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Xehanort's Ears



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The_Echo

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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.
The way it's worded in the Report sounds similar to the rebellious curiosity of a teenager. And of course, arrogance and ignorance are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

That would still bring up the question though why it only happens to people in contact with darkness who are closely associated with Xehanort.
Well, Xehanort is the only known character to travel the Lanes without protection, and he did so for the majority of his (very long) life. It's probably dependent on the strength of one's heart, but it seems corruption via travel would be a much more gradual process.

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.
Frankly, I know very little about Star Wars, so I've never gotten the parallels between the two series. However, thematic character design is nothing new to KH.

As others have pointed out, Xaldin also has pointed ears (though in a different fashion to Xehanort's). This might just be due to Nobodies having minor physical differences to their Somebodies (like Axel's teardrop things), but it's interesting to note Xehanort and his posse aren't the only ones.
 

Korai

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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?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know you didn't mean it this way, but this gave me an idea. Maybe YX isn't actually Xehanort. Maybe it's all part of MX's plan, and YX is just some kid from DI in the past who was norted earlier in his life than has been shown in the Kingdom Hearts series, and believes he's Xehanort, and this could somehow play into MX's master plan. There is literally no evidence to support this, aside from the round ears, but I think it's an interesting thought.
 
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SRKTAVRXAYGDM

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know you didn't mean it this way, but this gave me an idea. Maybe YX isn't actually Xehanort. Maybe it's all part of MX's plan, and YX is just some kid from DI in the past who was norted earlier in his life than has been shown in the Kingdom Hearts series, and believes he's Xehanort, and this could somehow play into MX's master plan. There is literally no evidence to support this, aside from the round ears, but I think it's an interesting thought.
I was hoping for somebody to bring that up. ^_^ That was a secondary idea of mine, but I didn't put it down, cuz it was highly unlikely.
 

TheHeroOfPixels

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know you didn't mean it this way, but this gave me an idea. Maybe YX isn't actually Xehanort. Maybe it's all part of MX's plan, and YX is just some kid from DI in the past who was norted earlier in his life than has been shown in the Kingdom Hearts series, and believes he's Xehanort, and this could somehow play into MX's master plan. There is literally no evidence to support this, aside from the round ears, but I think it's an interesting thought.
Its quite the interesting thought that with some searching through series, could be quite convincing. It would be quite interesting if MX went to DI and convinced this curious, rebellious child that he and him are one. But what could you have up your sleet MX? Could he simply be a distraction? Possibly. Perhaps a forgotten friend of the DI gang? Maybe. Also, what if he IS MX, a being born out of the darkness that once consumed DI? Some of you may say "MX was in BBS and that took place BEFORE KH1" True, but Xehanort has travelled in time before. Its possible but most likely not since he once said a version of yourself must be waiting at the destination. Perhaps there was a VERSION of himself, but not from his timeline..........
 

Nayru's Love

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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.
Between having/inheriting a sadistic personality to match Xehanort's and the fact that Dilan was experiencing problems in DDD, he's actually on my list of SoD's with the most potential.

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.
Except one of them is a keyblade master, which can indicate certain traits of someone, and differentiate him from others. For instance, perhaps YX is more susceptible to darkness, whereas MX has learned to overcome it (or at least tame it).

There's something ELSE out there that gave him pointy ears. That's my story, and I'm stickin to it~! :)
BBS Ultimania said:
--apart from Xehanort, only Isa and Braig have differently-shaped ears and differently-coloured eyes - why is this?

Nomura: It's a question of whether or not they're deeply connected to Xehanort.
The ears are definitely Xehanort-related; given Nomura's word, it's not really something that can be argued against. That being said, I actually like where you're going with this; if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that the pointy ears are more related to whatever transition there was between YX and MX.
 
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Korai

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know you didn't mean it this way, but this gave me an idea. Maybe YX isn't actually Xehanort. Maybe it's all part of MX's plan, and YX is just some kid from DI in the past who was norted earlier in his life than has been shown in the Kingdom Hearts series, and believes he's Xehanort, and this could somehow play into MX's master plan. There is literally no evidence to support this, aside from the round ears, but I think it's an interesting thought.
Double !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There's no evidence for this either, but maybe YX isn't even from the past. Maybe he's not been norted, but is perhaps a descendant of MX from the future. Just another thought that came to me.
 

SRKTAVRXAYGDM

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Double !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There's no evidence for this either, but maybe YX isn't even from the past. Maybe he's not been norted, but is perhaps a descendant of MX from the future. Just another thought that came to me.
But how would Xehanort get there to convince him to leave his island? I don't think he's from the future, and this is sorta getting off topic.
 

