As of now, the only "romance" thing in this series is Sokai. That's really it. And even then, it's more implied then anything. I think the problems lies in those implications; in more ways then one.
Sora and Kairi have A LOT of romantic framing in almost all of their scenes together but as far as that relationship goes, you get the feeling its not as strong as say Sora and Riku. But the reason why the latter is implied and the other isn't is the framing and that is the one thing I've seen debated for years. Of course, I've been on the opinion of only really Sora and Kairi are romance implied while everything isn't in that frame. Is it because of homophobia or the years upon years of media framing that only the guy and girl can get together because stereotypes?
Yeah, probably. Is that okay? It isn't, all relationships should be included but the fact is, it isn't for whatever reasons and Sora/Kairi is the only resemblance of romantic framing we'll probably get. Sora and Kairi is the only thing that actually romantic in any sense throughout all these games. And that's not me saying that, the narrative is telling me and everyone else that. Sora/Kairi scenes and Sora/Riku scenes on closer look are just not framed or contextualized in the same way. They just aren't. And if you want to bring obscure novels that only the harcore fans bother to read, then you're shit out of luck on that one since those novels are just barely canon and most of the fans don't read them.
But why am I bringing this up? To flame some shipping wars? Kind of, cause I'm a cheeky little sh*t but also because at the end of the day, Sora and Riku have a far stronger relationship than Sora and Kairi from the way that's its told and it doesn't line up with how it is framed narratively. And that's the main problem. You see, I can understand why Sora/Riku is a relationship some fans want or prefer. Not because they want to shove "political correctness" but because throughout the entire Xehanort arc, Sora and Riku have the better dynamic of the two and one that has the most screentime. But why is this relationship stronger then the one that is the only one in the whole series that is romantically implied? And even if either or were, what does that say about the power of friendship or relationships? The series doesn't have an answer and it doesn't seem to want one.
I'm not saying you can't have stronger relationships with your best friend them let's say... your wife/girlfriend? But I wouldn't think a series like Kingdom Hearts is even attempting that kind of human relationship complexity that comes with that. For all its faults, when it comes to the relationships between characters, KH is fairly straight forward (I mean, not really, but I'm getting there)... but really only with the friendship angle. When romance is involved, for some reason, Disney and Noruma, are holding back so strongly that it muddles with that exact power of certain kinds of relationships that can be formed beyond friendships or if there's really any power dynamic at all going on when comes to connections with people in your life that are close to you.
And what I mean by that is that, generally speaking, you should love your wife/girlfriend a tad bit more then your own friends. That's kind of how it works in the simplest of terms. Now, its not always like that and human beings are complicated but KH is not the series that is going for that. So I ask again, if Sora and Kairi are romantically framed 99% of the time, why does Sora and Riku have a stronger relationship in the eyes of most fans?
Well, two reasons
1. Noruma did not care about Kairi until like 5 minutes ago when everyone screamed at him about it and went, "Fine" and even then, he couldn't help himself from shafting her out of the narrative so that she can be rescued. SO then the fans screamed louder, and he was like, "Okay fine, one boss fight" and then he proceeds to put her in sleep mode for a year and slightly hints at maybe she'll get a game... maybe. This girl... one of the main characters wasn't playable until the DLC of the 7th or 8th game in the canonical series.
The writers and Noruma treat Kairi like an afterthought and that's why a relationship that should be stronger then Sora/Riku, or at the very least on par with them, isn't is partially because of that. And even if we're talking about the logical nature of the character development of this character becoming someone who decides to be apart of the fight come end of KH2, she should've been apart of DDD then. Instead, she was a surprise tease for a video game she was going to be killed off and having to be rescued in anyway.
So... yeah.
But the other most important reason is the series' theme conflicting or just plain contradicting with ... just ... the nature of human relationships in and of themselves. It wants to treat everyone on the same plain field, because this series is running on the theme of friendship. But there's only so many different ways that you can portray friendship until you're stuck in corner repeating yourself, which is the problem the KH has been currently in for a long time.
This is something that was always going to be a problem, which is why it baffles me that Sora and Kairi are still framed in the way they are after the series went full "my friends are my power". You see, when Kingdom Hearts was first out, I never considered friendship to be the literal main theme of the entire series. Friendship is a big part of it but honestly, and it makes a lot more sense this way, the series main theme has always been about connection between people and the power of that connection. Not just friendship. And I assumed friendship was just apart of the theme of the first game and we would generally move on to other frames of connection between characters. And that's why I also thought Sora and Kairi, though generic, was a nice set up for that down the line. But the series main theme isn't really about that anymore. It went full "my friends are my power" and that I feel was a big mistake. Yeah, its about connection but mostly between friends and not any others that really existence outside of that and whenever it is, its barely there and talked down with so much subtext and only that, that it contradicts itself with other things and makes you asks yourself why it even bothered if they won't go all the way.
