The Vanishing of Nagato Yuki-chan

It's every bit as cute as it looks.

Spoilers for Disappearance lie unmarked.

The Vanishing of Nagato Yuki-chan (the official English title for Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu)^[1] is a Spin-Off slice-of-life manga for the Suzumiya Haruhi series. The manga is illustrated by Puyo, creator of the original Haruhi-chan manga, and details the story of a version of the Haruhi Disappearance Alternate Universe in which Kyon wasn't transplanted from a universe run by Haruhi; instead, he's living an idle life in the Literature Club at school. Thus, everything is more "normal": Yuki is a Shrinking Violet, Kyon more of a likable Straight Man, and Ryoko your typical, responsible Class Representative.

However, just because Kyon is happy in his current state doesn't mean everything is perfectly fine: among other things, Yuki has feelings for Kyon (and is completely incapable of admitting it to him), Ryoko tends to let her over-competitiveness get ahead of her, and even Haruhi herself can't stay away from the picture after she runs into Yuki one night. Soon, the Literature Club is almost where it was originally, with the members of the SOS Brigade once again populating the club, while Haruhi and her crazed search for strange phenomena are once again sparked - and there start to be hints of a Love Triangle...

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Tropes used in The Vanishing of Nagato Yuki-chan include:

• Absurdly Powerful Class Representative: Ryoko uses her power as class rep to get the rules bent so Yuki can have a Christmas party (she can't, however, lift the member restriction).
• Alternative Character Interpretation: In-Universe, to a very large degree.
  • Instead of being the listless, indifferent version of Haruhi seen initially in Disappearance, Haruhi is easily sparked back into her excitable nature (in fact she's seen already doing something mysterious in her first appearance).
    • It also counts as compared to the original series; despite not having the influence of Kyon in her life (credited most of the time with humanising her), Haruhi here is actually a lot less of a Jerkass than even late on in the series proper, being more of a slightly pushy and (of course) very independent Genki Girl and occasional Cloudcuckoolander. She even has a bit of a Big Sister Mentor / Cool Big Sis dynamic going on with Yuki. This is probably due to the Lighter and Softer tone of this series in comparison with the original (which wasn't exactly Darker and Edgier itself, but nevertheless).
    • There are even cases when it's Haruhi playing the Straight Man to some of the idiosyncrasies of North High students, mostly Ryoko.
  • Ryoko shows no signs of being Cute and Psycho at all. Instead she's a big-sister figure to Yuki, periodically advising her on how to get along with Kyon, and generally being more of a bossy Genki Girl who fancies herself a paragon of proper behavior.
  • Tsuruya is now friends with Ryoko, and Mikuru, due to not being a time traveller with orders, is less of a complete Neutral Female and does more for herself.
  • Koizumi is less Ambiguously Gay (though he does retain his Yes-Man status).
  • Kyon is a Nice Guy, but rather flat and less interesting compared to the cynical and witty Deadpan Snarker in the main series, although this may just be because of the loss of the First-Person Smartass.
• Art Evolution: In the initial chapters, Yuki looked very little like her original counterpart and faces were often disproportionate. Furthermore, it was often nigh impossible to distinguish between Ryoko and Tsuruya, particularly in black-and-white. As of the later chapters, everything looks more natural (compare this and this).
• Beam Me Up, Scotty: Inverted; this manga features a version of Haruhi's famous Establishing Character Moment, but like most people quoting it forgets to include mention of sliders
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: When Haruhi and Kyon exchange names they sense that they are enemies.
