#it’s not that she’s bad in kh3

[greetings-inferiors]

Saw someone comparing people disliking Kairi being the “damsel in distress” of the franchise and wanting her to have her own game to raging feminists complaining that she should be a strong independent woman that don’t need no man and like… no…

Kairi is great in kh1. Seriously! If anyone looks at kh1 and goes “it’s bad because a woman is a damsel in distress and that’s sexist” yeah no they’re stupid. The problem is how it keeps happening.

Kh1: she’s a princess of heart so she’s taken by the darkness and her heart is protected by sora’s heart. But this is fine! It’s goo motivation for Sora, especially since Riku’s gone evil.

CoM: it’s all about saving Naminé, who isn’t technically Kairi but is Kairi’s nobody. So it isn’t that bad. It really does hammer home how Sora’s memories of Kairi are of highest value to him, to the point it can get a bit repetitive lmao. But still it’s fine.

Kh2: she’s not a damsel at all! Apart from like being taken by Axel for a bit, I’d say this is the most agency she’s gotten in the whole series. But still, she was kidnapped by Axel. It resolved quickly, but still.

She doesn’t appear much until kh3, and when she does it’s pretty good. So at this point it’s established that she IS a strong character. Even in kh3 she spends who knows how long in a hyperbolic time chamber training with Axel/Lea, so as far as we know she’s at the level of a keyblade master by now.

But then

And this is probably my biggest gripe with kh3

We get to the scene where Xemnas just… grabs Kairi and runs away, and suddenly Kairi is as powerless as she was in kh1. And, that sucks.

Luckily in re:mind we get to fight as her and she FUCKING SLAPS, which is ALL THE MORE REASON SHE SHOULD GET A SOLO GAME NOMURA

Basically Kairi is one of the most important trios in the franchise, and she constantly gets sidelined and belittled. It made sense in kh1, but now she’s a keyblade wielder it’s just depressing.

And she’s the only guardian of light to not get more than a single battle of playtime. Sora… is the main character of the franchise. Riku gets a playable appearance every other game. The way finder trio got you to play their game three times through to give them all time to shine, and aqua even got a solo outing, Roxas had a whole game to himself and you could play Axel, Xion, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and even the other members of organisation 13 in mission mode. But Kairi had a single battle in Kh3’s re:mind and a game where she’s the narrator (because you don’t ACTUALLY play as her, but as EVERY GODDAMN CHARACTER EXCEPT HER)

In a franchise that loves handing out spin offs to any character that breathes, it really sucks that such an integral, beloved, cool, and fun character doesn’t have their own game, or even a side story like Riku.

And this doesn’t even mention her personality, which kind of has deteriorated since kh1, where she genuinely was an incredible character don’t @ me.

It’s not your fault you’re bland Kairi, it’s Nomura’s 😔

Here’s to Kairi having agency as the franchise moves forwards. But with kh4 moving to another realm, once they’ve found Sora I don’t see what she’s gonna do. What she COULD do.

[fabulousairpirate]

incoming kh rant, lol

Hi! I'm supposed to be doing schoolwork, so you know what that means: it's time for me to talk about kingdom hearts again!

Y'all remember how Xion was originally treated by the fandom, particularly by shippers? I do. I was in the trenches fighting for my girl's honor while folks who shipped Protag Boy with Best Friend who was ten years older than him slandered her into oblivion. There was literally no Xion content for years. Go to Youtube right now and look up any video that was widely known throughout the fandom (Axel as Dane Cook, which are still classics btw, character Disney themes, trailers for different movies using KH cutscenes, fuckin Invader Zim videos) and I'm willing to bet you money that Xion will not appear in any of them. If she did, it was like "Woah this person really knows their stuff, they've got fuckin' Xion in the vid." But most of the stuff was either people complaining about her being shoehorned in, making her the villain in the AkuRoku stuff, or just the beaten-to-death joke of "Who's Xion?" Maybe we just needed to mature or dive deeper into the story, but by the time KH3 came out, the tune had thankfully changed and she received the hero's Welcome Back she deserved. It's interesting to see the change from completely neglected and ignored character to fandom darling, but if anyone can pull it off, it's her.

I will say though, it is so viscerally satisfying to hear the remix of Vector to the Heavens. It was already a great boss theme. But the KH3 version, with the heavy rock guitar and the war drums, it almost gives off the impression that it isn't just Xion fighting her opponent; it's Xion fighting US. It's her answer to the endless "Who's Xion" jokes: I Will Make You Remember Me. And I Will Cut Your Max HP, Thank You.

Idk. I love her, always did and always will. Character of all time.

[ajdrawshq]

playing Q2 n watching Akechi get affectionately suffocated by some guy in a bear costume. this game knows exactly what i want

[butter-goat]

I feel like we as a community don't speak enough about soras psychology. He as a character clearly (if you look a little deeper than what he intentionally is letting people see) does not deal with his emotions very well. Especially when his friends are in danger or in trouble. For example during the "everyone's dead scene" (which isn't what it's called but I can't be bothered to look it up rn) in the keyblade graveyard in kh3 sora only lets a little bit of what he believes out. He has sunk down into a depression in as little as a couple of seconds. Indicating his ruined mental state. He depends almost entirely on his friends for his self worth and it's not healthy. He screams and cries when his friend are dead. (Which is completely understandable they just DIED for gods sakes) but he reacts in such a harsh way. He immediately begins blaming himself and considers himself worthless. While it could have been something that just happened in the moment because he was in shock, I believe there is evidence indicating that he may actually believe that. there's evidence that he blames himself for riku and mickey getting trapped in kh's version of hell; the dark world. There's evidence that he blames himself for kairi going missing every game. There's evidence that he blames himself for Roxas' ... Everything. When he remembers her, he blames himself for everything that happened to Xion and immediately begins trying to bring her back after he learns that she can be brought back. And namine.... Ohohoho namine. When he sees her for the first(?) time I believe he collapses like he does for riku in kh2. And he starts saying things like "I'm so glad i found you!" And "I'm sorry for taking so long!" Which is indicative of a guilty conscience in my opinion. And when he forgets her and half-remembers her at the end of kh2 he feels bad for keeping him from roxas because at the moment he believes they are friends who have been kept from each other because of him. And when he leaves twilight town for the first time, he cries. And although this could be chalked up to Roxas' memories living through him I believe that it is not the case. He's leaving his friends, hayner, pence, and olette for the first time which makes him sad. As we covered before, he thinks he's worthless without his friends and that is why I believe he started to cry. Anyways sorry for going on a long rant, I wanted to get my feelings down so I could explain it better to other people.