Korai

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But how would Xehanort get there to convince him to leave his island? I don't think he's from the future, and this is sorta getting off topic.
its perfectly on topic. The thread is about why YX's ears are round.
anyway, im not saying that this is what happened, it really probably isn't true, just kinda an interesting thought.
 

ChibiHearts249

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...if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that the pointy ears are more related to whatever transition there was between YX and MX.
Clear as crystal! That's EXACTLY what I mean. I think that the ears CAN be said as a trait of Xehanort, but as I said before, "Why are there inconsistencies with the 'Norts?" Nomura DID say that they're (whether or not) "deeply connected to Xehanort." That is true. But the word "connected" isn't interchangeable with say, a "sign," or a "symbol." THAT'S why I believe they are part of a bigger picture. Nomura is the kind of guy to throw us for a loop, and if we take his words at face value, we shall be bamboozled!

He's gonna get us to thinkin as hard as possible, then pull a "hidden in plain sight!" Mark my words! >:]
 

Nayru's Love

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If Nomura is reasoning Braig's/Isa's eyes and ears as results of their connections to Xehanort, there's no other plausible answer as to what that connection could be than Xehanortification. Between there being canon material to support that and there being no other possible explanation hinted before, it's safe to assume that pointy ears are related to Xehanortification. I'm not against the idea that there could be hidden, deeper meaning behind the ears, but even if there was, as it stands, virtually every instance of pointy ears can be related to Xehanortification.
 

Nayru's Love

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Just as there seems to be deviant cases, there's always potential for sound explanations, explanations that are far more likely to be canon than the surprise of pointy ears not relating to Xehanortification at all.
 

Sephiroth0812

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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?).


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

The only difference I can make out there is that Ansem SoD's ears are a little less sharply pointed than the rest, but nonetheless pointed and AtW's ears maybe a bit more sleek than the others, but the top is definitely rounded and not angular.

Their eyes aren't the same, Ansem the Wise has orange/amber eyes while Ansem SoD has a darker version of the Xehanort-gold, and frankly it also often depends on the lighting in the scene they are in. Ansem SoD stole Ansem's name, but nothing more since Ansem the Wise did not only already have his eye color before he even found Terra-Xehanort, nor has he ever shown any signs of Xehanort-influence since he was always working against him.

Master Xehanort himself, as well as Eraqus to a degree, were pretty scholaric themselves, heck, Eraqus even was a teacher, so anything like this could also easily come from either MX or Eraqus. This would make sense as well when we take into consideration that Apprentice Xehanort (the later Ansem SoD since it was Apprentice Nort who originally started to call himself Ansem) apparently regained part of his old memories as seen in DDD.

If we want to be nitpicky it was the interviewer in the Ultimania who spoke about eyes and ears, while Nomura, as typical for him, spoke only vaguely of "appearance" in his answer.
Do we have a good picture of Braig before he gained his golden Xehanort-eyes where his ears are clearly visible? If original Braig has rounded ears (and Isa obviously) it's probably a sure-fire issue that it is Xehanort-stuff, regardless of what Young Xehanort's ears look like.

The way it's worded in the Report sounds similar to the rebellious curiosity of a teenager. And of course, arrogance and ignorance are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Well, Xehanort is the only known character to travel the Lanes without protection, and he did so for the majority of his (very long) life. It's probably dependent on the strength of one's heart, but it seems corruption via travel would be a much more gradual process.

Frankly, I know very little about Star Wars, so I've never gotten the parallels between the two series. However, thematic character design is nothing new to KH.

As others have pointed out, Xaldin also has pointed ears (though in a different fashion to Xehanort's). This might just be due to Nobodies having minor physical differences to their Somebodies (like Axel's teardrop things), but it's interesting to note Xehanort and his posse aren't the only ones.

Indeed, and Xehanort's general behaviour indicates that he cannot take anything at face value, he has to ascertain things by himself or he wouldn't be satisfied. That's true as well, although in terms of Ignorance Xehanort seems to despise this stance since he always belittles the other characters when they show ignorance to a topic.

That would indicate though that this only comes from travelling the lanes between, yet if it is a sign of darkness corruption it should start to show with any prolonged exposure to darkness.

The main gist is that in Star Wars, yellow eyes (and ashen/white skin) are a visual clue for beings (not just humans) that have fallen totally to the dark side of the force, hence why Emperor Palpatine, Darth Maul and even Darth Vader (when he had not yet his armor) showed them in the films, or other Characters like Malak, Exar Kun etc do this in the expanded universe. In Star Wars video games, it also shows when your own player character falls completely dark, the eyes change to a sunken yellow and the skin to pale white.
True as well, and the theme with the golden Xehanort-eyes is truly driven home even by the games themselves, yet I can't help but wonder when looking at this whole mess that Xehanort already is and that needs to be unraveled in KH III really needs another layer of complication thrown on top.

