The unbelief of Suzumiya Haruhi
After 9 eps, I'm beginning to see the strange paradoxes in Haruhi's world as a expression of her inner struggles. Despite the obnoxious confidence she exudes, I have come to conclude that she's actually a conflicted and insecured little girl struggling with social ineptitude and the eventuality of being an inconsequential drop in the tide of time.
Consider the ironies. She yearns so much for an extraordinary life of meeting ESPers, aliens and time travellers yet she doesn't find them despite being surrounded by them. She also strives so hard to be less-than-ordinary only be the chief oddball of a motley crew dabbling in dubious club activities, completely oblivious of her centrality to this universe. I believe beneath her facade of enthusiasm and conviction lies a deep unbelief of her desires.
Consider again her affections for Kyon. Despite her feelings for him, it's as if she's certain Kyon's never going to reciprocate in the face of 'competition' like Mikuru. This subconscious thought might just have triggered Kyon's emotions for Mikuru. That might also explain why she doesn't get to pair with Kyon on that Saturday club outing since deep down inside, she's probably thinking she wouldn't get so lucky. Apparently, our creator is a tad insecure and quite the pessimist.
And so it would appear that this cosmic irony of Haruhi's universe is actually a mirror of her inner struggles as she comes to terms with her identity and growing love for Kyon. The paradoxes in her universe are actually faultlines where her unbelief and desire contend. Yes, a little more confidence and faith Haruhi dear, and the inconsistencies of your world will be removed, granting the utopia you so desire.
Although, I'm not sure if she would be pleased to know that Kyon came to love her because she willed it.






PS: My heart goes out to Yuki/Itsuki/Mikuru for having to babysit the universe while its creator goes through puberty.
Related posts:
May 30th, 2006 - 03:25
What if Haruhi is really a creation of Kyon.
What if the real God is Kyon. What if Haruhi represents a part of him that he threw away 3 years ago.
May 30th, 2006 - 03:42
I also think it’s a good bet that Kyon could actually be god. Although I also heard a theory that Mikuru is actually Kyon’s sister from the future… same eye colour, and they get along really well… you never know.
May 30th, 2006 - 04:02
If Haruhi is really a creation of Kyon. And they end up together then thats werid…. @_@
May 30th, 2006 - 04:06
No matter what we believe and which theory is correct, this series has managed to create a balance of mystery and revelation that feeds fan speculation. In this sense, this series has parallels to the rampant speculation that surrounded the technology, back story and religious motifs in NGE.
On a conflicted girl being the supreme power of this universe, I like to recall Joan Osborne’s single “What if God was one of us?” and the Elaine Belloc arcs in DC Comic’s Lucifer.
May 30th, 2006 - 04:20
Haruhi confessed to Kyon 3 years ago, but he rejected her because he likes weird girls and she was too plain.
That made her go Oyashiro-sama mode and killed him.
However, because she still actually loved him so much and was desperate for another chance, that she remade the world without knowing, but in the process forgot what happened herself. She now unconciously acts weird because that is what attacts Kyon.
It also explains why Haruhi never rejects someone who confesses to her, and why she thought she might have met Kyon in the past.
it fits perfectly with your theory, so it must be fact.
May 30th, 2006 - 06:00
> I also think it
May 30th, 2006 - 06:15
*SPOILER*
Well…
When I read your first paragraph i thought, “so…uh! this guy has already read the book”. Anyway, you are right. Just wait to see Haruhi Suzumi no Yuu utsu V. I hope that KyoAni will make *that* moment a hearth breaking scene.
*SPOILER ENDS*
May 30th, 2006 - 08:53
Wait, so Kyon is actually OUR NEW GOD and not Haruhi?
That thought is so disturbing it will take me quite a while to process it.
May 30th, 2006 - 11:22
I doubt Kyon is god, but in real Physics, the role of observer is akin to role of divine being, thus, in a sense, Kyon can be called god for mere fact that he is there to observe it. The fact is We know about this particular Haruhiverse through narration of Kyon: Any theory that will eventually be in conflict with the fact that Kyon is continuing to observe Haruhi cannot be right. Unless Haruhi has made infinite number of universe, as is supposed by Chaotic Inflation Theory ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_inflation ), there has to be some checks and balances in Haruhi’s mind to ensure Kyon’s continued observation of her. As I have written in Zyl’s blog, this Haruhiverse must be stable enough for Kyon to observe Haruhi’s occasional attempts to rewrite the world unsing the god-people, Haruhi must be interested in Kyon enough to allow his mundane presence in her club, and Kyon must be interested enough to SOS-dan to keep him near Haruhi, which is why Mikuru is both time-traveller and possible love-interest to Kyon. Those this mean Kyon is god? No – see http://www.slate.com/id/2100715/
May 30th, 2006 - 19:44
>>>Stripey
I quote “I
May 30th, 2006 - 20:26
Wow many interesting postulates. I have nothing more to offer (braincells drained from dwelling on Higurashi
) except that this realisation of Haruhi’s struggles being tied to her world would make character development inseparable from plot progression. I’m certainly looking forward to that wholesome anime treat of growing characters in a compelling story (for the remainder of that tale). And yes Kabitzin, a touch of siscon would definitely add flavour. Heh.
crimson: NGE = Neon Genesis Evangelion
May 31st, 2006 - 06:07
Actually the track’s proper name is “One of Us” – it’s in Joan Osbourne’s Relish album.
