Being

There are three forms of being within the game world: living beings, heartless and nobodies. Here is the logic as explained by Yen Sid (the knowing wizard and diegetic tutor).

(Nobody and Heartless)


Sora: But wait a sec, how come the Heartless are still running around?
Yen Sid: Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness. Make no mistake about that. However, the Heartless are darkness made real and darkness yet lingers in every heart. The Heartless are fewer, but while darkness exists in a single heart it will be difficult to eliminate them.
Goofy: Gorsh, that must mean if everybody's heart was full of light them Heartless would go away!
Yen Sid: Now it is time to speak of the enemies you will encounter. If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart they too will become a Heartless, but you know this. The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts. Never let your guard down. Now then, at times if someone with a strong heart and will, be they evil or good becomes a Heartless the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own. An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away. A spirit that goes on even as its body fades from existence. For you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all. Nobodies may seem to have feelings but this is a ruse they only pretend to have hearts. you must not be deceived.
Sora: Nobodies. They don't exist
Yen Sid: Now then, the being you see before you is known as a Dusk. they are the most common form of nobody. but there are others. Some larger. Some with frightening and unique powers. be vigilant. on your journey you will meet an alarming number of Dusks. They will all attempt to do you harm. Still they are nothing but empty shells destined to return to darkness. But...the beings you see before you now are different. these powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII. It commands the lesser Nobodies.
Sora: Organization XIII...
Yen Sid: While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner, they can think and plan and it seems they are working towards a goal. What that goal is we do not know. The king sensed the danger and journeyed forth to find it. He found the dark realms keyblade and closed the door. Now he's traveling from world to world fighting the heartless as he seeks the answer to the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII.

Sora: それよりーどうして世界にはまだハートレスがいるの？
Yen Sid: そなたたちの働きによって大いなる闇から大量のハートレスがあふれだす事態はさけることができた。しかし、ハートレスは元々世界に存在している心の闇が具現化したもの。数は減ったが、心に闇がある限り完全に消し去ることはむずかしい。
Goofy: じゃあ、もし、心が光であふれればハートレスはいなくなるんですね！
Yen Sid: では、おまえたちが戦うであろう敵について話しておこう。もし、ドナルドが自らの心の闇にやぶれてしまうと心無き者、ハートレスになってしまう。これはよいかな？ハートレスは相変わらず心を求めてうろついているから気を抜いてはいかん。さてー良くも悪くも、強い心を持った者強い思いを持った者がハートレスになると、残された抜け殻が意志を持ち動き出すことがある。これがノーバディだ。心を奪われし器ー魂の存在ー消え行く肉体ーいや、存在しない者。感情的に動いているように見えるが、実際は心があるかのように振る舞っているだけだ。奴らの言動に惑わされてはいかんぞ。
Sora: ノーバディーー？存在しない者
Yen SId: さて、このタイプのノーバディはダスクと呼ばれている。ノーバディの一般的な姿だな。これ以外にも大きいものや特別な能力を持ったノーバディがいるから注意が必要だぞ。よいか？通常のノーバディどもは数が多いので厄介だが、しょせんはただの抜け殻。悪さはするだろうがほどなく闇に溶けてしまう。しかしー彼らはノーバディの中でも特別な存在だ。ⅩⅢ機関と呼ばれる組織を作り他のノーバディを統率している。
Sora: ⅩⅢ機関
Yen Sid: 本能的に活動するハートレスとは違い。ノーバディは統率され、何事かをなさんとしているようだ。しかし、その目的は見当がつかん。王は世界の危機にいち早く気づいて行動をおこした。闇の世界のキーブレードを見つけ出し扉を閉じた。そしてなお、ハートレスと戦いながらⅩⅢ機関ノーバディの目的を探そうと世界を駆けめぐっているのだ。

A being is thus comprised of various things, but mainly a heart, a body and memory. The heart is a repository for the various emotions (seen in the Halloween Town experiment as well as the Nobodies' lack of emotions) as well as somehow tied to both light and dark (known through the discussions between Xehanort's Heartless and Sora throughout the game). The body is a shell and both mistreated by the gameworld's logic and the characters: Pinocchio has a heart but is not really a body, and Nobodies are, in fact, a body even though they supposedly are an empty, non-existign shell (存在しない者). Finally, memories link/chain between people and in this way are one of the more important aspects of being.

