It's incredibly cool how all the characters are forced to confront their darkness at some point. With the only person who ever really seems "whole" throughout the entire series being Xehanort. The only one who is his shadow and his light at the same time. Ultimately forcing others to confront their shadows in one way or another, and accept it.
And yet again, it feels like a (nother) third eye was opened. No wonder Roxas and Naminé felt more like developed characters to most of the fanbase and myself for a long time. They already went through the development that Sora and Kairi are not able to go through. So they represent the growth Sora and Kairi need to properly heal. I'm starting to think KH can be summarized by "Everyone is traumatized and Donald, Goofy and Mickey are there, too."
"Everyone is traumatized and Donald, Goofy and Mickey are there, too" lmao yeah that's pretty much it. _glances at my 14th episode which was all about how the formally-trained Keyblade Wielders were all dealing with generational trauma_
I think it is also interesting to observe how Roxas and Namine interact with Riku as reflections of the repressed emotions as well towards that specific relationship. Kairi, being a princess of heart, has no darkness within her, but namine does. It helps her level and emphasize with riku to a point where she is able to encourage and support him to face his own darkness. Namine has a special bond with Repliku (a riku of the past) but not quite the same with the real riku. And we see that reflected in kairis waning friendship with riku. As for Roxas, we see direct rehashing of kh1 Riku is under the influence of a man named ansem, and does things he's not proud of in order to awaken a friend. Roxas fights him and pushes him further into the darkness. Roxas has no attachment to him, only anger and the desire to defeat him. To Roxas, he represents the threat of everything he cares about being taken from him. (Xion, his friends, his home, etc. Riku even takes one of his keyblades to fight him with) This reflects how Sora might harbor that same resentment as riku took everything from him (Kairi, Donald and goofy, his home, and the keyblade). Idk I don't have any conclusions towards this, just thought there was a narrative choice to never give riku a nobody, but still allow him to interact with both shadows.
I love this perspective! So basically, Roxas is Sora's repressed negativity, and Namine is Kairi's repressed agency? That's why Roxas expresses his negativity so earnestly, and why Namine allows herself to take actions that massively change the status quo; both of them are manifestations of the things that their "somebodies" refuse to engage with, and perhaps that's why they stayed separate even after merging, because they were still ultimately being repressed. I wonder if it says something that Riku has no Nobody, despite having given himself up to the darkness? He was arguably a Heartless for a while, (or something similar, like a Darkling,) but there's no Nobody. Perhaps that's because the only parts of himself that he represses are his positive feelings like affection, which just don't fit into the "shadow" concept for a series that has negativity represented by darkness. Or perhaps that has something to do with all the mystery about what he is, such as the bright light of his heart or his hidden lineage.
Re: Roxas and Namine, exactly! Re: Riku. I think that symbolically, there's also the fact that Riku's reaction to his experiences, to continue the trauma metaphor, is that he didn't react by shutting down, and his rejection of his positive feelings in KH1 didn't reach the same level as Kairi and Sora did w/ their repression.
Hm! This is a really interesting take! As soon as you started talking about Roxas and Namine as representations of Sora and Kairi's repressed emotions I immediately went "Ohhh.. that actually makes a ton of sense, considering that Roxas is as open with his emotions and negative self-image as Sora is repressive with his emotions and negative self-image." You could even kind of see the scene where Roxas says "No one would miss me" and Axel quietly murmurs "I would" as a parallel/contrast (if unintentional) to the one in the Keyblade Graveyard where Sora says, "Alone I'm worthless" and Riku gives a similar quiet rebuttal. Both have just suffered a monumental loss and are at their lowest point- but Roxas is using his grief and pain as a motivation to act in defiance of those who've used and abused him, while Sora's grief and pain paralyzes him. Regardless, very well reasoned analysis, I enjoyed it a lot!
ANOTHER AMAZING VIDEO!!! Sora and Kairi's mental health have always been favorite talking points of mine, and this has given me such great insight into the shocking levels of repression they undergo. Roxas and Naminé being able to break the cycle their Somebodies have subjected themselves to is so bittersweet - good for them for being able to stand up for themselves and their feelings and to grow, but it makes me look on their Somebodies with such sadness. Their thus far inability to grow is... Ahh, peak Kingdom Hearts pain. It also helps to highlight the "next steps" that they need to take to finally growing, Sora's acceptance of external circumstances and his feelings and Kairi's letting go of her fear and detaching herself. Thank you for all your hard work! Another lovely analysis and more brainrot material.
HOWLER!!!!! This is SO good!! You’ve exquisitely articulated all the nebulously undefined notions that I have had floating around in my brain about Roxas and Namine for forever and you did it in a way that makes so much more sense than I ever could have hoped to dream of doing. Thank you so much for each and every episode of this series! I know it’s such a labor of love and takes a ton of work. ❤
Great video as always! I've noticed some connections between Roxas/Namine and DID/OSDD, and what you mentioned here connected a lot of dots for me. In my experience, different alters have different reactions to and ability to process trauma, and with how connected org 13 are to dissociative disorders (specifically ones triggered by traumatic events), it makes sense that Roxas would be essentially Sora's alter. After Sora's trauma from KH1, CoM could be seen as Sora developing amnesia barriers around those events and the people associated with them, eventually culminating in Sora no longer fronting (going into the coma) and Roxas fronting instead to interact with the world. Roxas' more combative and open nature fits for him being a caretaker alter, since Sora is typically unable to help himself. Eventually Roxas receives therapy/connections, allowing him to recognize that he's an alter and accept integration and allowing Sora to front again, although Sora is still in denial and ignores his DID. Also just like alters, Roxas isn't considered to be a real person by those around him, just a part of Sora. It's really moving that Nomura seems to reject this and consider them to be real people, even if they weren't born in a traditional way and don't have a body of their own.
I don't know how I didn't realize that Namine was for Kairi what Repliku is for Riku (I've played COM at least ten times!). I really did just see Namine as her own person. I feel like I can view Kairi more positively from now on.
I mean, they ARE their own people. That's the whole point of them breaking free from the Organization and from Sora and Kairi's hearts. But they are born from them. Which means that their hearts will always have some resemblance to their somebody's. And if you look at their behaviors, desires and fears you can clearly see it.
Wow, I have to say, that has really opened my eyes to Roxas & Namine being more than just a "different" version of them. This really makes me wonder if Nomura has been planning to make Sora and Kairi change and open up in KH4- we then get to see a new side of them now that their Nobodies are free.
Honestly between Re:coded, Melody of Memory, and the fact that Nomura has had the end of the Dark Seeker Saga planned since 2005/6, I feel like Sora opening up in KH4 has been the plan all along (Kairi opening up will probably come up in a later game imo). Since the time after freeing Roxas was taken up by beating the Organization and then saving Kairi, I'm looking forward to seeing the person he becomes now that he isn't symbolically holding in everything his Nobody represents. Same with Kairi and Namine.
