The Keyblade Graveyard Part 2: Japanese and English Comparison
This is the sixth in a series of translation and analysis posts I’ve done about KH3. I’ll go into detail on camera angles and camera shots, draw connections to past KH games, and, of course, talk about translation and the social aspects of language.
I’ve broken up this analysis into multiple parts because it was getting so long. The first part covered Aqua and Ven’s interactions with Terranort, and this part is about when he attacks Kairi and Lea. There will be seven parts total.
Here’s a general key for the kind of analysis I like to do:
JP: Official Japanese Dialogue
EN: Official English Dialogue
TR: My Translation (usually more literal and thus more stilted than the official English version. I’m not using natural-sounding English in order to stick as close to the Japanese versions of the lines as possible for the purpose of analysis)
Notes: things I found interesting, grammatical points, extra thoughts, etc.
One last note: media doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Every work of art must be viewed through the cultural lens of the people who made it. Kingdom Hearts, for all its ties to Disney, is still very much a Japanese game, so it should be analyzed in light of that.
With that in mind, let’s continue.
We left off with Aqua screaming Ven’s name in a panic:
The next shot is at a tilted angle again to show how “off” everything is about what’s happening, and Sora is the one who attacks. Goes to show how protective Sora is of Ven, which is a nice character touch:
JP おまえ！
EN That’s it!
TR Why you!
Notes: Sora uses the derogatory second person pronoun omae here to refer to Terranort. His tone is forecful, too, to indicate he is not happy about what Terranort has done.
He summons his Keyblade and charges:
And the camera changes to Terranort’s perspective. This has the added effect of making it seem as if Sora is charging at us, the audience:
Only for Terranort to stop him with the power of darkness:
He grunts and struggles as he tries to free his Keyblade. Note his clenched teeth, too:
We get this bird’s eye view shot as Sora continues to struggle and Terranort holds him in place almost effortlessly. Note how he only needs to use one hand to do it, whereas Sora is using both hands to try to free his Keyblade:
The camera pans over Terranort, and the Xehanort look is on full display in this shot before he blasts Sora backwards. Note again how the camera is at a tilted angle to add to the unease of the scene:
Much like when Ven was sent flying, the camera cuts to a rear perspective as Sora flies backwards. Note again the tilted angle and how the camera seems to be on the ground. Sora cries out both when Terra first blasts him with darkness…
…and again when he lands on his back on the ground. His Keyblade falls with a loud clank as well:
Note how his knee is bent here:
This will form a nice sense of continuity later on in the scene.
Terranort, content that Sora is out of the picture, turns around and sets his sights on Kairi, the camera panning with him:
The camera cuts to a shot from Kairi’s perspective of Terranort charging at her, and by extension, the audience. Note the tilted angle again:
Then we get a medium shot of Kairi bracing herself for the attack. Note her defensive stance as she gasps…
…only for Lea to jump in front of her in the nick of time:
This is especially touching considering how he kidnapped her in KH2; it goes to show how much their relationship has changed since then. He was her kidnapper before, and now he is protecting her with his life. His redemption has come full circle.
The angle is tilted again, and the characters are viewed from behind in a wide shot to better show the action. Lea has his Keyblade out..
…but it’s not enough. Terranort is simply too strong. He throws Lea back like he weighs nothing, causing Lea to cry out…
…and the camera tracks Lea’s movement pretty steadily:
Lea hits a boulder (ouch!)…
…before hitting another boulder, and the camera bounces and shakes as he does to give an idea of how hard he was knocked into those boulders, so much so that it affected the environment:
The camera cuts to a medium shot of Kairi, and much like how Ven’s loss was framed in terms of Aqua’s reaction earlier, the scene frames Lea’s loss in terms of Kairi’s concern, Kairi’s fear and sorrow and worry. She calls out his name, sounding very distressed:
JP アクセル！
EN Axel!
TR Axel!
Notes: She uses the name Axel instead of Lea, just like he told her to. Another detail showing how close they’ve become.
