Alternative Character Interpretation/Anime/Haruhi Suzumiya: Difference between revisions

''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' practically ''invites'' you to do this. Haruhi and Kyon are extremely discussable characters.

 

* Haruhi herself is perhaps one of the most controversial characters in recent memory. Beware of [[Internet Backdraft]]. There are valid points for every camp, yet there's ''no'' common opinion even within the respective camps, which includes:

** A cruel, selfish [[Jerkass]] and [[Heroic Sociopath]] that cares about nothing beside her own welfare and enjoyment. Note that most of the people that feel this have only watched the anime and were incredibly off-put by her initial [[Jerkass]] behavior [[Hype Backlash|and the fact that everyone seemed to love her]].

** [[Tsundere]] or not? Even that is highly debated. Some say she hits every aspect of a Tsundere. Some disagree completely, saying she's the [[Jerkass]] and ''Kyon'' has more tsundere tendencies. There's also the opinion that she's an ''inversion'' of a Tsundere, being abusive when she's happy with people and silently affectionate when she's ''boiling'' inside. Still, some also say she's not so much tsundere as "Genki Yuutsu", meaning [[Mood Swinger|she flips between]] [[Genki Girl]] / [[The Eeyore]], rather than between violent/affectionate. From how the article states it right now, this wiki seems to rather disagree with her being a [[Tsundere]].

** ''Even her sexuality is questioned''. Is she hetero and molests Mikuru just for fun? Is she really bisexual and, well, lets her lust speak for itself? And who knows, maybe someone thinks she's a full-fledged lesbian too. People have been saying "she's just Haruhi", which would seem best because it's [[Rule of Funny|hilarious]].

* Kyon has a bunch, too. One interpretation (at least for the anime) is that he simply feels that Haruhi is annoying and has no feelings for her (not even friendship) whatsoever, but can't actually ''say'' this because it could destroy the world. This can be supported by his attitude towards Mikuru, among other things, but the best evidence is if you take the anime's conclusion into consideration: {{spoiler|despite being an intelligent guy, he ignores everyone's hints that he should kiss Haruhi for an absurd length of time, the only thing that drives him to it is the possibility of spending eternity alone with someone who annoys him as much as she does. After that, his attitude towards her does not change at all, as if he was pretending to like her as a way of keeping the world from being destroyed, and would rather forget the whole unpleasant thing.}}

** Looking at the other side of it (and especially the light novels), however, Kyon shows more fondness and trust (if still seemingly apathetic) for Haruhi. In the novels (and <s>season 2</s> <s> 3</s> [[The Movie]] of the anime) he even {{spoiler|goes completely out of his way to revert the world back to normal after it is re-written as a result of ''someone'' hijacking her powers}}, when it would have been far easier for him to just work with what he had if he truly disliked Haruhi. There are also many other, smaller things he could have done to discreetly avoid her if he really wished to.

** There's also the theory that Kyon is actively in love with Haruhi, knows that she loves him, and he's willfully denying it because it bothers him on some (or multiple) levels. This frequently plays off of the "male Tsundere" theory above, and then further fragments as to which reasons Kyon may have for this: simple denial, fear of being subjected to Haruhi's whims, general immaturity regarding romance, frustration that someone closer to his type (like Yuki or Mikuru) isn't the focus of his emotions, fear that Haruhi would reject his feelings even if she feels the same way... due to the [[Unreliable Narrator]] situation, all of these and more are quite plausible.

** Um, he also might just realize that realistically-borderline-insane Haruhi needs someone who can play her down safely without causing the end of the world ''more'' than she needs a loving boyfriend right at this moment.

* Mikuru has her share of this as well. One prevalent interpretation is that the seemingly [[Dojikko|clumsy and helpless]] aspects of her personality are merely an act to endear to Kyon, who her superiors know is a major influence on Haruhi. This is even suggested by Itsuki, though--as with most of his theories--he never makes it clear if he was seriously suggesting this or not. The fact that her older self seems to have an unexplained agenda and is apparently somewhat devious (even Kyon, as much as he is clearly attracted to the younger Mikuru, is suspicious about said older self) lends some credence to this.

