Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
When a storm hits his island, fourteen-year-old Sora is swept into a mysterious land where he meets Court Wizard Donald and Captain Goofy, who are on a mission to find King Mickey and return him to his throne at Disney Castle.

135 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

78 people are currently reading
3453 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.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
2,165 (45%)
4 stars
1,254 (26%)
3 stars
958 (19%)
2 stars
337 (7%)
1 star
81 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 275 reviews
Profile Image for Shawna Finnigan.
757 reviews363 followers
May 16, 2024
I never finished the first Kingdom Hearts game as I tried to play it when I was six and I got frustrated with games really easily when I was that young, but from what I remember of the game, this volume seems to follow pretty close to the original video game. Kingdom Hearts definitely works better as a video game as opposed to a manga, but this is still a fun read exploring the first part of the Kingdom Hearts story.

The Disney parts were the best parts of this manga, so it took a while to get into this story since Sora is only plopped into a Disney world toward the latter half of the book. I really liked the twist on the Cheshire Cat in this manga and I’m curious to see how the rest of the Wonderland story arc will be completed.
Profile Image for Mir.
4,977 reviews5,330 followers
Read
September 23, 2020
So, there are some kind of basic shonen manga characters, and they interact with Disney characters and travel to different Disney setting, plus some other places, looking for a key and missing characters? And this is really popular, apparently? I don't get it.
Profile Image for Jim Ef.
445 reviews105 followers
November 3, 2021
6.1/10

A nice mix of manga + Disney.

Όταν το φως γίνεται σκοτάδι και η γαλήνη μετατρέπεται σε καταιγίδα...
Όταν η πραγματικότητα δεν ξεχωρίζει απο το όνειρο και το Καλό πρέπει να παλέψει με το Κακό...
Την δύναμη θα σου την δώσει το Κλειδί... Ελευθέρωσε το πεπρωμένο σου

Ο Σορα , η Καϊρι και ο Ρικου ζούνε σε ενα νησί απο το οποίο αποφασίζουν να φύγουν, όμως Κάποια σκοτεινή δύναμη θα τους χωρίσει. Σε ένα άλλο μέρος ο βασιλιάς Μικυ έφυγε αφήνοντας οδηγίες στους Ντοναλντ και Γκουφυ να βρούνε αυτόν που έχει το Κλειδοσπαθο, ετσι ο δρόμος του Σορα θα ενωθεί με αυτον των Ντοναλντ και Γκουφυ. Μαζί θα ψάξουν τους φίλους του Σορα, τον βασιλιά Μικυ καί θα πολεμησουνε τις δυναμεις του κακού.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Carmen.
559 reviews57 followers
December 1, 2019
Since this manga series was only four volumes long, I decided to read them all at once and review them at the same time. I first heard about Kingdom Hearts from the popular game and loved the idea of anime coming together with my beloved Disney characters. When I realized that there was a manga as well, I've been wanting to read it for the longest time ever. With the Manga Challenge, it gave me my excuse to get into it.
The storylines are great. It brings readers on this wonderful adventure through different Disney stories that we know of.. Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Hercules, Pinocchio, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast... and also other anime characters.. like Final Fantasy. It's a wonderful integration and a great manga series for readers of any age.
Sora is a wonderful character in that he is young and still childish.. but he has a pure heart and chooses good over evil. Through his actions, morals are taught to readers. I loved that Sora inspires you to believe in good and that sometimes there is evil in the world... but everyone can choose good and make things better.
I absolutely loved it and will be reading and reviewing Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and hopefully Kingdom Hearts 2 one day. But I figured I should space out my manga as well.
Profile Image for Eli Pruitt.
131 reviews58 followers
February 26, 2024
I'm approaching this as someone who has played the game (many many years ago) and loves all things Disney.

To be frank, if I didn't have the background knowledge of the game, in all its convoluted nonsensical wonder, this would be utterly confusing. Instead, I was left with what felt like rather disjointed highlights of the plot, never really allowing for any nuance or emotional impact. The core 3 (Sora, Kairi, and Riku) this story revolves around is so incredibly integral to investing in, again, what is an overly complicated story that weaves in on itself more than any story should. So for this manga to not focus on that relationship and flesh it out properly leaves you with what appears to be random anime/manga characters sharing the page with random Disney characters. The threads, which are already loose, don't connect in these pages.