Her concern is for his safety and wellbeing…
…until something, well, someone else demands her attention:
And her mouth drops open and she raises her in surprise:
We cut to a shot of Terranort with his Keyblade raised high over his head, and Kairi gasps as the camera tilts upward. Note the low angle that makes him look as if he is towering over her. The rapidity of the cut also suggests how quickly he moves:
Something else I noticed is that he is attacking her differently than he attacked both Ven and Lea before. Those attacks were sideswipes that caught them in the chest and sent them flying. This attack is meant to land on her skull and make her crumple to the ground. Terranort is certainly strong enough that such a blow could kill her on the spot.
And while I’ve seen people wonder why she didn’t use her Keyblade, in her defense, she just saw how useless both Sora and Lea’s Keyblades were against Terranort! She is a much less experienced fighter than they are; she knows that if they don’t stand a chance against him, she doesn’t, either. Plus, she’s still in shock from seeing Lea, her friend, her confidant, her fellow student, just get flung to the side like he was nothing. Her freezing up like this is understandable, especially considering how quickly Terranort moves.
Thankfully, Sora has recovered enough to sit up. Note how his left knee is still bent like it was when he was knocked down:
He sees what is happening…
…and moves to do something about it without hesitation:
Notice how the camera focuses on his entire body in a full shot to better underscore him springing into action.
His pose in the following screenshot is not unlike that of a runner getting ready to start a race. He’s preparing to push off the ground with both his hand and his right foot to give him as much momentum as possible:
He knows he has a limited window to reach Kairi, and timing is everything. He’s preparing to run as fast as he can as he pushes off:
The camera briefly goes into slow motion here as we see him running towards Terranort and Kairi with his arm outstretched:
The framing in this shot is really interesting, too; we get a full body shot of Sora running towards the camera, with Terranort on the left side and Kairi on the right side looking up at him to really highlight the size/strength differences between the two of them:
Note the camera angle is still tilted slightly to give that sense of unease:
Then the camera changes to a full shot of Mickey and Riku reacting. For once the camera is not tilted, perhaps to indicate how Mickey is trying to break through the chaos here:
JP ダメだ ソラ！
EN No! Sora!
TR It’s no use, Sora! OR Don’t do it, Sora!
Notes: In the Japanese version, Mickey uses the word dame, which can mean a variety of things, depending on context. Here it most likely means Mickey is trying to express a prohibition against Sora doing something, or he is warning of the futility of the act.
In the English version, Mickey tells Sora no, showing his concern for Sora’s safety, but the unfortunate side effect is that he sounds like he doesn’t care about Kairi. Perhaps it was intended to be an “oh no Sora, not you too!” kind of a thing, but unfortunately it does not come across that way.
I’ve thought about this at length, and I think adding Kairi’s name would’ve fixed the issue, because it would’ve made it clear Mickey was expressing concern for both her safety as well as Sora’s. Instead it kind of seems like he only cares about Sora here, even if that wasn’t the intent.
Just my two cents. Anyway, back to proper analysis.
Donald and Goofy, bless them, spring into action and race to get there in time in a blur of motion…
…as Mickey and Riku reach towards Sora:
The camera then cuts to Kairi. We’re shown a shot from Terranort’s POV, and the high angle emphasizes her vulnerability. Note the fear on her face as well. She’s exhibiting signs of shock here, much like Aqua and Ven did earlier:
Till suddenly, out of left field (literally), Sora intervenes:
He’s just a blur of motion compared to Kairi’s relatively stable form:
Notice how she staggers backwards a little under the impact of his weight as he throws his arms around her:
Then he buries his face in her shoulder and clings to her. He knows he might die, he knows at the very least he’ll get seriously injured. After all, he’s about to take the blow that Terranort means for her. But he doesn’t care, so long as he gets to die holding her:
I’ve seen him get criticized for not using his Keyblade here, but the thing is… he tried. Lea tried. It didn’t work. And magic for Keyblade wielders at least seems to be tied to wielding the Keyblade or some sort of weapon, so that probably wasn’t an option, either. All he had left, all he could do to keep Kairi safe, was shield her with his body. Which he does:
This is a Sora so terrified of losing her that he regresses to a scared child clinging to her for dear life. That’s all he can do, hold her as he awaits the inevitable. He’s acting on instinct here more than anything, and his instinct is to latch onto the closest source of comfort in his final moments.