Since they share the same origin, Roxas and Naminé are basically fraternal twins. Sora and Kairi helped shape their personalities and Ventus's heart basically made them even more visually different from their 'parents'. Roxas and Naminé have inherited trauma that they don't understand.
Wow, this has given me not only a new understanding of Kingdom Hearts, but also of myself and my own connections with others. I think the most powerful line for me was this: 21:20 "So, in this context, Roxas and Namine could be seen as a symbol of stories that authors write to process their own trauma by using fictional characters as an avatar of themselves and their experiences." Thank you *so much* for creating this video and this series. It's been an amazing journey so far! I've learnt a *lot*, and I'm looking forward to future videos - take all the time you need, they are well worth it :D (also, where's the new background art from? it's cool!)
I'm glad you enjoyed the video and the ones before it. And to answer your question, the background is a piece of official artwork of KH1 Hollow Bastion. I believe it came from the game's Ultimania, but my memory isn't 100%.
Good video! I hadn't thought of the "Shadow" angle for Roxas and Namine, but it makes sense. I would also like to point out that Roxas and Namine weren't the only unique Nobodies we've met. There is at least one, possibly two, others. Prepare for a long comment. TLDR: Xemnas and possibly Marluxia are unique Nobodies because KH is weird like that. The first is actually Xemnas who, like the first two, was born from a single body with multiple hearts. In this case, the hearts of Xehanort and Terra. Unlike the case of Sora, who willingly, if unknowingly, accepted the hearts of Ventus and Kairi into himself to protect them, Xehanort was attempting to forcibly take over the unwilling Terra's body. As a result, their hearts fought eachother, and eventually both ended up in Slumber. Terra's body, however, did not end up in slumber, but instead woke up with amnesia, remembering only the name of Xehanort. He was then taken in and made an apprentice by Ansem the Wise, who started looking into ways to restore his new apprentices lost memories. This eventually led to Apprentice Xehanort volunteering to let the others experiment on his heart, which resulted in the slow awakening of Master Xehanort's consciousness. This in turn set off a series of events that led to the fall of Radiant Garden, and him and the other apprentices becoming Nobodies. Here's where things get odd though. When Sora lost his heart to release Kairi's, it resulted in two unique Nobodies (Roxas and Namine) and a single Heartless that was also unique for being docile and recognizing Kairi. Apprentice Xehanort, on the other hand, produced a single unique Nobody and TWO unique Heartless; Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, aka Xehanort's Heartless, and the Guardian, aka Terra's Heartless! ASoD was unique in that while he was a heartless, he had a human form and was dangerously intelligent, whilst the Gaurdian was unique because it acted at the behest of three specific individuals. ASoD, Riku, and Terra-nort. I.e. his captor, his successor, and his stolen body. Xemnas is the shared Nobody of both Terra and Xehanort, but his mind is neither of them. It's the mind and will of Apprentice Xehanort, who I theorize was injured and enslaved by Master Xehanort. As for the potential fourth unique Nobody, that's Marluxia. And I base this theory on the existence and appearance of the Specter he summons during the Final Boss battle in Chain of Memories. It's been stated before by others, but the Specter has a remarkable resemblance to Strelitzia, Lauriam's missing sister. And when he summons her, Marluxia becomes fused to her and loses his mobility. My theory is that when Strelitzia died in KHUX, rather than rejoining with Kingdom Hearts her heart instead somehow found refuge within her brother's heart. This likely happened while Lauriam was asleep, so he does not consciously remember it, but knows that something happened to her, thus driving his vain search to find her. Fast forward to when he loses his heart, and most likely hers too, resulting in what I'm calling "conjoined Nobodies". Basically, the Specter is an incomplete Nobody of Strelitzia that is bound to Lauriam's Nobody, and can only manifest when he calls her. Otherwise, she just supports him passively from within via the Graceful Dahlia (which looks like a Bird of Paradise Flower, Strelitzia's namesake) and his powers over Life and Death.
That's an interesting theory re: Marluxia and the Specter. There's definitely some possibilities there. But for the purposes of this video, I didn't count Marluxia as a unique Nobody because - potential passenger aside - he's not treated as a separate character from Lauriam. Unlike how Roxas diverges from Sora, Marluxia remains the same person as his original self. Xemnas is a bit of a weird one because of how KH2 treats him and his original self as one character, but then post-BBS titles start treating him as separate to differentiate him from all the other Xehanorts running around. I'm actually planning on doing a whole video on Xemnas in my 4th or 5th season just to try and untangle that whole situation.
As usual, such a great episode ! This particular subject has always fascinated me, and while I already thoughts of Roxas and Namine as Sora and Kairi’s repressed facets, you certainly helped with organising my thoughts about it. I think it’s interesting that most new players that I see (usually streamers) tend to outright prefer Roxas and Namine to their somebodies, and be rather vocal about it. I feel like while that sentiment is changing with Sora these days, it’s still holding strong with Namine. All the things you said in mind, what do you think of the bond between Roxas and Namine ? What could it represent/reflect for Sora and Kairi ? I often find people using it as “proof” that Sora and Kairi are the canon ship, but with Kh3 I don’t even think Roxas and Namine like each other that way. In fact they both have clearly stronger bonds with other people. Meanwhile, where does Ventus fit into this ? Did he only influence Roxas’ appearance, is he also the reason for his amnesia in some way ? Even to this day, Roxas and Namine are some of the biggest KH mysteries in my opinion. One last thing though, with your analysis in mind, what do you think of the fact that Nomura wasn’t sure about bringing Roxas back at all (I’m not sure if it was the case with Namine as well), and only caved because of the fans love for the character ? Once again, thank you so much for the wonderful video ^^
This a wonderful video! But it makes me question if there is a purpose behind Roxas looking like ventus using this lens. Or even why vanitas looks like sora. If you happened to have a theory about the narrative purpose of Ventus and Vanitas I would kill to see it 😭🥺
Glad you enjoyed the video and that it gave you something to think about. I am actually planning a video about the narrative purpose of Vanitas, but right now it's a few years away from being realized, and the script is still a work in progress. Haven't worked out a script for Ventus yet, but it's definitely something I want to try and figure out eventually.
I am happy I came a cross this video. I went through your whole series and have to say I really appreciate your readings of the story and it's themes. I look forward to seeing more episodes in this series.
