the reason i dropped out of kingdom hearts some years ago was all my friends who also liked the game talking down to me for shipping soriku and how they're more like brothers.

this is just creepy, they are children

Such a great analysis. I’m doing a paper on kingdom hearts for my queer lit class and I was struggling how to connect it to heteronormativity. It totally makes sense now and it is a great addition to the riku is gay video. Thank you for this!!!!

3:08 IS THAT FUCKING ROY FROM FIRE EMBLEM????

I ship sora and riku and sora and Kairi. Destiny Island Polycule for the win. Also: homophobes imagining gay people having sex is always such a weird counterargument. All Sora and Riku ever expressed was wanting to be close with each other and that's what the ship also wants for them.

The sokai vs soriku debate is making me head ready to turn into a 🌋 volcano, I'm tired of seeing sokai fans being homophobic, and I'm tired of seeing soriku fans like Chrisbox openly say he wanted them to fridge kairi(he said he cheered when they killed her an that he groaned when they, in his words "bring back this useless bottle of red hair dye") in kh3, he made a whole video on it yet thinks he isn't being sexist. I'm almost done with shipping entirely 🙃 because of sokai homophobia and soriku sexism

I want to point out a point I've seen made before: the reason so many arguments against a gay ship often boil down to "but they're siblings!" is funnily enough homophobia. Basically, people feel uncomfortable by these ships, and feel the need to justify it. By saying its essentially faux-incest, they are trying to cause discomfort in everyone else too, thus the futility of trying to argue with these people (and the reason they think ppl shipping 2 characters of the same gender are freaks)

I wouldn't mind if they turned it into a poligamy between Sora, Riku and Kairi. It actually seems it would fit the story quite well. Guess fanfics have finally gotten to me and rotted my brain.

I wouldn't mind if they turned it into a poligamy between Sora, Riku and Kairi. It actually seems it would fit the story quite well. Guess fanfics have finally gotten to me and rotted my brain.

I see Sora and Riku's relationship is kinda like Christine/Doctor Strange, or early Tony Stark/early Pepper. Yes, the feelings are there, but they're not quite ready for a relationship yet. I feel like they still compete too much for who holds the knife, similar to what Christine told Strange. Sora needs first to release his ugly side. Oh ! And as a bonus, see how characters react to not having Sora as their pillar. I just don't want another Strange/Judai scenario, in which they emotionally suffer because of the world around them.

I've got this headcanon that Kairi secretly ships Sora and Riku, which is why she doesn't make the effort to keep him company more often. Like the sea at the world's dawn, she's trying to make way for land (Riku) to rise from the depths below until it reaches the sky (Sora) and completes it. Honestly, it's kinda cute how Riku and Kairi do all this effort to push each other onto Sora. It's the reverse of the love triangle trope, and I'm here for it.

Considering the JP dub, I think Sora sees her like the sister he never had (hence the devotion). Kairi's the one who's interested, or at least APPEARS interested, and doesn't realize the impression she's making (it's possible, believe it or not). I do think they value each other a lot, but I don't think they're aware there's a ship going on, or if they are, they simply ignore it, expecting the rumor to end.

I just realized something based on a comment I saw on another Video. When Sora speaks of the Oathkeeper in Chain of Memories when it still looks like Oathkeeper, he says "It is important to Her (Kairi), so he promised to return it." However, when it becomes the Star Charm, he yells at Larxene that, "Namine gave me this! It's very Important to me!" So, if we think about it, this tells us the way Sora's Heart feels/thinks about Kairi and Riku. (with the Crown Necklace theory and Riku being The Light) Sora is remembering Kairi with something conditional (I have this charm that is important to Her, so I must return it [but what happens after you return it?]) But with the Star Charm (ahem Crown Necklace Ahem), It is important to HIM. With Eyes to See, this sums up the difference between Kairi/Sora's relationship and Sora/Riku's relationship. For Sora and Kairi, Sora's phrasing makes the Promise sound like an obligation. A thing the "Hero" must do. Like he made a contract or something. But for the Star Charm/ Crown Necklace, The Person (Riku/"Namine") that gave it to him make the Charm Important to him. He loves it, no obligation necessary. Because Riku is his most Important Person. And therefore, anything he gives is Important.