[marcirose]

If anyone wants to know why the kingdom hearts fandom has a lot of bad takes and everything in that regard just know it's all kh2's fault

Kh2 is the reason why everyone thinks the disney worlds are filler, why people think Sora "fell off" after kh2, why people think the series is just cool anime stuff but with disney characters, and why people think Kairi still has relevance all cause she has a keyblade (/hj about the Kairi point but also not really)

The games that came after kh2 aren't held in as high of a regard cause everyone expected the future games to be like kh2 when they're very clearly not. Most of the kh3 criticism I saw basically boiled down to "this should have happened like it did in kh2"

Every game after kh2 is doomed to be compared to kh2 like how every final fantasy game after ff7 is doomed to be compared to ff7 cause of how it popped off the way it did

Imo kh2 more or less essentially ruined everyone's perception of what kh is and is also one of the biggest examples of showing the dissonance between what the fans want to see vs the story Nomura wants to tell and that dissonance gets stronger with each game

Kh2 was the turning point in the series that basically told everyone that the story wasn't going the way they think it would go and it completely went over everyone's heads and I think that needs to be talked about

Anyway moral of the story is stop skipping kh cutscenes. That's why y'all confused and why y'all don't know things. If I see any kh4 criticism that sounds like "it should be like kh2" I'll bitchslap you to the moon I've had enough of the comparisons

[yzafre]

The thing about Ventus as we're introduced to him in BBS is, for me, that he has a lot of right instincts and feelings, but not (yet) the maturity to properly communicate and act on them.

Because if you look at what he says in the game - hey something bad's coming, we should stay together, we should support each other, we should not spy on each other and mess with other's agency at an outsider's behest - I mean... he's right! He is, in fact, right about that!

I very firmly believe that if they'd stuck together a lot of the issues in BBS would have been either avoided or mitigated. Like imagine if you had this unshakeable understanding of what's going wrong and what you need to do to fix it but no one will listen to you. Without experience and maturity guiding you on how to handle it, I can see why he gets very yell-y and snappish and impulsive.

The problem, of course, is that just because it's understandable does not mean it's a good way to handle things. It's still an immature course of action! I know there's been people that find him very whiny, and on top of that, uh, telling Aqua she's awful was not the best look, Ven, what the heck.

I think another aspect of this is he's still filtering these things he instinctively knows through a rather... self-centered? Point of view. He's more focused on how their actions are making him feel, rather than understanding why Terra and Aqua are acting the way they are, why they don't see the truths he does.

We joke a lot about "your experience is not universal" but honestly I think realizing that is a huge stepping stone in a person's path of growth. Looking outside yourself to realize other people are have their own internal worlds guiding them.

That's why the "What you are is Darkness?" scene in KH3 hits so well for him! He's both finally able to communicate why he finds his and Vanitas' situation so awful rather than just yelling a lot, but also he understands and acknowledges Vanitas' point of view, even if he probably still knows/feels its not the best one.

[firestorm09890]

The Axel quote "Go on, you just keep running. But I'll always be there to bring you back!" I feel is taken out of context a lot and if you know how he is and how much he will fight to get his friends back it feels like he's saying "you're my friend and whenever you feel like throwing your life away I'll bring you back to your senses", a sweet sentiment said in a very Axel way, except it's actually about him recapturing Xion to force her back into the Organization. She was going to throw her life away in this instance but it's sort of like going "no! don't kill yourself. you're going back to the place that made you want to kill yourself and you're not leaving". Could we maybe figure out how to make her not want to kill herself instead? The answer is "no" in this instance, by the way.

If the two options weren't "let Xion go and she'll kill herself" and "send her back to the evil place that want to do bad things to her" I'd say something about Axel being possessive and caring more about losing his source of happiness than the actual well-being of his friends (which actually has more merit than you might think, considering the line directly before the subject of this post was "You both... think you can do whatever you want. Well, I'm sick of it," referring to Roxas leaving the Organization to learn the truth from someone who would actually tell him) but that WAS the only alternative to Xion going off to die (aside from secret option 3, not making her come back to the Organization but also not allowing her to see Naminé, I guess, which probably would have ended in tragedy anyway) and that's honestly how the end of Days is. Everything is bad. I still think for the sea salt trio friendship to work post-kh3 he NEEDS to sit down with Roxas and Xion for a long and potentially brutal discussion about the consequences of his actions and how they were harmed by them but also man it sort of was a bitch of a situation

[reunionatdawn]

The beauty of Axel's original character arc

"I thought a lot about that. Should I leave him as he was or should I bring him back again? However, when I considered the people that Lea wants to bring back, his existence plays a big role. I think Lea has successively become a key character." (Tetsuya Nomura)

Nomura said that he debated whether to bring Axel back to life, or to leave him as he was. The fact that he wasn't sure meant that his KH2 character arc must have felt complete somehow. So, I'd like to take a look back at Axel's original storyline in KH2 and why I liked it so much. I thought his death worked very well as a beautiful and satisfying (albeit more bittersweet) ending to his story. In many ways, I found it to be much more poignant than his storyline in KH3.

“Is that how to treat a best friend on coming back from completing a long mission!” “I don’t recall becoming your best friend.” (Another Report: Roxas—Somewhere in Time)

Roxas was closer to Axel than any of the other Organization members. But he obviously yearned to have best friends his own age. That is why he was best friends with Hayner in his dream world, even though he didn't know them in real life. And he didn't even remember Axel. In other words, Roxas and Axel were not really best friends. In the short story that was included with the Japanese version of KH2FM+, Axel was the one who was insistent on using that label.

Hayner: Well, I doubt we can be together forever. But isn't that what growing up's all about? What's important isn't how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other. Right?

The whole concept behind Nobodies was that they had no hearts, but they still had their memories from the time when they did. So, the writers undoubtedly had some idea of what each member's backstory was like. In the original KH2, the writers chose not to explicitly tell us anything about Axel's past. But based on his behavior, we would be able to ascertain that he probably had a best friend when he was still a human. However, he was already a grown up. His summer vacation must've ended a long time ago. He could no longer be with his best friend, and he needed Roxas to fill that void.

Roxas: Organization XIII… they're a bad group. Naminé: Bad or good, I don't know. They're a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. To that end, they're desperately searching for something.

One of the biggest themes in KH2 is that of duality. In Hinduism, the universe is said to be made up of two complementary opposite forces called Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is the masculine force and is known as the destroyer or transformer. He is associated with chaos, darkness, and the element of fire, which symbolizes purification. Shakti represents light, order, and the feminine nurturing aspects of the universe, giving birth to new life. She is associated the element of wind, which symbolizes life energy and creation.

Axel's moniker is "おどる火の風". It translates to "Wind of the Dancing Fire" or "Dancing Fire's Wind". This is my theory of what the deeper meaning was. One of the most famous depictions of Shiva is that of him dancing in a ring of fire. This version of him is known as known as Nataraja. The rhythmic movements of the dance are said to cause storms and destruction. And there's a backstory to the dance.

In Hindu mythology, Sati immolated herself out of intense devotion to her husband Shiva when her father insulted him. When Shiva learned of Sati's death, he was overcome with grief, sorrow, and uncontrollable rage. Shiva carried Sati's lifeless body on his shoulders and began to perform the cosmic dance of destruction.

In KH1, the reports mentioned how Ansem amplified "storms" in the subjects of his experiments on the darkness of the heart. The kanji used (嵐) can refer to a literal storm or it can also be used metaphorically to describe an intense emotional state. I suspect that the original idea in KH2 was that Axel's best friend was killed during an experiment. And this event caused Axel's heart fall to darkness, turning him into a Nobody. It's probably the reason why Axel was so delighted to assassinate Vexen by setting him on fire.