You can see how wide her eyes are here, indicating her shock and surprise that he’s really here. Note how her arms are sort of hanging in the air because she’s not entirely sure what to do with them yet:
This hug is very similar to similar hugs they’ve shared in the past, so let’s talk about the parallels.
In KH1, Kairi was the one who hugged Sora to protect him from the Heartless. Note how she closes her eyes as she does:
And note how similarly her body is positioned to Sora’s in KH3. They both wrap their arms around the other person’s neck/shoulders and lean over the hug-ee’s shoulder because of height differences:
Then, of course, Sora hugged her back and thanked her once he was human again:
For the KH1 hug, we only got to see Kairi’s reaction…
…until KHUx released a medal that showed Sora’s face during the hug:
In the KH3 hug, we likewise don’t see Sora’s face up close in the game itself. The next post will talk more about some of the shots we do see of his reactions during this part, but they’re from a further distance to show the rest of the action going on in the meantime.
Now, on to their reunion hug in KH2. The element of surprise comes to the forefront here. Sora, filled with guilt at not keeping his promise to return to Kairi, begins to apologize when she suddenly hugs him:
Note how similar his reaction is to Kairi’s at getting suddenly hugged in KH3:
The visual parallels immediately come to the forefront - both of them have their eyes wide in shock, right hand held out because Sora doesn’t know what to do with his yet in KH2 and Kairi doesn’t know what to do with hers yet in KH3. This parallel serves as a callback to KH2, to remind the audience of what happened then, only this time the roles are switched. This time Sora is the one hugging her.
Then, after Kairi says to herself, “This is real…”
…and closes her eyes like she did for their KH1 hug…
…Sora gives her a look of compassion…
…and likewise closes his eyes as hugs her back:
The KH3 hug, in just a few moments, manages to remind the audience of their previous hugs and in doing so adds greater emotional weight to the scene:
Sora is acting like he’s doomed here, much like Kairi thought she was in trouble when she protected him in KH1. But is he really? Find out in the next post about Donald and Goofy’s epic counterattack!
As the threat of Darkness still looms over all worlds, a young princess begins training for her role in fate. However, it's proving more difficult than expected to confront her former kidnapper.
Before the next challenge of Kairi’s journey, she takes the rare moment alone to have a few much-needed conversations.
As the threat of Darkness still looms over all worlds, a young princess begins training for her role in fate. However, it's proving more difficult than expected to confront her former kidnapper.
Whether it be coping with sudden anger, pleading for more answers, or testing the limits of new magic, the three Keyblade wielders deal with inner struggles of their own while rescuing their new friends.
As the threat of Darkness still looms over all worlds, a young princess begins training for her role in fate. However, it's proving more difficult than expected to confront her former kidnapper.
Kairi and Lea’s discovery in Twilight Town leads them one step closer to rescuing Roxas and Namine. They quickly realize they can’t do it alone, however, and seek out the aid of an expert on Hearts.
Axel sat on the log next to Kairi and handed her a bar of ice cream. Soon the familiar taste of sea-salt filled her mouth, and she sighed in contentment. Nothing beat ice cream after a hard day’s work.
“Thanks, Axel.”
“Don’t mention it.”
They ate in silence, just enjoying the view. Dusk out here was always really pretty, and today was no different. The fading sunlight cast a warm glow over everything and the sky almost looked like it was on fire.
“Whatcha got there?” he asked when they were both finished, gesturing at the paper and clipboard in her lap.
“A letter.”
He raised his eyebrow, a mischievous glint dancing in his eyes. “Gee, I wonder who it’s for.”
“Donald and Goofy, obviously.”
Axel clicked his tongue. “Better not tell Sora that.”
Kairi giggled at this. “Can you imagine how he’d react if I really did write them a letter and not him?”
“If he’s anything like Roxas, I can imagine the pouty face he’d make pretty well, yeah.”
Kairi paused. Axel talked about Roxas a lot, and she wanted to do something to help cheer him up.
“Axel… since I’m writing to Sora, do you want me to pass along a message from you?”
Axel regarded her with a quizzical look. “Sure, I guess. What did you have in mind?”
“If you could say anything to Roxas, what would it be?” she asked as she picked up her pencil again.
Axel hesitated, and his eyes got a faraway look in them. “I…”
“I can’t wait to see you again, maybe?” she suggested. She wasn’t really sure if he and Roxas had been on good terms before Roxas had left the Organization, but she could tell how much Axel wanted to see his friend again.
