History Characters / MyYouthRomanticComedyIsWrongAsIExpectedHachimanHikigaya

* DontYouDarePityMe: He welcomes hatred, rejection, isolation, and disgust. But the one thing he cannot accept is being pitied for what he himself chose to do.

** Belief in the Status Quo. Hachiman is firmly convinced that people don't change, so he approaches problems by trying to eliminate them altogether rather than actually improving the people around him.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Yukino calls him out on his hatred of superficiality by noting that his solutions to problems are the very definition of "superficial", since he's only concerned with making the immediate problem go away while consistently avoiding the "root issue". [[note]] And keep in mind, this comes shortly after he tanked his self-image yet again for the sake of a not-so-close group of people he's said he despises. [[/note]] While Hachiman ignores her at the time, [[spoiler: the subsequent arc has him realize she's absolutely right, which causes him to seriously rethink his worldview.]]

* InformedLoner: Within the series, more and more people care about his well-being and consider him a friend, yet he still takes pride in his status as a loner.

* AntiHero: Downplayed. Hachiman is a good person at heart, no doubt about it, and is genuinely heroic and well-intentioned. Besides being a KnightInSourArmor (bitter and cynical, but does the right thing nonetheless), he has traits of a ByronicHero (being a cynical, brooding and introspective loner, who can be somewhat arrogant in his views) and of a PragmaticHero (being goal-oriented and, obviously, [[ShapedLikeItself extremely pragmatic]]). So he's not an antihero in the sense that he's morally ambiguous, but his methods to help others are generally [[GoodIsNotNice not exactly nice]]. He [[CharacterDevelopment later ''does'' evolve]] into a genuinely NiceGuy, though.

-->'''Hachiman''': "We only change to avoid the current situation. The true meaning of not running away is planting your feet firmly in the ground and doing the best you can with your present. Who's running away now? Why can't you just accept who you are and were?"

* ReputationApathy: Hachiman is TheHermit of his school, a highschooler who doesn't care about the reputation he has among his classmates or his school for extension. When he's forced to be part of the Service Club, he still doesn't care about his rep, realizing [[ZeroApprovalGambit social suicide acts]] where he can get as the "bad guy" just with the purpose of accomplish the petition since he doesn't matter what the other boys and girls think about him.

* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Happens quite a bit in regards to his relationship with Yukino. Averted in the end, when they become the OfficialCouple.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Yukino calls him out on his hatred of superficiality by noting that his solutions to problems are the very definition of "superficial", since he's only concerned with giving the clients what they specifically asked for while consistently avoiding the "root issue". [[note]] And keep in mind, this comes shortly after he tanked his self-image yet again for the sake of a not-so-close group of people he's said he despises. [[/note]] While Hachiman ignores her at the time, [[spoiler: the subsequent arc has him realize she's absolutely right, which causes him to seriously rethink his worldview.]]

-->'''Shizuka''': "It's ridiculous how terrible you are."

* {{Hypocrite}}: Yukino calls him out on his hatred of superficiality by noting that his solutions to problems are the very definition of "superficial", since he's only concerned with making the immediate problem go away with zero concern for the bigger picture. [[note]] And keep in mind, this comes shortly after he tanked his self-image yet again for the sake of a not-so-close group of people he's said he despises. [[/note]] [[spoiler: While Hachiman ignores her at the time, the subsequent arc has him realize she's absolutely right, which causes him to seriously rethink his worldview.]]

* BeYourself: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. Hachiman is an example of what happens when someone takes this phrase a little ''too'' literally. He's resigned himself to being a cynical loner because he's convinced that's the kind of person he is, and sees no use in trying to be someone he's not. Even early on, however, it's made apparent that he ''can't'' keep living the way he is forever, with just about everyone being annoyed, disturbed or disgusted (in most cases, some combination of the three) by his cynicism and senseless rants about society. It draws ire from Yukino in particular, who's believes that he's simply in denial and running away from his problems. [[spoiler: He eventually re-evaluates this outlook.]]

* BookDumb: DownplayedTrope. His grades are actually ''quite'' good, but [[BrilliantButLazy as smart as he is, he could do much better academically]]. He got bad grades in scientific subjects, though.

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler:To Yukino surprisingly, much like how she was one to him. She considered their mutual belief in [[BrutalHonesty always telling the truth]] and their dislike of false appearances to be the one thing that prevented them from completely hating each other. And when Hachiman does exactly that to preserve the Service Club when Yukino runs for Student Council President, their relationship starts to fall apart.]]

