Terra And Learning to Think for Yourself | Kingdom Hearts Character Analysis
Today I’m going to do a character analysis for Terra, and why it’s important to think for yourself, develop your own discernment, and make informed judgement calls.
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May 18, 2021 @ 8:00 am
My computer is hanging on by a thread, so I started a GoFundMe to help replace the machine. Thanks to a very generous donor, we are very close to reaching our goal, but still have a bit left to go. Also, if this gets overfunded, I’ll be upgrading the lights, camera, and more depending on how much I end up having to work with. Thank you all for your support.
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May 18, 2021 @ 8:37 am
Maybe that’s why he’s associated with “earth,” he’s dumb as a rock lol
May 18, 2021 @ 9:15 am
Xehanort played Terra like the cheap kazoo he is 😂
They better give Terra some on-screen character developement though or I’ll be very disappointed in the potential that was wasted
May 18, 2021 @ 10:21 am
I just commented about how I liked these character analyses you’ve been putting out, only to see that you released another one just a few hours ago! Lucky me, I guess!
May 18, 2021 @ 1:22 pm
So I just finished watching the video and it was another good analysis. Ik there would be ridicule to Terra because even I have some of the same gripes with him myself. But it is also nice for someone to admit that they could make some of these mistakes and fall for some of the tricks ,instead of pretending like they couldn’t be tricked themselves. And you didn’t blame him for literally every bad thing in the series which is a nice change.
I realized while watching that the reason I resonated with Terra when I was younger was because I was kinda gullible like him, and I didn’t always use my best judgement with people. But I eventually had to grow to just do my thing and be cautious towards people.
I feel outta the BBS trio, Terra did get the least development, it was basically I’m the strong one who wants to help my friends but im not the best judge of character. In kh3 he did seem to show a bit more maturity and I look forward to his future.
May 18, 2021 @ 1:54 pm
I hope you do Aqua next. 😊
May 18, 2021 @ 2:51 pm
“In this essay I will explain why Terra doesn’t think and why he is the official Himbo of Kingdom Hearts.”
May 18, 2021 @ 3:32 pm
I really liked Terra’s play style and I usually don’t like playing tanky characters. I think what is important to note is that he was actually named a Keyblade Master during his journey. Master Xehanort named him a Master. Although Xehanort was manipulating him, I don’t think his judgement was wrong to call him a Master. Through out the gameplay, Terra develops more Darkness based move sets that get increasingly more powerful. Xehanort is also proof that you can be a Master and still choose Darkness. And since Vanitas wields the Keyblade, the Keyblade doesn’t necessarily reject Darkness. In fact, it’s more like Keyblades are Darkness magnets.
May 18, 2021 @ 3:38 pm
I think Terra is Terrable for what he did to Aurora’s Heart. No redemption. Maleficent didn’t control him. He took her heart on his on volition. Terra is a terrable human being.
May 18, 2021 @ 6:55 pm
Regarding the evil queen, I think he handled that situation fine. He’s still tunnel visioned about finding Xehanort, but apart from that he’s not afraid of her as he shouldn’t be, and asking her a question wouldn’t necessarily mean he puts all his trust in her as a person. He merely wants a lead which she may or may not give. Asking what Snow White did to the queen isn’t an unreasonable question, and is something you can ask to better assess her and confirm her intentions. He never agrees to work with her of course. While this may be a lesson on how to trust in yourself and not others, it also has a distinct danger of going too far the other way, making snap judgements and not gathering information to make wise decisions. I found this happened with Aqua once, where she walked by the stepmother and immediately made it an assassination mission because of darkness.
Terra always had things biased against his favor as he mostly meets villains who aren’t immediately hostile. Other characters have the luxury of meeting the Disney protagonists, yet they make the exact same mistakes of trusting too easily, to the point where they help them far beyond what a reasonable acquaintance would. Terra’s issue is compounded when it’s understood that he’s technically known Xehanort longer than any of the other protagonists have known any of the Disney characters. It’s just not a fair comparison.
I find that out of most of the protagonists I think I enjoy Riku’s interactions more than any other’s.
May 19, 2021 @ 6:19 am
Terra is a good person, but he has the misfortune of meeting most of the villains first and going “ok I believe you” to a degree. Played like a goddamn fiddle.
May 19, 2021 @ 10:54 am
Terra make mistakes and he was living in eraqus home and his teaching. I blame eraqus for not teaching terra, aqua, and ven about the outside worlds and teach them about darkness isn’t inherent evil. What is darkness truly is and eraqus fault why terra and his friends end up the way they did.