May 31st, 2006 - 09:10
“PS: My heart goes out to Yuki/Itsuki/Mikuru for having to babysit the universe while its creator is going through puberty”
Stripy that crack me up when i was reading it.
But if you think they suffereing when Haruhi is going through puberty think what they will going through once Haruhi hits PMS >.>
More suggestion: Simoun – Last Exile with Lesbians. Everyone on that world is born female, they make choice at age 17 to either become male or stay female. So it is world full of lolis and lesbians.
Spring of 2006 = Season of Yuri
May 31st, 2006 - 09:28
>It was mentioned previously by zyl that mikuru is a doormat
May 31st, 2006 - 11:00
Xellos-_^: LOL!! LastEXILE w lesbians? O_o; What a premise. I’ll probably take a peek on youtube
Thanks for the rec.
JM: Ah, sounds like something out of Star Trek: Next generation.
On a lighter siscon note, if what you say is true, then Mikuru/kyon can use a novel excuse “non-timeline related” (instead of the rather lame non-blood related) siblings to sanction their incestuous involvements.
As for Yuki in ep 9, sometimes her deafening silence speaks volumes.
May 31st, 2006 - 17:30
I wonder if Kyon’s sister could really grow up to be like Mikuru–they don’t seem to have that brother-sister dynamic and Kyon’s imouto seems more strong-willed than Mikuru (not a high bar to clear), just based on her trying to stow away to the island. But we haven’t really seen much of the imouto so I guess anything’s possible.
> My heart goes out to Yuki/Itsuki/Mikuru for having to babysit the universe while its creator is going through puberty.
lol…best one-line description of Haruhi I’ve ever seen ^_^;
May 31st, 2006 - 17:31
ah, that “cant save your own timeline” idea is new to me.
Yeah, yuki didnt speak a word, lol. I guess she wont be getting paid this round. At least her familiar (her book…the flipping of pages) spoke.
whoa, i bought last exile many many mnths back but i have yet to watch it.
May 31st, 2006 - 20:36
It’s generally accepted that time travelling – except the slow way forwards like we all do – is impossible. Everything else is just StarTrek, Noein or whatever but not reality. Just FYI.
May 31st, 2006 - 21:33
Everything discussed here except the cosmic inflation theory are more of fantasia concepts to make sense or references to haruhi’s world. I’m sure everyone alrdy knew.
June 1st, 2006 - 09:39
hmmm… i’ll love haruhi! ANYTIME!
June 1st, 2006 - 23:06
suguru: haha! Yeah i’ll admit kyon’s imouto as Mikuru is just wishful thinking by the siscon in me (which constitute a teeny weeny part I assure you.) Speaking of strong-willed, imouto-san would be closer to Haruhi in personality then? I fear the extrapolation of this thought…
crimson/Chris: I saw this documentary on the plane where someone (actual physicist) who tried to slow down time by using high powered lasers and mirrors (roughly based on the concept of Einstein’s theory of relativity) In essence he’s trying to create a space where time is flowing a liiiiiiiittle bit slower and maybe in a looooong run, there might be observable time differences between that space and the rest of the world. I don’t know. I just hope he doesn’t get a blackout for the next 300 years. Whatever time travel model Haruhi employs is secondary I suppose. It’s more of an storytelling tool to make the plot dramatic. Which is why Haruhi and Mikuru had better be Kyon’s ‘shocking’ somebody.
sorasky’: haha! I almost missed the pun. You’ll make a good spouse.
June 2nd, 2006 - 07:48
stripey….that sounds like what we see in the refrigerator, lol. Not a very human condition though.
Haruhi is just lucky to be able to find a Kyon to pick on. If its me, i’ll be showin her whose on top. Then again, if being Kyon-like increases the probability and duration of being around her wacks, i dont think i’ll mind. A trip to ‘FLCL land’ is fun once in a while.
June 5th, 2006 - 08:25
LOL! Go easy on Haruhi. Beneath that tough exterior is a fragile little girl.
Indeed, it’ll be fun to have her around though not as your gf.
June 6th, 2006 - 01:51
its ok…that’s what counsellors are for…hahaha~~
on a side note, within this 3 days, i finished tsubasa chronicles season 1 and erementar gerad. I have to say its like what u said. Tsuba has better art but erementar is more appealing.
