Editorial ► Kairi: The True Forgotten Girl in Kingdom Hearts

[SquarePhoenix]

Considering that she's one of the Princesses, her life/heart is at risk and she needed to know how to defend herself.
Then they're gonna have to give her a bigger role in the series.

 

[Gram]

This is quite frankly the most astounding bit on kairi I've ever seen. Fantastic job.
Basically agree with pretty much all of it and I find her neglect a loss to the series. One of the reasons I felt the story has been declining since kh1 is how Sora, Kairi and Riku's trio became a Sora & Riku bromance by DDD.

Really wish this article was posted back in the days when kairi hate was at it's highest. xD

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

This is quite frankly the most astounding bit on kairi I've ever seen. Fantastic job.
Basically agree with pretty much all of it and I find her neglect a loss to the series. One of the reasons I felt the story has been declining since kh1 is how Sora, Kairi and Riku's trio became a Sora & Riku bromance by DDD.

Really wish this article was posted back in the days when kairi hate was at it's highest. xD

There would have been so much hate in this thread if it had been. :c This is much more pleasing!

 

[Gram]

There would have been so much hate in this thread if it had been. :c This is much more pleasing!

There really isnt no way to get the hate back then any higher it was already at ridiculous highs. Dx
Besides I meant I thought it'd be positive the staff could've kept the thread on topic after all....like they had to many times then Dx

 

[TheJoel]

I feel the same way that Kairi has been ignored too much in recent games. Though Kairi couldn't really be in Days which I can also openly say is one of my favourite games in the series, but with Coded they could have done so much more with her there and in my opinion I feel Kairi's rise should have started in Coded. They could have easily had Data-Kairi in Destiny Islands and in Hollow Bastion and instead of Mickey saving Data-Sora from his Heartless it should have been Data-Kairi. Lastly, in DDD I was hoping for more Kairi especially during the cut seen where Sora is telling Shiki how much Neku needed her. He could have at least pulled out Kairi's charm there and thought of her through some little memory of them talking or something. Then he could get the Oathkeeper Keyblade that he gets after he remembers there promise which he never did once.

 

[Sign]

Great editorial LightUpTheSky! I admit, I'm really not all fond of Kairi either, but I definitely agree with the points you raised, albeit not the exact proposals of inserting her into every scene with Sora, Riku or both. She needs to be able to stand beside them on her own, but I don't believe it should be all or nothing when it comes to the trios. Ideally, Sora, Riku and Kairi as individuals, Sora and Kairi, Riku and Kairi, and SRK together need to be equally well developed.

In any case, it'll be really interesting to see where things go in the future.

There really isnt no way to get the hate back then any higher it was already at ridiculous highs. Dx

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED 8D

In all seriousness though,

Besides I meant I thought it'd be positive the staff could've kept the thread on topic after all....like they had to many times then Dx

We try but you guys are fierce!

 

[Taochan]

There's no reason Kairi couldn't have come with them to Mysterious Tower in 3D. Donald & Goofy didn't have anything to do there either but they still showed up. So why wouldn't she? Even seemingly little things like Sora saying Riku's name 1st when he saw their illusion-whatevers bugged me. Kairi really should've been the 3rd playable character in 3D. From TAV in BBS to SRK in DDD, would've been a perfect fit.

Plus we likely would've gotten Frollo & CLU bossfights with another character *grumblegrumble*

It's incredibly likely that they left her out of the rest of the game to keep the surprise reveal of her being a Light.

In my opinion ive always hated kairi. to me she's like monica from friends, an absolute useless character. love interests should be taken out of this game. make it more of a final fantasy and slowly get rid of the disney stuff. it puts hardcore gamers off when the game is rated 3+. she better not be playable in kingdom hearts 3.

Ross is totally the useless character in FRIENDS, not Monica. But there really aren't any love interests, per say. And it seems like Nomura is going to try to implement Kairi into the plot of KH3, instead of leaving her on the side lines. So here's hoping for great things.

 

[ajmrowland]

Oh God, please no... I understand they've always teased a relationship of sorts between Sora and Kairi, but... eww. Kingdom Hearts just doesn't feel like a franchise where romance is any kind of real focus. Doesn't really fit. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

OT: To be perfectly honest, it kind of feels like you want Kairi shoehorned into stories where she doesn't belong or have much to contribute to. Basically, everything skyfoxx said. Yes, she's a woefully underused character, but I think that's for good reason.

And if we're talking about her contributions to the franchise... well. 90% of her screentime during the first game was her lifeless body. Kairi was never a major player. More of a maguffin, really.

But they're very obviously setting her up to take on a bigger role in III, which will be cool to see.

