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oveliagirlhaditright · 5 years

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A comment I just left on ProdigyXD’s awesome video about Kairi needing her own game:

Thank you so much for this video, Prodigy. To be honest, I didn't watch your other KHIII Kairi video... After KHIII, and all of the hate that Kairi got from fans there... as someone who loves Kairi, I've been very selective of the videos I watch. I just- I've been with this series from the beginning. I went through the horrible Kairi hate years of 2005-2006, and while I dealt with it all there... I just don't want to go through it again at this point in my life. I'm not saying that some of the criticisms people have aren't valid, of course. God, no! I'll be the first knocking down Nomura's door, telling him he honestly hasn't treated Kairi the best and begging him to get better with her. But I just don't want to see art of Sora and Riku murdering Kairi anymore. I don't. I'm not saying it's gotten that bad again (I actually don't know if it has or not. God, I hope not). And I'm not saying that that's what I thought your first video was... but do you maybe get with all of this why I was reluctant to watch your first one, not for sure knowing what kind of video it would be? But, ANYWAY. Seeing the title/screenshot of this video "Why Kairi Needs Her Own Game", I went "Cool. I've wanted that for years. I'll check this out". And I'm so glad I did! What a wonderful thing this is, that really hammers out all the fine points and is fair to both sides. And you going and counting all her hours of screentime in the main games is you going above and beyond the call of duty. Major kudos. Kairi is probably my favorite character of all time, because KH is my favorite series of all time... And that's weird, I know. Since Kairi isn't utilized as well as she could be, you'd think I'd prefer someone else. But I think I was always destined to side with Sora, Riku, or Kairi, since those are the main three we start out with. And I'm someone who always has their heart with the firsts. And Sora (who-from a writing standpoint in I and III-is probably my favorite, but shh) just always seemed... too perfect to me. I don't mean that in a way to slight him or his writing. But that I wanted a character I could somewhat relate to, you know? And I just never thought I could reach the standard of Sora. And Riku... Well, I hated him in the first game so he was out. LOL (I was a nine-year-old who saw the first game in black and white, and despised him for trying to hurt my Disney characters.). And while I've grown to love him now, of course-and think his arc in the series is probably the best-the rule of firsts for me made me prefer Kairi over him (that, and because I just genuinely like more upbeat protagonists). But it isn't just through process of elimination that made Kairi my favorite. Not at all. I've always really loved and respected Kairi for who she is... the things she's done, and her potential. Kairi was actually a role model for me, growing up. Because many forget (or just don't know, if they came into the series later), that Kairi was created when the Disney princesses at the time... weren't the greatest. And in a lot of ways, I saw Kairi as better than them: Just her take charge attitude with the boys as they built the raft... the fact that she wanted to go on this adventure to see other worlds WITH them (in a lot of media back then, the girl would have been left out of that dream)... and how Kairi-even while unable to defend herself, sure-was still selfless and wasn't content to just be saved, but would then want to try and help rescue Sora and Riku... was some powerful stuff back then. And her sass. That might be my FAVORITE Kairi trait (which is why I'm sad it's a bit watered down in KHIII. It's still there, it is, but not nearly as much as it was in KHI and KHII): In a time, where a lot of the Disney princesses could be best described as "nice". Having a character who did things like slapping Sora upside the head and calling him a "lazy bum", saying Sora was "completely hopeless" without her and Riku, insisting that Axel wasn't "being very friendly" when he tries to kidnap her (after he just said he thought he and Kairi were friends already) meant a lot to me (this is also how friends behave with each other, and why I bought the Destiny Trio's friendship more than the Wayfinder Trio's). I also think it shows Kairi isn't perfect, and why I see the arguments that she has no personality or is a Mary-Sue as unfounded. Plus... just the