All that said, I can't help giving this a few stars because I love the world so much. Take that for what it's worth.
Profile Image for Margaryta.
Author 6 books50 followers
May 19, 2010
After hearing about how good the Kingdom Hearts video game series was and finding out that the games were only on PS2/PS3 consols or one of the pther consols you hook up to the TV (none of which I own, sadly), I really wanted to find out more about this, so I picked up the manga.

The storyline is original and refreshing, something I could easily enjoy without focusing too much but had a gripping plotline and packed action in just the right places so I wouldn't go snoozing off.

The art is really good, I found, and the characters are enjoyable. I'll wait to read on of what happens to this series, but don't guarantee any further reviews.

Finally, I was also glad to have Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days come out on Nintendo DS, and by far it has been mind-blowing. The graphics, the plot, EVERYTHING has been splendid in the game. Really amazing and woth playing.
Profile Image for Sarah.
290 reviews86 followers
October 14, 2018
Magical Readathon Charms Extra Credit!Created by Book Roast.
Rictusempra: a book that tickles you
#charmsextracredit
Profile Image for Evie.
834 reviews9 followers
August 29, 2013
Alright. I adore this series. The games have touched my heart in ways nothing else has. With that being said, I had a lot of expectations for the manga; consider this a very sorry 2-star rating. It really hurts, but if I'm honest with myself, I can't give it more.
Profile Image for Hannah.
58 reviews4 followers
March 28, 2022
There was a lot going on in this volume, and I definitely need to read the next one in order to get a better understanding of what is going on.
Profile Image for Ptitelfe.
212 reviews40 followers
July 22, 2014
A la base, je suis très fan des jeux vidéos, crées par les studios Disney et Square Enix! J'ai eu l'occasion de jouer aux deux premières versions sur PS2 et je m'étais régalée! Du coup, je ne pouvais résister aux jolis graphisme de ce court manga!

La série est composée de 4 tomes.


J'ai adoré retrouver les dessins des personnages Disney (Donald, Dingo, Tic et Tac, Alice, le lapin blanc, la Reine rouge, Maléfique...) et de certains personnages de Final Fantasy (Squall, Yuffie, Cid...) même si dans ce premier tome, il en manque pas mal par rapport au jeu vidéo.

Cependant, en dehors de la beauté des dessins, j'ai trouvé l'histoire décousue, et pour une personne qui découvre l'univers, je pense qu'elle peut rapidement être perdue dans la compréhension de l'intrigue.. Le mangaka passe rapidement d'une scène à une autre sans forcément de cohésion.

Enfin, dernier petit point négatif sur les scènes de combats qui sont très brouillons et donc visuellement moins jolie (mais ce n'est que mon avis personnel)

En conclusion, ce petit manga fera plaisir aux fans de Disney et Square Enix, même si le prix peut rebuter certain (environ 7€) pour le peu de pages et surtout la rapidité à laquelle il se lit puisqu'il y a au final peu de bulles de discussions.
Profile Image for José.
258 reviews65 followers
December 17, 2015
No está mal, pero deja fuera y simplifica demasiados elementos de la historia. Es comprensible, pero me quedo con el formato del videojuego.
Profile Image for Selena Pigoni.
1,942 reviews263 followers
June 10, 2010
This is NOT for people who don't like visual irony and stupid jokes. There are a lot of things that made me laugh until I couldn't breathe, but those who are so serious they can't take a joke shouldn't read this.
Profile Image for Nicky.
4,138 reviews1,116 followers
February 16, 2013
This is cute, but it doesn't add anything to the game, and it feels so scanty. Obviously you don't get to explore the worlds or figure things out yourself in the same way as you do in the game, so especially if you've played the game, it comes up lacking.

