I'm seriously doubting Kyon's normalcy XD

[quigonkenny]

Tell her it will increase brigade popularity or something.

If she filmed it and sold copies, I'm sure it would. ^_^

[Fushichou]

O_O

Taniguchi=first customer

Crap its storming here again.

[daitenshi_synbios]

I don't know why everyone is so quick to write off Tsuruya-san. Let's take a look at her competition:

First, we have the energetic, sometimes violent classmate who needs to come to terms with her personality issues.

Second, we have the shy, well-endowed one constantly making things for our protagonist.

Third, we have the small, quiet, gray(ish)-haired one with "phenomenal cosmic powers."

And finally, we have one girl who has known him longer than the rest (a "childhood friend" if you will).

Let's face it. "Dark horse green-haired senpai" has done well historically against those odds, especially when you figure in the fact that our "harem lead" sounds like Tomokazu Sugita.

Well, there ARE parts where Tsuruya has gotten on even more...friendly terms with our resident harem magnet. Remember the part in "Someday in the Rain" where she - like all the girls in the episode - gives Kyon something to relieve him of rain-related stress - in her case, a handkerchief to dry his hair?

I'll try to look for more incriminating evidence in the novel.

If we can convince the "childhood friend" to go bat-s**t crazy and sneak naked into his bed in the middle of the night, it's a lock.

Other girls: WAIT YOUR TURN! GET IN LINE!

[Change]

Kyon is:
1- A magnet to women with something different, like a loose screw, superpowers or both
2- A magnet to weird men, like gays and nutcases
3- a whiner recognized with certificate and ID number
4- someone who you don't wan't to meet in person, if you don't wanna be dragged into something completely wacky
5- a chore boy

[daitenshi_synbios]

Kyon is:
4- someone who you don't wan't to meet in person, if you don't wanna be dragged into something completely wacky

Kind of an irony, considering that Haruhi almost always never realizes the wacky stuff that she and Kyon get into. XD

Harem pairing FTW!

[ainsoph9]

This is true. Either Haruhi is oblivious or the powers that be are really good at covering up all of the weird crap that happens to the SOS Brigade. In the case of being oblivious, how is Haruhi pulling all of those good grades?

[Quiet Lurker]

This is true. Either Haruhi is oblivious or the powers that be are really good at covering up all of the weird crap that happens to the SOS Brigade. In the case of being oblivious, how is Haruhi pulling all of those good grades?

Haruhi was described as being "cute, athletic, and smart." (at least by Taniguchi )
Even if she isn't smart, the Organization will ensure her grades doesn't suffer, who knows what she would do to the world then?

Seriously though, Kyon is not just keeping secrets from Haruhi:
- Mikuru doesn't know there is an older version of herself running around causing mischief and probably pulling her strings.
- Tsuruya doesn't know that her friend Mikuru is really a time traveler, despite Tsuruya sensing something amiss about Mikuru.

The only ones Kyon doesn't keep any secrets from are Yuki and Itsuki.

[Fushichou]

Good show, ole chap.

[daitenshi_synbios]

This is true. Either Haruhi is oblivious or the powers that be are really good at covering up all of the weird crap that happens to the SOS Brigade. In the case of being oblivious, how is Haruhi pulling all of those good grades?

Being oblivious doesn't always mean that a person lacks a few points from his/her IQ. Heck, there can be cases where a person is so smart, he/she doesn't notice the more obvious solutions to a problem.

Perhaps in Haruhi's looking-for-aliens-espers-and-time travelers case, she believes herself to be so keen on looking for the aforementioned strange people that she might have not been aware that there is a strategy called 'hiding in plain sight'.

[daitenshi_synbios]

On a totally unrelated note: O SHI- ALL CHAPTERS ARE FINISHED! Woot! ^_^

[HAL9000]

The only ones Kyon doesn't keep any secrets from are Yuki and Itsuki.

Actually, Kyon tries very hard to keep secrets from Itsuki, but circumstances always seem to nudge him towards eventually revealing everything.

