Kingdom Hearts II, Vol. 1

Kingdom Hearts II #1

by Shiro Amano

A young boy named Roxas whiles away the last days of his summer vacation with his three best friends in their quiet little home of Twilight Town. But all is not as it should be in this hamlet nestled between night and day. Strange things keep happening around Roxas, which always seem to involve mysterious creatures...and he is plagued by dreams of a boy named Sora, whom he has never met. Bewildered, Roxas searches for answers . . . Will they lead him to Sora, Donald, and Goofy?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Video Games, Young Adult, Adventure

198 pages, Paperback

First published December 22, 2006

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve decided… this is the year for nostalgia! For me, at least. I’ve been going through the Kingdom Hearts games recently (anybody notice how old games are really hard?) and with all the plot-lines, the magical worlds, and the music, it’s been quite the emotional roller-coaster! If you need to know one thing about me, just know that “Lazy Afternoons” from the soundtrack of the second game plays in my head on a near constant loop. So yeah, even though I’ve only played maybe three out of the million in the series (for diehard fans I'm a noob, and for non-fans I know way too much), I’d say I’m a pretty big fan. Anyway, after the main character Sora, my favorite character has always been Roxas (voiced by Jesse McCartney, best known for his mega hit, “Beautiful Soul”). He's basically Sora’s clone, and in order for him to wake from a deep slumber, Roxas has to be absorbed back into him, effectively “dying” because he was never actually supposed to exist in the first place. it’s a whole thing, please don’t ask me to explain the plot of Kingdom Hearts, because we'd both be here all day and... I don’t even understand it all that much. But yeah, I like Roxas! He's a cool mid-2000’s edgy character who's voiced by Jesse McCartney (best known for writing Leona Lewis’ smash hit, “Bleeding Love”), it’s a win-win for me. As for this manga adaption? I really enjoyed it! The art style is cute and captures the whimsical nature of the games perfectly! Besides, I used to read these when I got stuck in the games and needed help (they didn't, but it's all good). Though, if I had one criticism, it would be that I think the writing is a little too intentionally funny. See, Kingdom Hearts is one of the funniest series out there, but only because it never tries to be. Everything is played completely, and sometimes painfully, earnest. I think that’s the charm though, even when the plot-lines get too convoluted and messy, the core message remains simple and clean. And despite its overall cheeriness, I still often get sad whenever I’m playing the games. Like when Roxas finally accepts his fate and says, “I guess my Summer vacation is over,” before disappearing, I still get hit with levels of melancholy previously unknown to man. This really is a series that's built on vibes alone!

[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was completely unexplored territory for me. I’ve never played the second game or watched any gameplay of it.

Roxas is my favorite character in the Kingdom Hearts universe so far (besides the original Disney characters). He was fun to read about and his sad backstory that starts in this volume adds a much needed emotional impact to the Kingdom Hearts universe.

Despite liking Roxas though, I found this volume to be extremely confusing. Some of it was purposeful because of the nature of how Roxas fits into this universe. However, sometimes I felt it went a bit too far with how confusing it was.

[Kairi]

I just love KH stuff.

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful beginning to the 3rd series of KH mangas.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is beautiful and naturally, the story is pretty fantastic. I wouldn't try and read these without having played the game first, though.

[Jace]

It has a great adaptation to the start of the game, truly enjoyed it!

[CinderScout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such cute drawings, I will never not love the beginning of this story

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

I made the mistake of getting this from the library without realizing that it's the first book in the sequel series... I decided to try reading it in the hopes that it was a separate story and I wouldn't get confused, but I ended up pretty confused... It ended up explaining some things later on, but it took over half of the manga for me to actually get into this book (therefore the added half star, otherwise this would've been a 3 star.). I might re-read this one once I read the first series, but probably not because I'm sure it'll be easy to remember what happened in this one.

I'm almost positive that I'm going to really love this series once I read the first one because once the main characters and the main world came into the story, I was hooked! (The first Disney characters they come upon are Beauty and the Beast!) I just had little to no connection with the first two-thirds of the book... But I plan on getting the first series soon, so hopefully, when I return to this one, I'll have a better understanding of the world and what's going on!

[Haley The Caffeinated Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://thecaffeinatedreader.com/2021...

I’ve already played the three main games and some. of the ‘prequel’ game as well. This was all within the last year or so as well so my memory is decent for these games and their plots.

The manga is EXACTLY like the opening for Kingdom Hearts II but with the added benefit that I didn’t have to do any of the little quests, just read the story play out uninterrupted. That also means though that if you were looking for something new, this wasn’t it.

One of the things I love about Kingdom Hearts is the art and I was so happy to have a manga just full of gorgeous Kingdom Hearts art, and I also love the story too. I felt like it ended all too soon but it’s the standard length of a manga and I think I’m just greedy for more.

