Yuki Nagato
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Yuki Nagato (長門 有希, Nagato Yuki?) is a main character in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu) and is voiced by Chihara Minori (Japanese) and Michelle Ruff (English).
Yuki Nagato was originally the lone remaining member of the Literature Club, to which all previous members had left the year before. Yuki was apathetically fine with Haruhi taking over the Literary Room for her new club and was soon considered a member of the SOS-Dan herself. In Haruhi's eyes, she fulfills the Silent character type personality.
Yuki Nagato is almost always silent, and will only respond monosyllabically when spoken to, though this is not out of shyness nor seriousness, but simply of there being no need for her to talk the majority of the time. When she does talk, she usually provides a complex explanation using mostly scientific terms to explain even the simplest of things.
| Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. |
Early on, Nagato reveals herself to be a "humanoid interface" or alien android to Kyon. She was sent by the galaxy-wide group of information synthesis thought-entities to investigate the cause of the "explosion of information" 3 years ago which far exceeded anything they have ever observed. When it was determined to be Haruhi Suzumiya, Nagato was set up as an objective observer along with other humanoid interfaces to observe data provided by Haruhi.
As a Humanoid Interface, Yuki reveals herself to be the most actively powerful of the group. Near godlike in her abilities, Yuki can perform 'data manipulation', reprogramming the current data of reality at will. However, she can only reprogram currently existing data, and not create data out of nothingness (she could turn a chair into a sword, but she couldn't create a sword out of nothing). She rarely uses these abilities openly.
Yuki remains passive at the start of the series, only interacting if it is necessary to maintain the status quo of the current situation, as the Information Synthesis Thought Entities have decided to continue observing without Haruhi being effected by external 'paranormal' stimulus. As time goes by however, Yuki becomes more responsive to certain actions and helps out in minor ways. It was also discovered that she has been manipulating events behind the scenes in order to maintain the status quo.
Starting out emotionless, Kyon has come under the suspicion that Yuki is slowly opening up over time, as she displays certain signs of boredom, loneliness, competitive passion and maybe even love. It is unknown how these will effect her current mission, but it has been warned that if the opinions of Yuki's master were ever to change, then Yuki could become an enemy of the SOS-dan.
In episode 14, or the end of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya arc, in the anime, Yuki promises she will protect Kyon from any Human Interfaces should they attack Kyon like Asakura did. This could mean that even if her master changed views, she still might protect Kyon. She also in this episode says she personally wishes for Kyon and Haruhi to return.
Near the end of the series, Nagato starts to take a full interest in computers. It appears she enjoys using primitive technology, especially when limiting her abilities to the current level of earth technology.
She is also what some people might call a misanthrope. Also known as a "Joe-type".
[edit] Nagato's Books
Nagato is almost always seen holding a book throughout her appearances in the series. Below are the books she's seen to be reading that can be identified:
- The Fall of Hyperion, the second book in the science fiction tetralogy The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons.
- The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh, published by Anchor. Yuki is reading the Japanese translation, published by Shinchōsha (ISBN 4-10-539302-2).
- Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It's the first book of the Hyperion Cantos tetrology, and the one that she lends to Kyon.
- Oedipus Shoukougun by Kiyoshi Kasai
- Phanomenologie des Geistes (The Phenomenology of Spirit) by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, published in 1807. The latest edition of Hasegawa Hiroshi's Japanese translation was published 1998 by Sakuhinsha (ISBN 4-87893-294-5).
- The Woman in the Wardrobe by Peter Antony (pen name of the brothers Peter and Anthony Shaffer), published 1951 by Evans. The Japanese translation was published 1996 by Tōkyō Sōgensha (ISBN 4-488-29901-6).
Some of the books have been known to allude to current events in the episode. For example, The Woman in the Wardrobe has similar elements to the events of Remote Island Syndrome.
[edit] Trivia
- Though initially appearing emotionless, this is not a result of her simply being a Humanoid Interface, as other Humanoid Interfaces have shown themselves to be able to act perfectly ordinary in human terms of emotion.
- Through the events of the Day of Sagittarius, a possible plot hole has emerged in Nagato's computer skills. In episode eleven of the anime series, she is shown having difficulty using a mouse, waving it in the air and, as the week progress, slowly increases her skill. This however, contradicts the events of the previous episode Mysterique Sign, when she is shown using a computer with no problem. However, the scene in episode eleven that shows her having difficulty with the mouse isn't present in the original novel. It may also be that she was copying Kyon's actions from episode fourteen, where he tries to keep the mouse away from Mikuru.
- Though known to talk in the presence of others, Nagato has said very little to people other than Kyon and has only spoken to Haruhi Suzumiya and Itsuki Koizumi each once, when in Kyon's presence (it is implied that Haruhi has spoken to her on two other occasions). In both occasions, the subject was more of an announcement. With the exception of her script during the movie, she has never spoken to Mikuru. She has only ever engaged in an actual conversation with Kyon and Ryoko.
- Nagato is a neutral passive observer to the actions of Haruhi, meaning that her presence in Haruhi's presence should not cause any interference at any time. However, this does not mean that she will not do anything. She does perform actions at Haruhi's request, such as taking part in the movie and playing a guitar, and will act covertly (and sometimes overtly) in order to prevent anything supernatural occurring in Haruhi's presence. However, she has broken this neutrality several times, all in near inconsequential situations.
