Xehanort's Ears

[Ruran]

I like how Samhain and Roxie1563 are too busy fighting with each other to realize they're saying the same basic thing~

A minor visual update is a retcon, now? Are I.5's live music and altered menu retcons, too?

Yes, it can be interpreted as a retcon since Ansem SoD's update includes lightening his skin which makes him look more like MX. Regardless of it being a minor update or not they had no reason to do that except for pure aesthetic purposes.

 

[billyzanesucks]

Yes, it can be interpreted as a retcon since Ansem SoD's update includes lightening his skin which makes him look more like MX. Regardless of it being a minor update or not they had no reason to do that except for pure aesthetic purposes.

But it does not factually alter the original story in any way.

 

[Ruran]

But it does not factually alter the original story in any way.

It technically doesn't since MX's and his counterparts' skin color doesn't play any direct role in the plot but it's more a case of what the alteration symbolizes rather than the alteration directly. At the time (when KH1 came out) Ansem SoD was the main villain and it wasn't until later that all these other characters connections were established. As a result it's Ansem SoD's backstory that's changed the most to serve the needs of the current plot, particularly how he relates to MX. MX and Ansem SoD are both dark skinned men though MX was made just a tad lighter so I don't think it's far fetched to believe that Ansem SoD was tweaked so that they aesthetically look more similar, at least in one facet. In this case "retcon" should probably be used lightly because it doesn't really reframe past events but fulfils other criteria. I'm not sure if there's a more precise word for it, how a character is aesthetically changed in a way that doesn't change previously established facts of the story but is meant to adhere more to how the plot currently is, but it's in the same "camp" if you know what I'm saying. Since I.5 is a remaster that now has other games to consider it's in a weird position where it can make little tweaks like that here and there that are somewhere between being retcons and not, if that makes any sense.

 

[ChibiHearts249]

I REALLY like potatoes, guys! I mean, french fries? Baked potatoes? Potatochips? VODKA? 8D

Sorry, but in all seriousness. YMX did not have pointy ears because Nomura wants youto get the feel that MAYBE YMX doesn't like his destiny. He's supposed to give off an "I don't like not having a say in my fate, but whatever" vibe. He isn't SUPPOSED to seem evil. So maybe pointy ears could be a trait of evil, just as the eyes show darkness? Xaldin was kinda nasty, anyway. I don't even bother adding him, cuz if you think about the big picture, he's probably just a piece of minor evidence. Xehanort is the odd one...but I think it's the EYES that matter most.

 

[Korai]

Ive had this idea for a while, but it seems very unlikely, so ive just ignored it but who knows, so here it is: Maybe Xehanort is only evil because he's being posessed by some evil force surviving from the keyblade war. Maybe the leader of all the SoD's in the keyblade war survives in Xehanort, and Xehanort accidently got posessed or at least heavily influenced by him during his travels without his keyblade armor when he was traning, and that could be whats pointing his ears.

 

[billyzanesucks]

It technically doesn't since MX's and his counterparts' skin color doesn't play any direct role in the plot but it's more a case of what the alteration symbolizes rather than the alteration directly. At the time (when KH1 came out) Ansem SoD was the main villain and it wasn't until later that all these other characters connections were established. As a result it's Ansem SoD's backstory that's changed the most to serve the needs of the current plot, particularly how he relates to MX. MX and Ansem SoD are both dark skinned men though MX was made just a tad lighter so I don't think it's far fetched to believe that Ansem SoD was tweaked so that they aesthetically look more similar, at least in one facet. In this case "retcon" should probably be used lightly because it doesn't really reframe past events but fulfils other criteria. I'm not sure if there's a more precise word for it, how a character is aesthetically changed in a way that doesn't change previously established facts of the story but is meant to adhere more to how the plot currently is, but it's in the same "camp" if you know what I'm saying. Since I.5 is a remaster that now has other games to consider it's in a weird position where it can make little tweaks like that here and there that are somewhere between being retcons and not, if that makes any sense.

Okay, that makes sense. "Retcon" just doesn't seem like the right term for it.

Anyway, YX's lack of pointed ears supports my idea that some change occurred in his heart to cause him to name himself "Xehanort" and become the scheming old man he is now. Considering how MX filled every seat with a completely different version of himself, except, seemingly for YX. That suggests to me that you can't bring several of the exact same person through time together, so I think YX is a different form of Xehanort altogether.

 

[Moonlight Aqua]

They are Link's children... end of explanation!

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Okay, that makes sense. "Retcon" just doesn't seem like the right term for it.

