Soriku Shipper Attempts to "Fix" Sokai
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- Опубліковано 30 бер 2024
- SoKai, while being seen as the endgame romance of kingdom hearts by many...isn't exactly well written. Of course I personally believe this is because it's not meant to be a romance....but I thought it would be fun to attempt to think of ways the games could have made this ship work earlier on, as well as theorize how they could make it work later. (If that is what is truly intended of course) This is obviously just for funsies!
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And there's the fact that the English localization team for kh3 changed some dialogue between Sora and Riku to make it seem non romantic and made scenes between Sora and Kairi more romantic than they actually were in Japanese.
Saying "The writers don't know how to write," doesn't make any sense. These people, especially Nomura, have worked on FF games and there's SO much romance in those.
I feel like they're definitely playing the long game here...
Here is a curiosity. People use Re chain of Memories to "Prove" Riku x Namine and Sokai....but.... with correct translation and understanding, all of the romantic connotation between them is actually Soriku. People get really defensive when they realize this.
Oh absolutely! I actually intend to do a video on aitsu eventually cause it’s very…👀 I’ve seen people try and claim it’s not what we think, but no one can seem to make a proper argument. But yeah that’s why I didn’t even touch com cause there’s too many arguments to be made there and Kairi isn’t in the game so there’s nothing I could truly change anyway.
@@CocoaCatniptv Even Xion in Days contains Riku's Memories. Specifically, Memories of Zexion trying to guilt trip him about Sora, and cause Despair about Sora.
And Riku's voice makes Roxas cry for the first time. So.... Sokai is difficult for me to even script.
@@Fragmentsinfractals488Yeah all that is a big reason why I truly don’t see a sokai ending at all. I can for sure get creative and I think the writers would make it work if that’s truly what they wanted to go for. Buuuuuut I just truly don’t think that’s actually the intent. It would have been so easy to just have Kairi go with Riku to Quadratum…but they don’t and then there’s the Riku Cinderella stuff….👀
@@CocoaCatniptv Not just Cinderella. Dream Drop is one, game long parallel to Aurora (Sora), Prince Philip (Riku) and Maleficent (Xehanort).
And then, in Remind, we have Sora wandering Yozora's Dream on the Astral Plane. And Riku dreams where Sora is. This increases the Riku, Sora, and Yozora connection. The fact they Dream each other, and the comments Sora and Yozora make that Bookend the Xehanort Arc in their Dreams. (I have been .... having these weird thoughts... lately..... Like is any of this... for Real... or not?)
It is everywhere, all the Time.
@@Fragmentsinfractals488 Xion does not have Riku's memories actually!
That scene is really confusing so it took me a while to figure out too but that scene takes place in one of Castle Oblivion's rooms which as we learn in CoM reflect the memories of who passes through them. Both Xion and Riku are in that room (he picks her up and brings her to the real Destiny Islands after she faints from the mixed illusion), so the Zexion parts come from Riku himself!
For a minute I forgot you were talking about changing the story to fix sokai and when you said that in Remind Sora says he understands love I was so confused like WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?! ahfJfkg
The fact that Sora still expresses how confused he is about what romantic love is/what it’s supposed to feel like is a HUGE red flag
I used to be a SoKai shipper for a few years, so I have a lot of understandings for the ship. I can get seeing the KH3 scenes between them & without looking too into them, seeing them as endgame. But when you dive into it more & just. Actually pay attention, especially with some themes n such, it starts getting really fuzzy. With Sora not understanding love even after seeing like a dozen disney couples get together, it really only feels like it can be SoRiku endgame, Sora being ace, or both cuz like. How do you have a mutual crush & just. Not get love, ya kno??? & Sora's always fine leaving Kairi alone when she's not in any danger. & almost every time she is brought up (which is rare), it's someone else starting it. Idk, it's not fair to Kairi. She deserves better.
on the side of fixing SoKai. man. MAN. She could have been included way more. ReCoded she could have been Sora's journal, the 1 mysteriously guiding Sora around. It would have thematically made sense too cuz she was in his heart all of kh1 & almost felt like a guide passively. That would have been so COOL. ughhhh. & then for DDD, she could have heard Sora & Riku needed to leave again to train & she could have been like "wait! I wanna go too!" & we could have had her hang around the tower, or taking a beginner's course somewhere, or even halfway in, YenSid could have started prepping her quicker cuz she would have been already there. & when Sora is stuck in sleep. SHE could have been the 1 to use her power of connection to him to save him from darkness. Ya kno, smth that would have been totally fitting for her princess powers!! Like a reverse true love's kiss!! it was RIGHT THERE. & KH3. They could have explored worlds together. Or he could have been talking about her, expressed interest in talking with her (like how he does with Riku!), & when they have their big scene, he could have been so much happier, & not wait for her to tone it down before he accepts. He could have finally expressed his feelings. The mood was THERE. But then you hear the VA not seeing it romance & Nomura not knowing whether to have the scene in at all & it's just.....ughhhh. All romantic feelings just feel gone. They just feel like siblings now.
