Which characters has the best Rivalry in your opinion?
- Thread starter Foxycian
- Start date
|
REGISTER TO REMOVE ADS |
|
- Status
I think the Riku-Ansem rivalry is the most interesting, especially when you consider it as an allegory for real-world relationships between victims and their abusers (and I'm not talking about any specific type of abuse, but a broad category of it).
I mean, consider the trajectory of their relationship: Riku allows Ansem to take control of him, to give his mind and his body over to someone with a greater degree of knowledge and power; then, after their connection is severed, Riku still harbors the trauma of what Ansem did to him so strongly that a literal piece of him still lives inside him that he has to defeat in CoM. Then, when Riku encounters an insurmountable difficulty in Days, he has to literally become the abuser he despised in order to achieve his goals, which causes him to hide away from all his previous friends in shame of what he has become.
In KH2, he is freed of having to adopt Ansem's form after his friends accept him for who he is and he relinquishes that sense of shame and guilt. In DDD, he directly confronts his former abuser, accepting that his influence has helped make him stronger while also rejecting a connection with him. And in KH3, he comes full-circle by confronting his younger self, overcoming the person that his abuser turned him into, and then finally making peace with severing his connection with Ansem at the end for good.
This is why I think most fans of the series love Riku as a character, because he has one of the most complex and true-to-life story arcs in the entire series. It's really a wonderful character arc for children to learn when you think about it. And there are many different types of Ansems out there in the world that people struggle with dealing with.
I mean, consider the trajectory of their relationship: Riku allows Ansem to take control of him, to give his mind and his body over to someone with a greater degree of knowledge and power; then, after their connection is severed, Riku still harbors the trauma of what Ansem did to him so strongly that a literal piece of him still lives inside him that he has to defeat in CoM. Then, when Riku encounters an insurmountable difficulty in Days, he has to literally become the abuser he despised in order to achieve his goals, which causes him to hide away from all his previous friends in shame of what he has become.
In KH2, he is freed of having to adopt Ansem's form after his friends accept him for who he is and he relinquishes that sense of shame and guilt. In DDD, he directly confronts his former abuser, accepting that his influence has helped make him stronger while also rejecting a connection with him. And in KH3, he comes full-circle by confronting his younger self, overcoming the person that his abuser turned him into, and then finally making peace with severing his connection with Ansem at the end for good.
This is why I think most fans of the series love Riku as a character, because he has one of the most complex and true-to-life story arcs in the entire series. It's really a wonderful character arc for children to learn when you think about it. And there are many different types of Ansems out there in the world that people struggle with dealing with.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2018
- Messages
- 2,167
- Awards
- 12
- Age
- 34
Riku/Ansem. This rivalry was a huge part of Riku's character and growth. It was in every game that Riku appeared in minus BBS depending on how you look at that. But what made this rivalry great was the different stages it went through throughout the games. It starts in KH1 when Ansem takes control of Riku. In CoM it's their first real time fighting against one another face to face. In Days Riku is trying to hold back the power of Ansem but is forced to use it and turn into him. In KH2 it's the aftermath and Riku has to accept taking Ansem's form even going as far as to roleplay as Ansem, too ashamed to face Sora and Kairi again. In DDD just as Riku thinks he's free of Ansem, his nemesis returns completely independent of him now yet still taunting him with darkness. And by KH3 Riku has defeated Ansem yet again, but the dynamics have changed. Riku doesn't harbor hatred for him anymore and even says he'll miss him. Likewise Ansem, as evil as he is, almost became like a twisted father figure for Riku to overcome and by the end acknowledges that Riku is stronger then him and darkness.
This is a rivalry that could have easily worn out its welcome but it worked with how Ansem and Riku's characters evolved and matured through each encounter. It's one of the reasons why Riku is one of the best characters in the entire series, and Ansem Seeker of Darkness became more then just a generic "darkness" spouting villain.