* CatchPhrase:

* EstablishingCharacterMoment:

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Hachiman's rather brutal treatment of Minami Sagami near the end of the Cultural Festival counts as this. Minami, up to that point, decided to go missing due to both previously embarrassing herself and feeling upstaged by the far more competent Yukino. While her friends try to coax her into getting her to do her job, Hachiman loses his patience and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls her out]] for being an AttentionWhore holding pity party. His BrutalHonesty does the trick, but at the same time it makes him widely hated at Sobu for how much of an asshole he was about it since, as far as most people knew, he was just kicking the girl while she was already down.

* StockLightNovelEveryman: Regularly lampshades these qualities and actively defies them, though still ends up having more than a few of the stereotypical traits. Hachiman is a highly intelligent and competent protagonist who ends up being quite the ChickMagnet, but also loathes people with these traits, though his nature forces him into more idealistic roles regardless. He's more of a (partial) deconstruction of the trope.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Though obviously not evil, he can be the [[{{Jerkass}} most unsympathetic douchebag at times]], and is sure the most cynical teammate when it comes to solve problems. He often plays this role in order to get things done, such as finding and bringing Sagami back when she runs off from the school festival. He does get [[WhatTheHellHero called out on]] his [[JerkassHasAPoint seemingly harsh treatment of people when he does this however, even though some of them understand the intentions he has]]. He nearly does this again during the dual holiday festival with another school, but fortunately, Yukino steps in for him and turns into the "bad guy" with her BrutalHonesty.

* BeYourself: Despite having a horrible outlook on life and society, Hachiman initially has no intention to change anything, believing people are the way they are suppose to be and should stay true to themselves. This is in contrast to Yukino, who believes it is necessary for people to question themselves and change. [[spoiler:He later reevaluates this outlook.]]

* BirdsOfAFeather: With Yukino, no matter how much they deny it. Both are sarcastic bookworms with a matching sense of humor and cynical view of the world, but, at the same time, they feel the obligation to [[ChronicHeroSyndrome help those they encounter]] due to a motivation born out of [[DarkAndTroubledPast a truckload of painful social experience]]. And, even though he doesn't believe people can change - unlike Yukino - both believe in genuine kindness, and it's because of their natural honesty that they ultimately undestand each other.

* {{Hypocrite}}: He dislikes when people lie, but he's not above doing it too. However, he admits to himself his more rotten "adult" side, saying he bitches, does petty deeds and lies.

* RousseauWasRight: Is surprisingly enough a believer in this, as he shows when he quotes Sōseki Natsume

* ShipTease: Mostly with Yui, and a surprising amount with [[GayOption Saika]]. At first there doesn't appear to be much with Yukino, but there are a lot of subtle hints as the story progresses. Then there are the moments he shares with [[StudentTeacherRomance Shizuka]]...

** While he was always cynical and misanthropic (excessively so even according to the main cast), his status as a self-appointed "villain" only really started during the Chiba village summer camp. One loner girl, Rumi Tsurumi, was isolated by her peers who bullied her for kicks (like deliberately excluding her from group talks), so the Service Club and Hayato's group (namely Toba, Ebina, and Yumiko) took it upon themselves to try to include Rumi as much as they could. Everyone had a different method, and none of it worked, so Hachiman came up with the single most extreme tactic: force Rumi to sever all ties with her peers so she can be free of their exclusion, even though it would only deepen her isolation. His plan was simple: get Toba, Yumiko, and Hayato to act like delinquents and ''[[ScareEmStraight threaten a bunch of school kids with physical violence]]'' unless they chose who to abandon first. They had to pick two people to stay with the "delinquents" and the other three would be allowed to leave. They immediately "sacrifice" Rumi, then fight among each other, and right as Hachiman planned to have everyone jump out of the bushes and say "sike!" Rumi flashed her camera at everyone, then grabbed the other girl who was "sacrificed" and made a break for it, saving all four of the girls in the process. But despite Rumi's decision to save them, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome she's still sitting alone, away from the other four girls, who are themselves refusing to look at each other or say anything to each other]] because they were all willing to sell each other out in equal measure. While it did expose those bullies for who they really are to each other, Hachiman's method didn't solve Rumi's isolation, and she walks past Hachiman without even looking at him. While both Shizuka and Yukino saw his method as [[PragmaticVillainy fairly effective]] at getting Rumi's bullies away from her, ''not a single soul'' thought what he did was right. Not Toba, not Shizuka, not Yukino, not Hachiman himself. It's the first instance of Hachiman pulling off a social suicide and he knows exactly how it makes him look.