fact that the girl with a heart of pure light is one of the most snarky characters in the series is an amazing dichotomy to me, that a lot could be done with. And don't even get me STARTED on this girl's potential, and all the plot threads that have for some reason been left untied with her (I'm also irritated that it seems like, for example, KHIV is going to deal with experiments done on Skuld in the basement of Radiant Garden's castle. Instead of first doing it with the main girl, Kairi-and filling that story in-when the novels say Apprentice Xehanort experimented on her before throwing her into space. Why can't we see this crap? Why?). I might make another comment with all of her potential and whatnot (because I've had YEARS to think about all of this. Especially when the cast was small, so I then thought more would be done with Kairi). And just the fact that Nomura has yet to really do anything with it... just saddens me to no end. I have my own suspicions about that: I think he has trouble with writing female characters in general, and is even somewhat afraid to. But most of all... I don't think he knows how to write someone who's supposed to have a heart of pure light (not even Ven counts, since he has half a heart). Especially a girl one. So I think he leaves her out for that reason, instead of risk botching her... And I wish he'd just realize that I think he already answered his own question long ago, and to just go on ahead wit it: That just because she has a heart of pure light, doesn't mean she can't feel emotions that can be associated with darkness in this series... but rather, that it just-for whatever reason-won't turn to darkness for her like it would with anyone else. Because we've for sure already seen her and the other Princesses experience despair, anger, ambition, or what have you. But, yeah: It's really sad what's happened with Kairi (just think about the fact that the only worlds Kairi has been to are Destiny Islands, Hollow Bastion, Traverse Town, the End of the World, Twilight Town, The World That Never Was, The Mysterious Tower, Merlin's Time Chamber, an The Keyblade Graveyard, when she started this series wanting to go on a grand world tour, too. Why does only SHE get just the traumatizing worlds, and none really with Disney and Disney fun?). And I hope and pray that Nomura fixes it with IV (or whatever game), by having Kairi feel guilty about everything that's happened with Sora, get stronger, and save Sora (or at least be a key part to it), because as much as I hate to say it... If he doesn't, there may never be any going back for this character:( I don't know why he did what he did to her in III: if it was to subvert expectations (we all thought Kairi's warrior story would finally have its pay-off, so he decided to go against that idea to surprise us? Nomura has said he tries to surprise himself. And I don think one of his faults as a writer, is that he bends over backwards to try and make these crazy twists happen when he should just write the story and have them come naturally), to do a tragic romance (which surely it is. But still... there were other ways. And I don't know if the way this has now damaged Kairi was worth it. Maybe this is why Nomura's been quoted saying he doesn't think he writes romance well...), or what. ...I also will say that Nomura has a problem with fridging female characters that is pretty worrying, and should maybe be addressed: Aerith in FFVII was HIS idea, Luna in Final Fantasy XV was probably him (since she's essentially rewritten Stella. And Stella was his. And oh, how I worry for Verum Rex girl now, for these reasons), Strelitzia, and now Kairi. So, I REALLY hope Nomura didn't just think undermining everything Kairi was worth it to just give Sora man-pain... but I'm worried it was. -sigh- Like I said above... I do hope Nomura has some master plan with this and that it's all going somewhere. And that at the end of the day, this will be the start of a good payoff for Kairi: And in a few years, her KHIII performance won't even be a blip on the radar. We've fallen down so low, we can only go up at this point (and since Kairi has now been killed to be used against Sora, it can never happen again. So that's a plus). But at the same time... I do think it's best that us as a community-kindly, of course-let our voices be heard about this, so hopefully it will get back to Square Enix... and they'll realize we want a Kairi game (or whatever), and will give the fans what they want and make it, and fix some of these issues. And I thank you for, perhaps, starting some of that here:)