But it's so hard to get this across without getting so much hate back. Or if you come up with ideas to make SoKai better, it's just "Nomura is just bad writer". Like if they end up canon, fine. But it just feels like a red herring atm, ya kno, the way Nomura likes to write. He likes to make it seem 1 way while subtly hinting another way & go BAM. The way you thought was WRONG. You MISSED the SIGNS. & ppl keep falling for it! I don't kno.... anyway, good luck with the SoKai fans. Hopefully they don't find this & shit all over it
Oh I’m def prepared for pitchforks! 😂😂😂😂 But I’m also like….I’m not being hateful here and ummmm…this is my account and if I wanna talk about Sokai being badly written and attempt to “fix” it..I’m well within my right sooooo…… They can save the hate for when I do a vid talking about the Kairi and Winnie the Pooh parallels.
@@CocoaCatniptv lolllll exactly!!
on the topic of Kairi + Ven having room to develop a potential friendship IMO I am truly 100% banking on VenKai being the canon ship
I’m honestly so down for VenKai!!!
I'm kinda late to this but I just want to say as someone who used to ship them before KH2, I think it's just so interesting to see that Kairi as a character is way more interesting if you view her as NOT Sora's endgame. It takes the concept of a Disney princess, which Kairi is repeatedly compared to as her role as a princess of light, and turns it on it's head that she doesn't "get the boy".
If Kairi is supposed to be Sora's love interest, the person he cherishes most, then why would the games and novels repeatedly point out that Sora doesn't understand romance when confronted with many disney princesses and princes - couples that, in theory, are just like him and Kairi (i.e. the hero saving a princess and wanting to stay together and make each other happy, always)? This isn't just "bad writing", it is blatant "they aren't the same". Kairi as a princess who learns that she is strong by herself, will only find true happiness and safety if she grows beyond her security blanket of her childhood crush/prince charming, and can save OTHERS like her prince did for her is an amazing character and one that isn't portrayed in any Disney media to this day (or even most japanese media). Moana is a strong independent princess, but she doesn't have a male in her life at all so that is quite an easy character to make - she can't rely or define herself by men if there aren't any in the movie, right?
I think introducing a female character like Kairi who was once so dependent and EXPECTED to be dependent on a romantic interest growing into someone who actively doesn't any more is such a fascinating character and narrative to share. In much the same way that Sora is going to have to learn to believe in himself and not just his friends, I think Kairi has to learn to love and find happiness in herself - that she can't define herself by someone else. She shouldn't copy Riku and cut her hair or copy her keyblade stance after Sora's - she needs to just be...Kairi. Instead of finding love through someone else, you need to love yourself first.
I think that, going forward, Nomura is going to show this character progression in subtle ways like having Kairi model her fighting style to a weird hybrid of Aqua and Sora, with a higher emphasis on shielding and healing herself - and then even perhaps giving her a more "active" solo fighting/story role. A personal headcanon I have is, taking stuff like the sleeping realms theory into consideration, the KH logo and the fact that it's KHIV could be a cool nod to Kairi gaining her independence from Sora and Riku. KHI has Sora alone, 1, fighting to get back Kairi and Riku. KHII has Sora and Riku, 2, separated, isolated, and growing by themselves, with Kairi safe back home for most of the story in this one and staying stagnate. KHIII has Sora, Riku, and Kairi, 3, growing by themselves (Sora gaining the power of waking, Kairi getting her keyblade, and Riku gaining the knowledge and insight on how he can protect the person who he loves before his final sacrifice). I can't help but feel that Nomura did this on purpose as a joke/for visual fun, especially, as I said, taking the sleeping realms theory on the III overlapping the destiny trio when the logo first appears in the opening sequence. Continuing this theme - IV shows two of the trio together, which we can assume will be Sora and Riku with Sora always in the middle of both of his friends and Kairi staying behind while Riku heads to Quadratum. Together, Sora and Riku will grow and become stronger as a pair, their narratives integral to one another, while Kairi will continue her growth alone. I can just see the title sequence now: Kairi, standing alone with her keyblade and looking into the distance with determination forming an I and Sora finally reaching Riku's outstretched hand and the two of them standing beside each other, visually overlapping in some way like holding hands or crossing their keyblades together to form a V. KH...I V.
This was a really long comment...anyway great vid lmao.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything said here and I love your headcanon. And the thing is... This is something that would be right up Nomuras alley. That's the kind of bs he pulls. And even if it's not going to be visually reenacted or even intended to be seen that way, your interpretation of the logo still stands. Whether Sora and Riku will hold hands is still to be seen, but fact is, they're both going to be in Quadratum - together - while Kairi stays behind - alone. Chefs kiss. 👌
And yes, Kairi being someone who has to realize her own value without being dependent on someone else makes her so much more interesting.
I've read another comment somewhere (might even have been here) where someone said that the Papou Keychain on Kairi's Keyblade could symbolize that her destiny is her own, while Sora and Riku have their destiny together (as the Child of Destiny) and that would totally fit with this reading.
@@oras7745 yes!!! I love the kairi papou theory so much! I think it's almost a sign that, not only does she have the papou all by herself, thus stating she has her own destiny unreliant on anyone else, but also that Nomura had a secondary symbolism to "sharing" a Papou.
When Kairi and Sora took a bite out of each other's Papous, not only is it a nod to the childhood promise they made but also says they are "sharing" part of their destinies - but they dont have the SAME destiny, not like Sora and Riku do. Sora and Riku don't have to share a fruit, share destinies - they ARE each other's destiny. In a weird way, having SoKai share two papou fruit doubles down on the fact that they arent destined to be together but also makes their platonic bond one of the strongest in the franchise. They each have their own destiny, destinies which they both want to keep the other involved in and actively share - but destinies that are ultimately not the same.