Axel: Let's meet again in the next life. Roxas: Yeah. I'll be waiting. Axel: Silly. Just because you have a next life…

The imagery of Shiva dancing within a circle of flames represents the eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Shiva performs the dance and destroys the universe, but this destruction is eventually followed by rebirth. His lover Sati was reborn as the goddess Parvati and reunited with Shiva as his other half. Their combined form represents unity in duality and cosmic balance. In KH2, Axel did not think he was going to be reborn. And that was the basis of his storyline.

Naminé: We may not have homes. But there is someplace I want to go… And someone I want to see… Axel: Same here.

Nobodies had a strong thematic association with death and the afterlife. In KH2, Naminé was the ghost girl living in the haunted mansion. In KH3, she was an incorporeal star in the Final World, the metaphysical place where people go when they have strong attachments and cannot pass on to the other side.

A Nobody was the spirit that went on even as its body faded from existence. They were very similar to the Unsent from FFX, which was another game written by Kazushige Nojima. Axel was created because his human-self had strong sentiments. He desperately wanted to be with his best friend forever. And this unfulfilled dream, ironically, kept his body and soul tethered to the realm of light.

Kairi: Maybe…waiting isn't good enough. Axel: My thoughts exactly! If you have a dream, don't wait. Act. One of life's little rules. Got it memorized?

When Axel asked Kairi if she wanted to "see" Sora, he was referring to her meeting him in the afterlife because he was planning to kill them both. A similar form of wordplay was also used in the Japanese dialogue. His intentions were made apparent by his outstretched hand. He wanted Sora to become a Heartless again. So, he probably planned to accomplish that the same way he became a Heartless.

(Japanese Translation) Axel: We're quite similar, aren't we? Both of us want to meet our important friends. Don't you think we're like comrades?

In the KH universe, when a person dies, their heart returns to the light of Kingdom Hearts. Since Axel didn't think he had a heart, he thought there would be nothing left of him to live on after his empty vessel was destroyed. Even if he wanted to die and be reborn to meet his best friend, he couldn't. He was driven by intense loneliness.

Some Kingdom Hearts fans think there's something romantic between Axel and Roxas and that Disney stopped that from being made explicit. Is that true? Have there been things Disney have stopped you from doing? Nomura: In terms of the relationship between Axel and Roxas, we never intended anything like this and this is actually the first time I ever heard of it! We don't want to openly negate how the fans have come to enjoy the characters, but it was not something the creative team intended. Axel and Roxas are the best of friends and that's their primary relationship. 

Axel's intense yearning to see Roxas once more made fans question his orientation even back in 2005. Akuroku was quite a popular ship back in the day and many players saw romantic subtext on Axel's part. I do agree that Axel is easily read as queer. But the creative team was not trying to imply that he was in love with Roxas. I think it was his human best friend that he was really in love with, and Roxas just reminded Axel of him. When he was with Roxas, he felt like he was with his best friend. And that's why he wanted to die by his side.

(Japanese Translation) Axel: When I was with him, it felt like I had a heart too. That kind of feeling... I feel it with you too... The same...

When Axel said, "the same", he was referring to how Sora reminded him of Roxas. But I believe that we were invited to read between the lines and wonder if he was also referring to a human best friend that had already passed on. Ultimately, Axel's original KH2 arc was not about being together with Roxas forever. Roxas merged with his other half and became whole. He would live on within Sora.

In some Hindu traditions, "Sati" also refers to the act of a widow willingly participating in a self-immolation ritual on her deceased husband's funeral pyre. It was seen as an expression of devotion and loyalty and also an act of peerless piety which was said to purge her of all her sins. The widow would achieve spiritual liberation (moksha) not only for herself but also for her deceased husband. This meant that both would be freed from the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). The widow was thought to be reunited with her husband in the afterlife, enjoying an eternal spiritual existence with him.

To help Sora reunite with Kairi, Axel self-immolated. After he died, Nojima probably envisioned that he would meet his dead best friend again, who was waiting for him on the other side. He had attained moksha, which represents the final goal of human existence in Hinduism, where the soul is liberated from the cycle of samsara. And that's probably why Nomura wasn't sure whether it was better to bring him back to life or to just leave him as he was.

"I never thought he would grow as much as he has. We originally planned to have him exit upon being defeated by Roxas during the opening of KHII, but all the staff, myself included, were strongly inclined to have him keep playing an active role after that. It's possible he will have things to do in the future, too. I tried to put that into his 'see you' line in KH2 FM+." (Tetsuya Nomura)

When KH2 was written, the writers probably had not envisioned a preexisting relationship between Saïx and Axel. But after its success, they decided to expand on the Organization's backstories, and came up with that idea. Isa was based on the original concept that was implied in KH2. Axel did have a human best friend, and that loss had a profound influence on his relationship with Roxas.

If Axel's human best friend was supposed to be literally dead in KH2, then him only being Norted is a major retcon, yes. But it was a retcon that would allow for the eventual reunion of Axel with his best friend in the physical life. Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, he could resurrect him from the dead. And that was the underlying idea of making Lea a Keyblade wielder in the first place.

Lea and Isa's backstory is one of the missing links of the KH series. By all means, it should have been depicted many years ago, in the defunct Birth by Sleep Volume II. This is a shame because it left their relationship extremely underdeveloped, and their reunion was largely glossed over in KH3 as a result. Because of this, I thought Axel's storyline in KH3 fell flat, and I thought that his ending in KH2 was more impactful. But I may change my mind if we finally get to see more of Axel's long overdue backstory in Missing Link.

[aitsuheart]

As someone who likes Soriku, I also like Kairi. I hate how there are unfortunately some people that give everyone who likes Soriku a bad name by hating Kairi and just making her awful in non canon things.

It's quite sad.

The narrative also doesn't really do her justice either and it's such a shame. She could be really interesting. I have stated in the past, let her still have nice friendships with Sora and Riku along with various other characters. Let her have emotions about being left behind and change. Let her get frustrated that she feels that she cannot get strong enough. Let her find out what happened in her past to end up at the Destiny Islands.

I don't want her overpowered. There are some fans who show her a someone who is overpowered and can do anything and it feels like a weak characterization.

Let Kairi feel frustrated that she constantly becomes something to motivate others such as her kidnapping in kh2 and her heart getting destroyed in kh3. It would be so much more interesting if Kairi expressed that she hates how she became a liability. And I'm not saying she is, but she feels that way since she had to be saved.

Not enough people focus on that.

Let her show her feelings or emotions.

It's only reason I sometimes dislike aspects of the people who ship the opposing ship. It's not because it's opposing, but because they reduce Kairi to just that. People show her as having no character other than being a character's partner. It's the similar reason why I dislike the part in MOM where she has to turn to Sora to fight Xehanort.

Why couldn't she do it herself?

In all honesty, I'm fine with the pairing and Soriku is just really special to me.

Disclaimer: These are my thoughts of how Kairi is portrayed by fans and in canon. And what I would like to see from her in future games.

[sillylilyposting]

Imo, kh1 is the only one that takes longer to use items because you have to select them manually from the menu, whereas in kh2, you can put potions and other healing items onto your shortcuts, which most people use for cure anyways.