What i like in Tsuba is probably the rather epic music + sakura’s warm expression. What’s nice in erementar gerad is u get to see a young punk journey and lvl up in different aspects (and other mix bags like betrayal and biting back the one whose controlling you – viro – and other cool stuff like counter strategies for barrage of attacks).
I think i like erementar gerad more becos there’s more variety in each individual’s character. As for Tsuba, they seem to be fixated towards 1 type of characteristic…somehow, that might have dulled things a bit.
BUT, for erementar gerad, there’s 2 big issues. Ah pity, probably without them, erementar will be even more enjoyable to my senses:
1. headshot just gives u a head bandage..
2. the hook sling has like 2 instances of glaring stunts (2 plane fly opposite and a human can *throw* a sling to the other plane…ok, maybe in anime the distances are always X10 as signified by their jumping height…and…u can hook on to a sling and cash it to crash without it skidding)
gonna watch Armitage next
June 6th, 2006 - 02:58
Glad you enjoyed the series.
Tsubasa has solid animation and consistent story-telling all throughout (after you pass the first world that is) Nothing very outstanding but enjoyable in a quiet way nevertheless. Erementar on the hand needs more work on its animation but the plot seems more driven.(I enjoyed not-so-subtle the innuendoes too.) It helps that I like Ren a lot more than Tsubasa chars. Maybe I could drop you a mail to pimp some series for an anime-zing hols.
June 6th, 2006 - 05:16
ah, do drop me the mail
yeah, i agree. And it was cute to watch Ren learn about the world and pple’s emotions. Then, there’s another series with a similar type of character. The series “Black Cat” has a cute kid too
There’s no young love in it though, lol.
June 6th, 2006 - 05:56
LOL! I’m in the midst of watching Black Cat now! Ep 16 and stuck for a week already. Eve? She’s my fav char. I’m watching it only for her goth-loli outfit and kawaii hairdos.
June 6th, 2006 - 07:48
YEAH EVE kawaiiiiii.
Black cat has gotta be one of the titles that i’ve enjoyed most even though i’m supposed to prefer animes that incorporate more humane physics to normal movements like jumping.
Its almost consistently entertaining.
June 6th, 2006 - 07:52
i forgot to mention. The music played when they start to rumble in a mission kinda gives me that 007 feeling. Mmm, some sort of good o retro kick-start feeling.
June 12th, 2006 - 20:52
Yeah, the duet chantings/singing in erementar gerad are pretty nice sounding. Must be becos of the warm vibe u get when reverie seems to look into you innocently (during combination time or at the last part with the final song). Since u dunno what they’re chanting/singing about, the situation allows room for positive imagination. For combination time, only the front part where reverie’s scarf moves off is cool for me, the part where one is lifted in the air gives me a bit of goosebump, lol.
October 21st, 2006 - 15:46
It is very possible that Kyon is god.
If you’ve read the books, this is much more supported.
Rather than have everything revolve around Kyon, isn’t it more possible that Kyon is also a god next to Haruhi?
Remember all those instances where Koizumi, Nagato, and Asahina saying that 3 years ago… something happened?
Well… isn’t that quaint…
3 years ago, Kyon used to believe in aliens… but stopped somewhere between 3 years and the present.
3 years ago on Tanabata Haruhi was sneaking around at night and created the weird circle that says “I am here” to the beings of Alpha Lyrae/Alpha Aquilae.
3 years ago a time quake was detected in Asahina Mikuru’s time
3 years ago an explosion of information was detected by Nagato Yuki.
3 years ago Koizumi came to know his powers.
If all this happened three years ago, and Nagato Yuki, as a third party observer exists, then the world was NOT created three years ago, but was remade three years ago. It implies that Suzumiya CAME into her powers three years ago.
In addition…
3 years ago… when Haruhi was drawing the circle for Tanabata at her junior high… Kyon was there too.
I’m not going to spoil it (although I just kinda did…). Go read it on Baka-Tsuki for the English Version.
So… if that’s the case, if that’s’ when Haruhi became GOD (as is implied…), and Kyon was there too assisting her in the creation of the circle… then is Kyon a GOD too?
O_O;
This theory isn’t flawless obviously, I wrote it in a short period of time. Also many can argue that Kyon left that time frame before he could have contact with the aliens(?) or come into his power…
Note that in the op of Haruhi (bouken deshou deshou) there is a scene of Haruhi reaching out towards a bright light o_O~.
Anyways……… Regardless, this brings up some pretty interesting thoughts on Haruhi and Kyon’s relationship. Also, check out how things always seem to come out okay, and even a few of Kyon’s inner desires become reality… it’s very subtle, but it’s there.
Last note. Read book 4 and you’ll find yourself even deeper in the conspiracy that is Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu
.