Why do so many people find Aqua interesting?

[Enturax]

To me, she is just the "mother" type of character and nothing else. Generic, in other words. Similar thing goes with Terra, Ven... But they at least have their "dark sides" that are interesting. In fact, I kinda feel like Nomura was very meticulous when he said that he relates to the "negative" characters more, because they actually DO seem more interesting than the protagonists in KH. Exceptions being Roxas, Xion and Axel...? They all were a lil bit of tragic heroes tho. Maybe Namine?

Not that other protags didn't have their moments, it's just that they generally aren't all that interesting... they just have cool designs

 

[Elysium]

I can understand why someone may not like the character, but for me Aqua is the only good thing to come out of BbS. Overall, I'd say she's my favorite of the heroes after Riku and Namine. As for why I like her, I guess because she has a calm, level-headed demeanor and always attempts to do the right and/or reasonable thing without being OTT cheesy or goofy like, say, Sora. As far as the narrative goes, spotlighting a few Light extremists like her and Eraqus gives the stories a little more depth; watching her find a center like Riku has will be satisfying.

 

[TruestSyn]

I'll bite, these characters are a lot more fleshed out than you are giving them credit for. Using Xehanort's quote about them gives them a better light regarding that:

The broken boy, Ventus having been torn apart by Xehanort's ambition and trying to make something of himself despite the fact that he didn't know who or what he was. Especially now coming from the Age of Fairy tales he seemed to have lost his memories of everything that happened. He potentially was brought to Xehanort by Luxu considering that Luxu had the No Name keyblade.

The feckless youth, Terra was nearly responsible for every negative thing that happened in every world because he irresponsibly listened to every villain and didn't realize what he did until it was too late. The darkness inside grew and grew because of his desire to prove himself and then he had to strike down his own master to protect his friend and after all of that he lost his battle with Xehanort and had his body taken. Also, without him Riku would never have gotten a keyblade and in turn Sora.

The misguided master, Aqua could have been given better advice from Eraqus but because of her master's severe hatred of all things darkness she went in with a similar mentality and put duty over friendship without realizing that her friends were struggling and because of that she shouldered all of their problems on her own. Her sacrifice is pretty much what made Kingdom Hearts what it is now, you could blame her for everything. She turned Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion and hid Ventus, giving them reason to put the Organization there (and potentially setting up another plot with Marluxia/Lauriam and Larxene/Elrena). She pulled Terra-nort out of the darkness and let him continue his life at Radiant Garden which in turn was the reason it was swallowed by darkness and lead to the adventures that happened there, indirectly making her the cause of Ansem and Xemnas' existence, and she's been fighting as hard as she can, as long as she can muster, for ten plus years trapped in the realm of darkness which any weaker heart would have succumbed long ago.

They are all tragic but they are all a major part of the story at this point.

 

[OathkeeperRoxas XIII]

I'll bite, these characters are a lot more fleshed out than you are giving them credit for. Using Xehanort's quote about them gives them a better light regarding that:

The broken boy, Ventus having been torn apart by Xehanort's ambition and trying to make something of himself despite the fact that he didn't know who or what he was. Especially now coming from the Age of Fairy tales he seemed to have lost his memories of everything that happened. He potentially was brought to Xehanort by Luxu considering that Luxu had the No Name keyblade.

The feckless youth, Terra was nearly responsible for every negative thing that happened in every world because he irresponsibly listened to every villain and didn't realize what he did until it was too late. The darkness inside grew and grew because of his desire to prove himself and then he had to strike down his own master to protect his friend and after all of that he lost his battle with Xehanort and had his body taken. Also, without him Riku would never have gotten a keyblade and in turn Sora.

The misguided master, Aqua could have been given better advice from Eraqus but because of her master's severe hatred of all things darkness she went in with a similar mentality and put duty over friendship without realizing that her friends were struggling and because of that she shouldered all of their problems on her own. Her sacrifice is pretty much what made Kingdom Hearts what it is now, you could blame her for everything. She turned Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion and hid Ventus, giving them reason to put the Organization there (and potentially setting up another plot with Marluxia/Lauriam and Larxene/Elrena). She pulled Terra-nort out of the darkness and let him continue his life at Radiant Garden which in turn was the reason it was swallowed by darkness and lead to the adventures that happened there, indirectly making her the cause of Ansem and Xemnas' existence, and she's been fighting as hard as she can, as long as she can muster, for ten plus years trapped in the realm of darkness which any weaker heart would have succumbed long ago.

They are all tragic but they are all a major part of the story at this point.

This

theres a a lot of reasons to like Aqua. I never saw her the mother type, more like the middle sister of the trio trying to fix everything and put all the mess on herself. Her choices basically shaped 10+ years of suffering for everyone but if she never met Sora and Riku and Kairi, Kairi wouldn't be safe and sound in Destiny Islands, somewhat helping Riku in 0.2 ending. Yes creating Castle Obvlion is why Naminè is alone in there and Xion was created there, but Lea wouldn't have made good friends, Sora has someone while he can't remember it, he's going to keep his promise to thank her.

Aqua is both the cause of many sufferings, but in turn none of them would be here now.

 

[2 quid is good]

I guess because she has a calm, level-headed demeanor and always attempts to do the right and/or reasonable thing

Do you think so? I'd argue Terra fits that description better than Aqua does at any rate. Like TruestSyn said, Aqua holds on to Eraqus' beliefs almost blindly, and when faced with darkness she certainly doesn't seem to think twice about destroying it no matter what the source. Trying to do the right thing, yes. Level-headed? Not in my opinion.

