Missing-Queerness

[Deleted member]

I kind of feel like if any game really needed queer characters in it and as part of the story in this series, it's Missing-Link. The series entering an obsession with lineage, bloodlines and ancestor/descendent 'relevance' means we're likely about to enter the most explicitly heterosexual era of Kingdom Hearts. And while we don't know the particulars of what KH or KHML will ultimately have to say about the matter of these topics (I hope critical, jesus!!!), I feel like excluding the queer reality in face of these things would be a real miss.

In a society obsessed with carrying on the Founders bloodline, where do queer people fit in? What is the poor Ephemer descendant to do when he's being pressured to find a girl and settle down and continue The Blood Legacy, when he's not straight? What of poor queer as hell Brain being forced to bed a woman to keep the blueblood going for Eraqus? Idk, I think there is a genuine need for pushback on these larger themes and their implications and for once I think we might actually be posed to potentially see it. With a new writer, a whole new cast, a setting that would be fitting to explore these things, and an-ongoing development who knows. Maybe KHML could be our first real sighting of a explicit queer char? Perhaps Baroque is the societal outcast queer found family we've needed all along.

 

[xX_REAL!!!_Xx]

I definitely agree that it'd be nice if Missing Link is critical about royal bloodlines etc, but I really don't think they'd explore the topic with such direct queer stuff. Not to say that KH will never have queer characters because as far as I'm concerned it certainly will, but I don't think they'll be queer in universe. Like there can be gay couples but I don't think queerness will be a thing acknowledged.

And sorta sidenote but maaan I hope Riku doesn't end up have some special royal bloodline going on, or if he does at least don't play it straight.

 

[RonaldPoe]

I'm honestly not sure what the OP is getting at. Kingdom Hearts has already had LGBT characters since at least KH2. Many people (including myself) think Riku is a closet homosexual with a pretty obvious crush on Sora (the ending of KH2 is pretty much an awkward love confession). By extension, Sora might be bisexual (he's got better chemistry with Riku than Kairi). Xehanort and Eraqus are also implied to be quite close but that could just be friendship.

A lot of people forget that KH has a transexual character, Xion. She was cloned from Sora but physically based more on his memories of Kairi. Before her boss fight near the end of 358/2 Days, the game explicitly portrays her as still part male.

I don't think the series needs to introduce a new explicitly LGBT character at this point. Also I'd be fine with Riku being one of Ephemer's descendants (it's my current fan theory).

 

[Dandelion]

I don't think the series needs to introduce a new explicitly LGBT character at this point.

But why? What is there to gain from no explicit LGBT representation?

 

[olu]

But why? What is there to gain from no explicit LGBT representation?

Might not be the answer everyone wants to hear but:

1. KH is developed by a Japanese company, and Japan generally has a different cultural approach to LGBT issues compared to other western countries. While Japan is becoming more open to LGBT rights and representation, there's still a level of conservatism in media, particularly in mainstream or family-oriented franchises like KH. The game might avoid explicitly addressing LGBT themes to maintain broad cultural appeal. This is the same series that still hasn't fully acknowledged that Sora and Kairi have a thing for each other, even though it's very clear they do.

2. KH is a globally recognized franchise with a significant fanbase in regions that may have varying degrees of acceptance toward LGBT representation. To avoid potential backlash or censorship in more conservative markets, the game might steer clear of explicit LGBT content. Companies often aim to create content that is universally acceptable to maximize sales and minimize controversy. Disney's history of censoring LGBT content and stereotypes in the past is proof of this.

3. Nomura and his team may have their own narrative vision and priorities that don't explicitly include LGBT representation. They might prefer to keep relationships and character dynamics more ambiguous (like the aforementioned Sora and Kairi), allowing players to interpret them in different ways without overtly defining them. This ambiguity can allow fans to see the relationships they want to see without committing to any specific portrayal.

4. Some developers might rely on subtext and fan interpretations to explore LGBT themes indirectly. By leaving relationships and characters open to interpretation, the game allows fans to project their own ideas and identities onto the characters without making any explicit statements. This approach can also foster a broader, more inclusive fan community.

It's funny. You'd think a series like Kingdom Hearts would be very open and welcoming to explicit LGBT rep, given its themes about love, trust, hearts, unbreakable bonds, etc.

 

[Chie]

I don't think I agree with the exact wording of any of these responses, but I would agree that KH already makes romance in general a very ambiguous thing, so it's just not the kind of story where I could see them talking about this stuff in detail, even in a game about blood (I doubt any of our characters will be told to get it on, it'll just be about what family they come from). I'd also agree that the series already feels pretty gaymale on account of Nomura's obvious tastes. Vor kinda sorta teases Xehanort and Eraqus about this in Dark Road, and that's exactly the same as how straight relationships are treated in this series.

 

[Launchpad]

these are the kind of ideas I'd enjoy in most stories, but I feel like Kingdom Hearts depicting the struggles of queer people in any sort of detail would feel super out of place. Brain being forced to bed a woman for example despite being gay is just... not a Kingdom Hearts type of character beat, and would feel extremely counter to the tone of the rest of the series, and to what benefit?

I'm all for KH including shmaltzy gay romance, but KH trying to make social commentary or stories that promote positive social change??? ehhhh... that's not the meal I come to this particular restaurant to eat.