Also Sora talks way more about Riku in various contexts than Kairi....I like the idea of Sora and Riku being together...It works for me...I feel like they have better chemistry than Sora and Kairi. Just my opinion... Ship and let ship.... regardless of canon or not. I don't understand others who hate on people for liking a ship or wanting queer representation...I too want that because it is so hard to find...even these days. ALSO haters gonna hate so...yeah.... I remember getting a few hate/problem comments on some queer themed fan art I did and I deleted and then blocked the commenters. So I can kind of relate...

I wanted to comment on this when on the week it came out but I didn't. I was thrilled to see a video talking about Sora in the Soriku scene. A Lot of people mainly talked about Riku and his side which is still beautiful and really shows how incredible his character is. But I Really wanted someone to dive deep into Sora in Video Format.; Sora's Arc interested me a lot when I first read the Details brought up and presented in the Canon. Part of the series is about growing up and maturing to adulthood. Sora was a young teen in KH1 and it seemed like Complex Concepts like Love were something He never experienced or at least thought of for Himself. When traveling through the Disney Worlds He Experienced many things that Taught him, Like The Power of Connection and Human Emotions. In KH2 and KH3 Sora has witnessed Disney Couples and sees what Love is between two people. It's His first time seeing it and Thinks that Love is purely Heterosexual and is defined by Gender. He doesn't realize that it isn't about Gender. It's about Unconditional Affection and Feelings for Someone that you Hold Dearly and being with Them. However, He doesn't catch it and Goes through a Complex Battle of thinking Kairi is someone He Loves but when He Reunites with Her. It Doesn't Feel Special and Sora is basically left in Unresolved. He still Doesn't Get it. KH3 Is when He makes a bit of Progress and almost gets Finality. Of course, in KH3 the Theme of true love sacrifice is in play, and Sora witnessing it. In the KG Riku performs that Act and Sora doesn't think in the moment but later it seems he Catch it. In the Game it's very clear Riku is Sora's Light. When He is in the Tunnel and sees the Light he instantly knows it was Riku and calls out to Him. It even hummed in response. After that and saving the others Sora finds Kairi in the Tunnel. Sora now thinks the Light came from Her. When Kairi implied it actually wasn't Her, We get the Flashes of Imagery of the True-Love sacrifice which seems to be coming from Sora's Head. He is confused and Jolts and that plot point ends inconclusive. This seems to imply Sora's somehow forgotten and Assumed it was Kairi but that was not the case. But the Image Flashes indicated His Heart remembered and Deep Down. He does know and potentially might've finally understood what Love really is I Really Hope In KH4 we finally get Him remembering that sacrifice and Him coming to an understanding of Love.

where am I if I like both soriku and sokai?

Absolutely wonderful video thank you so much for talking in depth about this!

i love this video!

SORIKU!

