History HoYay / KingdomHearts

** Also, while a lot of fans seem to think Don't Think Twice is about Sora and Kairi, it's worth mentioning that the Japanese version, Chikai, has the lines, "Light flows in from the opened door / I want to stay by your side forever after this too". [[https://youtu.be/im5tc4fcg5w?t=103 What does that]] [[https://youtu.be/o-HFxnjD7jw?t=55 evoke imagery of?]]

* In the novelization of ''[=KH3=]'', there's a [[https://www.tumblr.com/lilyginnyblackv2/622082880123879424/kh3-novel-vol-3-intermission-twilight-kairi scene]] where Kairi puts on her new outfit from Yen Sid and looks in the mirror. After thinking about how Riku has gotten a haircut, Kairi wonders if Sora would like ''her'' hair better shorter. [[IJustWanttoBeYou She then decides to cut it to shoulder length.]]

* In the novelization of ''[=KH3=]'', there's a [[https://www.tumblr.com/lilyginnyblackv2/622082880123879424/kh3-novel-vol-3-intermission-twilight-kairi scene]] where Kairi puts on her new outfit from Yen Sid and looks in the mirror. After thinking about how Riku has gotten a haircut, Kairi wonders if Sora would like ''her'' hair better shorter. She then decides to cut it to shoulder length.

* In the novelization of ''[=KH3=]'', there's a [[https://www.tumblr.com/lilyginnyblackv2/622082880123879424/kh3-novel-vol-3-intermission-twilight-kairi scene]] where Kairi puts on her new outfit from Yen Sid and looks in the mirror. After thinking about how Riku has gotten a haircut, Kairi then wonders if Sora would like ''her'' hair better shorter.

* When Sora feels like he's done for in the battle against a superpowered Ansem he imagines [[ThePowerofFriendship (or somehow hears)]] Riku speaking encouraging words to him and regains the resolve to fight again. Later when they have to close the door to Kingdom Hearts and Sora finds himself loosing the strength to continue, Riku shows up to encourage Sora again and says together they can do it with Riku pulling the door closed from the other side. Sora agrees and before the door closes Sora is hesitant because that means he would again become separated from Riku.
** What makes the scene of Riku telling Sora not to give up while fighting Ansem even better is that Sora is failing to fly and falling- but once he hears Riku's voice, he starts flying again. And what makes you fly in the canon of the [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan Peter Pan]] movie (alongside some pixie dust)? Happy thoughts.

* When Sora feels like he's done for in the battle against a superpowered Ansem he imagines Riku speaking encouraging words to him and regains the resolve to fight again. Later when they have to close the door to Kingdom Hearts and Sora finds himself loosing the strength to continue, Riku shows up to encourage Sora again and says together they can do it with Riku pulling the door closed from the other side. Sora agrees and before the door closes Sora is hesitant because that means he would again become separated from Riku.

*** If the meteor shower promise really happened, it can be argued that the whole reason for Repliku's (continued) devotion to Naminé in the first place is because of Naminé replacing Sora with herself in that memory. Naminé made herself Repliku’s Sora, and Sora's Riku- which means Sora is Riku's most precious person just as much as the subtext implies Riku is Sora's. The scene with Riku taking Namine's hand on behalf of Repliku at the end of ''[=KH3=]'' even mirrors Riku reaching out for Sora's hand in the intro of ''[=KH1=]''.

*** If the meteor shower promise really happened, it can be argued that the whole reason for Repliku's devotion to Naminé in the first place is because of Naminé replacing Sora with herself in that memory. Naminé made herself Repliku’s Sora, and Sora's Riku- which means Sora is Riku's most precious person just as much as the subtext implies Riku is Sora's.

