as a distinct person, who fears being regarded as just a sickness waiting to go away when for her being "cured" sounds frighteningly similar to death.
  • Imaginary Love Triangle: Tsuruya initially acts under the pretense that Yuki and Mikuru are rivals for Kyon's affections, despite Mikuru's protests otherwise.
  • I'm Standing Right Here: After Nagato runs off, having seen Haruhi give chocolate to Kyon on Valentine's Day, Ryoko and Haruki are searching for her. Ryoko tells Haruhi that after reflecting for a moment, she realizes that Nagato is partly to blame. "The Devil shows up to kidnap the Princess, and the Hero just runs away?" Haruhi gives her a sour look, pointing at herself, saying "The Devil?" Ryoko ignores her and resumes her search for Nagato.
  • Internal Reveal: After chapter 57 Yuki and Kyon finally get a Relationship Upgrade, but Ryōko isn’t aware of this until she overhears them talking about it in chapter 63.
  • Japanese School Club: With the entire crew of the original SOS Brigade present, it's hard to remember that the bulk of the story takes place in the Literature Club.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
    • Despite frequently harassing Kyon for "two-timing" on Mikuru and generally enjoying extracting whatever entertainment she can from others’ expense, Tsuruya also helps with the literature club's Christmas party, shares her family's discount at a hot springs and hotel, and hosts everyone at her family's villa and private beach during summer vacation.
    • Haruhi—while not as much of a jerk as she is in the original series—is still rather selfish, chaotic, and troublesome, but nonetheless a caring friend to the rest of them and can serve as the voice of reason when Ryōko’s getting in over her head.
  • Just Friends: Haruhi and Koizumi are merely friends; she befriended him while he was adjusting to a new school, and eventually he, fell in love with her.
  • Last-Name Basis: Despite being long-time friends, Yuki and Ryōko typically call each other by their family names.
  • Lighter and Softer: As it is a Slice of Life romantic comedy, the atmosphere in The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan is much more relaxed relative to that of the original series.
  • Love Confession: While attempts are quite frequent, circumstances often cause them to fail. The most poignant instance occurs with Yuki's alternate personality making her feelings known. However, she does so with the knowledge that she'll cease to exist once she fully reintegrates with Yuki's original identity.
    • In volume 8, Yuki and Kyon finally exchange these with each other at Tsuruya’s house.
    • It’s mentioned in the final volume that Koizumi eventually worked up the nerve to confess to Haruhi. She didn’t reciprocate, but she did challenge him to make her fall for him.
  • Love Epiphany: As the manga progresses, Kyon begins to realise he's in love with Yuki after alternate Yuki makes her Love Confession to him.
  • Love Revelation Epiphany: Kyon doesn’t consider that Yuki might have feelings for him until the alternate one makes a Dying Declaration of Love to him. He becomes much more aware of her after that, and realizes that he reciprocates that love shortly after getting confirmation that the main Yuki feels that way about him as well.
  • Love Triangle: Elements of a love triangle gradually appear.
    • Haruhi supports Yuki's feelings for Kyon wholeheartedly, but there have been hints of her feelings for Kyon. It seemed chemistry was starting to bloom after Kyon pulls Haruhi out of the river, and she starts to feel something strange when Kyon pulls a John Smith-esque line. Later, Yuki walks in on Haruhi giving Kyon (obligation) chocolate during Valentines' Day, where Haruhi explains that she does feel a little bit of affection towards Kyon, stating that she "doesn't dislike him" to Yuki.
    • Early on, Yuki saw Haruhi as a rival to be emulated, even in impossible things like having a ponytail.
    • After the "Disappearance Arc", a love triangle materialises, involving Kyon, Yuki, and Yuki's amnesiac alternate personality. Specifically, alternate-Yuki confesses to Kyon just before Yuki's original identity reawakens, clarifying her feelings to Kyon. However, Kyon becomes conflicted as to whether he's honestly attracted to Yuki, or if she's just a stand-in for the now-faded alternate identity that managed to steal his heart during her brief life.
    • During the school festival, it’s heavily implied that Sasaki has feelings for Kyon and this partially motivates her request for a Boyfriend Bluff with him, while Yuki is more actively attempting to pursue him and Kyon is still grappling with his own feelings for Yuki after getting a confession from the alternate one.
  • Maybe Ever After: By the epilogue, Haruhi and Koizumi are not an official couple, but he has made her aware of his feelings for her and she in turn has given him the ultimatum of getting her to reciprocate. While she hadn’t shown any prior interest, Haruhi does blush when Asakura comments that the challenge is Haruhi’s way of dodging having to answer him.