I think Riku in general has some of the best rivalries of the series. His rivalry with Sora was brief and only lasted in KH1, but it was done so well. Destiny Island's built up Riku as the older, cooler kid on the block who could beat all the other kids 3-1 style, Sora is constantly competing with him, they both like the same girl and went about saving her in different ways that clashed. It was classic rival storytelling but worked well because the characters were great. They tried to keep the rivalry going with various Riku clones after KH1, even having Riku himself fight his former self through them. And they tried to recapture that dynamic through other characters and it just never took off the way Riku's did.
I do think Ventus and Vanitas can reach this point in the future, since Vanitas is clearly coming back in some shape or form.
This is a rivalry that could have easily worn out its welcome but it worked with how Ansem and Riku's characters evolved and matured through each encounter. It's one of the reasons why Riku is one of the best characters in the entire series, and Ansem Seeker of Darkness became more then just a generic "darkness" spouting villain.
I think Riku in general has some of the best rivalries of the series. His rivalry with Sora was brief and only lasted in KH1, but it was done so well. Destiny Island's built up Riku as the older, cooler kid on the block who could beat all the other kids 3-1 style, Sora is constantly competing with him, they both like the same girl and went about saving her in different ways that clashed. It was classic rival storytelling but worked well because the characters were great. They tried to keep the rivalry going with various Riku clones after KH1, even having Riku himself fight his former self through them. And they tried to recapture that dynamic through other characters and it just never took off the way Riku's did.
I do think Ventus and Vanitas can reach this point in the future, since Vanitas is clearly coming back in some shape or form.
Definitely Riku/Ansem. For a lot of the reasons you guys posted and I especially loved how it concluded in KH3. Ansem's speech and farewell to Riku was one of my favorite parts of KH3(even if Riku saying he would almost miss Ansem was a bit too much)
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2018
- Messages
- 2,167
- Awards
- 12
- Age
- 34
That's not a rivalry, that's a one-sided massacre.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2018
- Messages
- 681
- Awards
- 3
Then we can say Namine vs Nomura is the worst carnage ever.
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2012
- Messages
- 3,772
- Awards
- 37
For rivalries, Sora and Riku easily. Next, probably Repliku v. Riku. "Real Thing," lol. Less serious than those two were, but Hayner v. Seifer. Oh, Hades v. SDG manage the feeling of a rivalry just because of how good the dialogue between them was in 2 and 3, they rarely feel serious with one another anymore.
If we're simply referring to any villain-protagonist relationship as a 'rivalry,' I would go with Larxene v. Namine. I always think strong villains make strong protagonists--who knows, maybe that's why Namine leaves such an impression despite getting practically nothing post-CoM, because Larxene was just that vile to her. Saix was the same thing for Sora and/or RAX, could be the reason RAX is the only trio that really works as a whole for me. The main original villains have always been disappointing, on the other hand. At least Marluxia had the decency not to talk so much.
If we're simply referring to any villain-protagonist relationship as a 'rivalry,' I would go with Larxene v. Namine. I always think strong villains make strong protagonists--who knows, maybe that's why Namine leaves such an impression despite getting practically nothing post-CoM, because Larxene was just that vile to her. Saix was the same thing for Sora and/or RAX, could be the reason RAX is the only trio that really works as a whole for me. The main original villains have always been disappointing, on the other hand. At least Marluxia had the decency not to talk so much.
I love Vexen. He definitely does some horrible things in CoM, but I always think of Vexen as "crotchety" and "drama queen" more than villain, he makes me laugh and so does the way everyone takes the piss out of him. I think the twirl of the throne room at the beginning of Days always makes me giggle, too, what with the camera having to make a dramatic dip for him because he's seated so much lower than everyone else and the look on his face as if he's perpetually seething over it, lol. Personally, I still like Even in 3 and MoM, although they've sanded the edge off him for sure.
Last edited:
I think the best rivalry is probably Riku vs Roxas. From everything we've seen of these 2, they just don't like each other, and I like that. I'll be disappointed if they become friendly acquaintances in the future but I'm sure it'll happen
Topic has been necro-bumped.
/Closing
/Closing
- Status