Is Anybody Else Struck by Just How LITLE Kairi Appears in this Franchise?

I mean it's weird, when I first started playing KH I took for granted that Kairi was a huge part of the franchise. In my mind she had plenty of presence in the story.
But replaying the games lately... she has like what... 20 minutes of dialog in the ENTIRE franchise?
It's crazy. She's barely there in KH1, makes a brief cameo in CoM. Her biggest role is KH2 and even then she's barely there. Cameo in Days, cameo in BBS, and I'm pretty sure she's never even mentioned in Coded.
Then a cameo in DDD
I mean jeez, I'm pretty sure between KH2 and now, her only spoken line of dialog has been her telling Sora to come home quick.

 

She doesn't appear much, but it's more that she's a driving point of Sora because in the first one they have to find each other and save Kairi, while in the second she goes out and becomes the damsel in distress again. ReCoM is just because they don't really need her in that game, and of course they would give her a cameo in BBS, and DDD is about Riku and Sora, so they didn't really need her in it. But she does play a role in the story, even if she's not there that much

 

I get what you mean, and she's important, yeah, but there's only so much screen-time you can get while spending 90% of a game in a comatose state without a heart or having been kidnapped in another. KHIII should change that though since she'll surely be a party member.

 

She appears in the memory video from KHFM with Riku at the Big Ben. Not that she has any dialog, just sayin. Funny i just realised it XD

Kairi is pretty much the equivalent of Sakura in Naruto (pretty much everyone in KH has a Naruto counterpart, well in a way...) Maybe in KHIII we'll see her more, though i am not sure since she is supposed to start training. Boy i am curious to see how that will go. Considering that she is both a Heart Princess and a Keyblade wielder and with the current situation after DDD with Xehanort going after the seven lights, which i assume those are the princesses or the Keyblade wielders (i have no idea, haven't played DDD), we could get some serious things going on with her. I mean, she is a Princess that can actually protect herself. Thinking about it makes me even more curious about her progess, although since she met Aqua i suppose Nomura will opt for a similar path for her, in terms of her fighting abilities. Propably another "magician" but still the Heart Princess nature could lead to interesting things. Hopefully.

 

Unfortunately, this is true. It's also likely why she and Sora haven't kissed yet. There is almost always some reason why she is not that important to the story, and when she is she barely gets a line. This is likely also part of why people hate her character. I severely hope they fix this in KH3. She is apparently going to be a main character, but I doubt square wouldn't find some way to make her character obscure and unimportant. All we can do is hope.

 

Even if I haven't watched Naruto since I was a bit more than a kid, I noticed that also. Riku=Sasuke, Ansem=that snake man (can't remember the name). Well, I think that's because these are tipical japanese characters, like in most japanese anime there is a villan who has something pink, his powers are often connected to flowers/blossom, ecc... and he is often a powerful villan, like Marluxia. Sora is also the tipical japanese main character: good, he always cares for others, ecc..., but stupid and childish.

 

I've never thought about it, but I don't think it's a huge deal. If Aqua had never been there I doubt anyone would be calling for her to get a Keyblade and become a central character as much as they are now. I like Kairi, but what exactly is there to do with her character? The only thing I can think of is covering her past in Radiant Garden and the details of how and why she was sent to Destiny Islands. It is an absolute crime that this hasn't been covered already.​

 

I remember that in an interview with one of the producers of the game, someone said that the Kingdom Hearts franchise was about the friendship between Riku and Sora... maybe thats the reason why Kairi gets less atention...
On the other hand I think that not seeing her its an essential part. I mean, I was like crazy to save her when Axel kidnapped her in KH II, because I didn't know what could be happenning to her. If I knew she was safe, I wouldn't be in that hurry
Anyways, she is still pretty important to the story :P

 

The only reason she feels central despite barely being there is that she' s both a Living MacGuffin/Princess of Heart and a love interest, with a Phlebotinum Girl (possibly Barrier Maiden) layer lampshaded on top of that. She' s a plot device. A living, breathing spoiler alert. Now that the plot is coming to a close she' s actually required to be there, it' s spill the beans o' clock.

 

Basically this. She's an important object, not an important person. Sincerely hoping that changes with KH3.

 

Well, Sora did want to reunite with Kairi from KHI to KHII. She's just a plot device. Hopefully, she will play an even bigger role than before in Kingdom Hearts III.

 

I disagree. I would like to finish the first part with her staying relatively in the background where she has been this whole time, and then bring her to the foreground after we're done with Xehanort. Yes, she's going to be trained, so I would assume that means more screen-time and importance for her, but I do not want her to be anywhere near the focus like Sora and Riku will be.

 

...So... No comment on the fact that she's treated like an object?

 

What's there's to say? That's entirely true. I don't disagree because how could I? Like I said, I would rather end the first part with her being more of a motivation device for Sora and Riku and then make her an integral character after this part for the sake of consistency.

I guess it would make sense to make her more of a character now that she's going to be trained, but from a plot perspective as opposed to a character perspective, I don't want that until we're done with Xehanort.

 

But why not? What's there to lose? What about consistency is so precious here that it overrides a chance for more cast diversity?

Kairi has an equal stake in the hunt for Xehanort, which she has been thus far denied. You call it consistency, but at this point it's more like stagnation. Things change. People change. To ignore that and preserve the status quo for so many installments makes it feel like the wheels aren't spinning. There may as well have never been a sequel to the first game.

 

It's just a personal preference. I said it would make sense I just, personally, do not want it right now.

And I did not say that she should stay the same, I said I don't want her to have the same amount of focus that Sora and Riku will get.

 

Well you responded to my original post, and all I wanted was for her not to be the macguffin in distress anymore. so. :v

Still don't get why she can't have the same amount of focus but whatevs

 

Even if the series is about Sora and Riku's friendship, mainly, that doesn't mean Kairi doesn't deserve a role. In fact, quite the opposite, when she is a friend of theirs, a major catalyst for Riku's curiosity, and a love interest for Sora (and Riku, as some see it, but I personally don't). Those things alone don't constitute much of a role--rather, an object--which, as others have said, is all that she has been for the length of the series.

An object, however, does not do well with emotional investment. It's why they generally do not have strong character traits or are emotionally developed; players must be tantalized by the idea of Kairi, the mystery, the (occasionally sexual) prospect. Players are invested in Kairi, even if she hasn't been really developed all that much. The plot of the first game relies upon our investment in Kairi (we want to save her). Before her kidnapping in Kingdom Hearts II, returning home (and therefore to Kairi) with Riku was Sora's major mission; the kidnapping would only reawaken our attachment and protective attitude towards Kairi from the first game. But when we are so attached to a character like that, we want to see that character empowered, see them develop and have their own plotlines.

Furthermore, Kairi having more of a role in the future is continuously teased within the series. In Kingdom Hearts, when she is rescued, she wants to travel with Sora (though she doesn't put up much of a fight). In Kingdom Hearts II, she develops even further ("waiting isn't good enough"). Finally, in Dream Drop Distance, we see the implication that she'll be trained as a Keyblade Master. Never do these teasers come to culmination. I think it's natural that the fanbase would feel cheated and expectant for Kairi to grow beyond an object. I'd certainly like to see it.

 

i would care but we have xion and aqua (and namine cause she at least tries) to counter-act kairi being a damsel so honestly? im ok with her being sidelined, im more concerned with her being a keyblade wielder cause all she has done so far is be kidnapped so i really fear that giving her a keyblade will just lead to her being captured again.

 

Wait why? What kind of logic is that? She has a weapon, so that will lead to her being kidnapped?