* HurtingHero: Invoked. Given the battery of his experiences, it's apparent that Hachiman can take whatever is thrown at him with a stride. What starts chipping away his armor is the fact that by allowing himself to get hurt, he's hurting Yui and Yukino by extension; he fundamentally begins recognizing that he doesn't want to cause them any harm he can help it, so he mistakenly begins to put distance between them until [[spoiler:it blows up in his face during the Christmas event planning.]]

* {{Bishonen}}: Surprisingly, yes, though you have to ignore the eyes. The original novel even noted that he's relatively good-looking without his "dead-fish eyes". Some of the original light novel illustrations play down his eyes, making him look handsome overall. His appearance in the first season is unpleasant because the anime deliberately gave him a misshaped face, while his second season appearance has a sharper, more proportioned face, and some of the side shots to his face are reasonably handsome.

** "[[SenpaiKohai Senpai]]" by Iroha. This could be normal being from a lower class than him, but later is revealed [[ShipTease Iroha only refers Hachiman as "senpai"]].

* {{Deconstruction}}:
** Hachiman's answer to certain problems is to act as a [[TheScapegoat scapegoat]] and resolve the situation while shouldering all the blame and burden. The series goes to great lengths of showing how this kind of mentality is not ideal and how it can affect Hachiman's friends as well.
** DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Hachiman himself is a deconstruction of the RomanticComedy protagonist as well. While still a good-hearted loner with two or more possible love interests, he isn't a typically naive NiceGuy or a comedy version of an AllLovingHero: he's rather a comedy version of a ByronicHero, being cynical and introspective, with somewhat misanthropic tendencies, and also pragmatic to a fault. While he's a good and altruistic person, and has good intentions towards others, his methods to help others tend to be harsh and unkind, even though he ''is'' a NiceGuy deep down.

* TooBrokenToBreak: Hachiman is a young boy who experimented the deception of human relationships at short age, especially about the rejection of girls and ostracism of his class towards him. All of that makes him a [[IWorkAlone lone wolf who doesn't want/interest to make any kind of relationship]], sees the youth as a big lie and has a misogynistic vision of women in general ([[BigBrotherInstinct with the exception of his little sister]]); reasons more than enough for Shizuka to force him to be part of the Service Club in order to [[DefrostingIceKing "save his soul" and "being more human"]]. During the series it's seen how Hachiman commits [[ZeroApprovalGambit social suicide acts]] to achieve his goals for the Service Club, which could left devastated if it's made by anyone else, but he doesn't affect a bit... except when he sees the collateral damage he makes to [[FireForgedFriends Yukino and Yui]] everytime he does this in the series, which makes him question his own methods for first time.

* BuxomIsBetter: Hachiman faithfully takes notice of girls with large chests, but his first impression of Yukino was noting he wouldn't be interested in her for her flat chest.

** AdaptationalUgliness: His anime appearance, compared with the illustrations of him in the original light novels, which portray Hachiman as at least decent-looking, with his appearance largely brought down by his attitude and trademark "dead fish" eyes.

** "[[SenpaiKouhai Senpai]]" by Iroha. This could be normal being from a lower class than him, but later is revealed [[ShipTease Iroha only refers Hachiman as "senpai"]].

* PoisonousFriend: Takes this role much of the time; he can be nasty, though with good intentions and caring about others to the point that he takes the fall for them.

* AnimalMotifs: He tends to get compared to less appealing animals, whether it be fish (due to his dead-eyes) or frogs (one of his childhood nicknames). He compares himself to a bear, however (and [[GrumpyBear it quite fits his personality]])...

* GrumpyBear: He outright starts out as gloomy, aloof, abrasive and pessimistic... And he even [[AnimalMotifs compares himself to a bear]]!