• Big Eater: Yuki's quite the snacker.
• Blind Without'Em: Yuki is revealed to be almost entirely blind without her glasses; she's barely able to coherently go to the store and back, and she can't recognize Haruhi's face when she finally sees her without her glasses. Sorry, Kyon, but Yuki needs them.
  • Although she has mentioned maybe getting contacts...
• Bookworm: Yuki, although nowadays she's starting to put books second to her feelings for Kyon.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Yuki for Kyon. The furthest she's been able to get is thanking Kyon for helping her do whatever-was-important-to-her-life. And, as of Chapter 47, asking Kyon to walk around the school festival with her (he does).
• Chick Magnet: Kyon, KYON, KYON, KYON!!
• Cliff Hanger: Chapter 25 has a really nasty one.
  • Chapter 26 as well
• Clingy Jealous Girl: A mild version. Yuki becomes distraught whenever it is hinted Kyon miiiiight be getting with another girl (it really breaks Yuki when she sees Haruhi giving what turns out to be nothing more than obligation chocolate). However, she seems to take it well when Haruhi says she "doesn't dislike" Kyon.
• Compliment Backfire: Haruhi can't bear for Yuki to thank her for being roped into Haruhi's scheme to capture Santa.
• Covert Pervert: Ryoko.
• Crash Into Hello: How Taniguchi, in Volume 6, meets a cute girl named ... Kuyo. (She's a Meganekko in this reality.)
• Cute Clumsy Girl: Yuki shows signs of this.
• Death Glare: Although Ryoko's Yandere Knife Nut tendencies are gone, she is still capable of scaring the hell out of Kyon and Yuki. Notable in that she does it with her eyes shut. Somehow combines it with Bishie Sparkle simultaneously.
• Despair Event Horizon: Yuki being told that her Literature Club is to be closed for not having enough members.
• Does This Remind You of Anything??: Chapter 24 starts off with Kyon and Yuki in the forest, face close-ups showing them both blushing, sweaty, eyes closed, and breathing heavily (even the caption goes, "WHAT ARE THEY DOING?!"). On the next page, it turns out that the two are just struggling with moving through the forest late at night, trying to find a place Tsuruya mentioned.
• Dragged by the Collar: Hit the club president over the head hard enough to leave a bump then drag her to the clubroom. This sort of behavior shows how much nicer Ryoko is in this series.
• Dynamic Entry: Tsuruya does this once... by throwing Mikuru, breasts-first, at Kyon's head. No one was very amused apart from her. And possibly Haruhi.
• Emotionless Girl: Chapter 26 has Yuki acting like this instead of her usual self. We still have no concrete idea what this means, but this behaviour resembles her conduct in the light novels.
• Everyone Can See It: Everyone except Kyon can see Yuki's feelings for him.
  • Mythology Gag, since this is almost exactly how things are in the original series Kyon and Haruhi (see Oblivious to Love).
  • Likewise, everyone but Haruhi knows Koizumi is crushing on her.
• Fan Service: Chapter 2 sees Kyon join the girls for supper. In the middle of conversation, though, Yuki spills all over her shirt, and briefly struggles with Ryoko pulling it off... until they realize Kyon's still there, and he just got half an eyeful.
  • Chapter 22 takes place at a Hot Spring. You do the math.
• Fastball Special: Tsuruya throws Mikuru at Kyon in chapter 16 to give her a Dynamic Entry. The result is a Marshmallow Hell.
• Foreshadowing: For the Setsubun holiday, Haruhi tells everyone not to wish Oni away, in a change from standard procedure. Itsuki explains to Kyon that she was touched by children's story The Red Oni That Cried^[2]. She gives Yuki a red oni mask, and Ryoko a blue oni mask. At a key moment, Ryoko is seen only as a silhouette — with ragged clothing and clawed fingertips, as if she really is an oni. And at the end of that volume, Ryoko calls up her parents, who're in Canada, and says she's ready to come live with them. Will Yuki ever see her again?
• Gamer Chick: Yuki, in a trait stolen from Haruhi-chan.