Also, you don't have to wait for the particle effects and such to run out before you can move, you have a tiny bit of time before it ends to move. Also the prev anon is right; it takes the same amount of time to cast cure and use a potion, the amount of time it locks you in an animation is damn near identical, unless you're a stickler for like, milliseconds idk.

And then in kh3 they were actually kinder with the mp bar, because they added that whole "you can save 1mp to cast cure if you need to after doing other spells" which i think even includes cure itself? Honestly I'm not as familiar with kh3 since its newer and I've played the other 2 since release. Also they added Kupo Coins... which is just a revival you can buy at the shop. The other games didn't have that, except for the occasional visit from Mickey in kh2 if you died to certain bosses. But getting Mickey isn't guaranteed either, where the Kupo Coin is 100% effective.

Also, just... I know the MP refill seems like it takes forever because yeah, kh2 is pretty fast pace when you're in combat, and you really want that mp bar to fill up again, but it's not 70 seconds wtf??? Its probably like... 20 at most? (Maybe I'll come back after I time this bc I just started a kh2 game and I don't have any mp abilities yet).

But you can change that!!! You get MP Rage (Wisdom lvl4, Hidden Dragon keyblade ((this is literally the first keyblade you can switch to)) ) Theres MP Haste (wisdom lvl 6, Circle of Life keyblade, Full Bloom+ item,), MP Hastera (roxas gets it at 3rd level when playing on Critical) and MP Hastega (Ultima Weapon keyblade). Theres plenty of ways to boost that time. Also carry fucking ethers, or elixirs, or megaelixirs. Don't have them? Buy them!!! At least the ethers!! Every moogle has them!!! Want elixirs? Synthesize them!!! You get both hp and mp back from those, if you're really in a bind! Equip them to your customization menu so you can use them in a shortcut! I do that if I know the fight is gonna be bad! You really only need Cure, Reflect, And one other kind of magic you like on the other 3 slots anyways!!! If its a boss fight, ditch Magnet! Magnet doesn't do anything to bosses!!!

YOU CAN ALSO SUMMON STITCH!!! HE REFILLS YOUR MP EVERY LIKE 3 SECONDS IF YOU'RE USING IT!!!

And if she ever pulled the "well my party members should heal me more" she should GO INTO THE PARTY CUSTOMIZE MENU AND FIX IT!!! YOU CAN CHANGE THE FREQUENCY THAT THEY THROW OUT SUPPORT ITEMS AND ABILITIES!!! IN EVERY GAME!!! I know its a joke to never give Donald and Goofy items but ffs if you know you're gonna have a tough time, GIVE THEM ITEMS!! ESP LATER ON GIVE THEM ITEMS THAT BENEFIT THE WHOLE PARTY!!

Sorry just omg... I have 22 years of playing these games under my belt, okay, I've been playing since I was 3. And kh2 is my favorite and I *know* how to play that game. Well, I'm not a speedrunner or anything, I just know the tips and tricks and things you can do to help yourself out yknow. Like these games give you tools as you level up, its only in early game where using Cure can really screw you.

Like, you get cure in Beasts Castle. You've usually done Land of Dragons by then, so we're not mentioning that, but if you did BC first, LOD will be a breeze anyways. Next world is Olympus Coliseum, and the only time you might have to use it is in Hades Escape (bc Lance Soliders suck), and then maybe in either Cerberus or the Hydra if you struggle on one of them. Then next is Timeless River and your only real struggle there with dying is the fucking Hot Rods in The Scene of The Fire bc they suck too. But once you get to Port Royal, its smooth sailing until, like, Pride Lands fighting Scar (or the Hyenas if you're on Critical bc omg they can one shot you if you're not careful) but by then you should have at least something to help your healing or mp, or have enough stock in items to use those.

....tl;dr, KH gives you tools to deal with the restrictions to healing. Its not a spam like in kh1, but the later (numbered) games give you plently of things to help make healing easier as the game goes on and also being able to put items into your shortcut helps the speed of it too.

((I'm not talking about the non-numbered games bc tbh thats a whole new can of worms. THOSE are the games you have to really plan out healing in bc of the whole card (re:com) or ability slot things that bbs and ddd have that make healing a lot harder.))

Bars

You coulda made up half of that and I wouldn't know i tried to do my own research but this anon showed me that while my perspective was basically right I cannot compete with a true kingdom hearts fan

[greetings-inferiors]

I know it’s a weird ask but I really want to be able to fight Sora’s friends. I’d love in kh4 to have a limitcut type thing but with Riku, kairi, Donald, goofy, Roxas, etc. I just think it’d be really cool.

1.) Riku. I want the fully evolved form of the destiny islands Riku fight, have him have a dumb ass counter that he spams ever five seconds.

2.) Kairi. Let the girl rip and tear she deserves it. Her reckless teleporting to her keyblade noctis style is also sick as hell I’d love to fight it instead of alongside or as it.

3.) Donald and Goofy. Tag team. Donald zoning out Sora while goofy pressured him, and goofy protecting Donald while he charges up a massive spell. It’d be really cool.

4.) Roxas. The kh2 Roxas fight is one of my favourite in the series and I just want to see how they’ve both progressed.

5.) Axel. Okay so this is the main reason I’m making this post - I want to fight axel, it’s CRIMINAL that he doesn’t have his own theme yet. Every other character on here does, yet he’s stuck with sharing the 13th struggle. Why. Also him stance changing between his chakrams and his keyblade and the fire arena would be sick.

6.) Xion. Any excuse to hear vector to the heavens I’ll take. Also she has one of the best fights in all of kh3 so I want to fight her AGAIN. It’d be so cool if she dons her armour from days and becomes a giant fuckoff gundam as part of her dm too lmao

7.) Terra. We kinda got this in remind but it was terranort so I don’t count it. Also I think the lexaeus boss fight in kh2 is so cool and this is the closest we could ever get to it happening again lol

8.) Ventus. I just really want to see them fight. He’s so quick too I think it’d be Yozora and Xion levels of dancing with your opponent.

9.) Aqua. I want to not be able to make out her or Sora underneath the sheer mass of projectiles she’d release. I need her fight to be a bullet hell. Also she deserves to let off some steam after being trapped in hell for a decade.

10.) Naminé. Dear god please give her something to do. She’s literally done nothing since 2005. Kh3 forgot her so bad they had to make up a scene just to justify putting her on the boxart. I know that she technically has no offensive prowess since her only power is being able to change the memories of people related to Sora specifically, but please oh please just give her something else. Have her become a keyblade wielder. Have Donald teach her magic. Actually that’d be sick as hell, have the witch be incredibly strong at magic without needing a keyblade like everyone and their grandmother. Just please do something with her.

11.) Mickey. Let me beat up Michael. Let him go all out. See who deserves the title of king.

Extras:

Have “hard mode”s where you have Riku and Kairi, Mickey Donald and goofy, Roxas Axel and Xion, and Terra Ventus and Aqua pairing up. Who’d Naminé pair up with? Nomura knows.

Have Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie grouped up as a fight and it’s literally just them ripped straight from 7 rebirth to its synergy skills and everything.