  • Mistaken for Gay: Mikuru's efforts to rally Yuki's courage in giving her Valentine's Day Chocolate results in some misunderstanding: she states that she'd be glad to get chocolate from Yuki if she were male, and while Yuki is aware of what she means, Tsuruya and Ryōko are eager to tease Mikuru about it coming off as a Love Confession.
  • The "Mom" Voice: Ryoko Asakura often has to use The "Mom" Voice when dealing with Nagato's more childish habits, like staying up all night playing video games. She'll also wield it against Haruhi when the hyper young woman is causing trouble ("You are just a troublemaker, aren't you?") Lampshaded by Tsuruya who says, "You'll make a good Mom someday, Ryoko."
  • Moment Killer: Tsuruya, Kyon's sister, and Ryōko have a propensity of ruining such moments.
    • In particular, Ryōko unintentionally ruins things for Yuki during the Christmas party, when she opens the window to watch the snowfall while the two are outside alone.
    • Ryōko also walks in to the club room on Kyon and Yuki supposedly hugging, which happened because Kyon took her game away to tease her a little.
  • Mood Whiplash: At the end of Volume 3(Episode 9), after the group of friends go on a trip together, and Ryoko talks with Yuki about her strategy to win over Kyon, Yuki gets grazed by a car.
  • My Beloved Smother: Ryōko sometimes acts in this manner towards Yuki.
  • Mythology Gag: Numerous references to The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi are made:
    • In the first episode, Ryoko hands off the bags of groceries to Kyon after shopping. She remarks that her hands are cold, and the camera tilts to the same angle in the original series, right before the original Asakura ran at Kyon with a knife. Here, she simply places her hands on his face to warm them up.
    • Haruhi attempts to recreate the "I am here" message to aliens on the field. Since Kyon doesn't know her, she doesn't run into him, instead asking Yuki to write said message.
    • Kyon responds to Haruhi's question "Do you think kappas really exist?" with a "Dunno. Maybe they do." This mirrors the Haruhi and "John Smith" conversation.
    • A flashback is shown to an alternate version of the John Smith scene, although Kyon does not remember.
    • Mikuru has a star-shaped mole on her chest, and initially, only Tsuruya is aware of this.
    • Like in Haruhi-chan, Mori is the physical education instructor.
    • Yuki offers Kyon the club signup sheet in the same manner as she had in the light novels.
    • Haruhi's big reveal about her "ambitions" is featured, albeit under different circumstances.
    • Haruhi dresses up in Kyon's sports uniform so as not to stand out in North High; Kyon even asks her to do her hair up in a ponytail.
    • When Yuki gives a confusing explanation for a math problem, Ryōko says "It's like she's speaking some kind of alien language," referencing how Yuki's gibberish sounds like the alien Yuki's incantations from the original series.
    • In the anime, Haruhi and Tsuruya square off with Animal Battle Auras of Haruhi dressed as a sheep dog and Tsuruya dressed as a swan.
    • During the anime's version of the Literature Club field trip, after bathing in the onsen, Haruhi declares it to be the 15,498th Ping-Pong meet, alluding to the number of repetitions quoted in the Endless Eight arc.
    • Some of the wishes written for Tanabata are similar to those from 'The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi''.
    • Ryōko mentions that if she succumbs to stress, she just might knife Kyon.
    • Chapter thirty-eight begins with a familiar scene concerning a (not-as-dramatic) declaration of not having done one's summer homework, although this time, there is no endless recursions of time.
    • Everyone's roles during the previous year's School Festival in chapter forty-one are call-backs to the original series: Yuki was a fortune-teller, while Haruhi wrote, filmed, and directed her own movie, with Koizumi as the star. Unfortunately, she got bored and shelved it once it got into post-production. In said movie, mysterious transfer student Koizumi awakens to his Psychic Powers and uses them to fight giant monsters. Haruhi and Tsuruya also filled in for absent members of a band at North High's festival.
    • Ryōko is seen humming Hare Hare Yukai while the audience gets a glimpse of her insane knife skills (while cooking).
    • One of Ryōko's character songs is called "LOVE EDITION", mirroring one of her original songs, "COOL EDITION".
    • Episode ten is titled "Someday in the Rain", shared with the main series’ first season (chronological) finale.
    • Kyon's sister tries to sneak along to Kyon's trip to the beach, hiding in his duffle bag and dropkicks him like she did in Haruhi-chan upon being discovered.
    • Haruhi hums "Bouken Desho, Desho?" (the first opening of the main series) during the final episode.
    • The final episode mirrors Endless Eight's plot, and it turns out that Kyon even forgot to do his summer homework.
