Support
Though maybe not as much since Kingdom Hearts II has been released, Kairi used to be bashed all the time. A good portion of her fans only have liked her since Kingdom Hearts II, so I thought it would be appropriate to include a page to support her role in the first game since I believe she was an equally wonderful character in her younger years as well. The “arguments” have died down, but if you have another point for me to argue for or against, feel free to contact me about it and I definitely will.1. Kairi is weak!
Well, first of all, this argument is generally made because of her lack of physical strength in comparison to Riku and Sora. You have to remember, however, that Kairi is only a normal girl who does not place any priority in training with swords or other types of combat. She does not work out and probably is pretty weak physically. That does not mean that she is a weak person, though. What Kairi lacks in physical strength, she makes up for in her moral courage and undying will. No, she could not protect Sora by fighting off the Heartless while making sure nothing happened to him, but what do you expect from a girl who has probably never fought before? Instead, she uses herself as a shield, in hopes to protect his small form from being injured. Kairi would rather get hurt than let something happen to Sora. How is that being weak? She may not have protected him with style and grace, but she could have just as easily moved out of the way and left him. Kairi knew that Sora was not in a position to protect her this time, so she took initiative to shield him. Just because she hugged him does not mean that she was scared for her life, she hugged him because she did not want him to get hurt. I personally do not consider that a sign of frailty or weakness.
Also, if she really were weak, she would not be stubborn or have such a powerful will. She refuses to accept that Sora is actually gone for good. She does not give in right away when Sora first tells her she cannot accompany him to get Riku back. Kairi is not the kind of girl that steps back and does what she is told. If she believes in something or thinks something is right, she will go with her feelings. Kairi believes in Sora, he cannot be gone after that. She believes that she and Sora should be together to get Riku because they have always stuck together in the past. Even the fact that she finally lets Sora win their small argument shows signs of moral courage. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is accept that you cannot do anything for the situation and then you have to force yourself to step back. It was probably hard for her to admit she could not do anything and had to leave it to someone else. Though Kairi wanted to stay with Sora to find Riku, she knew that she would not be of any help, and finally agrees to wait for her friends to return. The weak person would have either stepped down in the first place or kept arguing the point and become a hindrance later on.
Kairi is also one of the embodiments of light in the first game, which is said to be able to overcome the darkness no matter what. The power she holds within her heart is very strong, and her pure heart is what gives both Riku and Sora courage as well as returns Sora from the heartless state. Kairi refuses to give in, and giving into darkness is not an exception. There is always that light at the end of the tunnel for her, so she will not give up.
So, given her situation and her actions, I find it hard to argue that Kairi is a weak character unless you are arguing for physical weakness. But you know, Kairi never said she was a physically strong person, either.
2. Kairi has no real role in the game anyway.
Well, all I can say is that Kingdom Hearts really does focus on her, even if she is unconscious for a good portion of it. She is the seventh Princess of Heart, the one who is missing her heart that is needed to unleash her power to complete the final keyhole. Not only does that make Maleficent and Ansem want to find her heart, it also almost completely drives Riku to risk everything for the sake of locating her heart. Kairi becomes the motivation for majority of the main characters in some fashion or another, and therefore the game would not be able to continue without her. Sora’s strength comes from her sole being, knowing that he will see her again someday and tell her of all the adventures he has had up until that day. He is able to push forward, even in harsh times because of his courage gained from her. Kairi’s voice was able to bring Sora back from the darkness and revert him to a non-Heartless state. Kairi’s role is crucial to the story of Kingdom Hearts.
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