Yozora rematch? Idk it might be too soon.

I would say to have union cross characters as fights but that’ll probably happen in kh4 anyway. At the very least the lost masters for sure.

[mythicalartistx]

So people blame Terra....

And it's not his fault.

Like essentially he wanted to do good and he wanted to help people.

Maleficent manipulated him like she did with Riku.

Terra and KH1 Riku are actually similar

Xehanort was probably a mentor he looked up to and he didn't know he was bad. Like from the viewer everyone is like he screams bad guy it's Xehanort— but Terra didn't know this.

Xehanort planted the seeds in his head and had him use darkness. Though Darkness isn't inherently evil, Eraqus was only worried.

Because of DR events where the darkness killing all of Eraqus and Xehanort's friends, Eraqus was worried for Terra. Xehanort , however, by experiencing that and seeing that went astray after the fact. Eraqus however knew this about Xehanort.

Maybe he thought he changed with putting Ventus in his care.

But because of DR events, Eraqus was worried and wanted him to be safe (he viewed him like a son) and would rather him just stay at the land of departure.

That's why he tasked Aqua with watching him. But at kh3 Eraqus admits he shouldn't have done what he did.

First seeing BBS you think oh he's a bad teacher when actually he's one of the better ones. He's just worried they will turn out like what happened in his and Xehanort's past. He only knew darkness as bad at this point too, they didn't have anyone like Riku who is in the light but also used Darkness for good

He keeps Ven sheltered, asks Aqua to bring them back and watch over them, and has Terra go out to prove Eraqus is wrong.

But by having them leave, Xehanort takes advantage of it.

Eraqus admits he was a foolish teacher and asked so much of them.

The reasons Terra was different from Riku is that he knew that darkness was bad and didn't want to use it. He then uses darkness to protect Ven something Riku probably would have done and that's when Eraqus realizes what he did was sorta wrong too and that he shouldn't have raised his hand against them.

However, Xehanort, takes that opportunity to attempt and kill him as Eraqus hides in Terra's heart.

Xehanort set the three of them on a path that led to distrust and separation.

It's no one's initial fault. It's bad circumstances.

After the final battle, Aqua saves Terra by sending him and her armor to the world of light.

And before anyone says she shouldn't of done that because he ends up causing his problems with Xehanort obtaining his body, Aqua didn't know that would happen.

Literally none of the characters knew the outcome of things. They didn't know Xehanort was filled with darkness, trying to sway them. Ventus lost his memories from being split from Vanitas.

They trusted their master for some reason let Xehanort around, that's the only thing I honestly really question.

He probably was just wanting to reconnect with their tragic yaoi

I see people hate on Aqua too but it's not her fault. She didn't really let being Master go to her head, she just wanted to do what was right and what she was told. Again because of separation there was distrust.

Anyone it's just Xehanort's plan, no one is at fault.

[derangedfujoshi]

"The rest of KH2 is not as good as the intro with Roxas" and "The gameplay of DDD made me stop play" are two statements that will automatically make me disengage with our convo about Kingdom Hearts, alongside the evergreen "KH4 shouldn't include Disney World because it has outgrown the need for them", "Sora should be super angry and depressed instead of so cheerful", "The Destiny Trio aren't real friends", "Kairi should be pissed and be immediately good at using the keyblade", "KH3 was bad/the games outside the big three are irrelevant" and "It was very misogynistic of Riku to tell Kairi she should train more".

And this is why, friends, I don't KH with anyone but myself

[youareinacomawakeup]

I’m too tired to go too deep into detail on this one but here’s my Kingdom Hearts 4 theory that I want to put out into the world.

The nameless star and the girl we see in the Verum Rex trailer aren’t actually the same person. It’s a red herring.

Yozora takes clear inspiration from Noctis from FFXV (e.g. the scene of Yozora in the car that’s shot-for-shot a scene from an early trailer with Yozora replacing Noctis).

And while many think that’s because Nomura is using ideas he never got to bring to life when he worked on Versus XIII, aka “Beta FFXV”, before the project moved on without him, I think it’s less that and more to do with Nomura’s feelings in letting go of his characters and letting someone else write their story.

I think Yozora is the answer to the question “What if Noctis knew that his story was so far removed from what was originally planned? What if he knew his fate was changed?” (Put a pin in that, because there’s more to this question.)

Anyway, we all saw the nameless star for the first time and... Okay, well, a lot of us thought it was Strelitzia at first and that Square Enix North America (henceforth SENA) had just put romantic dialogue somewhere that wasn’t supposed to be romantic and accidentally made Marluxia sound like Strelitzia’s love interest. (Wouldn’t be the first time that happened in KH3. Thank you SENA.) But once we saw more of her and Yozora in Melody of Memory and Re:Mind respectively, we all realized she was from the same place Yozora was from, and we all thought about the only girl we know who’s from Verum Rex and we all just...

...assumed.

But we haven’t seen the nameless star’s face. And we haven’t heard Verum Rex girl’s voice. So we don’t actually have any confirmation that they’re the same person.

So here’s my suggestion.

Verum Rex girl is Luna in this equation.

And Nameless Star is Stella, the girl who was originally going to be Noct’s love interest back when FFXV was Versus XIII.

We meet Nameless Star in what is essentially Kingdom Hearts Purgatory. But she’s from a fictional world. Fictional characters can’t die. Not in the way we know it. I can pop Into the Spider-Verse into my DVD player, hit play, and boom, there’s Uncle Aaron, alive. You can’t do that with real people.

But if a character is written out of a story, they’re gone forever. That, I propose to you, is true death for a fictional character, which is why Nameless Star is hanging out with dead people. And she’s lost everything. Her whole identity. Her name. And the person she loves doesn’t remember her. Because she’s not part of his story anymore.

Yozora also says that the way he looks isn’t what he really looks like. A lot of people have taken that to be the start of an explanation for why he looks like Riku, and it still might be in some roundabout way, but I propose to you that he’s been redesigned, and he’s aware of it.

So here’s the core of what this all means, why it’s relevant.

Kingdom Hearts loves its parallels, yeah?

So here’s what I propose to you.

Sora’s story is also, as we speak, being rewritten. At least in a sense.

Sora sees Riku’s light, and twenty minutes later, it’s apparently Kairi’s light.

Sora saves seven hearts, including Riku’s, and three hours later, he’s only saved six, and Kairi’s heart is the seventh.

Somehow or another, Yozora found out about what happened to him, and, due to some trial or another, also found out what is currently happening to Sora. And he wants to save Sora from suffering his fate.

I don’t think there’s any hope for Yozora himself. He is, after all, the night sky, what could have happened if Sora’s story got the “bad end”, so to speak.

But I do think he can “save Sora.”

So here’s the rest of that question.

What if Noctis knew that his story was so far removed from what was originally planned? What if he knew his fate was changed?

And what if he saw the same thing happening to Sora, a kid destined to have a queer love story but forced into a romance with a girl by a greater power instead, and refused to let that slide?

[hollowwhisperings]

Kairi the Character: The Future of a Grounded Star

The creators of the KH series have emphasized that, going forward, the series will focus on Sora and Riku. They also repeated that KH3 was the story of "childhood friends who drift apart as they grow up" & that change can be sad but is necessary, that people can always re-conect in new ways.

