Kyon's most obvious characteristic is his snarky and cynical manner, which he often uses to hide his true emotions. This results in contradictions between his stated desires and his actions, which he usually rationalizes by claiming that he was coerced into his own actions.

For example, he outwardly presents himself as a skeptic, always arguing in favor of the most mundane possibility in any situation, and claiming that Haruhi forced him to join the SOS Brigade, but confesses in the opening nar