They really do humanize Lea in the manga and books
They really do. I picked up a TON of additional info about Lea’s character and his original arc thanks to the novels. They are a goldmine of characterization. I developed a whole new level of appreciation for Lea after reading them. It’s why I am so mad about the way his relationship with Isa was handled in KH3. Isa was the foundation of his character arc. He was the main source of Axel’s emotional depth and complexity. He was the building block of his tragic backstory and inner pain.
For me, it was his relationship with Isa that took Axel from a cool and likable character…into a truly fascinating one. Axel’s relationship with Roxas and Xion was built off of his relationship with Isa. Axel’s attachment to Roxas and his sacrifice for Sora in KH2 became so much more compelling when I learned how Axel lost his childhood best friend. If you take Isa away, you destroy Lea’s character arc.
Lea: “Never Had a Friend Like Me”
Maybe she had been sent away somewhere on a long-term mission, like Axel at Castle Oblivion.
But…asking about Axel seemed to put Saïx in such a foul mood, Roxas couldn’t bring himself to inquire after Xion. Every day, he carried his slender ray of hope to the clock tower in Twilight Town, and every day he sat there alone.
I couldn’t help but notice a recurring theme in Axel and Saïx’s relationship. The concept of worrying. It came up over and over again. It was VERY important, especially in the novels. Saïx was always in a “foul” mood when he was asked about Axel.
“Then what about Nobodies? We don’t have hearts. Does some part of us remain?”
“As if. We’re not even supposed to ‘exist’ in the first place. What’s there to leave behind?”
“Then whoever it was at Castle Oblivion—”
“Gone,” Xigbar emphasized. “Without a trace.”
Roxas hung his head. “So…I’ll never see them again?”
When word came in that the entire Castle Oblivion team was terminated, Roxas was extremely worried about Axel.
He felt his fists clench. So maybe I’ll never see Axel again…?
“Oh…” When Roxas raised his head, Xigbar had already started walking. “Yeah.”
He moved to catch up, but before he could—the world around him blurred.
All the sounds of Agrabah fell silent. It felt like he was falling… And then darkness swallowed his mind.
He actually passed out after he heard this. It utterly terrified him to think he’d never see Axel again. And all this happened in Agrabah, which I think is important. It relates to what the Genie said in Days. Lea is basically the Genie. The best friend anyone could ever hope for. I’ll get to that.
Xemnas stared down at the boy. “So sleep has taken you yet again…”
If the words had reached Roxas in his dreams, the boy gave no indication.
Xemnas and Saïx stood over Roxas’ bedside after he passed out. Xemnas made a vague remark which we now know was associating Ven with Roxas. This connection to BBS is important, as I’ll get to later. Roxas has a dream of Xemnas touching him on the shoulder, and when I replayed the game recently the first thing that came to mind were the scenes where Terra touches Ven’s shoulder. And since Xemnas has Terra’s memories, I think this was significant.
“Better hurry, Ventus…or you’ll never see Terra again,” said a sudden voice.
Ven turned around. He should have been the only one here—but someone else was standing there. It was a youth about the same height as him, wearing a black bodysuit and a menacing featureless mask.
“What? Get real. I can see Terra anytime I want,” Ven snapped back at him.
The young man, Vanitas, leaned against the shelf and replied, “Like right now? He’s leaving you behind. And by the time you catch up…he’ll be a different person.” He sounded completely confident.
This was Ven’s worst fear. Never seeing Terra again. It’s why he set off on his journey to begin with.
“The three of us can never be torn apart, all right? I’ll always find a way.”
Ven felt Terra’s hand squeeze his shoulder. Aqua bent over and looked into his face with concern, then brushed his face with her fingertips.
They had it wrong. That wasn’t it.
Ven placed his hand on Aqua’s and gently lowered it, then brushed Terra’s off his shoulder.
His eyes bored into them.
“I’m asking you, as a friend…Just…put an end to me.”
It’s why he took Terra’s hand off of his shoulder and told his friends to put an end to him. Terra said he’d find a way and that they’d never be torn apart. But Ventus didn’t believe that was possible. So, he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect them. This idea connects heavily into Axel’s arc.
“I came to stop you from talking too much…by eliminating your existence, that is.” Axel smirked and took a step closer to him.
“We’re Nobodies. We have no one to be—we just are. But now you don’t have to be at all. No more existence, no more memories. You’re off the hook.”
Axel didn’t seem to be paying attention to Sora and the others. He only looked at Vexen.
While all of that was going on, Axel was at Castle Oblivion.
“No one to be?” What could that even mean…?
“Don’t… No, please don’t…! I don’t want to—”
“Bye, now.” Axel shot a bright light from his hand again. Vexen’s scream echoed through the strange landscape—and then he was gone, not a trace remaining.
“What are you— What are you people?!” Sora demanded.
“Hm. Not sure. I wonder about that myself.” With that, Axel stepped into thin air and vanished.
He eliminates Vexen and the novel delves into his emotional state a lot more.
Axel walked through the long corridors of the castle. Normally, he wouldn’t bother walking places like this. But he needed time to himself.
I don’t have a single friend in this place. All these people on my side—and his and the organization’s… But I don’t know if I can say that we’re really on the same side.
He’s nobody—no one at all—and yet he is somebody.
Shards of emotion, fragments of memory. So alike…but they’re completely different things.
Even if we can hold on to a few fragments of memory, we can’t have the smallest shard of emotion.
We are the ones who lost their hearts—the ones who are no one. Nobodies. Not light nor darkness—we live in the twilight.
Taking out Vexen was very personal for him. He has no one to be. He told Vexen that having no more memories means he’s off the hook. Memories are a burden to him. Being in Castle Oblivion, and meeting Sora has brought back a lot of memories, though. It’s important to note that in Days, Xion’s theme is actually called “Who Am I?” I think that’s because it’s not really just Xion’s theme. It’s the theme song of all three main characters. Roxas wanted to know who he was. It’s why he left. Well, Axel wanted to know who he was, as well. He used to be someone who picked up any stray puppy he saw. But who is he now? He really doesn’t know.