Essentially, the KH team marks KH3 as the "end" of Kairi's Story with Sora & Riku: the end of an age of Childhood Promises, of resisting "Change"... and of growing up "together".

Going forth, the "Destiny Trio" hyped up in marketing & the fandom consciousness is firmly "retired": KH3 ends with Riku's connection to Sora is stronger than ever, Sora on the cusp of a Realization pertaining to Riku being Sora's "Light"... and, as of Melody of Memory, Kairi knows that "following" her two childhood friends is not conducive to helping them nor to herself.

This post will examine the many ways Kairi has "functioned" within the greater narrative of Kingdom Hearts & its themes. It dips into Kairi's Resistance to Change being her greatest inhibitor in taking an active role within the series, how and why her first attempts were met with failure (spoiler: copying your friend's homework can only ever get you so far), why Kairi's "Staying Behind" (Home) is where her own story begins & the importance of Kairi's Distancing herself from the main story of Kingdom Hearts. Kairi's Story has never been the one shared by Sora & Riku: Kairi's Story is found in the wide cast of characters, "crossed-over" and original, and interwoven with the setting's many Mysteries. Kairi, independently of either of KH's protagonists, but together with Others "Left Behind" is a crucial lynchpin to unravelling so many spools of thread: threads held separately by many hands... each confused, in their isolation. Kairi can play a Key Part in "sorting" these threads, in enabling Different Characters to Meet (& so see their Common Threads), and in doing so "consolidate" them all within a "Wider Picture". Mostly, however, I'll be contextualizing Kairi in Themes of "Home" and as "Light".

Kairi the "Starcrossed"

Kairi has spent the KH series thus far in a pattern of "staying behind" and "chasing after her friends". While the former is not actually a bad thing (indeed, it was a Key Element in games past & likely in future too), the latter has lead to immense "disappointment".

Disappointment in fans of Kairi, who believe Kairi is suffering from "Chickification" (demoting a female character to love interest & subsequently removing every aspect of her character to better enable "romance" that better resembles a female acting as an Emotional Support Human). Disappointment from fans of the mysteries in KH's worldbuilding & lore, who find Kairi an inherently Mysterious Character connected to most every Subplot on either side of "Reality".

Disappointment from Kairi herself, who initially mimicked her friend in footstels both literal & figurative only to find that what "strengthens" Sora (or Riku) does not strengthen her. Kairi's desperate efforts to cling to childhood has greatly hindered her personal growth, as most harshly evidenced by her almost-death in KH3 & Sora's disappeatance thereafter. In Melody of Memory, Kairi takes her self-growth more seriously: she wants to reunite with Sora, to renew the closeness they had so recently (for her) yet so seemingly long ago (for us, for Sora himself). By the end of Melody, Kairi "fails" again: this failure was not for naught. Kairi's Failure "demoted" her from the Assumed Role she has long held (in & out-of-universe) of "Designated Love Interest [to Sora]" & Sora's Hypothetical "Prince[ss] Charming".

At the end of Melody, Kairi makes her first true act of personal agency in the series: she requests to train under Master Aqua, a woman who rescued her once in childhood (though Kairi may not remember) & who acted as the "Lynchpin" to the safe returns of the "Wayfinder Trio".

With Master Aqua as Kairi's new mentor, let us return to the subject of "Home" & how "staying behind" (as Kairi consistently chooses to do) is not actually a bad thing.

Kairi's "Homes"

"Home" can be different things to different people. To Sora, homes can be made whenever he connects with new places & friends. Sora also considers the Destiny Islands, especially the "play island" where he spent so many years growing up with Riku & Kairi, to be a "home". To Riku, "home" is wherever Sora is. To Kairi? Home is a much more complicated creature to an amnesiac girl who became a Literal Shooting Star.

The first "home" (that we know of) Kairi had is one she claims to no longer remember: Radiant Garden. This is where Kairi lived prior to the Destiny Islands, the place where the errant Master Aqua met a 4th Princess of Heart and bestowed upon her a [protective blessing/charm] (likely enabling Kairi's safely ending up at the Destiny Islands rather than Traverse Town or even Quadratum). Radiant Garden is also where we met Kairi's Mysteriously Well-Informed "Grandmother", someone whose Stories Kairi remembers even when she (claims) to be otherwise amnesiac of her life prior to "The Meteor Shower".

Other characters from Radiant Garden include Cid, Squall Leonhart, Aerith, Yuffie & Merlin (whom Kairi first met in KH1, in Traverse Town, and who seem Mutually Oblivious as to their Shared Heritage). It was also the home of characters Foreshadowed to be Involved with the "Bloodlines" plotlines of Phase 2 of KH: Ansem, Ienzo (a character whose origins are possibly More Mysterious than Kairi's), Apprentice Xehanort ("Terra-Nort"), "Braig" (the latest Host of Master Luxu), Isa & Axel (friends of the Mysterious "Subject X".

In studying with Master Aqua, Kairi will take her first step in acknowledging her Past & seeking to recover it: that step was made easier, perhaps, by Kairi's befriending fellow keyblade wielder Axel. Axel, like Kairi, is originally from Radiant Garden but has found a "new" Home. Axel's Home is with Isa, Roxas & Xion in Twilight Town: Kairi's Home has long embraced the Destiny Islands as her Home.

Kairi's continued, sometimes stubborn attachment to the Destiny Islands makes Sense: whether she Remembered it or not, the memories immediately prior to her "debut" as a Literal Shooting Star would have been of her being the latest Test Subject of Xehanort. If her memories of Xehanort were not stolen safely away by her young age, Repression or the traumas of Crashlanding into an ocean (possibly featuring a bit of Drowning? between Aqua's Magic & Kairi's Own, hopefully this was one trauma young Kairi was Spared from)... Kairi has Good Reason to disassociate with Radiant Garden & its labs. That Kairi willingly submitted herself to be studied in sleep by Ansem & his reformed Apprentices for a year? That in itself was an act of Remarkable Bravery and True Desperation. "Survivor's Guilt" is one of many potential "Darknesses" that Kairi, a Princess of Light, may need to Accept into herself to "grow" beyond that role & into young adulthood (as all other Original Princesses of Heart did). It is a subject Familiar to Kairi's Peers, the Princesses & those "left behind".

Yet Kairi is not someone "left behind" by the narrative: Kairi is someone who Chooses to Stay Home. This "passive" choice of Kairi's, to be a person to Return To and a Representation of "Home" has been the most plot-relevant aspect of her character since KH1 & continued to be her Key Narrative Function... right until "the power of childhood promises" was brutally, thoroughly Proven Insufficent. Childhood Promises were Kairi's "theme": with each timeskip, each near-death experience, Kairi's friends had Grown Up & Apart from her. "Promises" could not be as carelessly, made as meaningfully fulfilled in the Stakes of young adulthood & War: KH3 forces Sora, Kairi & players to recognise that "promises are for children"¹.

