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Issendai's Lair > Bishonen > Riku > Who is Riku?

Who is Riku?

Official Blurb:

He is Sora's best friend. He may seem cool and collected for his age, but he is far from the quiet type. Always curious about the unknown, he begins to question the small, closed world in which he lives.

How very... beige.

Riku is a 15-year-old boy who lives on Destiny Island, a magical tropical land where children run about all day long in tight, skimpy clothes but never get a tan. His best friend is Sora. A couple of years ago Kairi moved to the island and joined their little group; the fact that she had once lived elsewhere made Riku start thinking about leaving Destiny Island. She also percolated his hormones. This annoys the snot out of Japanese fans, as well it should.

Riku is strong, fast, smart, and competitive. He feels responsible for Sora and Kairi because he's a year older than they are. He also has a bit of a jealous streak--he needs to feel that they need him--which has tragic consequences later.

As for the rest of his personality, or a deeper analysis of his motivations, that is going to have to wait until people start playing the English version of Kingdom Hearts and telling me what he says. The description of him that I have now lacks the dark, seductive power of his initial appearance in the Kingdom Hearts intro. Screenshots and plot synopses suggest that Riku holds power over Sora, so dammit, people, let's hear about it!

A few of you are probably sitting here thinking, "Kingdom Hearts?" Go to the official site or check out RPGamer for the scoop. Yes, that is Goofy standing beside our intrepid heroes.