    • Yuki fondly remembers Kyon helping her get a library card, as he did in the series, but in a manner that was closer to the post-credits scene from the Disappearance movie.
    • Volume ten has a callout to Endless Eight when Kyon's little sister remarks "Kyon-kun, phone" in response to a text Kyon's received.
    • Objects resembling Kimidori-san, the balloon dog, makes an appearance every so often in the background.
  • No Antagonist: With a lack of amoral data entities from space, and rival time-travelers and espers, very little stands in the way of Yuki achieving her wish to become closer to Kyon, barring herself.
  • Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Ryōko is a good student at North High, but she's blown away by the math problems Koyouen students routinely solve.
  • Not a Morning Person: Ryōko regularly has to push Yuki through her morning routine to make sure the latter is ready for school on time.
  • Not What It Looks Like:
    • Yuki walks in on Haruhi giving Kyon chocolate on Valentine's Day, throws away the chocolate she had been planning to give him, and runs out of the clubroom at full speed. It turns out that Haruhi's is just obligation chocolate, identical to what she then gives Koizumi.Later, Yuki reveals that she left out of consideration, and meant to present hers later - she's quite alarmed to discover she dropped hers.
    • When Kyon asks Ryōko for some tutoring, she tells him that relying on her right away is bad. He then decides to ask Yuki instead, prompting Ryōko to immediately change her mind about the tutoring. When he points out her initial refusal, she strong-arms him into agreeing. Yuki, meanwhile, has an Imagine Spot and thinks the two are secretly sharing a romantic moment, before rationalising it as Not What It Looks Like... just not the Not What It Looks Like that actually happened.
    • Ryōko walks into the club room while Kyon and Yuki are supposedly hugging. She then slowly backs out of the room and closes the door. In reality Kyon took Yuki's game away, then jokingly kept it out of reach while she attempted to get it back, bumping into him in the process. A moment later he feeds Yuki a little bit of his food to make up for teasing her, and Ryōko once again walks in on it. She hilariously tries to exit the same way she did the first time.
  • Oblivious to Love: Kyon does not seem aware of Yuki's feelings due to the fact she Cannot Spit It Out.
  • Otaku: While not quite as passionate about games as her Haruhi-chan incarnation, Yuki often plays games well into the morning hours, much to Ryōko's displeasure.
  • Parental Abandonment: Ryōko's parents are working overseas, and little is known about Yuki's parents, save when a doctor mentions their absence in passing.
  • The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: The Literature Club's activities are largely unrelated, and save an exhibit for a culture festival involving the collection of literature, the club's members usually spend their days relaxing together. Kyon lampshades this at the end of the anime’s final episode, commenting that their summer activities were completely unrelated to literature, with Ryōko jokingly pretending to have forgotten that they were a literary club when he suggests they write a collaborative novel.
  • Product Placement: Kyon, his sister, and Yuki play a Monster Hunter-like game on the Nintendo 3DS. In the anime, this changes to Yuki's love of playing visual novels on her Play Station Vita.
  • Public Domain Soundtrack: 'Maurice Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess is used as a leitmotif of sorts for Yuki. Pavane for a Dead Princess begins quietly, with a slow tempo; as the song continues, it transitions from pianissimo to fortissimo, without losing its slow tempo. Likewise, Yuki is content to do things at her own pace, but as she gains more confidence, her actions become bolder.
  • Real-Place Background: In line with the original series, the anime offers a faithful depiction of the town of Nishinomiya; many landmarks are even shown in their renovated state.
  • Recycled Soundtrack: Pieces from the original anime's soundtrack are used on some occasions, especially in scenes with Haruhi.
  • Relationship Upgrade: By volume eight in the manga, it's shown that Yuki and Kyon confess their feelings for one another. There are no distractions and no circumstances preventing them from doing so, and subsequently, the two begin dating.
  • The Reveal: Haruhi makes her declaration about longing to meet "time travelers, aliens and espers", but the context differs compared to that of the original.
  • Rubber Face:
    • Ryōko does this to Haruhi after finding out the latter had Yuki quickly sign a permission slip to allow her and Koizumi to enter their school for club activities despite not being students at the school.
    • Haruhi in turn does this to Yuki when the latter starts getting apologetic about Haruhi doing everything for the Literature Club.
  • Running Gag: Yuki's attempts to follow Ryōko's advice to get an early night before important days typically fail: unable to sleep out of excitement, she typically ends up staying up all night, playing video games. Alternate Yuki gets into the same routine with books.
  • Sailor Fuku: As in the parent series, North High's girls wear this uniform, while the boys wear blazers. Koyoen, however, is the opposite; the boys wear gyakuran and the girls wear blazers.