*** There's very heavy subtext in the original dialogue of the game, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns specific pronoun use]], that the person most special to Sora that Naminé is replacing in his memories isn't in fact Kairi, but Riku. When Sora [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2285 meets the other kids]] in his memory of the Destiny Islands, the pronoun they use for his 'special person' is '''''aitsu''''' (アイツ). The pronoun is casual and gender neutral but more masculine leaning (think of referring to someone as 'guy', regardless of gender), and it's generally considered rude/insulting to use the pronoun towards a girl. When Sora realizes Naminé has been tampering with his memories, she uses [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2330 neutral pronouns]] to describe the person most special to him. However, in both Japanese and English, Sora ''assumes'' she means Kairi. But the full extent of Sora's misunderstanding is [[LostInTranslation all but lost in the English translation]], as it translates '''''aitsu''''' to [[HideYourGays feminine pronouns.]] In fact, the last time Sora sees the Riku Replica, he [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2514 refers to him]] by '''''aitsu''''' in Japanese, but in English, just calls out his name instead. There is an attempt in the English translation of the ''Chain of Memories'' novel to rectify this at least, as the subtext from the game is mostly preserved, while also going further and implying that the memory of the meteor shower promise Naminé tampers with was actually between Sora and Riku, as stated above. You can read about it in more detail [[https://twitter.com/SorikuUltimania/status/1511541035381448709 here.]] Sora also uses '''''aitsu''''' to refer to Riku in [=KH2=], when he sees him at the top of the mountain in The Land of Dragons. This time, it's translated more accurately to [[https://thefreshprinceofjunes.tumblr.com/post/705573353717727232/so-i-was-watching-this-very-silly-model-swap-video "That guy..."]]

* Everything else seems to pale in comparison to Axel and Roxas' subtext-that-might-as-well-be-text in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' and ''358/2 Days'' (very chiefly on Axel's part in both cases, as Roxas is shown to be too naive to fully grasp the idea of love). Axel will do anything to save Roxas in [=KH2=], even going against the Organization and performing a suicide attack to save him.

*** Speaking of the KHII novels, there's a scene exclusive to them where Axel asks Riku what Sora really ''is'' to him, and Riku is [[ArmorPiercingQuestion so taken aback by the question,]] Naminé has to answer for him that they're best friends. [[https://i.imgur.com/cyiiHOv.jpg Yes, really.]] And immediately preceding that bit of dialogue is Axel commenting on how happy Riku has become after seeing Sora in The Land of Dragons.

* In what could possibly be a parallel to the first entry listed in KHI above, during the ending scene on Destiny Islands, the lyrics "You're only everything I ever dreamed of" play while Riku is looking at Sora.

* Late in the game, Riku and Mickey are overwhelmed by the Demon Tide in the Dark World, with the former saying Sora's name to himself as he struggles to fight back. [[note]] Which directly mirrors Sora calling out for Riku when he was falling to the darkness in DDD. [[/note]] Then Sora suddenly dives in and lands next to Riku. And without a second thought, the two of them summon the joint Reality Shift Keyblade to banish the Demon Tide- complete with Dearly Beloved playing in the background. Unlike in [=3D=], the Keyblade is part of the cutscene.

** In Japanese, [[https://blowingoffsteam2.tumblr.com/post/178486694419/blowingoffsteam2-a-slightly-different Mickey actually says Riku has found the strength to protect his 'precious person' instead of 'the things that matter',]] followed by Riku saying to himself "(Is this) the strength to protect the person most precious to me...?", but both were left out of the English translation- despite them being a direct mirror to what [[https://blowingoffsteam2.tumblr.com/post/182775171769/so-i-do-ship-soriku-but-i-am-also-oblivious-as Herc says about Megara in Japanese]] (while Herc's line gets translated as, [[OfficialCouple 'the person I love most']]). The [[https://lilyginnyblackv2.tumblr.com/post/183142982289/kh3-ultimania-riku-page-one KH3 Ultimania]] uses 'precious person' as well. It seems Riku's wish [[https://blowingoffsteam2.tumblr.com/post/182892280944/in-regards-to-the-phrasing-used-in-reference-to has deliberately evolved]] from when he was a child, but that important bit of character development got [[https://blowingoffsteam2.tumblr.com/post/184718857614 no homoed]] out of ''several'' different official KHIII English translations.