But it is cute.
Profile Image for Lesincele.
1,185 reviews123 followers
February 25, 2018
Adoro este juego desde hace muchos años así que ya iba siendo hora de leer estos mangas. En general me ha gustado aunque en ocasiones los dibujos no eran muy claros y no se veía bien lo que ocurría a no ser que hayas jugado al juego. Pero es que la historia me gusta tanto....😍
Profile Image for Kamiab Ghorbanpour.
46 reviews
December 6, 2025
Donald heals Sora TWICE in this volume, which is more than he has ever done in the hundreds of hours I’ve spent playing Kingdom Hearts.
Profile Image for Mega.
954 reviews7 followers
January 24, 2026
Once upon a time, at some point in the early 2000's, there was a chance meeting between two individuals, one who was an executive at Squaresoft, and one who was an executive at The Walt Disney Company, both of which got on an elevator together and got to know each other. From then on, they started talking about what most people would consider a completely absurd idea, but it was absurd enough to where these two managed to get this idea made into reality, and thus, from these efforts, the world was given Kingdom Hearts, an odd crossover series between Final Fantasy and the many different worlds and characters that Disney has made over the years, yet despite how odd it is, it still manages to live on to this very day, and for good reason. Sure, the series is definitely not perfect by any means, as it does have some weaker titles to be found in the many entries that the series has gotten since release, along with it having the biggest mess of a story I have ever seen for a video game franchise, but there are plenty of things the franchise has going for it that make it so great despite that, such as the incredible gameplay that can be seen between most titles, the lovable characters that can be seen throughout all of these games, all the different gameplay styles and innovations each game brings to the table for the series, and all of the many Disney properties that they have integrated into this series in all of their glory, from classic films like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, and even with more unexpected properties like Pirates of the Caribbean and Tron. And with the amount of success that this franchise has seen over the course of its life, there have naturally also been plenty of other pieces of media that have been made for the series over the years that may not have gotten the same amount of recognition as the main games, but they have definitely been held in some high regard in their own right, such as the case with today's subject, the Kingdom Hearts manga adaptation........ Volume 1. Because there is no way I am covering all four of these at once.

If you have kept up with my reviews on other websites, then you would know that I am both a big enough fan of Final Fantasy and a good amount of films that Disney has made over the years, so naturally, it should be a given that I am a huge fan of Kingdom Hearts as well. I have been playing the series ever since I was a teenager, back when I played through the original game for the very first time, and while I have yet to play every game in the series yet, I have grown to really love and enjoy all of the ones I have played so far (except for 358/2 Days, fuck that game) and can now see why the series is held in such high regard by many people to this very day, despite how weird of a concept it is. However, despite me being a big fan of the series, I have actually never checked out any of the manga adaptations that the series has gotten over the years, mostly due to me not being a fan of manga for quite some time, and what's even worse is that I wasn't able to play a Kingdom Hearts game last year, even though I usually do try to play one every year. That didn't really settle well with me, so I figured, in order to make up for that blunder, I would go ahead and finally check out the manga adaptation for the original game, just to see if it is anything all that spectacular and is something that I have been missing out on, and now that I have read through the first volume, I gotta say...... uhhhhhh..... yeah, it is good, I suppose. Is it a perfect manga adaptation by any means? NO, absolutely not, as it does have some BIG problems that holds it back tremendously from being anything great, but for what it's worth, it is still a good first volume, one that does a good enough job at introducing this world, these characters and whatever is going on here, while retaining the spirit of the game well enough intact to where fans of the series should be able to enjoy reading it just fine.