I think the reason why KH fans don’t question their existence in this way is because their identities are reveals. Though both reveals are fairly subdued. You know that Roxas is intrinsically connected to Sora, but you don’t really know how until the definition of a Nobody is given to Sora by Yen Sid. And Naminé being Kairi’s Nobody isn’t confirmed until Roxas and Naminé have their final exchange at the end of KH2. But the idea is still clearly that both of their identities are a twist that’s revealed over time. And a lot of time and effort is made to make the twist of their identities seamlessly integrated into the narrative after KH2. To this day, “Why do Roxas and Ventus look identical?” is a common newbie question that fans have gotten tired of explaining.
Imagine if after KH3, Roxas and Naminé actually got to hang out as twins and tease each other. (God help them if Naminé ever finds Roxas' diary or if Roxas finds out Naminé basically spent an entire year hanging out with Riku.)
"Now. I will give you a small crown and a friendship cupcake to truly display my love for you, Darkness. I will title you... the Element of Truth. Yes, this seems truly provocative."
Woow!!!! And another layer. I LOVE it so much. Thank you for sharing this. Years ago, I also realized that Nobodies are a symbol of a traumatized person, who suppressed it and what's left is a shell. Due to what you said I see even deeper, when it comes to trauma and healing. The goal might be integrating all the splits that happened during trauma. But there is no rush to do so, and it can't be forced. It needs treating yourself lovingly and gentlly. Only when each split is ready to face their trauma, they can eventually merge. And it is okay to take your time. Sora and Roxas might eventually merge again, when Sora faced his traumas. I think Roxas is already in a good place at the end of KH3. At least he has a healthy support system. But maybe they won't merge, and there might be no need to do so. The idea of integrating ones splits can become an unhealthy dogma too, which isn't what I want at least. I think it is beautiful to integrate ones shadows. At the same time, it is okay if they stay separate, if it's part of ones own healing journey.
Glad you enjoyed it! I really liked your observations. I do think that Sora and Roxas don't need to merge anymore, both because it would feel a bit repetitive in light of their merging in KH2, and also because it would go against the series' intended messages to have him develop into his own person, have the life he made for himself get taken away, get it back, and then get it taken away _again_ .
@@The_Violet_Howler Yeah, I agree. Except Roxas was fine with that, if a merge needed to happen for some reason. I think a merge makes only sense, when the two parts that are involved are agreeing to that. Forcing a merge could traumatize both even more.
Yeah, I know. I normally update the subtitles before i make the video public, but by the time the video was finally ready to upload, it was after 1AM and I needed sleep so i decided I'd fix it in the morning lol.
Braig really like "I'm gonna commit to a thing known as a pro-gamer move to create some tension." *Xehanort dying inside, screaming a string of colorful swear words.*
Unfortunately between starting a new job a few weeks ago and having some last-minute revisions to make that didn't occur to me until the 11th hour, I didn't have as much time to do a ton of promotion for the video because I was too busy focusing on finishing it. 😅
My take on Naminé? She ISN'T Kairi's Nobody: she, like Roxas, is a Nobody of Sora&Ventus. Roxas most reflects Sora & Naminé, Ventus-without-Vanitas. As with Xion, Naminé's true identity is obscured by (in-universe) gender absolutionism - "Xion & Naminé are female; the only female in proximity to this plotline is Kairi: Xion & Naminé must be derivative personas of Kairi". Here, as always, Kairi was a conveniently comphet narrative misdirection. The teenagers involved wholly believe that Naminé was Kairi's Nobody but their respective stories & explored themes very much contradict this belief. Logistically, the game repeatedly states that Princesses of Heart do not have Darkness in the way necessary for the creation of a Nobody or Heartless. At no point do the games offer a caveat to this law of the KH universe, one that could rationalize Kairi as an exception to this rule. No explanation is ever actually given at all: the games simply misdirect audiences toward what the characters claim... or put them in proximity to Xehanort. The latter, believe it or not, does not actually resolve anything: we know Xehanort can EXTRACT a person's Darkness (Ventus&Vanitas) but the reverse is neither proven nor possible to achieve within the constraints of the KH1 timeline. Naminé (& thus her friends) may BELIEVE she is Kairi's Shadow but that does not make it true. Yes, Naminé was able to "merge" into Kairi: it's entirely plausible that this would have worked for ANY combination of Kairi-Sora-Ventus. Kairi is a being made entirely of Light: Ventus is too, albeit artificially. Sora, meanwhile, seems to be something of a "Universal Host" to any & ALL wayward spirits. Sora is an Outlier and is nonindicative of ANY Standard within the KH universe. Kairi's struggles with a forgotten past, loss & a resistance to change (of "growing up"). Naminé, in parallel & in contrast, experiences the kind of life that Kairi has forgotten: [medical abuse], extortion & isolation. Naminé's time with Organization XIII & with DiZ mirrored that of VEN's with Master Xehanort. Kairi's forgotten history as a test subject of Xehanort &, possibly, of Ansem the Wise? She's forgotten it and, outside of Melody of Memories, we never get to see how it could have affected her. Kairi's Ambiguously Traumatic Past is only ever used for her in her role as MacGuffin. Kairi's story barely affects Naminé's & Naminé's doesn't affect Kairi's: the characters most changed by Naminé's character arc were Sora & Riku. This further alludes to Naminé not truly originating from Kairi's Darkness but from Sora-Ven. The duality of Sora-Ven is reflected in Sora's producing two distinct ("twin") Nobodies during KH1. Roxas is most reflective of Sora but physically looks like Ventus; Naminé is most reminiscent of Ventus-without-Vanitas but (allegedly) "looks like Kairi": this does not occur in the Nobodies of other hybrid-beings, as evident in Xemnas (Terra & Xehanort) & Xigbar (Braig & Luxu). In this way, Naminé & Roxas are more akin to Xion than most every other Nobody. Ignoring the gender binaries (canonically used & assumed in-universe), the characters that Naminé actually resembles are Ventus (who I propose as Naminé's "primary" origin) & Xion (another artificial being with Sora Origins). Narratively & thematically, Naminé's arc from CoM to KH2 was a continuation of Ven's story in Birth By Sleep. Both characters are strongly tied to themes of isolation, abusive authority figures, and artificial life. While other characters - Xion, Repliku & Terra-Xehanort - also explore these themes, Kairi notably does not. I will note that Naminé does not NEED to be Kairi's Nobody to act as her narrative foil: I just find that identifying Naminé with Kairi is buying into the very same (false) Binaric Gender Roles that CoM, Days & (to a lesser extent) BBS sought to poke holes in. Tiny, easily mistranslated-into-nonexistence holes but holes nonetheless. Attempting to conflate Naminé with Kairi is to give the latter character more narrative presence than she truly has, in an effort to reconcile the two together beyond "similarly aged females in proximity to KH's plot".