* TokenEvilTeammate: Though obviously not evil, he can be the [[{{Jerkass}} most unsympathetic douchebag at times]], and is sure the most cynical teammate when it comes to solve problems. He often plays this role in order to get things done, such as finding and bringing Sagami back when she runs off from the school festival. He does get [[WhatTheHellHero called out on]] his [[JerkassHasAPoint seemingly harsh treatment of people when he does this however, even though some of them understand the intentions he has]]. He nearly does this again during the dual holiday festival with another school, but fortunately Yukino steps in for him and turns into the "bad guy" with her BrutalHonesty.
** While he was always cynical and misanthropic (excessively so even according to the main cast), his status as a self-appointed "villain" only really started during the Chiba village summer camp. One loner girl, Rumi Tsurumi, was isolated by her peers who bullied her for kicks (like deliberately excluding her from group talks), so the Service Club and Hayato's group (namely Toba, Ebina, and Yumiko) took it upon themselves to try to include Rumi as much as they could. Everyone had a different method, and none of it worked, so Hachiman came up with the single most extreme tactic: force Rumi to sever all ties with her peers so she can be free of their exclusion, even though it would only deepen her isolation. His plan was simple: get Toba, Yumiko, and Hayato to act like delinquents and ''[[ScareEmStraight threaten a bunch of schoolkids with physical violence]]'' unless they chose who to abandon first. They had to pick two people to stay with the "delinquents" and the other three would be allowed to leave. They immediately "sacrifice" Rumi, then fight among each other, and right as Hachiman planned to have everyone jump out the bushes and say "sike!" Rumi flashed her camera at everyone, then grabbed the other girl who was "sacrificed" and made a break for it, saving all four of the girls in the process. But despite Rumi's decision to save them, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome she's still sitting alone, away from the other four girls, who are themselves refusing to look at each other or say anything to each other]] because they were all willing to sell each other out in equal measure. While it did expose those bullies for who they really are to each other, [[RealityEnsues Hachiman's method didn't solve Rumi's isolation, and she walks past Hachiman without even looking at him]]. While both Shizuka and Yukino saw his method as [[PragmaticVillainy fairly effective]] at getting Rumi's bullies away from her, ''not a single soul'' thought what he did was right. Not Toba, not Shizuka, not Yukino, not Hachiman himself. It's the first instance of Hachiman pulling off a social suicide and he knows exactly how it makes him look.

** While he was always cynical and misanthropic (excessively so even according to the main cast), his status as a self-appointed "villain" only really started during the Chiba village summer camp. One loner girl, Rumi Tsurumi, was isolated by her peers who badmouthed and excluded her for kicks, so the Service Club and Hayato's group (namely Toba, Ebina, and Yumiko) took it upon themselves to try to include Rumi as much as they could. Everyone had a different method, and none of it worked, so Hachiman came up with the single most extreme tactic: force Rumi to sever all ties with her peers so she can be free of their exclusion, even though it would only deepen her isolation. His plan was simple: get Toba, Yumiko, and Hayato to act like delinquents and ''[[ScareEmStraight threaten a bunch of schoolkids with physical violence]]'' unless they chose who to abandon first. They had to pick two people to stay with the "delinquents" and the other three would be allowed to leave. They immediately "sacrifice" Rumi, then fight among each other, and right as Hachiman planned to have everyone jump out the bushes and say "sike!" Rumi flashed her camera at everyone, then grabbed the other girl who was "sacrificed" and made a break for it, saving all four of the girls in the process. But despite Rumi's decision to save them, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome she's still sitting alone, away from the other four girls, who are themselves refusing to look at each other or say anything to each other]] because they were all willing to sell each other out in equal measure. While both Shizuka and Yukino saw his method as [[PragmaticVillainy fairly effective]], ''not a single soul'' thought what he did was right. Not Toba, not Shizuka, not Yukino, not Hachiman himself. It's the first instance of Hachiman pulling off a social suicide and he knows exactly how it makes him look.

** While he was always cynical and misanthropic, excessively so even according to his peers and the rest of the main cast, it really started during the Chiba village summer camp. One loner girl, Rumi Tsurumi, was isolated by her peers who badmouthed and excluded her for kicks, and the Service Club plus Hayato's group (namely Toba, Ebina, and Yumiko) took it upon themselves to try to include Rumi as much as they could. Everyone had a different method, and none of it worked, so Hachiman came up with the single most extreme tactic: force Rumi to sever all ties with her peers. His plan was simple: get Toba, Yumiko, and Hayato to act like delinquents and ''[[ScareEmStraight threaten a bunch of schoolkids with physical violence]]'' unless they choose who to abandon first. They had to pick two people to stay with the "delinquents" and the other three would be allowed to leave. They immediately sell Rumi out, then fight among each other, and right as Hachiman planned to have everyone jump out the bushes and say "sike!" Rumi flashed her camera at everyone, then grabbed the other girl (who had just sold her out) and made a break for it, saving all four of the girls in the process. While both Shizuka and Yukino saw his method as [[PragmaticVillainy fairly effective even if cruel]], ''not a single person'' thought what he did was right. Not Toba, not Shizuka, not Yukino, not Hachiman himself.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Though obviously not evil, he can be the [[{{Jerkass}} most unsympathetic member at times]], and is sure the most cynical teammate when it comes to solve problems. He often plays this role in order to get things done, such as finding and bringing Sagami back when she runs off from the school festival. He does get [[WhatTheHellHero called out on]] his [[JerkassHasAPoint seemingly harsh treatment of people when he does this however, even though some of them understand the intentions he has]]. He nearly does this again during the dual holiday festival with another school, but fortunately Yukino steps in for him and turns into the "bad guy" with her BrutalHonesty.

