Rai

[akino_ame]

I've been in a lot of fandoms over the years, and I unfortunately often find cases where one or more characters is written as a complete moron just because he was characterized as not being the brightest of the bunch in canon. In Digimon, the whipping boy was Davis/Daisuke, and in KH2, Rai seems to be Davis II

Comments

[custom_magnum]

People write Rai? Does anyone do it good?

[zachere]

Well. Can't blame you if you haven't played FFVIII, but to tell you the truth Raijin isn't the brightest guy ever. He's characterized that way in the FF canon, kind of like a running gag, but he's a really nice guy. I did notice he seemed a little sharper in KH2.

[custom_magnum]

You have to remember something, the step thing only happened in the virtual Twilight Town, so that wasn't even the real Rai, and all the other 'wonders' were glitches due to the Dusks hacking their way in, so there's no reason why Rai couldn't be right each time he counted back there.

Of course, he isn't tthe smartest person though.

[zachere]

It was a throwaway joke, that's all. And in fact, an old one. I've heard the joke about the guy who insisted the steps counted differently going up and going down before. Squeenix just applied it to Rai. Nothing to do with Duskhacks.

And I could argue that the virtual TT wasn't made of data, exactly, but had some basis in actual hearts. Which is why the Twilight Trio felt some connection to Sora without ever having met him before. So it wasn't the real Rai, sure, but his double would pretty much have acted just like him.

I like Raijin/Rai a lot, but the most important thing about him isn't his intelligence, which both KH and FF canon poke fun at. I mean, seriously, you should play FFVIII, it's a lot worse than Pence's single comment. Raijin's biggest asset is his loyalty, not his smarts.

[custom_magnum]

Yeah, considering he and Fuujin followed Seifer despite the fact that latter was visibly batshit insane... his loyalty does go a long way. I was just pointing out that he's not completely dumb.

[cordyceps]

[alba_aulbath]

BLESS YOUR SOUL.

Rai/Raijin isn't a freakin' moron. Sure, he's not the brightest bulb -- but I think what makes him strong is his heart, not his brains. Brains is for Fuu and Seifer to worry about and probably Vivi, too. (Vivi is a good balance of heart and mind, Seifer is inbalanced with the two, and Fuu follows her mind more. Rai, follows his heart, and being Seifer's friend and loyal as hell is part of that.)

Rai is actually a fairly nice guy, though I grab that characterization most from FF8 where he's not a jerk in the least. He can be a bit cowardly at times, but I think it was mostly in the case of "uh, omg, MISSILES" but he still winds up doing the RIGHT THING. He's plenty nice to Squall and the others, all things considered, especially since he's one of Seifer's closest friends and stays that way, through and through. Though I'm sure he'd much rather go fishing and collecting insects, he does whatever Seifer wants, because he loves him like a brother somethin' fierce.

[fuestjuki]

I've never thought much of Rai (as in actual moments of thinking--not in a condescending way), but now I feel like creating a Mary Sue just for him. Or totally having him hook up with Selphie, either one. Not out of pity, but because you're right: he really is a nice, albeit confused dude.

And alba_aulbath, your icon's going FTW.