That is not to say that Kairi's Choices to "Stay Home" are bad: Kairi is not weaker for seeking the security of a fixed "home". Kairi has lost every Home she has ever had. That she clung to the "idea" of the Destiny Islands, once the world was restored, is consistent with how Kairi has been shaped by her own Traumas (well before & then in opposition to Sora and Riku, who found "Home" in each other more than once).

Kairi & "Safe Return"

Recall now the Wayfinding Charm Kairi made for herself & her friends as her "contribution" to their Raft Project: thalassa shells set in a starfruit's shape, a Sailor's Promise of "finding their way home". Unlike Riku "the Reverse-Little Mermaid" or Sora "the Adventurer", Kairi only worked on the Raft so her friends wouldn't leave her behind. Kairi was genuinely worried of being lost at sea, something she was miraculously spared from when she crashed into the waters of Destiny Islands.

In KH2, Kairi sends a "message in a bottle": while how sizable its role really was in providing a "Door to Light" for the stranded Sora & Riku is ~vague~ due to its "Timing" (right after a Heart-to-Heart between two uniquely "bright" Keyblade wielders), Kairi's "wish" in bottle-form certainly helped in said Door's directly opening to the Destiny Islands specifically.

Kairi & "Geography"

Then there is KH3's "Tunnel of Light" sequence. While players may Expect that the Abrupt Deus Ex Machina as "GPS Princess Kairi Saves The Day Offscreen, Again"... the sequence is Deliberately Misleading.

Sora's initial recognition of his "Light" as Riku's Light is correct: Riku, now and always, is the "Light" Sora knows best. Riku is also Found At The Tunnel's End: Kairi, however, was with Sora the whole time. Kairi was Geographically Incapable of being Sora's "Light" because she was right next to him, following Sora as he was lead by Riku's Light.

The entire "Light Tunnel" scene in KH3 is referential to the Infamous Meteor Shower event recalled by Sora & Riku in CoM.

Sora and Riku both recall watching a Meteor Shower with Someone Very Important to Their Heart(s). During this Meteor Shower, the person Naminé replaces feared that a Meteor (a Shooting Star) would strike the Destiny Islands: Sora or Riku then promised to [always protect] the Person Naminé Replaces in this Shared Memory. It is Naminé's placing herself within This Memory that prompts the Drastic Increase in [Devotion] from both Sora AND Riku['s Replica]. Due to Naminé's previously inserting herself into either boy's memories in Kairi's place, players "expected" that the True Memory & the Promises of Protection must have "also" been With Kairi.

...except that Kairi could not have exchanged anything with anyone during That Meteor Shower: Kairi was the Meteor Shower, one of its meteors & its most Significant Shooting Star. The promises that both boys recall making were made to each other: they exchanged tokens by the light of a Shooting Star.

Ascertaining Kairi's "Relative Geography" is the Vital Clue to many of her Weirder Moments throughout the series: in Sora & Riku's Shared Memory of a Meteor Shower, Kairi was a Meteor; in the Tunnel of Light sequence, Kairi was inside the Tunnel & not at its End; when Sora & Riku find themselves stranded in Another Side of Reality, as they once were in the depths of the Realm of Darkness, Kairi will be their Connection Home.

Kairi the "Lighthouse Keeper"

Kairi, through imagery & Choices, has made herself into a "Guiding Star". She is no longer a "starcrossed meteor" of Sora's: Kairi is the Fixed Point of "Home", her Home.

Kairi has become not a Lighthouse but its Keeper: she "tends the hearth" that is her own Heart, one that shines its light from the Destiny Islands where she "stays behind". As a Princess of Light, Kairi can act as the "Keeper" of her own Light: she can determine where it shines brightest ("home" in the Destiny Islands), who it guides (those Lost in Darkness, friends)... amongst other things.

This role of "Hearthkeeper" or "Lighthouse" will not give Kairi any dramatic rise in martial prowess, magical or otherwise. Kairi is Not Sora & she's Not Riku either: their strengths are theirs and Kairi has yet to even consider that her own strengths could be entirely different (& helpful for entirely separate situations). Narratively, making Kairi a "magical powerhouse" is unproductive: other characters are Experienced Battle Mages, their skills & prowess Well Established as Terrifying Extremely Competent.

Rather tham becoming Yet Another War Mage, I would speculate that Kairi's role is something more "unique" to her person & something sorely needed on This Side of Reality: an "Illuminator" not only of pressing dangers and safer shores but of the setting's Mysteries, old and "new". Kairi is already capable of acting in this role: she just hasn't had the opportunity to realise it yet.

Kairi the "Illuminator"

As a Princess of Light, Kairi connects any & all Disney princess past or future: the Princesses are "Torchbearers", their Hearts host to the still-burning remnants of the Ancient X-Blade's Light. These seven individuals are essential to the stability of the Realm of Light, in the absence of Kingdom Hearts. Their endangerment in KH1 was apocalyptic for all Known Worlds: finding the successors of Kairi's Peers in KH3 was a subplot "dropped" upon the miraculous recovering of Master Aqua & her lost friends thereafter. By "staying behind", Kairi's story as a Princess is possible to explore without the risk of her being assumed to be Sora's Princess (or, heavens forbid, Riku's).

As her Grandmother's [lorekeeper] & as a keyblade wielder herself, Kairi is connected to the mythology of the Keyblade Wars of the Ancient Past: the Master of Masters, the Foretellers & how history has seemed Doomed to Repeat. Kairi's placement as "student of Aqua" puts her (& her grandmother's stories) in proximity to Ventus, an amnesiac whose history lies hidden within such stories. That Ven too is "pure of heart" (albeit artificially) is another means of consolidating story threads: how similar is Ven, post-Xehanort, to Kairi the Princess of Heart? How are their Hearts different from each other's & why was Riku's ability to meld his Darkness to his Light so seemingly unprecedented? Is "lack of darkness" holding Kairi back, as a keyblade wielder? Or will Kairi (& Ven) be used by the likes of the Foretellers as "precedent" for all to follow?

As a Wayward Daughter of Radiant Garden, any explorations into Kairi's Life prior to her stint as a Shooting Star opens the world's history to Other Interested Parties: Kairi's hypothetical birth family, for one, and the Concerned Friends of "Subject X". It also requires an Addressing of Xehanort's Time apprenticed to Ansem the Wise... and Questions on how, exactly, he & Ansem "acquired" their Test Subjects in the first place. The technology used to send Kairi from Radiant Garden bears Remarkable Resemblance (in function, if not "form") to that used by the Dandelions. Was there, perhaps, some "reverse-engineering" in play? From Whomst couldst Xehanort Possibly Findeth Such An Arc, one of So Very Few?

Oh, Hi There, Ventus the Secret Dandelion: have you seen the Other, Long-term Human Test Subject? No, not Kairi. One escaped from [our setting]'s Other Resident [Evil] Scientist? Ansem the Wise?

...I May or May Not Harbour Deep Mistrust & Plentiful Suspicions regarding the man formerly known as "DiZ" (for example: did Master Yen Sid ever hear about Ansem's misappropriating his name, just as Xehanort did with Ansem's own?).

That aside, let us continue exploring how Kairi's "staying behind" is much more interesting than putting her back into Sora's Coming Of Age Story for No Actual Narrative Purpose (except to continue in her past role of "Being Conveniently Female"?).