  • School Festival: The school festival and accompanying preparations forms the focus for much of the sixth volume.
  • Serious Business:
    • Tsuruya and Ryōko become very involved during the Mikuru vs Yuki contests to see who's more popular/cute, reaching the point where both Mikuru and Yuki are no longer the contestants, as Tsuruya and Ryōko going head to head against one another.
    • After declaring Ryōko as North High's representative against Haruhi's school and saying that an insult to their school was an insult on her, Ryōko openly challenges Haruhi to a mathematics quiz and is promptly bested.
  • She Is Not My Girlfriend:
    • Yuki replies in this manner after Haruhi questions her relationship with Kyon. Unfortunately, she takes it too far, declaring him a complete stranger (to Kyon's chagrin), but later recants this and says that they are friends.
    • Haruhi bemoans having to constantly explain that Koizumi isn't her boyfriend, too. She doesn't view him anything as more than a friend, even though Koizumi wishes things were different.
    • In the school festival arc, Ryōko is mistakenly identified as Kyon’s girlfriend by Sasaki, who herself used to go through this trope with him back in middle school. Ryōko is quick to shoot this notion down but still eagerly latches onto the attached compliment about her beauty.
  • Shipper on Deck: Ryōko ships Yuki with Kyon. In fact, most of the girls do (even Haruhi, who has some degree of affection for Kyon). Tsuruya attempted to ship Mikuru and Kyon for a while, but neither Mikuru nor Kyon shares these sentiments. Kyon's sister also appears enthralled with notions of her brother and Yuki being a couple.
  • Ship Tease:
    • Most moments deal with Kyon and Yuki.
    • There's also a few instances involving Ryōko and Kyon, although it’s usually Played for Laughs and not meant to be taken remotely seriously.
    • Hints of Haruhi and Kyon begin arising when Haruhi realizes that Kyon is John Smith, complete with mild tsundere tendencies on Haruhi's part, in the anime.
    • Ship Sinking: In contrast to the regular series, Kyon and Mikuru view one another as friends.
  • Shoo Out the Clowns: For the entirety of the "Disappearance" arc, Mikuru, Tsuruya, Haruhi, and Itsuki are absent. This coincides with the fact that in-universe, both schools are close to major exams and thus, the others are busy preparing for their exams.
  • Single Tear: Yuki lets a single tear fall from her eye when Kyon replies to her Love Confession with one of his own.
  • Skinship Grope: Mikuru suffers this at Haruhi and Tsuruya's hands during their excursion to the hot springs.
  • Shrinking Violet: Yuki is one in this series, being quite shy and often unwilling to do much on her own without prodding from someone else, but as children, Ryōko was quite shy and tended to depend on Yuki.
  • Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Despite the series not bearing her name, Haruhi's presence is very noticeable in the anime.
  • The Stinger:
    • At the end of episode two in the anime, Yuki forgets her meeting in the park with Haruhi to capture Santa. As she walks by with Kyon the next day, Haruhi then leaps out of the bushes and collapses, having been there all night.
    • At the end of Episode 9, Ryōko tells Yuki to come up with excuses to see Kyon over the summer break since they won't have club meetings as episode nine draws to a close, and shortly after, Yuki is involved in a near-accident while crossing the road.
    • The final episode hits audiences with a Brick Joke several episodes in the making — Kyon forgot to do his summer homework.
  • Straight Man: Kyon is the most level-headed and usually makes snide remarks on events around him. There are cases where Haruhi also fulfills this role, in response to Ryōko's Shipper on Deck actions.
  • Strange Minds Think Alike: Similar to the original, Kyon and Haruhi have this dynamic. For example, when Kyon likens his current status in summer to being stuck at the fifth station of Mount Fuji, Haruhi does the same thing later that day.
    • Oddly enough, Yuki confesses to Kyon at the same time that he was considering doing the exact same with her.
  • Stronger Than They Look: Tsuruya effortlessly ascends the hill that exhausts Kyon, Koizumi, and Yuki en route to the stargazing spot near the resort, all while carrying Mikuru piggyback for the full length of the hike.
  • Stupidest Thing I've Ever Heard: In the dub, Haruhi says this verbatim about Ryōko worrying that if Yuki gets closer to Kyon, she'll drift away from Ryōko. Haruhi says Ryōko and Yuki are close enough that they shouldn't worry about that.
  • Team Mom: Ryōko fulfills this role for her friends, to the point where Tsuruya teases her with the idea, after Ryōko manoeuvres Kyon into some alone time with Yuki at the Christmas party. Similarly, Haruhi views Ryōko as a disapproving mother-in-law over Yuki and Kyon's relationship.