A single papou must be shared by two people for their destinies to also be the same. And when they combine keyblades, Sora and Riku do just that :^)
@@tehawsumninja Tbf, I don't think it was ever explicitly said in the jp script that two people have two share one singular fruit. But thinking about it, symbolically it makes sense to have two fruits and give yours to the other person if you want to share/intertwine your destinies with each other.
I thought for a while now that the cave drawing has star-crossed imagery with Sora and Kairi's arms crossed. But in this sense it could have a double meaning.
On the one hand its that they intertwine their destinies (the crossed arms similar to the braided cord of the Keychains), but at the same time they are also destined to cross paths, but never stay together for long - as pictured again and again over the course of the series.
That all being said, in this context it's even more important to acknowledge the symbolic meaning of Sora and Kairi sharing two fruits, while Sora and Riku share one.
As you said, Sora and Kairi share their destinies with each other. It's an attempt to stay part of each other's lifes.
Kairi hoped this would ensure they won't be separated again, but in the end it is more like Sora felt about it - "even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore" - showing that Sors is content with being apart from Kairi, because now they will always be part of each other's life and meet each other again, no matter what.
But even after sharing the fruits, Kairi still can't help with finding Sora. She is a key to finding him, but only in the sense that she helps Riku get to the Nameless Star who is the key to getting to Quadratum.
Riku and Sora on the other hand...
They visually share a singular fruit on their Combined Keyblade and they are shown, over the course of the whole series, to constantly circle each other.
Riku and Sora's relationship drives the main conflict of KH1, then Sora is looking for Riku throughout CoM and KH2 while Riku is protecting Sora from the end of CoM throughout Days, in DDD they are constantly in each other's minds and influence their dreams.
It's always like that, except for KH3 where they're finally together - both on the same side and each other's life's. And now Riku is looking for Sora, just like Sora did for Riku. They don't share each other's destinies, they share ONE destiny.
This was long, but I couldn't help myself. :')
@@oras7745 absolutely agree 100000%. In regards to your first sentence, I think I might have mistyped - I wasn't at all trying to say that it's stated explicitly that people have to eat from the same papou, I more meant that symbolically they have to. Like, symbolically, there is a distinction between eating from the same fruit/sharing one fruit like SoRiku, and sharing 2 fruit/eating different fruit like SoKai. I feel like Nomura is implying exactly as we both said that SoKai exchanging two papous is different than sharing the same one. Like him saying "look, this exchange is different than if two people share the same destiny. They don't have the same destiny."
@@tehawsumninja Oh, I see! After reading your comment again, I don't think you mistyped anything. I guess I just got the impression you thought it's supposed to be one fruit shared.
Or it might be that I felt the need to emphasize by said this, that, regardless of what was said in jp, the symbolism of sharing two instead of one fruit is still remarkable.
I'm inclined to think it's the latter, since I tend to do things like that, but honestly I don't know what I thought in that moment anymore. :')
Thank you for clearing up anyway. I also think Nomura wanted to show the difference between sharing two fruits and sharing a singular fruit.
The more analysis I read - whether in essays or comments - the more I believe Nomura was playing the long game from basically the beginning (at latest CoM). If Soriku isn't endgame then there is just a heck ton of unnecessarily weird stuff in the games that don't make any sense. XD
Very interesting idea for a video. Props for attempting to "fix" a ship you don't engage in. :)
I have to admit that I don't like the idea of Sokai being canon and the reason why has long surpassed the sole argument of it being unconvincing. I've been a Soriku shipper almost as long as I've been a fan of the series and I always told myself that I would be okay with Sokai if the writers manage to make it somewhat convincing, but since Tennelle's Riku is Gay video I have become so invested in the idea that Soriku could actually be endgame that I'm pretty sure I'll be heartbroken if it doesn't happen. :')
If push comes to shove I will of course accept the outcome and be happy for the people who will genuinely be overjoyed to have their ship be canon.
But tbh for me there is no way they could "fix" their relationship this late into the series and make it convincing. And with "late" I mean as in "it's already been a long ride, if it didn't happen until now (in KH3) or at least build up more (which it isn't really) then I can't imagine how it is supposed to happen in the future".
I mean, they already did the cave drawing thing and nothing really came from it. It was a lucky charm in hopes they wouldn't be separated and it didn't work. Kairi died, then Sora brought her back and disappeared himself and even after a year long search there is nothing in Kairi's heart that can lead them to Sora. Instead it's Riku being send of by Fairy Godmother like f***ing Cinderella to go find his Prince Charming (or Phillip *thinking of the "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream" line in Sleeping Beauty*).
One main reasons why I don't believe in Sokai Engame is because one of the big themes of the series is the balance between light and darkness. And as The Violet Howler correctly pointed out, media tend to reflect their themes in the romance (if existing). And while Sora and Riku have been shown to be, while contrasting, in complete ballance with each other (light and darkness), Sora and Kairi have been shown to be very "symmetrical" for a lack of a better word. Only light, no balance whatsoever.
