Warning! Unmarked spoilers below.
The same with
Final Fantasy, they have a lot of characters that
foils with each other.
- Because Sora tends to be shaped by his experience and that this is a series where History Repeats and situations recur (and prologues are developed after the fact), Sora tends to be a mirror of sorts to people throughout the timeline. To wit:
- Riku and Sora are rivals and best friends; both share a zest for adventure, but Riku is driven by ambition that Sora tempers with a sense of wonder at his surroundings. And though it's not evident at first, Riku lacks Sora's natural charisma but is more focused and goal-oriented. Both share a deep appreciation for friends and friendship, as well as a respect for both Light and Darkness. In the first game, the two came from Destiny Islands and wished to leave and explore other worlds but while Sora was motivated by a love of adventures, Riku hated the islands and saw it as a prison, once they left the islands, Sora teamed up with Donald and Goofy to find King Mickey and save the worlds while Riku joined Maleficent and helped her with her plans to kidnap the princesses just so he could save Kairi. This is the reason why Riku's Keyblade went to Sora in the first place as Riku had given into the darkness which in turn made him unworthy to wield one.
- Sora has more in common with Kairi than with Riku, in general. But Kairi is more energetic than Sora and her adventurousness is more ambitious, driven in this case by a desire to learn where she came from (compared to Sora essentially wanting to become the universe's biggest tourist). Her storyline in KHII about persistently seeking out Sora and the lost memories associated with him is similar to Sora's pursuing Naminé throughout Chain of Memories while losing more and more of his memories.
- Yozora's similarities appearance-wise to Sora makes the differences between the two all of the more striking and noticeable. As implied by the parallel between the meanings of their names - Night Sky for Yozora and Sky for Sora - his taciturn and borderline cold personality along with his mysterious and unclear intentions in his first, proper introduction to the audience heavily clashes against the more gung-ho, energetic, and open-hearted Sora. In regards to fighting, Yozora's technology-based weaponry and fighting style itself heavily contrasts Sora's own magically supported arsenal and approach to battle. Rather than going for wild, fast combos like Sora, Yozora goes for methodical, brief sword attacks; he doesn't use his wilder, faster sword combos until later in his combos and his second phase's drone laser-barrage slashes when he is more likely to have stunlocked Sora from his previous strikes.
- Riku and Sora contrast each other very well, Riku is calm and collected while Sora is impulsive and extroverted, they both share a zest for adventures but Riku is due to a sense of ambition while Sora's is driven by a sense of wonder, Sora has more natural charisma to interact with others but Riku is more focused and goal-oriented, how they handle with their emotional problems also contrast, they'll both get the job done regardless but Riku is more prone to showing Angst while Sora will put up a brave face and a smile.
- This contrast also extends to their fighting styles. In comparison to Sora's two-handed style, Riku attacks with a fast one-handed style with his Soul Eater/Way to the Dawn and he attacks very quickly with either weapon in combat in one-handed strikes ranging from thrusts to wide strikes focusing more on slashing motions as opposed to Sora's clubbing/pummeling style. In the end, both are just as adept with their weapons as the other.
- Riku and Kairi also foil with one another. While ultimately, Riku finds a middle point, Riku is initially the Dark Temptation to Sora in the first game, with Kairi serving as a Light filled "safety net" for Sora. Kairi and Riku have an easy snark filled back and forth with one another. They also have different core desires at the outset of the Destiny Trio's Journey. Kairi is afraid of change, while Riku desperately wants it.
- Neku Sakuraba and Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu are foils towards Sora and Riku.
- For Neku and Sora, Both of them are The Hero of their respective games. But while Sora is cheerful, extrovert, and a Nice Guy who is obsessed with making friends; Neku on the other hand is emo, introvert and a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who preferred to keep his thoughts to himself.
- Whereas Kingdom Hearts is a High Fantasy series that focuses on traveling through different worlds and going on fantastical adventures with an assortment of colorful characters from Disney and Square Enix, The World Ends with You is an Urban Fantasy that has the main characters trapped in the ultra stylistic Shibuya and being forced to team up with others in order to survive a Deadly Game. The protagonists are complete opposites of each other, with the former franchise starring an idealistic and kindhearted young man who embraces The Power of Friendship and becomes a Messianic Archetype despite being The Unchosen One; whereas the latter is starred by a hardened and unsociable teenager who is handpicked to represent the worst of humanity, before gradually changing for the better.
