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Why did Riku cut his hair?



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Zettaflare

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Why do you guys think Riku cut his hair shortly after getting Mickey's letter? This may seem trivial, but it's something I've been curious about. Do you think he simply wanted shorter hair, or was there some deeper meaning behind it?
 

Hobbe

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Needed a hair cut is all ;)

But really I'm thinking it's supposed to be symbolic of starting over.
 

Oracle Spockanort

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Why do you guys think Riku cut his hair shortly after getting Mickey's letter? This may seem trivial, but it's something I've been curious about. Do you think he simply wanted shorter hair, or was there some deeper meaning behind it?

Cutting hair in modern Asian culture represents new beginnings and leaving the past behind. Riku's long hair was something of a representation of his year long struggle against the darkness in his heart.

By his hair being shorter, it represents how he is starting things anew in KH3D. The whole game is practically about how Riku has changed for the better.
 

Face My Fears

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Well since Ansem: SOD had long hair, and Riku had it long too, I suppose he wanted to start anew. I prefer him with shorter hair, he just needs a new outfit really.
 

Sign

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Well since Ansem: SOD had long hair, and Riku had it long too, I suppose he wanted to start anew. I prefer him with shorter hair, he just needs a new outfit really.

Ethy already covered why he cut his hair, but the only reason Riku had long hair in the first place was because he was so determined to protect Sora and ensure that Organization XIII doesn't succeed that he sacrificed his own well-being.
 

Oracle Spockanort

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Ethy already covered why he cut his hair, but the only reason Riku had long hair in the first place was because he was so determined to protect Sora and ensure that Organization XIII doesn't succeed that he sacrificed his own well-being.

To add onto Sign, it also represented the passage of time as said by Nomura in his September 2011 interview with Famitsu.
 

Gram

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Now if only Sora would get one~
 

Zettaflare

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

While I can understand the symbolic reasons for why he cut his hair, I actually thought he looked better with long hair. Made him look a lot more mature.
 

Oracle Spockanort

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Now if only Sora would get one~

I was thinking about that yesterday. It's hard to imagine if Nomura would keep Sora's hair the same if he's also going to go through lengths to give him a new outfit. The problem is that if you trim it to have short spikes, he'd look like Sion Barzahd from the Bouncer. If it is trimmed too much in the back, he might look like Cloud.

Honestly, cutting it anywhere might ruin the iconic style...

While I can understand the symbolic reasons for why he cut his hair, I actually thought he looked better with long hair. Made him look a lot more mature.

I have a love-hate relationship with the hair. I think he looks really bad with the hair, but I think that has more to do with the model design than Nomura's design which is really good. It was just too much hair on him and he looked dumb trying to see through it.

I also liked it because it didn't look like his hair could poke your eye out like his KH1 hair.

In the end, though, I love his short hair. It's different from most silver-haired characters in Square Enix games. Honestly, I wish Nomura had dared to go shorter.
 

Gram

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

I was thinking about that yesterday. It's hard to imagine if Nomura would keep Sora's hair the same if he's also going to go through lengths to give him a new outfit. The problem is that if you trim it to have short spikes, he'd look like Sion Barzahd from the Bouncer. If it is trimmed too much in the back, he might look like Cloud.

Honestly, cutting it anywhere might ruin the iconic style...

Perhaps he could get it "trimmed" then. Sora's hair in KH1 is far shorter than KH2. The only difference is the length of his spikes and some additional ones.
Maybe a shorter style but more or less the same?
 

Ruran

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

I thought Riku looked like a dork with both short hair and long hair. >:3

On top of symbolizing change and all that good stuff, I think the cutting of the hair also symbolizes repenting. 3D was also the game Riku was finally ready to forgive himself.
 

FudgemintGuardian

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Actually, it's because Sora was really hungry that day.
[video=youtube;FN_J_S7Aqa4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN_J_S7Aqa4&feature=related[/video]
In the end, though, I love his short hair. It's different from most silver-haired characters in Square Enix games. Honestly, I wish Nomura had dared to go shorter.
I think that's why I don't like Riku's short hair, it's that it's just not short enough. It always makes me thing of his KHI hair and it just doesn't work on an older Riku. Maybe if he cut his bangs off it'd look better.
 

ChibiHearts249

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Actually, it's because Sora was really hungry that day.
[video=youtube;FN_J_S7Aqa4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN_J_S7Aqa4&feature=related[/video]
Haha, that was pretty amazing XD
Sora's a koala and Riku's his eucalyptus tree~ (totally inside - but understandable - joke)

Hmmm...I like both. I'm a sucker for long-haired dudes if they can pull it off, but Riku's short hair is pretty great, too. As for why? Well, that's obvious. He's finally started to take care of HIMSELF again. Perhaps he's not as into self-loathing now that some time has passed and Sora could be around him. Sora makes him a better person.
 

kuraudoVII

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

I tend to prefer a Riku with longer hair myself since I honestly think that he looks better wearing it long, but I can understand the symbolism towards having it cut (see Luke from Tales of the Abyss). However, I do think that the short hair looks good on him...in his Dream Eater form. In his more adult form, it looks kind of awkward thanks to the fact that he's a lankier and it doesn't quite mesh with his Kingdom Hearts II design, but it looks better in his Dream Drop Distance form where the short hair looks a little less out of place, at least to me, anyway.
 

robvandam111

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

I hope Axel...I mean, Lea doesn't get a haircut. I prefer him the way how he looks at the moment.
 

Ultima Spark

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

For what it's worth, KH isn't the only game with this kind of symbolism, it's also in Final Fantasy IX (one of the main characters cuts her hair after recovering from a series of traumatic events for this exact reason).
 

Gram

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Re: Why Did Riku cut his Hair?

Actually, it's because Sora was really hungry that day.
[video=youtube;FN_J_S7Aqa4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN_J_S7Aqa4&feature=related[/video]
It all makes sense now! I bet that's what happened to MXs hair too~

I think that's why I don't like Riku's short hair, it's that it's just not short enough. It always makes me thing of his KHI hair and it just doesn't work on an older Riku. Maybe if he cut his bangs off it'd look better.
I does feel off but I blame it on the outfit as well. Maybe new duds will make the hair match better.
 
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