Why doesn’t the protagonist of my Japanese game where I fight zipper monsters with Donald Duck have a 100% serious practical outfit with no zippers on it >:(

Fun Fact: KH fans noticed over the years that Kairi's hair always matches Hikaru Utada's hairstyle at the time.

the point about Riku lacking red to represent the idea of missing something in separation from Sora's design is such a good detail.

I love that when Axel finally gets to choose clothes out for himself it seems to be a very outdated, mid to late 80s style inspired clothes. It really emphasis how much older he is than the rest of the cast. He became a nobody at maybe 15/16-ish, and doesn’t become a full human again until he’s around 26 to 27 years old. There is a huge disconnect between him and the younger cast, who, most of their clothes is late 90s/2000s inspired. It’s different enough in style that it ages him appropriately but also close enough to the teen main casts’ aesthetic that he still fits in with them.

This video made me realise i need a TWEWY fashion deepdive aswell !! That game is peak 2000's streetwear fashion and peak nomura design , and NEO is the same but updated to 2010s fashion and i love it !!!

Don't forget about how Kairi's KH3 dress is colored & tailored to represent both Xion (left), Namine (middle) & herself (right), respectively!

IRL Olette analyzing everyone's fashion. I'm here for it. 🤔

I think people hating or making fun of Nomura's style of character design is due to them not knowing the context for his fashion choices. When you notice that the majority of his detractors are from western countries it all makes sense. It's not common for non Japanese people to understand the clothing trends that inspire him to make the choices he takes when designing characters and they're outfits. There's always a lot of thought behind every detail.
Personally I've always liked his style ever since I laid eyes on Cloud and company in the original FFVII and it's been very inspiring watching the evolution of Nomura as a designer throughout the years and the many games he's been involved with. Some of the words that come to mind when I see a character designed by him are "cool", "slick" and "stylish".
Your videos are great and I specially appreciate that you have the knowledge and passion to tackle the different fashion philosophies that go into the character designs of so many different games.
Take care and be well! 🖤

39:00 He's dressed like a suburban girl whose favorite season is Fall, and loves anything pumpkin spice flavored, and scented lol

I always felt that the simplicity of Naminé's design was always a really interesting choice narrative-wise. In interviews Nomura said the idea behind Naminé is moreso of "a frail, ghost-like girl", her existence is really fickle and doesn't even reach being a true Nobody so it makes sense her outfit is so simple it really just does what it needs to keep her covered and nothing more, she's literally a barebones existence. She also spends most of her time indoors and locked in rooms so it also adds to that sort of "homey" vibe in a way since she isn't allowed to go outside, not to mention her treatment by the Organization members and DiZ adds a bit of a connotation of a neglected child in how she's the only original character for this series with only one outfit, not to mention something so basic. Though the mention of the sundress and sandals also carrying the beach theme is a really nice touch to tie it all back together

Great video! Really informative and honestly Tetsuya Nomura's designs are always really clever and fun regardless of how infamous it has become for the percieved overexcess, I feel like his particular attention to fashion, how to guide the viewer's eye and how it adds to characterization is what makes it work way more than most other "overdesigned" series

I think namines outfit, while representing purity like you said, also represents nothingness, with the very monochromatic design+outfit lending to her fading into the background in a sense, which ties into the themes of chain of memories and subtly lends to the idea that she's not meant to exist in those memories she places herself into. plus the fact that her dress is basically the under layer of kairi's kh2 dress helps connect the two of them together and strengthen the stylistic duality between them

Xehanort's white gloves, and Mickey's too, added to the military vibes probably because they're reminiscent of parade gloves, the white ones that soldiers usually put on for parades. Think that's also the origin for why marching band uniforms have em.

28:28 Namine's white dress is actually just Kairi's KH2 outfit without the pink overlayed and hoodie, and the floral pattern around the hem of her dress matches the hem of Kairi's KH1 dress.

I didn’t realize that Sora’s designs all have a island / fisher aesthetic. Him aligning with some of the FFX tropical ideas makes a lot of sense.

Something I enjoy about Ansem and Xehanort wearing the same outfit differently is how it characterises them. Ansem is a weird mix of Terra's body and Xehanorts heart. He's young and looks like Terra but the clothing is presumably something that was lost when Xehanort's body evaporated(?) and only reappears as his heartless is presumably Xehanort as he views himself. The fact that he wears the same outfit so differently kinda shows how much he enjoys having a fit young body. He's going to flaunt it and show off while he's still young again.

The fact that you can trace a history of Japanese fashion through the clothes of “Kingdom Hearts” characters is pretty dope.

Probably Nomura’s “Final Fantasy’s” too

"Sora looks more kiddish and naive than Roxas" that's cause poor Roxas came into existence and immediately clocked into his minimum wage job. Dude's another 150/2 days from having, like, a car payment and taxes due 😭

Kingdom Hearts really got that shit on. Look at Mickey, aura

When I was younger, I used to headcanon that the black cloaks are made from the hide of a creature that preys on the Heartless, and that the reason why they grant protection from the darkness in the dark corridors is because this animal has a natural resistance to darkness..

Something I really wanted to add since you didnt mention it was that for Sora's KHII outfit, while Red, Blue, Yellow, White, and Black have all been part of his design from the start, in this context it also reflects all of Sora's various Drive Forms he can use.

Valor is Red
Wisdom is Blue
Master is Yellow
White is Final
Black is Anti
All together, they are Limit

The differnet forms are all subtly represented on his character from the start.