Why all the hate on Kairi?

I've only just started playing KH so i don't know Kairi that well. But i must admit that comment about taking the raft and leaving Riku behind did surprise me a bit. I was kinda relieved when she said she was joking.

 

Kairi is a fairly common archetype in many books/games...for better or for worse. I'm inclined to say that this isn't something that speaks to the strength of KH as a whole.

Way back in the day, people used to overuse the whole Damsel in Distress concept (look at the first X Disney movies for instance! The women were so ditsy and unintelligent, but sweet and kind...no personality besides trying to get a man etc).

Then this archetype got a bit old and stale (read: offensive), and so the pendulum began to swing in the opposite direction. We then have semi-traditional gender roles, but with a little more independence. I don't know a good descriptor for that archetype, but it's kind of like, they have enough character development to further develop another lead character, and that's all. It's been around for ages.

Do we know much about Kairi (going to avoid spoiling particular details)? Not really, but what we do know is linked back to developing Sora and Riku's character.

 

I don't know I love Kairi and I think she is underrated. SHE NEEDS MORE SCREEN TIME!

 

I'm not quite sure how she's hated either. She's not developed enough to hate. After Kh1 she just kinda drops into oblivion. Granted she wasn't to strong a presence in Kh1 but at least she was there and served as part of the stories more core lore with the 7 PoH.
In Kh2 we saw her run around, get kidnapped twice and awkwardly hug before her random af keyblade moment whiiiiccchhh is only now seemingly leading anywhere 11yrs later assuming her plot thread of being brought to Yen Sid to learn isn't shafted. *doesn'ttrustwriters*

 

I can agree with that. Seems the idea of "fixing" her is giving her a keyblade which seems like Nomura's only way for fixing any character because pffffttt f*ck developing them like an actual character these days with actual unique powers or roles in the story. *just adds keyblades to the halloween candy pile with super saiyans*

If you think about it her clones Namine and Xion have been more impactful to the story lol (it's kinda sad)

 

My issue with it is that it didn't stop at Kairi. Riku got one, Xion was retconned in with one, Lea now has one, etc. I will state that I dont think Keyblades in number is a bad thing if it's done decently. Chi for example, despite my other gripes on that front, is a game FULL of wielders. That's fine. It makes sense. It's the war and they existed back then in that number.
What bothers me is the keyblade is now a crutch for relevancy among main cast. It's upsetting because before characters were relevant simply because they were written to be. They did things that mattered whereas now it seems your only crucial if you have one. So far Namine seems to be the only non crucial cast member lacking one at this stage until they decide she can't be important without one like the rest.

Riku for example had his whole development of light & dark. His keyblade was originally the kingdom key but it abandoned him at Hollow Bastion. It made him very unique. Not only was he important and strong despite a lack of one but he was one of the most unique existences the series had ever saw in Mickey's view since he could do what no other could, tame darkness.
Skip to KH2 and he just...randomly gets a keyblade with no explanation. His sword just poof turns into one. That irks me, especially now that it's slowly threw out his development in CoM...well not threw out exactly, he's still very well handled in KHDDD but- well it's hard to explain.

Lea/Axel too just got a keyblade just cause. Although his continued presence is due to staff and fans alike liking him which irks me. Unlike Riku we know why he got one but him having one at all still feels forced.
Then Kairi's explanation for the keyblade was almost as bad as her getting one out of the blue in KH2. She was just an accidental ceremony when she grabbed Aquas keyblade as a child in BBS. That is literally her explanation. An accident. No development of character or resolve just randomly grabbing a strangers weapon by chance.

It's...just so uninteresting to a story when you do that kinda thing. Give me reasons or developed growth for these things, dont just throw them in to "fix" an underused character or for fanservice Nomura.

Honestly I miss when people were relevant for actual reasons or when it was more character driven over device driven in the story. Is it a huge drawback? Ehh probably not to many but it's not right. Kairi had a lot of more interesting angles that could've been done.

If you think that's bad then you'd hate to see how Namine continually influences story. She's the cause of the Coded story, she was given this moment with the Lingering Will in one of the KH concerts by Nomura having the VAs script a scene that we wont see animated, then she had her importance in CoM, Days and KH2. She's a continual force. It's a good thing but if you compare it to others it'll be annoying.