** Don't forget how "The Melancholy Of Asahina Mikuru" revealed a much more vulnerable and insecure sight of her which, again, leaves room for any kind of theory. Maybe she's hiding it from Kyon because she's so self-sacrificing? It certainly seems to affect her much more than the daily difficulties Haruhi puts her in. That makes her either weird, stupid or brave. Then again, one could argue how unfair it is of her to lie and use Kyon like that.

** It's also worth noting that unlike Nagato, Kyon and Itsuki, she's hasn't had a moment where she declares the SOS Brigade, Kyon or her friends more important than her boss or implied that this is so with her actions. Her loyalty and motives are still more for her job. This can even fit with her personality being genuine or faked; the faking part is obvious, but if that's how she really is it could help explain some of her stress.

** Given her boss is {{spoiler|an older version of herself from a stable timeloop}} it is unlikely she will ever end up having to declare the SOS Brigade, Kyon or her friends are more important than her boss or implied that this is so with her actions.

* Finally there's Itsuki Koizumi, a self-admitted [[Consummate Liar]] who regularly says he is kidding after espousing various complicated theories. That puts everything he says into question, from whether or not he thinks Haruhi is God, to his loyalty to the SOS Brigade, to whether or not he is a [[Stepford Smiler]] (he hinted that he is, but who knows). Then there is the organization he works for, which seems to have it's hands in almost every aspect of their lives. That just brings up the question of how much they are manipulating all of the events surrounding the SOS Brigade, and whether their motivations are as benvolent as Koizumi says they are, and even Koizumi's loyalty to them. The only thing fandom seems to agree on is that Koizumi really likes flirting with Kyon, despite Koizumi's insistence that it is only [[Faux Yay]].

** His devotion to Haruhi can be interpreted differently as well. Imagine this: you are a seemingly [[Ordinary High School Student|ordinary middle school student]] and suddenly here comes a [[Reality Warper|teenage girl]] who gives you esper powers. Awesome Right? Wrong. You can only use said esper powers when said girl's mood gets unstable. No problem, as long as I can still use my powers however I want when she is moody right? Wrong. You must use those powers to stop mosnters [[Invisible to Normals]]. If she grows too unstable those monsters will cause [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. So whenever you do not have esper powers you have to keep the teenage girl happy and when you do have powers you can only use them to stop the invisible monsters from destroying the world. So you and others like you will devote your entire lives to keeping the girl happy effectively losing any chance of an [[I Just Want to Be Normal|ordinary life]]. So you practically make your [[Stalker with a Crush|self fall in love]] with this girl because if she's happy the world doesn't end. [[But Wait! There's More!]]! After 3 years of devotation to the girl she starts to fall for someone else. What do you do? [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|Smile]].

* Is the SOS Brigade the universe's first line of defense against Haruhi or its biggest threat? Consider: Most of the times Haruhi almost destroys the world it's because she has no idea she's doing it and even if she did, she wouldn't know she can stop it. It could be argued that the Brigade members regularly endanger the universe because they don't trust their friend not to destroy it, despite knowing she wouldn't really wish someone dead.

* Hey, let's go nuts. Are the Anti-SOS Brigade really as evil as they're made out to be?

** Kyouko, for instance, is a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] at worst who is convinced that allowing Haruhi to have powers is endangering the universe, and wants to prevent that. Also, consider that she may or may not be indoctrinated into her way of thinking.

** And then there is the occasional fanfic (generally of the [[Crack Fic|comedic variety]]) which just Flanderizes the whole group into [[Card-Carrying Villain]]s who are actively planning to [[Earthshattering Kaboom|destroy the world]] or [[Omnicidal Maniac|the universe itself]].

 

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