Xaldin is also connected to Xehanort, not only because of the pointed ears, but also because his behaviour and personality resembles partly Xehanort's but also partly Saix'. So if we go by the interview snippets that pointed ears are, just like the eyes, also a sign of Xehanort, Xaldin might have been a vessel on a level of Xehanortification somewhere between the successes (Xigbar and Saix) and the total failures (like Axel, Roxas or Zexion).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know you didn't mean it this way, but this gave me an idea. Maybe YX isn't actually Xehanort. Maybe it's all part of MX's plan, and YX is just some kid from DI in the past who was norted earlier in his life than has been shown in the Kingdom Hearts series, and believes he's Xehanort, and this could somehow play into MX's master plan. There is literally no evidence to support this, aside from the round ears, but I think it's an interesting thought.

To be frank, that is actually a twist I could see being pulled, also since it would technically not invalidate all the build up for Master Xehanort being the main villain.
The main things going against it however would of course be all the instances in-game and in-interview which call him Young Xehanort and the foreshadowing scenes from BBS and DDD as well with him standing on the shore of the islands.

It's not a theory I would personally follow, but one that may be worth to keep in the back of the head as distant possibility.

Between having/inheriting a sadistic personality to match Xehanort's and the fact that Dilan was experiencing problems in DDD, he's actually on my list of SoD's with the most potential.


Except one of them is a keyblade master, which can indicate certain traits of someone, and differentiate him from others. For instance, perhaps YX is more susceptible to darkness, whereas MX has learned to overcome it (or at least tame it).

Yep, right now I am inclined to believe that Xaldin/Dilan might have been a semi-successful vessel, less successful than Braig and Isa, but more "norty" than the other old Org members who lack the pointed ears and Xehanort-like jerkass-personality.

Not only that, Young Xehanort is not even a simple Keyblade wielder yet since he comes from a time where Xehanort was still living on Destiny Islands, where no Keyblade had yet choosen him. Considering Young Xehanort's ambitions, curiosity and as we learn from his reports in BBS his rebellious attitude, I would say he was a prime candidate for darkness from the beginning. It seems to be also no coincidence that he started to get interested in it so early.
 

Nayru's Love

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The only difference I can make out there is that Ansem SoD's ears are a little less sharply pointed than the rest, but nonetheless pointed and AtW's ears maybe a bit more sleek than the others, but the top is definitely rounded and not angular.

AtW's ears are a bit...difficult to tell for sure since, from what I'm seeing, they kinda differ from pic to pic. The first pic you posted showed them more rounded than pointy. Based on this pic and his original artwork, though:

Spoiler Spoiler Show


They're just as pointy (or just as not) as XH's.

Spoiler Spoiler Show


Their eyes aren't the same, Ansem the Wise has orange/amber eyes while Ansem SoD has a darker version of the Xehanort-gold, and frankly it also often depends on the lighting in the scene they are in.

Even with lighting taken into consideration, I find it a lot easier to relate XH's eye color to AtW's than MX's; at least with the rest of the other Xehanorts (bar Xemnas), the golden has been fairly identical.

Spoiler Spoiler Show
 

JustSnilloc

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What if YX isn't Xehanort in his youth as claimed? Or what if Master Xehanort as we know him possesses a different body than the one he was born with?
 

Sephiroth0812

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AtW's ears are a bit...difficult to tell for sure since, from what I'm seeing, they kinda differ from pic to pic. The first pic you posted showed them more rounded than pointy. Based on this pic and his original artwork, though:

Spoiler Spoiler Show


They're just as pointy (or just as not) as XH's.

In the first picture on the left Ansem's ear is actually normally round at the top, as there is also a small patch of skin from behind the ear visible (on the upper right above his ear), while the artwork indeed shows a "flattened" eartop.

Maybe we really have highly different eyesight, but on that picture you cannot even see the top of Ansem SoD's ears fully because that slicked back patch of hair covers half of it. *ggg*


Even with lighting taken into consideration, I find it a lot easier to relate XH's eye color to AtW's than MX's; at least with the rest of the other Xehanorts (bar Xemnas), the golden has been fairly identical.

Spoiler Spoiler Show
Although these pics are more about eyes (derp), the first picture of AtW is the only one where I can definitely say that his ears seem pointed.

The main question on the eyes however is though, despite that I am personally thinking that Ansem SoD has just a darker shade of gold than MX, Braig or Vanitas, while AtW is more orange/Amber-like. What exactly would the whole thing actually bring to the table? Ansem the Wise as a Xehanort-vessel is highly unlikely, not only because Ansem has no combat abilities to speak of, but also because Ansem always works against Xehanort and to preserve world order, not topple it like all the Xehanorts.
Even when his heart is clouded by darkness and revenge-idiotry while he calls himself DiZ (it's only an alias, not a completely different persona like a Nobody or a split heart like Vanitas), he does not want to reach Kingdom Hearts or reshape the universe.
Besides, Xehanort went great lengths to get Ansem the Wise out of the way when he implemented his plans, so if he wanted to use him as a vessel, he wouldn't have shoved him away but work into turning him.

