Interesting things in the manga and novels

[AdrianXXII]

It's before, then it'll have MoM and the Zoo-Keys (Foretellers) in them? If so then I'll certainly want that one. One thing I've loved about the novel's is Shiro Amano's illustrations in them too. I love that cartoony style and want to see them in it.

The KH3 novels and mangas will likely be split up here, which I'm honestly okay with. Yeah, I'd prefer the mega novels but the small ones aren't bad either. I'm hoping they both have ReMind content in them too.

Yeah the illustrations are a great part of the novels, really like Shiro Amano's take on the characters. The Larxene on the back cover of CoM is probably one of my favorite takes on her and their Aqua is also super cute.

I imagine that ReMind would be included in both Novels and Manga, after all most of ReMinds additions are in the later part of the story, which neither is close to yet.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

Yeah the illustrations are a great part of the novels, really like Shiro Amano's take on the characters. The Larxene on the back cover of CoM is probably one of my favorite takes on her and their Aqua is also super cute.

I imagine that ReMind would be included in both Novels and Manga, after all most of ReMinds additions are in the later part of the story, which neither is close to yet.

I'm hoping so. ReMind is adding so much more then the Final Mixes did for previous games. Fingers crossed on that.

 

[AdrianXXII]

I'm hoping so. ReMind is adding so much more then the Final Mixes did for previous games. Fingers crossed on that.

Well did the BBS novel include the Secret Episode? I think that'd be a good indicator on wehter Re:Mind will be included or not.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

Well did the BBS novel include the Secret Episode? I think that'd be a good indicator on wehter Re:Mind will be included or not.

I don't know. I haven't read BBS yet, it's next on my list to read. KH1 did include Mysterious Figure and the last hidden Ansem Report, however KH2 didn't include Lingering Will or any BBS hints. Only something very vague about apprentice Xehanort's amnesia which isn't really a hint, lol.

 

[AdrianXXII]

I don't know. I haven't read BBS yet, it's next on my list to read. KH1 did include Mysterious Figure and the last hidden Ansem Report, however KH2 didn't include Lingering Will or any BBS hints. Only something very vague about apprentice Xehanort's amnesia which isn't really a hint, lol.

Oh right I some how forgot about that, it's even referenced a few time in CoM. So the Novels aren't above including final mix stuff if it fits in.

Well how canon the Lingering Will fight is, is up in the air... I think... it's at least never referenced or shown after KH2FM to my recollection.

With the Re:Mind DLC I think these have such a story impact, that it'd be hard to tell the whole KH story without including them.

 

[TruestSyn]

That second one is weird.

Luxord's THIS GUY! face is my most favorite part of the entire manga.

 

[Sign]

Got my copy of the KHX novel! Color me surprised to see the words "Guilt" and "sin". I expected it to be a pretty direct rip of the official localization, which it is, but at the same time it's a lot more faithful to the Japanese script.

Also they correctly adapted Ephemer's final line to "We'll go together" instead of using the game's "Let's go." Justice is served.

I still disagree with putting Player in Anguis though. The battle sequence in the Keyblade Graveyard just becomes nonsense as a result.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

Got my copy of the KHX novel! Color me surprised to see the words "Guilt" and "sin". I expected it to be a pretty direct rip of the official localization, which it is, but at the same time it's a lot more faithful to the Japanese script.

Also they correctly adapted Ephemer's final line to "We'll go together" instead of using the game's "Let's go." Justice is served.

I still disagree with putting Player in Anguis though. The battle sequence in the Keyblade Graveyard just becomes nonsense as a result.

Yay! Congrats on getting it. Annoying questions time! Are Ava and the Zookeys (Foretellers) in the novel? If so are there any Shiro Amano illustrations of them? That would be so cool to see them in that cartoon like style. Are MoM and Luxu in it too? Does it cover the events from Back Cover? How big is the novel in comparison to the others?

Also on a side note, while I don't have the Union X novel yet, I did receive the COM novel today which means more Namine for me! Merry Christmas everyone

 

[Sign]

Yay! Congrats on getting it. Annoying questions time! Are Ava and the Zookeys (Foretellers) in the novel? If so are there any Shiro Amano illustrations of them? That would be so cool to see them in that cartoon like style. Are MoM and Luxu in it too? Does it cover the events from Back Cover? How big is the novel in comparison to the others?

