I just don't see how people can get really invested in ships in this series anyway. Maybe it's because in the time period I grew up and was involved in fandom, SoraxRiku and SoraxKairi shippers were writing fanfics that bashed the character that was "in the way" making them pretty much unreadable and unenjoyable. A huge turn off.
Even within the story itself, I don't care who any of these characters end up with romantically. It's like, does it really matter? They're probably never going to be married, date, have a future or family. Nothing would change even if they were a confirmed couple. Why are people so invested in Kingdom Hearts shipping in particular?
I thought the ship wars had died down over the years, but I guess the hardcore shippers just went to sleep and woke up when KH3 came out.
In regards to the overall issue with relationships in media, it's a multi issue problem. For one, there's still not a lot of representation of LGBT+ relationships in media (good or bad). Two, there's not a lot of representation of opposite sex characters being purely platonic with no romantic implications. Three, as people do, people read into things that aren't there and build expectations that will eventually crush them.
1. This is a problem that spans over the ages. What do you do when you don't see yourself in media? You create it. Or pretend it's there for sh!ts and giggles. That's what fanfiction is for after all. Although this is slowly but surely changing with time, there's nowhere near the amount of media with main characters or couples who are LGBT+. People are desperate for that kind of content.
2. This is an issue I see a lot, though some people just use it to crap on ships they don't like. It is true, too often are many of us 'taught' to see any friendliness or friendship between a male and female character as romantic. Doesn't even matter if these two characters never expressed romantic interest in one another, or if they're in relationships with other people. This is a societal problem overall. I'm sure we've all seen the lunatics post things like "MY BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND ISN'T ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY FRIENDS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX. THAT'S CHEATING". This also leads to another issue, people use this as an excuse to insist the male/female pair are platonic for the sake of their male/male/LGBT+ ships. It's like they acknowledge there's a problem with a lack of LGBT+ representation, but then paint that logic on everything, even on things that don't make sense.
3. I think we all sometimes get a little carried away with headcanons, wishes, dreams, etc. It takes a lot of self reflection to step back and realize maybe you've been putting too much of your own thoughts and feeling into what is happening on screen. It hurts to say "Maybe I read this the wrong way" or "Maybe the author didn't mean for it to appear like that." it's also scary to feel like maybe you'll be wrong and things won't turn out the way you really want them to. This pushes people further and further into their corners. A normal shipper who just enjoys the ship regardless of how canon they are might transform into someone who demands their ship be canon because it is morally just, planned from the beginning, and "obviously what the author wants too".
Sora/Riku is a perfectly valid ship, romantically AND platonically. Sora/Kairi, same deal. Perfectly valid whether it's romantic or platonic. But I think this thread is a perfect representation of why it would be a horrible idea for Nomura and team to confirm any of these ships. What benefit is there to that?
Would you really want to gamble with the idea that your ship may be confirmed not canon and never get content again, or live your days peacefully assured in the fact that "canon" doesn't matter and you are almost guaranteed to get a ton of content every other game? People treat canon status like a badge of honor. "Hah. I was right. I won."
Isn't the point of shipping to... enjoy the moments the two characters you like interacting?
Even within the story itself, I don't care who any of these characters end up with romantically. It's like, does it really matter? They're probably never going to be married, date, have a future or family. Nothing would change even if they were a confirmed couple. Why are people so invested in Kingdom Hearts shipping in particular?
I thought the ship wars had died down over the years, but I guess the hardcore shippers just went to sleep and woke up when KH3 came out.
In regards to the overall issue with relationships in media, it's a multi issue problem. For one, there's still not a lot of representation of LGBT+ relationships in media (good or bad). Two, there's not a lot of representation of opposite sex characters being purely platonic with no romantic implications. Three, as people do, people read into things that aren't there and build expectations that will eventually crush them.
1. This is a problem that spans over the ages. What do you do when you don't see yourself in media? You create it. Or pretend it's there for sh!ts and giggles. That's what fanfiction is for after all. Although this is slowly but surely changing with time, there's nowhere near the amount of media with main characters or couples who are LGBT+. People are desperate for that kind of content.
2. This is an issue I see a lot, though some people just use it to crap on ships they don't like. It is true, too often are many of us 'taught' to see any friendliness or friendship between a male and female character as romantic. Doesn't even matter if these two characters never expressed romantic interest in one another, or if they're in relationships with other people. This is a societal problem overall. I'm sure we've all seen the lunatics post things like "MY BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND ISN'T ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY FRIENDS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX. THAT'S CHEATING". This also leads to another issue, people use this as an excuse to insist the male/female pair are platonic for the sake of their male/male/LGBT+ ships. It's like they acknowledge there's a problem with a lack of LGBT+ representation, but then paint that logic on everything, even on things that don't make sense.
3. I think we all sometimes get a little carried away with headcanons, wishes, dreams, etc. It takes a lot of self reflection to step back and realize maybe you've been putting too much of your own thoughts and feeling into what is happening on screen. It hurts to say "Maybe I read this the wrong way" or "Maybe the author didn't mean for it to appear like that." it's also scary to feel like maybe you'll be wrong and things won't turn out the way you really want them to. This pushes people further and further into their corners. A normal shipper who just enjoys the ship regardless of how canon they are might transform into someone who demands their ship be canon because it is morally just, planned from the beginning, and "obviously what the author wants too".
Sora/Riku is a perfectly valid ship, romantically AND platonically. Sora/Kairi, same deal. Perfectly valid whether it's romantic or platonic. But I think this thread is a perfect representation of why it would be a horrible idea for Nomura and team to confirm any of these ships. What benefit is there to that?
Would you really want to gamble with the idea that your ship may be confirmed not canon and never get content again, or live your days peacefully assured in the fact that "canon" doesn't matter and you are almost guaranteed to get a ton of content every other game? People treat canon status like a badge of honor. "Hah. I was right. I won."
Isn't the point of shipping to... enjoy the moments the two characters you like interacting?