Discussion History Main / ManicPixieDreamGirl

I think it\\\'s debatable whether she cleanly fits this trope or not. On the one hand, she lacks the mono-dimensional hyper-zaniness usually found in these characters but on on the other her relationship with Kyon (romantic or not) definitely follows this trend - the fact that she has lifted him from a hum-drum life is even explicitly stated in Kyon\\\'s grand self-revelatory moment towards the climax of \\\"The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya\\\". But on the whole I\\\'d say she\\\'s a partial match at best and definitely not an ideal poster girl for the trope.

Regardless, I definitely think it\\\'s a little harsh to call her a borderline sociopath! She\\\'s all about helping others (just sometimes without their really asking for it). It\\\'s true that she certainly has more than a touch of megalomania, expecting others to just fall in line with her, though it\\\'s notable that she usually constrains herself to doing this with the people who have already fallen into her orbit (all of whom have ulterior motives for doing so, it might be mentioned). Also, sociopaths are almost always practiced liars and manipulators, whereas Haruhi is as blunt and forward a character as you\\\'re ever going to come across. Actually, in the narrative she\\\'s a standout in this regard -- everyone else in the S.O.S. Brigade lies to her every day about themselves and obfuscates the truth about Haruhi herself from her, all while they spy on her for higher powers. Granted they have very reasonable reasons for doing so, but even so, in that light Haruhi being a somewhat self-indulgent but ultimately well-intentioned teenager doesn\\\'t seem so bad. Certainly not _sociopath_ bad.

It\\\'s also interesting to note that, much as Haruhi is Kyon\\\'s MPDG, he also serves a similar role to her, due to some time-travel shenanigans - \\\"John Smith\\\"\\\'s visit to her on the night she tries to signal aliens has a profound effect on her, seemingly encouraging her to stick to her independent-mindedness and to persevere not only in believing in supernatural occurrences but also just generally marching to the beat of her own drum.

I think it\\\'s debatable whether she cleanly fits this trope or not. On the one hand, she lacks the mono-dimensional hyper-zaniness usually found in these characters but on on the other her relationship with Kyon (romantic or not) definitely follows this trend - the fact that she has lifted him from a hum-drum life is even explicitly stated in Kyon\\\'s grand self-revelatory moment towards the climax of \\\"The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya\\\". But on the whole I\\\'d say she\\\'s a partial match at best.

Regardless, I definitely think it\\\'s a little harsh to call her a borderline sociopath! She\\\'s all about helping others (just sometimes without their really asking for it). It\\\'s true that she certainly has more than a touch of megalomania, expecting others to just fall in line with her, though it\\\'s notable that she usually constrains herself to doing this with the people who have already fallen into her orbit (all of whom have ulterior motives for doing so, it might be mentioned). Also, sociopaths are almost always practiced liars and manipulators, whereas Haruhi is as blunt and forward a character as you\\\'re ever going to come across. Actually, in the narrative she\\\'s a standout in this regard -- everyone else in the S.O.S. Brigade lies to her every day about themselves and obfuscates the truth about Haruhi herself from her, all while they spy on her for higher powers. Granted they have very reasonable reasons for doing so, but even so, in that light Haruhi being a somewhat self-indulgent but ultimately well-intentioned teenager doesn\\\'t seem so bad. Certainly not _sociopath_ bad.

It\\\'s also interesting to note that, much as Haruhi is Kyon\\\'s MPDG, he also serves a similar role to her, due to some time-travel shenanigans - \\\"John Smith\\\"\\\'s visit to her on the night she tries to signal aliens has a profound effect on her, seemingly encouraging her to stick to her independent-mindedness and to persevere not only in believing in supernatural occurrences but also just generally marching to the beat of her own drum.

I think it\\\'s debatable whether she cleanly fits this trope or not. On the one hand, she lacks the mono-dimensional hyper-zaniness usually found in these characters but on on the other her relationship with Kyon (romantic or not) definitely follows this trend - the fact that she has lifted him from a hum-drum life is even explicitly stated in Kyon\\\'s grand self-revelatory moment towards the climax of \\\"The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya\\\". But on the whole I\\\'d say she\\\'s a partial match at best.

Regardless, I definitely think it\\\'s a little harsh to call her a borderline sociopath! She\\\'s all about helping others (just sometimes without their really asking for it). It\\\'s true that she certainly has more than a touch of megalomania, expecting others to just fall in line with her, though it\\\'s notable that she usually constrains herself to doing this with the people who have already fallen into her orbit (all of whom have ulterior motives for doing so, it might be mentioned). Also, sociopaths are almost always practiced liars and manipulators, whereas Haruhi is as blunt and forward a character as you\\\'re ever going to come across. Actually, in the narrative she\\\'s a standout in this regard -- everyone else in the S.O.S. Brigade lies to her every day about themselves and obfuscates the truth about Haruhi herself from her, all while they spy on her for higher powers. Granted they have very reasonable reasons for doing so, but even so, in that light Haruhi being a somewhat self-indulgent but ultimately well-intentioned teenager doesn\\\'t seem so bad. Certainly not _sociopath_ bad.

