The Conscience...
Kyon (キョン )/John Smith
BACKGROUND
He narrates with sarcastic commentary on the various absurdities of Haruhi, club activities and events related to Haruhi. Kyon may also direct his thoughts at Haruhi, which Haruhi might respond to, thus making it unclear whether he is speaking aloud or merely thinking to himself. This could also be interpreted as an ability for Haruhi to occasionally achieve nearly telepathic empathy with Kyon. Kyon's narration follows the format of a Greek Chorus, speaking directly to the audience through internal dialogue. Though a self-described barely-above-average student, Kyon—particularly in the light novels—very often peppers his narration and dialogue with references to ancient mythology, advanced scientific concepts (the laws of thermodynamics, the theory of relativity, etc.), alternately well-known and/or obscure pop culture (he identifies a Marilyn Manson song Haruhi hums in the second light novel), and various esoteric subjects, often comparing the Brigade's situation to a typical role playing game.
He is also the only "normal" human in a club otherwise assembled to include a membership of an alien, esper and a time traveler. This is a cause of curiosity and concern amongst many parties, since Haruhi is "not interested in ordinary humans". Yuki refers to Kyon as an "irregular factor near Haruhi" responsible for an abrupt change in the data around Haruhi. Itsuki goes as far as to investigate Kyon's identity, only to affirm that Kyon is indeed an ordinary human. Asakura herself is quite puzzled by Haruhi's interest in Kyon and asks how it was that he has gotten Haruhi to open up.
He can be very observant and quite intelligent, despite his average grades. It is Kyon who solves the murder mystery during the events of the Lonely Island in the light novel, not Haruhi. He had known the truth since the beginning, as he does not believe that Haruhi will wish for someone to die and comes to the truth after he notices several facts.
SOS Brigade ROLE
A cynical and level headed high school student, Kyon is often the sole voice of reason in the SOS Brigade (and, at times, its conscience). He often intervenes when Haruhi behaves too erratically and sometimes without the aid of any of the other brigade members. Much to his irritation, this responsibility is his alone, since the other members passively follow Haruhi's schemes. He is also usually the one who pays for meals during brigade outings and is saddled with the brigade's "grunt work" (such as being the cameraman and editor for the SOS Brigade's school festival movie and the creation and maintenance of the club's website). However, as the one responsible for inspiring the creation of the brigade, Kyon remains an important member and may even be the most important member on par with Haruhi herself, perhaps even more so than her.
Kyon is the only person who can actively dissuade or even stop Haruhi from acting out her plans or ideas (Haruhi herself makes a reference to this in "Someday in the Rain", implying that Kyon was the one obstacle that kept her from dressing Mikuru up in more outfits for pictures for the DVD release of "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina"), and also the one saddled with the responsibility of placating Haruhi whenever she's discontent or angry. He is also the sounding board for the rest of the brigade members, who depend on him to aid in their monitoring of Haruhi, and occasionally ask him for input regarding their activities. At times they defer to him rather than their brigade chief, especially when cleaning up the messes caused by Haruhi's subconscious. In fact, despite her being the leader and concerning her powers, he is, in this sense, the most powerful member of the Brigade, possibly even in existence given that he is the only being capable of influencing Haruhi, ironic as he is the only bona fide normal human in the Brigade. This is made evident when the Data Integrated Thought Entity considered deleting Yuki for altering the world, Kyon blackmails the Entity that he could easily make Haruhi alter reality to bring her back (see below).
Despite his apparent discontent and his continued complaints, Kyon remains with the SOS Brigade and Haruhi, even though he is not required to do so. He consciously attributes this to the sense of responsibility he feels about having to keep the world as it is, as well as protecting Mikuru and Yuki from Haruhi's schemes. In the novels, however, it can be inferred that he has actually grown used to the SOS Brigade, and would miss it if it were gone, a scenario of which was presented in The Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya, also revealing his sentiments for Haruhi, despite bearing the brunt of everything she does.
JOHN SMITH
John Smith (ジョン・スミス) is a pseudonym used by Kyon during one of his travels into the past. He told Haruhi his name is "John Smith" in order to hide his identity. Although just a passing thought to name himself that in the chapter "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody", it becomes a critical factor in volume four, The Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya. Seemingly presented with a normal high school life, a world without Haruhi, the extent of his "normalness" and of his attachment to the Brigade and Haruhi are made evident. "John Smith" is referenced in the first novel and in the anime shortly after Haruhi and Kyon 'first' meet. Haruhi asks him if they had met before, to which he replies that they haven't (which is true, from his perspective). Kyon has said on occasion, at the end of The Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya and at other intervals, that revealing he is John Smith will be his last ace in the hole should something arise regarding Haruhi. However, Kyon feels it is a last resort measure in case something like the events of the book happen again in which he has no support from anyone. To that end, he was willing to defy even the Integrated Data Entity, for he realized that while Haruhi was the one with reality-altering powers from which, supposedly, no one was safe, he was the lone exception, the only thing keeping Haruhi from throwing everything out of whack. He realized then that he had become linked with Haruhi (in the intended sense and more), that even something like the Entity wouldn't exist without his keeping Haruhi's powers stable. His revealing himself to Haruhi as John Smith would radically change everything. The idea of Kyon naming himself John Smith is a possible reference to Doctor Who, in which the Doctor would say his name is John Smith in order to fit in with the humans.