- Can be considered this as a protagonist when compared to Sora from Kingdom Hearts, which Tetsuya Nomura was also heavily involved with.
- Sora is a optimistic and cheerful Nice Guy who initially set out on his universe-saving adventures in order to look for his friends and is incredibly social and outgoing whereas Neku is an anti-social Jerkass loner who’s initially only out to save himself and doesn’t care about anyone else.
- Sora embraces The Power of Friendship right from the start and is more or less The Pollyanna (save for a few notable exceptions) while Neku flat out rejects it and is The Cynic for a good portion of the story until he gradually begins to open up.
- Sora is a humble country bumpkin who was raised on Destiny Islands his entire life before his world got sucked into the darkness and found himself exploring fantastical environments beyond which he can ever imagine whereas Neku is a street smart city kid who was born and raised in Shibuya and found himself getting dragged into the Reaper’s Game and diving deeper within the city in order to uncover several dark truths concerning his death and the true purpose of the Game.
- Sora is shown to have a Friendly Rivalry with Riku in the beginning of the first game until Riku starts letting himself get consumed by darkness, twisting their friendly competition into something much more twisted and complex until Riku eventually snaps out of it. By contrast, Neku despises Joshua at the beginning and only puts up with him in order to try and save Shiki before gradually warming up to him, with Joshua in turn growing more fond of Neku to the point that he spares the city he was planning to destroy thanks to their friendship.
- Whereas Sora was initially the Unchosen One and was never actually meant to be a Keyblade Wielder, with the Keyblade itself eventually accepting him as its wielder due to his own strength of heart, Neku was handpicked by Joshua himself to act as his proxy and as a representative of what he thought was wrong with Shibuya as a whole until Neku’s own Character Development was able to prove Joshua wrong about what he thought of Shibuya, subverting the reason he was picked as a Chosen One in the first place.
- Sora starts off the series as a cheerful, always positive-thinking, and rather immature kid and is still acting the same way by the time Kingdom Hearts III rolls around. Not that this is a bad thing, as this very trait is what gives him the capacity to act as an independent thinker and foil several of the villains’ schemes, something other protagonists in the series can't necessarily claim (and have suffered for as a result). By contrast, Neku is a Dynamic Character whose experiences within the game have him massively change as a person, detailing him growing from a self-centered loner who was willing to let his own partner die in order to save his own ass into a genuinely altruistic young man who risks life and limb for the people he cares about and can’t even bring himself to shoot the one person responsible for all of his suffering due to him learning to value his relationships (which actually ends up paying off in the long run).
- Even their toolkits and combat abilities in their respective games contrast one another. Whereas Sora’s abilities emphasize his mastery of weapons, proficiency in both swordplay and magic, and having to usually rely on a Mana Meter in order to activate his long-ranged abilities, Neku relies on a Superpower Lottery of Psychic Powers that he uses to to trip up his foes and fights more like a dedicated spellcaster, with his attacks all relying on Cooldown.
- For Joshua and Riku, Both of them are The Lancer towards The Hero above. But while Riku is Sora's Childhood Friend, has a calm and calculated personality, and is much more serious and cautious about the situation at hand; Joshua on the other hand is Neku's friend he met at the Reaper's Game, has a flirty and playful personality, and is much more flippant and casual about the situation at hand. They are The Lancer which means they have contrasting personalities toward The Hero from their respective games.
- Yen Sid to Merlin, the other major Wizard Classic in the cast who implicitly serves as one to Yen Sid. They're both Wizard Classics, but Yen Sid is stern, laconic and introverted, and holds a powerful position as King Mickey's mentor; by contrast, Merlin is playful, talkative and sociable, and happily lives among the common people in Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion. While Merlin is playful, talkative and sociable, and casually lives among the common people of Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion, Yen Sid is stern, laconic and introverted, he lives in isolation in a tower, and he holds a powerful position as King Mickey's mentor.