As Yen Sid states, when a being gives in to the darkness in their heart they turn into a Heartless. In actuality, their heart is swallowed by the Heartless.

(Creation of a Heartless)


The Heartless is thus mindless darkness that has taken a heart. When the Heartless is killed the heart is then released into the world where it goes to Kingdom Hearts.

(A Heartless is killed and its heart goes to Kingdom Hearts)


The only instances of this not happening are the 7 princesses of Heart and Sora, all of which remain unexplained other than to give both Sora and Kairi Nobodies (Roxas and Namine respectively), but no Heartless.

The Heartless seek only hearts and as sucha re depicted as rather mindless creatures. Base and animalistic - primal evil, rather than 'cultured' evil.

On the other side of the equation is the Nobody that is formed when the being is strong. The Nobody is the body, the empty shell. It has no heart as the heart went to the Heartless, and it has no memories of who it was. It has memories of the present, but cannot form emotions. As such, the heart is posited as intrinsically tied with memory and what might be called the essence of being is somehow tied with both but unexplicated. When Sora is turned into a Heartless/Nobody he claims 'he' was floating in teh darkness, but that his ties to Kairi brought him back. His soul/essence is tied to memory and others.

If the Heartless are base, animalistic creatures the Nobodies are posited as strategic evil.

In a franchise so primarily about transnationalism and territory the question now becomes how does one read these forms of being? The heroes of liberal agency that has been given an equal pattering of the social subject, but what of the rest? At this point I'm not sure.

Translation Issue #3: 繋ぐ, Connect/Tie/Chain

One of the key words or themes used throughout the franchise is that of connection. Sora's social self, as connected, survives/triumph's; Riku's individual self must be tempered with social connects; the worlds must be separated, must not be connected; memories are connected; people are connected through memories and hearts.

The word used in Japanese is 繋ぐ. The only instance it strays is during Chain of Memories when talking about how memories are 鎖, chains. However, like the idea of chains of iron and gold, chains in this way can be shackles or they can be lifelines. Whereas the Nobodies indicate that memories are shackles, or rather memory is a shackle (記憶の鎖), the good social subject Sora holds them as lifelines.

The English words used are link, connect, tie and chain. While there is no particular added meaning in any of these terms, and in fact the dual meaning of chain brings out Chain of Memories' theme far better than 鎖, the breadth of words does not in fact hammer in the concept, both good and bad, of connection.

Mobility

There are various forms of mobility within the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Mobility changes forms over the course of the games as well as between the games. However, there are themes of acceptable and unacceptable mobility that hold throughout and between the games.

Kingdom Hearts
The Heartless travel through dark routes that are somehow connected by keyholes. That they do not disappear from a world when Sora closes the keyhole is suspect. However, that the world must be "connected, tied to the darkness" "闇と繋がった" is important (1)

(Leon explains the keyholes)


(Destiny Islands is connected)


It is assumed that Riku's method of travel where he uses his dark energy and not a 'vessel' '船' somehow links into the Heartless means of travel. This method is continually used throughout the franchise.

Second are those few who simply have strong will. Among these are Sora, Riku and Kairi at the beginning and Beast at the end of the game. This belief/will power induced travel is rare and not replicated throughout the remainder of the franchise. It is used to bring the main characters to a state where they can travel, but is then discarded. In this way it is almost a primal or innocent form of mobility.

(Riku, Sora and Beast travelling on willpower)




Third is Gummi Ship travel, which utilizes technology that came about through the introduction of heartless into the world. That the player fights Heartless ships between the routes indicates either that you travel along the same paths or that they simply are there to cause problems.

