And? Isn't its purpose more about providing character progression? If you don't have it then there won't be any character progression at all (and the haters will still hate it and claim that it has no character progression, but at least the fans get something to follow on to as far as the protagonists are concerned)
Sure you can have character development in individual stories. However, the question here is that Shinta asserts the stories in the 13 saga are the exact opposite of padding, but that's incorrect.
It's entirely possible to have the character stories linked to the main plot and have good development, and this is actually better because the characters are more connected to actual events and narrative. What did Lightning having conflicted feelings about her purpose really contribute to Vanille finally getting enough guts to become Ragnarok and change Ragnarok's purpose to saving Cocoon? Nothing. We also never once saw any reason for why Cocoon should be saved; no strong feelings for Cocoon from the characters, no character stories that connected to the world.
What we saw instead is Lightning having tantrums over her sister's choice in husbands (not relevant to Bart trying to drop Cocoon), Hope irrationally pinning blame on Snow and trying to kill him (hardly a depiction that indicates strong motivation for wanting to save humanity), Vanille providing lots of annoying fanservice, and so on. Compare: at Mushroom Rock in FF10 we learn Wakka's brother joined the Crusaders and died fighting Sin, giving Wakka and Lulu (the girl left behind) the motivation to fight against Sin. The big event at Mushroom Rock shows the futility of fighting Sin in an alternative way (to the Final Summon), and Tidus also confirms the 'feeling' of his father in Sin. Character plots and events that bind to the main plot of completing the pilgrimage and defeating Sin. The first half of 13 is certainly flimsy padding in comparison. 10 reveals the backstories of its characters along with the world; 13 clumsily cuts around and shoves in flashbacks to flesh out character backstories...that reveal nothing about motivations tied to the main plot. It's hardly a wonder that Lightning, Snow, Hope, and Sazh readily abandon Cocoon and then fade to the background when they hit Pulse.
You can have character stories that develop the characters. But they're padding if they are hardly relevant to the main plot.
