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The sequel to the bestselling Kingdom Hearts manga series!

The door to Kingdom Hearts was sealed, dealing a blow to the heartless and restoring the worlds to normal, but Riku and King Mickey were trapped inside! Now Sora, Donald and Goofy's search for their friends leads them to the mysterious Castle Oblivion where a hooded figure tells them, "Ahead lies something you need, but to claim it, you must lose something dear." But what could be more dear than one's own memories?

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

25 people are currently reading
1139 people want to read

About the author

Shiro Amano

133 books239 followers
Shiro Amano (天野 シロ, born January 4, 1976) is a Japanese manga artist who has worked on several projects, including his adaptation on the popular Kingdom Hearts series.

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5 stars
946 (46%)
4 stars
585 (28%)
3 stars
384 (18%)
2 stars
93 (4%)
1 star
22 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
Profile Image for Garrett.
296 reviews15 followers
January 6, 2017
While I can definitely recommend reading this over playing the video game Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories, I still can't highly recommend it because it doesn't quite capture the feel of the video game series. I'm a huge Kingdom Hearts fan and I've played almost all of the games, and Chain of Memories was my least favorite (at least so far). The biggest criticism I have with the manga is the added sense of humor, that was not in the original KH or Chain of Memories. Kingdom Hearts isn't all dark and serious, but its not funny either, and a lot of the humor in the book kind of felt out of place to me. If you want to understand what happens between KH 1 and 2 I can recommend this to you, just be aware that it doesn't quite feel the same because of the added humor, and the different art style (if you like the art on the cover, you won't have a problem with it) that just looks a bit weird especially after seeing the characters in the game. The characters look like they are 7 years old and not 14 like in the game
Profile Image for Holly Letson.
3,849 reviews527 followers
June 22, 2012
KH must be a really frustrating game, since it has so many different worlds and characters.
Profile Image for Reixma.
128 reviews
January 1, 2026
A good alternative version, sort of, to the game. It has a few extra bits and generally keeps to the original plot lines of the game. 
Profile Image for Sarah Maddaford.
914 reviews11 followers
February 7, 2011
Given that the first set of Kingdom Hearts manga didn't cover everything in the first game, I don't hold much hope that these two volumes had all the content of the game Chain of Memories. I couldn't get through the game because I was hopelessly confused by and bad at the card system the game uses. I think these two volumes provide a good overview of the game, but they probably aren't the same. The manga show Riku and Sora's journey's through Castle Oblivion side by side with each of them battling different members of the mysterious Organization. I would have liked to see more character development of the Organization members because they were fairly one dimensional. I also don't think we saw enough of the Riku Replica. Of course, those things could be issues with the game as well. There's some more cursing, but still no sex. The violence this time is against people (the people are Nobodies who supposedly have no hearts/souls). It still isn't terribly graphic though with them tending to disappear after one good hit.
Profile Image for Carmen.
559 reviews57 followers
December 1, 2019
I couldn't wait to read Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories since I had it on my shelf. I just got so caught up in the storyline that I wanted to know what was next for Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Mickey. This sequel to Kingdom Hearts consisted of only two volumes, but one volume was about the length of two of the Kingdom Hearts. The journey continued as Sora, Donald and Goofy enter Oblivion Castle to search for Riku and Mickey. On this journey, they start losing their memories and get confused by memories that they find. It was definitely spellbounding and I know what to look forward to since I have the game Chain of Memories for my Nintendo DS. Well, it's actually a Game Boy Advance game, but fits into DS. So that's awesome. This is a must-read if you get hooked onto Kingdom Hearts. I just have to go get Kingdom Hearts 2 to continue this awesome journey.
Profile Image for Shaxar.
91 reviews
November 18, 2014
Well, CoM is my favorite of the Kingdom Hearts games (or re.CoM, rather), so I do have a soft spot for this particular arc of the manga. It follows the story of the game well, and I like all the extra characterization.

And I still respect you, Vexen! *huggles* You are the bestest Evil Genius ever.
Profile Image for Shawna Finnigan.
760 reviews366 followers
March 26, 2019
I got this book a while ago and since I’ve been playing Kingdom Hearts 3 a lot today, I decided to finally read it. It had a couple confusing parts, but I overall really enjoyed it and I’m planning on continuing with the rest of this series.
Profile Image for Ivy.
4 reviews
January 4, 2026
A Faithful Adaptation, but Feels a Bit Rushed.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories is one of my favorite kingdom hearts stories told so far, so I was elated to pick up the manga adaptation of it. As opposed to the game it's based on, the story doesn't take itself very seriously and aims for a more humorous approach, which is hit or miss most of the time. The comedy was best used with the main trio of characters, and made their actions and personalities shine more. The comedy is at it's worst with the antagonists, who went from serious threats in the original to borderline punchlines in this story. It also makes a specific character stand out less than they used to because now everyone acts exactly how they do. This is more of an issue that the manga adaptation genre has as a whole as opposed to an issue just with this book but I think it's still important to point out.

