Riku

See Talk:Riku for reference and contribution, but do not copy information. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

- Riku

Riku is the deuteragonist in the Kingdom Hearts series. A teenager from the Destiny Islands, Riku is the best friend of Sora and Kairi. However, he had fallen into the Darkness by the influence of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, causing him to become an antagonist of the series at first, but becomes good once again, and now uses his gifts to aid his friends as possible. He is voiced by David Gallagher in the English version and by Mamoru Miyano in the Japanese version.

Physical Appearance
In Kingdom Hearts, Riku has silver hair which is a bit longer than when he was a child, teal eyes, and pale skin. He wears a yellow vest shirt and blue pants. His shoes are alike to Sora's, size wise.

Kingdom Hearts
Riku is first seen when he thinks that both Sora and Kairi are being lazy instead of helping him build a raft. When Kairi wanted to race, he didn't take it with much excitement, implying that he has won many races before. As Sora challenge him to a battle that decides the champion, Riku says that he already collected everything he needed to get. At the end of the day, Riku talks with Sora and Kairi about other worlds and leaving the island once the raft was finished. After the conversation, Riku gave a Paopu Fuit to Sora, joking that he knew Sora wanted to try one. The next day, Riku challenges Sora to a race, with Kairi judging, to see what the name of their raft would be. Sora wanted to be captain if he won, but Riku wanted the winner to share a paopu fruit with Kairi (later explained to be a joke). The next day, Heatless begin to attack the island. Sora finds Riku, who says they can finally leave. When he says "I'm not afraid of the darkness!" darkness surounds him. Sora tries to reach for him, but Riku is completely swallowed by the darkness before their hands can touch, ending up at Hollow Bastion.

Abilities
When Terra approached Riku during Riku's childhood, Terra gave Riku the ability to use the Keyblade. Before leaving Destiny Islands, he has trained himself, along with Sora, to use a weapon, more specifically a sword. As the island was being engulfed in shadows, Riku was about to receive the Keyblade. However, he left too soon, and it came into the possession of Sora. Through Maleficent, Riku was able to control and create heartless. This demonstrated when Riku makes a Heartless replica of Sora in Neverland. In Hollow Bastion, Maleficent gives Riku the ability to use the darkness within him, further weakening his heart after he teleported to Hollow Bastion using the darkness. Eventualy, Riku overcomes his darkness, and is able to control it along with light.

Trivia

 * Riku's name is derived from the Japanese word for "land".
 * Riku is the first non-party assistance character to appear in the Kingdom Hearts universe as he helps Sora, Donald, and Goofy fight the Parasite Cage in Monstro the first battle. Riku was also the first party character that can be fought against in the same game he is fought with, followed by the Beast, Xion, and later Zack.
 * Riku is similar to Elsa the Snow Queen from Frozen as both have been antagonized by their villains and try to cover up their mistakes (Riku: Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, Elsa: Hans and The Duke of Weselton). Also, they ultimately manage to control the powers that they view as a curse by accepting them and guiding them to help their friends. However, Elsa never really intended to harm anyone, unlike Riku, who attacked Sora and his friends multiple times (especially in the first game) simply out of jealousy.

Gallery
Riku