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Kingdom Hearts II #3
Kingdom Hearts II, Vol. 3
The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee has discovered something that could help everyone in their quest to save the worlds: Ansem’s computer. Sora and company join them at Hollow Bastion to see what they can find out, but they’re in for a surprise when the computer pulls them inside of it!
416 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 2014
8 people are currently reading
261 people want to read
About the author
Shiro Amano
133 books239 followersShiro 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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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 17, 2017
I love this series so much - even though I don't really play video games anymore (I pretty much just stick to iOS games now), I seriously want to play this one again. I am so excited to read the last volume and finish up the manga, although my library doesn't have this volume, so if I can request it, I might have to wait till it's available, or I might just have to buy it and not worry about it. Either way, I will read it, and I can't wait!
August 2, 2018
I'm super sad right now that the library doesn't have the fourth and final volume in this series.
February 16, 2015
This was definitely one of the better Kingdom Hearts books. What really helped was that the authors took their time to establish what was going on rather than leaping from scene to scene.
On other hand, I'm a little steamed that they want to draw out this game into more than three heavy (but small) books. Don't they know I'm just reading to complete the series and not because I enjoy them?
On other hand, I'm a little steamed that they want to draw out this game into more than three heavy (but small) books. Don't they know I'm just reading to complete the series and not because I enjoy them?
February 11, 2019
Continuing on with the story of KH2, this volume goes more into depth the adventures of Sora and the gang, and we get a closer look at some of the gaps in the story that the game left behind. Some of these gaps include what happened prior and after Axel kidnapped Kairi; Axel's inner conflict; Kairi's confidence that sparks her mission to protect her friends, especially Sora, thus showing some similarity to Riku in that way; and more adventures with some classic Disney characters!
Overall, I think it was kind of fun comparing the books with the video games that I've played three or more times. Definitely a must-read for any Kingdom Hearts fan or people who are looking to get started in the series (just start with the KH1 series first)!
Overall, I think it was kind of fun comparing the books with the video games that I've played three or more times. Definitely a must-read for any Kingdom Hearts fan or people who are looking to get started in the series (just start with the KH1 series first)!
July 28, 2019
I love this world so much!
Cloud showing up was nice. I’m aware of who he is thanks to pop culture. I’ve never played final fantasy so I’m assuming some of the other characters I’ve read may have been apart of that game but idk and I don’t care lol.
Cloud showing up was nice. I’m aware of who he is thanks to pop culture. I’ve never played final fantasy so I’m assuming some of the other characters I’ve read may have been apart of that game but idk and I don’t care lol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2017
It is a great book to read
November 29, 2017
The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy, they just need me alive so they can use me.
May 6, 2022
I love this book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2025
I’m starting to understand it more and am really excited to get to the last one!!
November 22, 2025
my lil clerith heart was fed 🩷💙
December 13, 2015
Maybe it's because I didn't care for KH II as much as a game, but I'm still not as impressed with the KH II's manga as I was with the original Kingdom Hearts manga series. The manga also doesn't add anything to the story telling or remove tedious game-play to focus on story, as Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days or Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories did.
This is pretty much just a straight retelling of KH II, without any of the goofy charm that made the KH 1 manga entertaining. It's taking itself too seriously, even with the silly comments about tissue dispensers and Tifa wrecking the joint. About the only thing added in this volume was Kairi's failed escape, which pointed out something my friends and I have thought for years ("Kairi is a twig. Why doesn't she just slip out between the bars?"), but the joke ultimately flopped for me when it showed Kairi as "too nice" and allowed herself to be recaptured.
Also, I have to say, Tron world didn't translate well to manga for me. So much of that world in the game was filler that taking out the filler for plot purposes left practically nothing to work with. Plus, just like the live-action movies looked weird in the original games, so too did Tron look bizarre in the manga. Some might disagree with me on this, but things just looked... wrong.
This is pretty much just a straight retelling of KH II, without any of the goofy charm that made the KH 1 manga entertaining. It's taking itself too seriously, even with the silly comments about tissue dispensers and Tifa wrecking the joint. About the only thing added in this volume was Kairi's failed escape, which pointed out something my friends and I have thought for years ("Kairi is a twig. Why doesn't she just slip out between the bars?"), but the joke ultimately flopped for me when it showed Kairi as "too nice" and allowed herself to be recaptured.
