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Solution to The Revenge of Yuki Nagato Episode 00

Author: Chieu Nguyen
with Aaron Bader, Karen Chu, Erin Rhode, and Anand Sarwate
and additional help from Angela Lou, Seth Bisen-Hersh, and Jason Juang


Check out the extended Director's Cut! For the Hunt, this had to be shortened for puzzle reasons, but now you can watch it in its full glory, complete with the full theme song!


This video puzzle imagines what it would have turned out like if Haruhi Suzumiya and the SOS Brigade (from the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series by Nagaru Tanigawa and its adaptations to manga and anime) had finished the intended sequel to their amateur short film The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00. The story of the first film is retold in the short story of the same title (included in the collection The Wavering of Haruhi Suzumiya), and its making is the focus of the novel The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya. The title The Revenge of Yuki Nagato Episode 00 is the actual title of the intended sequel, as revealed in the ninth book, The Dissociation of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Like the original, The Revenge stars the time traveler Mikuru Asahina, the alien Yuki Nagato, and the esper Itsuki Koizumi acting as characters with the same name (almost ... in the Japanese original, the given names of the portrayed characters are all written in katakana, unlike the kanji and hiragana of the actors' names, but they're pronounced the same way) and supernatural class (time traveler, alien, or esper).

The Revenge goes beyond this framework and sets up a situation in which the space-time continuum fractures (or something equally cheesy) and causes the three characters to take on the identities of characters of their respective supernatural class from famous works of fiction, as hinted at by the director's voice-over during the end credits. In each of the 15 scenes in the film, Mikuru portrays a different time traveler, Yuki portrays a different alien, and Itsuki portrays a different esper (though some characters may match another supernatural class as well). Characters are portrayed mainly using a combination of dialogue (all of which is taken mostly verbatim from actual quotes, except sometimes truncated and with names replaced) and narrator descriptions, and in some cases actions and props, though actions may also suit the nature of each scene, which is inspired by an actual scene featuring one of the three characters.

In keeping with the theme of fictional universe crossovers, the solution to the puzzle is to identify the names of the fictional characters portrayed, match them up, and take the unique letter that appears in the same position in all three names. Realizing the pattern that each actor consistently portrays a particular supernatural class may help in identifying some characters.

For characters with a first name and a last name, the relevant portion matches the name the narrator uses to identify the character in that scene. If the first name only is used, the narrator uses the first name only (e.g. Mikuru); if the last name only is used, the narrator uses the last name only (e.g. Asahina); and if both names are used together, the narrator uses both names (e.g. Mikuru Asahina). If the character is a superhero and their superhero name is used rather than their real name, the character is identified by a superhero name: this only applies to three characters portrayed by Itsuki, and in all of these scenes, the narrator identifies him as Herodude. If the character is known by a standard descriptor that is not actually a name (e.g. the Terminator), the relevant portion of the name is the part following the article, and the narrator does not mention the character by name but uses a nominal descriptor (e.g. the Cyborg). Similar references are used in the special cases of Darth Vader (Lord Itsuki) and the Great Gazoo (the Magnificent Yuki).

Two of the scenes feature an appearance by one of two minor characters from the original film, played by themselves: Tsuruya-san and Shamisen. As suggested by the narrator's repeated comment that the footage is recycled, their appearances are duplicates of one of their lines from the original film. In each case, the character's name fits the pattern established by the three main characters and has the right letter in the appropriate position.

The letters clued by the scenes, in sequence, spell out FILM A LASER SCENE. This is an instruction to film a scene involving lasers, inspired by the Mikuru Beam scene from the original short film. Upon sending in such a filmed scene, teams are rewarded with the answer: ENERGY BEAM.

The following is a list of all the characters portrayed, in sequential order, with the overlapping letter identified.