Also on a side note, while I don't have the Union X novel yet, I did receive the COM novel today which means more Namine for me! Merry Christmas everyone

Yes, MoM, Luxu and the Foretellers are in the novel. The book focuses on Player's story throughout KHX but from their Chirithy's perspective (I was under the impression that this was to accommodate for the player's gender but then they went and made references to him being a boy anyways so whatever lol). They have quite a few encounters with the Foretellers in the story, some more than others, and scenes from Back Cover are spliced in where appropriate.

There are Amano illustrations, yes! @Tempo actually scanned them when the Japanese version was released and shared them on her Twitter for download.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1098296928511549441

The novel is about 150 pages, so it's quite small.

Congrats on getting the CoM novel, and Merry Christmas!

 

[SweetYetSalty]

I just finished the COM novel, and it smelled of darkness. It was a fun read because it added some things that the KH1 novel probably ran out of time for or forgot, such as Ansem's Guardian and the 100 Acre Woods. Thank goodness they added 100 Acre Woods because it was a utter crime that it wasn't in the KH1 novel, but I wonder who's memory it was from since they skipped it before? I really enjoyed how they did Riku Replica's story. Why is it the novel and manga flesh out the Replica Program better then the games? They had to retell the story a few different times but they handled it well from different perspectives. Glad I got to read it and finish it before 2019 ended. Next I'll finally get to my BBS volume. Also Namine is still a GOAT.

Edit: I'm still trying to decided if I should get the ReCoded novel. I don't have any urge to read it really, but for collectors sake I might just pick it up. Maybe.

 

[AdrianXXII]

So I also just finished CoM and wow it was not what I was expecting. Like SweetYetSalty said, we get a lot more on Repliku. The novel plain out describes the blank replica puppets we ended up seeing in KH3.

The inclusion of 100 Acre Woods really bothers me though seeing it doesn't make any sense Sora never went there and there was no reason given for it's inclusion. It was also strange for the Novel to establish that Donald and Goofy must be special seeing they persist when Sora visits worlds only for this world to throw that out the window.

Still I really enjoy how this Novel adapted the story and feel it managed to tell it better than the game itself did. Them actually carrying on the Castle Oblivion plot in the Disney Worlds was nice, having the characters talk about the memory lost and comment on how they remember or don't also made those visits feel more like part of the story and less like padding. I also like how the last part of the book added more context to the first two parts.

Generally I've been enjoying the context and fleshing out the novels (KH1 & CoM) have given and hope to get through KH2 before going back to work next week

 

[SweetYetSalty]

I just finished the Birth By Sleep novel, the longest and biggest novel to date and it was...interesting. I think of all the novels I've read this is the only one I've been a bit half an half on. In a sense it was like playing one of the KH games interestingly enough.

Unlike the previous novels the BBS one adapts all the Disney Worlds into the story. And I now see why the others didn't go for that option because most of the Disney Worlds in the novel are literally word for word beat by beat from the game. I felt like I was reading the games script rather then the novel story. This was something the other novels didn't do or at the very least did very little of. It was a slog to get through Aqua's boring trip to Dwarf Woodlands or Ven's lackluster Olympus trip, or all of Neverland. This made me appreciate how KH1, KH2, COM and Days novels cut back the Disney filler stuff that wasn't necessary while adding in new story elements of other characters. Or at the very least add some new dialogue.

But then I got to the end of the Disney chapters and everything changed! It felt like a KH novel again and it strongly delivered. Vanitas's backstory was shockingly good! I'm still amazed at how engaged I was with his backstory with Ven and the Unversed and how the novel really brought life to it. I feel like this novel told Vanitas's story way better and more clearly then the games did. Then there was the beautiful stuff with Eraqus, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus acting like a family together. Those were the chapters I wanted. I learned so many little things like Terra not liking sweets, Eraqus liking sweets too much, Aqua can cook sweets, and how they rehabilitated Ventus. It's the little character moments like this I love to see. I wish there was more. This novel also showed just how good of a manipulated villain old man Xehanort was. He played everyone and I love how they described him tricking Terra. Even Vanitas he manipulated.

Even though I said the Disney stuff was a slog, that's actually only half true. I really enjoyed Terra and Aqua's Olympus stories ( because of Hades and Zack) and the stories told in Deep Space and Castle of Dreams. It was nice hearing Terra and Aqua question Eraqus's teachings when met with the Fairy Godmother. And I quite got a laugh at Vanitas chilling in Disney Town listening to the music while bored.