* In 2013, series producer Shinji Hashimoto stated in an interview about ''KHIII'' that the main focus of the series is Sora and Riku's relationship, and how it evolves over time. [[https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/how-kingdom-hearts-iii-will-grow-up-with-its-players Seriously.]]

*** If the meteor shower promise really happened, it can be argued that the whole reason for Repliku's devotion to Naminé in the first place is because of Naminé replacing Sora with herself in that memory. Naminé made herself Repliku’s Sora, and Sora's Riku- which means Sora is Riku's most precious person just as much as the subtext implies Riku is Sora's.

** Taken one step further in the novel adaptation, which heavily implies that reason that both Sora and Repliku remember the promise they made to Namine on the night of the meteor shower was because the real memory was Riku making the promise 'to Sora'.
*** There's very heavy subtext in the original dialogue of the game, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns specific pronoun use]], that the person most special to Sora that Naminé is replacing in his memories isn't in fact Kairi, but Riku. When Sora [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2285 meets the other kids]] in his memory of the Destiny Islands, the pronoun they use for his 'special person' is '''''aitsu''''' (アイツ). The pronoun is casual and gender neutral but more masculine leaning (think of referring to someone as 'guy', regardless of gender), and it's generally considered rude/insulting to use the pronoun towards a girl. When Sora realizes Naminé has been tampering with his memories, she uses [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2330 neutral pronouns]] to describe the person most special to him. However, in both Japanese and English, Sora ''assumes'' she means Kairi. But the full extent of Sora's misunderstanding is [[LostInTranslation all but lost in the English translation]], as it translates '''''aitsu''''' to [[HideYourGays feminine pronouns.]] In fact, the last time Sora sees the Riku Replica, he [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2514 refers to him]] by '''''aitsu''''' in Japanese, but in English, just calls out his name instead. There is an attempt in the English translation of the ''Chain of Memories'' novel to rectify this at least, as the subtext from the game is mostly preserved, while also going further and implying that the memory of the meteor shower promise Naminé tampers with was actually between Sora and Riku, as stated above. You can read about it in more detail [[https://twitter.com/SorikuUltimania/status/1511541035381448709 here.]]
*** As it turns out, Sora also uses '''''aitsu''''' to refer to Riku in [=KH2=], when he sees him at the top of the mountain in The Land of Dragons. This time, it's translated more accurately to [[https://thefreshprinceofjunes.tumblr.com/post/705573353717727232/so-i-was-watching-this-very-silly-model-swap-video "That guy..."]]

** Not to mention the [[https://youtu.be/_jHLDXyvxCM parallels]] between Riku/Sora and Beast/Belle....

--->'''Beast:''' That's right. [[ArcWords We'll go together.]]

** ''χ'' also gives the players [[https://mobile.twitter.com/mickeyriku69/status/1374998019574206464 yet another scene]] very clearly paralleling Belle and the Beast (as the Prince) with Sora and Riku- which was, [[https://mobile.twitter.com/mickeyriku69/status/1374998031825829890 of course]], once again [[HideYourGays left out of the English translation.]]

** ''X'' also gives the players [[https://mobile.twitter.com/mickeyriku69/status/1374998019574206464 yet another scene]] very clearly paralleling Belle and the Beast (as the Prince) with Sora and Riku- which was, [[https://mobile.twitter.com/mickeyriku69/status/1374998031825829890 of course]], once again [[HideYourGays left out of the English translation.]]