Riku already achieved the ultimate balance between light and darkness. Meanwhile Sora is an unbalance in himself, having darkness that is strong enough to overcome him on occasion. This is also hinting at Sora's underlying problems he will have to face and it only makes complete sense for Riku to be the one to help Sora to accept his darkness and find his own ballance (whether in a direct or indirect way).
Kairi being a Princess of Heart makes her unable to have darkness in her heart, so for me a Sokai romance only has a chance if she gives up her role of Princess of Heart and gets her own struggle with darkness.
As you said, they both have some stuff to go through on their own before there could be any chance of them ending up together. For me at least.
Some arguments I've seen are like "but we have so many romantic Sokai moments in KH2" and while some of these moments are rabbit holes on their own, there is also the simple fact that yes, these moments were there, but we have to remind ourselves that after these moments in KH2, after Sora has seen Kairi having completed the cave drawing, he still claims to know little about love in KH3. And then they release the character files AFTER Re:Mind came out where there is a story of Sora questioning how love feels like. Like, why would they have such a story in a guide they bring out after the most recent installment of the series if Sora is in love with Kairi. The boy is not nearly as dense as people like to think he is. He seemed like he had a crush on her in KH1, COM and KH2. He saw the damn cave drawing and smiled. And even in KH3 he sees when people are in love (Kristoff and Anna even before they themselves fully realized it) So if he really had romantic feelings for Kairi, he wouldn't question love. I'm pretty sure of that.
In Fact, I believe Riku is the culmination of the Master of Masters's plan. The Master basically explains Riku's arc of Love to Xehanort when he is pushing Xehanort to follow the path that will make Riku the way he is. Young Xehanort doesn't understand this "non-sequitor" but we do. And It is subtlety implied The Master knows we are watching.
And Riku becomes the Character he is because of Sora.
And The Master is merging Riku and Sora in Two as One to Win through completed Love.... I believe.
In other Words, The Master is playing 5D Chess.
I actually wonder a lot about Kairi. When you look at her as the main love interest she falls flat, but if you look at her from the outlook that she isn't then suddenly she has themes and a character arc. Not a very fast moving one but at least stronger then what it was before.
She feels like a girl who is in love with the idea of Sora. And if she is like Baldr and Young Xehanort being able to see the Light and Darkness within people. Which is a reason I can think for her joke about leaving Riku behind in KH1. After all before the storm that night we don't see Riku doing anything more questionable then some mild teasing. Nothing that would make leaving him out of his own dream a funny joke at least. However if Kairi can see the Light and Darkness within people then she would be able to see Riku's growing Darkness, or maybe a Darkness(race) in Riku's form doing things. Something that likely was happening given that in Recoded we see Riku leave the Islands twice that night which doesn't really make sense if their isn't two Rikus and there has been two Rikus since that stormy night.
The other thing her being able to see the Light and Darkness would do is have her hyper focus on Sora. Which she does. As Sora his holding a Pure Light within himself. Ventus has been within Sora for as long as Kairi has known him. If part of her reason for developing a crush on anyone is how much light and darkness she sees in them. Then Ventus might be a big cause of her crush on Sora. And if she spends any time with Ventus, who she has a lot in common with, I could see an actual relationship forming rather then a crush on a idea which see seems to have on Sora.
I also find the fact that we have never seen Kairi see Luxu's face as something interesting. I could easily see Kairi choosing to follow the Foretellers because she doesn't know about Xigbar/Luxu. Maybe even becoming a replacement for the fox mask during this next saga.
I think she is like Baldr's Sister, a False Light. She casts Darkness but is Unaware she does it.
And I think Kairi is aware Riku was spying on them in the Conversation where they are introduced to us. After all, Riku indirectly tells her he was. She is "just as Lazy as Sora is".
She believes Riku and Sora are pulling away from her and She isn't strong enough to stop it from happening. Thus, The "Joke."
Your explanation for Ventus being a major factor for Kairi's crush on Sora is really interesting. Now I'm even more interested in seeing what the writers will do with Kairi in the future.
And you're so right! If we take Kairi as a legit love interest she falls so flat. But if we take her as a red herring/a tragic love interest with unreciprocated feelings who has to learn to let things take their course, her character becomes instantly so much more engaging. I really hope that's what they're going for.
I have a theory that the reason Sokai is so... weird is because It is literally a False Light used by the Ancient Darkness. Remember, The True Darkness has read the Book of Prophecies. But the Master told Them it doesn't show everything.
And when you pull back, you realize that if Riku left Sora and Kairi to their "Sokai" in KH2, Riku wouldn't become Sora's Dream Eater and Save Sora from Xehanort's Darkness. And Riku's Light wouldn't change World Lines in KH3. Sokai is literally there to attempt to make Sora and Riku destroy themselves.
In fact, Young Xehanort in Dream Drop specifically doesn't expect Riku to be there. And we Know Xehanort has Read the Book and all of them know about it. Which means The Ancient Darkness doesn't factor Soriku into Their Plans at all, except as a way to destroy them . Darkness doesn't understand the positive aspects of Love. Just the negatives
Because I theorize Soriku is the Child of Destiny, it would behoove True Darkness to force them apart. And the best way to do that is to use both the frontal attack (The Heartless, Xehanort, The Nightmares) and the Rear Attack (Kairi, the False Light).