Anyway, YX's lack of pointed ears supports my idea that some change occurred in his heart to cause him to name himself "Xehanort" and become the scheming old man he is now. Considering how MX filled every seat with a completely different version of himself, except, seemingly for YX. That suggests to me that you can't bring several of the exact same person through time together, so I think YX is a different form of Xehanort altogether.

Retcon is in general a term that, while in essence neutral, has got at least in western media a very negative vibe because of too radical nostalgia junkies bitching about every little change (it's not only in KH) when it is actually pretty obvious that a story that is still in development and not finished evolves and changes over time, which can also involve changes to already established material.
Some issues may have been foreshadowed subtly or were simply vague enough to allow different interpretations and explanations, and then any change made to it actually flows into the overall narrative pretty seamless.
It actually also allows to experience the older entries with a completely new outlook and look for other tiny things that may offer different explanations which may or may not addressed in the future.
Ansem SoD's skin color is however really such a minuscule detail that really doesn't need to be made much fuss about.
---

Anyways, back to topic on "Xehanort's ears", it's a funny little tidbit that they either apparently deliberately seem to want to throw us off with the ears or we fans are just overanalyzing things since Nomura himself only ever placed much emphasis on the golden eyes and whenever they want to hammer in some exposure of "there is Xehanort influence in there" they zoom in on the golden eyes, like with Vanitas in BBS and Braig/Xigbar in both BBS and DDD.

The ears are almost totally ignored and yet there is that discrepancy with Young Xehanort (compared to the rest of the "true" Xehanort's, not possessed vessels) and Xaldin/Dilan, who has the pointed ears but not the golden Xehanort eyes that seem to be a main indicator of heavy Xehanort influence.
So Xaldin maybe had less Xehanort-influence than Xigbar and Saix, but more than i.e. Zexion, Lexaeus or Marluxia? I remember when possessed by Ansem and while being the most susceptible to Darkness Riku never showed any signs of golden eyes or pointed ears (or rather, you could never see the upper parts of Riku's ears because they were always hidden beneath some hair).
Vanitas is also a curious case since he definitely does have the golden eyes but we cannot check his ears because they're hidden by that metal jaw-thingy from his helmet.

The theory that Young MX might have been at least a little more down to earth and not the sociopath incapable of empathy we see in old MX (and largely in Xemnas and Ansem SoD as well) is in so far plausible as that at least in the beginning when training together (before they were both named Masters and Xehanort was consumed in his thirst for knowledge and abandoned his armor) Young Xehanort and Eraqus must have had some sort of bond because otherwise they wouldn't have called each other "brother" and if Xehanort was already the cold-hearted manipulative bastard he's now he would probably not have been made Master in the first place.

That each Xehanort, even of the "true" Xehanorts, is somehow different gets also somewhat emphasized with the whole quartet of MX, YX, Ansem and Xemnas, as despite all their similarities they have some notable differences, Young Xehanort even more than the other three.
Nomura surely is milking the "Another" anagram of Xehanort's name for all that's worth, probably even more than all the other anagrams you can form from his name, even outlasting "no heart" which arguably describes older Xehanort's entire being since he treats hearts "like bottles on a shelf" and not as the proofs of life and manifestations of a persons spirit that they really are.

 

[Nayru's Love]

As with his eyes, XH's/Ansem's ears resemble AtW's ears more so than MX's.

 

[Roxie1563]

Retcon is in general a term that, while in essence neutral, has got at least in western media a very negative vibe because of too radical nostalgia junkies bitching about every little change (it's not only in KH) when it is actually pretty obvious that a story that is still in development and not finished evolves and changes over time, which can also involve changes to already established material.
Some issues may have been foreshadowed subtly or were simply vague enough to allow different interpretations and explanations, and then any change made to it actually flows into the overall narrative pretty seamless.
It actually also allows to experience the older entries with a completely new outlook and look for other tiny things that may offer different explanations which may or may not addressed in the future.
Ansem SoD's skin color is however really such a minuscule detail that really doesn't need to be made much fuss about.
---

Anyways, back to topic on "Xehanort's ears", it's a funny little tidbit that they either apparently deliberately seem to want to throw us off with the ears or we fans are just overanalyzing things since Nomura himself only ever placed much emphasis on the golden eyes and whenever they want to hammer in some exposure of "there is Xehanort influence in there" they zoom in on the golden eyes, like with Vanitas in BBS and Braig/Xigbar in both BBS and DDD.