Sure, Sora would be the one reading the letter, but maybe the message would still reach Roxas, some way, somehow.
Axel shook his head ever so slightly, his eyes focused on something far away. “There was something… something I always used to tell them…”
“Them?” Kairi asked, tilting her head.
“Yeah, Roxas and…”
Kairi’s eyebrows furrowed. “Roxas and who, Axel?”
He turned to look at her like he was seeing her for the first time.
“Axel?” she gently prodded.
She couldn’t have predicted what happened next. Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks as she stared at him with a mixture of surprise and dismay.
“A-Axel?”
“I don’t know,” he said, his shoulders shaking and his voice choked with emotion. “I don’t know who it was. But it’s someone I feel like I’m supposed to remember.” He brought a hand to his face and touched his wet cheek. “Why can’t I remember?”
Her heart sank, the all-too familiar pain of her separation from Sora settling over her again. “I don’t know, but… even if your mind’s forgotten, your heart still remembers.”
He regarded her with a sorrowful look. “Yeah.” He sniffed and wiped his eyes. “You know, sometimes I miss being a Nobody. Things were a lot less complicated when I didn’t have a heart.”
“I think you did have a heart. Otherwise you wouldn’t have tried so hard to get Roxas back. You even told me you missed him, remember?”
“Yeah. Tell him… tell him I’ll see him again soon.”
Kairi nodded and added that to her letter.
“Y’know, if you haven’t told Sora already, you really should let him know how you feel,” he said presently.
She paused and chewed on the eraser. “I think he already knows.”
Her mind went to the cave drawing. Surely he’d seen it before he’d gone off to take his Mark of Mastery exam, right?
“Yeah, but that’s not the same as hearing it from you. You should tell him in case something ever happens to him… or to you.”
Her grip on the pencil tightened. “I won’t let anything happen to either of us. I’ll keep him safe and I won’t let myself get captured again.”
“A noble sentiment, Kairi, but our enemies do not play nice, or haven’t you noticed? They’ll exploit Sora’s feelings for you and they’ll exploit them ruthlessly.”
“They already have,” she said, giving him a pointed look.
He sighed. “Point taken. I’m just saying, what are you waiting for? The perfect moment? I can tell you right now, it doesn’t exist. All you’ve got is now. Don’t wait, act.”
She brought her finger to her temple in his trademark gesture. “I know, I’ve got it memorized.”
He gave her a half smile, and she was glad for that. She didn’t want him to stay down in the dumps like this.
Her eyes wandered to the piece of paper in her lap again. “I just… I don’t want to tell him in a letter, you know? I want to tell him face-to-face.”
“Fair enough. But maybe hint at it at least? Say you’re looking forward to seeing him? Mention what you like the most about him? He could probably really use some encouragement right now.”
Kairi stared off into the sunset. What she liked the most about Sora? Where to even begin?
“Okay, it doesn’t have to be everything or we’ll be here all night. What about him sticks out to you the most?”
“What about him… sticks out to me the most?”
She thought back on her favorite memories of him. There were so many of them, and her heart filled with warmth as she thought about him.
Out of all of those memories, though, one in particular stood out. The moment he’d raced towards her after coming home, face shining like the sun, not even caring when he tripped and fell in the water because he was so happy to see her.
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She knew exactly what to write about now. The words came quickly to her after that, and before long, she was putting the finishing touches on her letter.
“So,” Axel said as they finally stood to go. “What did you write?”
She pulled her eyelid down and stuck out her tongue. “Not gonna tell you. It’s between me and him.”
“Boo, you’re no fun.”
She giggled and gave him a playful shove. “You know that’s not true. Race you back!”
As she took off running with him right at her heels, shouting about how he was gonna win this one, she couldn’t help but smile.
Not that long ago she never would’ve thought this kind of situation would even be possible. She hadn’t trusted Axel, and for good reason.
But something had changed. He’d apologized for kidnapping her. He’d done what he could to make things right. And it was nice having someone to confide in, someone to ask for help with training, someone to eat ice cream with at the end of a long day.
And that someone was Axel.
Sometimes, friends really did come from the most unexpected places.