This explains why Sokai is "Flat and forced". Because the Ancient Darkness is forcing it through their Unconscious Agents (Xehanort, Maleficent, Namine).
So, it is, hilariously, not the Writers, but the Ancient Darkness that doesn't know how to "write" Romance.
I had a similar thoughts about that too. But I also like thinking that MoM might have that same want of keeping Sora and Riku apart.
@@BondforgedSky I think it is the Opposite. The Master wants the Child of Destiny to exist and is Using Darkness to make Riku (and eventually Sora) immune to Them and steal the Worlds Away from Darkness though them.
Basically, The Master is playing Them. (The Darkness). The Master and Darkness are fighting over Soriku as Vessels for the World they wish for.
Well and when you take into account that the “mistaken” love is very much a trope in fairytale type stories. I mean the little mermaid Eric believes Vanessa is his love and Frozen Anna thinks she’s in love with Hans but Kristoff is who she should actually be with. Kinda adds into the Disney parallel side to things.
@@Fragmentsinfractals488 That's pretty likely. But part of me thinks because Riku might be the intended CoD, and not Sora. And with Sora's growing darkness inside, I feel like MoM still sees that as "not according to his plans," and not in a good way like maybe with Xehanort.
I think Sora is part of how The Master tricks True Darkness. For you See, Sora is "Ordinary". But Riku's Light and Heart are part of the Kingdom Key. And that is in Sora. Which means Riku is always with Sora, even when his physical body isn't.
But most people cannot See that. But I think the Master can.
And that is the "disguise". Darkness isn't really looking for Sora, except in an effort to undo Riku.
And the Child of Destiny is implied to be One Heart. Kingdom Key is part of Riku's Heart. It is in Sora.
And this is why Xion can Remember Riku's Memories and become him in her Dreams. Because to be Sora as he actually is, you need to be part Riku.
Great video as always and completely agree. I am a Soriku shipper and have my biases, but to me I'm not biased without reason. Sokai simply doesn't work because the writing is absolutely flat. Even non shippers across the fandom feel Soriku is more believable than Sokai, I've seen "jokes" and comments alike and most agree Kairi is a flat character and that Sokai is heavily neglected - even Sokai shippers agree.
The way you presented a fix to Sokai is the LEAST Square could do if they actually do intend to make Sokai the endgame ship, but seeing as Riku is the one off the Quadratum and Kairi is getting shelved once again it just doesn't seem like Kairi is endgame.
The writing isn't bad, it's actually been incredibly consistent. Riku has gotten all the character development, all the arcs and Disney romantic parallels between him and Sora while Kairi's only parallel is Pooh being forgotten by Sora. No romantic parallels, no character arc of note. The writers have consistently given Riku all the love and Kairi none. At this point, it's a pattern.
I'm starting to agree less and less with the idea that Kairi is opposed to change. She always wants to be with Sora and Riku, but that doesn't make her any more opposed to change than Sora or Ventus. It just means that the two boys mean a lot to her and that she wants to keep them. If anything, her taking the initiative in her relationship with Sora, trying to go with him in 1 and getting denied, going through the portal in 2 to get away from Axel, then later teaming up with him to get better with the Keyblade, I'd say Kairi is very adaptive to change and would love to change so that she can be by the side of her friends.
I think the scene in KH3 where Sora tells Kairi that he knew she was strong (in the JP version), and the two fighting as equals in ReMind is a great start. Now that Sora is starting to move past his hero complex, he can start to see eye-to-eye with her. Be so for real, Sora's kind of been a jerk to her in the past. Telling Kairi that she'd "distract him" if he went with her in KH1, being accepting of Riku straight up looking like Ansem and just being happy to see his friend, meanwhile, he gives Kairi a "You look...Different, but even if you've changed, we'll always be friends..." What? Sora and Kairi are pretty similar when you really think about it. Both of them were forced into situations they didn't want to be in and both of them struggle with their confidence as heroes. It's just that Sora succeeded in defying destiny and subverting his role, Kairi has not been as fortunate.
They could bond over that. Imagine if in KH4, Kairi is at a low point, and through her bond with Sora, he's able to reach her open up to her about how she's been in her position, and give her pointers. Maybe it's not romantic, but at least I'd get the sense that they're actually close friends.
Nomura talks about directly about Kairi's fear of Change. And Nomura also discuss separation between friends during KH3. The thing with Kairi is, she isn't adaptive because of internal motivation. She is adaptive to literally be a Mimic (a mimic of Sora). If she felt secure in herself, she wouldn't need to do the things you discussed.
And Her Unconscious Fear of Xehanort doesn't help. So, She is changing because of Fear. Which is what False Lights do. Fear of Darkness putting the "Light" in defense positions (See Eraqus and what he tried to do to Ventus).
@@Fragmentsinfractals488 but how could you say that Kairi's fear *isn't* internal motivation. Fear of being separated and apart from her loved ones forever. It's a similar, if not fundamentally the same fear Sora has in 2, that's why he wants to get Riku back.
I'm not making a point that Kairi is secure, I mentioned in my original comment that her insecurity is a trait I believe she shares with Sora, albeit for different reasons.
Sora is the most seasoned keyblade wielder Kairi has known. She was in his heart in one and probably picked up some of his skills subconsciously (hence her using her own version of Sonic Blade) and as I mentioned, he's already pretty much succeeded in doing a lot of the things *she* wants to do. So why wouldn't Sora be Kairi's point of reference?
