I’m going to be honest when I say that Koizumi is a character I really struggle to understand. I find him interesting in his own way but realistically there’s so much about him that seems inscrutable and I’m not sure if this is a case of information that didn’t make it into the anime adaptation or whether his character is just genuinely hard to read. That said, I’m kind of happy to revisit him and give him some more thought in this post.
Thanks this week to Aria for the wonderful character suggestion. Now there were a number of other great people who suggested characters however again a lot of these characters are ones I just don’t know well enough to do justice to. I do appreciate the suggestions though and I’m keeping them on hand should I get the chance to watch the anime in question. If you have a character you would like to see a post on feel free to suggest them through the survey below.
All About Koizumi
Koizumi is introduced into the story of Haruhi Suzumiya as the ‘mysterious transfer student’ Haruhi has been waiting for. What makes him mysterious is apparently that anyone transferring at that time of year must obviously be mysterious (it is nice that Haruhi’s demands are so easily met sometimes). However, Koizumi is not arriving and grabbing Haruhi’s attention by happenstance and it turns out he’s part of an organisation that is also watching Haruhi, much like Yuki and Mikuru.
It is hard though to get a read on Koizumi. A lot of what he says comes across as disingenuous and he also is a representative of an organisation which means his actions are not always his own. He makes maddeningly obscure speculations to Kyon at times and maintains a strict routine of not directly influencing Haruhi though he regularly manipulates the situation putting the responsibility on Kyon.
I will admit when watching the anime there were times I genuinely hated Koizumi. And yet there were other times when he came across as logical or sympathetic. Basically, he’s just a complex character and it is really hard to know what is really driving him sometimes because while he calls Haruhi his god, his actions are not always able to be reconciled viewing him as a follower of the divine.
Why Does Koizumi Do Everything
Haruhi Suzumiya Demands?
With the premise being such as it is, Koizumi seems almost obliged to follow along with all of Haruhi’s weird requests and demands. Essentially she is god and his job is to keep her happy. Yet behind the scenes Koizumi seems intent on manipulating that role. For instance, the Summer trip to the mysterious island with the locked room investigation was entirely orchestrated by Koizumi and his organisation in order to ‘entertain’ Haruhi and keep her from getting bored and possibly unmaking reality.
While I can see where they were coming from it seems like a weird relationship with a ‘god’ when you can run around and try to distract them from inadvertently removing you from existence.
Likewise, Koizumi works on other characters to have them entertain Haruhi, or at least ensure they don’t upset her too much. Rather than a relationship between a god and a follower it seems more like someone watching over a child prone to tantrums and it seems weird that he doesn’t divert her from some of her sillier endeavours (or at least try to).
How Does Koizumi Represent the
Most Dangerous of By-Standers?
But that’s where I find Koizumi’s character a little bit hard to take. During the filming of Haruhi’s movie she tormented Mikuru and even went as far as drugging her in one instance. When Kyon got angry because of this Koizumi’s aggravating comment was that he thought Kyon was more rational. However, no matter how you want to slice the situation, Haruhi had stepped well and truly over the line (several times in fact) and needed to be pulled up short. That Koizumi is unable or unwilling to and Yuki sits in a similar position means the it becomes Kyon’s responsibility.
Koizumi’s actions really bothered me because he knows that what Haruhi is doing is wrong and actually fairly reprehensible. Where Yuki might get a pass in this situation being not human and reasonably indifferent to the morality in the situation, Koizumi is a human who simply has some power given to him, he thinks, by Haruhi. He understands the full magnitude of what Haruhi is doing and yet he does nothing. Worse than that, he enables to the best of his ability Haruhi’s actions in almost all things to ensure that she doesn’t get upset. So not only does he not condemn her actions, his passive stance actually seems to support her decisions.
Despite Koizumi not having an active role in the situation with Mikuru, he did nothing to prevent it continuing and his actions seemed to endorse the decisions made by Haruhi. His speaking against Kyon’s actions after the fact further cement an understanding that he would have allowed that situation to continue. While overall I find Koizumi a fascinating character I really cannot get behind him in this sequence at all.
What Does Koizumi Actually
Think of Haruhi and of Kyon?
That said, it is difficult to know what Koizumi’s actual feelings are. There are times when it seems like Koizumi is more naturally drawn to Kyon and that he genuinely likes him. There are others when it seems like he sees Kyon as an interesting specimen for observation. Like with a lot of Koizumi’s actions, it is hard to read.
As for Haruhi, Koizumi regularly makes comments along the lines of finding her charming or similar. But it is hard to know whether he believes that himself or whether it is something he is working to convince himself of. Still, even in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Koizumi was the one who ended up by Haruhi’s side so maybe he is naturally drawn to her.
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Is Itsuki Koizumi’s Existence
In Itself a Sad One?