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marvelandponder · 7 years

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Wow, So Supportive!

So, you might be able to tell, but I’ve been kind of figuring out this series as it’s gone along. The first had more behind the scenes info, the second more comparative analysis, and now this topic comes along which requires something entirely new.

Well, not all that new, but enough that it’s an honest to goodness challenge to tackle a topic so terrifically tremendous in size: the entire population of the planet that we’ve been introduced to so far.

I could just spend this time geeking out about my favourites, and I will warn you now, it will probably come to that, but what I want to know is what this pretty pony populous does for the show.

And, I mean, with such an expansive cast that will no doubt only grow in the coming season, there’s quite a lot of characters to cover! But, as sure as I’ve overdone it on the alliteration already for no particular reason (I’m in a mood), there’s certainly something to be gained by examining what the background cast has to offer!

World-Building

Aside from giving our main characters other personalities to play off of, supporting characters give a greater depth to the world they live in. To the audience, the variety of viewpoints and personalities isn’t just fun, but indicative of a living, breathing environment.

It’s part of the illusion. If there’s characters out there besides the protagonists that are fully fleshed out or even just feel like they could be, it adds to the believability that this is a whole world. In fact, with a good supporting cast, not only can other characters with conflicting viewpoints to the main characters be in the right, but they can have their own lives that don’t feel like they’re in service of a plot of the main character(s)’ story at all!

It tells you more about the world the main characters grew up and currently reside in. Seeing what characters outside the main six value and how they conduct their lives gives us context for how they act, what makes them so special (or in some ways, not special).

And in a world this big, you can even get perspectives from outside the country. We might’ve assumed everyone was as friendly and kind as the ponies, but in fact they’re known for being soft and weak among the dragons and having a “typical pony hero complex” and a weird tendency towards singing and hugging among the griffons (who via contrast show us what the rest of the world is like, more on this soon).

So, yeah, finding characters who’ve had their own experiences apart from our favs helps the world feel more real, and certainly more interesting.

The season 6 finale is the perfect example of that fact in action. Watching these side characters approach something that’s usually only handled by personalities we’re all very familiar with was refreshing---plus, there were character dynamics we never dreamed we’d get to see (Trixie and Discord being the big example)!

To use a pretty specific example of how cool this is, check out how terrified Trixie is again:

Throughout the entirety of this two parter, Trixie’s constantly showing the audience how terrifying this situation actually is to a normal citizen of Equestria.

And that’s so cool! We get to see by contrast how brave and well-worn our favourite heroines have become---even Fluttershy can mostly handle herself these days (at least, with her friends by her side) without too much panic.

At one point Trixie even refers to a possible changeling invasion as “princess level stuff.” Even better, the second Starlight tells her about it, she immediately says they need to tell Twilight---which both shows the character development from No Second Prances (as the two of them grew to respect one and other), but also shows the audience this is serious to her: in a crisis Trixie’s first instinct was to get help from her rival.

This kind of perspective on things can only come from a source outside the main cast: contrast.

Parallel Characters

Here’s something you’ve no doubt noticed MLP loves to do: base entire characters around the antithesis of one of our main character’s traits.

This is pretty obvious when it comes to Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, and how they operate as warped versions of Twilight (you can’t spell it out better than following the same naming scheme). In various ways, both of them demonstrate by contrast how well Twilight understands friendship and Harmony, among other things.

Discord is the same way.

It’s kinda like how Lex Luthor is the perfect counter to Superman: the mild-mannered boy-scout that will always try to do the right thing meets the embodiment of greed and capitalistic folly. Lex is the self-made man lead astray by his own desire for power, and yet Superman seems to prove that despite being alien, his down-to-earth morality is what ends up representing the best of humanity.

You can compare quite a number of iconic villains to their heroes that way, by seeing what each of them represent. Hans Gruber and John McClain from Die Hard. Ganondorf and Link from the Legend of Zelda. Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. That’s one part of what makes them so memorable---a perfectly fitting contrast to the forces of good their meant to fight.

In the same way, Discord’s very obviously the counterpoint to our Element of Harmony wielding heroes. Not just the whole chaos and harmony thing, but because of how their values clash. Discord only ever cared about getting a laugh and shaping the world in his own nonsensical image, whereas the girls only care about each other and the ponies of Equestria. The conflict is natural from that point on because Discord’s character was constructed to make it so. More than that, though, his defeat isn’t just good triumphing evil, but instead the things the Mane six value triumphing over the view that directly opposes them.

Tells you they’re in the right by showing you how awesome it feels for them to win, essentially.

Lightning Dust is yet another easy example of a character that exists just for contrast. She’s been likened to season one Rainbow Dash many times, and it just goes to show you how far season 3 Rainbow Dash had come in comparison.

So, side characters won’t just give you different perspectives about the main characters verbally, but through their actions. Even when they only get a wee bit of screen time, relatively speaking.

Minimalism and Imagination: A Writer’s Greatest Tools

That’s sort of how an episode like Slice of Life happens.

Filler background characters with interesting enough superficial attributes (like designs, occupations, or implied character traits) give us just enough personality to work with that our imaginations can fill in the rest. To an extent, all side characters function in this way.

It’s the same way a non-main character can go through an arc off-screen. I know, off-screen development sounds terrible---for important characters, who get a lot of precious screen time.