@@ladyweirdo6035 Because Axel has to force her hand. She likes to wait.
And we see Kairi Keyblade technique (the way she holds it ) goes from her own way to exactly like Sora. And KH3 directly show that using Sora as a point of Reference... doesn't work.. See what the Xehanort's did.
And Sora is starting to realize based on the papou scene that Kairi might be into him, but he really... isn't. But he does want to have to tell her No, so he just ... kind avoids it and therefore, her, all together.
@@Fragmentsinfractals488 You wouldn't happen to be a regular in GameTrip's Kingdom Hearts premiere chat, would you?
I feel like you're making arguments against points I never made. You're talking about how Kairi is insecure and mimicking Sora doesn't work. I never said she's not insecure and I never said mimicking Sora was her best course of action.
I was providing an explanation as to why she is the way she is and how her relationship with Sora could develop since this is under a video about how SoKai could've been better.
I'm also gonna have to push back a bit on the "Kairi likes to wait" point. Does she? In KH2 when Sora is surrounded in the World That Never Was, does she wait there passively hoping he can fend for himself, no she jumps into a sea of heartless and tries to help him, even if it's for naught. I would think that she's learned from that experience and was probably nervous going into the keyblade graveyard. Her first real day in the field and she has to go straight to war? Yeah, she might need some motivation
Smaller point, but I think you're under the assumption that I ship SoKai? I don't. My main ship(s) for Sora are VenSo and SoRoku, and my main ship for Kairi is Kailette. I think even if Sora and Kairi aren't endgame (Which I think is likely. I can't see KH making any ship canon), I still think they should have a heart-to-heart and talk about how Sora's two-year absence from Destiny Island affected the both of them. Much like Sora and Riku, I think there's a lot of negative tension between the two that they should work out, even if they aren't the direct causes of it.
@@ladyweirdo6035 True. I don't think you ship Sokai. I am just aware people who do, make points like you are making.
And as I thought about it, I realized I was talking past you.
It is just, like for example, some people like to be obtuse about the fact that Riku is the Light, because that shrinks Kairi's Role and will talk around it because of what that means...
Funny thing. In KH1, Kairi teaches Sora how to find Riku's Light in the Darkness , so even that one is kind of.....hmm. It is like Sokai is example for Soriku. Like Kairi is a False Light that Darkness weaponizes.
Yeah there’s definitely arguments to be made about kh1 for sure! One in particular being how the idea of having a crush on Kairi is sorta pushed on Sora by the people around him. Still out of all the games…kh1 is the main one I could really believe a sokai canon ending from…kh1-2 it’s passable but you can have different interpretations..then after kh2 things fall off for me fully.
@@CocoaCatniptv Yeah, Sokai kind of, cuts off the depth of things. the subtext, occulted things.
@@CocoaCatniptv Like Riku is the Light Sora calls Kingdom Hearts. which mirrors Kairi's Grandma's Fairytale story.
Yeah, I agree. The writers wouldn't make their protagonist question about love if he is "clearly" already "in love."
The only reason WHY he would still question it, is if he himself doesn't know wether what he has been feeling for a while now as "Romantic Love."
Wonderfull video Cat!
What convinced me that Sora and Riku are the intened romantic couple of the series wasn't just the way that the series puts all their love and emotional weight into their relationship, it was also how little care they put into Soras and Kairis relationship.
Well, "little care" would be a little dismissive, because i do believe that the writers have a clear goal when it comes to Sora and Kairi's friendship. Nomura himself stated after all that, with kingdom hearts 3, he wanted to tell the story of childhood friends drifting apart as time goes on, and that description only applied to Kairi and how she lost the connection she once had to Sora (and Riku).
Your examples of how their relationship, if the writers intendet it to be romentic, could have EASILY been differnetly written is very interesting.
Kh2 Soras reaction to both reunions is very odd, especially when we consider the circumstances in which he reunited with Kairi and Riku.
Trough most of kh2 Sora had no worries for Kairis safety, the last time he saw her was on destiny islands after all, and he didn’t have any reason to assume she was in danger.
Later in the game Sora gets told by Saix that Kairi has been taken by the organization, Sora even went on his knees for Saix just so he could find something out about her whereabouts.
All of this makes his reunion with Kairi even more off-putting. Since just hours before he begged in front of his enemy so he could have a chance to see Kairi again, and when he finally found her he wasn't even the one to innitiate the hug. Even the first thing he mentions is how she has changed, in my eyes he was clealy put off by her appearance, since she now looked different from the girl he remembered a year ago.
To be fair, Sora was searching for Riku trough most of kh2 (and CoM, but since Sora lost his memories from that game i wont count it) and he was desperate to find him again. But not only does Sora get multible clues and hints that Riku is alive, like the Mulan world where he and Riku sparr, Mickey slipps up and reveals that he made a promise to Riku, which Sora takes as confirmation that Riku is doing fine.
Their reunion always makes me tear up, the slow bulidup to it, Sora recognizing Riku behind his 'Ansem-appearance', Sora falling on his knees, repeating to himself that he finally found Riku again, holding on to him as if he might vanish again, the tears, the MUSIC, whenever i hear the track "friends in my heart" i get a little emotional.