  • Tempting Fate: In episode nine, Koizumi and Kyon are relaxing in their room at the hot springs resort. The latter mentions that having some nice and quiet every now and then is good. The peace is disturbed almost immediately as Haruhi shows up, and says they're going to spend the whole night playing games together.
  • Time Skip:
    • The first volume of the manga skips forwards seven months after Ryōko's conversation with Yuki, leaving out details pertaining to how Kyon ended up joining the literature club until later.
    • The final volume skips over much of Yuki and the others' third year, primarily showing a montage of the events of several months, eventually leading up to Ryōko's departure.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Ryōko’s favored dish to prepare for others is oden. She ends up scaring off some passersby from the literature club when she pressures them to read a book about oden.
  • The Troublemaker: Ryoko outright calls Haruhi a “troublemaker”, squashing her face in anger as she discovered that Haruhi has been tricking Nagato into filling out forms to form a joint literary club between East High and Koyouen Academy, putting Haruhi in charge.
  • Truer to the Text: The anime adaptation of the manga restores some aspects of the original series that the manga had omitted or toned down, such as Kyon’s First-Person Smartass status and Itsuki’s Ambiguously Gay behaviors.
  • Tsundere: Haruhi fulfils some of the requirements for being Type B, although this is played with in that she doesn't get awkward when it's necessarily someone she's crushing on; instead, she becomes a little shy whenever someone thanks her (she had elements of this in the original, although her Jerkass personality means she's better classified as Type A).
  • Uncanny Valley Girl: This averted in this series for Ryōko Asakura (contrasting the main Haruhi series); she doesn't smile all the time or always have a voice of concern. She seems to have an actual normal range of emotions and they run deeper than skin-deep. From just starting the series, one can tell she's normal in this series, and she comes across very differently from how she comes across in the Haruhi series.
  • Unwanted Assistance: After the above Fanservice happens, Yuki asks Kyon what he thought of what he saw. After worrying about how to answer, he looks over at Ryōko, who holds up a cue card that says, "It was sexy (especially your belly button)".
  • Valentine's Day Episodes: Episodes four and five in the anime, and the respective chapters in the manga, are set around Yuki's wish to gift Kyon some chocolates during Valentines' Day.
  • Visual Pun: The anime's opening has several of these:
    • The line that can be translated as "Whether it's a sunny day, a rainy day or a snowy day" is illustrated by a shot of the school grounds on a sunny day, followed by one on a rainy day, followed by... Yukinote  walking down the corridor.
    • The line that gives the song most of its title, Fure fure yo ("Fall, fall!" in relation to rain or snow), is accompanied by the girls swaying their hips from side to side. Fure can also be the imperative of a different verb meaning "to shake".
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Ryōko and Tsuruya initially regard each other in this manner at first, but they develop a friendly rivalry as they get to know one another better. Ryōko and Haruhi later develop a similar dynamic, as do Kyon and Haruhi. In the latter case, Kyon is put-off off by Haruhi's antics, but does seem to understand her more than almost anyone else. In the former case, Haruhi will joke at Ryōko’s expense and Ryōko will often chastise or blame Haruhi when things go wrong, yet both of them can come to an understanding when dealing with Yuki’s efforts to convey her feelings and sometimes look to each other for support.
  • We Used to Be Friends: Yuki and Ryōko were close friends with Kimidori in the past but began drifting apart when Kimidori joined the student council. Though, she seems to still be amicable to Yuki when she catches her on a date with Kyon.
  • Wham Episode:
    • The end of Volume 3 sees Yuki getting into an accident, resulting in her personality temporarily shifting to her main series self.
    • The end of Volume 9. Ryōko decides to return to Canada for college, thereby setting up the final story arc.
  • Wham Line:
    • From chapter twenty-six, Ryōko notices something is off about Yuki.
    Ryōko: "... I thought so. Just one more thing. Who are you?"
    • From chapter thirty-three: "I... Kyon, I love you."
    • At the end of Volume 9, the penultimate volume, Ryōko calls her mother and says, "Do you remember what we talked about earlier? Yes, that's right. I've decided to come to Canada."
  • Wistful Smile: Asakura when Nagato returns to her normal self. She's genuinely happy to have her good friend back, but she's also saddened by the loss of the new Nagato, to whom she didn't get to say goodbye. She smiles with tears in her eyes, saying "Welcome back", then hugging Nagato.
  • World of Technicolor Hair: Characters with unnatural hair colours still retain those colours from the original Haruhi Suzumiya series, despite this series being set in a more mundane universe where everyone is a normal human.

Alternative Title(s): The Vanishing Of Nagato Yuki Chan

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