The story is pretty much what you would expect, being a direct one-to-one retelling of the original game, which works for the kind of manga that this is and manages to be entertaining enough, even if it is not without its fair share of issues that I will get into in a second, the characters are good, where Sora is a pretty decent protagonist, pretty much being exactly how you would expect him to be if you played the games, and he is likable enough throughout this first volume, and plenty of the other characters here like Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Riku and all of the others also manage to be likable enough for what they are, although they also have some problems that I will get into later, the writing is pretty decent, where it is about as basic as it can get for a manga like this, but it manages to be simple, straight to the point and keeps things moving along well enough to where it doesn't feel like it is filling up space, which is good to see and it manages to be enjoyable enough to read because of that, the art is pretty good, to where a lot of the illustrations that we get here are really well done, doing a great job at portraying some of the more epic moments seen throughout the story and the sillier ones too, even if there are a good amount of pages that don't have that much going on in them visually, which was kinda disappointing, and the action is alright too, to where there wasn't really much of it to be seen, but the brief bits that we do get manage to be fun and executed well enough to where they do make me want to see more of them and where exactly the series could take the action from here if it was to go any further beyond this.

Unfortunetly though, I can't say that I ended up loving this story all too much, because it does have some issues that are holding it back, such as what is undeniably the BIGGEST issue that completely drags this whole manga down..... it's pacing. Now, I already mentioned earlier that I did enjoy the story that this volume has given us so far, but that is mainly due to it being a one-to-one adaptation of the original game, which makes it so that I am entertained enough by everything going on here due to me being familiar with it, but if I wasn't familiar with the source material, I can definitely say that I wouldn't be nearly as interested, as this thing moves WAY too fast for its own good. For those that don't know, this volume starts at the beginning where the original game begins and ends after Sora and crew lock the first keyhole in Wonderland, and in-between all of that, there is a LOT that happens in the game that needs to be properly explained and taken in by the audience so that they can actually care about what is going on, but what makes it so that this volume can't do that is that this thing is only 132 pages long, which is REALLY short for a story like this. This means that the volume is constantly gunning it, not taking any time to breathe, skipping over plenty of important moments and not giving the characters anytime to develop or feel like actual people, making this all just seem like a vessel for the story to move along forward and nothing more, which is a huge shame. And look, I get that the story of the original Kingdom Hearts isn't anything all that special, and it is pretty simple compared to a lot of the other games in the series, so I'm sure most people wouldn't be confused by what is going on in this volume (for the most part), but the fact of the matter is, if you want people to actually engage with the story that you are telling them here, you have to actually give them a reason to want to engage, rather then just giving them all the basic cliff notes and points that happen in each part of the game and nothing more. It doesn't end up ruining the book by any means, but it does make it easily not as enjoyable as it could've been.

Overall, despite the detrimental pacing of the volume and several other key factors that are effected by that speedy pacing, the first volume of the Kingdom Hearts manga adaptation was still good, giving us a good enough introduction to this world, these characters and the quest that they have to go on, while also retaining a lot of the signature elements that the series is known for to make for a manga adaptation that does feel like a proper addition to the series (you know, when it actually wants to try), and it is a manga that I did enjoy reading through, what with its simple and flawed, yet still decent enough execution of the story, a set of alright characters mixed with some alright writing, plenty of really solid artwork to be seen throughout that will definitely pull you in and a good enough amount of action to make you want to see more of what this series will have to offer moving forward. I would recommend it for those that loved the original game, as well as for those that are huge fans of these types of manga adaptations in the first place, as while it is certainly not a perfect adaptation by any means, there is enough to like and appreciate about this first volume, flaws and all, that makes it worth checking out at least once, which is all anyone can really ask for at the end of the day. Let's just hope that this series does end up getting better as we keep going, but until we figure that out, I gotta ask..... what was up with that one face that the Queen of Red Hearts made? Is she ok, like, does she need to see a heart doctor?.... or a card doctor, if you will?

Book #45
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for K.S. Trenten.
Author 13 books52 followers
February 11, 2019
This was the first book in a series of graphic novelizations of the popular game, Kingdom Hearts, which is the ultimate Disney cross-over with characters from Final Fantasy thrown in, and a few originals designed in a Final Fantasy-esque style with Disney feet. The story has quite the interesting premise; light existing before darkness, but the darkness swallows the light. Some light is gathered together by children, but the universe is shattered into pieces, divided into different worlds. Living on an island together on one of those worlds, Sora and Riku had no idea there were other worlds out there, until Kairi washed up on their shore from the outside. The three of them were building a raft, preparing to set out and explore those worlds, when darkness invaded the island. Sora found himself separated from Riku and Kairi, guided by a mysterious voice, and a weapon called a Keyblade appearing in his hand. In a place called Traverse Town, peopled by many a Final Fantasy character, Sora meets Disney classic cartoon characters; Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto in search for their king and the bearer of the Keyblade, who turned out to be Sora. The three of them decide to team up with Sora, so they can all search for their lost friends together, but their journey crosses the path of the Heartless, strange creatures who’ve lost their hearts to the darkness, along with the Heartless’s masters, many of which appear to be Disney villains. These masters have a plan of their own for the growing darkness, one that crosses over multiple worlds, and the protagonists are already starting to interfere in that plan…

