I've seen a lot of people hate on Kairi, and while many people hate on her, not everyone is in 100% agreement on "why" she's hated on. I do know one thing from being in the background of the KH fanbase, and that is that the hate for Kairi never really stemmed from Kingdom Hearts or Chain of Memories, her hate was loud and clear in Kingdom Hearts 2. And after fully looking into it, i think i found out why the hate is so strong.
Lets start off with what we were introduced with Kairi. Whether she was important in the story or not, it was irrelevant. From what we were introduced early in Kingdom Hearts was that she was Sora's friend (and possibly love interest). Now with that said, as Sora's friend/potential love interest, she showed a lot of it.
First, i want to talk about her design. Kairi's looks pretty interesting in the first game. She has very bright blue eyes, short bright red hair and has a specific smile you dont see the other characters have. Her choice of clothes are also pretty interesting. She wears white spagetti strap top with purple straps, her shoes match her top which are also white with purple linen and wears a purple skirt. Looking at Kairi you don't get the sense of someone being heroic or incredibly relevant character, but has a lot of personality.
One of the first comments we hear from her is "Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here." which really tells us a lot. She is comfortable and finds Sora approachable. In the first few scenes she was already showing off her character as Sora's friend. However, the beginning of Kingdom hearts was one of the most ethereal scenes. We also learn that she changed Sora and Riku's perspective by being someone from another world. What makes her interesting how she plays her jokes. At one point she says, "Sora, let's take the raft and go—just the two of us!" which some may suggest this was a shot against Riku, but i personally believe it speaks more on how she views Sora.
With that being said, we all know what happens. Destiny's Island is no more, Kairi disappears and becomes a search party for her. So its hard to judge her character from this point on when she doesn't have a heart. But that doesn't mean she stops shining. After regaining her heart, she immediately becomes aware of the situation when she says "Sora, are you really— No. It can't be! I won’t let him go!" She continues to show off more of her connection with Sora by being able to identify Sora even after turning into a Heartless. Once returning to safety, she continues to wanting to help.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Kairi wasn't seen from most of the game, but her importance to Sora was clear when he fought so hard to find Namine only to realize she was replacing Kairi (and in some part, Riku) with him.
Kingdom Hearts II
Lets now compare Kairi's design with her new design. She is now slightly more tan, her eyes have become darker, and her hair although is still red, is only bright in certain CGI cutscenes such as the opening. I dont know if anyone else noticed, but her facial expressions are dull and she is no longer as expressive as she was in Kingdom Hearts. She now wears a white top (similar to Namine's) and a pink dress full of zippers and straps (something Nomura is often criticized for). Its definitely flashier for Kairi but given her personality traits, the two just dont combine and making her look like an inconsistent character. Also to contrast her lacking design, Sora and Riku's gets better. Riku still retains his bright eyes, spiky hair and has received a more punkish outfit.
Kingdom Hearts II is where the hate begins. I hear a lot of times is because she's irrelevant or that she doesn't hold a more important role (i'll explain why those two aren't exactly synonymous). Personally, i believe its how her character was treated. Compared to the fun, interesting, and dare i say "funny" version of Kairi that we experienced in Kingdom Hearts, KH2 shows a completely different side, she is dull, and no longer fun. The voice actor behind her seems to sound tired the majority of the time.
She was mostly irrelevant and only starting to remember Sora (despite everyone else forgetting for the sake of plot). She decided not to go on the island until she reunited with this mysterious person.She mummers later on that maybe waiting isn't good enough. So here's where things really get irritating. She conveniently gets an opportunity by the enemy, Axel in which she willingly goes into the corridor. Hardly any development or positive aspects being shown about her character. She seems to do it mostly to get away from Axel, but also Sora didn't come in mind (or she didn't make it clear that was her goal). She inevitably gets captured anyways without much of a fight only to be rescued again by her Nobody, Namine.
One of the things i want to point out as well is when she gets to wield a keyblade and fights off a couple of heartless. That scene isn't exactly bad but after a reunion and the fact that she was being a burdon most of the time, the comment she says "This time... I'LL fight. You know Sora's completely hopeless without us! C'mon, Riku!".
Kairi then fades back into the background. One of the other aspects i think fuels her hate among fans is how she conveniently was waiting for Sora and Riku in Destiny's Island. Sure, no fan ever mentions that as one of the reasons, but its a piece to the bigger issue. So in turn i dont think Kairi si a bad character because she's not useful, or relevant. To me, Kairi has always been important enough to Sora, and that was enough. But since KH2, Kairi's character seemed more blank, yet it was trying to tell players that she was relevant and that may have pissed players off when she wasn't all that useful (unlike KH1 where she wasn't trying to say she was useful and what little she did still stuck).
Now that Kairi has a keyblade, i dont really mind, but it seems like they are trying to masquerade her character with a more relevant role in the plot. Since Riku and Sora got redesigned (with Riku having a design closer to Kh1) i hope that kairi regains a design closer to kh1 including eye color, hair color, and facial expressions back.
Well thats my analysis.......this is just what i can understand as to why fans can hate her and how i can see the hate, but reasoning is bigger.