An issue I was surprised that they addressed in this novel was a plot hole that was present in the original game was addressed and retconned here, which greatly helps the story told in the next entry of the series, "358/2 Days".

The biggest problem with this book is it's atrocious pacing. Major events get skipped over to an insane degree, entire integral conversations both vital to the plot and the readers understanding of the story are skipped over or cut for pacing reasons, however, had two certain filler chapters been removed or heavily shortened, they would have had enough time to wrap up these storylines. Those two filler chapters toward the middle really hindered my enjoyment of the book as a whole, because it drags out for way too long and provides nothing to this story and the overarching narrative as a whole, and that's coming from someone who enjoys what those chapters were based on! Another aspect that should have been shortened or removed is the secondary main characters story. They show so little of it that it's barely recognizable and ends up going practically nowhere and only serves to shorten the amount of time the writer had to work with to focus on the main story. Had I not played the original game I would be so confused as to what happened at the end of story because so much happens in the span of 10 or so pages. I assume most of these issues will be resolved in the second volume of this story, as it seems to focus on the secondary main character. However that begs the question, if they were always going to focus on the secondary main character in the second volume of the story, why did they even bother including a shortened version of their story in this book? It seems to genuinely be a waste of pages that could be used to flesh out the amazing story, and it erases the mystery and suspense that the original game had because of it.

If you're at all interested in the kingdom hearts franchise and want to discover the story of "Chain of Memories" for yourself, I would recommend this as a good entry to it, but this book is in no way the definitive way to experience the story.
Profile Image for Tiffany Spencer.
2,013 reviews19 followers
March 29, 2018
Chain Of Memories Volume 1
PLOT: Sora finds himself in an unknown area and found by a black hooded figure that guides him, Donald, Goofy, and Jimmy to Castle Oblivion where the hood gives a cryptic message and a card from Sora's memories. (Pro) The good thing is inside there's the possibility of them finding Mickey or Riku. Possibly both. (Con) But the more time they spend in the castle the more their memories will fade into oblivion. Should they chance it and go forward?

MY THOUGHTS:
(Gray area) I've never played Chain of Memories (I have Chain of Memories just the card system is difficult to get used to) so in the second issue this is hazy to interpret. Such as the panel where Sora and Axel face off. Does Sora face off against two hoods and one is Axel? What does Axel not want Sora to forget? I guess it's time to bring out the official strategy guide I bought for Chain Of Memories earlier this year cause it just lost me. Or maybe online there's a transcript. One of this issues flaws is that it doesn't seem to be written for anyone that hasn't played the game because since the drawings are in black and white the action aspect of video game meshed into a comic doesn’t' quite have the desired effect in my opinion. And I've said this before. Yes I know it's manga but a bit of color wouldn't hurt. In issues in the past the first couple of pages have been in color so I know they aren't scared of using it. So then why not carry that out in WHOLE issues! As for the story itself, I like the premise of this mysterious castle and the introduction of Organization 12. I haven't really made up my mind yet whether they're sinister or have a higher purpose for leading TKH to the castle. They seem interested in his memories and the strength of his heart. Also I think there's more behind Ansem wanting to corrupt Riku to the dark side. I don't know if it's like in X Men where when he's weakened he can harness all Riku's darkness and siph off him or he wants him to join his league to spread the darkness to more parts of the world. It's unclear. At the end I do wish that the last wish would have been used to find Mickey and Riku and bring them to that exact spot in Agra-bah.

RATING: 8 1/2
Profile Image for Jessica.
164 reviews
July 7, 2017
Hm, is it exactly "cheating" when I'm behind in my Goodreads goal to pick up a manga? Nah, because unlike last year, when I was rereading the entire Death Note series to catch up on my goal, I genuinely did reread this one more out of nostalgia than anything else. I have fallen down this serious Kingdom Hearts rabbit hole for the past couple of weeks for some reason, probably just pure nostalgia, so it was probably inevitable I'd give this another reread. And it's fun and cute! Better than I thought I remembered it being. At least for this first volume of the TokyoPop KH Chain of Memories arc (only a few of you will know what I'm talking about and that's OK).

I do enjoy the meta humor in this, especially the panel when Sora finds out he's forgotten his abilities in Castle Oblivion and asks if that means his Dodge Roll will be just a regular roll. Which, now that I think about it, is kind of dumb you literally have to learn how to roll for these games. Oh well. I also enjoyed deeper insight into the Organization XIII members, particularly Larxene--I feel like the games paint her as more one-dimensional, but this volume proves that she could have been so much more interesting than that. And I even liked how the world visiting was done, although it made me wish for the PS version that they could have gotten some more voice actors back for those worlds.

