Key Takeaways
- Kingdom Hearts manga adapts game plot accurately, with added humor and casualness to characters for a lighthearted tone.
- Adaptations omit licensed IPs like Tim Burton and replace them, staying consistent with main game plot events.
- Manga serves as entry point to franchise for non-gamers, offering a comedic dialogue and easily consumable retelling of story.
Kingdom Hearts has, for whatever reason, become popular again. Maybe it’s the hype of the mysterious Kingdom Hearts 4 turning into anxiety as the team stays silent on the status of the series that is bringing the fandom back to the forefront. Or maybe it is the popularity of Disney Dreamlight Valley, which has been surging in online cozy gaming spaces despite it’s controversial amount of microtransactions. Whatever the case, it is time to revisit a forgotten part of Kingdom Hearts‘s history.
Disney is no stranger to manga. Lilo and Stitch and even original characters exclusive to Disney’s manga have had volumes of their manga sell decently well in Japan, or at least enough to continue to make adaptations of their movies into a manga format. But have you heard of the Kingdom Hearts manga? And what if we said it makes some changes to the video game canon when adapting the games into a comic format, while staying accurate to the original franchise?
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What Is The Manga About?
The Manga’s Take On The Video Game Series
The manga follows a mostly accurate, but condensed, view of the video game’s story. There has been a manga series for the first two of the mainline Kingdom Hearts games so far and two of the ‘side’ games, and each of them stick to the linear, main plot of each game. In the first series, Sora still gets a keyblade and is searching for his lost friends, Goofy and Donald join him on the quest as they believe he is the chosen one, etc. The main thing missing from the first Kingdom Hearts manga series is the Halloween Town scene, which would have required permission from Tim Burton, as it is not solely a Disney property. Otherwise, the timeline of events is consistent.
The manga for Kingdom Hearts II was discontinued due to its lack of popularity and the closure of the then-publisher TOKYOPOP. However, the latest series following Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days has been doing well enough that the new publisher of the manga franchise plans to continue the manga for Kingdom Hearts II when the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga is completed. At this point in time, there is a manga adaptation for Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memory, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, with plans to adapt Kingdom Hearts III when the manga franchises catch up on both of the currently unfinished series.
So, What Did They Change?
The Plot Stayed The Same… But What About Everything Else?
While there were a few IPs that had to be skipped or replaced due to licensing, the only notable one was the aforementioned Tim Burton IPs and didn’t take enough away from the plot to make a significant difference. However, one big change that can be noted in the manga adaptation is how much more lighthearted the manga is. While those unacquainted with Kingdom Hearts might think that sentence is odd, seasoned veterans to the franchise know how seriously the game takes itself, despite the presentation. The manga however, adds a lot more humor and casualness to the characters, characterizing them more like the IPs they come from rather than the more grim editions of the original Kingdom Hearts games.
“Xehanort, you’re so caught up in finding the shadows, you forgot about the light that cast them”
This is especially apparent with Sora, who feels less like a swashbuckling protagonist and more like the main character of an isekai who is enamored with the strange world he’s been transported to. The manga also uses little chibi-like icons to add little jokes or moments of humor throughout the scenes, whereas these scenes were presented with a more serious tone typical of JRPGs the Kingdom Hearts franchise is inspired by. It’s not like most people take the franchise seriously anyway, but it is notable tone difference between the two iterations.
Who Is This For?
Besides Kingdom Hearts Collectors, Obviously
This manga was likely marketed as an entry point into the franchise for non-gamers, who is still the main audience of this manga. It faithfully tells the story of the games, while providing more of a comedic dialogue that will resonate better with audiences who don’t play JRPGs, or quite frankly can’t take Kingdom Hearts seriously. This also appeals to gamers who never got into Kingdom Hearts during it’s original hype era, and missed out on getting nostalgia with the original games within the franchise before the controls and graphics became outdated and love for Disney franchises began to wane with older audiences.
That aside, it’s also an easily consumable way to relive the story of Kingdom Hearts with less effort than replaying the video game on a console you may no longer have. You can follow Sora along on his adventures, without ever picking up a controller. While some fans do enjoy replaying a Kingdom Hearts game from time to time, it can be nice to relive the video games with new, light-hearted dialogue and less boss fights. If you haven’t read the manga yet, pick it up if you get the chance. The graphics definitely aren’t as janky as the original game, and you won’t have to hear Goofy or Donald’s idle dialogue over and over again while you relive your favorite moments from the games. That’s something we can all be thankful for.
KINGDOM HEARTS: Fear locks the light in darkness. Courage is the key.
When a supernatural storm transports 14-year-old Sora to a distant land, he sets out to track down his missing friends. Teaming up with Court Wizard Donald and Captain Goofy, join Sora as he embarks on a valiant quest to find his friends and defeat the evil ‘Heartless’.
Explore new and familiar worlds featuring over 100 Disney characters. Beware of the Disney villains and their devious intentions. Team up with Disney heroes as you battle evil. Experience stunning graphics and authentic voiceovers.