I've seen a lot of people hate on Kairi, and while many people hate on her, not everyone is in 100% agreement on "why" she's hated on. I do know one thing from being in the background of the KH fanbase, and that is that the hate for Kairi never really stemmed from Kingdom Hearts or Chain of Memories, her hate was loud and clear in Kingdom Hearts 2. And after fully looking into it, i think i found out why the hate is so strong.
Lets start off with what we were introduced with Kairi. Whether she was important in the story or not, it was irrelevant. From what we were introduced early in Kingdom Hearts was that she was Sora's friend (and possibly love interest). Now with that said, as Sora's friend/potential love interest, she showed a lot of it.
Kingdom Hearts
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/kingdom-hearts/images/8/86/Kairi_HD_1.5_ReMIX.png/revision/latest?cb=20130426200338&path-prefix=de
First, i want to talk about her design. Kairi's looks pretty interesting in the first game. She has very bright blue eyes, short bright red hair and has a specific smile you dont see the other characters have. Her choice of clothes are also pretty interesting. She wears white spagetti strap top with purple straps, her shoes match her top which are also white with purple linen and wears a purple skirt. Looking at Kairi you don't get the sense of someone being heroic or incredibly relevant character, but has a lot of personality.
One of the first comments we hear from her is "Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here." which really tells us a lot. She is comfortable and finds Sora approachable. In the first few scenes she was already showing off her character as Sora's friend. However, the beginning of Kingdom hearts was one of the most ethereal scenes. We also learn that she changed Sora and Riku's perspective by being someone from another world. What makes her interesting how she plays her jokes. At one point she says, "Sora, let's take the raft and go—just the two of us!" which some may suggest this was a shot against Riku, but i personally believe it speaks more on how she views Sora.
With that being said, we all know what happens. Destiny's Island is no more, Kairi disappears and becomes a search party for her. So its hard to judge her character from this point on when she doesn't have a heart. But that doesn't mean she stops shining. After regaining her heart, she immediately becomes aware of the situation when she says "Sora, are you really— No. It can't be! I won’t let him go!" She continues to show off more of her connection with Sora by being able to identify Sora even after turning into a Heartless. Once returning to safety, she continues to wanting to help.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Kairi wasn't seen from most of the game, but her importance to Sora was clear when he fought so hard to find Namine only to realize she was replacing Kairi (and in some part, Riku) with him.
Kingdom Hearts II
Lets now compare Kairi's design with her new design. She is now slightly more tan, her eyes have become darker, and her hair although is still red, is only bright in certain CGI cutscenes such as the opening. I dont know if anyone else noticed, but her facial expressions are dull and she is no longer as expressive as she was in Kingdom Hearts. She now wears a white top (similar to Namine's) and a pink dress full of zippers and straps (something Nomura is often criticized for). Its definitely flashier for Kairi but given her personality traits, the two just dont combine and making her look like an inconsistent character. Also to contrast her lacking design, Sora and Riku's gets better. Riku still retains his bright eyes, spiky hair and has received a more punkish outfit.
Kingdom Hearts II is where the hate begins. I hear a lot of times is because she's irrelevant or that she doesn't hold a more important role (i'll explain why those two aren't exactly synonymous). Personally, i believe its how her character was treated. Compared to the fun, interesting, and dare i say "funny" version of Kairi that we experienced in Kingdom Hearts, KH2 shows a completely different side, she is dull, and no longer fun. The voice actor behind her seems to sound tired the majority of the time.
She was mostly irrelevant and only starting to remember Sora (despite everyone else forgetting for the sake of plot). She decided not to go on the island until she reunited with this mysterious person.She mummers later on that maybe waiting isn't good enough. So here's where things really get irritating. She conveniently gets an opportunity by the enemy, Axel in which she willingly goes into the corridor. Hardly any development or positive aspects being shown about her character. She seems to do it mostly to get away from Axel, but also Sora didn't come in mind (or she didn't make it clear that was her goal). She inevitably gets captured anyways without much of a fight only to be rescued again by her Nobody, Namine.
One of the things i want to point out as well is when she gets to wield a keyblade and fights off a couple of heartless. That scene isn't exactly bad but after a reunion and the fact that she was being a burdon most of the time, the comment she says "This time... I'LL fight. You know Sora's completely hopeless without us! C'mon, Riku!".
Kairi then fades back into the background. One of the other aspects i think fuels her hate among fans is how she conveniently was waiting for Sora and Riku in Destiny's Island. Sure, no fan ever mentions that as one of the reasons, but its a piece to the bigger issue. So in turn i dont think Kairi si a bad character because she's not useful, or relevant. To me, Kairi has always been important enough to Sora, and that was enough. But since KH2, Kairi's character seemed more blank, yet it was trying to tell players that she was relevant and that may have pissed players off when she wasn't all that useful (unlike KH1 where she wasn't trying to say she was useful and what little she did still stuck).
Now that Kairi has a keyblade, i dont really mind, but it seems like they are trying to masquerade her character with a more relevant role in the plot. Since Riku and Sora got redesigned (with Riku having a design closer to Kh1) i hope that kairi regains a design closer to kh1 including eye color, hair color, and facial expressions back.
Well thats my analysis.......this is just what i can understand as to why fans can hate her and how i can see the hate, but reasoning is bigger.