The story was direct, engrossing, and easy to follow, yet some of the action panels (which I’m guessing were spectacular in the game were hard to follow. It was interesting seeing Donald Duck, whom I grew up watching in cartoons, acting as a cleric, healer, and a mentor, while maintaining enough of his frustrated tendency toward mishap to be recognized as the Donald I remembered. Goofy and Pluto were more supporting characters in this volume, taking second place to Sora and Donald. Sora was a combination of bishounen cuteness driven by his own heroism and a sense of silly fun to be a bridge between the Final Fantasy characters and the Disney worlds, while playing the part of the main character in this ongoing story. The mysterious set up of Riku, Kairi, and their disappearances were quite interesting, particularly Riku’s. The way Squall and others from Final Fantasy behave as mentors and guides to Sora and his new friends was intriguing, entertaining, and a lot of fun. The premise of the overall arc was set up well, allowing travel from Disney world to Disney world, and interaction with characters from various Disney movies. We began with Alice in Wonderland, hints of the overall arc with Maleficent and the other Disney villains revealing themselves from time to time, in a way which was true to each Disney story, yet linked to the overall arc. For all these qualities, I give this four stars.

Profile Image for Charlie.
378 reviews19 followers
August 6, 2016
I decided to pick a coming home present for the kids and found the "kid's manga" section at Dragon's Lair (one of the larger local comic shops). I remember really loving playing Kingdom Hearts, so I thought the kids might like reading the manga. I honestly don't know if they'll like it or not because I have no concept of how coherent it is if you don't know the story from the videogame. I definitely got the sense sometimes that there were scenes that were unnecessary to the narrative that were there because they were in the videogame. For example, Sora and gang go to Merlin's house to give him the Whinnie The Pooh book and the whole thing is resolved resolved in five panels like this.

1. Merlin: He asked me to train you in the art of magic. Especially you, Sora.
2. Sora: Me?
3. Merlin: You're still using the power of the keyblade instinctively. But you must learn to control your power and us it consciously.
4. Panel of star flaring. "Never forget that."
5. Merlin: Come back anytime you need advice. I'm here to help.

Done. No training, just, "I'm supposed to train you, anywho, bring me stuff if you find it." Great for a videogame so that you know you need to come back here from time to time and that this is the turn-in point for a collection question. Not so good for a manga. But I understand the challenge of translating from one medium to another and this one gets credit for a couple of fun moments that were not in the videogame.

So, uh, maybe good for the kids? They won't know what Kingdom Hearts really is until they've spent two hours wandering around Traverse Town trying to figure out what to do.
Profile Image for Rolando Marono.
1,945 reviews19 followers
December 8, 2018
Por mucho tiempo fui muy fan de Kingdom Hearts, tenía unos 8 años cuando pude jugar el primer juego y desde ahí no he abandonado la saga. Todos los juegos los he disfrutado mucho, me compré un PSP y sólo tenía el birth by sleep. Esperé tanto por KH III que ahora que todo parece indicar que si se estrenará en enero, no me emociona tanto como debería.
Pero mientras se acerca la fecha, me voy emocionando poco a poco. El manga sólo abonó a que sintiera nostalgia y añoranza. Mientras leía estas páginas no podía evitar transportarme a mi infancia y recordar todos los buenos momentos que pasé con esta historia.
El manga es una versión muy condensada, recortan toda la parte jugable y todo se mueve de manera rápida. Para alguien que está familiarizado con la historia no creo que haya ningún problema con la velocidad; pero para alguien que sólo ha escuchado del juego y este es su primer acercamiento con la historia, le parecerá todo demasiado apresurado.
Algo que me gustó mucho de este manga es que es una fiel adaptación del juego. Muchas de las escenas están exactamente igual ilustradas que las cinemáticas del juego, eso me parece muy bien porque si de por sí la historia es muy compleja. A diferencia del manga de Zelda por ejemplo, donde se toman muchas libertades y añaden personajes de soporte, este manga es muy fiel a la obra original.
El arte me pareció muy bonito, son casi idénticos a los personajes del juego pero con el añadido del estilo manga: ojos grandes y expresiones muy marcadas.
Leer este libro me regresó a mi infancia y para mí eso fue muy valioso.
Profile Image for Soobie has fog in her brain.
7,212 reviews136 followers
May 5, 2020
2020.05.05