Namine and Roxas are Ancient Darkness creations. The Ancient Darkness transcends a peculiar form and modifies the Beings they touched. (They have several forms :see Fake Ava and Vanitas who are the same Darkness). When Sora became a Heartless (Physical Darkness) , he opened the Door for the Formless Darkness that is in Ventus's body to reach across the Signals of the Hearts and grasp Ventus's and Kairi's Hearts. So, Namine and Roxas are mixed amalgam people of Darkness that the Ancient Darkness Unconsciously uses to try to control Sora and Riku. Namine as the Witch in Sora's Memories (Memory Modification is a Darkness Power) and Roxas, a Dark Vessel who wields the Kingdom Key, The Key of Riku's Heart. (Nomura has implied several times that Riku is special (The Light)). From a Meta Chessboard Perspective, Namine and Roxas are "attempts" to wide the distance between Sora and Riku to open them to the Darkness. Further, Xion is created using the Kairi part of Sora's Memories. But she is designed to "be Sora" and therefore must take in Roxas, Sora, Darkness and the Memories and Light of Riku to have his Kingdom Key and actually "be Sora". Kairi is the "the form" but the others stated are everything else.
@BattyButtercup This is a pretty interesting theory. You brought up some points that I hadn’t considered before, and some (like Kairi being a PoH) that in hindsight I should’ve addressed in the video. But I have to disagree with your argument that it’s not possible for Kairi to create a Nobody. Based on the fact that Braig having his heart forcibly extracted by Xehanort (as seen in DDD) was enough to trigger the creation of Xigbar, the main factor in a person becoming a Nobody is losing their heart as a result of darkness. Whether that darkness comes from that person’s own heart or from an outside source makes no difference in the Nobody creation process. So, Kairi not having any darkness in her heart doesn’t matter because darkness was involved in the circumstances behind her losing her heart. Plus, the existence of KH3-era Terranort proves that the “laws” of Nobody creation are not hard and fast rules that are rigidly followed every single time the process occurs. Because only Terra’s body was involved in the process of creating Xemnas, and Master Xehanort’s body had already faded after he possessed Terra. Yet after the deaths of Xemnas and Ansem SoD, both Terra and Master Xehanort’s bodies are recompleted, even though Terra’s heart still trapped inside the Guardian and his body possessed by past!Terranort. (This post goes into a little more detail on the similarities between the Terranort and Namine situations: kitsoa.tumblr.com/post/182993549778/explaining-terranort-in-kh3) Namine being Ven’s Nobody is definitely an interesting idea to consider. But there’s nothing to about Nobody lore that really contradicts her being Kairi's Nobody like she's said to be.
Namine and Roxas exist the way they do because of the Ancient Darkness that was Vanitas reaching across Sora when He becomes a Heartless. The Ancient Darkness is a Shapeshifting, Illusion making, Memory shifting being. So Namine and Roxas are Darkness (Capital D) copies of Kairi and Sora/Ventus created as the "Witch" and Dark Vessel Keyblade Wielder as their "Pieces".
Honestly in hindsight I'm surprised this is the first time I've brought up a VLD comparison out loud aside from mentioning VLD as an example of the Heroine's Journey back in Episode 04. Voltron and KH are constantly making my brain do the Doofenshmirtz "If I had a nickel" meme - both bc of the actual story _and_ bc of the fans 😅
Well done video as usual and a great refresher, but i just Really wish your voice could be more...leveled?calm? I know it's a Me Problem but it feels like youre yelling at me lmao
I can't help but wonder if BRAIG is the traitor, or if KAIRI is the traitor. In that way, I can't help but wonder if Kairi was traumatized by Xehanort, or by BRAIG?
I mean, Melody of Memory makes it pretty clear that Xehanort was the one responsible for tossing Kairi out into space and tearing her away from Radiant Garden. Kairi has no direct connections to Braig aside from them both living in Radiant Garden at the time of BBS. They've never interacted one-on-one and all the emphasis on her being ripped away from her old home focuses on Xehanort exclusively, not the rest of Ansem's apprentices. As for your first part, there _is_ a theory that the Lost Page of the Book of Prophecies describes the fall of Destiny Islands in KH1 - the original line (before the localization changed some of the wording) lines up pretty well with some of what was going on in that part of the game, like the dock scene, the page that the MoM tears out of the book in Back Cover shows the Kingdom Key and a Shadow heartless, two visuals heavily associated with the night of the islands' fall, and other details. However the part about the traitor bearing the sigil adds ambiguity over whose actions the passage refers to. Because Riku is wearing an X as part of his outfit in KH1, while Kairi has it in her name (since Xehanort mentioned in BBS that the X in X-Blade is sometimes pronounced Kai). And the text of the lost page still lines up pretty well with the events of X/UX and Ava's confrontation with Luxu. So I think it's more that the traitor isn't one specific person but a role/niche in the story that multiple characters can fill at different times and in different contexts.
@@The_Violet_Howler That's exactly it. We know Xehanort is responsible for tearing her away and throwing her out to space. Why would Xehanort give up his most prized subject if she was his guinea pig? Also yeah that is very reasonable tbh. Sora was just kind of a bystander in the wrong place at the right time. But if Xehanort planned all this from the start. Then he likely knew that Ventus of all people would find Sora inevitably. Whereas Terra and Aqua were focused on the other two as they seemed the most obviously strong and bright.
i'll help you out: get the Jafar card and the Luxord card (agrabah room of rewards after watching 358), and chuck a couple of 0 cards and cure cards at the end of your deck so you can quickly scroll backwards to heal and break sleights. find one or two good sleights you like using and build the rest of the deck around spamming the hell out of them and you'll get through 99% of the game with relative ease
It's incredibly cool how all the characters are forced to confront their darkness at some point. With the only person who ever really seems "whole" throughout the entire series being Xehanort. The only one who is his shadow and his light at the same time. Ultimately forcing others to confront their shadows in one way or another, and accept it.
Wow. Nobodies developing hearts symbolizing processsing trauma properly is an awesome interpretation!
And yet again, it feels like a (nother) third eye was opened.
No wonder Roxas and Naminé felt more like developed characters to most of the fanbase and myself for a long time. They already went through the development that Sora and Kairi are not able to go through.
So they represent the growth Sora and Kairi need to properly heal.
I'm starting to think KH can be summarized by "Everyone is traumatized and Donald, Goofy and Mickey are there, too."
"Everyone is traumatized and Donald, Goofy and Mickey are there, too" lmao yeah that's pretty much it. _glances at my 14th episode which was all about how the formally-trained Keyblade Wielders were all dealing with generational trauma_
I think it is also interesting to observe how Roxas and Namine interact with Riku as reflections of the repressed emotions as well towards that specific relationship.