Maybe I should feel more embarrassed for adding this to my GR log, but eh, what the heck? It's decently adapted, and I can't wait to revisit more of this manga series...Maybe not the KH1 volumes, I always thought they were kind of meh.
Profile Image for K.S. Trenten.
Author 13 books52 followers
February 11, 2019
Sora, Donald, and Goofy have saved Kairi, the other princesses of heart, and all the worlds they’re from, thanks to the sacrifice of Riku and King Mickey. Sora, however, promised Kairi he’d return to her with Riku while Donald and Goofy aren’t going home without their king. Accompanied by Jimminy Cricket, the three find themselves in Castle Oblivion, watched and manipulated by the mysterious Organization XIII. Navigating the castle means journeying deep into their memories, losing something for everything they gain. Mirroring their journey on the other side of the gate are Riku and Mickey, taking their own voyage into the darkness of the past. All the while, the same organization stalking Sora and his friends are watching them. Who are they? What do they want?

The plot became much more interesting and trippy in this new series involving memories and a mysterious organization, which may have characters whom are allies as well as adversaries. Organization XIII’s members were all quite intriguing, along with the mysterious girl, Namine, and the very nature of Castle Oblivion itself. Events from the past series were revisited in a new way while Riku got quite the intense trip down memory land of his own, in which King Mickey showed himself plainly. For doing all of this in an attractive art style which synthesized several, I give this four stars.
Profile Image for Kimberlee.
484 reviews4 followers
October 2, 2017
The Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories manga confirms in literary form that it was useless addition to the series. Repeated bosses, repeated story lines, repeated everything-if convenient to the plot. Plus, I'm still sore about that card system. That card system may have been the precursor to what the wonderful Kingdom Hearth UX is now, but back when Chain of Memories came out, it was a baaaaaad idea.

Plus, Jafar literally gets defeated THE SAME WAY as he did in KH1. How could one plot be the same, but all the other worlds get different story lines?!?!?! The inconsistency is annoying. If you're going to base worlds on Sora's memories, at least give it a linear progression. (And yes, I know the nature of Castle Oblivion. That's no excuse.)

These are pretty quick reads. I'm getting through them, so I have a refresher on the series overall before KH3 comes out (when it ever eventually does).

Verdict: Not necessary to the series except for the introduction of Organization XIII and nobodies. Couldn't they have been introduced better? 2/5 stars
Profile Image for yelenska.
690 reviews172 followers
September 26, 2020
I read this because 1) I love Kingdom Hearts, and 2) I'm about to play 358/2 days for the first time (finally found someone to lend me a 3DS and the game lol) and I wanted to refresh my memory. Also, let's be honest... I never beat the first boss of that game, the card system was incomprehensible for me 😂 BUT I REALLY LIKE CHAIN OF MEMORIES (and the following game, obviously) because they are dark and we follow Organization XIII.

About this first manga volume... It was very meh overall. I'm not sure why so much "humor" was added? Most of the time it felt out of place. I really don't understand this choice. Especially when you have such an interesting story. I'm giving it 3 stars because it's KH and I'm biased, but otherwise I would've only thought this to be a weak introduction to the Chain of Memories' story. *edit: ok, no, this deserves 2 stars at best. Let's be real.* And I'm not even a fan of the drawing style, but that I can still go with. (Larxene, Zexion and Axel were very hot though!) Too bad.

Still going to read the second volume though. 😅
Profile Image for Julia Stephenson.
Author 2 books
February 17, 2018
This Manga is amazing, but there is a cliffhanger in the end. I was confused on the part whether Sora and the other characters lost their memory or not. The Heartless try to take away everyone's soul and trap them in a room full of darkness. Sora has a quest to save his friends from this dark room that accompanies this memory loss. The only way to accomplish that is by going through his own memories that create scenes which depict where his friends are. A card enters him in these scenes. He saves 2 friends by battling 2 people from an organization that trapped him in the castle, but the longer Sora is in these scenes the faster he may lose his memories. Sora uses this knowledge to help him accomplish this mission.
Profile Image for Marianna Sharktooth.
487 reviews16 followers
September 3, 2025
Δεν έχω καταλήξει ακόμη τι είναι καλύτερο, να βλέπεις πρώτα μια ταινία και μετά να διαβάζεις το βιβλίο; Και στην περίπτωση εδώ, να παίξεις πρώτα το game και μετά να διαβάσεις το κομικ; Θα πρότεινα το αντίστροφο, ήτοι, παρακαλώ διαβάστε πρώτα και μετά παίξτε. Δεν ξέρω αν φταίει το ασπρόμαυρο τύπωμα, αλλά η αλήθεια είναι ότι, για να μιλήσω λόγια, "είναι άλλη φάση".
Παρ' ολ' αυτά, με βοήθησε πολύ το γεγονός ότι αναλύονται οι χαρακτήρες λίγο παραπάνω, και λεπτομέρειες που μου είχαν διαφύγει, είναι crystal clear.
Οι μάχες, οι σκηνές, ακόμη και το σενάριο, σίγουρα ταυτίζεται σε μεγάλο ποσοστό, οπότε καθείς έχει το χρόνο να βρει τι του ταιριάζει.
Εφιστώ την προσοχή, το βιβλίο διαβάζεται α λα γιαπωνέζ, κοινώς αντίθετα από εμάς, βέβαια έχει και οδηγίες μέσα, οπότε όλα καλά θα πανε!
Profile Image for Gateway_to_Wonderland.
368 reviews1 follower
September 8, 2022
En tiedä, miksi rakastan Kingdom Hearts -sarjaa 😍 Se on loppujen lopuksi yltiö optimistinen ja suloinen sarja, jossa Disney-hahmot vierailevat sivuosissa.