If you go by the premise that AtW somehow influenced Ansem SoD and Xemnas, it definitely does not show in anything because both act completely like Xehanort-douchebaggery, Xemnas sometimes even more than Ansem, with some slight subtle Terra-esque stuff maybe mixed in.
Not to mention that Ansem the Wise isn't a Keyblade Master, so he could not do all the fancy things Xehanort can do with his heart, and if going by heart-connection stuff this would imply that Ansem the Wise has the same heart-ability that Sora has.

What if YX isn't Xehanort in his youth as claimed? Or what if Master Xehanort as we know him possesses a different body than the one he was born with?
Is there any hint or implication towards this at all? In all honesty going that far just because YX's ears are rounder seems a bit thin.
If the body Master Xehanort has is not his own and he already transferred his heart before this is possible as this would reinforce why he knows so much about prolonging life by heart-transfer in his BBS Reports. On the other hand though, the way the reports are worded, it sounds like MX is looking for a new vessel for the first time.
 

Nayru's Love

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In the first picture on the left Ansem's ear is actually normally round at the top, as there is also a small patch of skin from behind the ear visible (on the upper right above his ear), while the artwork indeed shows a "flattened" eartop.

Maybe we really have highly different eyesight, but on that picture you cannot even see the top of Ansem SoD's ears fully because that slicked back patch of hair covers half of it. *ggg*

FINE, YA FOO'. :v

Spoiler Spoiler Show


These are character models ripped out of BBSFM. Whereas Xemnas' ears are more rigid and pointy, XH's are somewhat of an opposite. A difference this minuscule, the developers definitely took their time to instill. The images are larger if you open them in new tabs.

The main question on the eyes however is though, despite that I am personally thinking that Ansem SoD has just a darker shade of gold than MX, Braig or Vanitas, while AtW is more orange/Amber-like. What exactly would the whole thing actually bring to the table? Ansem the Wise as a Xehanort-vessel is highly unlikely, not only because Ansem has no combat abilities to speak of, but also because Ansem always works against Xehanort and to preserve world order, not topple it like all the Xehanorts.
Even when his heart is clouded by darkness and revenge-idiotry while he calls himself DiZ (it's only an alias, not a completely different persona like a Nobody or a split heart like Vanitas), he does not want to reach Kingdom Hearts or reshape the universe.
Besides, Xehanort went great lengths to get Ansem the Wise out of the way when he implemented his plans, so if he wanted to use him as a vessel, he wouldn't have shoved him away but work into turning him.

Young Xehanort worked out pretty well as a vessel with little to no experience (granted, that's assuming he'd be nowhere near as powerful as he is in DDD without whatever powers time-traveling game him access to, particularly as MF). As for his purpose, I can imagine he'd have been used as a sleeper agent this whole time, feeding the new Org with his research (especially on Sora, which could've helped the Org find out Sora's weakness in DDD). Kinda like having two Vexens, one on the good side and one on the bad.

Most importantly though, I think it would give some deeper meaning as to why Xehanort jacked his name. Rather than just a name theft with insignificant meaning in the grand scheme of things, it could be an acknowledgement of Xehanort becoming Ansem, even in the sense that he'd be "Seeking the Darkness," a goal that originally belonged to AtW. As in, Xehanort would think that "this is what the real Ansem would do."

If you go by the premise that AtW somehow influenced Ansem SoD and Xemnas, it definitely does not show in anything because both act completely like Xehanort-douchebaggery, Xemnas sometimes even more than Ansem, with some slight subtle Terra-esque stuff maybe mixed in.
If anything, I'd say that the two of them (or at least XH) inherited the scholarly instinct, as seen with the reports. BUUUUT, as you pointed out earlier, that could've also been a sign of influence from MX.
 

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If the points are a sign of Xehanort, after all; why does Ansem the Wise have them? (even as miniscule as they are) If he's not a candidate, then it makes no sense unless either: the points are a sign of darkness, or they don't matter.

But Nomura said they DO matter, so the logical conclusion is that Ansem is either a Xehanort candidate after all, or they simply mean Darkness.

"When you have eliminated the impossible then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
-Sherlock Holmes
 

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i guess the reason why master xehanort has pointy ears and young xehanort does not is because the darkness affected YX body over the years to the point that it slightly changed his physical appearence.


while it was explained in ddd that golden eyes are only a trait of xehanort and not someone who is connected to the darkness, that does not rule out the possibility of darkness affecting a person's appearence
 
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