I think Kyon obsesses so much over Mikuru is because she's "safe". She refuses to become completely involved with him, because of timeline problems and a desire to placate Haruhi, but is willing to indulge in some harmless flirting/dating. Kyon himself is a very passive personality to a fault; he doesn't want to get involved in anything, probably as a result of giving up on his youthful dreams of the fantastic being real. Being free to ogle Mikuru and spend some time with her, without committing to anything one way or the other, is the perfect state of being for him. Look at the evidence:

* When it comes to his grades and school-work, Kyon's a classic slacker. True, a lot of his time is devoted to the SOS, but he refuses to even consider his eventual college plans, and picks the classes that are easiest for him.
* Although he knows Haruhi wants him, in her own way, he works hard to avoid even mentally acknowledge it, because then he would have to deal with it in one way or another.
* As far as Haruhi's other activity goes, Kyon almost never tries to stop her, even before he knew she was a god-ish thing. In the books, he's even the one who took the pictures of the Computer President with his hands on Mikuru! Book 2, during the filming of the movie's Mikuru/Itsuki love scene, is the one and only time he resists... and then later makes up with Haruhi without resolving that specific issue.
* He knows Yuki lusts for him so bad it hurts, but he attributes this behavior to the alternate Yuki from book 4, and again refuses to acknowledge her feelings, for fear of then having to do something about it. Haruhi may be able to deal with this, because she's emotionally under-developed, but Yuki must be considering suicide or murder once a week.

And it goes on and on when you know what to looks for... Perhaps this is just a side-effect of Kyon's uninvolved narrator status, but I suspect it's a specific characterization from the author. It fits with the pattern of emotional deniability that all the characters but Yuki display.

[magus]

But the thing is.......... Kyon does want to get involved, he just don't know how/afraid to. It's pretty much like "Hedgehog's dilemma"............ this is kinda drifting towards EVA's direction..... >_>.....

[HAL9000]

Who would say he wants to get involved with, though? The only one he could hurt would be Mikuru, because she will eventually leave Kyon's time plane and become a manipulator. Haruhi would be all fun and games, while Yuki would be his obedient little housewife until she becomes obsolete and is replaced by her masters.

It seems to me that Kyon isn't clueless about how to be involved with someone; he managed to get it on with Haruhi in Closed Space easily enough. Although you may be right in that he wouldn't know where to go from there. He's managed to get through half of his teenage years without being in a relationship, and as time goes on he may be more aware of losing ground to people like Taniguchi. Perhaps he's scared of having to take the lead in the relationship, of not being experienced/adequate enough to be in charge, rather than passively letting a more experienced girl run things...

Hm, that's an interesting line of thought. And thank you for using the phrase "Hedgehog's dilemma". I hadn't heard it before, and learned something new.

[ainsoph9]

Umm, I do not know so much about that. He seems pretty content just at looking through the window at the candy and female manikins. In other words, Kyon does not seem to be actively looking for a girlfriend or anything at the moment. That is, unless he and Taniguchi switched places. The other thing is that Kyon is pretty dense in many ways. I do not think that he is exactly sensitive to the fact that he practically has formed his own harem unwittingly. As far as he relationships with the female members of the SOS Brigade, the only thing I will say is that everything is pretty much one way: Kyon lusts for Asahina-san; we have had hints that Nagato may or may not find him to be at least an influence in her behavior; and Haruhi definitely has a crush on Kyon, but he is too oblivious for his own good. Anyway, I think that going any further than this is perhaps over-analyzing Kyon.

[HAL9000]

In other words, Kyon does not seem to be actively looking for a girlfriend or anything at the moment.

True enough, but I'm just attempting to explain why. I admit I'm no psychologist, but it's a fun little exercise for me.

Anyway, I think that going any further than this is perhaps over-analyzing Kyon.

I completely agree, but I don't see that as a reason to stop doing it.

On a more serious note, I think a certain level of analysis is necessary to get to the meat of the Haruhi Suzumiya stories. Kyon is portrayed as dense in order to force the reader to do more reading between the lines. Think about how the stories would play out with an omniscient third-person narrative format, and you'll see some of the genius of the work.

Hence why Yuki is my favorite character. All of her characterization (not her mannerisms, mind you, her characterization) must come from interpreting her actions. Well, and she's also cool; I like that, too.