Also, I have to say, Tron world didn't translate well to manga for me. So much of that world in the game was filler that taking out the filler for plot purposes left practically nothing to work with. Plus, just like the live-action movies looked weird in the original games, so too did Tron look bizarre in the manga. Some might disagree with me on this, but things just looked... wrong.
January 30, 2018
So that's the last volume translated for now and I was hoping for an ending, but sadly, Tron was really drawn out so we have to wait. I don't know, there are a lot of differences. I think because of the fact that if they gave readers who never played the game too much info at once, their heads would spin. I've said it with every volume before, these books (minus maybe the 358/2 series) are all companion pieces to the game. Some of the worlds don't translate well (i.e. Tron, though it was a major part of this volume) and some of the info needs to really be explained for first time fans of the series to understand without any background. I pretty much read this for the Organization anyway because the volumes do like to add to their personalities, but they weren't in this one as much as I would have liked as well. Other than that, the artwork is nice and there is some fun here for sure, but I wouldn't say I loved the manga anywhere near as much as I loves 358/2 or any of the magnificent games.
Edit:
The ending with the Roxas stuff was sooo sad...I adore the last half with the Organization!
Edit:
The ending with the Roxas stuff was sooo sad...I adore the last half with the Organization!
June 21, 2017
Originally posted on BlueAnteater
This whole book only covers one short – albeit very important – part of the game. Quite a few bits were added, mostly Organization XIII scenes and what Karai was up to. And it’s all very funny and also emotional. Sadly, this is where the story ends for now, as Amano hasn’t finished the remainder of the story yet, and it may be awhile before the finished product reaches the States. But it’s been awesome so far!
This whole book only covers one short – albeit very important – part of the game. Quite a few bits were added, mostly Organization XIII scenes and what Karai was up to. And it’s all very funny and also emotional. Sadly, this is where the story ends for now, as Amano hasn’t finished the remainder of the story yet, and it may be awhile before the finished product reaches the States. But it’s been awesome so far!
March 5, 2019
Review in Process~
January 30, 2017
Now to wait for the continuation to be released...
February 14, 2019
Kingdom Hearts II, Volumes 2 and 3, by Shiro Amano wonderfully continue the story from the first volume. These books are fantasy graphic novels/manga based on the popular video game series Kingdom Hearts. These volumes are set in a universe much different than ours. There are many different worlds, and they are all connected by different paths that can only be unlocked in very special scenarios. In these volumes, a large variety of worlds are explored, some of which are disney worlds, such as Beast's Castle, Agrabah, Atlantia, and the others are key story-line ones, Space Paranoids, Hollow Bastion, Twilight Town, and The World That Never Was. The main characters of these books are Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Riku, Xehanort (and his many forms), and Kairi. Sora, Riku, and Kairi all grew up together on Destiny Islands. Sora is a cheerful, out-going, brave kid. Riku is the solemn, analytical one, who struggles to fight the darkness within. Kairi is a sweetheart, who loves her two best friends dearly and wants nothing more than to be reuinited. Donald, Goofy, and Mickey are all very brave and cheerful characters, although Donald can be quite the grump. Xehanort, and his numerous forms, serves as the main antagonist of the series. In this particular game, Xemnas, his Nobody form, is the primary antagonist, as well as Young Xehanort, his past form. Xemnas created Organization XIII under the guise that he would restore everyone's hearts, however, the true purpose was to find 13 perfect vessels for Xehanort's soul.
