Personality

Serenity is divided sections based on the two games, and therefore this page will only really focus on her personality and events that occur in Kingdom Hearts II. I will, however, be contrasting Kairi’s personality to the first game in hopes of showing how much she has changed within the course of the two games. If you wish to read about her personality in the first game, please go to this page.

What really stood out to me about Kairi in Kingdom Hearts II was her obtained knowledge and wisdom. Before, Kairi was rather simple-minded and did not really care about anything outside of her friends and their life on Destiny Islands. After temporarily losing her heart, almost losing the guy she is in love with and having both of her best friends far away from home really opened her eyes. Her wisdom and ability to see past outer appearances is displayed when she is reunited with Riku in The World That Never Was. Even though he appeared to be Ansem, she knew it was him deep down. Sora could not tell and would not believe it at first, so Kairi took both of their hands and told Sora to close his eyes. He could not see the truth with his eyes open, because Sora has tendencies to only see what is in front of him. Kairi was like that too, once long ago, but now Kairi did not see Ansem standing there, she saw her best friend Riku. Kairi’s ability to reason and take a step back from situations has increased in the time gap between her previous life on Destiny Islands and the reunion of the three friends.

Being forced to grow up as a result of the events of the previous game has also made Kairi more mature. Though she does have reason to be upset with the absence of Riku and Sora, she is definitely less outgoing. Her voice is steady, and she does not giggle after every sentence she says. Kairi becomes more serious and takes on a more serious tone because of her gained wisdom, which is almost sharply contrasted to Selphie. In the previous game, Kairi was very much in contrast with Riku in that he was more reserved and pensive, but now the tables have turned. Kairi has become more like Riku was in a sense, and is more thoughtful and contemplative, while as Selphie seems to be concerned with the here and now. Being the first scene Kairi is actually shown in within Kingdom Hearts II just proves to the audience how much she has grown and matured. She is no longer the giggling and joking girl she once was, as she has become what adults usually refer to as a “young woman”.

Kairi has also changed from the previous game in the sense that she has become a lot stronger. This is not to say that she was weak before, as I have clearly defended that point already, but with wisdom and experience comes another type of strength. The only real difference between this game an Kingdom Hearts is that Kairi actually has a chance to act on her strength, as opposed to being asleep for a good portion of the game. She makes up her mind to go and search for Sora and Riku because waiting was beginning to be “not good enough”. The two did not appear to be coming home, so she wanted to go and find them. When Axel comes to talk with her, Kairi immediately runs into the darkness after Pluto because she sees it as a chance to find her two friends. Axel even tells her she has “guts” jumping into the darkness like that without hesitation. But it does not end there, when she is finally almost reunited with Sora in The World That Never Was, she sees him being overwhelmed by the Heartless. Though a few stories above him, she takes a few steps back and jumps off the ledge in attempts to get closer to him in order to help him. Unfortunately, she is then attacked by Heartless and pressed to the ground. Riku aids her and hands her a keyblade, which she takes without hesitation. This is the moment she has been waiting for. Kairi is determined to help Sora, and charges at the Heartless despite the fact that she probably had never used a sword in her life, much less fought Heartless. Kairi is very brave in the sense that the unknown does not scare her when it comes to helping her friends. She is actually quite decent with her keyblade for never fighting Heartless previously. Kairi may not be graceful with it, but she keeps up with Riku while they fight side by side. She has the strength to adapt to the situation she is in and the determination to come out of it victorious.

Kairi’s strong will carries over to Kingdom Hearts II and ties together her newfound wisdom and strength. She is able to continue forward because of her undying will to find her two friends, especially Riku. A large amount of things have happened to Kairi in her life in a short period of time, and she is definitely not the same person as she was at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts. She has gone from somewhat childish and simple-minded to being wise and mature, but her strength and will have never left her.

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