- Master Yen Sid to Maleficent. They're both powerful Magic-users who don't wield Keyblades note Yen Sid used to wield Star Seeker, but voluntarily gave it up, they’re both known for their stern personalities, and they’re both drawn from the classic imagery of European fairy tales (with Maleficent's dragon form being a dark inversion of Yen Sid's Wizard Classic gimmick). Appropriately enough, Yen Sid was originally King Mickey's mentor, while Maleficent takes Mickey's old nemesis Pete under her wing in the second game. Her character and appearance are drawn from the imagery of classic European fairy tales—but she wields Dark Magic instead of Light Magic.
- Sephiroth can be considered one to Tifa. They are both the physical embodiment of Cloud, with Tifa being Cloud’s light, while Sephiroth is Cloud’s darkness.
- Evil Queen to Maleficent. One is an Ambiguously Human woman with full command of Dark Magic who is hinted to be of demonic heritage, while the other is an ordinary human who irresponsibly dabbles in Dark Magic far beyond her comprehension. And one is a consummate schemer who's one of the most ambitious and powerful villains in the mythos, while the other is a textbook example of Evil Is Petty who has long since faded into irrelevance by the time of Sora's battle with Xehanort.
- Just as Master Xehanort is one to Sora, Xemnas is one to Roxas. Both are Nobodies of shocking power, born from Keyblade Wielders. Both are dual wielders of their signature weapons. Both tend to have anger issues: Roxas was bent on revenge towards Xemnas at the end of Days and threw several tantrums in II, while Xemnas is a firm believer in The Power of Hate. However, Roxas is also kind to his friends and loyal to them, and his anger is genuine. Xemnas is a sociopathic tyrant who sees the other Organization members as mere pawns and cares about no one save for himself.
- In the endgame of III, Xemnas, Ansem, and Young Xehanort take up this trope in regards to Sora, Riku, and Mickey, as they have been the primary enforcers of the darkness and light on behalf of their true leaders, Master Xehanort and Yen Sid, respectively. The final fight before the final boss is Sora, Riku, and Mickey facing off with the three chief Xehanort incarnations. While Sora and Young Xehanort are the most critical members of their respective groups, and Riku and Ansem have their long-running feud, This leaves Mickey to be paired with Xemnas as they are the most powerful members of their respective trio’s.
- To his Heartless, Ansem. To his Nobody, Xemnas.
- Xemnas is a stoic Cold Ham that relies on his Organization to carry out his will and is rarely seen emoting. Ansem is a bombastic, noisy Large Ham that waxes on passionately about darkness and trying to corrupt Riku.
- Their fighting styles likewise are diametrically opposed—Ansem is a mage that relies on long-distance attacks and hiding behind his Guardian while Xemnas is an in-your-face sword fighter that relies more on brute force.
- Like Master Xehanort before him, Ansem believes in and champions the power of darkness, while Xemnas believes in The Power of Hate, likely taking after Terra.
- Ansem is The Corrupter, preying on Riku's insecurities and tempting him with offers of power, while Xemnas is a Manipulative Bastard relying on lies and half-truths to get both allies and enemies to do his bidding.
- Prior to III Ansem seemed to genuinely believe in the supremacy of darkness and that his cause was right, as opposed to Xemnas, a Consummate Liar who had been deceiving his followers from day one and always intended to betray them in the end.
- Ansem has shades of a Noble Demon, which is ironic considering the nature of the Heartless: all of his actions are motivated by his desire to accomplish his goals, and he only once in the entire series acts out of malice, when he brainwashes Aqua in III. Even his possession of Riku was done more out of necessity than out of any evil intent, and he displays none of the antagonism that most other Xehanort incarnations share for Sora and Riku. He also shows restraint and does not unleash his dark powers against Hayner and his friends in III when he could easily wipe the floor with them, and even chastises Ansem the Wise for the way he treated subject X, seemingly indicating that he takes the most after Terra in that regard. Xemnas, by contrast, takes a lot more after Master Xehanort: he's a smug Jerkass who routinely tries to have his own minions kill each other (and is more than willing to do the deed himself if necessary), a Troll who takes delight in making Sora doubt himself at every opportunity and fakes his death three times over the course of the Dark Seeker saga just to mess with Sora and Riku, and who indulges in Kick the Dog moments whenever he can. There's also that one time in III when he subjected Lea to Cold-Blooded Torture for his betrayal of the Organization.