But my biggest gripe of the novel is there were no Shiro Amano illustrations through out the book! A tear fell from my eye when I realized that. Overall this novel was certainly different but I'm glad I read it.Thanks to those last chapters I feel closer to the Wayfinder trio and Vanitas then I ever have been before. It's just this took the KH game route which is ironically funny I suppose. Next up will be the DDD novel I got such awhile ago. Can finally read this sucker.

On a side note how dare they fast forward LW vs Terranort but show so many other irrelevant fights in the Disney places? I wanna here Terranort's "Huh-heh-hah!" grunts XD

 

[SweetYetSalty]

After a long time I finally got to read the Dream Drop Distance novel. I bought and read the Re:Coded one first, it was alright. But the DDD one was something else. I think I'll put this in spoilers just in case everyone hasn't read the DDD novel yet

Spoiler Show

The novel improved so many things from the game and I understood so many parts that confused me from the game story, like the multiple Sora's in Traverse Town that confused the heck out of me back in the day. This novel again took the BBS route with the Disney worlds but I feel they did them better here, maybe because it was Sora and Riku? I don't know, it just wasn't a slog this time around in the Disney stuff. There was no drop system so the story could be told from Sora and Riku's side just fine, I like how they handled the Dream Eaters though they were limited to two and they did something to change the my feeling on a major event that I'll get to in a moment.

First I want to a address something weird. And it's something I didn't even think about until I started reading. When Riku and Sora start their test they run into Ursula. I was curious how they would talk about this because she does not appear in any KH novel. They treated it like it happened. They mentioned Ariel and Atlantica and how Ursula tried to take over and that she hated the good guys despite never being in the novels. I guess there was no way around that? Still weird.

I enjoyed the TWEWY characters. I've never played their game but they were a lot of fun here as they were in DDD's game. Why is Rhyme so adorable? I also liked how they wrote the combat of flowmotion and adding more dialogue to the battles and adventures. There is a constant fear of Sora turning into a donkey in Prankster's Paradise...don't remember if the game had that. Mickey, Donald and Goofy stick around for Sora's battle with Pete and the Beagle Boys, though it's still a silly Disney fight.

I was afraid of one thing, and the BBS novel brought that fear on a bit, and that was the following novels would be more along the lines of retelling the game plots while ignoring the unique elements from the previous novels. Thankfully that did not happen. In fact this novel was full of references to the previous ones and I loved all of that. Especially the one where Mickey and Goofy remember Axel's help in the KH2 novel. Now onto the game changing thing.

Lea/Axel's Keyblade. I can't believe I am saying this, because I really didn't like him getting one in the games. But here? This felt earned! This was incredible. This was one of the best moments of Axel's character of him training with the three fairies to get his Keyblade. I loved this chapter of referencing what happened to him in Days with his trio. Getting a Keyblade to save them regardless of his wonky memories and the determination he had knowing this would be tough but would do so anyway just to go back to those lazy days with his friends.This one chapter of Axel/Lea was better then everything he did in KH3. It reminded me how deep of a character he once was as opposed to the comic relief, 4th wall breaking joke he's become today. In the novel universe I love Axel with a Keyblade.

As always the novel does a great job with the inner monologues. Sora, Riku, Lea, and even Mickey have great inner thoughts about the going ons of the plot and really lets you know their feelings.

The little nods they did for Terra, Aqua, and Ven hit me hard since I read the BBS novel beforehand so that was also wonderful. This novel was a hit for me! As someone who is strongly neutral towards DDD as a whole this was the first time I fully enjoyed this KH story and everything in it. I think this beats the game without question for me, and this will be the version I return to whenever I want to revisit DDD.

I got the Chi novel as well so that will be next before the KH3 novels release this year. And I plan to collect every single one of those. If they can make me love DDD then I can't wait for KH3's novels.

 

[Dast]

I read the KHX novel this week. I thought it was nice; it was a good way to experience the story of X and Back Cover together (though not as good as watching Sign and Goldpanner's translations obviously!) and I liked how Kanemaki added just a little bit more emotion to the characters' lines using the narration.It was the first that I have read and I enjoyed it so will try to read the others. I wanted to please ask people who knew the novels better about two things, one of which is quite specific to the novel so I'll put in Spoiler tags.

First I would like to ask if generally it would be better to read the novels in the order of the games' releases, in chronological order, or whether it's not important at all and then if any of the novels are particularly good.

