Sora is unrealistically optimistic!!?

[x.ion]

- - Spoiler warning - -



Hey all =]

I'm new to the forum, actually this is my first post hehe.

So, about Sora's unrealistic optimism, I read manyyy comments on how he can be happy all the time/seems fake/unrealistic. Someone mentioned about how he reacted when Riku became a keyblade master.

Well that's true, he is happy and cheerful in many scenes we saw. But to me, I really don't call, or see this as "unrealistic optimism". It's just my opinion, but I think the developers aimed to present Sora's personality in that exact way. I think the message is that light and darkness are balanced in Sora, and because of that he has been chosen to save all of the characters that are suffering. Some would argue that Sora doesn't have and show a balance between light and darkness and that light fills him. But Sora has his own darkness and the anti-form showed that in KH2, showing how the darkness was inside of Sora rather than directing it outside.

As to his reaction when Riku became a keyblade master, my explanation to that is Sora has gone through many hardships; he was thrown out of his island, got separated from his best friends, suddenly given tasks in aim to save the world with holding a mysterious weapon and fighting mysterious creatures. More importantly, he thought he lost his friend Riku with not knowing his whereabouts for a long time. Therefore, Riku becoming a keyblade master didn't really bother Sora, but it made him happy that his friend who gave in to darkness and went through a lot is now a keyblade master! And realizing that whether or not he (Sora) became a keyblade master, it doesn't really matter because in both ways he will FIGHT for what is right and will do whatever to save his friends, the world, and people who are waiting for him.

This is only my opinion and it may be incorrect, so what do you think?



- I've been a fan of KH for almost 10 years, and now that I got the remix versions, many topics popped in my mind for discussions. -

 

[BufferAqua]

Welcome to the forums, x.ion!

And, oh god, I loved what you just said there! I enjoy Sora's optimism.

 

[x.ion]

Welcome to the forums, x.ion!

And, oh god, I loved what you just said there! I enjoy Sora's optimism.

Thank you! I like Sora's optimism too! He's my second favorite character:redface:.

 

[Ruran]

Firstly, WELCOME!!!

-----

Eeemmmm...a bit?

I think there are two ways to present characters: relatable or idealistic.

Sora and Riku are foils in this way as Riku falls under the former while Sora falls under the latter. Riku is the guy who tries really hard, becomes misdirected, then falls really hard. Everyone can relate to this in broad strokes as everyone has had times like this. Where we make huge mistakes thinking that what we're doing is for the best only for it to backfire so hard, that we think things can never be fixed and it takes a long time for us to feel better about said mistakes.

Sora is idealistic. He's not so much meant to be relatable than he is to be a figure to look up to. He by no means is presented as a perfect person, but his happy-go-lucky, take things in stride, always sees the good in things persona is something to be envied. He was envied by Riku, the decidedly more realistic of the two.

Considering the kind of crazy stuff that Sora goes through and the way he usually brushes it off with a nod and a smile because he has endless hope that things will eventually turn out alright is kind of unrealistic imo. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, he just wasn't so much meant to be a realistic character than he was an idealistic one; not the person we are, but the person we should strive to be.

 

[BlackOsprey]

Heh. It depends on how you look at it, I think. For a 15-something-year-old, Sora's cheerful optimism is pretty unusual, but I wouldn't call it "absurd" or "unrealistic." He's just a child at heart. A lot of characters have implied this; Riku's claimed he was jealous of how simple things were for his friend, Ansem has likened Sora's heart to that of a kid's (the way he can see a heart in anything, and it becomes real as a result), that kind of thing.

If we assume that Sora's got a childlike perspective, it makes perfect sense that he can act the way he does. Just... speaking from my experience with having a kid brother who's had brain surgery, kids can handle the kind of crap that adults wouldn't be able to handle. Out of my entire family, my brother was probably the only one who didn't sob over the whole ordeal. He didn't think about the worst-case scenarios... he just trusted in the doctors and believed he would come out fine. It did turn out fine.

That kind of optimism... you could say it's because they're not mature enough to understand or know the magnitude of the situation. I guess that can be true. But I also believe there's just something different about the way they see things. For a character like Sora, I'd say the same applies to him. He's no cloud cookoolander, because he can get serious when he needs to, and he's been discouraged and pissed off before. He's not what most adults (or a lot of kids his age, for that matter) are like; we have Riku to contrast that. I guess the only thing that makes Sora seem unrealistic is how he's managed to keep that kind of optimism going even after all the crap he's been through.

To be honest, I'm okay with that. We've already got our more "realistic" guy, Riku. The fact that Sora isn't​ a brooding mess is kind of a nice change in a genre that's usually fraught with that kinda stuff.

 

[Emperor]

I wouldn't call Sora's nature unrealistic at all. There are a lot of different people on this planet and I've met some that seem like they can only be characters from television. Reality is stranger than fiction in that way.

 

[Kaijuguy19]

The way I see it,Sora's more of a young man with a heart of a child. He's been through things that would usually drive anyone insane but the reason why he keeps that childlike nature was because he's someone who doesn't let any illusion that can make anyone do petty things control him. He's had his serious moments but the way he attempts to get through it the best he can really makes him more brave then one would think.

 

[Kaweebo]

Sora's always been cheerful, but I've always thought Neverland in the first game really drove home the 'just believe and you can do it' mentality in Sora and that's why he's so optimistic. (It's also telling how, in KHII, during the Peter Pan summon, pictures of Neverland from the first KH game flash several times which I think kind of symbolizes how that world played a huge part in Sora's character going forward) I mean, if I was able to literally fly by just 'believing' and then managing to beat all odds against the friggin' Seeker of Darkness himself, restore all worlds and eventually find both of my friends again, I'd probably be eternally optimistic too.

