Was Kyon in love with Haruhi?

Question

It was not directly stated in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya that Haruhi has feelings for Kyon but it can be assumed that she had because of her attitude towards him (like trying to fix her hair in pony-tail since Kyon told her before that it suits her, or having Kyon the only person with her when she subconsciously wanted to change the world).

And it wasn't also directly stated that Kyon had feelings for Haruhi. More frequently, Kyon is shown to have feelings for Asahina instead. Though, there are times that it can be seen that Kyon cared for Haruhi.

My question is, was Kyon in love with (or did he developed some affectionate feelings for) Haruhi? If so, is it possible that that feeling was caused by Haruhi's power and not Kyon's real feelings (since Haruhi can just think of having an esper, time traveler and alien would be great, and it will exist)? If he is not really in love with Haruhi or if he is in love with Asahina, then, why isn't he affected of Haruhi's power (assuming that Haruhi thought that having Kyon in love with her would be great)? Or is it that Haruhi didn't think of something like that (this seems to be impossible since she even dragged Kyon when she was about to change the world) or she's not really in love with Kyon (seems not the case as well)? Or Haruhi's power doesn't affect people's feelings? If Kyon is really in love with her (from the bottom of his heart and not from Haruhi's powers), then how can it be? Was Kyon the exception to Haruhi's rule or Kyon can somehow nullify Haruhi's power?

Answer 1

There's not going to be a definitive answer to this question, and that's probably intentional on the part of the franchise creator. That said, there is one school of thought that says that it is Kyon in fact who subconsciously controls the world, and that Haruhi's powers and the strange visitors and Kyon's involvement with them are all actually to satisfy Kyon's suppressed desire for a more interesting life.

Consider that things generally go Kyon's way and that it is Kyon, not Haruhi, who gets to enjoy the fruits of being surrounded by aliens, time travelers, and espers. And of course Kyon gets to show affection for, and for the most part have it returned by, all of the female characters, and Koizumi does not compete with him at all in that department.

So ultimately, does the world really exist to satisfy Haruhi, or to satisfy Kyon? And if everyone is who they are simply because Kyon wills it to be so, can he really love any of them?

Answer 2

I believe that Haruhi and Kyon are interlinked through the universe. The light novels, manga, anime and movie all strongly suggest that one cannot live without the other. In order for any world to exist, they must be together.

I speculate that the feelings he experiences with Mikuru is purely physical. He's a 14-15 year old boy and he's in front of a big-chested, yet timid girl - of course you'd like that. In contrast, Nagato's character is more difficult to read, and I would need to re-read and re-watch the series to get a full grasp on their relationship. However, it should be noted that Yuki only steps out of her role as the passive observer to the active member when Kyon's life, or her interests come into jeopardy. And I believe that Kyon gives Yuki the individualism that she has desired since birth, so in a way, the two compliment one another and serve as mirror images to each others characters. I could support this by analyzing the relationship between Yuki-Mikuru, seeing that Kyon regards her as a loveable sex object, whereas Yuki regards her simply as an object. Unimportant.

Back to Haruhi, which I believe Kyon has a real, founded and amazing romantic relationship with. Haruhi compliments Kyon perfectly, and vice versa too! Only Haruhi can make Kyon act and change as a character. As much as Kyon complains, it is only through Haruhi that he gains a real experience in his everyday life. For Haruhi, Kyon is the only person who can ground her without ridiculing her, the only one who challenges her authority and the only one who can say 'no' to her and get away with it. And as much as she bickers and bitches at him, she goes through the most change when she finally accepts his advice and at times, his criticism. To be plain, and to reference the series greatest episode The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Chapter VI, they mutually create a closed space in order to explore their true desires for one another.