Kairi, being a princess of heart, has no darkness within her, but namine does. It helps her level and emphasize with riku to a point where she is able to encourage and support him to face his own darkness.
Namine has a special bond with Repliku (a riku of the past) but not quite the same with the real riku.
And we see that reflected in kairis waning friendship with riku.
As for Roxas, we see direct rehashing of kh1
Riku is under the influence of a man named ansem, and does things he's not proud of in order to awaken a friend.
Roxas fights him and pushes him further into the darkness. Roxas has no attachment to him, only anger and the desire to defeat him. To Roxas, he represents the threat of everything he cares about being taken from him. (Xion, his friends, his home, etc. Riku even takes one of his keyblades to fight him with)
This reflects how Sora might harbor that same resentment as riku took everything from him (Kairi, Donald and goofy, his home, and the keyblade).
Idk I don't have any conclusions towards this, just thought there was a narrative choice to never give riku a nobody, but still allow him to interact with both shadows.
Oh my gosh that's something I never thought about. That makes so much sense!!!!
I love this perspective! So basically, Roxas is Sora's repressed negativity, and Namine is Kairi's repressed agency? That's why Roxas expresses his negativity so earnestly, and why Namine allows herself to take actions that massively change the status quo; both of them are manifestations of the things that their "somebodies" refuse to engage with, and perhaps that's why they stayed separate even after merging, because they were still ultimately being repressed.
I wonder if it says something that Riku has no Nobody, despite having given himself up to the darkness? He was arguably a Heartless for a while, (or something similar, like a Darkling,) but there's no Nobody. Perhaps that's because the only parts of himself that he represses are his positive feelings like affection, which just don't fit into the "shadow" concept for a series that has negativity represented by darkness. Or perhaps that has something to do with all the mystery about what he is, such as the bright light of his heart or his hidden lineage.
Re: Roxas and Namine, exactly!
Re: Riku. I think that symbolically, there's also the fact that Riku's reaction to his experiences, to continue the trauma metaphor, is that he didn't react by shutting down, and his rejection of his positive feelings in KH1 didn't reach the same level as Kairi and Sora did w/ their repression.
I totally agree and may I add: they narratively chose to give riku a /replica/. A laboratory constructed other you.
Hm! This is a really interesting take! As soon as you started talking about Roxas and Namine as representations of Sora and Kairi's repressed emotions I immediately went "Ohhh.. that actually makes a ton of sense, considering that Roxas is as open with his emotions and negative self-image as Sora is repressive with his emotions and negative self-image." You could even kind of see the scene where Roxas says "No one would miss me" and Axel quietly murmurs "I would" as a parallel/contrast (if unintentional) to the one in the Keyblade Graveyard where Sora says, "Alone I'm worthless" and Riku gives a similar quiet rebuttal. Both have just suffered a monumental loss and are at their lowest point- but Roxas is using his grief and pain as a motivation to act in defiance of those who've used and abused him, while Sora's grief and pain paralyzes him.
Regardless, very well reasoned analysis, I enjoyed it a lot!
I didn't even think about the comparison between Roxas's "No one would miss me" and Sora's "Alone I'm worthless." You just blew my mind there.
ANOTHER AMAZING VIDEO!!! Sora and Kairi's mental health have always been favorite talking points of mine, and this has given me such great insight into the shocking levels of repression they undergo.
Roxas and Naminé being able to break the cycle their Somebodies have subjected themselves to is so bittersweet - good for them for being able to stand up for themselves and their feelings and to grow, but it makes me look on their Somebodies with such sadness. Their thus far inability to grow is... Ahh, peak Kingdom Hearts pain.
It also helps to highlight the "next steps" that they need to take to finally growing, Sora's acceptance of external circumstances and his feelings and Kairi's letting go of her fear and detaching herself.
Thank you for all your hard work! Another lovely analysis and more brainrot material.
I'm glad i gave you more material to fixate on XD.
another great episode! this really refreshed my thoughts on namine and roxas!
HOWLER!!!!! This is SO good!! You’ve exquisitely articulated all the nebulously undefined notions that I have had floating around in my brain about Roxas and Namine for forever and you did it in a way that makes so much more sense than I ever could have hoped to dream of doing. Thank you so much for each and every episode of this series! I know it’s such a labor of love and takes a ton of work. ❤
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Great video as always! I've noticed some connections between Roxas/Namine and DID/OSDD, and what you mentioned here connected a lot of dots for me. In my experience, different alters have different reactions to and ability to process trauma, and with how connected org 13 are to dissociative disorders (specifically ones triggered by traumatic events), it makes sense that Roxas would be essentially Sora's alter.
After Sora's trauma from KH1, CoM could be seen as Sora developing amnesia barriers around those events and the people associated with them, eventually culminating in Sora no longer fronting (going into the coma) and Roxas fronting instead to interact with the world. Roxas' more combative and open nature fits for him being a caretaker alter, since Sora is typically unable to help himself. Eventually Roxas receives therapy/connections, allowing him to recognize that he's an alter and accept integration and allowing Sora to front again, although Sora is still in denial and ignores his DID.
Also just like alters, Roxas isn't considered to be a real person by those around him, just a part of Sora. It's really moving that Nomura seems to reject this and consider them to be real people, even if they weren't born in a traditional way and don't have a body of their own.
I don't know how I didn't realize that Namine was for Kairi what Repliku is for Riku (I've played COM at least ten times!). I really did just see Namine as her own person.
I feel like I can view Kairi more positively from now on.
I mean, they ARE their own people. That's the whole point of them breaking free from the Organization and from Sora and Kairi's hearts. But they are born from them. Which means that their hearts will always have some resemblance to their somebody's. And if you look at their behaviors, desires and fears you can clearly see it.
Wow, I have to say, that has really opened my eyes to Roxas & Namine being more than just a "different" version of them. This really makes me wonder if Nomura has been planning to make Sora and Kairi change and open up in KH4- we then get to see a new side of them now that their Nobodies are free.
Honestly between Re:coded, Melody of Memory, and the fact that Nomura has had the end of the Dark Seeker Saga planned since 2005/6, I feel like Sora opening up in KH4 has been the plan all along (Kairi opening up will probably come up in a later game imo). Since the time after freeing Roxas was taken up by beating the Organization and then saving Kairi, I'm looking forward to seeing the person he becomes now that he isn't symbolically holding in everything his Nobody represents. Same with Kairi and Namine.
Since they share the same origin, Roxas and Naminé are basically fraternal twins. Sora and Kairi helped shape their personalities and Ventus's heart basically made them even more visually different from their 'parents'.
Roxas and Naminé have inherited trauma that they don't understand.