Sorry, if the writers intended Sora and Kairi to have romantic feelings for each other, then THIS should have been THEIR reunion.
It's no wonder people like to meme on the difference between Soras reunion with Kairi and the one with Riku, they are on whastly different spectrums!
And the entire series after that just puts their attention on Sora and Riku. In the games leading up to kh3 Kairi probably has less than 5 minutes of screen time combined.
358/2 Days: Kairis gets mentioned because of her connection to Xion, and Xion turns into her once.
Coded: Kairi appears in one (1) cutscene. As you've already said in your video, this is weird since kh1 was the game she was the most important in, and her not being a part of the story in the re-telling is VERY interesting. They even removed her from one of the official artworks, leaving a blank spot where she once stood.
Birth by Sleep: We see Kairi as a little girl and she bequeathes herself on Aquas keyblade by accident. Her screentime is noticeably shorter than Sora and Rikus, who are also seen spending time together.
Dream Drop Distance: They forgot to put her in the Soriku game and quickly squished her in the end.
Then we have kh3 and Re-mind. In my opinion, any hope kh3 might have set up for a future Sokai romance was squished by Melody of Memory.
Melody of Memory could have EASILY set up Kairi to be the one to go look after Sora, or go alongside Riku at least.
Maybe make the fact that she and Sora shared a paopu resurface and be the reason she has a special connection with him and can therefore find him.
They could have set up the Cinderella parrallel with Fairy Godmother getting Kairi on her way to Sora.
They could have done ANYTHING but let Kairi stay behind, because now we can't even be sure that she will appear in kh4 at all.
She was sleeping for an entire year and they found nothing! Why do something like that as a writer?
I can only think of one answer to that.
Yeah there’s honestly just so much they could have done to develop a romance between sokai if that was the intention, and it wouldn’t have to take away from the series focus being Sora and Riku! Like even in Melody of Memory..technically she is a key to helping find Sora..so I wouldn’t claim she did nothing. Her regaining a memory that has a clue about other realities..just seems like small fries when compared to Rikus dreams though. Also the fact that she ends up staying behind to top it all off, they could have continued the romance possibilities with her going too…but don’t.
I think the writers are talented enough to pull it off if they intend to go for sokai…but I don’t really think that’s the intent? I think they have other plans for kairi.
Don't forgot. Yozora looks like Riku and Sora as One Being. Oh, And someone Yozora is looking for is named "Sora"
@@Fragmentsinfractals488 Exactly!!!
@@CocoaCatniptvI think a big reason the Sora and Kairi reunion is SO awkward is the lack of music- compared to the beautiful Dearly Beloved that begins playing when Sora realizes Riku is standing right in front of him. It’s certainly a purposeful choice. A little music could have gone a long way to making sokai’s reunion feel romantic even without changing anything else. And yet they didn’t….
By the way did you notice how the nobody symbol is framed smack dab between Sora and Kairi in that scene? A symbol of a lack of heart, a lack of feelings…. I just think it’s funny lol
@@CampingforCool41 The word you are looking for is "Lack of Resonance".
The reason why Sokai has not been strong since KH1 is because when they have two female characters in a game like Aqua and Kairi they will make one female character as a bad ass and the other one only as a damsel in distress, and they don't give Kairi her moment to shine. Hopefully they will change that in the future
and about when you were summarizing what which game does about sokai, it's really funny how half of the examples you mentioned just drop down dead once you know most of these are unintended mistranslations. in a way, when you say those are made for sokai fanservice with no meaning behind them, it is really is just that, uh? fanservicey alteration of the original scenes to make them more het romance sounding since the english translators themselves realized they were very crappy in japanese otherwise if they were obviously intended to be together. all your suggestions are great, id say they are really the base minimum efforts the series could be slightly altered to make sokai not just a joke but a standard if a bit unoriginal but good romance
Makes me sad how I did ship them, and I still can. But with how much they separate, it just doesn’t build up
Yeah the build just isn’t really there, good thing FanFiction exists!
Being honest, I see that either ship really works. I think if we ever get anything it will either be Sokai or a friendship ending. Though it is really nice to have fan pairings in general. I enjoy Axel/Lea x Aqua even though those two have minimal interactions.
I think a friendship ending is more likely than sokai actually happening, but like I say in the video if that’s what is intended the writers will make it work somehow. I’m obviously biased to my SoRiku endgame mindset of course, because I do believe there’s a lot of valid evidence for that as well that people choose to ignore or claim as a reach.
@@CocoaCatniptv I am curious to see how it will play out. May SoRiku will be an actual thing.
Also random question but I'm a twitch streamer who enjoys doing discussion and interview streams. Would you be interested in doing a KH discussion stream?
Soriku, like Clerith, suffers from SENA's localization/translation hell. While there is ambiguity bcs no one has outright said "I love you," the JPN version of KH is more explicit in their romantic subtext than in ENG. For example, Riku's "strength to protect my most precious person" line was localized as "strength to protect the things that matter." Less interpersonal and less specific. Sora saying that Yozora (a Riku lookalike) is a "good-looking guy" is conpletely absent in English and replaced by a weird joke of Sora comparing his outfit (?) to Yozora's?
As someone who has never shipped anyone in KH, I’m very interested to see how this video goes.