It\\\'s also interesting to note that, much as Haruhi is Kyon\\\'s MPDG, he also serves a similar role to her, due to some time-travel shenanigans - \\\"John Smith\\\"\\\'s visit to her on the night she tries to signal aliens has a profound effect on her, seemingly encouraging her to stick to her independent-mindedness and to persevere in believing in supernatural occurrences and just generally marching to the beat of her own drum.

I think it\\\'s debatable whether she cleanly fits this trope or not. On the one hand, she lacks the mono-dimensional hyper-zaniness usually found in these characters but on on the other her relationship with Kyon (romantic or not) definitely follows this trend - the fact that she has lifted him from a hum-drum life is even explicitly stated in Kyon\\\'s grand self-revelatory moment towards the climax of \\\"The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya\\\". But on the whole I\\\'d say she\\\'s a partial match at best.

Regardless, I definitely think it\\\'s a little harsh to call her a borderline sociopath! She\\\'s all about helping others (just sometimes without their really asking for it). It\\\'s true that she certainly has more than a touch of megalomania, expecting others to just fall in line with her, though it\\\'s notable that she usually constrains herself to doing this with the people who have already fallen into her orbit (all of whom have ulterior motives for doing so, it might be mentioned). Also, sociopaths are almost always practiced liars and manipulators, whereas Haruhi is as blunt and forward a character as you\\\'re ever going to come across. Actually, in the narrative she\\\'s a standout in this regard -- everyone else in the S.O.S. Brigade lies to her every day about themselves and obfuscates the truth about Haruhi herself from her, all while they spy on her for higher powers. Granted they have very reasonable reasons for doing so, but even so, in that light Haruhi being a somewhat self-indulgent but ultimately well-intentioned teenager doesn\\\'t seem so bad. Certainly not _sociopath_ bad.

It\\\'s also interesting to note that, much as Haruhi is Kyon\\\'s MPDG, he also serves a similar role to here, due to some time-travel shenanigans - \\\"John Smith\\\"\\\'s visit to her on the night she tries to signal aliens has a profound effect on her, seemingly encouraging her to stick to her independent-mindedness and to persevere in believing in supernatural occurrences and just generally marching to the beat of her own drum.

I think it\\\'s debatable whether she cleanly fits this trope or not. On the one hand, she lacks the mono-dimensional hyper-zaniness usually found in these characters but on on the other her relationship with Kyon (romantic or not) definitely follows this trend - the fact that she has lifted him from a hum-drum life is even explicitly stated in Kyon\\\'s grand self-revelatory moment towards the climax of \\\"The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya\\\". But on the whole I\\\'d say she\\\'s a partial match at best.

Regardless, I definitely think it\\\'s a little harsh to call her a borderline sociopath! She\\\'s all about helping others (just sometimes without their really asking for it). It\\\'s true that she certainly has more than a touch of megalomania, expecting others to just fall in line with her, though it\\\'s notable that she usually constrains herself to doing this with the people who have already fallen into her orbit (all of whom have ulterior motives for doing so, it might be mentioned). Also, sociopaths are almost always practiced liars and manipulators, whereas Haruhi is as blunt and forward a character as you\\\'re ever going to come across. Actually, in the narrative she\\\'s a standout in this regard -- everyone else in the S.O.S. Brigade lies to her every day about themselves and obfuscates the truth about Haruhi herself from her, all while they spy on her for higher powers. Granted they have very reasonable reasons for doing so, but even so, in that light Haruhi being a somewhat self-indulgent but ultimately well-intentioned teenager doesn\\\'t seem so bad. Certainly not _sociopath_ bad.

I think it\\\'s debatable whether she cleanly fits this trope or not. On the one hand, she lacks the mono-dimensional hyper-zaniness usually found in these characters but on on the other her relationship with Kyon (romantic or not) definitely follows this trend - the fact that she has lifted him from a hum-drum life is even explicitly stated in Kyon\\\'s grand self-revelatory moment towards the climax of \\\"The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya\\\". But on the whole I\\\'d say she\\\'s a partial match at best.

Regardless, I definitely think it\\\'s a little harsh to call her a borderline sociopath! She\\\'s all about helping others (just sometimes without their really asking for it). It\\\'s true that she certainly has more than a touch of megalomania, expecting others to just fall in line with her, though it\\\'s notable that she usually constrains herself to doing this with the people who have already fallen into her orbit (all of whom have ulterior motives for doing so, it might be mentioned). Also, sociopaths are almost always practiced liars and manipulators, whereas Haruhi is as blunt and forward a character as you\\\'re ever going to come across. Actually, in the narrative she\\\'s a standout in this regard -- everyone else in the S.O.S. Brigade lies to her every day about themselves and obfuscates the truth about Haruhi herself from her, all while they spy on her for higher powers. Granted they have very reasonable reasons for doing so, but even so, in that light Haruhi being a somewhat self-indulgent but ultimately well-intentioned teenager doesn\\\'t seem so bad. Certainly not <i> sociopath </i> bad.