* ZeroApprovalGambit: One of his methods of bringing people together is acting as [[JerkAss the "bad guy"]], as shown during the Cultural Festival.
** However this is downplayed later on, apparently his lack of standing in the school's society makes it so that people don't care enough about him to hate him.
** While most people don't bother much either way, those that are actually close to him hate this side of him, and will frequently get angry when they see him playing the "bad guy" or taking the most embarrassing and unpleasant tasks to get a job done.

* BirdsOfAFeather: With Yukino, no matter how much they deny it. Both are sarcastic bookworms with a matching sense of humor and cynical view of the world, but, at the same time, they feel the obligation to [[ChronicHeroSyndrome help those they encounter]] due to a motivation born out of [[DarkAndTroubledPast a truckload of painful social experience]].

* AntiHero: Downplayed. While Hachiman is a good person at heart, he has traits of a ByronicHero (being a cynical, brooding and introspective loner, who can be arrogant in his views) and of a PragmaticHero (being goal-oriented and, obviously, [[ShapedLikeItself extremely pragmatic]]). So he's not an antihero in the sense that he's morally ambiguous, but his methods to help others are generally [[GoodIsNotNice not exactly nice]]. He [[CharacterDevelopment later evolves]] into a genuinely NiceGuy, though.
* AntiRoleModel: Hachiman's overall arc tends to fall in this territory. He's portrayed as overly cynical with harsh methods that are eventually shown to not work in contrast to Yukino who is portrayed as having the correct methods but little time to execute them.
* ApatheticStudent: Hachiman is shown to hate school due to being TheHermit and doesn't like human interaction. Though he's more BrilliantButLazy, and his grades are generally quite good.

* BeadyEyedLoser: Subverted. While the novel illustrations [[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=File:YahariLoveCom_v1-299.png portray]] [[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=File:YahariLoveCom_v5-023.jpg his]] [[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=File:YahariLoveCom_v5-227.jpg eyes]] normally (especially at his [[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=File:YahariLoveCom_v6-345.jpg more emotionally open moments]]), the anime adaptation decided to depict his "dead fish eyes" as this-- just look at his page picture.

* BookDumb: DownplayedTrope. His grades are actually ''quite'' good, but [[BrilliantButLazy as smart as he is, he could do much better academically]]. He just got bad grades in scientific subjects, though.

** DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Hachiman himself is a deconstruction of the RomanticComedy protagonist as well. While still a good-hearted loner with two or more possible love interests, he isn't a typically naive NiceGuy or a comedy version of an AllLovingHero: he's rather a comedy version of a ByronicHero, being cynical, with somewhat misanthropic tendencies, and also pragmatic to a fault. While he's a good and altruistic person, and has good intentions towards others, his methods to help others tend to be harsh and unkind, even though he ''is'' a NiceGuy deep down.
* DefrostingIceKing: [[SenseiChan Shizuka]] wants Hachiman to be less gloomy, pessimistic and pragmatic. While he still believes in the Status Quo, he turns out to be a really nice and caring person, as Yukino does too.

* EverybodyHatesMathematics: He is good at certain subjects like Japanese, to the point of bragging about it in the introductory chapters, but he is genuinely bad in Math and the biological sciences, once mistaking a hernia for herpes. This trait is explained in the novels: Being socially awkward, he is afraid to ask questions about the subject, which lead to him being flunked at the subject. That's why he focuses on subjects that can be easily understood.

* TheHermit: Of the series, a loner who doesn't want nor care interact with other people, or at least at the beginning of the story.

* HisOwnWorstEnemy: Because of how jaded he is, he is usually unable to recognize when sincere kindness is directed towards him and assumes that all "kindness" is self-serving and insincere. This [[StubbornMule obstinate attitude]] keeps people that try to approach him at bay.