What happens, essentially, is we’re presented with the bookends to an arc: the beginning and the end, and in between is mostly filled with our imaginations.

The example that pops to mind first is Trixie, between her first appearance her second.

Last we see her, she’s leaving Ponyville with her ego bruised.

Next we see her, she’s acquired an evil amulet and is ready to not only humiliate Twilight in kind, but take over the entire town and turn it into Trixieville.

So... a step up from embarrassed.

The reason we buy that elevation has to do with both the story Trixie tells about hitting rock bottom (at a rock farm, no less), and the amount of time in between.

We’re not given very many details other than her career being impacted and her perception that she was humiliated everywhere she went, but it’s been two seasons since we’ve seen her---there’s enough of those little details and time in between for us to imagine a gradual change that made her decide to seek out straight up revenge, no matter the cost.

In a similar vein, I also find it interesting to see how characters differentiate themselves, with such little screen time.

For some, it’s definitely a matter of great design and/or voice acting that really makes them pop out at you. In addition, there’s usually either some adherence to an easily digestible archetype, like the (...*grunts*) tsundre Dragon Lord Ember or the timid Coco Pommel (which sounds bad, like I’m saying they’re cliched, but archetypes can be pretty useful for side characters yet-to-be-developed because it tells us a lot about their personality instantly). Or, a twist on archetype.

For an example, let’s get fancy: Fancy Pants and Filthy Rich both should be greedy and/or power hungry, or just generally thoughtless based on the rich, money-focused business character stereotype. Instead, seeing how Fancy Pants will make conversation easily with anyone and warmly accept those of a lower class than he is, and how Filthy Rich will be a tough but loving father to his daughter (as opposed to spoiling her) and will go out of his way to be nice to the Apples makes them feel like more complex characters.

Playing to our expectations and then twisting them even just slightly makes them feel less like cardboard cut-outs there to fill the insert snooty rich character here role, and more like well developed characters---all just with a few small actions.

Don’t even get me started on characters who say one thing one time, and we fixate on it to the point that it’s central to their identity. Sometimes, it’s because we treat it like a meme; like, Sonata kinda liking Tacos is a thing the same way Derpy like muffins is a thing. And let’s be clear, Sonata also talks about punch at some point in the movie, concerned with the fact that she added too much of one flavour. But the juice thing isn’t a big thing tied to her character in the fandom like tacos are, and why? Tacos are funnier, I guess.

And let me clear: it’s not some failing of the writers that they haven’t developed these characters, or the fandom getting too obsessive over small details. It’s intentional. Of course, there’s quite a few side characters that do get on-screen development (Big Mac, Thorax, the Wonderbolts, etc.), and still others that remain a mystery intentionally.

Zecora remains a character I’d LOVE to see explored, for instance, because there’s still a number of questions surrounding her. Did she have a family once? How much magic does she really know? How did she learn all of it?

Sometimes the answers aren’t as fascinating as a lack of answers. The MLP staff knows this full well apparently, since they’ve always had a policy about leaving things open-ended just in case they want to develop them later, thereby letting us fill in the blanks.

Which reminds me of another great example: Applejack’s noticeable lack of parents. From literally nothing, we created entire personalities, stories, and character motivations---to the point that when it’s explored in canon now, they have HUGE expectations to live up to.

The role of imagination in developing this world is intentional. That’s what good writers do---give you just enough to let you fill in the blanks.

But that’s what’s so wildly inventive about all these characters. So many of them are so memorable---either through what they tell us about the world, the main characters, or even just as characters in and of themselves (whether that be developed through a bit of trickery with our imaginations or actually developed in the show). There’s so many I’d love to see again, and so many more I’d love to meet in the future!

And, because of them all, like the Mane 6 at the end of Slice of Life, I feel quite lucky to know who I do.

Editorials? What are those? I don’t know, but I’ve written a bunch over here for you. Maybe the three most recent ones will jog my memory (check out the other Elements of MLP posts with the Year of the Pony link):

Derpy Editorial, Top 10 Redeemed Villains, and Starlight Editorial

Year of the Pony

Header Image Wouldn’t Be Possible Without:

Trixie Vector by Comeha Elements of Harmony by SpiritoftheWolf Elements of Harmony by TechRainbow

Chiggity-check out those hard-working artists, yo!

They’re All Main Characters in My Heart, Dammit

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