I think that's the main reason she's got as much attention from Nomura as she has the past two years--because the real world is rightfully going through a reckoning over the treatment of women which has subsequently trickled down to the treatment of female characters in media. I wouldn't be surprised if MoM (where she isn't even playable...) is what he's considering her "big moment" that he thinks will be enough to shut up the fans, and that the games that follow revert to how she's been used prior... It's more like he's been guilted into doing something with her even though he doesn't really care about her. I guess we'll see if this is genuine on his part or not in the long-term.
I think Nomura does need to do better with his female characters in general in KH though. It's not like he's incapable of creating good female characters, going by FF. I think he has several good ones in KH even, he just needs to actually use them.
I agree that I think Nomura's been somewhat guilted into doing more with Kairi specifically due to the changing world. But I don't think he necessarily hates her, like some people seem to believe. I just think he was content with her in a bystander role. Although, if that were the case, it makes me wonder why he even chose to let her get a keyblade in KH2 and be shown fighting with it instead of cowering in a corner waiting for Sora/Riku to save her.
Frankly, I know the light is shone on the female characters a lot, but what about the male characters? Getting screentime/being playable doesn't make them good characters either. If we're talking strictly good characters - IE a good character arc, I think the only characters to even get that are Riku and maybe Roxas/Xion (theirs suffered due to them being brought back to life).
So that makes me wonder whether this is a question of just female characters or characters in KH as a whole? Larxene is more charismatic than half the other Organization members. The main villain of the game had his motive changed at the very end of his saga. There were so many retcons and "surprise" revelations for characters that not many could even have consistent story arcs.
But the KH fan in me actually... likes that. Because I see KH as one, ever growing story, so I always have the optimism that one day there will be closure. Like Kairi getting attention on how she left Radiant Garden now, I expected Nomura to bring that up eventually and here it is... like 15 years later. Is that good storytelling - nope. It's Kingdom Hearts.
Because I'm not too fond of the defense that he wanted to do something with her but couldn't when there were plenty of opportunities. Basically what Tartarus said, I really think he didn't want to do much with her outside of being a plot device but feels pressured to from fans. And that kind of circumstance leads to a lot of half-assing, so I'm keeping my expectations low for the next saga.
After KH2, there were times that Kairi should have been used. I actually think that Kairi should have been the one to jump in and save Sora/Riku from Master Xehanort in KH3D instead of Lea. She already had a keyblade and it would have given that trio a special moment. You're right that she could have been used more, but I honestly feel like Nomura wrote himself into a corner. He brought up the 7 lights things, he was low on numbers and Lea existed, so he slapped a keyblade on him and made him one of the lights. I'm hoping in the next saga, he learned from his mistakes and doesn't get trapped like he did in the Dark Seeker Saga.
Here's the thing: I never defended or mentioned 1 and 2. What happened back then was shoddy, especially in an ever changing world. You can make all the excuses you want, but just because bad stuff was excused back then still doesn't make it right.
Also Fear My Face I need you understand this. It's too late to change my mind about Nomura's negligence regarding Kairi. It's fine, you'll live despite me not liking his decisions. I don't want Nomura do to anything with her, and that's my issue with it.
At the end of the day I'll keep criticizing Nomura, its what gets me off. I'm his biggest critic that he doesn't give a damn about. The man lives in peace, oblivious to my bitter existence, so don't worry about Nomura's skills or honor.
Btw you're right on the money, you're finally understanding how this works.
So then just have Kairi killed off, that's your solution to the "Kairi problem"?