Like, with Ventus and Vanitas; them being framed as brothers rather then just two halves of the same person I thought was far more interesting. It framed their dynamic in a totally new light then them just being another duality of light and darkness for the series. But with them being brothers, that duality has more familiarity and deeper meaning rather then just existential meaning. Its these types of broader relationships that build of theme of light and darkness and the connection that forms and makes them up that build more on it then just the friendships angle. It's the type of thing this series desperately needs to improve its narrative.
Or how about when Terra refers to Eraqus as his father, something not only should be called into question of how Terra and Aqua even became Keyblade wielders in the first place, is never touched upon at all? Why are Terra and Aqua orphans? Where did they come from? Do they not question their lost of connection, something that any genuine orphan child would want to know about because that's human nature?
Sora, Riku, and Kairi never having any sort of relationship with their parents is something that bothers me greatly and I really seem to be the only fan who cares since everyone just learned to accept and memed it to death. But it is a problem. Because series can't just be about the power of friendship. Especially for a franchise like this, its unrealistic to due so.
As much people want to deny it, KH is not just for children. It's mainly for people who grew up with it and the Disney/Final Fantasy characters prior. KH3 was hyped up mostly by people are were in their 20s/30s. And at that point in a person's life, its has became more then friendships. And Kingdom Hearts, for a ridiculous as this series is, needs to be a series that reflects that. Especially if you are going to bother to age these characters or introduce characters that are in their 20s anyway.
And they especially can't just focus on friendship mainly because of Sora/Kairi; especially if they plan to go futher with it if the DLC is anything to go by because having it still be here is thematically confusing. It blew my mind when Sora went through all this trouble for Kairi and by the time they ended up in The Final World at the end of Re: Mind and Sora just casually refers to her as his friend, I nearly laughed. Because what's the difference at this point? Why should I put any stock in this relationship when it might as well be the same as Sora's relationship to everyone else? What makes Kairi more important or have a deeper connection then Riku? Or it is the same and if so, why are they framed so differently but one has way more screentime, so from the viewers POV, it doesn't line up? Because the series refuses to commit to what its main theme truly about and its connections between people and that doesn't just involve friendships so it can elaborate of the different connections characters have to each other. Jusy having the theme of friendship limits this story narratively is so many ways.
The biggest reason why Sora and Riku have far more screentime is because they are biggest representative of that theme of friendship. They are truly best friends for life and it's why people love it. But there are some relationships deeper then friendship, that's just how it works. I say best friends but Sora and Riku act way more like brothers then anything else and you can love your best friend that way. The problem is that the series doesn't want to commit to any deeper connection then that, so they are just framed as best friends but they have such a love for each other that's far more told then Sora and Kairi, that if they aren't brothers in that sense then maybe there's something else going on if it's not that? Because it has to be right? You can't have you're cake and eat it too. If they want to frame a gay relationship with Sora/Riku, go all the way but the series doesn't want to do because that's not what they are trying to say with that friendship but how else am I suppose to see if the other "love interest" barely gets screentime. Because that's not what the narrative is telling me, its telling me the romance is with Sora/Kairi but then why have this romance at all if it's not going any deeper then the friendship of two dudes who have far more screentime together?
But again, the series will never go any deeper then that because apparently friendship is the only thing that matters. And that greatly limits the options because you can only go so far with the theme of friendship. And trying to introduce others connections does nothing but contradict itself and and confuses people and, SPOILER ALERT, that's the reason the Sora/Kairi and Sora/Riku debate will continue without a conclusion on either side until the series is eventually rebooted. Because the series doesnt want an answer or too lazy to go beyond it. It wants to have its cake and eat it too. It wants to stay in this bubble of friendship when eventually, the bubble has to burst if the series wants to keep its fanbase interested in these characters' arcs and how they are framed around this theme or connection. Since most of the characters arcs are concluded and they somehow want to continue these chatacters' story, they are going to have to do that anyway otherwise why should I care about these characters having any arcs or connection with other characters if you are never going to explore them on any deeper then "the power of friendship"
So the series has to either go all on or not at all, otherwise this conversation of if whether or not romance is in the series will forever be moot point. Until the series decides to go deeper and introduced other types of relationships and connections between people being just as valid, KH will be stuck in this friendship limbo; which means Sora/Kairi won't go futher then what it is right now, Sora/Riku will be something forever debated, and no other theme of connection in this series will ever be explored in any meaningful way and when it is, it comes at the last minute.
So yeah, that was my rant for the day.