• Genre Savvy: Haruhi, naturally, to the point of doing ominous foreshadowing over a heartwarming moment at one point.
• Gone Horribly Right: Ryoko's reaction to Kyon and Yuki's growing closeness.
• Harsh Word Impact: When the below occurs.
• He Is Not My Boyfriend: Yuki pulls this with Kyon when Haruhi questions their relationship. Unfortunately, she takes it too far, declaring him a complete stranger (to Kyon's chagrin). Eventually she settles with "friends".
• Heterosexual Life Partners: Yuki and Ryoko; Ryoko is Yuki's neighbor, but visits Yuki's place so often and minds over so many aspects of her life they might as well be related.
  • Similarly, Tsuruya and Mikuru, who are always seen together.
• Identity Amnesia: Yuki suffers from this after her accident in Chapter 25. While she still retains her memories, she no longer recognizes them as her own and is effectively a completely different person.
• Lighter and Softer: Naturally, being a Slice of Life romantic comedy.
• Love Confession: Attempted, but frequently sabotaged.
• Love Triangle: Hinted to be taking this direction; Haruhi supports Yuki's feelings for Kyon wholeheartedly, but there have been hints of her feelings for Kyon. Recently, it seemed chemistry was starting to bloom when Kyon pulls Haruhi out of the river, and she starts to feel something strange when Kyon pulls a John Smith-esque line. Then there's the Valentine's Day incident where Yuki walks in on Haruhi giving Kyon (obligation) chocolate. It's eventually clarified when Haruhi explains that she does feel a little bit of affection towards Kyon, stating that she "doesn't dislike him" to Yuki.
  • Even early on Yuki saw Haruhi as a rival to be emulated, even in impossible things like having a ponytail.
• Meaningful Name: The Vanishing Of Nagato Yuki-chan.
• Meganekko: Yuki; this is the Disappearance-verse after all.
• Mistaken for Gay: When Mikuru tries to cheer Yuki on about giving chocolate to Kyon, it comes out sounding like a Love Confession. Yuki understands the good intent regardless, but Tsuruya and Ryoko immediately tease Mikuru about it.
• Moment Killer: Goddamn it, Tsuruya.
• Mythology Gag: 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 - and instead winds up getting Yuki to do it!
  • Sitting in the same exact position, 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 - it also implies that John Smith did exist at some point, meaning there could be something supernatural after all.
    • The John Smith scene actually happened three years ago with the twelve-year-old Kyon rather than a time traveler (so when she did the message thing with Yuki, it was the second time she'd done this). Haruhi has recognized that it was him, but he doesn't seem to recall the incident.
  • Mikuru has a star-shaped mole on her chest. Guess who knows about it? Tsuruya...wait, what?
  • Like in Haruhi-chan, Mori happens to be a gym teacher.
  • Yuki offers Kyon the club signup sheet in the same manner she was illustrated in the light novels.
  • Haruhi's big reveal about her 'ambitions' is featured, but in altogether different circumstances.
  • Haruhi dressing up in Kyon's sports uniform so as not to stand out in North High - even down to Kyon asking her to do her hair up in a ponytail.
  • When Yuki gives a confusing explanation for a math problem, Ryoko says "It's like she's speaking some kind of alien language."
  • Ryoko is ranting to Kyon about how wonderful chilled stew is. Yuki, eyes looking a bit glazed, recalls, "One week we had eight chilled stew days... I was like, wow, endless eight..."
  • Haruhi mentions that she visited North High's last school festival and subbed for an injured band member, in an echo of the "Live Alive" episode. And when she puts together her own band (including Tsuruya, Mikuru, and Koizumi) for the current joint festival, she wears the Playboy Bunny costume.
  • It comes out that Haruhi also made a movie, featuring Koizumi using psychic powers to battle giant monsters (played by Haruhi). But:

