So I've recently came across bitching about certain bitches whose name is in the title of this thread. Not that I consider her a member of Canis lupus, though I do consider her female (psst! Check her chest!), and it's my suspicion this plays a factor in the lovin' she gets. Oh, who am I trying to kid? Her being a girl is one of the factors in her popularity, because Aqua is the first female character in the KH franchise that fulfills all three of the following: kind, strong, and effectual. Kairi and Xion fulfill "kind" and "strong." Namine fulfills "kind" and "effectual." Larxene fulfills "strong" and "effectual."
As Aqua is the first to fulfill all three--kind because she cares about her friends, strong for her fighting ability, and effectual for her overall role in the plot (wraps up most of the Disney worlds and BBS's story in general when Terra and Ventus didn't/couldn't)--she was a novelty in KH, helped by how she was also the first to be fully playable. It's her being playable that gave her proper screentime and allowed us to follow her story directly, instead of her story being mostly centered around the other (male) characters. When you don't have anyone but Kairi, Xion, and Larxene to compare her to, of course Aqua would stand out and receive favorable attention. Even Nomura was surprised she got so popular given the pattern of the other female characters.
Say what you will about her character and her depth (or perhaps, her lack thereof), but Aqua's been called a female Sora for a reason. Unlike Terra and Ventus, she was a legitimate hero, hampered only by BBS's nature as a prequel so you know shit's ultimately gonna hit the fan. Still, she gave a good run, even if I don't think BBS's plot did her character any justice. It's difficult for a lot of people to buy her closeness with Terra and Ventus since they spend about 15 percent of BBS in each other's vicinity, and 10 percent of that 15 percent was her worrying (and maybe getting bitchy) over Terra's risk of darkness, and trying to send Ventus home. The game was so busy focusing on TAV's parallels to Sora, Riku, and Kairi that they forgot to flesh them out on their own terms. Bleh. Y'know, I really shouldn't have to use my own headcanon for their friendship when, given how friendship is KH's main theme, it should've been given far more attention than it did.
And believe me, I've seen whining over "waaah shes stupid cuz she saved terranort!!1" on this forum and beyond. Ask yourself, why would a calculating guy like Xehanort stab himself with his own firetrucking keyblade unless Terra was so close to getting his body back that it was the only possible option (think back to how Sora went stabbity on himself as well at Hollow Bastion)? And since immediately after said stabbity, Terranort sank into a portal of darkness, someone who cares so dearly about her friends (even if it was given far too little attention for its own good) wouldn't waste time thinking if maybe Xehanort was still in him. There was essentially no proof one way or the other, but she had to act now and she wasn't gonna take the chance of letting her friend fall into darkness. It was the whims of the plot that it turned out to be a bad decision, but Aqua hadn't played KH1 and 2 and so had no idea how it'd turn out. She also didn't seem to have played CoM, either, because otherwise she'd have known her new castle would've turned into Organization Headquarters 2. Maybe she could've dumped Ventus under a rock somewhere. No one would think to look there.
So yeah, first female fully playable protagonist that can actually get shit done. A hero and a novelty.
Oh, and people just think she's hot. I think that was the elephant in the room here.
So I've recently came across bitching about certain bitches whose name is in the title of this thread. Not that I consider her a member of Canis lupus, though I do consider her female (psst! Check her chest!), and it's my suspicion this plays a factor in the lovin' she gets. Oh, who am I trying to kid? Her being a girl is one of the factors in her popularity, because Aqua is the first female character in the KH franchise that fulfills all three of the following: kind, strong, and effectual. Kairi and Xion fulfill "kind" and "strong." Namine fulfills "kind" and "effectual." Larxene fulfills "strong" and "effectual."
As Aqua is the first to fulfill all three--kind because she cares about her friends, strong for her fighting ability, and effectual for her overall role in the plot (wraps up most of the Disney worlds and BBS's story in general when Terra and Ventus didn't/couldn't)--she was a novelty in KH, helped by how she was also the first to be fully playable. It's her being playable that gave her proper screentime and allowed us to follow her story directly, instead of her story being mostly centered around the other (male) characters. When you don't have anyone but Kairi, Xion, and Larxene to compare her to, of course Aqua would stand out and receive favorable attention. Even Nomura was surprised she got so popular given the pattern of the other female characters.
Say what you will about her character and her depth (or perhaps, her lack thereof), but Aqua's been called a female Sora for a reason. Unlike Terra and Ventus, she was a legitimate hero, hampered only by BBS's nature as a prequel so you know shit's ultimately gonna hit the fan. Still, she gave a good run, even if I don't think BBS's plot did her character any justice. It's difficult for a lot of people to buy her closeness with Terra and Ventus since they spend about 15 percent of BBS in each other's vicinity, and 10 percent of that 15 percent was her worrying (and maybe getting bitchy) over Terra's risk of darkness, and trying to send Ventus home. The game was so busy focusing on TAV's parallels to Sora, Riku, and Kairi that they forgot to flesh them out on their own terms. Bleh. Y'know, I really shouldn't have to use my own headcanon for their friendship when, given how friendship is KH's main theme, it should've been given far more attention than it did.
And believe me, I've seen whining over "waaah shes stupid cuz she saved terranort!!1" on this forum and beyond. Ask yourself, why would a calculating guy like Xehanort stab himself with his own firetrucking keyblade unless Terra was so close to getting his body back that it was the only possible option (think back to how Sora went stabbity on himself as well at Hollow Bastion)? And since immediately after said stabbity, Terranort sank into a portal of darkness, someone who cares so dearly about her friends (even if it was given far too little attention for its own good) wouldn't waste time thinking if maybe Xehanort was still in him. There was essentially no proof one way or the other, but she had to act now and she wasn't gonna take the chance of letting her friend fall into darkness. It was the whims of the plot that it turned out to be a bad decision, but Aqua hadn't played KH1 and 2 and so had no idea how it'd turn out. She also didn't seem to have played CoM, either, because otherwise she'd have known her new castle would've turned into Organization Headquarters 2. Maybe she could've dumped Ventus under a rock somewhere. No one would think to look there.
So yeah, first female fully playable protagonist that can actually get shit done. A hero and a novelty.
Oh, and people just think she's hot. I think that was the elephant in the room here.