I find it very hard to think about Koizumi without wondering what his life would have been like if he’d never awakened as an Esper and never had the knowledge that Haruhi Suzumiya was the one who awakened that power. What kind of person would he be, or would he exist at all, if Haruhi had never wanted to meet an esper. What I do know is that in the context of the anime, Koizumi really has no existence outside of watching over Haruhi and his dealings with Kyon and that in and of itself is a little tragic.
Then again, that is something that you can start to feel for all the characters in the reality of Haruhi Suzumiya as they are seemingly bent and twisted to her will.
If you watched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, I’d love to know your thoughts on Itsuki Koizumi and how you feel about his character so leave us a comment below.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
I gave you the recommendation of Itsuki because it’s definitely a challenge to decipher what’s going on in that brain of his (and also because of my OWLS post).
His enigmatic nature is a make-or-break trait for me, because KyoAni made him look nice but if I know nothing past “he’s an esper and mysterious transfer student”, I can’t really claim him as a husbando…(or maybe he’s a bishonen character to compensate for both Kyon’s shortcomings and the author’s bad writing when it comes to guys who aren’t the viewpoint character…)
He is very hard to get a read on but an interesting character to consider. He certainly has his moments.
Koizumi is certainly an interesting character, and I definitely agree with what you’re saying. I feel he’s more of a foil of the other members of the group. He’s the one who rather than monitors (Mikuru) or remedies (Yuki) the situation is more actively manipulating it, and while I feel he never see it he has the most ability to have personal agency or act in his own interests without having to worry about effecting the time stream or unable due to being AI.
He’s also a foil to Kyon as he goes willingly with all of Haruhi’s desires will Kyon is begrudging to be involved in these antics. As much that I agree with you that you expect better of him as a bystander, I understand that he knows Haruhi wants Kyon to be the one to oppose her. The reason why Haruhi likes Kyon is he’s the only one to tell her no, so its another piece to him manipulating the situation to encourage Haruhi to have fun and forcing Kyon to grow closer to her.
The balance and dynamic of the group in Haruhi Suzumiya was always very nicely done. Despite three characters essentially there to watch Haruhi, they all come at it slightly differently and Kyon is the wild card as nobody really knows why Haurhi dragged him along. The show works because of these characters and the way they interact.
Still would have been nice for Koizumi to just once tell Haruhi ‘no’ just for something different.
Much about Koizumi is indeed a mystery, and I suspect out of all the main characters he was hurt the most by the author never finishing the series. Even in the books he’s by far the hardest character to decipher; a few hints are even dropped occasionally that “Koizumi” might be just a role he’s playing. Like at one point he confides in Kyon that he’s tired of always being polite to his classmates, and when Kyon suggests he just stop doing it he says he can’t because he has to preserve Haruhi’s image of him. There’s no payoff for that setup, or a lot of the other potential foreshadowing involving him, but I’ve always wondered if there might have been if the series had gotten a proper ending.
That said, I do basically agree with your assessment of him as a complex and conflicting character, and especially what you said about his enabling of Haruhi and how problematic that is. What’s more significant though is that Kyon also agrees with that POV. There’s more than one time in the series where Kyon expresses his frustration over Koizumi’s attitude, and not just when they’re talking after the film shoot.
I’ve always wondered if the books gave us more on this character or not. It is a shame he doesn’t get properly resolved as a character because he is interesting.
Well we do get some additional development for him (can’t say more without venturing into spoiler territory), just not nearly as much as it feels like we should, unfortunately.
That’s a shame. I do intend to read the books at some point I just haven’t found the time yet.
I enjoyed the enigmatic nature of Koizumi’s character, though I agree that his policy of always indulging Haruhi’s every whim does make him complicit in some of her more reprehensible actions.
He just needed a little bit more backbone or if he’d been a bit more willing to try to divert her attention rather than going along with every action he’d have been a much more likeable character overall.
Well, can’t really say much about this character, seeing that I haven’t seen the anime 😅 He certainly sounds pretty interesting though. I like this new character feature! Also…3 down, 3 to go….see…It’s going to happen before the end of August 😊😊
Haruhi Suzumiya is definitely one of those anime worth watching if only for the conversation. I know it kind of made a huge splash when it came out and then kind of faded but there’s still something quite interesting about the anime and the first season in particular just has so much energy. Season two also has some great stories, but the endless eight really did divide the fanbase for obvious reasons and I’m absolutely sure if I’d been watching it weekly I’d have dropped it during eight episodes that were nearly identical (not so bad binge watching it but even then it feels a little stretched).
I will keep it in mind. I haven’t watch this anime in a very long time, having completed four shows, as well as the weekly watches😊 No complaints from me there though! I will add this one to the list and maybe I will have some time in my vacation in october to watch this one 😊😊 Thanks for the recommendation!