okay so I'm just going to throw my own opinion out here: I personally don't think Soriku and Sokai are at odds with each other. I think they can coexist, at the same time, in the same headcanon. Honestly in a more detailed draft of kingdom hearts, that's probably what it actually is, but well, you all know how it is. Of course, more personally, on the greedy side of things, I view Kairi (and by extension, Namine) as Sora and Riku's beard(s), but still see the three(/four) of them as exceptionally close friends, regardless of how one were to ship them. But to be completely fair, my version of SoRiku is Sora not really realizing he's gay for Riku at all (he just likes being with him and doesn't view Kairi as a woman, but as a close friend) until way later on (probably when he has his breakdown during the world that never was), and Riku's insufferable behavior during KH1 as Riku being a jealous boyfriend without fully realizing he's gay for Sora, either, at least not until after Ansem SoD is defeated. He's definitely realized it by the time he's done in castle oblivion, but he's so wracked with guilt by the time they reunite while he looks like Ansem SoD that he just. Cannot address the elephant in the room. My specific blend of SoKai actually piggybacks off of SoRiku though, in that Sora realizes at some point, probably on two VERY separate occasions, that he wants both Riku and Kairi in his life at some point between the second half of KH1 and the end of KH2. At the latest, Sora would realize he ALSO wanted Kairi in his life AFTER realizing he wanted Riku in his life, during that scene where they share paupou fruits with each other during KH3. Admittedly? I think Riku views Kairi as a little sister, regardless (I don't think views her as a woman at all, and I will fully admit I don't support Riku/Kairi as a true ship for that specific reason), and that his relationship with Namine is a platonic relationship where she just kind of serves as his beard to keep people from asking questions, and that they're just close as friends as a result of the time they may have spent together during the year Sora spent asleep. And just to add to these thoughts, I actually also ship Lea, Roxas, and Xion SPECIFICALLY as a throuple. I used to ship just axel and roxas but the narrative marched on and I cannot bring myself to separate them from Xion now. I DO however, think that they share Lea with Isa on the regular, and that Xion and Roxas are more friends than lovers without Lea around. In my mind, that group of four people is really just Lea's polyamory corner. They also definitely have Ice cream with Hayner, Pence, and Olette on top of Twilight Town Station on nights when everyone is free. To summarize, I think that Sora, Riku, and Kairi are collectively found family for each other, and I also think that Lea, Roxas, Xion, and Isa are ALSO collectively found family for each other, although it's in a more complicated sense for those four... I'm stealing your Lesbian Namine headcanon specifically though, and adding it to my Riku and Namine have a platonic relationship headcanon and making them each other's beards. That being said, I do specifically think that Kairi is into men, though. And that Riku has a single target sexuality aimed DIRECTLY at Sora.

I will say. I think Soriku is rather strong. Mean, we did find out that riku wants to protect the things that matter to him and later it changes to his most precious person which is sora. The twos dynamic is really interesting and i personally see it as romantic and deeply personal

15:40 um 😐 ew . What . The actual. Fuck .

I did finish the video. I actually understand your take on sora and riku being shipped. But I genuinely see the two as a brotherly rival which I hope is okay . As for a ship in the franchise, Axel and Isa should be shipped . Why am I the only one the sees it that way instead of They call it Soriku 😐

Thank-you for including the section in the content warning about the people who say shipping Soriku is sexualizing minors. I've seen so many of these creeps recently dancing around the reason why Soriku is supposedly sexualizing the characters but Sokai isn't, when it's so obvious their real answer is "because I don't see gay relationships as anything but sexual." It's as if they think not outright admitting that makes them look any less homophobic.

I have an older brother who played KH1 when it launched and instantly viewed SoKai as the canon ship and kept that mindset for years. When I got into the games, I immediately picked up on the nuances between Sora and Riku as being romantic. He's explained to me pretty well why he sees Sokai, and it's due to the fact that growing up, he felt a lot like Sora; always in someone's shadow and fighting over a girl whom he liked and so on and so forth. He saw Riku and Sora as parallels to his own life. It's something I've told him I fully support, and he's in full support of my ideas on Soriku, and has not once used his perspective to talk down on Soriku. He's attached to KH1 because of his childhood, but knows that I'm the same way, and we've come to a middle ground about it. Why? Because in his own words "I'm not insecure enough to talk shit on a ship that clearly means so much to you." I genuinely feel it may be an insecurity thing, that if the games point towards Soriku, then that invalidates their own perspective and feelings on the games. Especially if those people are heavily attached to KH1 and 2, which are most likely where those feelings come from. The franchise has evolved so much over the years, and so has Nomura, and you can see that growth in the characters and the writing. This isn't the early 2000's anymore, and male romances aren't just some weird fanfiction that 14 year old girls are writing anymore. Soriku fans clearly see a close bond that pulls them and, like my bro said, means so much to us. Sorry for the tangent! I just wanted to lay my two cents down and let everyone know there's normal people out there who ship Sokai that are mature enough to leave us Soriku fans to our own devices.

This song is really relatable, love the visuals too! Went straight into my vocaloid playlist 🔥

I LOVE U FOR THIS VIDEO IM SHOWING EVERYONE THIS VIDEO EVERYTIME I GET HATED ON FOR SHIPPING THEM

I've played all KH games except mobile and MoM, some of them multiple times, and I have never gotten the feeling that Sora and Riku have anything else than a very deep friendship. But I don't make it my life mission to whine about people who see something else and ship them, what does that take away from me? Let people enjoy the same media you do, even if their views and headcanon aren't identical to yours.