Aikalailla siis kaikkea sitä, mikä ei yleensä kiinnosta, mutta tässä sitä ollaan 😅

Tämä kirja on suoraa jatkoa Final Mix -sarjalle, joten se on luettava, jotta tietää, missä mennään. Itse tarina alkaa juuri siitä mihin Final Mix 3 jäi.

Edelleen tarinaa on helppo seurata ja kuvat ovat aivan upeita! Ne on siististi piirretty ja ovat jo itsessään kuin taideteoksia. Tätä on siis ilo lukea ja katsoa ❤️

Suosittelen tätä kirjaa kaikille, joita manga, Disney, Kingdom Hearts, seikkailu ja upea kuvitus kiinnostavat 😊
Profile Image for Soobie has fog in her brain.
7,226 reviews136 followers
May 15, 2020
Un po' strano e decisamente diverso dalla serie precedente. Ci si muove attraverso pochi mondi diversi e c'è il tema della memoria sempre presente nella storia. Attraversando il Castello dell'Oblio, infatti, si perde man mano la memoria di quello che è successo durante la prima serie. I tre protagonisti hanno solo l'impressione di aver incontrato Aladdin o Leon.

Inoltre questo volume è un po' più cicciotto degli altri e i capitoli sono molto più lunghi. Il che ha facilitato la lettura, secondo me.
Profile Image for Hannah Belyea.
2,805 reviews40 followers
January 13, 2024
With the door to Kingdom Hearts closed, Sora and his pals are on the search for Riku and King Mickey after they're sealed in the darkness - but could the mysterious Castle Oblivion provide answers, or is this all a trap set by those hooded strangers that keep offering only vague pieces of the truth? Amano brings fans another enjoyable wacky adventure in tune with the titular game's heart and humour. Can Sora find the secrets hidden within the castle before something precious is lost?
9 reviews
October 5, 2017
the book is descent but in the middle of the book it got sort of boring. then toads the end it sated picking up the to being a good book. the end of the book was descent. i thought it shad of bin different.the beginning of the book was the best part.so i rekmind it but no promise its going to be good.like i said it desist.
176 reviews
April 27, 2022
This was a fun read for me. I never finished the actual game of Chain of Memories, so it was nice to see what happens. Also, not entirely sure it is exactly like the game, but enjoyed the storyline it took me on.

I read a larger version of this book, where both vol. 1 and 2 were combined. Very relaxing read and finished within hours.
Profile Image for Alis.
239 reviews1 follower
October 3, 2022
Ho trovato una costruzione decisamente più articolata della prima saga e vorrei tanto avere il secondo volume per continuarlo in questo momento.
Mi piace molto la costruzione del castello dell'oblio e vorrei tanto scoprire il mistero di Kairi (ultima vignetta del fumetto)
Spero che prossimo volume esca presto!
Profile Image for Graham Barrett.
1,387 reviews5 followers
March 26, 2023
At the height of my middle school Kingdom Hearts period, I oddly enough never played Chain ofMemories. So this volume was basically my way to fill in the gaps. Not sure how it compares to the game but I got the feeling even then that this didn't do it justice.
Profile Image for Jared Suarez.
82 reviews5 followers
June 9, 2017
I just love laughing out loud with this characters
Profile Image for Louise Marshall-jones.
179 reviews1 follower
August 23, 2019
Although I love Disney I just couldn’t get on with the manga way of reading and had to give up on this one
Profile Image for Lizzie RoseShine.
722 reviews8 followers
November 5, 2019
Going to castle of oblivion, once enter that place or going forward-it may forgot what their main purpose to are. The strange black hoodie called organization 13, I love Axel character =)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Maddi Jordan.
16 reviews1 follower
February 4, 2020
I love this book I just wanna read it again I love the characters and the different worlds
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews

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