May 19, 2021 @ 4:06 pm
In the novel and sercet report xehanort is the reason didn’t become a master as he brought up terra’s darkness ironic isn’t?
May 30, 2021 @ 10:24 pm
The thing that I really like about Terra is that he doesn’t discriminate against people because of how they look. It’s a skill(is the wrong word but will use it because I can’t think of the right one) that a lot of people say that they want to have and want other people to have. However when we have a character that does have this skill we often see that character as foolish and say that this skill that most people admire is not actually a good thing. And it is sort of true people that have this skill are very easy to take advantage of, and can get into trouble because of this skill. However that isn’t to say that it is wrong to be like this.
I know a person who is like this in real life. And it is very easy to deal with. Basically know that you have this skill/nature and have a friend or family member who you trust who can tell when your about to be tricked. And honestly Terra does have someone like that. Aqua is able to tell when people are untrustworthy at an instinctual level, she shows that skill both at Castle of Dreams where it is very noticeable, and in Neverland where she is completely alright with making fun of Hook despite there being noting in her story to prove that he was a bad person. She might show it a few other times but those are the one that come to mind the most. In fact Aqua is so good at judging others that without Terra’s softer nature she often comes across as way to harsh, she actually needs to be called back by the Fairy Godmother from outright murdering Cinderella’s step family.
Terra and Aqua really fit each other very well. If they had traveled together I think that we would have had a very different story because of how well the two of them could turn the other person weakness into their greatest strength. However because of Eraqus’ bad teaching, Xehanort planing things, the lack of time to settle into Aqua having the power of the Master Title, and hurt feelings all around what should have been an unbreakable duo fell apart. Which lead to both of them having over ten years of hell.
And honestly in a story where having friends is power having two characters that need each other to be the best they can be is not really a bad thing. Actually we have several characters who have personalities that need other people to be the healthiest they can be. Xion, Sora, Strelitzia, Demyx, and Isa all come to mind fairly quickly as being better with friends at their side.
Yes Terra takes this skill of being able to see the best in everyone to far, often seeing good in people that isn’t actually there, however he has for at lest four years maybe longer never been without Aqua, and never meet anyone who was untrustworthy. Xehanort not counting because he was meant to be a trustworthy person. Xehanort is his teachers best friend, a Master that Eraqus always seems to trust at lest in front of his students. Xehanort, Eraqus, and Yen Sid should be three adults that Terra and his fellow students should be able to trust without question. The fact that he wasn’t trustworthy and Eraqus never told his students to be careful of him is not Terra’s fault.
So sorry that we disagree so much on this topic but I really think that Terra is one of the better characters in the story. Part of that might be that my own Dad is a person that struggles with being a person whose first instinct is to trust others, it is something I also recognize in myself as well. Though really Terra reminds me so much of my dad that it’s a little weird. I know that it can be a flaw if taken to far but so can almost any skill/nature. I don’t see why this skill is seen as stupid when one of the smartest people I know has it. Yes Terra has room to grow and honestly should likely only travel if he and Aqua are going together but I can honestly say that Aqua should also not travel alone.
Oh sorry it took me so long to watch your video. I have spent the last week or two reading and haven’t had time for KH.
June 6, 2021 @ 9:15 am
Well, there are some correct points there, there is a problem regarding some facts.
Terra had no reason to distrust Xehanort, as Eraqus didn’t mention anything negative, and only spoke praise toward Xehanort. Regarding Terra’s sheltered, naive experience with the outer worlds – He mostly just wanted validation because he felt like a failure for failing his lifelong dream (being a Keyblade master). Xehanort, a fellow Master and a friend of Eraqus manipulated him by offering what he wanted – Validation. Adding the whole Aqua spying on him and Eraqus not trusting him just hurt his confidence, even more, sending him straight into Xehanort manipulations.
Second, Terra did NOT kill Eraqus. As stated in the Birth By Sleep Ultimania, Xehanort did it by attacking Eraqus from behind. It wasn’t shown because Nomura thought it looked brutal than usual. There is a reason why Terra asked Xehanort “WHY?” Right after. Terra saw it, as stated in the Ultimania.
Third, while as you said – Terra pretty much got split and splintered between multiple entities, Terra’s actual consciousness stayed within the Lingering Will most of the time, bounded to the Keyblade Graveyard. The few times his consciousness flowed back to his heart (Inside the Guardian), he couldn’t “see” anything there, and it happened twice – During 0.2 with Aqua, and in 3D with Riku.
When LW shattered, it got absorbed back into the Guardian, giving his heart the power to rebel against Xehanort.