Wow, this has given me not only a new understanding of Kingdom Hearts, but also of myself and my own connections with others. I think the most powerful line for me was this:
21:20 "So, in this context, Roxas and Namine could be seen as a symbol of stories that authors write to process their own trauma by using fictional characters as an avatar of themselves and their experiences."
Thank you *so much* for creating this video and this series. It's been an amazing journey so far! I've learnt a *lot*, and I'm looking forward to future videos - take all the time you need, they are well worth it :D
(also, where's the new background art from? it's cool!)
I'm glad you enjoyed the video and the ones before it.
And to answer your question, the background is a piece of official artwork of KH1 Hollow Bastion. I believe it came from the game's Ultimania, but my memory isn't 100%.
Good video! I hadn't thought of the "Shadow" angle for Roxas and Namine, but it makes sense. I would also like to point out that Roxas and Namine weren't the only unique Nobodies we've met. There is at least one, possibly two, others. Prepare for a long comment. TLDR: Xemnas and possibly Marluxia are unique Nobodies because KH is weird like that.
The first is actually Xemnas who, like the first two, was born from a single body with multiple hearts. In this case, the hearts of Xehanort and Terra. Unlike the case of Sora, who willingly, if unknowingly, accepted the hearts of Ventus and Kairi into himself to protect them, Xehanort was attempting to forcibly take over the unwilling Terra's body. As a result, their hearts fought eachother, and eventually both ended up in Slumber. Terra's body, however, did not end up in slumber, but instead woke up with amnesia, remembering only the name of Xehanort. He was then taken in and made an apprentice by Ansem the Wise, who started looking into ways to restore his new apprentices lost memories. This eventually led to Apprentice Xehanort volunteering to let the others experiment on his heart, which resulted in the slow awakening of Master Xehanort's consciousness. This in turn set off a series of events that led to the fall of Radiant Garden, and him and the other apprentices becoming Nobodies.
Here's where things get odd though. When Sora lost his heart to release Kairi's, it resulted in two unique Nobodies (Roxas and Namine) and a single Heartless that was also unique for being docile and recognizing Kairi. Apprentice Xehanort, on the other hand, produced a single unique Nobody and TWO unique Heartless; Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, aka Xehanort's Heartless, and the Guardian, aka Terra's Heartless! ASoD was unique in that while he was a heartless, he had a human form and was dangerously intelligent, whilst the Gaurdian was unique because it acted at the behest of three specific individuals. ASoD, Riku, and Terra-nort. I.e. his captor, his successor, and his stolen body. Xemnas is the shared Nobody of both Terra and Xehanort, but his mind is neither of them. It's the mind and will of Apprentice Xehanort, who I theorize was injured and enslaved by Master Xehanort.
As for the potential fourth unique Nobody, that's Marluxia. And I base this theory on the existence and appearance of the Specter he summons during the Final Boss battle in Chain of Memories. It's been stated before by others, but the Specter has a remarkable resemblance to Strelitzia, Lauriam's missing sister. And when he summons her, Marluxia becomes fused to her and loses his mobility. My theory is that when Strelitzia died in KHUX, rather than rejoining with Kingdom Hearts her heart instead somehow found refuge within her brother's heart. This likely happened while Lauriam was asleep, so he does not consciously remember it, but knows that something happened to her, thus driving his vain search to find her. Fast forward to when he loses his heart, and most likely hers too, resulting in what I'm calling "conjoined Nobodies". Basically, the Specter is an incomplete Nobody of Strelitzia that is bound to Lauriam's Nobody, and can only manifest when he calls her. Otherwise, she just supports him passively from within via the Graceful Dahlia (which looks like a Bird of Paradise Flower, Strelitzia's namesake) and his powers over Life and Death.
That's an interesting theory re: Marluxia and the Specter. There's definitely some possibilities there. But for the purposes of this video, I didn't count Marluxia as a unique Nobody because - potential passenger aside - he's not treated as a separate character from Lauriam. Unlike how Roxas diverges from Sora, Marluxia remains the same person as his original self.
Xemnas is a bit of a weird one because of how KH2 treats him and his original self as one character, but then post-BBS titles start treating him as separate to differentiate him from all the other Xehanorts running around. I'm actually planning on doing a whole video on Xemnas in my 4th or 5th season just to try and untangle that whole situation.
@@The_Violet_Howler I look forward to watching that video!
Woooo! So glad to be back to Constructing Kingdoms! This plus a secret reports upload so close together has mad my week!
Happy to be of service! 😊
As usual, such a great episode ! This particular subject has always fascinated me, and while I already thoughts of Roxas and Namine as Sora and Kairi’s repressed facets, you certainly helped with organising my thoughts about it. I think it’s interesting that most new players that I see (usually streamers) tend to outright prefer Roxas and Namine to their somebodies, and be rather vocal about it. I feel like while that sentiment is changing with Sora these days, it’s still holding strong with Namine.
All the things you said in mind, what do you think of the bond between Roxas and Namine ? What could it represent/reflect for Sora and Kairi ? I often find people using it as “proof” that Sora and Kairi are the canon ship, but with Kh3 I don’t even think Roxas and Namine like each other that way. In fact they both have clearly stronger bonds with other people.
Meanwhile, where does Ventus fit into this ? Did he only influence Roxas’ appearance, is he also the reason for his amnesia in some way ?
Even to this day, Roxas and Namine are some of the biggest KH mysteries in my opinion.
One last thing though, with your analysis in mind, what do you think of the fact that Nomura wasn’t sure about bringing Roxas back at all (I’m not sure if it was the case with Namine as well), and only caved because of the fans love for the character ?
Once again, thank you so much for the wonderful video ^^
barely a minute in and my mind is already exploding.
This a wonderful video! But it makes me question if there is a purpose behind Roxas looking like ventus using this lens. Or even why vanitas looks like sora. If you happened to have a theory about the narrative purpose of Ventus and Vanitas I would kill to see it 😭🥺
Glad you enjoyed the video and that it gave you something to think about. I am actually planning a video about the narrative purpose of Vanitas, but right now it's a few years away from being realized, and the script is still a work in progress. Haven't worked out a script for Ventus yet, but it's definitely something I want to try and figure out eventually.
@@The_Violet_Howler I'll be sure to stick around then 😁
I am happy I came a cross this video. I went through your whole series and have to say I really appreciate your readings of the story and it's themes. I look forward to seeing more episodes in this series.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying my analysis of the KH story!
Processing trauma, is that why so many of my fanfic bookmarks are sad?