Kairi the "Supporting Character"

Kairi's "Potential" has been Unexplored for nearly the entire series: her resistance to Change, to "leaving Home" & her Seeking Security in Familiar Things has kept Kairi from involving herself in anything "unrelated" to Sora & Riku. Being the series' protagonists, Sora & Riku have been Out Of The Loop on the wider mysteries of their setting: mysteries that Kairi (willingly or otherwise) is intrinsically connected to.

By again Choosing to "Stay", Kairi is able to act as the Fixed Point of Reality's "worldbuilding": Kairi is the connecting character for keyblade wielders to Disney Princesses, the point of reference to clarify "past" from "present" (this is more speculative, contingent to Kairi or Any of the Seven Lights existing as "fixed points" in Reality), and the Meeting Ground of characters (& plot points) old & "new".

Kairi's adjacency to Every Worldbuilding Subplot on This Side of "Reality" makes her an extremely useful Supporting Character. By departing from the "main" story of KH (that of Sora & Riku's "Comimg Of Age"), Kairi is free to support characters in their "shared" stories. Many of these "shared stories" all end up featuring Kairi, as a reference point or otherwise "Key" figure.

As a Supporting Character to Literally Anyone Other than Sora or Riku, Kairi is in great demand (see Speculations Above).

To her Childhood Friends, as they enter Their Arc on Sora's Darkness & the Continued Explorations of the many ways Hearts "Combine"?

The best way that Kairi can help her friends is by doing what she always has (now with other characters supporting her): being a "Fixed Point" in their Reality.

Kairi is no longer Sora's "Starcrossed" Meteor: her role, in his story & Riku's, is to now be that Beacon that Guides Travelers in Dark Seas, the "Lighthouse Keeper" keeping ships mindful of the shoreline & directing sailors to Safe Harbour. When Sora & Riku, weary from whatever Quadratum demands of them, would seek passage through death & dream to Another Side of Reality? Kairi will be There for them, a friend whose life has continued in their absence, ready to welcome them "home".

Conclusion

Kairi was a Reluctant Protagonist and an Absent Love Interest: that was Intentional, as evidenced by the Thematic (& Literal) "Geography" of Key Points in Sora & Riku's Coming of Age story being impossible for Kairi to have actually been "there" to fulfil such roles. Kairi's biggest strength, thus far, was her Faith & Innocent Love enabling her Friends to Find Their Way Home.

Kairi is strong: Sora tells her as much, in the Actual Text of the Tunnel Sequence. Kairi has, however, been "stagnant" in her strength. She can only truly become "stronger" when she needs not constantly compare herself to Riku or Sora (whose strengths are their own, not Kairi's: she has ever been mimicking their footsteps, never able to fill their shoes nor willing to consider getting different shoes for herself to wear instead).

As Kairi grows up & apart from "Childhood", Kairi can make new friends & find new "purpose". Rather than finding herself a "poor subsitute" for Riku or Sora, Kairi can seek the training they never had an opportunity to have & do so in ways neither boy may have "preferred" but Kairi would. Limiting herself to "one-of-three" (a Destiny "Trio") has never made Kairi Stronger, not in the way it has for Other Trios in the series: the "Destiny Trio" was never of the same nature as subsequent trios, the recurring & contrastingly "equilateral" dynamics being KH's means of indicating that, often in life, the friend groups you start out with aren't meant to last. People change and so does the ways they can or would want to relate to each other: is KH to is the story's method of showing the different friendships we can or "used to" have, some friendships remaining unchanged for life & others changing along with its members. to truly grow up, Kairi had to let go the "forever friends" of her childhood. They have been growing up: now Kairi will too.

Footnotes

¹An existing exploration of KH3's distinctions between "childhood promises" & "Oaths" can be found here, on Youtube. It includes a line-by-line analysis of KH's "thesis" on this Theme, Utada Hikaru's "Chikai". My only addition to said video essay is on how its structure acts as a Callback to KH3's immediately preceding title, Dream Drop Distance.

"Chikai" exists distinctly & complementary to the song that shares its melody, "Don't Think Twice". The songs, like the entire premise of Dream Drop, are two perspectives of a shared experience: this is Foreshadowing, specifically pertaining to the concepts of Mirrored Realities & the different ways Hearts can be Combined.

That last theme is especially pertinent given the Various Ways that artificially "combining hearts" has already been used to form or summon the eponymous Kingdom Hearts. This will be the Bloodlines Arc, afterall: "blood" will be Explored, in ways both Literal (ancestry, familial inheritance, generational keyblade violence) & Figurative (keyblades as a concept, Darkness as the "bleeding" of a Heart, the "oldblood" versus the "new"). That any & all depictions of blood will be censored into Water or as "Darkness" is par for the course.

²Kairi, Sora & Riku were never "a family" [trauma-bonded] to each other in the ways of the "Wayfinder" or "Seasalt" Trios. Kairi & Sora are only one (1) year younger than Riku: that means a lot, as a kid, but matters less & less the older you become. Axel's success in his role as "life coach" & "cool older brother" to the [newborn] teens Roxas & Xion highlights the difference that Age & aging has in one's friendship dynamics: Axel was the age of his friends when he "joined" Organization XIII and can thusly prepare them for what they will experience. Upon Isa's "resurrection", Axel keeps his childhood best friend with him: the changes this would prompt in the "Seasalt Trio" have inspired many an "Axel the No Longer Single Dad" joke, if not with that specific wording.

My Elaboration on Relative Age in the Dynamics of KH's Iconic Trios got, uh, Longer Than intended: its elaborated form has been Squirrel'd Away for "Later, Maybe".

[theophagie]

Kingdom Hearts is shounen-esque in the way it calls upon the Power of Friendship and Connections, but I think it's really nice that it also goes "hey this can be bad if it's the only thing you think you have going on btw". Both Ventus and Sora have "my friends are my power" speeches, but only Ventus has the confidence to outright state that he is a part of it too ("and I'm theirs"), while Sora. Well. "Alone, I'm worthless". It's something you can really feel if you compare KH1 to DDD... His speech in the latter isn't sad or anything, but at the same time it's not exactly triumphant or empowering to the same degree, or at the very least it tells you that huh-oh! The boy's having a shounen mc moment but there are issues beneath it all. Issues which more blatantly surface in KH3, and that are made worse by the various jokes that people around him make at his expense

Which is why it was a really bad move to change Riku's words into "You don't believe that. I know you don't" in english, because no, he truly does... the character arc...... "I believe in you. You won't give up", it's moving that Sora managed to save everyone thanks to the boost of confidence that Riku gave him, but there's also a sad aspect to it. Obviously it's something that ties into the series' themes (the believing in someone, I mean), but at the same time... spare self esteem... some spare self esteem, please... It also does a disservice to their relationship because Riku's trust in Sora is absolute to a fault and he is blindsided by it at times ("Sora could fall into any darkness and swim his way out") (said after Mickey said that Aqua is strong like Sora) ("She's been trapped in hell for 10 years but if she's like Sora then she must be fine") (needless to say, she was not fine) (gee Sora, are you fine?)

(He's not)