(Gummi travel)


The belief form of travel is given important stature an never really looked down upon in any way within the game world. It shows individual power and agency, and especially in the instance of Beast it is seen as something that must be investigated.

The Heartless travel, of connecting worlds to move between, is from the start seen as negative. It comes from the expansion of darkness, but also specifically from Riku's desire to escape his island, to travel. By him inviting darkness and homogeneity he can travel, but it is what is then combatted for the remainder of the game. Mobility is both desired and feared, good and bad, just as are connections. Destiny Islands loses its innocence, but then again, Sora and Riku are able to then save the expansive world through that necessary loss of innocence. Like Japan's entrance to modernity, the opening of the borders and the Meiji restoration, Destiny Islands' path must be read as bittersweet, but necessary.

In the end, the ultimate closing of the door to Kingdom Hearts returns to world to its unconnected, pure state, and in so doing eradicates (momentarily) Gummi Ship travel. However, the emotional links between people are maintained. Hearts and memories are maintained as links between people. Such links, unlike the connections between worlds, are consistently considered good (even in the case of evil characters' links - eg: Axel and Maleficent)

(Leon, Yuffie and Aeris explain the end of mobility and remaining emotional ties)






Chain of Memories
This brings us to the beginning of Chain of Memories. Riku and Mickey are on one side of the giant door in the world of darkness. Mickey finds himself, eventually, in Twilight Town then travels to Castle Oblivion by card. How this happens is unexplained, but such a mystery generally surrounds Mickey's movements. Riku is led to Castle Oblivion by Diz/Ansem instead of giving up/dying. Sora, Donald and Goofy seal the world from the End of the World (non dark) side and end up in some unknown place where they are led to Castle Oblivion by Marluxia (2).

Within Castle Oblivion all action, mobility included, is done through cards. Action cards (magic, attack, summon et cetera) as well as room cards are obtained during battles, but floor cards are different. Floor cards are made from memories of places even if those memories end up being both suspect and partial. Sora's friends don't remember him, he forgets Kairi, but ultimately he remembers (3).

(Action Cards ; Room Cards ; Floor Cards)


While the imperfection but dependance upon memory is interesting my purposes here remain focused on mobility, something that regains focus as one of Sora's final acts in the tower. After defeating Marluxia, and just before agreeing to have his memory restored, Sora seals Marluxia's room in the same manner as he sealed the keyholes in Kingdom Hearts. Thus, the same act of supremacy and liberal agency practiced in Kingdom Hearts is repeated at the end of Chain of Memories: mobility is for those who deserve it, which is to say, for Sora and Company to decide and enact.

(Sora seals Marluxia's room)


Riku's journey is less about mobility and more about liminality between light and dark. However, as his mobility is dependent upon his utilization of the dark, it remains an issue. He comes to terms with his own darkness, his individuality, by taking the middle path between light and dark, social and individual. Riku's mobility is interesting, but it is Mickey's that is important. Originally, he is barred from entrance, however, he eventually overcomes that and manages to arrive to save Riku. His adaptability, Disney's adaptability, while limited, is proved to be unstoppable. The same unstoppability allows Mickey to be everywhere in Kingdom Hearts II. He has absolute and unquestioned mobility beyond any other character.

Kingdom Hearts 2
Initially the only groups that can travel are the Heartless, the Nobodies, Riku through his utilization of darkness and Mickey through his mysterious mobility.

