Although his character development is a little limited in the series, it's pretty easy to see what kind of person Keith really is.
Keith is well-suited for the hero business and he clearly loves it. He naturally has a lot of qualities that make him a great hero; he's determined, caring, daring, brave, earnest, kind, generous and overall supremely optimistic. As Sky High, despite his tendency to put on a display for the spectacle that is Hero TV, we can definitely tell he's not there for the attention. Granted, the companies that sponsor him along with Hero TV where he stars with the other heroes, undoubtably love him for the profit he must make them, but Keith is a hero to help people and keep them safe. After all, when he patrols Sternbild at night – and he does for hours every night – usually, nobody is watching.
His senses of duty and responsibility, as well as his true desire to help others weigh heavily on him. When he says he doesn't care so much about his ranking, but just doesn't want to disappoint people, we can definitely see that despite his 'King of Heroes' title, he is absolutely not arrogant. It's almost as though he's expressing a sense of gratitude through his actions as a hero, as he knows the responsibilities that he has and he's happy for the chance to be a hero, to use his powers, to have fans and sponsors, and to help the other heroes. We also see this gratitude towards the people of Sternbild as well as this sense of duty in the last episodes, where the only time Keith feels the pressure to push the button on his bomb is when he considers that someone has to survive to continue to protect. His small speech to Rotwang about how heroes listen to the people when an android cannot, and can even redeem criminals, also shows his dedication.
Keith if unfailingly confident in himself, which can actually get him into a little trouble. If, for example, he would have been more cautious in his fight with Jake --instead of landing on the ground in front of Jake and demanding he surrender -- it's likely that his defeat might not have been so disastrous. He may have even avoided it. Instead it's almost as if he didn't even consider that he would lose, that Jake would defeat him.
There are other times where we see that Keith himself is very human. After a terrific defeat by Jake and his tough powers, it's natural that anybody would have some doubt in themselves and Keith is no different. He has insecurities, he doubts himself, he worries about disappointing everybody. However, Keith embodies optimism. And naturally, though he does have some input from a malfunctioning Cis, his optimism pulls him out of his slump after being defeated so badly. When Cis repeatedly says 'Why, why' to him, he's already turning it around into valuable advice, and he is able to seriously and honestly looks at his own situation.
Agnes calls him a bit airheaded; however, when he's talking to Ivan (in the drama CDs) he's surprisingly profound in his ideals for someone 'airheaded'. In general, Keith has a serious and careful personality; it would be wrong to say he was an idiot, or stupid, but very accurate to say he is awkward. He seems to miss a lot when it comes to interacting with others. For example, he doesn't realize something is wrong with Cis, and that, being a robot, she doesn't act like a person would. It is more realistic to say that he is just not used to being social, and being around other people. Although he's a very popular hero, his only friends seem to be his dog and the other heroes. And with the shyness and awkwardness he shows towards Cis, it's easy to infer that he is not the most socially competent guy with other people he doesn't know either. His best friend and 'soul-mate' is definitely his golden retriever, John, and you can't help but wonder if it's because John is just as simplistic and easy to please as Keith is himself.
He's almost embarrassingly polite, especially considering how simple he can be. An example of this would be from the Drama CDs, when he tries to teach Ivan (Origami Cyclone) a move that can only be done with wind powers, when Origami obviously doesn't have the same power. In a sense, the mistakes he tries to avoid making socially only show up in other forms. He is also overly formal with fans, as evidenced by his catch-phrase 'Thank-you, and again, thank-you!', the repetition there only to make sure he's clearly understood. It comes across as camp, or conventional.
Keith is also such an optimistic person, and has such a habit of thinking the best of people by default, that he can come across as innocently idealistic. His respect and love for people is shown by how sentimental he can be, such as how he feels he must thank Cis and bring her flowers, or when he works at learning lines to surprise Barnaby on his birthday. How innocent he really is is left to be seen, as we know very little about his past. However, it does seem as though this naïve trait of him combined with other quirks of his personality discussed above also lends to the idea that he's air-headed. What is more realistic (although he definitely is a bit of an airhead) is that he's just not used to being social, and being around other people. Although he's a very popular hero, his only friends seem to be his dog and the other heroes. And with the shyness and awkwardess he shows towards Cis, it's easy to infer that he is not the most socially competent guy with other people either.
The one area where he's definitely not awkward is fighting as a hero. He's incredibly reliable, completely unhesitating, confident and really competent when it comes to stopping the bad guys. The gap between Sky High the hero and Keith Goodman the generally loveable, open, awkward and almost goofy guy walking his dog around Sternbild is largely what makes him so endearing, so charming.