90% of her screen time? 3scenes on hooks ship, 4 as a llifeless body in hb. She still has way more time on screen than that. I understand you were probably just guessing but still....

In my opinion ive always hated kairi. to me she's like monica from friends, an absolute useless character. love interests should be taken out of this game. make it more of a final fantasy and slowly get rid of the disney stuff. it puts hardcore gamers off when the game is rated 3+. she better not be playable in kingdom hearts 3.

Get rid of the Disney stuff? Rated 3+? I hope you're not serious!



anyway enough nitpicking. I think they could've kept kairi in yen Sid's tower and still have it be somewhat surprising when she's revealed to be a light.

 

[LeFreak]

You have a lot of interesting and valuable points that I may have thought of if I held Kairi in as high regard as you do: I played the games out of order, so I didn't really get the trio of Sora, Riku, and Kairi and have never really thought of Kairi as being as important as Sora and Riku. Considering the fact that she is a Princess of Heart and probably one of the Seven Lights, there's a pretty good argument for her being more important than she has been, and I can see her being prominent in KHIII, but I hardly noticed her lack of appearance in KH3D (probably because I was super excited about Riku's increasing role as an actual hero, but that's a different topic). I did enjoy seeing her as a little kid in BBS, and was actually wondering if they would show how she got to the Islands, but I wasn't particularly upset that they didn't.

You mentioned that Riku said in 3D that Terra was his inspiration for leaving the islands: when did this conversation happen? I just don't remember him ever talking about Terra explicitly, although it would make sense if he did.

Well done on the article, I enjoyed reading it!

 

[Ruran]

From the beginning the writers gave her a role that would have been better suited for an important side character but made her a main character which clashed because it forced her to be passive. Sora was the "white knight", Riku was the "dark knight", and Kairi was the "princess". As such she was a main character that wasn't "allowed" to do much because SRK followed a very specific formula.

Since she was given a very specific role it made it difficult incorporating her more deeply into the overarching story without making her a plot device or symbol, hence, they've been trying to stuff her into the Action Girl position. With that, I wouldn't say that the writers were neglecting her entirely since they're making the effort to shift her role into something that'll allow her to be more prominent but they certainly did write themselves into a corner but had to gradually work themselves out of it if not it'd just cause whiplash.

I think they either should have given Kairi an (almost) entirely different role from the beginning or not have started her off as a main character and do what they did with Axel/Lea and gradually bumped up her role from important side character. Part of the disappointment that comes with her character stems from the fact that she is a main character and so more is expected of her but the writers haven't been able to deliver, disappointed that isn't completely unfounded I might add, but as I mentioned from the beginning she was given a role that just wouldn't allow her much wiggle room which was eventually realized though just a little too late.

With that said I disagree with having the plot constantly reminding us that she exists and how much she means to Sora (and Riku). We already know how much they care about each other and while theoretically it would be sweet to show that Sora thinks of Kairi often, from a narrative standpoint it'd only get annoying. Sora already spent the first game hallucinating about Kairi and even sacrificed his heart for her, Re:CoM tried to develop Sora and Kairi's relationship via proxy of Namine, Dolan and Gooby kept teasing Sora and I think brought her up in nearly every world while Sora went on another "rescue the princess from the castle" escapade (no really, most of the time Kairi gets saved it's either in or near a castle just to spite me) during KH2 on top of humiliating himself for her, and Xion took the form of Kairi because of Sora's strong memories of her. Sora cares about her. I get it. I don't need it constantly rubbed in my face, I get it.

 

[Sign]

You mentioned that Riku said in 3D that Terra was his inspiration for leaving the islands: when did this conversation happen? I just don't remember him ever talking about Terra explicitly, although it would make sense if he did.

Riku mentions Terra briefly when he's speaking to Xehanort's Heartless before their battle, albeit not by name:

"You know... when I look at you... there's this memory that flashes back. A secret I said I'd keep when I was little. The main reason I kept dreaming about seeing the outside world... was 'cause of him."

 

[Kenzichi]

Also, I sort of wish that DDD had ended with Riku going to get Kairi, so she could pull Sora from the Darkness again. Or maybe they could have at least tried it, and then gone with the true ending when that didn’t work? IDK. But I would have liked to see her in 3D (especially the ending) more.

It would have been nice, too, if Sora had thought of Kairi when his heart was shattering. It would have been a nice parallel to KHI, when he was lost in the Darkness, and the memory of Kairi was what brought him back. And it also would have just been cool, since it was the ten-year anniversary, and Kairi should have been commemorated more. Personally, if Sora would have shown guilt or sadness for not being able to return to Kairi like he’d promised, I think it would have been really emotional and powerful, but I’m gonna stop talking now.