When Sora, Donald and Goofy are given the run down by Yen Sid they are told that the old connections are gone. However, the worlds themselves support the creation of new pathways:

Yen Sid: これこれ、まあ、待ちなさい。そなたたちの活躍のおかげで世界は今元の状態に戻っている。つまり世界をつなぐ道は消えてしまった。
Donald: 困ったなぁー
Yen Sid: 心配するな。王が言うには世界はそなたたちに新たな道を用意したようだ。その道はゲートを開くことによって使えるようになるはずだ。ゲートを開く方法はーわたしにはわからん。しかし、ソラのキーブレードが教えてくれるらしい。剣が光を放ったらグミシップに戻るといいだろう。目に見えぬ心のつながりのごとく、離ればなれになっても、全てはつながっておるというわけだ。
Sora: 心がつながってる。
Yen Sid: そのとおり。
Sora: 了解！
Yen Sid: しかし気をつけろ。闇に巣くう者たちーノーバディ、ハートレスは闇の回廊と呼ばれる道を使って世界を渡り歩く。その回廊とゲートをつないでしまおうとする動きもあるようだ。
Donald: 欲張りだなあ。

Yen Sid: Now, now. Just a moment. Because of your previous endeavors the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared.
Donald: How do we get around?
Yen Sid: Do not fear. If what the king suspected proves true the worlds have prepared new pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened I'm afraid I do not know. However, the keyblade will serve as your guide. When a beam of light radiates from the keyblade return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts.
Sora: Our hearts are connected.
Yen Sid: That is correct.
Sora: Got it.
Yen Sid: But, be warned. As you proceed the Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths: corridors of darkness to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds.
Donald: Hey, that's not fair!

These new pathways take the form of commodity connections. One can travel between places as soon as they appropriate commodity is located. Specifically, commodities allow travel from the world to others and not to the world itself. Thus, the order of mobility is that one finds a world's commodity, activates it, and then is granted access to connecting worlds: follow the labour.

(Activating Hollow Bastion's card grants access to the connecting worlds of The Land of Dragons and Beast's Castle)


The only world where this does not in fact take place is the initial trip to Hollow Bastion where it is stated that they feel it's a familiar place: the same heart/memory connections from Chain of Memories justify the initial travel to Hollow Bastion, but not to other places where they've been before such as Atlantica or Agrabah.

(Going to Hollow Bastion from memory)


The end of the game brings about total connection between the worlds that have been granted by the worlds and the key bearers, bringers of foreign influence. However, the only ones to use this mobility are Sora, Riku, Mickey and Company (Diz/Ansem included), and the Moogles, the merchants.

William claimed that Moogles break the 4th wall, and they do. They are also the string that connects all of the games together. They are the merchants and creators. They synthesize/build items and they sell cards.

(Moogles in KH, COM and KH2)


Future
It can only be assumed the franchise will continue as it has been so popular. The logics of sequels and remakes demand no less. What we will of course see are the increase of key bearers (the count is at 10 although 3 of those are the same being, and 3 are 'dead') who are mobile. It will ultimately be a battle between the good key users and the bad ones. It will go directly back to Triton's fears of protectionism and the unavoidable havoc wrought by transnationalism and multinational business. On the one side will be Disney, Sora and Riku (if they do not move to new characters), and on the other can only be some allegorical embodiment of multinational big business turned bad, which of course isn't Disney. No never.

Notes:
(1) The word 繋ぐ is consistently used in the Japanese. However, it rotates between connected, tied and linked in English.

(2) Mobility of the Nobodies is assumed to be in full functionality between floors of the castle and it is assumed between other worlds although 358/2 Days will likely have more to say about this time.

(3) Memory here is not opposed by oblivion as it seems to be in the naming. Rather all memories are tied to hearts and people and if strong enough are permanent. This is, of course, a rather simple understanding of memory that is slightly more in depth throughout the game, but unimportant for the present purposes.

Connections: Memory, Heart, Friends and Worlds

Friends and Subjects
The link between friends who avoid becoming heartless and heartless friendless people begins in Deep Jungle with Tarzan's talk of "ei ooh ooh ooh ah" which somehow translates to either 'heart' or 'friend' or possible both.

