Popular anime series Haruhi Suzumiya will soon see its film The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya return to North America on Blu-ray and DVD. According to Anime News Network, Funimation licensed the film and plans to release it during the first half of 2017.
The film, which was originally released in Japan in 2010, follows the fourth light novel from Nagaru Tanigawa. The story centers on main character Kyon’s struggle to set his world straight after Haruhi Suzumiya suddenly goes missing amidst planning for the SOS Brigade’s Christmas party. Along with the anime series, the film was originally licensed by Bandai Entertainment, with a DVD and Blu-ray release published on Sept 20, 2011. However, copies of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya have since grown somewhat rare. As Anime News Network’s Michael Toole explains, this is partly because the movie landed just as the anime community’s obsession over Haruhi Suzumiya began to fade, so the movie went out of print: and subsequently, prices grew expensive online for the North American version of the film.
Funimation later brought The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya back for the series’ 10th anniversary by rereleasing season one and season two onto Blu-ray and DVD in North America, essentially bringing the series into print with the edition’s Sept 13, 2016 release. The rerelease featured “the same rebroadcast order used on the Japanese Blu-ray release,” along with a “guide in the release of how to watch the entire two-season series in various other orders, including the super-popular broadcast order, chronological order, and DVD order!” Funimation also licensed The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan and provided them in an “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” Blu-ray set, as well as releasing these titles separately.
Funimation’s move to license The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya suggests the North American distributor is interested in bringing back the entire series, not just its anime highlights. This means revisiting the series is becoming easier than ever for Haruhi Suzumiya newcomers and veterans alike. No release date has been set yet for the Blu-ray and DVD.