I haven't watched the whole video yet, but I have some thoughts I'd like to share so there might be overlapping ideas with the video. To be completely transparent, I am definitely what you may call a 'SoKai shipper' because I really do enjoy their relationship, but I am an even bigger fan of the Queerplatonic relationship that Sora, Riku, and Kairi have (and not just 'Sora has two hands', I mean I'm also a fan of Kairi and Riku's friendship). Some slight background info that may be relevant for understanding my POV, I'm aroace and have been fostering extremely important queerplatonic relationships myself, so actions that characters go that may be percieved as romantic, isn't to me, and vice versa.
I genuinely think there isn't really anything wrong with Sora and Kairi's relationship, the problem is that there is that there is a lot of things inefficient about Kairi's character at this moment. As a result, it makes Sora and Kairi's relationship seem shallow and uninteresting. The Destiny Trio have been friends for a literal decade, so it's not as if Sora and Kairi are not close enough friends to foster such feelings. But as we, as an audience, currently see it, Kairi just doesn't have as many identifying traits that Sora, Riku, even Aqua or Xion, have because she has been sort of shelved for other characters' development or used as simply a plot device for both Sora and Riku. On the other hand, both Sora and Riku have had ENTIRE games dedicated to not just their characters, but into developing that character. I would even argue that Riku has had even more character development than even _Sora_ , because Sora has remained more a less "stagnant" personality-wise (on this thought, I have a lot of thoughts/feelings on the idea that Sora has been supressing himself and has not a moment where he has developed a way to deal with it, unlike Riku). Out of the entire Destiny Trio, it's really Riku is the one who has changed the most.
I have always beleived that while Kingdom Hearts features Sora, the series is actually about Riku's story through Sora's eyes. Every single game so far (excluding Dark Road, KHUx, pro'bly Missing Link, 0.2, and most of KH3, which had more emphasis on Sora's character) have been a part of telling Riku's story. And Sora is an _extremely_ vital part to Riku's redemption and character development into someone more accepting of his darkness, so I completely understand why people percieve Sora and Riku's relationship to be romantic, even though I may not see it that way personally.
Following this thought, the only real thing I would personally "fix" about Sora and Kairi's relationship is to give Kairi the same level of character development Sora and Riku have. I also am hoping that the new Saga will just focus more on the Destiny Trio as a whole, since after KH1, other trios have stort of taken the limelight. I believe that once Kairi has had the development she's deserved, her and Sora's relationship will also seem stronger as a result. Riku became a better character becuase of Sora, and I think Kairi's set up to become a better character because of him too.
Of course, regardless on whether or not, anything is canon or not, you should definitely enjoy characters and their relationships the way you want to; your happiness is more important than canon. However, I have the feeling that the current intention of the writers at the KH Dev team is to imply Sora and Kairi are the canon. But again, canon doesn't mean you are obligated to ship it, nor should anyone feel compelled they should need to prove that a ship is canon or not to enjoy a ship. My ass would love Lea/Isa to be canon, but alas... probably not, but it's still fun to write about.
I wish we got more scenes of Sora Kairi and Riku just hanging out being friends. That's what was so charming about the KH intro, and the reunion scenes in KH2, I want more of that than any romantic ship to be canonized. Also, wish there was more focus on Kairi's character. I think the reason SoKai shippers defend their ship so strongly is because if Kairi doesn't even get Sora, what does she have? I love Kairi so much, she deserves something more than being left behind again and again. Since the games haven't given anything else in terms of her character development other than the Sokai moments, that's what defines her character atm. Hopefully she gets a real character arc soon.
This Is Gonna Get Messy.
And The Bad News Is Wondercon Gave Us Nothing From Season 6! Not Even The Release Date!
......I believe in Sokairu
I don't think romantic love is the point of KH. If it were, at least one of the pairs in the series 20 year history would have some actual sparks.
To the extent, the writers seem to want the characters paired up, SoKai is pretty undoubtedly the cleanest pair as it's really the only one that gets actual fanservice scenes, even if they're pretty diet.
Honestly, KH2 kinda carries SoRiku shippers on its back through the wind and rain due to how strong the bromance is in that game and the fact that Kairi really doesn't matter in KH2.
Considering Japan though, if there's a gay ship with any real chance of being endgame, it's Isa x Lea.
Personally, I'm a Namine Riku shipper, mostly because I want good things for Namine. Lord knows the girl could use a W.
KH definitely focuses more on friendship, but that doesn’t mean romance won’t also come into play. I disagree on Sokai being the cleanest pair, or the only one with fanservice. I mean if we’re going Sokai vs. Soriku then Soriku wins in fanservice. Let’s not forget that these boys have an entire game together (dream drop distance) which is just loaded with content for SoRiku shippers to gobble up. KH3 of course isn’t devoid of fanservice either, the gayblade, Rikus sacrifice, the fact that it’s Riku going after Sora in Quadratum.
At the end of the day though it’s all up to individual interpretation since there’s nothing really confirmed. Maybe KH won’t have romance, and that’s honestly okay too. I still think it might though.
@@CocoaCatniptv Considering The Master of Masters thinks Love is Important.... and incorporates it in turning Xehanort to Darkness and we have the parallel of The Box of the Master to Davy Jones's Box with his Heart in it, yeah, romance is definitely there.