The other thing I wanted to ask more informed people about was what to make of the novel's additions to the Lost Page scene. Gula reads the same lines as in the game, but the narrator Chirithy suggests some interpretations:
'"Imbalance observed" - that had to be someone who didn't like others acting without organization.'
'"Strength misplaced, a future filled with sorrow" - Did this line suggest that the traitor cared for others, that there was a certain weakness to them?'
These interpretations very clearly point to Ava (though IMO these qualities are shown by Skuld too) so if these were correct it would be very significant. I understand Kanemaki is given a fair bit of freedom to expand on things and Nomura's involvement is limited, but it seems like an obviously significant thing for her to expand on without it being okayed first so am wondering how seriously to take the additions?

 

[SweetYetSalty]

I read the KHX novel this week. I thought it was nice; it was a good way to experience the story of X and Back Cover together (though not as good as watching Sign and Goldpanner's translations obviously!) and I liked how Kanemaki added just a little bit more emotion to the characters' lines using the narration.It was the first that I have read and I enjoyed it so will try to read the others. I wanted to please ask people who knew the novels better about two things, one of which is quite specific to the novel so I'll put in Spoiler tags.

First I would like to ask if generally it would be better to read the novels in the order of the games' releases, in chronological order, or whether it's not important at all and then if any of the novels are particularly good.

The other thing I wanted to ask more informed people about was what to make of the novel's additions to the Lost Page scene. Gula reads the same lines as in the game, but the narrator Chirithy suggests some interpretations:
'"Imbalance observed" - that had to be someone who didn't like others acting without organization.'
'"Strength misplaced, a future filled with sorrow" - Did this line suggest that the traitor cared for others, that there was a certain weakness to them?'
These interpretations very clearly point to Ava (though IMO these qualities are shown by Skuld too) so if these were correct it would be very significant. I understand Kanemaki is given a fair bit of freedom to expand on things and Nomura's involvement is limited, but it seems like an obviously significant thing for her to expand on without it being okayed first so am wondering how seriously to take the additions?

Glad to hear your interested. I still have to read the KHX novel myself. So I don't know anything inside the book.

In what order to read them in, I read them semi out of order myself, that being said without spoiling anything the novels do add their own things that carry over to the next volume so if you're interested it's probably best to read them in the game release order. Especially for DDD. They aren't major things so if for example you have COM or BBS novels but not the others and want to read them now, you can go ahead as there is no real harm. You'll just be informed of something that'll happen in the early books or something. Have fun.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

So I finally read the KHX Novel. It was very short and small like the Re:Coded one I'll put my thoughts in spoilers just in case.

Spoiler Show

This was my first time exploring KH Chi/X stuff so I was a little worried. Especially during the first two chapters. The second chapter with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy was straight up not that interesting. To make matters worse the player character had no personality to be invested in which made me worried if I was going to be interested in the novel. Thankfully starting from chapter 3 and onward everything got better. Chirithy is awesome. I loved that one part where it greets another Chirithy and it's treated as a normal thing. Chirithy is by far my favorite character next to MoM.

This novel was surprisingly dark. Like one of the darker KH stories. It had all the stuff from Back Cover so I was happy about that and the Foretellers, MoM, and Luxu. This was also my first real exposure to Ephemer and Skuld. They were kinda bland, I feel their mission was more interesting then they were. They weren't bad though. Bland does not automatically mean it's bad for me at least. I feel like Skuld has potential to be a breakout character if used more. I think what they needed was a character for them to play off of to help flesh them out more.

This was also my time seeing or reading the original Keyblade War and man was it dark. Even though the characters I didn't know just the idea of kids who were once friends killing each other and hundreds of hearts flying into the sky and keys laid on the floor. This has to be one of the darkest moments in Kingdom Hearts history. I got depressed and again I didn't even know any of these characters. Really good stuff.

The Foretellers or as I like to call them the Zoo-Keys were mostly the same from Back Cover. Some new stuff involving the player with them was in this too. They really sold these guys as powerful, because the player did not have main-character plot armor to save him from their fights so to me the Foretellers are the most threatening bunch in the series for that fact alone. No power of friendship can stop Aced, Ira or Ava when they want to murder someone. Only Gula seemed to not be super tough for whatever reason. And by the end of the Keyblade War it really showed how much their distrust in one another caused this war.