** Yui refers to him exclusively as "Hikki."

** In spite of the pretty girls that surround him, his attraction towards Totsuka, a boy, is the most obvious and sincere (see AmbiguouslyGay). As a matter of fact, Totsuka is one of the few people that Hachiman treats with sincere kindness and affection from the start. In time, though, Yukino and Yui get into his heart too.

* KnightInSourArmor: While he is antisocial and is pretty much disgusted by all human beings, including himself, Hachiman also manages some surprisingly heroic actions. It may not be pleasant or nice, but he will do the right thing.

* EverybodyHatesMathematics: He is good at certain subjects like Japanese (to the point of bragging about it in the introductory chapters). However, he is genuinely bad in Math and the biological sciences, once mistaking a hernia for herpes. This trait is explained in the novels: Being socially awkward, he is afraid to ask questions about the subject which lead to him being flunked at the subject. That's why he focuses on subjects that can be easily understood.
* FamilyMan: Stated to be this as he [[PromotedToParent takes care of his sister Komachi and the house]] because [[ParentalAbandonment his parents are never in home]], as well he wants to be a HouseHusband as his career after high school.

* GenghisGambit: Hachiman rather likes playing this card or a variation of it, with himself as the mutual threat or object of hatred. Unlike the standard gambit, however, he generally doesn't care whether this pulls the group together or shatters their bonds completely, if either end will stop the conflict.
* GenreSavvy: Although his arbitrary pessimism might land him in WrongGenreSavvy depending on who you ask.

* GuileHero: Achieves his goals through words and schemes. Be it talking the Festival Chairman into humiliation or winning a toy for Yukino in the arcade (by buying it from the manager).

* HatedByAll: He often deliberately invokes this on himself so that people will hate him instead of someone else. Despite the good it does, many characters like, Yui and Yukino, dislike when Hachiman does this.
* HatesSmallTalk: One of Hachiman's reasons for self-isolation. He genuinely hates frivolous stuff.

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Hachiman's opinion of himself is so poor he never acknowledges when others are grateful to him, believing it is natural for the worthless to sacrifice themselves. His idea of a good ice breaking conversation is putting himself down. PlayedForDrama later on as his lack of self-esteem causes some friction for the people who ''do'' care about him.

* HisOwnWorstEnemy: Because of how jaded he is, he is usually unable to recognize when sincere kindness is dispensed onto him and assumes that this "kindness" stems from a self-serving and insincere drive from the person who is dispensing it. This [[StubbornMule obstinate attitude]] keeps people that try to approach him at bay.
* HouseHusband: What he aspires to be due to his hatred of the labour system.
* HurtingHero: Invoked. Given the battery of his experiences, it's apparent that Hachiman can take whatever is thrown at him with a stride. What starts chipping away his armor is the fact that by allowing himself to get hurt, he's hurting Yui and Yukino by extension; he fundamentally begins recognizing that he doesn't want to cause them any harm by his account if he can help it, so he mistakenly begins to put distance between them until [[spoiler:it blows up in his face during the Christmas event planning.]]

* InsecureLoveInterest: His previously terrible relationships with girls have completely ruined his self-esteem to the point where he cannot even comprehend any girl liking him and as such, ignores the pretty obvious amounts of female attention he gets over the series.

** Seeing himself as a romantic rejection guru of-sorts, he sees every approach by a girl as not romantic or affectionate ''even when they do mean it''. As such, he misses numerous cues from Yui, Yukino and Iroha as a result, as he doesn't consider himself attractive enough to warrant those.