The ears are almost totally ignored and yet there is that discrepancy with Young Xehanort (compared to the rest of the "true" Xehanort's, not possessed vessels) and Xaldin/Dilan, who has the pointed ears but not the golden Xehanort eyes that seem to be a main indicator of heavy Xehanort influence.
So Xaldin maybe had less Xehanort-influence than Xigbar and Saix, but more than i.e. Zexion, Lexaeus or Marluxia? I remember when possessed by Ansem and while being the most susceptible to Darkness Riku never showed any signs of golden eyes or pointed ears (or rather, you could never see the upper parts of Riku's ears because they were always hidden beneath some hair).
Vanitas is also a curious case since he definitely does have the golden eyes but we cannot check his ears because they're hidden by that metal jaw-thingy from his helmet.

The theory that Young MX might have been at least a little more down to earth and not the sociopath incapable of empathy we see in old MX (and largely in Xemnas and Ansem SoD as well) is in so far plausible as that at least in the beginning when training together (before they were both named Masters and Xehanort was consumed in his thirst for knowledge and abandoned his armor) Young Xehanort and Eraqus must have had some sort of bond because otherwise they wouldn't have called each other "brother" and if Xehanort was already the cold-hearted manipulative bastard he's now he would probably not have been made Master in the first place.

That each Xehanort, even of the "true" Xehanorts, is somehow different gets also somewhat emphasized with the whole quartet of MX, YX, Ansem and Xemnas, as despite all their similarities they have some notable differences, Young Xehanort even more than the other three.
Nomura surely is milking the "Another" anagram of Xehanort's name for all that's worth, probably even more than all the other anagrams you can form from his name, even outlasting "no heart" which arguably describes older Xehanort's entire being since he treats hearts "like bottles on a shelf" and not as the proofs of life and manifestations of a persons spirit that they really are.

That's interesting, Sephiroth.. So, what's his real name then?

 

[The_Echo]

The theory that Young MX might have been at least a little more down to earth and not the sociopath incapable of empathy we see in old MX (and largely in Xemnas and Ansem SoD as well) is in so far plausible as that at least in the beginning when training together (before they were both named Masters and Xehanort was consumed in his thirst for knowledge and abandoned his armor) Young Xehanort and Eraqus must have had some sort of bond because otherwise they wouldn't have called each other "brother" and if Xehanort was already the cold-hearted manipulative bastard he's now he would probably not have been made Master in the first place.

Note that it was through his training that he learned of the nature between Light and Dark, and it was through perhaps some ignorance on his part to travel the Lanes without his armor on. ("But there, in the Lanes Between, I could feel the force of it—the power—and from then on, I forwent my armor's 'protection.' I had been told the darkness would devour me, but what terrors could it possibly hold, so long as I found the strength to control it?") From that point onward does Xehanort put together a plan to reforge the χblade and gain access to Kingdom Hearts.

I firmly believe pointed ears represent the corruption of Darkness in the heart.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

As with his eyes, XH's/Ansem's ears resemble AtW's ears more so than MX's.

Huh? Last time I checked Ansem the Wise's ears are totally normal (as in rounded) while Ansem SoD's are as pointed as the ones of an elf.

Spoiler Show

That's interesting, Sephiroth.. So, what's his real name then?

I think you misunderstood what I said, lol, I didn't imply his name isn't really Xehanort, but that Nomura is milking the "Another"-anagram from his name much more than any other, even giving the "true" Xehanort's some distinct traits that differentiate them from the actual Master Xehanort.

Note that it was through his training that he learned of the nature between Light and Dark, and it was through perhaps some ignorance on his part to travel the Lanes without his armor on. ("But there, in the Lanes Between, I could feel the force of it—the power—and from then on, I forwent my armor's 'protection.' I had been told the darkness would devour me, but what terrors could it possibly hold, so long as I found the strength to control it?") From that point onward does Xehanort put together a plan to reforge the χblade and gain access to Kingdom Hearts.

I firmly believe pointed ears represent the corruption of Darkness in the heart.

Was it really plain ignorance or the pure desire to defy the things he was teached and to "prove" that he was above them, to rebel against the acknowledged precepts in order to challenge them at each opportunity and to set his own?
Whatever Xehanort's stance was before the abandon-armor issues, he certainly was always someone who had to question nearly everything and any answers he got were never quite enough for him.

That would still bring up the question though why it only happens to people in contact with darkness who are closely associated with Xehanort.