Jane: そうか※＆＆x％って”こころ”のことね？こころの中の友達ー
Tarzan: こ•こ•ろー
Sora: なんだよ、そういうことかー
Tarzan: ともだち、こころ同じ。クレイトンこころなくした。こころないともだちみえない。こころないひとりぼっち。
Jane: Oh, no I've got it. "ei ooh ooh ooh ah" means heart. Friends in our hearts.
Tarzan: Heart.
Sora: Oh, so that's what it meant.
Tarzan: Friends same heart. Clayton lose heart. No heart no see friends. No heart no friends.

Clayton lost his heart as he had no friends; Sora is strong because he has friends. This logic is extended through the Coliseum world where Sora proves his heroism in battle and claims his friends are his strength. For the majority of the first game friends themselves are considered strength in a more social aspect of being.

(Tarzan, Heart and Friends)


(Strength of Heart as Friends)


Chain of Memories clarifies the intricacies of the divide between individual and social, loner and group, friends and memory. The game begins with Sora entering 忘却の城, Castle Oblivion. Oblivion in some situations is equal to forgetting, but one irony that comes out through the story is that while translationally it works, the creators' understanding of memory works in a completely different way. Not a matter Oblivion. Sora's journey involves him interacting with memories of his friends. He slowly forgets his friends, particularly Kairi, and remembers Namine. The game's conclusion posits several things: a) Sora protects his friends regardless of whether their based on true or false memories, b) Sora's memories of his friends are too strong to be fully erased, and c) peoples hearts are tied to each other through memories. Essentially, Sora represents the social subject who lives and survives through his ties to others. The chains of memory are not shackles, but links that help and protect.

(Namine explains Heart, Memory, Chains and Friends)


Simultaneously, but unknown to the player until the end of Sora's voyage to the 13th floor, Riku enters the same castle from the basement and travels to the 1st floor where he leaves from the entrance. Like Sora, Riku visits worlds the player has previously experienced, however, many of these worlds were never visited by Riku in the first Kingdom Hearts. That said, the logic given is that he abandoned his home, family and friends and took on darkness. As such, he encounters only creatures of darkness.

(Only dark creatures throughout Riku's journey)


(Riku's memories are empty because he gave up family and friends)


Riku climbs up the castle, basement through empty floors until he reaches the memory of his home islands. At this point he finds shadows of his friends who disappear.

(Disappearing Friends)


Whereas the previous floors represent his individual, independent nature, Destiny Islands shows his abandonment of sociality. At this point Sora and Riku are simply two extremities, the social and the individual, what one might claim as the extreme Social and Individual subjects. There is of course a connection here to the Japanese social subject and the American individual subject. However, the conclusion of Riku's story indicates the necessity of the social. He requires Mickey's assistance. This is repeated in the conclusion of Kingdom Hearts II where Riku, who went solo, gave himself to darkness and took Ansem's form in order to help defeat Organization XIII, rejoins Sora and company and ultimately defeats Xemnas together with Sora. Like the typical reliance of a team of characters in Japanese RPGs opposed to the solo hero of Western FPS games like Doom, Kingdom Hearts ultimately falls on the side of the social subject. People are dependent upon the social, on friends.

(Riku wants to fight alone, but needs Mickey's help)



(Riku as the individual subject eventually teams up with Sora to defeat Xemnas)


Connections
Now we come to the concept of connections and ties. Worlds are tied to darkness; hearts are tied to each other and light. Some ties are explicitly good, but others are bad. Those that are good are between people, those that are bad are between worlds. Worlds are to remain separate and separated, but people must be connected. Within a transnational aesthetic the world order/border must be maintained, but the people must be connected through heart/memory.

(Ansem connecting the worlds through darkness is 'bad')


(Being connected to people is 'good')


Finally, in Kingdom Hearts II there is a third form of connection that is acceptable: commodity connections. These commodity connections are what Sora and company use to travel between the worlds. It is no longer the worlds themselves that have keyholes and passages, but items in/of the worlds, commodities, which connect.

(New Commodity Connections - Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Card)



(The Land of Dragons - Sword ; Twilight Town - Sea Salt Ice Cream)