How does "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan" relate to the Haruhi Suzumiya series?


[MAL's page on _The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-
chan_](http://myanimelist.net/anime/26351/Nagato_Yuki-chan_no_Shoushitsu)
lists it as a spin-off for both [_The Melancholy of Haruhi
Suzumiya_](http://myanimelist.net/anime/849/Suzumiya_Haruhi_no_Yuuutsu) and
[_The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
(2009)_](http://myanimelist.net/anime/4382/Suzumiya_Haruhi_no_Yuuutsu_%282009%29).

How exactly does the new series relate to the others?  
Where does it fall into the timeline?  
Or is it completely independent aside from using the same characters - in
which case, can it be watched without previously having watched any of the
older series?




The show's existence is in itself a spoiler for _The Disappearance of Haruhi
Suzumiya,_ so anyone who hasn't seen the movie/read the book yet has been
warned.

_Yuki-chan_ is a spinoff anime based on a
[manga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Disappearance_of_Nagato_Yuki-chan)
that began in 2009. The series is written by the original author of the
_Haruhi_ series, Nagaru Tanigawa, and takes place in the alternate universe
created during the events of _Disappearance,_ in which the members of the SOS
Brigade are simply normal humans, and the SOS Brigade doesn't even exist.

The spin-off focuses more on the day-to-day interactions between the
characters than the original series, and follows the titular Yuki-chan as she
attempts to pursue Kyon, on whom she has a crush. As the series progresses,
Yuki-chan develops a friendship with Kyon as she attempts to confess to him,
which leads me to believe that the series is non-canon, as the [following
conversation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqVA0GFOqZQ) takes place in
_Disappearance_ shortly after Kyon finds himself in the alternate universe
(around 3:17 in the link):

> "Nagato, tell me ... do you know ... who I am?"
>
> "I do. [...] I know that you're a student in class 5. I see you every now
> and then. But I don't know any more than that."

The spin-off can't take place before the events of _Disappearance_ because
_Disappearance_ Yuki only knows Kyon from when he helped her get a library
card, and it can't take place afterward because

> Nagato had actually used her powers to rewrite the world and take away all
> supernatural elements surrounding Haruhi, not just create an alternate
> universe, and she reverts the change at the end of the story, erasing
> _Disappearance_ Yuki and the rest of the _Disappearance_ SOS Brigade from
> existence.

The series is thus probably non-canon, and doesn't fit into any specific place
in the timeline.

Its plot is basically separated from that of the original series, so it can be
watched independently with almost full plot comprehension. However, enjoyment
of the characters and their actions might requires familiarity with the source
material because the much of the show's appeal stems from [gap
moe](http://whatjapanthinks.com/2010/01/17/gap-moe-alluring-discordance/), in
which a perceived difference or contradiction in a person's behavior or action
(i.e. "gap") is found to be cute or attractive. _Yuki-chan_ lets viewers see
the normally stoic Nagato express her feelings as a normal, shy girl, and
without this contrast the show turns into another "cute girls doing cute
things" anime - not that there's anything wrong with those.