Although I think that optimism dips into overconfidence at times. He's accomplished so many things in such a short timespan, sometimes he thinks he's invincible, I feel. This is part of what caused his downfall in DDD, in my opinion. But that's another topic.

 

[Anagram]

Definitely. He may be more technically overly optimistic though since I've personally met such people that couldn't see a negative outcome if they witnessed death.

Welcome to the forums btw!

 

[Axel92]

I think i prefer Data Sora. Definetely

 

[Divine Past]

CoM Sora is the GOAT for realism. I mean he yelled at Donald and Goofy!

 

[shady543]

I think the issue with Sora is that he's kind of become dorkier and dorkier with every game since after COM to the point he pretty much had Goku Syndrome in DDD. I do think that he's one of the more unrealistic characters now (I thought he was more realistic pre-KH2), but I understand why it's required. He's the best person to save everyone because of his personality. I still really like Sora though.

And welcome! Although I guess I can't really say that since I'm new myself. Eh oh well. xD

 

[Nazo]

Sora is idealistic. He's not so much meant to be relatable than he is to be a figure to look up to. He by no means is presented as a perfect person, but his happy-go-lucky, take things in stride, always sees the good in things persona is something to be envied. He was envied by Riku, the decidedly more realistic of the two.

Considering the kind of crazy stuff that Sora goes through and the way he usually brushes it off with a nod and a smile because he has endless hope that things will eventually turn out alright is kind of unrealistic imo. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, he just wasn't so much meant to be a realistic character than he was an idealistic one; not the person we are, but the person we should strive to be.

This.

And this also puts into words the reason I idolized Sora as a kid, and why he's still my favorite character from any media, despite that there are a plethora of other waaaaaay more well-written characters in the media universe.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

I see Sora as a parallel to Terra. Both of them are trustworthy to anyone and are willing to do anything for a good cause.
The only issue is, because Terra had more visible darkness and he didn't have travel companions like Sora: he's labelled as an idiot as opposed to an idealistic hero.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

I see Sora as a parallel to Terra. Both of them are trustworthy to anyone and are willing to do anything for a good cause.
The only issue is, because Terra had more visible darkness and he didn't have travel companions like Sora: he's labelled as an idiot as opposed to an idealistic hero.

As if Sora isn't frequently decried as "dumb" or an idiot too, especially by those who think every protagonist has to be a serious, snarky prick with a stick up his/her ass with the emotional range of a toaster.

 

[Chuman]

As if Sora isn't frequently decried as "dumb" or an idiot too, especially by those who think every protagonist has to be a serious, snarky prick with a stick up his/her ass with the emotional range of a toaster.

....neku!

terra is dumb? fine, i agree. sora is dumb? terra became jealous and submitted to his darkness, sora was happy for riku and made a joke about it. terra gets tricked by xehanort, kills his friend (eraqus) and loses his body. sora is underestimated by xehanort, saves his friends, willingly sacrifices his body, gains it back and defeats xehanort. then his minions. then his other half. hell, even sora's nobody was so sick of hearing their BS he grew a heart, whooped ass and hauled out of there.

so yeah, if sora is dumb, we need a new word for terra because i can't fathom it. sora's optimism makes him a great protagonist btw.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

....neku!

terra is dumb? fine, i agree. sora is dumb? terra became jealous and submitted to his darkness, sora was happy for riku and made a joke about it. terra gets tricked by xehanort, kills his friend (eraqus) and loses his body. sora is underestimated by xehanort, saves his friends, willingly sacrifices his body, gains it back and defeats xehanort. then his minions. then his other half. hell, even sora's nobody was so sick of hearing their BS he grew a heart, whooped ass and hauled out of there.

so yeah, if sora is dumb, we need a new word for terra because i can't fathom it. sora's optimism makes him a great protagonist btw.

One fitting example, but certainly not the only one.

As for Terra though, last time I checked there wasn't any jealousy involved at all, but that he felt rejected and unwanted, not to mention he didn't fully "submit" to the darkness until the final battles in BBS.
Becoming a Keyblade Master is also something very important for Terra, almost like a life goal, so it is not that surprising that he felt pretty down about it. Sora on the other hand doesn't care about the Master Title at all, he did only take the exam because Riku wanted it in the first place, so the two have a totally different starting position for their respective reactions to the results.
The one with a jealousy-problem was Riku in KH 1.
Terra also didn't kill Eraqus, that "honor" goes to Xehanort.

Fact is that both Sora and Terra get labeled erroneously as "idiots" or "dumb" by some parts of the fanbase who only look at these characters on the surface.

 

[Absent]

Interestingly enough Riku and Aqua(both Masters) have shown jealousy/envy. With Riku is more apparent through the first and second game while Aqua makes a passing remark about the bonds of boys in Olympus Coliseum. I mean the whole MoM was whack, Aqua passed and all the attention and focus is shifted to Terra?! Eraqus might play favorites.

 

[Anagram]

Fact is that both Sora and Terra get labeled erroneously as "idiots" or "dumb" by some parts of the fanbase who only look at these characters on the surface.

Can you blame them? There's nothing beyond that surface to see because of the writing even you find issue with. Terra's misadventures can be explained as sheltered life at first but after so many times it goes from trusting to just a gullible person. The writing of BBS then makes that gullibility look like stupidity. (since Xehanort has to win =3)

Sora on the other hand has been shown to be basically normal at times while stupid to the point of shounen ripping. Depends on "which Sora" too. (ya got KH1, brainwashed CoM, shounen KH2, digital version, etc)

 

[Pandymint]

Sora reminds me of Goku. Always optimistic, never gives up. Turns into a crux of overconfidence because he thinks he's invincible cause hey. He took out Ansem AND Xemnas AND Marluxia AND-you get the point. And hey, someone's got to be optimistic.