The Reasons behind the Choice (Intro)
The first pull toward Kingdom Hearts was the obvious connection to an East-West division, that the game itself distinctly conjoined two enormous franchises – Disney from the West and Square Enix, which produced the Final Fantasy game series, from the East.
My original essay topic is listed as “Kingdom Hearts in the context of Orientalism and traditional Japanese aesthetics”. However, as we progressed through the course, I realized there was a lot more to look at than simply East/West implications and the influence of “traditional” Japanese aesthetic theory (by this, I mean Tanizaki’s essay). Instead, I would like to analyze Kingdom Hearts, not only in relation to these ideas, but to post-modern discourse as introduced to us by Murakami.
As a final note, by “Kingdom Hearts”, I mean to draw from various aspects of the series as a whole, as a franchise, and its impact – Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 2 and official artwork and products by Square are all fair game as sources and images.
A Quick Overview of Terms and Characters
Sora – the main character, the hero you play as, a cheery all-around “good guy”
Riku – the foil for the hero, best friend (to hero) turned enemy turned friend
Heartless – darkness personified – they are attracted to hearts and turn people into Heartless
Nobodies – the body left behind when one become Heartless – they have no feelings but sure
act like they do
Organization XIII – group of high level Nobodies, can exercise power over lower level Nobodies
Roxas - Sora's Nobody
From East to West (Idea 1)
Connections with Isolationism
· One of the recurring visual motifs in KH and KH2 is the world map screen
- Narratively, there is also a strong emphasis on the need for separate worlds to protect the “world order” – this emphasis is reminiscent of the Japanese policy of isolationism – separating the country from the rest of the world
- When going to a new world while playing through in KH, one must first open the route by passing through “gummi space”, a sort of low tech space battle with the Heartless (the primary threat in the first game). It is only after a certain point in the game, when a part allowing you to “warp” is obtained, that you can bypass the battles – the worlds, as displayed on the world map are very similar to islands, and the way the player must open the routes can be likened to how the Americans and the Europeans forced their way in to Japan. Nowadays, the world has become globalized and visiting other countries has become easier, much like the concept of “warping”.
- Between KH and KH2, the routes close because in the second game, the player has to open them again – from this continuing mentality of separation in the game, you can get a sense that countries in our world mentally continue to isolate themselves.
Occident vs. the Other
· Sora vs. Roxas
- The idea of the Occidental vs. the Other reminded me of the concept of people and Nobodies in Kingdom Hearts, especially the Nobodies that retain human form. I don’t know if you know Kingdom Hearts very well, but Heartless steal people’s hearts. These people become Heartless; the physical body left behind becomes animated, thus becoming a Nobody, a whitish sort of creature, if the person had a strong heart. The Nobodies of those with the strongest hearts maintain human form, closely resembling their former Somebody. Anyway, I was thinking that it’s similar to how the Japanese tried very hard to be like Westerners; the human-like Nobodies desire nothing more than to become like people again – a whole plot revolves around this desire.
- Sora and his Nobody, Roxas, have a very special relationship in that Sora was only Heartless for a short time. In the first game, he lost his heart but regained it quickly. Roxas is the result of that. The beginning of KH2 reveals that in order for Sora to be made whole again, Roxas must become a part of him once more. I think that this relationship can be viewed from an Orientalist perspective, that Sora is like the West and Roxas like the East. The West eventually absorbs the East as part of its quest for progress. Sora and Roxas, like the West and the East, are two parts of a whole, both of which struggle for the dominant identity. Eventually, Roxas is absorbed, much like the East became “Westernized”, but in the ending sequences of the game, his face can be seen overshadowing Sora’s, showing how he still exists somewhat separately below the surface. Similarly, Murakami and other contemporary Japanese artists show how a search for national culture and identity exists within a modernized and “Westernized” culture.
The Influence of Japanese Aesthetic Theory (Idea 2)
Shadows and Light – A blending of Western and Eastern Aesthetic Symbolism
· Heartless vs. Nobodies
- On the one hand, the Heartless are portrayed as a threat, as a mindless, engulfing force that will swallow all worlds. They are dark, the most recognizable design being black, crawling, ant-like creatures with glowing yellow eyes. One of the most obvious reasons for this design is that it will fit in with Western and Westernized mindsets, of goodness as light and evil as darkness. But I think, if you can look beyond that, the meaning of light and dark are not so clear cut. Yes, the Heartless are born of the darkness in people’s hearts. But, they are portrayed more as something basic, something instinctual, something human. A lot of the dialogue in the first game focuses on the power of darkness, warnings not to succumb to its power, but at the same time, it is acknowledged that darkness and light exist within every heart. It is a natural state of being.
