Thoughts on Riku: "I'm not afraid of the darkness"

[Shinra]

this is really interesting... very well thought out and it seems that this proves the fact that the progression of the kingdom hearts story in contrast to Riku's darkness and his heart is much like a solar eclipse. The heart is the sun, and the darkness is the moon... you may try to stop the light from shining, but the corona's light will never be stopped

 

[Goldpanner]

*queue psycho theme*

B-but...

*huggles them both*

wrong queue /locks inner linguistics student back in cage

 

[ultima-demi]

Wow,that was amazingly well written.

I just can't believe i actually read all that.

Just to show how great it is,i actually like Riku a lot more now.

 

[blueheart]

He was extremely self-sacrificial, to a degree I'd find hard to believe from someone who simply wanted strength for the sake of having power or status over other people, which is what I think most people thought when they played KH1.

It wasn't for the sake of having power over people, it was for the sake of not feeling weak. It's like when your a little kid, your in a contest or game against someone, but you keep losing, to the point where you get angry and jealous of them, because they don't seem to be struggling as much as you, and it seems pretty easy for them, without them using much effort. It gets to the point where you don't mind cheating, just so you can win, so you won't feel or be weak. Desperation.

I'm not disagreeing with your argument, I think Riku did want a sense of being needed. I'm just saying this was another part of the reason he accepted the darkness. He saw that Sora didn't need a protector, so he wanted to prove that someone still needed him, Kairi, and that he was better at protecting than Sora, since by this time Sora seemed to be at equal or greater strength than him.

 

[shadowii]

Very good essay but we will see how it fares (like any fan essay on this site) against future games in the series (like the next one which trust is the theme) and besides Rikus feeling seem to hitn at being explored in fragmentory passage

 

[ICECOOL113]

This sooo longer than any other analysis I'd seen! This should totally be on the homepage! I really love how you explained how Xehanort really does take control of Riku from the very start and how so many things go back to his plan to rule Kingdom Hearts! Do you think you can do one on just Terranort?

 

[gelandporn]

And I'm not sure whether it's simply a fear of the unknown that makes Riku's darkness. Part of me thinks his darkness comes more from a fear of not having a place in life.

Well, not having a place in life certainly becomes one of the main catalysts of his darkness, but it isn't the original one.
In BbS, he says he wants to leave to find strength. If he really thinks that he must protect the things that matter, then there's obviously something in his mind that he needs to protect them from (something from the outside). And that's where his role as the protector comes in, and he clearly thought of himself as that the entire time.

But his notion is shattered when Sora gets the Keyblade. Only then, I'd imagine, does he feel like he lost his place in life.

I think it was more that he was hurt and shocked over having the mantle stolen from him, and over time built up all the reasons you stated in order to justify why he deserved that role more. And he still tried to play the role of protector, going to extreme lengths for Kairi, struggling along without the support of the Keyblade and not trusting Sora to get the job done right. I don't think he consciously passed that mantle on until the very end, with the line 'take care of Kairi for me'.

Perhaps "passing the mantle" was the wrong phrase to use their because it entails a willing passage, but I'm in agreement.
What I meant there was that, when he saw Sora with the keyblade, he saw him for the first time in the role that he once thought was exclusively his. He applied that role to Sora, and judged him from that point of view (and rationalizes that Sora isn't fit for it when he sees what happened to Kairi).

As I said, Terra promised Riku the keyblade ("So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be."), so there's no doubt that Riku felt robbed- both in terms of the material and his role in life.

 

[luluxiu]

To do this, he knows his fight. There is no doubt, Riku is certainly driven the curiosity of the outside world, but mostly for the benefit of others. To be prepared. Just sit there and not do.

 

[JM0c]

I love this analysis. You have a great understanding of the character. I think his development in CoM and KHII is great too. Riku is actually my favorite character because of his complexity. Sora is great and probably should remain the wat he is. There is an attractive quality to simplicity in certain matters. Riku is my type of character though