Hope you all enjoyed the article. –bows-

I don't really agree with these two points you made. Sora relies on Riku more than anyone. You've already mentioned how Riku "keeps him on his toes". I thought it was completely appropriate that Riku was the one that took him out of the darkness and the one that Sora called out to before he fell. Plus Riku had been with him his whole journey in 3D despite never seeing each other (other than hologram form) so I'd think it would have been pointless for him to call out Kairi's name in the first place. He called out Riku's name because he knew that he'd come to the rescue just like the other times during the exam.

 

[Dreaded_Desire62]

I don't really agree with these two points you made. Sora relies on Riku more than anyone. You've already mentioned how Riku "keeps him on his toes". I thought it was completely appropriate that Riku was the one that took him out of the darkness and the one that Sora called out to before he fell. Plus Riku had been with him his whole journey in 3D despite never seeing each other (other than hologram form) so I'd think it would have been pointless for him to call out Kairi's name in the first place. He called out Riku's name because he knew that he'd come to the rescue just like the other times during the exam.

Kairi just seemed to play the damsel in distress in the Kingdom Hearts series. First, she got her heart stolen by the Heartless, which caused Sora to stab himself with the Keyblade, thus creating Namine and Roxas. Second, she pretty much gets kidnap throughout Kingdom Hearts 2 by first Axel then Saix. And, the only thing that she only did was somehow get a keyblade from Riku while in Ansem form to fight off the heartless. Also, I forgot to mention that she waits on the island for her friends, while not going with them to make sure they stay safe.

Plus, she forgot Sora, but that's due to Xion and Namine's influence, if I remember correctly.

 

[Sunshine]

Oh my god. ._. Riku should have gone back to the islands, got Kairi and she should have dove into Sora's heart and she would have been playable and stuff. Fuck man. D;

 

[WaveK89]

Hmm...Even though Ven was pure of light through force, he was managed as a wielder. I had previously thought that Kairi wasn't taken care of because we had to consider her PoH status. There's a limit to her development in this sense, but I don't think it should be much to hold her back.

I'm not really expecting or looking for anything playable with Kairi, but I do feel she should be more involved. At least as involved as Leon and the gang which I also wish they would be more involved, too, but they can't use Gummi Ships without a keyblade to unlock the gates to the lanes between.

 

[Chaser]

Oh my god. ._. Riku should have gone back to the islands, got Kairi and she should have dove into Sora's heart and she would have been playable and stuff. diddly man. D;

Unfortunately that would have:
A) Spoilt the "surprise" from the secret ending
B) Been unwise because would Riku really have left Sora comatose while he went and got Kairi.
C) Wasn't the Mark of Mastery test ultimately teaching Sora and Riku the ability to dive into peoples hearts? How would Kairi have done this? She has very little experience with the Keyblade, and Riku had the ability.
D) Probably not have Kairi playable.
E) It made sense for it to be Riku who dove into Sora's heart. The only reason Kairi would have been used would have been just for fanservice.

I'm certain that Kairi's time will come. It's just been unfortunate due to the prequel having Kairi on a different world, Days not needing to feature Kairi, Re:Coded using journal data and Dream Drop Distance showing off Riku's progression and Master Xehanort's true plan.

 

[Xagzan]

Send this post to Nomura, on the double.

 

[kairihikari]

Thank you for writing this! Kairi is my favorite kingdom hearts character aqua's my 2nd. I can't wait for her to show sora and riku what she's made of. I have a feeling she'll be a mage like aqua. Can you imagine kairi using spellweaver or ghost drive to take out heartless and nobodies? My only worry is master xehanort finding out about her ability and trying to kill her before her training is complete. He'd most likely extract her heart to have the light he needs for the x-blade then somehow destroy her body or lock it away to never befound.

 

[Kenzichi]

Thank you for writing this! Kairi is my favorite kingdom hearts character aqua's my 2nd. I can't wait for her to show sora and riku what she's made of. I have a feeling she'll be a mage like aqua. Can you imagine kairi using spellweaver or ghost drive to take out heartless and nobodies? My only worry is master xehanort finding out about her ability and trying to kill her before her training is complete. He'd most likely extract her heart to have the light he needs for the x-blade then somehow destroy her body or lock it away to never befound.

I doubt it. Plus, as he claims, he's already calculated what has and (I think) will happen. I'm sure he knows she's now a keyblade wielder. Plus, I truthfully don't think he considers her much of a threat anyway. At least not compared to Riku or Sora. Also, I don't think Nomura will risk being so repetitive with her. There's not enough time for Sora to save another person! He's already got, what, 6 to save? XD

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Send this post to Nomura, on the double.

Pretty sure Nomura already knows Kairi is an underutilized character. The secret ending of KH3D wouldn't have happened if he wasn't.