Yellow eyes = darkness was an old fan-interpretation that never had actual factual material to back it up if I recall correctly, and I personally don't know if I would dig it if pointed ears were just a representation of corruption with darkness, as it would just relocate the old fan interpretation and fall back into straight Star Wars-copycat territory.
If it didn't have any visual identification marks the question who has fallen to darkness would be a much more interesting issue to investigate. With this, you can practically say everytime you see pointed ears: Oh, another idiot who has fallen to the darkness.

 

[SRKTAVRXAYGDM]

Out of the blue here, just for fun, but a lot of villans in the movies I've seen have .........yellow eyes. Coincidence?

Yeah, probably.

 

[ChibiHearts249]

Out of the blue here, just for fun, but a lot of villans in the movies I've seen have .........yellow eyes. Coincidence?

Yeah, probably.

Maybe yellow eyes just brings out their deviousness ;3

But on the subject of ears, I wonder why we put so much stock into it? It's very noticeable, yes, but we aren't even sure if it means anything. It probably does, but unless Nomura has said that they are, in some way, an indicator; we can never be totally sure!

 

[Nayru's Love]

Huh? Last time I checked Ansem the Wise's ears are totally normal (as in rounded) while Ansem SoD's are as pointed as the ones of an elf.

To be fair, I wouldn't classify XH's ears as pointy, since there's a distinct difference between his ears and all of the other Xehanort's; nor would I classify AtW's ears as the "regular round ears that everyone else coincidentally has." I also notice similiarities between XH's and AtW's hair styles, particularly the straight cutting line for the back of their hair and the "jagged border in between their hair and their foreheads" (for lack of better wording, since I'm clearly no hair expert).

If their eyes are the same, I think it's plausible that they may end up sharing other traits as well (maybe XH even inherited the scholarly instinct side of AtW?).

Out of the blue here, just for fun, but a lot of villans in the movies I've seen have .........yellow eyes. Coincidence?

Nomura is quite a scifi fan, as I've heard.

Maybe yellow eyes just brings out their deviousness ;3

But on the subject of ears, I wonder why we put so much stock into it? It's very noticeable, yes, but we aren't even sure if it means anything. It probably does, but unless Nomura has said that they are, in some way, an indicator; we can never be totally sure!

Nomura pointed out a while back that pointy ears are an indicator of Xehanortification, alongside yellow eyes.

 

[ChibiHearts249]

Good! But then, if it's Xehanortification, why are some lacking where others don't? Who's more Xehanortified than the man himself? It just doesn't make sense, whereas the eyes have been (fairly) consistent, at the least.

 

[SRKTAVRXAYGDM]

Good! But then, if it's Xehanortification, why are some lacking where others don't? Who's more Xehanortified than the man himself? It just doesn't make sense, whereas the eyes have been (fairly) consistent, at the least.

Time. Time may be the answer and only time will tell.

 

[Nayru's Love]

Good! But then, if it's Xehanortification, why are some lacking where others don't? Who's more Xehanortified than the man himself? It just doesn't make sense, whereas the eyes have been (fairly) consistent, at the least.

As far as I'm concerned, the only other exceptional cases are XH and YX (Xemnas too, if you consider the fact that he has pointy ears, but amber eyes). Even if we don't know how they work exactly, what is for sure is that pointy ears are indicators of Xehanortification.

 

[ChibiHearts249]

As far as I'm concerned, the only other exceptional cases are XH and YX (Xemnas too, if you consider the fact that he has pointy ears, but amber eyes). Even if we don't know how they work exactly, what is for sure is that pointy ears are indicators of Xehanortification.

Xaldin had pointy ears. He's the weird exception that everyone is always going on about. But his eyes are blue. Xehanortified? I'm pretty sure he isn't, since Dilan is doing fine and was most likely not at the Xehanort pep rally. All I'm sayin is that there are a few hiccups, so there's either some mistakes, clues that we don't understand, or some things just aren't as important as they may seem.

Nomura is a strategist, just like Xehanort. He'll use EVERYTHING, regardless of how insignificant. So, in general, I believe that the ears havn't really come into play yet. What in KINGDOM HEARTS made Xehanort's ears pointy?! We just don't know. So it can't really be a sign of XEHANORT that ears are pointy, cuz YMX is just as much himself as the crotchety old version. There's something ELSE out there that gave him pointy ears. That's my story, and I'm stickin to it~!

 

[SRKTAVRXAYGDM]

I always thought Xaldin's eyes were purple........

You bring up an interesting theory, but Nomura already confirmed that pointed ears mean Xehanortification. But maybe YX isn't completely done yet. Yeah, I know, YX is Xehanort, but what if he isn't? What if he is Xehanort before he was Xehanort?