 

That's my issue with it, it all feels cheap to me. They get them just to have them essentially. It's bothering since, before the landslide, characters were relevant because they did things in their own ways which added uniqueness to them. They're basically the super saiyan of KH now.
Eh even with knowing why Lea has one it's still pandering. He basically goes to ask for one and since they need recruits YenSid or Mickey does the right then lea goes to train off screen to try and get one.
Xion...was an issue for other reasons. Largely in part to the whole logic that her keyblade is somehow "fake" or her existence as a whole.

All the keyblade now is a crutch of relevance. It's not the number but why so many of number have them. The why not the item basically. Like Mickey and Yen Sid make sense. Yen Sid is retired and Mickey the student who succeeded him. Sora has one because he proved to it that he was better for it than Riku it's original owner. Roxas is Sora's nobody and since Sora is still around in a weird form of coexistence he shares it with him.
These have sound reasoning and that's fine. Others however dont and I think that's what bothers me or you.

It bothered me because I felt it changed that dynamic. Riku was abandoned by the keyblade, came to terms with darkness, wielded it, etc. If we had seen him get one in some line of story or reasoning it'd be fine but his was just poof there like Kairi's.

That's something me and a friend talk about a lot. We once brought up how nice it would've been to even set that angle up. Like keep KH1 the same but add in that she can be found training in magic at Merlins after she gives you the Oathkeeper charm.
Something along the lines that while it's true she would be in Sora's way like he said it was still a bit hurtful so she resolves to become helpful. Boom. You now have her set up to be more than just female stock image in Kh2 and beyond.

Could even add that her PoH powers make her magic very unique or similar to a keyblades which affects the heartless just as bad or worse.

 

That's why we thought it up. It keeps in-line with the more tomboy nature of Kairi we saw in KH1. She knows she can't help not but doesn't like it so fixes it. There was other ideas too but I can't remember them. It's almost kinda sad how many alternate ways one can think of to use Kairi or the story as a whole without it changing the story much but making it more tight-knit.
Like the time travel thing we talked about in the other thread. I can list three or four ways to bypass that and keep KHDDD's story the same off the top of my head or how to use Days and so on. =/

Your not entirely wrong. I dont keep up with the interview BS now since, well, even they've begun to contradict like the Reports can. But I did save a few in bookmarks. One I kept was basically the views of how the story developed. In a nutshell the story was KH1 was expected to be a standalone so no full story for a sequel was there. Ideas were so they made the secret ending based on ideas in case a sequel happened. (fun fact the org coats originally existed since there was no full design for Riku or Roxas)
Of course the runaway popularity brought a sequel. Chain of Memories wasn't intended to exist but was made anyway since Nomura knew lots of kids wanted a KH for the gameboy.
KH2 had to exist now but it was a rush job which is why the Final Mix version feels so different. Days was requested by Nintendo so Nomura decided to use it to tell Roxas story to....mixed results. Coded exists because of Disney. Birth by Sleep was actually planned to an extend during Kh2 but was shifted to PSP and there's really no way of tell how many ideas changed in that timeframe.

Soooo skip forward now and it's just gotten worse. DDD had to exist because the story was so damn everywhere some of KH3' exposition was made into something separate meaning KHDDD was at first a part of KH3. Chi was stated, bluntly by Nomura, to just be a fun browser game with no real attachment to story...which he completely turned around to the point three versions of Chi now exist in the original PC game, the mobile game and some movie and at least one of those is necessary to understand KH3.
Worse yet Unchained is getting a "season 2" which has Ventus and Maleficent somehow so that'll likely be key at one point.

Hell it's gotten to the point that even a special concert even was made canon. The one I mentioned before of the Namine & Terra VA's doing a brief script.

The story has basically been a patchwork stepping stone whatever you wanna call it. A game is made, ideas for another come up, etc.
I often wonder how much the plot changed due to games Nomura didn't intend but he felt the need to make drastically important because he can't seem to make a side story that's just a fun side story.

....I feel like I ranted. lol But yes your not entirely wrong. I think there's a large reason why KH3 is more like a sequel to all these handhelds whereas KH1-CoM-KH2 feel more like a self enclosed story. The handhelds literally built on KH2 to make a story beyond it.

It also doesn't help that some interviews I remember conflicted. Like at one point this game only existed because of some external force only to later see one saying it was a story he "always wanted to tell"....