- Nobodies are described in the game as “white husks” (at least, the minion Nobodies). Higher level Nobodies look like people. But the point is that the colors associated with them are white and grey. Maybe a light beige. However, they, like the Heartless, are threats, and so the color symbolism of the West (black and white, good and evil) don’t seem to fit anymore. So why white? Why not red or something dark and sinister? I think that Tanizaki’s ideas lend meaning the color. He describes Western aesthetics with disapproving tone – bright, shiny, modern, sparkling. His descriptions give the feeling of sterility and of shallowness. Shallow, in particular is an apt word to describe Nobodies. They are empty husks, looking for their humanity, so perhaps Tanizaki’s sterile, Western white was the perfect color choice for them.
o Technological/Modern Associations with Nobodies
§ Organization XIII, a group composed of the highest level Nobodies, added a technological aspect to the overall design in Kingdom Hearts. Their worlds consist of light grey and clean white colors, simplistic in design but reminiscent of Western bathrooms, as described by Tanizaki.
§ Although the Organization is a group of “villains” in the game, they are sympathetic villains, wanting to be human and whole, but unable to because of what happened to them. I would like to explore this characterization and portrayal and what it says about pressures to modernize and change, especially by the West (specifically Matthew Perry and the US in the 19th c.)
· Sora vs. Riku – a further exploration of light and dark
- Sora, as the hero, is represented as “goodness”, the spokesperson for the side of “light”. But once again, it’s not as straightforward as that. The only people in the game who are actually “pure of heart” with no darkness inside them are the Seven Princesses of Light. Throughout all three games, Sora has his own weaknesses, his own darkness, to deal with.
- Riku steeps himself in darkness, actually becoming a vessel for a very powerful Heartless. After the first game, his struggle to overcome darkness becomes much more pronounced and characterized as valiant. He is shown as a person with a strong heart.
- The strength of their friendship and their portrayal, especially in the second game, explore the interconnectivity of light and dark and good and evil, how each force exists within people and what comes of awareness of those forces. Awareness shifts into bias, and I think, into feelings of superiority, at least moral bias provides people with self-justification for actions and feelings of arrogance and superiority.
“Ma” in Kingdom Hearts
· Corridors of darkness
The World that Never Was
Castle Oblivion
- Places like these exist as a separate realm from the other worlds – the realm of darkness. It seems to be connected to “reality” (the reality the other worlds belong to); at least, Organization members use them to travel between worlds. The realm of darkness doesn’t exist to the player or the characters unless being used or inhabited explicitly, in a cut-scene or at the point in the game when access to actual places (aforementioned places) in the realm is gained
· In-between places – ex. Traverse Town, Twilight Town, the simulated Twilight Town, the portals at End of the World
- These places are like intervals…. Actually, the notion of worlds in this game can be completely linked to “ma”. To be even broader, “fielding” in general relates to ma. Cut-scenes within games are like the “positive events” discussed in the Kevin Nute paper (found on the main blog). These scenes mark progress in the game, at least in the storyline. When a player fields, trying to level up or complete subplots (mini-games and missions), essentially they are in a “non-eventful interval”, that is their actions don’t directly contribute to continuing the plot of the game.
· Nobodies and the Emptiness of Form
- Nobodies are exceptional because they are said to be nothing but form. Because they lack hearts, they are said to be empty, they are said to be “nothings”. But, looking at it from an outside point of view, they still seem to act on feelings and emotions, which were supposedly stripped from them when they lost their hearts. The game’s explanation for this is that they “remember” what it was like to have a heart and act according to their memories.
Connections to Post-Modern Discourse (Idea 3)
Infantilization
· RPG – role-playing game
- KH, an RPG, is also a hero quest. The hero begins his journey as a 14 year old boy, an adolescent. Now I think this is implicative of infantilization in Japan and representative of the need to overcome it. Adolescence marks a period of growth and maturation, so what better age to have the character begin at? Games in general have systems of leveling up and becoming stronger in order to continually challenge players. A hero quest is a very convenient vehicle to convey this need to overcome regression and infantilization.
Tentative Conclusion:
After sifting through all these ideas and looking through images and playing the games, I feel like this game is a product of people looking for identity within discourses. Maybe they are even trying to break down the discourses. Nomura once stated in an interview that “‘Kingdom Hearts’ always have something like ‘a person’s heart’ and ‘connection of hearts’ as its theme,” and I think that KH could even be referring to a much broader sense. In this globalized world, people are interconnected. Culturally, we need to break down the divisions we and history have placed between us, so that our countries are not like the separate worlds in Kingdom Hearts, but like the friends Sora makes in each world who still feel connected and loved no matter how far apart they are. It’s like a call for peace and tolerance and understanding regardless of built-up discourses and reactions to history.
We pray for our sorrows to end,
And hope that our hearts will blend.
Now I will step forward to realize this wish.
There are many worlds,
But they share the same sky –
One sky, one destiny.
+Kingdom Hearts+