Beh, mi son decisa a rileggerlo. Visto che son quattro volumi, potrei sbrigarmela alla svelta.

Direi che confermo quasi tutto quello che ho scritto qua sotto: troppe informazioni rovesciate addosso al lettore in poco spazio. Alla fin fine, leggerò tutti e quattro i volumi di questa prima serie.

Vediamo come procede.

-----

2014.11.17

Premessa, non ho mai giocato al videogioco di Kingdom hearts.

Questo me l'ha regalato la mia mamma, che sa che son sempre alla ricerca di numeri uno da leggere. Però non mi ha convinto. Da un lato era molto bello vedere i personaggi Disney impegnati in un ruolo un po' diverso dal solito, ma che - al tempo stesso - richiamava le storie che conosco da quando ero bambina. Ma dall'altro la storia era troppo semplice forse. E mancavano un sacco di risposte.

Non so, era come se la storia procedesse troppo velocemente, lasciando un sacco di interrogativi aperti.

Peccato però, i personaggi Disney sono disegnati benissimo, anche se vederli in bianco e nero fa un certo che. Le tavole introduttive di ogni capitolo sono bellissime. Cip e Ciop risvegliano i miei ricordi d'infanzia. Però le scene d'azione sono molte confuse.

Direi che non leggerò oltre. Ma non si sa mai.
Profile Image for Pokemon Master.
1 review
March 25, 2008
I found this Manga to be very interesting. This is a Manga, written by Shiro Amano, that is based around the life of a boy named Sora. He, and his friends, had grown a desire to set sail from their island and travel to other worlds. After a strange meeting with an organization member(a group of individuals with the desire to kill the Keyblade Master) and a night of darkness Sora was chosen as the Keyblade Master. He was destined to leave the island and restore the worlds that had been blinking out. To do this he must defeat the Darkness itself with the help of his friends, Donald and Goofey.

I would recommend this book to anyone that has a taste for Manga or Anime. The main reason I have for liking this book is because it is based on my most favorite game in the world. Overall, I really took an interest in this Manga because it is short, funny, and the plot is devious and amusing. Threfore, I gave this book a 5 out of 5.
Profile Image for Hannah.
26 reviews
November 3, 2010
*Spoilers*

You don't know how much I love this series. Sora, Riku and Kairi are best-friends who become separated from each other during the destruction of their island by 'The Heartless'. It follows Sora's search for Kairi and coming to terms with being 'The Keyblade Master' and Riku's turn to darkness and his struggle to find Kairi's heart. The ending is ever so sad, and although the book does it justice, i urge you to look up the ending to Kingdom Hearts the video game on youtube as well. This is such an amazing series that never fails to leave me with less the dry eyes :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for stevie jo.
315 reviews100 followers
November 13, 2024
I really love this series (game and manga)! I grew up playing (and still play daily) the Kingdom Hearts series and rereading the manga just opened my heart (ha!).

The art is so amazing and lovely and I laughed on more than one occasion of the facial expressions. I love the little details in the manga that the game doesn’t explore, like Sora first stepping into the gummi ship or . This series means everything to me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 275 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.