Volume 2 picks up right after the first book, where Sora and his company are going on their adventure and chasing after Organization XIII and trying to thwart their plans to take over the world. They go along, visiting numerous Disney-themed worlds, defeating Heartless and Nobodies, thinking they're helping out everyone. In reality, they're being used as pawns to help complete Kingdom Hearts. Unbeknowst to the group, Kairi was kidnapped by Axel, a member of Organization XIII, during their adventure.. She was taken to the Organization's stronghold in The World That Never Was, and was intended to be used as bait for Sora. This is where Volume 3 begins. The group carries on, unaware of Kairi's situation, and they visit Hollow Bastion again. They end up discovering an old study. This study was thought to have belonged to Xehanort, but it was actually Ansem the Wise's study. After the group fiddled around with various things in this study, they found a secret doorway that opened up to a massive laboratory. This laboratory was what was originally used to study the Heartless. When the group came to a computer, they saw it talked about something called a Door to Darkness, and they were curious and wanted to know more. After some tampering, they managed to get themselves trapped in a computer world called Space Paranoids. They make their way through this world, and they help out a program named Tron and eventually gain access to the Door to Darkness, which reveals a great amount of information to the party. Unfortunately, after they get all of this figured out, Hollow Bastion is attacked by both the leader of the Heartless, Maleficient, and the leader of the Nobodies, Xemnas. This clash leads into something called The Battle of 1000 Heartless, where everyone is working together to fight off hoards upon hoards of Heartless. After the battle, within Sora, memories from another person are awakened due to intervention by Axel. Sora's Nobody, Roxas, is "waking up" within him. This is where Volume 3 ends.
I personally was not too fond of Volume 2, but I enjoyed Volume 3 quite a lot. Volume 2 had some pacing issues that made it a little annoying to read, and I dislike how rushed the progression through the Disney worlds was. I am glad that one of my favorite characters, Axel, was allowed a much larger part than he originally was supposed to have. As for Volume 3, I especially enjoyed how they played out having Kairi in The World That Never Was, because they added more comedy to it and made it more light-hearted and enjoyable. I also liked The Battle of 1000 Heartless, because they made sure to show everyone and continue to add key plot points throughout the scene. The target audience for these books is considered all ages, but I think that anyone from the age of 12 and up would be able to grasp the concepts handled in this series.
Volume 2 picks up right after the first book, where Sora and his company are going on their adventure and chasing after Organization XIII and trying to thwart their plans to take over the world. They go along, visiting numerous Disney-themed worlds, defeating Heartless and Nobodies, thinking they're helping out everyone. In reality, they're being used as pawns to help complete Kingdom Hearts. Unbeknowst to the group, Kairi was kidnapped by Axel, a member of Organization XIII, during their adventure.. She was taken to the Organization's stronghold in The World That Never Was, and was intended to be used as bait for Sora. This is where Volume 3 begins. The group carries on, unaware of Kairi's situation, and they visit Hollow Bastion again. They end up discovering an old study. This study was thought to have belonged to Xehanort, but it was actually Ansem the Wise's study. After the group fiddled around with various things in this study, they found a secret doorway that opened up to a massive laboratory. This laboratory was what was originally used to study the Heartless. When the group came to a computer, they saw it talked about something called a Door to Darkness, and they were curious and wanted to know more. After some tampering, they managed to get themselves trapped in a computer world called Space Paranoids. They make their way through this world, and they help out a program named Tron and eventually gain access to the Door to Darkness, which reveals a great amount of information to the party. Unfortunately, after they get all of this figured out, Hollow Bastion is attacked by both the leader of the Heartless, Maleficient, and the leader of the Nobodies, Xemnas. This clash leads into something called The Battle of 1000 Heartless, where everyone is working together to fight off hoards upon hoards of Heartless. After the battle, within Sora, memories from another person are awakened due to intervention by Axel. Sora's Nobody, Roxas, is "waking up" within him. This is where Volume 3 ends.
I personally was not too fond of Volume 2, but I enjoyed Volume 3 quite a lot. Volume 2 had some pacing issues that made it a little annoying to read, and I dislike how rushed the progression through the Disney worlds was. I am glad that one of my favorite characters, Axel, was allowed a much larger part than he originally was supposed to have. As for Volume 3, I especially enjoyed how they played out having Kairi in The World That Never Was, because they added more comedy to it and made it more light-hearted and enjoyable. I also liked The Battle of 1000 Heartless, because they made sure to show everyone and continue to add key plot points throughout the scene. The target audience for these books is considered all ages, but I think that anyone from the age of 12 and up would be able to grasp the concepts handled in this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews