Kairi positivity despite KH3 being awful to her
The way Kairi’s character was handled in KH3 was a travesty (obviously), however, there were a couple of things that I really liked and am glad they included in the game. And this post is kind of in retaliation to all these “Kairi is awful/doesn’t have any personality” posts I keep seeing.
I’m really glad they kept the letter bit from the KH orchestra in KH3. Even though Kairi is writing letters addressed to Sora, writing is something she says she’s doing for herself (she outright says this). She doesn’t want to send her letters to him; she just wants to get her thoughts out on paper. This is clearly a hobby and a form of self-care for her. It also follows-up on the poem she wrote at the beginning of KH2. Kairi likes to write and get her feelings out, and she’s quite a poetic and eloquent writer at that. It’s neat to actually see this.
Kairi wanting to save Naminé
I am really glad they fleshed out Kairi’s intentions of helping Naminé become her own person. Similar to Sora with Roxas, Kairi wants Naminé to be her own person. She does not feel right while Naminé’s heart is still inside of hers. Kairi reflects on this quite beautifully to Axel:
“Now that she’s a part of me again, I figured all was right. But she can’t look at this forest, feel the wind on her face, none of it. And if she could, it would be different to her. Her time was short, but she lived it, and that makes it hers.”
Here, Kairi honors Naminé’s individualism. This is a beautiful sentiment, especially since Naminé was told her entire existence that she wasn’t supposed to exist and as a result feels as if she’s not important to anyone (she actually says this to Sora when they briefly meet in the Final World). It’s a shame we don’t actually see the two girls interact, once Naminé is restored. However, we see in fact that Kairi does have her own goals and intentions she wants to see through herself.
This is a controversial one but in the end I liked how these two interacted. They both learned to care for each other and become friends, despite a rocky beginning. Axel did a terrible thing to her in KH2 but after apologizing profusely, she ended up getting to like him. They had similar goals - she wanting to save Naminé , and him Roxas. This shows that Kairi is forgiving and understanding. Did Axel deserve this from Kairi? You can debate that all you want, however Kairi managed to find common ground with him and develop a caring friendship. The fact that they both tried to protect each other in the Keyblade Graveyard (her while he was being swarmed by heartless, and him trying to protect her from Terranort) really solidified their bond. Sure, Kairi unknowingly reminded him of Xion but I believe he really did care for Kairi herself by the end of the game. All in all, it was nice to see Kairi develop an actual bond with another character besides Sora. It’s a shame we didn’t see Axel show more concern for what happened to Kairi at the end.
While Kairi didn’t quite develop into a strong keyblade wielder like was initially teased (although she definitely made strides), she did showcase confidence and strength while utilizing her PoH/light powers. She was ultimately the reason the guardians of light got a second chance at fighting the thirteen darknesses. As Kairi was able to fight and keep Sora alive, he was able to save the others. When Sora finally finds her after saving the rest of the guardians, she tells him “you’re safe with me”, ultimately keeping her part of the promise they made to each other about keeping the other safe. Her light protected him from death and gave everyone a second chance. We’ve seen her do some incredible things before in KH1 and KH2 but this instance really hit home that Kairi’s light is indeed a powerful and useful weapon.
Of course, even with all this being said, Kairi deserved a lot better from KH3. We all know this. She was used as a plot-device the entire last bit of the game and remained a damsel-in-distress for Sora to save. She also had no interactions with Riku, her supposed best friend. It’s a real shame. And I think it’s such a shame because the moments I’ve listed above really made me feel for her as a character. She had so much potential to shine. I wish the last hour of KH3 could be rewritten because honestly she had such potential at the beginning of the game. I want to take her away from Nomura because clearly he has no idea what he’s doing with her. Sigh.
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