Kyon, wishing to return to old world, whilst Haruhi wishes to remain in a fantasy; normally, such contrasting views would result in the world's end. However, it is Kyon's realization that he likes Haruhi simply because she is Haruhi, that changes everything. It's his realization that he may like Mikuru because she's hot, and he may like Yuki because she's a bad ass, but he likes Haruhi because she's just... Haruhi. "A teacher would ask, what does this person mean to you?" asks Kyon, and he answers himself saying that he doesn't give a shit about whether she's an a hope for evolution, a time anomaly, or a god. To Kyon, and that matter to Haruhi, she's just herself and in that, in being herself, she's perfect. I think he realizes that Haruhi, in turn, loves him because he's simply himself. Not because he can control her, contain her and appease her like the others, but because he's the only other person who can look at her and go "You're an idiot".

Answer 3

Okay, there are a lot of theories regarding this topic. I guess there truth is, the couple you support, you are determined to find parts in the movie that hints that they like each other. Even if it doesn't generally mean that, you interpret it to be and bend your mind to find reasons.

In the end, it's just an anime however lol, I'm still dying to find out who Kyon ends up with, though we all know it's most probably Haruhi. It's nearly always been the fact that main girl gets main boy and the start of the anime has been quite obvious about that. However, I have to admit as it progressed along, it seemed as Kyon told his point of view in the narration that he favoured Mikuru in a crush-sort of kind of way and Yuki in her own unique way- how she always saved him and was so intelligent, however it seemed the longer the series went, the more annoying and irritating he found Haruhi to be.

Though, in the Disappearance of Haruhi, I think he began to realise/or show the viewers that Haruhi was in fact an important piece of his life and all her annoying crazy ideas actually made the world he live in better. However, this is also the part he actually shows his obvious fondness of Yuki, at the last part when it was snowing and he was determined to save her. For once in the anime, his fondness of Yuki and Haruhi and not just Mikuru was revealed to the audience, though it was not necessarily then he realised it.

All in all, it's quite obvious that Haruhi and Kyon are going to end up together, even though they find each other sometimes unbearable and annoying. To be honest, I always liked Itsuki Koizumi and Haruhi together- I thought he would treat her better than Kyon, the lady's man and playa but however, I can kind of see obviously that even if Koizumi did like Haruhi, it was completely one-sided.

It's sad when your favourite couples don't get together but you just have to get over the fact and anyway, the pairings are usually quite obvious already in the start of the anime or by the main characters. Just remind yourself that it's an anime and have a box of tissues by your side. T_T

Answer 4

According to haruhi.wikia.com:

Kyon believes Haruhi to be an annoying and reckless girl, although he believes she can be a kind, talented person if she learns to calm down and help others instead of demanding things. Throughout the series, Kyon develops a love/hate relationship with Haruhi; he always complains about Haruhi's unreasonable demands, yet he still helps to accomplish most of them.

Unlike the other three Brigade members, Kyon sees Haruhi more like a human than a mysterious factor, and treats her like one, which leads to several risks of her destroying the world. Despite this he firmly maintains that one of these days she would "have to learn her lesson" and frequently complains about needing to help control closed space (which is why he must submit to Haruhi's demands).

Kyon was the only person to address Haruhi by her first name (without honorifics). Kyon wishes that Haruhi would return to a normal life, and as he says in "Charmed at First Sight LOVER", he wishes she would get a boyfriend so that he would not have to go through so much work.

In regards to his relationships with other people,

Seeing the human version of Yuki in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya leaves a strong effect on him where in fact it was so strong that he believes that Yuki actions to alter the world is because of 'love', and he tries to keep up with her emotional development. He becomes jealous when Nakagawa believes he loves her in "Charmed at First Sight LOVER", and Kyon admits he has feelings for Yuki (romantically, friendship-wise, or familial-wise) in the same chapter.

Regarding Asahina:

Kyon has an interest in Mikuru, which is somewhat flirtatious given that he keeps files of her pictures. In fact, Kyon was attracted to Mikuru more than any other female members of SOS Brigade because of her beauty and timid appearance.