 

[Twilight Lumiair]

It's Aqua's strength and unwavering conviction that makes her such a compelling character for me. She's responsible, level-headed (though realistically brazen at times), and incredibly generous overall though it's especially evident in her final actions of BBS and 0.2. I can also connect with her personality better than someone more akin to say Sora. Her being pretty much the strongest written female character (IMO) in the series next to Xion also helps too.

 

[alexis.anagram]

Because she's the most fully realized of the BBS trio and represents a flawed heroine done right, someone who both overestimates others and underestimates herself while also working to bridge the gaps between people, often with unintended consequences. She both mirrors Sora as a protagonist in that she is authentically well-meaning and good to others, while also acting as a foil to his characterization in that she is not as naturally sociable and gifted in her ability to form lasting bonds. She has a clear set of beliefs and a moral compass which both guides her and acts as her undoing; she's quick of wit but too tied to her faith in the logical or tangible progression of things, and often misses the forest for the trees when it comes to the people to whom she's closest. She isn't strong or wise enough to prevent the events in BBS from unfolding in the way they do, but she has a capacity for enduring and combating the hardships that come after which makes her heroic.

Her darkness is that she struggles to carry the kind of faith in herself which she has in abundance for others. She tends to represent an inversion of Riku's arc in that respect; whereas he had to become humbled after following the wrong path to power, Aqua's journey has been about learning to reclaim her power and own her responsibility for undoing the mistakes of the past. She's not a "mother" to anyone-- she might try to posture as a voice of authority once or twice in BBS, but it only goes to show how poorly suited she is for it (at least at the time), and it's clear from her naivety that she has been just as influenced by Eraqus's sheltering of his students from the realities of the outside world as either Terra or Ven were. Nevertheless, she became a Master on the merits of her skill and competence as a warrior, and those flashes of resolve we see within her throughout her arc remind us that she earned that title and simply has to learn to wield it.

 

[MATGSY]

She's a female character that's actually on par with (if not superior to) the male leads in a very shonen-esque series. Compared to Kairi she's a massive upgrade.

 

[ImVentus]

Aside from what's been mentioned in the topic, about actual personality. Lots of fans seem to obsess with her on a Elastigirl level,
because they find her to be thicc. It's everywhere and it's obvious that a large majority thinks this way.

 

[Swing]

Probably because she is by far the best developed female character and so far the only female character that was playable. Compare to the other female characters of the series, she really stands out.

Kairi, the "female lead", is reduced to a simple supporting character and rarely plays a big role in the story, Xion is more a trigger character for someone else's story and was only created to push the story of this specific character, Naminé, like Kairi, plays not a big role in the overall narrative of KH, even thought I have to say she is probably the second best handled female character of this series, Maleficent became more of a Team Rocket like joke villain in the newer games, characters like Olette and Selphie are just simple NPCs and Larxene, like Maleficent, is only a side villain.

I can understand why so many people like Aqua so much.

 

[Perkilator]

Well, let’s see:

-She risked her life to look after Terra and Ven multiple times.
-She nearly got killed trying to break Vanitas’s hold over Ven and it put Ven into a decade-long forced sleep.
-She had to sacrifice herself to the realm of darkness to save Terranort after he stabbed himself with his own Keyblade.
-She’s been forced to spend 10 years (in 6AM Realm of Light Standard Time) in the Realm of Darkness fighting armies of Heartless.
-She had to be separated from both Mickey and her Keyblade when she fought the Demon Tide again.
-And now, with no weapon, she was recently forcibly Norted, and I know there’s light within her still struggling.

 

[Enturax]

Based on some of the replies it's like I said, she is a "mother" type of character - she blindly sacrifices herself for everyone, thinks they are more important than her, she burdens herself for others' mistakes, is super kind and loving etc.

Because she's the most fully realized of the BBS trio and represents a flawed heroine done right, someone who both overestimates others and underestimates herself

Good point.

I actually made the topic too early (for me) because I didn't replay BBS in a long time and thus don't remember that much from it.

 

[Foxycian]

don't know why but i found her the least interesting in bbs even tho i like aqua playing her story wasn't fun i felt the character was missing something as for ven and terrs i liked them both from the get go ventus reminding me of roxas but with unique keyblade style and terra who caught my interest when we first see him in kh2 secret ending back when first showed

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Based on some of the replies it's like I said, she is a "mother" type of character - she blindly sacrifices herself for everyone, thinks they are more important than her, she burdens herself for others' mistakes, is super kind and loving etc.

So Sora is a mother type by your definition.

 

[Enturax]

So Sora is a mother type by your definition.

Sora is not entirely like that. And I don't find Sora very interesting either.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

So Sora is a mother type by your definition.

I mean, he does have three kids.

 

[DarkosOverlord]

All I'm hearing is that the fans who guessed Sora to be the MoM were right then.

 

[Enturax]

All I'm hearing is that the fans who guessed Sora to be the MoM were right then.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/CoolImpeccableBellsnake-size_restricted.gif

 

[Perkilator]

I mean, he does have three kids.

Yeah, except he’s not going to see the third one until KH3.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Sora has been a tireless MoM of three. ;A; let the boy rest

Sora is not entirely like that. And I don't find Sora very interesting either.

He’s kind, loving, sacrifices himself for everybody, thinks everybody is more important than him, burdens himself for ofher’s mistakes (3D & Re:coded especially highlight this).

What is making you see Aqua as “motherly” isn’t those traits you listed. Those are traits exhibited by various characters, and keep in mind Aqua is meant to be something of a mirror to Sora in terms of what role she takes in BBS.

It is her behaviors that you are attributing to her “motherly” nature, but people have explained that those are more sisterly acts than anything.