I think the reason why KH fans don’t question their existence in this way is because their identities are reveals. Though both reveals are fairly subdued. You know that Roxas is intrinsically connected to Sora, but you don’t really know how until the definition of a Nobody is given to Sora by Yen Sid. And Naminé being Kairi’s Nobody isn’t confirmed until Roxas and Naminé have their final exchange at the end of KH2. But the idea is still clearly that both of their identities are a twist that’s revealed over time. And a lot of time and effort is made to make the twist of their identities seamlessly integrated into the narrative after KH2. To this day, “Why do Roxas and Ventus look identical?” is a common newbie question that fans have gotten tired of explaining.
That's a good point
It's so good to see you back! Can't wait for the next video!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Can't wait to watch this later!!
Great video!
Can't wait for the next ones!!
Its back! 😍 Really good video to wake up too!
Imagine if after KH3, Roxas and Naminé actually got to hang out as twins and tease each other. (God help them if Naminé ever finds Roxas' diary or if Roxas finds out Naminé basically spent an entire year hanging out with Riku.)
"Now. I will give you a small crown and a friendship cupcake to truly display my love for you, Darkness. I will title you... the Element of Truth. Yes, this seems truly provocative."
Woow!!!! And another layer. I LOVE it so much. Thank you for sharing this.
Years ago, I also realized that Nobodies are a symbol of a traumatized person, who suppressed it and what's left is a shell.
Due to what you said I see even deeper, when it comes to trauma and healing. The goal might be integrating all the splits that happened during trauma. But there is no rush to do so, and it can't be forced. It needs treating yourself lovingly and gentlly. Only when each split is ready to face their trauma, they can eventually merge. And it is okay to take your time.
Sora and Roxas might eventually merge again, when Sora faced his traumas. I think Roxas is already in a good place at the end of KH3. At least he has a healthy support system.
But maybe they won't merge, and there might be no need to do so.
The idea of integrating ones splits can become an unhealthy dogma too, which isn't what I want at least.
I think it is beautiful to integrate ones shadows. At the same time, it is okay if they stay separate, if it's part of ones own healing journey.
Glad you enjoyed it! I really liked your observations.
I do think that Sora and Roxas don't need to merge anymore, both because it would feel a bit repetitive in light of their merging in KH2, and also because it would go against the series' intended messages to have him develop into his own person, have the life he made for himself get taken away, get it back, and then get it taken away _again_ .
@@The_Violet_Howler Yeah, I agree. Except Roxas was fine with that, if a merge needed to happen for some reason.
I think a merge makes only sense, when the two parts that are involved are agreeing to that.
Forcing a merge could traumatize both even more.
Really happy you're back, great video as always!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Oh god im so excited i might just watch this 5 times on repeat
What ?!?! This video is amazing!!!
subtitles are from an earlier version of the draft, by the way
Yeah, I know. I normally update the subtitles before i make the video public, but by the time the video was finally ready to upload, it was after 1AM and I needed sleep so i decided I'd fix it in the morning lol.
@@The_Violet_Howler it's pretty insightful though, seeing how you almost completely rewrite the entire thing. respect!
unfortunately when the video was released there were no subtitles in my language yet, but now I can recover it properly 💛
Braig really like "I'm gonna commit to a thing known as a pro-gamer move to create some tension."
*Xehanort dying inside, screaming a string of colorful swear words.*
You heard it here first: Xehanort befriended Darkness with the power of friendship.
Not even a notice huh? Ok I’ve been waiting so long so I’m glad you got one more out before the new year
Unfortunately between starting a new job a few weeks ago and having some last-minute revisions to make that didn't occur to me until the 11th hour, I didn't have as much time to do a ton of promotion for the video because I was too busy focusing on finishing it. 😅
@@The_Violet_Howler you’re perfectly fine, I’m just happy with the corny you produce
My take on Naminé? She ISN'T Kairi's Nobody: she, like Roxas, is a Nobody of Sora&Ventus. Roxas most reflects Sora & Naminé, Ventus-without-Vanitas. As with Xion, Naminé's true identity is obscured by (in-universe) gender absolutionism - "Xion & Naminé are female; the only female in proximity to this plotline is Kairi: Xion & Naminé must be derivative personas of Kairi". Here, as always, Kairi was a conveniently comphet narrative misdirection. The teenagers involved wholly believe that Naminé was Kairi's Nobody but their respective stories & explored themes very much contradict this belief.
Logistically, the game repeatedly states that Princesses of Heart do not have Darkness in the way necessary for the creation of a Nobody or Heartless. At no point do the games offer a caveat to this law of the KH universe, one that could rationalize Kairi as an exception to this rule. No explanation is ever actually given at all: the games simply misdirect audiences toward what the characters claim... or put them in proximity to Xehanort. The latter, believe it or not, does not actually resolve anything: we know Xehanort can EXTRACT a person's Darkness (Ventus&Vanitas) but the reverse is neither proven nor possible to achieve within the constraints of the KH1 timeline.
Naminé (& thus her friends) may BELIEVE she is Kairi's Shadow but that does not make it true. Yes, Naminé was able to "merge" into Kairi: it's entirely plausible that this would have worked for ANY combination of Kairi-Sora-Ventus. Kairi is a being made entirely of Light: Ventus is too, albeit artificially. Sora, meanwhile, seems to be something of a "Universal Host" to any & ALL wayward spirits. Sora is an Outlier and is nonindicative of ANY Standard within the KH universe.
Kairi's struggles with a forgotten past, loss & a resistance to change (of "growing up"). Naminé, in parallel & in contrast, experiences the kind of life that Kairi has forgotten: [medical abuse], extortion & isolation. Naminé's time with Organization XIII & with DiZ mirrored that of VEN's with Master Xehanort.
Kairi's forgotten history as a test subject of Xehanort &, possibly, of Ansem the Wise? She's forgotten it and, outside of Melody of Memories, we never get to see how it could have affected her. Kairi's Ambiguously Traumatic Past is only ever used for her in her role as MacGuffin. Kairi's story barely affects Naminé's & Naminé's doesn't affect Kairi's: the characters most changed by Naminé's character arc were Sora & Riku. This further alludes to Naminé not truly originating from Kairi's Darkness but from Sora-Ven.
The duality of Sora-Ven is reflected in Sora's producing two distinct ("twin") Nobodies during KH1. Roxas is most reflective of Sora but physically looks like Ventus; Naminé is most reminiscent of Ventus-without-Vanitas but (allegedly) "looks like Kairi": this does not occur in the Nobodies of other hybrid-beings, as evident in Xemnas (Terra & Xehanort) & Xigbar (Braig & Luxu). In this way, Naminé & Roxas are more akin to Xion than most every other Nobody.
Ignoring the gender binaries (canonically used & assumed in-universe), the characters that Naminé actually resembles are Ventus (who I propose as Naminé's "primary" origin) & Xion (another artificial being with Sora Origins).