Letter Name Character Source Actor
F FOYLE Gully Foyle The Stars My Destination Mikuru
FROST Emma Frost X-Men series Itsuki
FRANK Dr. Frank N. Furter The Rocky Horror Picture Show Yuki
I BILLY Billy Pilgrim Slaughterhouse-Five Mikuru
RIVER River Tam Firefly Itsuki
GIGAN Gigan Godzilla series Yuki
L PHIL Phil Connors Groundhog Day Mikuru
WILL Will Vandom W.I.T.C.H. Itsuki
PAUL Paul Paul Yuki
M MAKOTO Makoto Konno The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) Mikuru
MOTHRA Mothra Mothra Itsuki
MARVIN Marvin the Martian Hare-Way to the Stars (Looney Tunes) Yuki
A AMYPOND Amy Pond Doctor Who Mikuru
AQUAMAN Aquaman DC Comics Itsuki
ASAKURA Ryoko Asakura The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Yuki
L LEWIS Lewis Meet the Robinsons Mikuru
LUCAS Lucas Mother 3 Itsuki
LONDO Londo Mollari Babylon 5 Yuki
A TERMINATOR the Terminator Terminator 2: Judgment Day Mikuru
DARTHVADER Darth Vader Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Itsuki
GREATGAZOO the Great Gazoo The Flintstones Yuki
TSURUYASAN Tsuruya-san The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00 Tsuruya-san
S SCROOGE Ebenezer Scrooge A Christmas Carol Mikuru
SABRINA Sabrina Pokémon series Itsuki
STARMAN the Starman Starman Yuki
E WALKER Max Walker Timecop Mikuru
MASTER the Master Buffy the Vampire Slayer Itsuki
RIDLEY Ridley Super Metroid Yuki
R MARTY Marty McFly Back to the Future Mikuru
TERRA Terra Branford Final Fantasy VI Itsuki
ZORAK Zorak Space Ghost Yuki
S SHRIKE the Shrike Hyperion Mikuru
SADAKO Sadako Yamamura Ring Itsuki
STITCH Stitch Lilo & Stitch Yuki
C CRONO Crono Chrono Trigger Mikuru
CABLE Cable X-Men series Itsuki
CLARK Clark Kent Smallville Yuki
E HERMIONE Hermione Granger Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Mikuru
KERRIGAN Sarah Kerrigan StarCraft Itsuki
MEGAMIND Megamind Megamind Yuki
N DORAEMON Doraemon Doraemon Mikuru
ULTRAMAN Ultraman Ultraman Itsuki
MEGATRON Megatron Transformers Yuki
SHAMISEN Shamisen The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00 Shamisen
E MERLYN Merlyn The Once and Future King Mikuru
TETSUO Tetsuo Shima Akira Itsuki
VEGETA Vegeta Dragon Ball Z Yuki


Actual credits

Cast

  • Karen Chu as Mikuru Asahina as Mikuru Asahina as 15 different time travelers
  • Anand Sarwate as Itsuki Koizumi as Itsuki Koizumi as 15 different espers
  • Erin Rhode as Yuki Nagato as Yuki Nagato as 15 different aliens
  • Aaron Bader as Kyon as the Narrator
  • Chieu Nguyen as Haruhi Suzumiya as the Director
  • Angela Lou as Tsuruya-san as Tsuruya-san as Tsuruya-san
  • Seth Bisen-Hersh as Shamisen as Shamisen as Shamisen

Staff

  • Ultra Director: Haruhi Suzumiya
  • Planning: Chieu Nguyen, Aaron Bader, Seth Bisen-Hersh, Jason Juang
  • Screenplay: Chieu Nguyen
  • Cinematography: Chieu Nguyen pretending to be Aaron Bader, Anand Sarwate
  • Production: Chieu Nguyen, Anand Sarwate, Karen Chu, Erin Rhode, Aaron Bader
  • Editing: Chieu Nguyen
  • Music: Chieu Nguyen

Music

Most of the score was composed by Chieu Nguyen and can be listened to below. The rest of the score consists of audio clips licensed by Apple Inc.

"The Mikuru Mystery of Space-Time"

  • Lyrics: Chieu Nguyen
  • Composition: Chieu Nguyen
  • Arrangement: Chieu Nguyen
  • Vocals: Karen Chu

Lyrics

Sheet music


Main version

Instrumental version

Karaoke version



Itsuki Chases Mikuru

Mikuru vs Flying Yuki

Millennial Fair