Koizumi: After we finished filming, Suzumiya-san got sick of editing it ... and it wound up being shelved, though.
Haruhi (blushing, eyes frantic): SHHH! YOU CAN LEAVE THAT PART OUT!

• Not What It Looks Like: Squared. First, 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. Turns out Haruhi's is just obligation chocolate, identical to what she then gives Koizumi. Then it turns out that Yuki left out of consideration, and meant to present hers later - she's quite alarmed to discover she dropped hers.
• Oblivious to Love: Kyon, who isn't all too aware of Yuki's feelings due to the fact Yuki Cannot Spit It Out. Or is he...?
  • Doubles as a bit of a Mythology Gag, since Kyon is infamously (and perhaps intentionally) oblivious to Haruhi's affections for him in the original (despite even having it pointed out to him on several occasions by others, notably Koizumi (which might go some way to explaining his reluctance to acknowledge it, admittedly)). It's slightly different there though since Kyon essentially wants to hate Haruhi for her behaviour towards him and others yet finds himself attracted to her anyway (or so anyone with half a brain can infer despite his unreliable narration), whereas here he clearly has no problem with Yuki, he's just terminally oblivious (possibly a case of Contractual Genre Blindness; Kyon has always been pretty Genre Savvy, after all, and now that he's the male protagonist in a romantic comedy with an incredibly shy heroine...).
    • There's also the theory that Kyon has retained some degree of his Genre Savvyness and what he's actually doing is waiting for Yuki to up and tell him herself. Several scenes show that he likes Yuki a lot but like Ryoko wishes she were more assertive.
• Otaku: This is the artist of Haruhi-chan, after all; it's not as extreme as the other, however. Yuki does at least sneak some video games in bed.
  • And often winds up playing them into the morning hours, to Ryoko's displeasure.
• Right Behind Me: A bonus comic included in Volume 5 has Yuki and Ryoko's "childhood friend" Emiri Kimidori tell them the Student Council President, despite his overbearing appearance, is actually quite a slacker. At which point he appears and whacks her over the head with a sheaf of papers, scolding her for gossiping about him.
• Running Gag: Yuki heeding Ryoko's advice to get an early night before important days rather than playing video games, only to not be able to sleep for excitement and stay up all night playing video games by accident
• Running the Asylum: The story reads almost exactly like your typical Alternate Universe Kyon/Yuki fanfic.
• Serious Business: For Ryoko ... stew, verging on What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome? As Haruhi puts it, "Ryoko, you get crazy whenever stew or Yuki are involved."
• Shipper on Deck: Ryoko, who ships Yuki x Kyon. In fact most of the girls do (even Haruhi, who has some degree of affection for Kyon). Tsuruya attempted to ship Mikuru x Kyon for a while, but neither Mikuru nor Kyon shared the sentiment.
• Ship Tease: Tons, mostly Kyon/Yuki. However, there are a few hints that Ryoko cares more about Yuki than she lets on.
  • There's also a few moments of Ryoko/Kyon, although it might just be that she's trying to spur Yuki into being more proactive herself.
  • Ship Sinking: Kyon and Mikuru however, just aren't that into each other and are Just Friends. This is in stark contrast to the regular series.
    • She's not molested or exposed nearly as much in this series so his knight-errant-compulsive-disorder isn't triggered. Instead Yuki shows more obvious distress and so gets more attention.
• Stop Helping Me!: After the above Fan Service happens, Yuki asks Kyon what he thought of what he saw. After worrying about how to answer, he looks over at Ryoko, who holds up a cue card that says, "It was sexy (especially your belly button)."
• The Reveal: Haruhi's famous declaration about "time travellers, aliens and psychics", although it's in rather different circumstances to the original.
• Time Skip: Third page of the manga skips forwards seven months leaving questions such as how Kyon joined the Lit. Club unanswered.
• Took a Level In Kindness: Kyon and Haruhi are both noticeably nicer than their original characters, but the grand prize goes to Asakura.
• Tsundere: Haruhi is a Type B, although it's played with a little - she doesn't get awkward when it's necessarily someone she's crushing on, just being thanked in general (she had elements of this in the original, although her Jerkass personality placed her more in Type A territory).
• Unwanted Harem: While not all of them are into Kyon, once you get to the later chapters it's just a ton of girls congregating in the Literature Club room.
• Wham! Line: Chapter 26. "... I thought so. Just one more thing. Who are you?"
  • An "Extra" chapter at the end of Volume 9. Ryoko calls her mother. "I've decided to come to Canada."

1. ↑ Although the dead-tree English translation renders it as "Disappearance," not "Vanishing."
2. ↑ About a blue oni who helps his red friend make friends with the local humans, but then the way he helped means the blue oni has to go away and they'll never see each other again.