Haruhi Suzumiya

Haruhi Suzumiya is the title character and heroine of the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise (original light novel series, TV anime, and manga). She is a student at North High who serves as the leader of the SOS Brigade, a club with the purpose of finding aliens, time travelers and espers. She is incredibly eccentric and usually anti-social, with no interest in "ordinary" humans. Although she doesn't know it, all the members of the SOS Brigade she recruits (besides Kyon) happen to fit into these groups (Yuki Nagato, Mikuru Asahina, and Itsuki Koizumi respectively). Haruhi also, unknown to her, has the god-like abilities to change, destroy, and reshape reality. It is said that if she were to become bored enough with the world, she could create closed space, meaning a new world which could prevent destruction in the "real world". After revealing themselves to Kyon, the trio of Yuki, Mikuru and Itsuki all state they were sent by their respective higher-ups to watch over her, and Koizumi specifically mentions they must keep her entertained so she doesn't become too bored. Aya Hirano voices Haruhi in all her animated appearances in the Japanese sub, and Wendee Lee voices her in the English dub. She is also portrayed by Patricia Ja Lee and Cristina Vee in the live action series The Adventures Of The ASOS Brigade. At the beginning of the series, her hair is long and reaches to about her waist. She always had different hairstyles every day. However, after a talk with Kyon about her hair, she cuts it to just about her shoulders. After settling on a hairstyle, Haruhi is always seen wearing an orange-yellow headband with ribbons on the side, in her hair. Many male students consider her attractive, including Kyon. Haruhi is driven primarily by her desire to live an extraordinary life. She enjoys being the center of attention, and her schemes often stem from her desire to increase the SOS Brigade's notoriety and her view that things that are out of the ordinary are fun. She has very little regard for what constitutes 'normal' behavior, and at times even purposely engages in deviant behavior in an effort to overcome a fit of boredom. At the same time, she heavily subscribes to conservative principles; she addresses adults in a respectful manner and using conventional etiquette, and emphasizes the observance of traditional holidays. Haruhi is a blunt and bossy person, consistently expecting others to either obey or submit to her. Resistance, or performance which fails to meet her expectations (which are typically unreasonably high) spurs her to anger. She is bright, energetic, and athletic, excelling at both academics and athletics in school. She alternates between melancholy and incredible optimism, often unpredictably due to her hesitation to share her feelings with others. Her boundless energy and confidence has a continuous need for an outlet. Because of this, her paranormal observers spend considerable effort in setting up adventures for her to keep her from being bored. Kyon observed that before she started the SOS Brigade, she seemed like a boxer in search of a fight. Her eagerness to aid those in need and correct wrongs where she perceives them is usually motivated more by her love for adventure and conflict than by altruism. It stands in contrast with Sasaki's complacency with the world as it is. Early in the series she can be insensitive and bullying, forcing Mikuru Asahina into costumes and activities that she is uncomfortable with, even over her anguished protests. Later in the series she becomes more sympathetic to others and displays a strong sense of responsibility towards the well-being of the SOS Brigade members, acting as a benevolent queen-bee. Haruhi is stubborn and doesn't like to admit her mistakes, sometimes blaming other people but usually just improvising with the situation while acting as if it were what she planned all along. Her behavior was considered eccentric, and she had little interest in her classmates, at least until Kyon began providing an empathetic ear to her frustrations. After he gave her the idea to form the SOS Brigade, she became more mentally stable and gradually connected with schoolmates in club activities. First in Snow Mountain Syndrome and later in The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya, it is mentioned she is good at cooking. Haruhi reveals that the reason why she is good at cooking is due to her mother having "awful taste" and always measuring ingredients and spices by the eye, causing every meal she makes to "never taste quite the same each time". In primary school (elementary school) Haruhi attempted to cook on her own, found that she had somewhat of a natural talent for it, and insisted on cooking her own meals ever since. Her mother's low cooking skills are also the reason why Haruhi never brings a lunchbox to school. This is all of the information Haruhi reveals about her mother upon mentioning her for the first time other than saying "She works a lot, and so we help each other out." Haruhi's personality may be described as overpowering. She has a knack for convincing others to do what she wants, whether by using charm, intimidation, blackmail, guile, or sheer charisma.