Narratively & thematically, Naminé's arc from CoM to KH2 was a continuation of Ven's story in Birth By Sleep. Both characters are strongly tied to themes of isolation, abusive authority figures, and artificial life. While other characters - Xion, Repliku & Terra-Xehanort - also explore these themes, Kairi notably does not.
I will note that Naminé does not NEED to be Kairi's Nobody to act as her narrative foil: I just find that identifying Naminé with Kairi is buying into the very same (false) Binaric Gender Roles that CoM, Days & (to a lesser extent) BBS sought to poke holes in. Tiny, easily mistranslated-into-nonexistence holes but holes nonetheless. Attempting to conflate Naminé with Kairi is to give the latter character more narrative presence than she truly has, in an effort to reconcile the two together beyond "similarly aged females in proximity to KH's plot".
Namine and Roxas are Ancient Darkness creations. The Ancient Darkness transcends a peculiar form and modifies the Beings they touched. (They have several forms :see Fake Ava and Vanitas who are the same Darkness). When Sora became a Heartless (Physical Darkness) , he opened the Door for the Formless Darkness that is in Ventus's body to reach across the Signals of the Hearts and grasp Ventus's and Kairi's Hearts.
So, Namine and Roxas are mixed amalgam people of Darkness that the Ancient Darkness Unconsciously uses to try to control Sora and Riku. Namine as the Witch in Sora's Memories (Memory Modification is a Darkness Power) and Roxas, a Dark Vessel who wields the Kingdom Key, The Key of Riku's Heart. (Nomura has implied several times that Riku is special (The Light)).
From a Meta Chessboard Perspective, Namine and Roxas are "attempts" to wide the distance between Sora and Riku to open them to the Darkness.
Further, Xion is created using the Kairi part of Sora's Memories. But she is designed to "be Sora" and therefore must take in Roxas, Sora, Darkness and the Memories and Light of Riku to have his Kingdom Key and actually "be Sora". Kairi is the "the form" but the others stated are everything else.
@BattyButtercup This is a pretty interesting theory. You brought up some points that I hadn’t considered before, and some (like Kairi being a PoH) that in hindsight I should’ve addressed in the video.
But I have to disagree with your argument that it’s not possible for Kairi to create a Nobody. Based on the fact that Braig having his heart forcibly extracted by Xehanort (as seen in DDD) was enough to trigger the creation of Xigbar, the main factor in a person becoming a Nobody is losing their heart as a result of darkness. Whether that darkness comes from that person’s own heart or from an outside source makes no difference in the Nobody creation process. So, Kairi not having any darkness in her heart doesn’t matter because darkness was involved in the circumstances behind her losing her heart.
Plus, the existence of KH3-era Terranort proves that the “laws” of Nobody creation are not hard and fast rules that are rigidly followed every single time the process occurs. Because only Terra’s body was involved in the process of creating Xemnas, and Master Xehanort’s body had already faded after he possessed Terra. Yet after the deaths of Xemnas and Ansem SoD, both Terra and Master Xehanort’s bodies are recompleted, even though Terra’s heart still trapped inside the Guardian and his body possessed by past!Terranort. (This post goes into a little more detail on the similarities between the Terranort and Namine situations: kitsoa.tumblr.com/post/182993549778/explaining-terranort-in-kh3)
Namine being Ven’s Nobody is definitely an interesting idea to consider. But there’s nothing to about Nobody lore that really contradicts her being Kairi's Nobody like she's said to be.
Namine and Roxas exist the way they do because of the Ancient Darkness that was Vanitas reaching across Sora when He becomes a Heartless. The Ancient Darkness is a Shapeshifting, Illusion making, Memory shifting being. So Namine and Roxas are Darkness (Capital D) copies of Kairi and Sora/Ventus created as the "Witch" and Dark Vessel Keyblade Wielder as their "Pieces".
Was not expecting that VLD name drop btw lol
Honestly in hindsight I'm surprised this is the first time I've brought up a VLD comparison out loud aside from mentioning VLD as an example of the Heroine's Journey back in Episode 04. Voltron and KH are constantly making my brain do the Doofenshmirtz "If I had a nickel" meme - both bc of the actual story _and_ bc of the fans 😅
Well done video as usual and a great refresher, but i just Really wish your voice could be more...leveled?calm? I know it's a Me Problem but it feels like youre yelling at me lmao
I can't help but wonder if BRAIG is the traitor, or if KAIRI is the traitor.
In that way, I can't help but wonder if Kairi was traumatized by Xehanort, or by BRAIG?
I mean, Melody of Memory makes it pretty clear that Xehanort was the one responsible for tossing Kairi out into space and tearing her away from Radiant Garden. Kairi has no direct connections to Braig aside from them both living in Radiant Garden at the time of BBS. They've never interacted one-on-one and all the emphasis on her being ripped away from her old home focuses on Xehanort exclusively, not the rest of Ansem's apprentices.
As for your first part, there _is_ a theory that the Lost Page of the Book of Prophecies describes the fall of Destiny Islands in KH1 - the original line (before the localization changed some of the wording) lines up pretty well with some of what was going on in that part of the game, like the dock scene, the page that the MoM tears out of the book in Back Cover shows the Kingdom Key and a Shadow heartless, two visuals heavily associated with the night of the islands' fall, and other details. However the part about the traitor bearing the sigil adds ambiguity over whose actions the passage refers to. Because Riku is wearing an X as part of his outfit in KH1, while Kairi has it in her name (since Xehanort mentioned in BBS that the X in X-Blade is sometimes pronounced Kai). And the text of the lost page still lines up pretty well with the events of X/UX and Ava's confrontation with Luxu. So I think it's more that the traitor isn't one specific person but a role/niche in the story that multiple characters can fill at different times and in different contexts.
@@The_Violet_Howler That's exactly it. We know Xehanort is responsible for tearing her away and throwing her out to space.
Why would Xehanort give up his most prized subject if she was his guinea pig?
Also yeah that is very reasonable tbh. Sora was just kind of a bystander in the wrong place at the right time.
But if Xehanort planned all this from the start. Then he likely knew that Ventus of all people would find Sora inevitably. Whereas Terra and Aqua were focused on the other two as they seemed the most obviously strong and bright.
Last word in every sentence is very emphasized, it's a bit interesting to listen
I really should go finish recom, but god if I don't wanna play the card game one.
i'll help you out: get the Jafar card and the Luxord card (agrabah room of rewards after watching 358), and chuck a couple of 0 cards and cure cards at the end of your deck so you can quickly scroll backwards to heal and break sleights. find one or two good sleights you like using and build the rest of the deck around spamming the hell out of them and you'll get through 99% of the game with relative ease
Yeah I see. Braig was the one who sexually-misconduct-coded traumatized Kairi, not Xehanort.