** While he's (at least at first) an outright harsh JerkWithAHeartOfGold, despite his abrasiveness and pessimism his observations about the events going on around are him are valid. Hachiman tends to have some exceptionally harsh criticisms of other characters that are mixed in with his own biases. While the series often goes to show the consequences of his methods, the fundamental criticisms he makes aren't necessarily wrong.
** This also applies to his methods of problem solving, which usually involve having himself or others act like complete [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkasses]] or [[ZeroApprovalGambit putting himself in a position that often leads to him running the risk of becoming more of a social pariah than he already is]], such as when he confessed to Ebina in Tobe's stead so that he'd understand that she's not interested in dating anyone without actually having to get rejected himself and facing the social ramifications of it. While other characters often call him out [[InnocentlyInsensitive on being inconsiderate to those who care about him and don't want to see him hurt himself with these methods]], it doesn't change the fact that his reputation ruining gambits usually work like a charm, with Hiratsuka even pointing out that between himself, Yukino and Yui, he's the best among them when it comes to actually resolving the problem in a manner that satisfies the person who comes to the Service Club for help. [[spoiler: Later {{Subverted}} in that while his solutions to problems do give the student what they requested, he realizes that they don't seem to focus on the bigger picture, like how his plan to prevent Isshki from getting elected as Student Council President like she asked, while likely to have worked, would have negatively affected her reputation among the student body, while his method of stopping Tsurumi from getting bullied by breaking up the friend group that was doing it didn't actually serve to eliminate the [[AllTheOtherReindeer isolation she was going through.]]]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Hachiman's rather brutal treatment of Minami Sagami near the end of the Cultural Festival counts as this. Minami, up to that point, decided to go missing due to both previously embarrassing herself and feeling upstaged by the far more competent Yukino. While her friends try to coax her into getting her to do her job, Hachiman loses his patience and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls her out]] for being an AttentionWhore in her pity party. His BrutalHonesty does the trick, but at the same time it makes him widely hated at Sobu for how much of an asshole he was about it since that, as far as most people knew, he was just kicking the girl while she was already down.
* KnightInSourArmor: While he is antisocial and is pretty much disgusted by all human beings including himself, Hachiman also slips out surprisingly heroic actions. May it be nice or not, he will do the right thing anyways.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Besides his misanthropic tendencies, he also shows signs of indiscriminate misogyny early on, insulting Yui and calling her a slut and freely dubbing girls bitches. HeGetsBetter.

* YourFavorite: Hachiman is very particular about his coffee, preferring the brand "MAX Coffee." He drinks it so much both Yukino and Komachi know it's his favorite. It's loaded with sugar and a stark contrast to Hachiman's attitude, hinting at the fact that he's [[HiddenDepths a good guy beneath the bitterness]].

* LogicalFallacies: Uses and abuses those to no end to justify his outlook on life in the arguments and essays. Gets called out on that repeatedly.

* NiceGuy: What he really looks for is ''genuine'' kindness - despite his attitute, and to the surprise of several characters, he's actually a very nice and considerate guy if you look beyond his cynical thoughts and methods to help others. This becomes more evident with his CharacterDevelopment, that is.

* NotSoAboveItAll: A major part of his character is the fact that even Hachiman isn't immune to his own cynical criticisms, and despite his experiences there's hints that he just wants to experience high school like everyone else.

** While by no means friends, he and Tobe manage to get along surprisingly well, Tobe being one of the few popular guys Hachiman actually tolerates. The same will be with Hayato, later on.

** His fellow classmates in 2C refer to him as "Hikitani" though it is implied that only Tobe is ignorant of his actual name, the rest doing so deliberately.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Besides his misanthropic tendencies, he also shows signs of indiscriminate misogyny early on, insulting Yui and calling her a slut.
* PragmaticHero: Dear God, is he ever. Not that he does morally ambiguous deeds, but... [[ShapedLikeItself He's really pragmatic to a fault]], sacrificing his own reputation and behaving in an unkind way to solve others' problems. And sure, he [[StatusQuoIsGod firlmy believes in the Status Quo]].
* ProgressivelyPrettier: It's mostly due to the second season of the Anime having a completely different studio to animate it, but he's significantly better-looking as the series goes on, even with his trademark "Dead-fish eyes".
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives one out to Sagami but it's ultimately to help her facing the fact she's fondamentally an inept AttentionWhore and that she has a long way to go to be truly competent.

* StockLightNovelEveryman: Regularly lampshades these qualities and actively defies them, though still ends up having more than a few of the stereotypical traits. Hachiman is a highly intelligent and competent protagonist who ends up being quite the ChickMagnet, but also loathes people with these traits, though his nature forces him into more idealistic roles regardless. He's more of a decoustruction of the trope, actually.

* TrademarkFavouriteDrink: Cold coffee.

* TroubledButCute: Underneath his cynical and snarky attitudine there is actually a NiceGuy with a FriendlessBackground. He's also quite a ChickMagnet.

* YourFavorite: Hachiman is very particular about his coffee, preferring the brand "Max Coffee." He drinks it so much both Yukino and Komachi know it's his favorite. Much like himself, the coffee is bitter to no end.

* AntiHero: While [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold a good person at heart]], he has traits of a ByronicHero (being a cynical and introspective loner) and of a PragmaticHero (being goal-oriented and, obviously, [[ShapedLikeItself extremely pragmatic]]). Not that he's morally ambiguous, but his methods to help others are [[GoodIsNotNice not exactly nice]].