Luxu apparently tells Ava who the traitor is but I suspect the rest of us won't learn it till KH4. And this lead into Union X? With Ventus, Brain, Marly's somebody and Strelitzia who has a crush on the player. I wonder how that works if the player is a girl.

And finally the Disney Worlds. They were never more filler then they were here. The only good one was Alice being a giant in the rabbit house. It took KH this long to do that iconic scene and we've been to Wonderland at least 4 times now?

Overall a much better experience then I was expecting. I feel like I got a good chunk of the Chi storyline, though I'm sure the novel didn't cover everything. Like how the Disney worlds even work during this time and age. I think they are hologram worlds? Whatever the reason this was a good novel.

Next will be the start of my KH3 novel which I just got

 

[Dast]

So I finally read the KHX Novel. It was very short and small like the Re:Coded one I'll put my thoughts in spoilers just in case.

Spoiler Show

This was my first time exploring KH Chi/X stuff so I was a little worried. Especially during the first two chapters. The second chapter with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy was straight up not that interesting. To make matters worse the player character had no personality to be invested in which made me worried if I was going to be interested in the novel. Thankfully starting from chapter 3 and onward everything got better. Chirithy is awesome. I loved that one part where it greets another Chirithy and it's treated as a normal thing. Chirithy is by far my favorite character next to MoM.

This novel was surprisingly dark. Like one of the darker KH stories. It had all the stuff from Back Cover so I was happy about that and the Foretellers, MoM, and Luxu. This was also my first real exposure to Ephemer and Skuld. They were kinda bland, I feel their mission was more interesting then they were. They weren't bad though. Bland does not automatically mean it's bad for me at least. I feel like Skuld has potential to be a breakout character if used more. I think what they needed was a character for them to play off of to help flesh them out more.

This was also my time seeing or reading the original Keyblade War and man was it dark. Even though the characters I didn't know just the idea of kids who were once friends killing each other and hundreds of hearts flying into the sky and keys laid on the floor. This has to be one of the darkest moments in Kingdom Hearts history. I got depressed and again I didn't even know any of these characters. Really good stuff.

The Foretellers or as I like to call them the Zoo-Keys were mostly the same from Back Cover. Some new stuff involving the player with them was in this too. They really sold these guys as powerful, because the player did not have main-character plot armor to save him from their fights so to me the Foretellers are the most threatening bunch in the series for that fact alone. No power of friendship can stop Aced, Ira or Ava when they want to murder someone. Only Gula seemed to not be super tough for whatever reason. And by the end of the Keyblade War it really showed how much their distrust in one another caused this war.

Luxu apparently tells Ava who the traitor is but I suspect the rest of us won't learn it till KH4. And this lead into Union X? With Ventus, Brain, Marly's somebody and Strelitzia who has a crush on the player. I wonder how that works if the player is a girl.

And finally the Disney Worlds. They were never more filler then they were here. The only good one was Alice being a giant in the rabbit house. It took KH this long to do that iconic scene and we've been to Wonderland at least 4 times now?

Overall a much better experience then I was expecting. I feel like I got a good chunk of the Chi storyline, though I'm sure the novel didn't cover everything. Like how the Disney worlds even work during this time and age. I think they are hologram worlds? Whatever the reason this was a good novel.

Next will be the start of my KH3 novel which I just got

I am glad that you enjoyed it too.

Spoiler Show

I agree with you about Skuld's potential. Reading it (being already suspicious of her, admittedly), I felt there was lots of sadness just below her surface. I liked how Kanemaki adds just a few comments to highlight this, like Chirthy wondering what happened to her after Ephemer and her party left her alone. And I really like the way it describes Player taking her hand at the start of chapter 9.

It is pretty dark and I like how the ending is intriguing and unsettling. It makes the 'May your heart be your guiding key' phrase seem really sinister, at least to me.

 

[onewingedhoneybee]

Kairi has actual character in the manga and is developed better than the games ever even attempted.

 

[disney233]

Kairi has actual character in the manga and is developed better than the games ever even attempted.

and it hurts...I MEAN LOOK AT THIS.




Also...I love how the manga gives depth to not only the original & Final Fantasy characters, but the DISNEY characters, too! LIKE LUXORD FIGHTING JIMINY

 

[onewingedhoneybee]

and it hurts...I MEAN LOOK AT THIS.
View attachment 12585
View attachment 12586

YEAH

She's so good in the manga.