Kyon's defensive actions has let Mikuru to have feelings towards him. He also declares in Charmed at First Sight LOVER that if she ever gets a boyfriend, he'll "stalk him all day". However, at one point Koizumi pointed out that the character of Mikuru may be just an acting to seduce Kyon as her beauty was also an important fact for why she is chosen among the time-travelers because getting close to Kyon can help her investigation on Haruhi (or even convince Kyon to let Haruhi alter the world as what she wants)

To summarize, Kyon doesn't seem to be in love with Haruhi. Instead, he more likely has feelings for Yuki.

Answer 5

Kyon was never in a "Haruhi or Yuki: who do you like more, go!" position at any point during the Dissapearance novel or movie. If you interpret it as such, you're either not paying very close attention, or it's just a mis-interpretation of the character's motivation. It is cognitively dissonant to even imply that Kyon rejected the alternate world "for Haruhi". If you didn't notice, Haruhi existed in the alternate world, with the exact same personality. The book even clearly states that the only one who changed was Yuki herself.

Kyon's preference of the old world over the new one was purely due to the fact that the old one was more interesting and adventurous because it was supernatural. That, and the fact that he liked the old Yuki better than the completely new one.

That being said, we don't know who Kyon loves, but it's clear that he has strong feelings for all of the three girls, as the books and series go forward.

Take this quote from Charmed at First Sight Lover, for example:

"In the past few months since we met, I've shared many memories with Nagato. Though I've also shared memories with Haruhi, Asahina-san and Koizumi, I found that I've experienced more events with Nagato in particular. In fact, every situation seems to involve her. I might as well mention this, she's probably the only person to cause the bell within me to shake the most vigorously. No matter what happens, Haruhi would always find a way out, Asahina-san only needs to remain as herself, while Koizumi can go to hell for all I care, but..."

Answer 6

In the final novel the Astonishment of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 2:

After being thrown by one of the blue giants (celestial), he entered the time warp into the future and he saw Haruhi's ponytails getting longer since she entered the college and also Kyon saw the future himself at one of the windows of the college.

So yeah they seemed to ended up together (although they actually aren't really together like they dating or something).

Answer 7

I remember something Kyon thought of from Endless Eight (in the light novel The Rampage of):

"Sleeping together like this, Haruhi and Asahina-san is a decent competition. Maybe some people would even prefer Haruhi."

"Hmmm...definitely."

Answer 8

Kyon definitely likes Haruhi because in the episode/chapter, the disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is when he went crazy looking for Haruhi. He doesn't even make a moment with Mikuru even a little! Also he even said in one of the chapters, 'Miss Asahina is cute, but Haruhi's much better', so I agree with "Haruhi-Kyon" relationship. And truly, I like 'Koizumi-Asahina' instead.

Answer 9

Personally, I think that no matter what happens in the future and or who he chooses, Kyon inevitably always stays with Haruhi. Whether it develops romantically or not, that's his choice because out of all the characters, he's the most human with the most free will.

Kyon will most likely have flings in the future but the fact that his fate is forever entwined with Haruhi remains as the ultimate truth. I hate to think it but I believe that Kyon never truly acts on his feelings for Nagato because even though she is constantly changing, she was born an alien with a specific duty. Nagato will never be truly free to persue any form of romantic relationship with Kyon and so she will never choose him over Haruhi.

Now for Mikuru? I also believe that nothing truly serious develops between Kyon and her. Her future self may be in love with him but because she willingly distances herself from him due to the fear of Haruhi's reaction if they had a relationship. Along with Nagato, Mikuru's sole purpose is to observe and aid Haruhi's development. Even though she may fall for Kyon, which is apparent every time she sees the present Kyon by her future self, she maintains the distance and even warns him to keep such distance in the future because she knows that she will only suffer from having to restrain her own desires and feelings towards him. Thus, Kyon is more likely to never end up with any of the two despite his interests.

It's sad to say that Kyon and Haruhi may date other people in the future and experience different things but they'll always be stuck with each other, forever in an unyielding loop of a love/hate relationship.