Riku Video Essay | Strength In Connection

Рет қаралды 8,239

2 жыл бұрын

The one about one of the best characters in Kingdom Hearts. Take a shot every time I say darkness :) May your heart be your guiding key!
MUSIC:
KH3 - Keyblade Graveyard
KH1 - Bustin' Up the Beach
KH2 - Riku's Theme
Mass Effect 3 - An End Once and for All
Avatar the Last Airbender: Peace Excerpt
KH2 - The Other Promise
Dream Drop Distance - Storm Diver
KH2 - Dearly Beloved
She-Ra And the Princesses of Power
KH3 - Guardians of Light

Пікірлер: 56

@CampingforCool41 8 ай бұрын

One thing: the reason Riku wanted control/power, especially over Sora in kh1 wasn’t just for the sake of it, it was because his deepest fear was being left behind and unneeded by Sora in particular. He latched onto the idea of saving Kairi not only because of his feeling of guilt over what happened to her- as Nomura stated-, but also because he felt Sora had abandoned him and was desperate to feel needed by someone, as well as using her as bait to get the attention he craved from Sora. We see this very explicitly in Monstro. It’s super messed up that he was using Kairi this way but it wasn’t something he was consciously aware of- he never would have admitted it even to himself. Which isn’t to say his feelings of guilt and desire to save Kairi weren’t genuine, just that there was a lot more going on that people never seem to talk about. Remember, it was only after his meeting with Sora in Traverse Town and feeling like Sora replaced him with new friends that he became obsessed with finding/saving Kairi, and even then, he STILL asked Sora to come with him in Monstro and help save Kairi. It’s only after Sora outright rejects him and raises his keyblade against him that Riku completely falls apart and from then on rejects Sora.

@zemejal 6 ай бұрын

What a fantastic deconstruction of Riku. Regardless of the type of love, indeed Riku and Sora love each other. Their dynamic is fascinating. Really well written characters. Thanks for the video!!

@YozoraRose 2 жыл бұрын

This is the best video of Riku and the connections to our reality I've ever seen. Just wow

@primalseeker2 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the compliment :)

@PeachalieArt 11 ай бұрын

This is honest to god one of the best videos I've seen on Riku's connections to other people and what that means for his story. Talking about love in a general sense (no matter how you interpret Sora and Riku's relationship) was an amazing choice. I've always said that Kingdom Hearts is an unconventional story about love at its core. All of the characters love each other and show it in their actions towards each other and it shouldn't be something people shy away from talking about. The ending almost made me tear up as Kingdom Hearts in general throughout my life has been a constant source of connection for me personally. Amazing job! You definitely deserve more praise for this video.

@MasonPerry7 11 ай бұрын

I saw it in chain of memories. When Maleficent told Riku to basically commit suicide if he couldn’t tolerate the darkness within himself.

@Supreme0757 Жыл бұрын

This was a MASTERPIECE and the single greatest analysis of Riku on this entire platform

@meebybell 5 ай бұрын

You should watch "Riku is Gay"

@gothwolf13 Жыл бұрын

This is such a good video! Riku and Sora are both such well-written characters and great foils for each other. Darkness in KH can represent not just negative emotions, but also independence and ambition, and light is the connections between people. Riku's arc shows the downside of too much darkness--hurting other people for your own gain, not allowing others to help. Sora's arc is about the downside of too much light--constantly sacrificing your own desires for the sake of others until you don't really know what it is you yourself desire, lacking identity/confidence outside of others, and suppressing negative emotions rather than confronting them. Which is why I hope the new series arc will focus on that aspect of Sora's struggle with light, which it seems is the direction it's heading in.

@PermanentViolet 2 жыл бұрын

Well done, Primal. This was a pleasure to watch. This made me laugh and it made me cry. But I really broke when those notes from Aerith's theme played. Thank you for sharing your passion for KH with the rest of us.

@anny8005 Жыл бұрын

I went through this video with a lot of unadressed things in my heart, and when I reached the part where Riku said he might as well become one with the darkness, I had to pause because I had too much hurt locked up inside. So I laid down to cry and acknowledge that it hurt. I had a long talk with myself about my feelings and why I was feeling them, and just for a while did not try to change them, just accept them as they were, and at the end I actually reminded myself of the things that matter to me. Kingdom Hearts for example, about how much this story of two young men loving each other so much has meant and still means to me. And also my own friends whom I'm still getting to know, the things I'm looking forward to do and experience with them. I may feel lonely right now, but I'm starting my journey to allow for genuine connection to enter my life, slowly but surely. So after all this heavy introspection, I went back to finish watching your video, and ended up crying again at the end. It was me, I needed to hear those words. Thank you

@imaniscott8535 Ай бұрын

its crazy, I use to hate Riku. All throughout my experience playing Kingdom Hearts 1 I hated him until "Take care of her" and I realized that he was sacrificing himself for them both. I gained respect for him and I remember saying "Alright Riku, I don't hate you anymore but you're still a jerk." And then CoM Reverse/Rebirth when he said it was "overwhelming" when Mickey was actually there made me cry. I became a die-hard Riku fangirl after that. And I'm never going back. He's the most fleshed out character in the series, I feel, and I can't wait to play as him in the next installment!

