Suzumiya Haruhi Series

Kyon: He is not the titular character, but the story is told through his view point with his narration. Even so, we don't know his real name ("Kyon" is a nickname which may or may not have something to do with the Greek world for "skeptic") and several theories have been proposed, including that he has the same name as the author. Because of Haruhi, he interacts with the very entities in whose existence he disbelieves: an alien, a time traveller and an esper. And has to move his ass around quite a lot to save the world in various manners.

Despite being very vocal about his "realist" view of the world, Kyon does admit that it would be nice for sci-fi things to exist and while he complains all the time about the antics he gets involved in, he enjoys the excitement (and Haruhi gets the idea of having her own club from him, so in a sense he has responsibility over what happens afterward). He is the foil and anchor for Haruhi, being her friend and effectively protecting the world from her. He is also a nice person at heart in spite of his aloofness and snarky attitude. Also he has managed several impressive things against the odds in his crazy world (making facepalms and comments while doing so), thus he is a force to reckon with. Besides, who would not like a sarcastic narrator?

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese) and Crispin Freeman (English and a wonderful performance)

Suzumiya Haruhi: An energetic girl, who does not want anything other than making her life "special" by looking for aliens, time travellers, espers, sliders. While waiting for that to happen, she founded her own club to entertain herself: the SOS Dan (backronym for "Sekai wo Ooini Moriagerutame no Suzumiya Haruhi no Dan or "Spreading Excitement all over the World with Haruhi's Suzumiya's Brigade, also known by fans as "Slave of Suzumiya"). She chooses representatives of different fictional archetypes to be members of the Brigade, namely a silent character, a "moé" character, a mysterious transfer student, and (probably) an ordinary student. Ironically, an alien, a time traveller and an esper join her club, and together with Kyon, they do all their might to lock her out of the loop. They have their reasons: Haruhi can destroy the current reality and create a new one that fits her liking, and apparently no-one can counter her power. Fortunately, she does not know about her ability, yet.

Haruhi is a very polarizing character. She is lively and straightforward in getting what she wants, the type of person who shakes things up. On the other hand, she is also very selfish and acts without caring about other people (to the point of harming them) so it is quite demanding (and sometimes dangerous, literally) to live with her (just ask Kyon and a certain computer club). Sometimes she is the closest thing to the antagonist in this series. There is a reason for she being who she is today, namely the feeling that she is so small and insignificant in this wide world which makes her want to do things that are non-routine and extraordinary, but whether that justifies her actions depends on points of view. I have come across some people viewing her as a tragic character, because everything she does is make-believe with an eternal yearning for something (that she honestly thinks, despite all her overconfident yes-I-can attitude) cannot be attained, and her Brigade continuously foils her dream for change from being realized (hey, they too have rights to live in a world that they want).

Voiced by: Aya Hirano (Japanese) and Wendee Lee (English)

Nagato Yuki: The "silent character" in Haruhi's checklist, and the alien (or more precisely, the humanoid interface of the Data Overmind i.e. an interface created by an alien entity to interact with human). She never wastes a word (there is an episode where she speaks nothing despite appearing half of the screentime), shows little to none emotion, and spends most of the time reading sci-fi novels, her mission being "observing" Haruhi. But that does not mean she is weak, on the contrary, she has proven her badass-ness quite a number of times. And a mission of "observation" can get really, really hard (Endless Eight, I'm looking at you). Kyon spends a lot of time interacting with her and being her bridge to the outside world, and she is very loyal to him.

Yuki is the darling of the fans as well as the author, who states that he has fun writing her character development. It does not hurt that she is so cute. Besides, she is the Wizard of Rock !

Voiced by: Minori Chihara (Japanese) and Michelle Ruff (English)

Asahina Mikuru: The moé (read: fanservice) character in the SOS Brigade and the time traveller who comes from the future to investigate Haruhi. She was literally dragged into the SOS Brigade and is forced to cosplay specifically for moé point. Haruhi made a good choice: both Kyon and Haruhi (seriously!) together with several other characters lust after Mikuru. She seems to be clumsy and is easily bullied (especially by Haruhi) so Kyon could not help standing up for her. Despite Haruhi's demands, Mikuru is apparently quite content with her current position in the Brigade.

Voiced by: Yuko Goto (Japanese) and Stephanie Sheh (English)

Koizumi Itsuki: The "mysterious transfer student" and the esper. Handsome and charming, Itsuki is eager to please Haruhi and constantly annoys Kyon with his cryptic statements which usually end with "I was just joking". Under his smile, he knows quite a lot about what is going on and can give Kyon good advices even if the latter is never really comfortable with him (which probably also has something to do with his disregard for personal space). He is indeed mysterious as he has good self-control and intentionally projects a friendly image.

Itsuki is a difficult character. There is always something he never spells out yet he expects others to know. And he keeps to himself quite a lot. On the other hand, like Yuki, he has a lonely feel about him when he is not charming or confusing other people. For all his cryptic-ness, he is open in the sense that he gives Kyon a warning beforehand about himself. Let's see what unfolds in the future

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono (Japanese) and Johny Yong Bosch (English)