Kingdom Hearts Volume 2 Review

Please note this review contains spoilers for Kingdom Hearts Volume 2!

Kingdom Hearts was a 2002 video game that quickly became a classic and has since spawned a sprawling franchise that’s equal parts epic and confusing with all the entries included. This manga adaptation by Shiro Amano began in 2003 and was initially localised and released in the west in 2005, before seeing a re-release this year in 2025, courtesy of Turnabout and Panini Manga.

This second volume of the manga covers Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s discovery of new worlds as they visit the Disney Universe versions of Aladdin and Hercules, based off their 1992 and 1997 animated adaptations.

The second volume kicks off with the trio returning to Tarrey Town via Gummi Ship (and crashing into a meteor en-route, thanks to Sora’s over-eagerness), before returning to Tarrey Town to speak with Leon (aka Squall) about the keyhole they located after visiting Wonderland. He emphasises the importance of Sora using his Keyblade to lock the Keyholes in each world and stop the Heartless from taking more worlds in the process.

Aerith (from Final Fantasy VII) is introduced here as a friend to Yuffie and Leon, and points the team in the direction of Cid (also from FF VII) a mechanic who introduces the concept of Navigation Gummis, which allow the Gummi Ship to reach key destinations. In return for this favour the trio are tasked with delivering a repaired book to none other than the Wizard Merlin, from Disney’s 1963 adaptation of The Sword in the Stone. Merlin offers to teach Sora new abilities if he is brought pages for the book, emphasising the importance of the Art of Magic.

Suddenly though, Riku returns to Sora’s side, the two having located each other after the Destiny Islands were consumed by darkness. This reunion is rather short-lived, however, as despite being invited to join in finding Kairi, Riku instead disappears to be by Malificent’s’ side instead, likely through manipulation of his own jealous insecurities towards Sora and Kairi’s bond, but also his advancing skillset as a Keyblade wielder and new friendships.

Maleficent’s presence has left the citizens of Tarrey Town in a state of worry, as it was her actions that resulted in Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid to lose their homes in her quest to locate and obtain the research of Ansem, a figure yet to be introduced in the story but having been referenced several times now. Sora takes this as an opportunity to visit another world to stop her and reunite again with his friends, leading us to the world of Disney’s Aladdin and the setting of Agrabah.

Those who have watched this film will no doubt be familiar with the story that plays out here – scheming Vizier Jafar is plotting to overthrow the Sultan and in this instance plots to kidnap Princess Jasmine, while locking up all the citizens to locate the keyhole of this world. Sora, Donald, and Goofy find themselves being saved from quicksand by the cunning street urchin Aladdin and his new acquaintance Genie, whom he discovered via a magic lamp retrieved from The Cave of Wonders. Monkey Abu (Aladdin’s close pal) manages to catch up with them, courtesy of their swanky flying carpet, and tells him of Jasmine’s capture by Jafar.

The manga wastes no time and the trio plus Aladdin and his crew arrive to save the day, But Jafar is no pushover and even takes the Genie for his own, granting immeasurable power, and the location of the keyhole. Thankfully, as per the film, Jafar’s own megalomania becomes his downfall and a wish to become an all-powerful Genie leaves him trapped in the lamp, as the Genie once was. Jasmine has sadly been taken, and though he wishes to help Aladdin cannot travel with his new friends, but does put a final wish to good use by freeing the Genie once and for all (the first saved Sora, Donald, and Goofy from the quicksand, the second Goofy again whilst escaping the aftermath of defeating Jafar). This section of the original game is adapted very quickly here but does the job in conveying the storyline (and no Kurt Zisa boss to deal with either!).

As Volume 2 winds down, the action only picks up as after a recap with Cid (who handily installed a communication system on the Gummi Ship) Sora, Donald, and Goofy end up in the world of Disney’s Hercules. Here, Hades is predictably up to no good, and has allied himself with Maleficent, who not only has Riku but seemingly also Kairi in her possession. The trio attempt to enter the games taking place at the Coliseum in this world, as owned by Phil, a grouchy Satyr who runs the games, who rejects them owing to their inferior strength compared to Hercules. Hades steps in and hands over a pass allowing entry, but it’s revealed that the villain has hired a warrior to kill the trio and take their keyblade for his own devilish deeds – with none other than Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII as the warrior.

Phil has a change of heart and agrees to help the trio, who stand no match against Cloud during their fight, but as Hades unleashes the three-headed defender of the Underworld Cerberus to finish everyone off, Hercules reappears to give them time to escape, but Sora, Donald, and Goofy can’t just stand by and so re-enter the fight to prove their worth as heroes, just as the volume concludes.

This second volume rarely steps on the brakes, so to speak, once Sora, Donald, and Goofy enter the respective Disney worlds from the game, but does slow down to divulge important story details, ones that only grew more confusing as the games progressed, but here are manageable and intriguing to follow. Maleficent continues to be an imposing threat bubbling mostly in the background and working through other villains to fulfil her evil plans. Our heroic trio remain root-worthy and fun to follow, with some solid banter and comedy, but also an endearing enough lead hero in Sora, whose characterisation here requires that bit extra compared to the game where his actions are firmly in the players hands.

Translation for Kingdom Hearts Volume 2 has been carried out by Alethea and Athena Nibley and it is solid here. The volume also includes some nice extras like several colour pages, a bonus prequel chapter, and some mini comedy-focused comics aka “Kingdom Bites”. It is also worth mentioning that this manga reads front-to-back like a typical western comic/graphic novel as opposed to back-to-front like a typical manga is presented.

Overall, Kingdom Hearts Volume 2 is a solid continuation, and though fast-paced, continues to adapt the source material fairly well, and presents a good read in its own right, breathing plenty of life and charm into its characters as the story gradually unravels its secrets and character motivations.

Our review copy from Panini was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).