@Youtube_ban_me 2 ай бұрын

this guy made this fire video and left the scene lmao

@Peachalie 11 ай бұрын

This is such an underrated Riku video essay. Seriously it came into my recommended out of nowhere and I watched it out of curiosity. Amazing job. Short sweet, but so good.

@maykupi4147 7 ай бұрын

Amazing Video :) Excellent Job :) Love Riku So Much (He's The Best With Everything He Does And Has Both Light And Darkness Within Him To Help) :)

@uryuriuga7335 10 ай бұрын

My biggest thing about Sora's and Riku's relationship is thay if Nomura doesn't start writing for Riku to find love or give Kairi stronger presence and person would see their relationship with each other as subtext. In my case Sora oblivious but loving nonetheless and Riku loving but unrequited.

@Zayindjejfj 4 ай бұрын

"Riku finding love" Namine: bonjour

@GOLDHAJIKVONGOLA 2 ай бұрын

@@Zayindjejfj riku to namine at the end of KH3 : come fly with me gatiña

@tatisakura81 8 ай бұрын

I cried. It stroke a cord in me. Very well done. Thank you sm for sharing with the community.

@sarahcox1197 5 ай бұрын

This is a lovely video! Absolutely criminal it's only garnered 6k views

@kupotenshi 4 ай бұрын

This was the best Riku essay! Definitely deserves more views.

@SA-xl1tk 5 ай бұрын

This should have at least 100,000 views

@oaktutor1154 4 ай бұрын

you should come back as a Kingdom Hearts Video Essay Presenter. I liked this video.

@metis7534 6 ай бұрын

This was beautiful. Definitely deserved far more than 5k views. Riku’s my favorite KH character and he’s honestly just unmatched imo

@ekinstonwalker9736 11 ай бұрын

More people definitely need to see this video.

@SuccubiPie 10 ай бұрын

The Kairi bit shoots this up to being the best Kingdom Hearts essay video

@Lichtverbunden Жыл бұрын

22:05 YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!!!!! Absolutely. Only when we accept every single part of ourselves, can we truly be human. Thank you so so much. This is so important for us all to hear. Maybe you don't realize how important this video truly is. 23:04 And right now I am still more like Xehanort as I never learned how to connect to anyone as no one did it for me when I was a baby and child. I learned that I can't trust anyone, as I was hurt by others so much. This will be the next thing I will look at in my therapy. Just finished the video and now crying so much. Thank you for your openness and vulnerability. I need that so much. You seem to be really conscious about a lot of topics and that touches me even more as that means I am not alone in that. I can sense and feel a lot; my emotions, the emotions of others as it seems, the world we are living in and especially that is so painful to see how corrupt the systems are we are living in. It hurts so much... I can bearly live with that... I want to make videos in the future on messages Kingdom Hearts has for us, just like you did right now. It seems like I am not alone with that. I thought I was the only one being "spiritual" and loving Kingdom Hearts and wanting to share the wisdom of it with others. I am not alone. I am really not alone, right?

@AscendtoB 9 ай бұрын

You’re not❤ we’re gonna protect the things that matter

@Lichtverbunden Жыл бұрын

Wow... I know that kind of trauma from my own life... Being judged, punished, doubted, not trusted in the slightest; being told how selfish, manipulative I am and that I was lying and seeking for attention. Yes, of course I did that as there was no one to love me. I experienced love in Anime and in JRPGs, but not in my family. And especially with my father I needed to atune to him and please him to be safe as his rage was dangerous. I lived being in shock for many years when I lived with him. I understand that he is angry as he experienced similar trauma than me, but still... that doesn't excuse what he did to me. Even now being in therapy I can feel the shock in my body's cells; every day. This was a really good video. Thank you.

@MilesPW 4 ай бұрын

Beautiful video, thanks for taking the time to do this!

@Lichtverbunden Жыл бұрын

WOOOW!!! It touches me so very much to hear someone else speaking about the importance of vulnerability. I feel like my whole life will be dedicated to show people how much we need to be vulnerable to each other. Only through this, we can truly heal.

@ryuuakiyama3958 10 ай бұрын

This was so extremely sweet and filled me with warm fuzzies!

@YuniKipoh1989 3 ай бұрын

Thank you.

@Kumiko026 9 ай бұрын

Damn! This was amazing! Probably the best video discussing Riku and his story on KZbin!

@skazzfish 7 ай бұрын

Ah I teared up big time😭😭 This was beautiful

@Kazuma127 3 ай бұрын

"time is a cruel prison" Why was that so funny?

@BlueCats27 10 ай бұрын

REALLY satisfied with this video. I'm always looking for great video essays on the serious and I can't understate how much I appreciate your blend of comedy and serious reflection here. I try to apply this series to my life in a lot of ways because of my personal nostalgia, so people like you contributing to the conversations around characters and their plights genuinely improves my life. Thanks for being the voice I didn't know I needed!

@rirururu4697 10 ай бұрын

15:32 That part was so savage 😂 Poor Kairi This was a fantastic video! Great job.

@opensauce04 10 ай бұрын

This analysis is amazing. This video needs to blow up, it's criminally underrated

@GayRiku 8 ай бұрын

Today I was having a horrible mental health day. I've had this video in my Watch Later for a while and decided to watch it since KH and Riku always make me feel better. I'm glad I watched this and really appreciated the message at the end. I hope your mental health is doing okay right now. Thanks for this video!