Showed up in my recommended. Commenting before watching, will probably edit in my reaction after watching as well: I'm going into this having already been of the impression these kids were a poly triad and the comphet was mostly a case of Kairi getting the classic "damsel in distress" shit and *both* her BFs going on the warpath about it. It's more about the framing for the audience and getting the girl being traditional (and Kairi's weak writing in general) causing the confusion. Okay, here's that edit I said I'd do afterward: I still think all three of them are one romantic item, with most of your evidence for Sora realizing he's not obligated to love Kairi seeming to be more about the timing of the moments blindsiding him, and most of the moments confirming him and Riku a couple involving Kairi as well. And a lot of the external pressure could be about the assumption that love will be with one person, or that he's prioritizing whichever of Riku or Kairi is in the most danger at the time! Poly is still on the table as a source of the drama. But the nuance and multiple possible readings of all the emotional beats is one of my favorite parts of the series, so this essay was still food for thought even if I disagree with your conclusion! Good stuff, please keep making more thoughtful analyses like this! Sidenote tho: there's no way in hell it's not queer as fuck. The entire plot of 3D just fundamentally would not happen if Sora and Riku weren't way more intimate than culture expects or allows men to be without being gay. The Keyblade being tied so strongly to the heart means that Nightmare's End/Mirage Split even makes them being gay as hell into a gameplay mechanic, literally holding each other's hearts in their hand. I just disagree with you that Kairi isn't part of it. Kairi's team attack in the Re:Mind fight is pretty heavily romantic as well, what with making angelic wings out of their shared memories. And arguably how in Melody of Memories she's the one that has the link to him to follow through memories and try to find him.

Yo, another Kingdom Hearts is gay video, love it. I've been wanting to make a video on kingdom hearts myself but I've never been able to anchor my feelings on the matter. My own queerness is highly informed by this franchise, but I lack the words to describe it. Having watched the Riku is Gay video, and now come across this video, I feel like I have to make that video at some point. There's so much to say about not only the franchise itself but also what it means to me. To clarify I am a trans femme pan girlie (she/they), and my favourite character is indeed Xion.

To be honest I view Sora more as potentially bi, having had a sincere if somewhat idealized and childish crush on Kairi. And by the time they meet again in KH2 he is beginning to understand that his feelings towards her have changed, as he understands the possibility that his feelings towards Riku aren’t as platonic as he thought. But I think a lot of the points made her remain the same! That struggle to even think of liking Riku that way as an option, applies either way.

Thank you for making this video!! 💙

omg!!! a bop!!

THIS SONG WAS AMAZING, I rlly felt the chorus and the way it all meshed together towards the end was so well done!!! And the artwork in the is so immersive- amazing !! 🤲🤲👏👏👏👏

SORIKU‼️‼️‼️

16:57 my personal favourite response is to post the screenshot of Roxas in DDD asking Riku "what is it that you're so afraid of?" because truly, if soriku is never going to happen, (if sokai is "already confirmed" as some of them even claim,) then why are you still so mad at sorikus??? what do you have to worry about? you WON didn't you?????

Hey I just wanted to say I loved this video, you two did such a great work! Queerness in kh is so important to me, and I find it so healing to see other people thinking the same way 🌈

Funny enough, Larxene's rant about the Star Charm, despite being a Gaslight, fits Riku as Aitsu. Sora has been Wearing the Crown Necklace the Whole Time, but forgot the Meteor Promise where Riku (the Aitsu) gave it to him. "No surprise, since you also couldn't remember "her' name". Sora remembers Riku, but he forgot that Aitsu is Riku, the Light. And when Sora grabs the Star Charm back, he shoves it against the Crown Necklace by his Heart. hmm.