2/3 Keith Goodman (Sky High) | Tiger & Bunny | Reserved
Although his character development is a little limited in the series, it's pretty easy to see what kind of person Keith really is.
Keith is well-suited for the hero business and he clearly loves it. He naturally has a lot of qualities that make him a great hero; he's determined, caring, daring, brave, earnest, kind, generous and overall supremely optimistic. As Sky High, despite his tendency to put on a display for the spectacle that is Hero TV, we can definitely tell he's not there for the attention. Granted, the companies that sponsor him along with Hero TV where he stars with the other heroes, undoubtably love him for the profit he must make them, but Keith is a hero to help people and keep them safe. After all, when he patrols Sternbild at night – and he does for hours every night – usually, nobody is watching.
His senses of duty and responsibility, as well as his true desire to help others weigh heavily on him. When he says he doesn't care so much about his ranking, but just doesn't want to disappoint people, we can definitely see that despite his 'King of Heroes' title, he is absolutely not arrogant. It's almost as though he's expressing a sense of gratitude through his actions as a hero, as he knows the responsibilities that he has and he's happy for the chance to be a hero, to use his powers, to have fans and sponsors, and to help the other heroes. We also see this gratitude towards the people of Sternbild as well as this sense of duty in the last episodes, where the only time Keith feels the pressure to push the button on his bomb is when he considers that someone has to survive to continue to protect. His small speech to Rotwang about how heroes listen to the people when an android cannot, and can even redeem criminals, also shows his dedication.
Keith if unfailingly confident in himself, which can actually get him into a little trouble. If, for example, he would have been more cautious in his fight with Jake --instead of landing on the ground in front of Jake and demanding he surrender -- it's likely that his defeat might not have been so disastrous. He may have even avoided it. Instead it's almost as if he didn't even consider that he would lose, that Jake would defeat him.
There are other times where we see that Keith himself is very human. After a terrific defeat by Jake and his tough powers, it's natural that anybody would have some doubt in themselves and Keith is no different. He has insecurities, he doubts himself, he worries about disappointing everybody. However, Keith embodies optimism. And naturally, though he does have some input from a malfunctioning Cis, his optimism pulls him out of his slump after being defeated so badly. When Cis repeatedly says 'Why, why' to him, he's already turning it around into valuable advice, and he is able to seriously and honestly looks at his own situation.
Agnes calls him a bit airheaded; however, when he's talking to Ivan (in the drama CDs) he's surprisingly profound in his ideals for someone 'airheaded'. In general, Keith has a serious and careful personality; it would be wrong to say he was an idiot, or stupid, but very accurate to say he is awkward. He seems to miss a lot when it comes to interacting with others. For example, he doesn't realize something is wrong with Cis, and that, being a robot, she doesn't act like a person would. It is more realistic to say that he is just not used to being social, and being around other people. Although he's a very popular hero, his only friends seem to be his dog and the other heroes. And with the shyness and awkwardness he shows towards Cis, it's easy to infer that he is not the most socially competent guy with other people he doesn't know either. His best friend and 'soul-mate' is definitely his golden retriever, John, and you can't help but wonder if it's because John is just as simplistic and easy to please as Keith is himself.
He's almost embarrassingly polite, especially considering how simple he can be. An example of this would be from the Drama CDs, when he tries to teach Ivan (Origami Cyclone) a move that can only be done with wind powers, when Origami obviously doesn't have the same power. In a sense, the mistakes he tries to avoid making socially only show up in other forms. He is also overly formal with fans, as evidenced by his catch-phrase 'Thank-you, and again, thank-you!', the repetition there only to make sure he's clearly understood. It comes across as camp, or conventional.
Keith is also such an optimistic person, and has such a habit of thinking the best of people by default, that he can come across as innocently idealistic. His respect and love for people is shown by how sentimental he can be, such as how he feels he must thank Cis and bring her flowers, or when he works at learning lines to surprise Barnaby on his birthday. How innocent he really is is left to be seen, as we know very little about his past. However, it does seem as though this naïve trait of him combined with other quirks of his personality discussed above also lends to the idea that he's air-headed. What is more realistic (although he definitely is a bit of an airhead) is that he's just not used to being social, and being around other people. Although he's a very popular hero, his only friends seem to be his dog and the other heroes. And with the shyness and awkwardess he shows towards Cis, it's easy to infer that he is not the most socially competent guy with other people either.
The one area where he's definitely not awkward is fighting as a hero. He's incredibly reliable, completely unhesitating, confident and really competent when it comes to stopping the bad guys. The gap between Sky High the hero and Keith Goodman the generally loveable, open, awkward and almost goofy guy walking his dog around Sternbild is largely what makes him so endearing, so charming.