* ApatheticStudent: Hachiman is shown to hate school due to being TheHermit and doesn't like human interaction. Though he's more BrilliantButLazy.

* {{Bishonen}}: Surprisingly, yes, though you have to ignore the eyes. The original novel even noted that he's relatively good-looking without his "dead-fish eyes". Some of the original light novel illustrations play down his eyes, making him look handsome overall. His appearance in the first season is unpleasant because the anime deliberately gave him a misshaped face, while his second season appearance has a sharper face, and some of the side shots to his face are reasonably handsome.
* BookDumb: DownplayedTrope. His grades are actually ''quite'' good, but [[BrilliantButLazy as smart as he is, he could do much better academically]].

* ByronicHero: Is he intensely introspective? Yes. Is he cynical and jaded and has he experienced a bargain bin of a [[FriendlessBackground dark and troubled past]] bundled with [[DidNotGetTheGirl regrets]]? Yes. Does he see his own values, beliefs and passions as above everyone else's? Yes. Is he doggedly determined to follow them despite hurting others? Yes. Is he especially physically attractive?... No - well, good enough.

** DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Hachiman himself is a deconstruction of the RomanticComedy protagonist as well. While still a good-hearted loner with two or more possible love interests, he isn't a typically naive NiceGuy or a comedy version of an AllLovingHero: he's rather a comedy version of a ByronicHero, being cynical, with misanthropic tendencies, and also pragmatic to a fault. While he's a good and altruistic person, and has good intentions towards others, his methods to help others tend to be harsh and unkind.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Starts out this way in the service club, with even nicer characters like Yui commenting on how gross he is, let alone Yukino and Shizuka's opinions of him.

* GoodIsNotNice: He really ''is'' a nice person, but his methods of communicating and solving problems would say otherwise.
* GrumpyBear: Gloomy, aloof, abrasive and pessimistic... And he even [[AnimalMotifs compares himself to a bear]]!

* HatesBeingTouched: Physical contact is a big no-no for Hachiman.

* {{Hypocrite}}: He dislikes when people lie, but he's not above doing it too.

** While he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, despite his abrasiveness and pessimism his observations about the events going on around are him are valid. Hachiman tends to have some exceptionally harsh criticisms of other characters that are mixed in with his own biases. While the series often goes to show the consequences of his methods, the fundamental criticisms he makes aren't necessarily wrong.

* KnightInSourArmor: While he is antisocial and is pretty much disgusted by all human beings including himself, Hachiman also slips out surprisingly heroic actions.

** While by no means friends, he and Tobe manage to get along surprisingly well, Tobe being one of the few popular guys Hachiman actually tolerates.
** Outside of the Service club, he mostly hangs out with both Totsuka (a popular tennis player) and Zaimokuza (a {{chuunibyou}} otaku).

* PoisonousFriend: Takes this role much of the time; he can be nasty, usually with good intentions but he cares enough about others to take the fall for others.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Besides his misanthropic tendencies, he also shows signs of indiscriminate misogyny early on.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives one out to Sagami but it's ultimately to help her.

* ReputationApathy: Hachiman is TheHermit of his school, a highschooler who doesn't care about any of his classmates or any of his school for extension. When he's forced to be part of the Service Club, he still doesn't care for anyone, realizing [[ZeroApprovalGambit social suicide acts]] where he can get as the "bad guy" just with the purpose of accomplish the petition since he doesn't matter what the other boys and girls think about him.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Though obviously not evil, he can be the [[{{Jerkass}} most unsympathetic member at times]], and is sure the most misanthropic and cynical teammate. He often plays this role in order to get things done, such as finding and bringing Sagami back when she runs off from the school festival. He does get [[WhatTheHellHero called out on]] his [[JerkassHasAPoint seemingly harsh treatment of people when he does this however, even though some of them understand the intentions he has]]. He nearly does this again during the dual holiday festival with another school, but fortunately Yukino steps in for him and turns into the "bad guy" with her BrutalHonesty.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: When the series starts out, he comes across as a very spiteful person who expresses some sexist attitudes towards girls. This is tempered by most of the characters being dismissive or mocking of him. and it's still {{downplayed}} since he ''does'' become nicer, and his kindness is still genuine.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Most of his "friendships" qualify, but especially with Yukino. Hachiman cannot stand her superior attitude and wise remarks, but he also feels a sort of camaraderie with her. The exception is Totsuka. They're true friends and always kind towards each other... Well, even bordering on HoYay.