I havent played KH but this video reminds me a lot of sasunaru discourse😭 great video though I really enjoyed it

Honestly though what personally has me believing the pairing more is the whole debacle regarding Riku's expression when picking up Naminé being changed in Re:Mind. Nomura is pretty chill about most shipping really so the fact this changed is a bit telling to me after the whole internet reaction of "Riku x Namine us canon" in some spaces. Even if that was the case, for a guy who doesn't mind this sort of thing unless the different interpretation will impact your understanding of the plot well. It's interesting that Riku smiling at Naminé as he held out her hand was changed like that, I personally thought it was sweet and it's almost jarring to see his blank expression now. Then it was confirmed in the Ultimania that yes, Riku was doing this for Repliku, that it wasn't Riku's feelings. This also takes me back to how Nomura confirmed in another interview that Riku was never interested in Kairi like that. This one isn't as strong alone but is notable when combined with the previous instance. The only real instances Nomura talks about pairings like this are in regards to denying Riku being interested in other characters like Namine or Kairi. The guy who did not care about pairings like Lea x Isa being so popular, or was it Xehanort x Eraqus... Anyways, the fact that he commented on not minding if players interpreted the duo that way even if not canon in his story really shows his originally stated desire of leaving some things up to the player for them to think about or just have fun with. It's because seeing those pairings has no impact on the plot itself. Riku though. He's clearly special to Nomura in that sense. I think it's because Riku's relationships to others in the story are too lore relevant, hence why he's picky about it subtly. You get where I am going with this... Right?

Thanks so much for this video. I have actually gotten the p*dophile comments from a bunch of grown ass cishet mxn who s*xualized Sora and Riku and claimed being gay is s*xual. It was in a FB group, it was absolutely horrible. Fortunately I had some backup from good fans but its disgusting to be subjected to such comments

Let's go Soriku

THANK YOU SO MUCH. Like, obviously poeple can see them as brothers if they want and if Sora and Riku's relationship is important to someone because they see their own sibling relationship in it, great, good for them! And I don't want to take that away from them, but it pisses me of so much when poeple come to a (more or less obvious) Soriku coded video and be like "ah yes, their brotherly relationship is so beautiful. True brotherhood right there." like that is the general consensus. It just feels like these poeple just want to convince themselves that Sora and Riku are like brothers, with how much they use the words "brother" and "brotherly", so they don't have to entertain even the thought of Sora and Riku being in love with each other. At this point, poeple just really want a golden bullet argument so Sora and Riku can't be gay. But if we're so wrong, why are poeple so agressive about it? If it's so obvious they're not in love, why insist they're brothers even though they never use this language for each other and even question/deny that claim? The fact that poeple could just leave it at "well I don't think it has to be romantic" and go their way, but instead choose to invade our save spaces and try to argue against us, as if what we say and think has actual impact on the series going forward, tells me that these poeple are just really insecure about their own reading. Also, I have yet to meet someone who can explain to me what is so different about two boys being in love vs a boy and a girl. It's always other poeple who make it sexual. Man I can't wait for the comments that either haven't seen the video but still feel the need to voice their insecure thoughts or ignore everything that was said in it.

"RiKu AnD nAmInÈ aRe ObViOuSlY eNdGaMe" is also surprisingly a common one even though Nomura explicitly said that that's not the case😂 it baffles me, the lengths these people go to, the amount of bending over backwards to rationalize all the things we point to away and just go "you're a delusional freak" as if that brings anything of value to the table.

dude the ben shapiro make me laugh so mf hard

omg new oliver bluebug post omg

To your first point, I think the Master of Masters literally used his Magic Book (Book of Prophecies) to create Sora and Riku (Soriku) and therefore the Final Fantasy and Disney Characters as well as, say, Xehanort and Eraqus Echoes Soriku, even if they aren't 100% that. So, Sora and Riku Romantic Love Resonance Echoes out through the World of Kingdom Hearts and appears Transcendently Everywhere, just in different forms.

Another amazing video!!!!! Well said!!!

I still love the idea of an anti SoRiku saying their thing & just getting bombarded with nothing but KH2 Atlantica Sora. Nothing else. Just that. Cuz nothing you say is gonna mean anything to them. Best to just clown on them with smth low effort yet effective, & go about your day.

Yaaas! Bring out the receipts. Shut down the haters that always ignore canon facts because they believe their headcanon is the law of the land. It's always a pleasure listening to these kinds of videos.