I can’t really say too much on it that just isn’t given from the game, but if you’re interested in playing the game and on the fence, the manga may give you the answer on if you want to play as the story keeps true.

[Lesincele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenía muchas ganas de leer estos tomos y para ser el primero me ha gustado como está desarrollada y loa dibujos. A ver que tal siguen aunque me sepa la historia.

[Antonio Heras · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido y con personajes que se hacen querer. Con un toque de misterio y fantasía bastante conseguido.

[aroa.library ⚓️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️

[noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Added SO much to the original game. Especially loved Kairi's portrayal and Sora and Riku's reunion, they all had so much more life! Everything was so much more emotional and so much sillier, so very Kingdom Hearts.

[Parker Keys_to_hades · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are so fun if you’ve played the games, but honestly if you haven’t they would be so confusing. They’re pretty condensed in some areas, but they also add some fun new scenes that aren’t in the games.

[Kristin Katsuye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have so many questions I need answers to now. I just realized I read the first volume to the second series? I’m going to admit right here I haven’t played the game(s) fully. I only played a tiny bit of the first game when I was a little kid. As in I never even left the island, okay. I don’t really have many spoilers to go off of. I did see a few clips of when dish played/watched through the story. I didn’t get enough of it to comprehend what was happening though. I always wanted to get into the actual storyline the games hold, so maybe this would be a fun/good way? Someone let me know how these follow along to the story? I saw somewhere most people say it does follow the story, but with more of a comedic flair to it. Some portions are drawn out while others are condensed?

As far as this volume goes as just judging my the entire thing, I really liked it. I want to dive deeper into the story. I want to find out more. Overall if I had to critique it, it’s made for more of a younger audience. I understand they are kids games, but stories can still hold for all audience ages. This feel a very childish. I didn’t have a bad time though. It holds enough mystery to even gain my attention. This reads very elementary middle school age.

I didn’t even know these exist & I’m sure they don’t even print them anymore as the copy I have was from Tokyopop. I happen to find this first volume sitting on the free shelf at the library. I took it to trial read, figuring it’ll be quick & give me something interesting. I’m not sure if I’ll actually get through the whole series. I’m currently working on a few right now, & picking up a couple more. I would be interested in continuing or at least going back to start from the beginning? Since this was the second part apparently. Not sure how long the series is as of writing this, so I’ll see if my time &/or attention span will put up with this.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing, surreal, yet lively and fun sequel to the other Kingdom Hearts books. A young boy, Roxas, finds himself dreaming of Sora, that he is Sora and Master of the Keyblade, connected to people he’s never met. Yet Roxas has a life of his own, close bonds with others, and things he wants to do over vacation. Why is it that he doesn’t seem to be able to leave Traverse Town? Mysterious people keep approaching him, attacking him. Are they trying to use him or do they want to help? Which of these strangers can Roxas trust? Are they really strangers? Axel seems to remember him, a different Roxas than the one he is now…

My heart went out to Roxas from the very beginning. He seemed like such a good-natured, kind person, not without a measure of temper, but he thinks things through a bit more than Sora did. His bond with his friends was very sweet as were his intensely charged moments with Axel, not that Axel isn’t as unpredictable as ever. (One of the reasons Axel remains my favorite character is his ambiguous loyalties, wondering what he’s up, yet the impression I have that he has a purpose which he’s being true to.) Namine has stepped up as a character pursuing her own goals, trying to help Sora rather than acting as Organization XIII’s pawn. Kairi’s moment was intriguing, as were Seifer’s appearances in this. The hooded figure and DiZ made quite an impression, raising speculation as to whom they might be. Sora and Riku’s absences are curious, making me guess as to what’s happening to them. All in all, this was an interesting, thought provoking Young Adult manga, done in an attractive style in keeping with the other Kingdom Hearts manga. For all of these qualities, I give this four stars.

[Rick Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roxas, a teenager living in a small village called Twilight Town, just wants to enjoy his summer vacation with his friends. But weird things keep happening. A mysterious thief is stealing not just items, but the memories of those items too. And Roxas keeps having dreams about a boy named Sora.

This is actually the third series of manga based on the Kingdom Hearts game, so it's probably not the best jumping-in point for a franchise with so much lore. It was a bit difficult to keep everyone straight, and the artwork gets very jumpy in the scenes where the various bits of weirdness kick in. I did really enjoy the art in the quieter scenes, but even for someone unfamiliar with Kingdom Hearts, this felt more confusing than it needed to be. A bit more time to breathe and explain would have been nice.

And while I have some idea of what types of things to expect out of Kingdom Hearts is was still a little disconcerting to have Donald Duck and Goofy just show up seemingly randomly in a couple of panels.

Fun character interactions between Roxas and his friends did help make this interesting, but not so much that I felt like I needed to find out what comes next.

[Kimberlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's slightly annoying that the first volume and a half a pretty much the tutorial featuring Roxas from KH2. I mean, I was expecting that, but it didn't make it any less boring. There were some odd panels spread throughout (The fact that Hayner and Ollette wield a baseball bat with nails hammered into it was. . . interesting. . .?) I can honestly say I was surprised by the humor that goes on, especially in the background. Some of the dialogue and interactions of the characters had me laughing out loud. That said, some of the humor. . . geez it was weird. These generally have the same review as the first KH manga: Good for a review of the series. Worth the peruse. Not a masterpiece. Would recommend.

Also, I read these books in chronological order instead of publication order, which means I read the manga for 358/2 first before this series. There is a quality change, but it's negligible. (Yes I preferred 358/2).

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I'm still continuing with my nostalgic reread of these, it's honestly been so much fun revisiting them. I almost want to replay the games again, but they do have a tendency to be time-consuming. I also have been more in a reading mood than a gaming mood, but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, I'm impressed that Amano managed to adapt the KH2 game prologue with way less padding. And as much as the games got me invested in Roxas' character eventually, I wasn't as invested in him toward the beginning of KH2 as I was in this volume. I thought Amano did an excellent job in making more of a properly dynamic character out of Roxas than even the game did. This is an adaptation where everything that was cut and everything that was added were pretty solidly good decisions.

I still hate Ansem the Wise, though. That hasn't changed much over the years. :P

[Brianna Shrout · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be a great companion to read while playing Kingdom of Hearts as well. I have not beat the game at this time but I thought this book would help fill in the gaps between the start of KoH that I was unable to understand. What I did not realize that this is more of a sequel to KoH instead of prequel or a read along. So far no spoilers for the actual game except for that Sora's memories have been tampered with. I am gonna have to play the game tonight when I get home. Maybe I won't be as confused.

[Child960801 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up and started it before noticing the II in the title, so really, I shouldn't be surprised that it doesn't make sense. A boy named Roxas and his friends hang out during summer vacation but then it turns out he isn't real, he's somebody else? The thing that I found weirdest where the Disney characters. Donald, Goofy, Merlin, Beast and others. I kept wondering if the author had got licensing rights from Disney before starting the story.

[Caitlin ~WordsAreMyForte~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been so lost with Kingdom Hearts, and this manga managed to clear up a few things, though not much honestly. The characters are still enjoyable, but the story is always so weird and convoluted at times. We're seven volumes in, and barely anything has really been explained. I'm still confused about why three kids were left to fend for themselves on an island, never mind the significance of this Organization Xlll.

[Krista Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

For any Kingdom Hearts fan. Here comes the tale of Kingdom Hearts 2 as we continue Sora's & Roxas's journey with friends as they piece together their past and present. The art is astounding. The story is told in an intriguing way of pieces itself. It was a pageturner for me. But I am a Kingdom Hearts fan. I am curious as to what first time readers think with no knowledge of this story other than the manga.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roxas and his friends are determined to enjoy their final days of summer, but every morning seems to be bring with it new mysteries that have him questioning his sanity - questions that could reveal the inescapable truth behind his home and his past...Amano begins another enjoyable adaptation that will keep fans hooked with its fun art style and strong blend of emotion and humour. It's as if someone is trying to tell Roxas...something...

[Ethan Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still enjoyable but definitely my least favorite of the KH manga so far. I didn’t love the adaption of the KH2 intro and the Roxas storyline, which I was shocked by because I love the game and the 358/2 manga so much. It all just felt a little too chaotic and scatterbrained. Again, I still had some fun with it though and I can’t wait to continue the series.

[Soumya Mondal · Rating 3 out of 5]

DIsney has done it again! They have successfully ruined manga by shameless self promotion within the manga along other things. Apart from that had fun reading my first manga that I managed to get for dirt cheap. Hope to continue reading into the series till the point I find Mickey Mouse being the villain all along.

[diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wished when i picked up this book it was the first book of the whole book series. but it isn’t it’s the first book of the SECOND series for the book not the first. i still finished the book. but i’m gonna try to read the very first book to understand the whole book series better! but overall it’s a pretty good book!

[Shaun Jex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore the Kingdom Hearts games and this manga was a fantastic way to dive back into the world. Art that perfectly captures the blend of Square Enix and Disney mixed with a story that is endlessly compelling. Even if you've never played the games, this is an epic adventure that checks all the boxes.

[Laulitta · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai eu du mal à entrer dans l'histoire qui est très complexe car je n'avais pas joué aux jeux vidéos. Roxas est un jeune garçon attachant, courageux et intrépide. On retrouve l'univers de la Belle et la Bête. Les dessins sont bien faits et nous donne envie de poursuivre l'aventure.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I completely forgot that I had gotten this waaay back in the day at a book fair when KH2 first came out. I have no idea where my copy is anymore, but I remember loving it. The art for this series was always really stinkin cute.