*** There's very heavy subtext in the original dialogue of the game, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns specific pronoun use]], that the person most special to Sora that Naminé is replacing in his memories isn't in fact Kairi, but Riku. When Sora [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2285 meets the other kids]] in his memory of the Destiny Islands, the pronoun they use for his 'special person' is '''''aitsu''''' (アイツ). The pronoun is casual and gender neutral but more masculine leaning (think of referring to someone as 'guy', regardless of gender), and it's generally considered rude/insulting to use the pronoun towards a girl. When Sora realizes Naminé has been tampering with his memories, she uses [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2330 neutral pronouns]] to describe the person most special to him. However, in both Japanese and English, Sora ''assumes'' she means Kairi. But the full extent of Sora's misunderstanding is all but lost in the English translation, as it translates '''''aitsu''''' to [[HideYourGays feminine pronouns.]] In fact, the last time Sora sees the Riku Replica, he [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2514 refers to him]] by '''''aitsu''''' in Japanese, but in English, just calls out his name instead. There is an attempt in the English translation of the ''Chain of Memories'' novel to rectify this at least, as the subtext from the game is mostly preserved, while also going further and implying that the memory of the meteor shower promise Naminé tampers with was actually between Sora and Riku, as stated above. You can read about it in more detail [[https://twitter.com/SorikuUltimania/status/1511541035381448709 here.]]

*** There's very heavy subtext in the original dialogue of the game, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns specific pronoun use]], that the person most special to Sora that Naminé is replacing in his memories isn't in fact Kairi, but Riku. When Sora [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2285 meets the other kids]] in his memory of the Destiny Islands, the pronoun they use for his 'special person' is '''''aitsu''''' (アイツ). The pronoun is casual and gender neutral but more masculine leaning (think of referring to someone as 'guy', regardless of gender), and it's generally considered rude/insulting to use the pronoun towards a girl. When Sora realizes Naminé has been tampering with his memories, she uses [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2330 neutral pronouns]] to describe the person most special to him. However, in both Japanese and English, Sora ''assumes'' she means Kairi. But the full extent of Sora's misunderstanding is all but lost in the English translation, as it translates '''''aitsu''''' to [[HideYourLesbians feminine pronouns.]] In fact, the last time Sora sees the Riku Replica, he [[https://youtu.be/LpQMENDrDto?t=2514 refers to him]] by '''''aitsu''''' in Japanese, but in English, just calls out his name instead. There is an attempt in the English translation of the ''Chain of Memories'' novel to rectify this at least, as the subtext from the game is mostly preserved, while also going further and implying that the memory of the meteor shower promise Naminé tampers with was actually between Sora and Riku, as stated above. You can read about it in more detail [[https://twitter.com/SorikuUltimania/status/1511541035381448709 here.]]

*** Speaking of the KHII novels, there's a scene exclusive to them where Axel asks Riku what Sora really ''is'' to him, and Riku is [[ArmorPiercingQuestion so taken aback by the question,]] Naminé has to answer for him that they're best friends. [[https://i.imgur.com/cyiiHOv.jpg Yes, really.]] And immediately preceding that bit of dialogue is Axel commenting on how happy Riku is after seeing Sora in The Land of Dragons.

*** Speaking of the KHII novels, there's a scene exclusive to them where Axel asks Riku what Sora really ''is'' to him, and Riku is [[ArmorPiercingQuestion so taken aback by the question,]] Naminé has to answer for him that they're best friends. [[https://i.imgur.com/cyiiHOv.jpg Yes, really.]] And immediately preceding that bit of dialogue, we get Axel commenting on how happy Riku is after seeing Sora in The Land of Dragons.

*** Speaking of the KHII novels, there's a scene exclusive to them where Axel asks Riku what Sora really ''is'' to him, and Riku is [[ArmorPiercingQuestion so taken aback by the question,]] Naminé has to answer for him that they're best friends. [[https://i.imgur.com/cyiiHOv.jpg Yes, really.]]

** In Japanese, Sora actually says 「でも 無理しないで 何かあったら呼んでくれよ」, which translates to, “But don't overdo it. '''Call me if anything happens.'''” As stated above, calling Sora for help [[SayMyName (by simply uttering his name)]] is exactly what Riku does when he gets overwhelmed by the Demon Tide in the Realm of Darkness, during the [[MemeticMutation infamous]] "Press △ to Sora" scene. After all, Goofy ''did'' say [[LetsGetDangerous Sora always listens to Riku.]]

** Sora and Riku's joint Reality Shift is a merged rainbow-colored Keyblade....with a heart at the tip of the blade and a paopu fruit as the handle's charm. To top it off, Dearly Beloved is its {{leitmotif}} when summoned.