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 |
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"