Kinda dumbstruck about the naming scheme of Heartless and Nobody

[venomblade]

What I mean is...why is the holder of your heart called the heartless, and the body of the Somebody that is lacking a heart called a nobody? Wouldn't it be easier to call the heartless a nobody because they usually turn into a shadow or a variation of that, so they've lost their image as themselves, so they're nobody... Ofcourse I'm talking about the isolated case of a Somebodie's will who's strong enough to retain a humanoid form as a nobody, and not like a dusk. But still lol...has anyone ever given this any thought?

 

[KevVentus]

Oh yes. It's been addressed. I don't think Nomura had the idea of Nobodies when writing the original. But when he did develop them, Nobody was probably the perfect parallel to Heartless, even though their roles are reversed. Maybe it was ironic? I dunno

The names have been too ingrained in our skulls now though.

Could you really conceive of calling each of them by the other's name?

 

[MadasaHatter]

Yea I've thought of this countless times! haha I always thought it was funny but I really can't imagine calling them the opposite. I'm just too used to it. But yea, very ironic.

 

[venomblade]

Ya that's true lol. Nomura really is a master improviser, and I don't think I'd be able to call them otherwise after all of these years.

 

[MegaWallflower]

I honestly figured it for for how the names sounded, and since Heartless were developed first, I think.

 

[Mite]

I've thought about the naming of these two enemies before. If you try to really think about it, or overthink it, and break down what a Heartless and Nobody are you'd probably think the names should be switched. But I think they'd work either way, but I'm just used to calling them what they are now.

 

[billyzanesucks]

I believe that "Nobody" refers to them never being meant to exist.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

I believe that "Nobody" refers to them never being meant to exist.

Exactly, and Heartless refers to the fact that they have no emotions and memories and only act on instinct.

The terms nobody and heartless don't refer to what parts they have but what they essentially are. Nobodies are not meant to exist (their birth is unnatural) and therefore they are "nobody" while Heartless act purely on instinct, have no heart in that analogy.

 

[Nutari]

It is very much like the end puzzles in Portal 2, if you overthink it, you will have problems. If we all begin to really overthink the naming, we will end up hating KH. But Seph. is correct in his explanations. Just take it as it is.

 

[Genocide]

Kinda.

Heartless are hearts.

With Nobodies, it's a lot different.
It's not that Nobodies don't have bodies. It's that they are nobody.
In the KH Universe, your heart is who you are. It determines everything including age, gender, personality, even down to skin and hair color. It is literally your identification. Without it, you aren't that person you were with it. Meaning you are nobody.