- Xehanort to both Sora and Riku, in different ways.
- Like Sora, Xehanort was a Keyblade wielder from Destiny Islands who dreamed of seeing other worlds and in his travels has spawned multiple incarnations. Also, like Sora, Xehanort came from a humbler background. Xehanort was an islander while Eraqus descended from the survivors of the Keyblade War. Sora was an ordinary boy while Riku was chosen by the Keyblade. But while Xehanort works to create new incarnations to further his goals and corrupts others to darkness, Sora's incarnations come about as a result of his selfless altruism and he tries to help those he meets.
- Like Riku, Xehanort is a Keyblade wielder who lost himself in darkness in pursuit of his ambitions. Riku however pulled himself back and reformed, while Xehanort kept going deeper into the darkness and was lost for it. Ansem shifting to being Riku's Arch-Enemy/Enemy Within exemplifies this.
- At the end of the day - Xehanort is basically a male Maleficent, right down to the Dark Is Evil and the multiple comebacks. However - he excuses his actions as For Science!, Necessarily Evil, etc., while she's a Card-Carrying Villain who At Least Admits It.
- Xehanort is this to the Entire Destiny Islands Trio.
- Looking at the backstory revealed in Birth By Sleep, Xehanort is one to Sora. They both grew up at Destiny Islands, they both became Keyblade wielders, and they both eventually became a Heartless and a Nobody. Where Sora is a Naive Hero and is increasingly portrayed as a Messianic Archetype who willingly invites others to share his own Heart and body in order to protect them, Xehanort is a invokedMagnificent Bastard who shows some Fallen Angel symbolism and forces his Heart upon others to keep himself alive. Also, like Sora, Xehanort came from a humbler background: Xehanort was an islander while Eraqus descended from the survivors of the Keyblade War; Sora was an ordinary boy while Riku was chosen by the Keyblade. They both became composite beings, but in completely opposite ways; for while Xehanort actively works to create new incarnations to further his goals and corrupts others to darkness, Sora's incarnations come about as unintended results of his selfless and altruistic attempts to try to help everyone he meets.
- This also makes him Riku's Evil Counterpart, as they share very similar backgrounds of being dissatisfied with life on their tiny world and wanting to see the outside, even if it means delving into darkness. Both use darkness as their main weapon after losing themselves in darkness in pursuit of his ambitions. Riku however pulled himself back and reformed, while Xehanort kept going deeper into the darkness and was lost for it. They also both invaded Sora's subconscious during the events of Dream Drop Distance, but for differing reasons. Ansem shifting to being Riku's Arch-Enemy/Enemy Within exemplifies this.
- After the finale of Union Cross, he can be considered one to Kairi, both of them were born on different worlds before getting sent to Destiny Islands, they both wanted to leave Destiny Islands to explore more worlds, and both are wielders of the Keyblade, but while Kairi uses the power of light, Xehanort uses the power of Darkness. Kairi is also an inexperienced Keyblade Wielder, while Xehanort is an expert Keyblade Master.
- Saïx's one to Riku. Just like Riku, he had a male Childhood Friend (Lea). One day, he and Lea found and befriended a girl who wasn't from their homeworld. Just like Kairi, the girl didn't remember anything from her past and was experimented by Terra-Xehanort. When she's gone missing, the duo resolves to find her at all costs, to the point that when they lost their hearts, their strong will and resolve to find the girl allow them to live on as Nobodies. Just like how Riku became jealous when Sora made new friends (Donald and Goofy) and came to believe that Sora abandoned him and Kairi, Saïx became jealous when Axel made new friends (Roxas and Xion) and came to believe that Axel abandoned him and their missing girl. However, Riku's resolve for Kairi remains strong enough that he never truly lost his heart, made a new friend himself (Mickey), overcomes Xehanort's Heartless possession of him, and did everything to make up for his mistakes to Sora and his friends. On the other hand, Saïx never recovers from his feeling of abandonment from Axel that he seemingly forgot about the missing girl, never makes any new friends and only saw the other Organization members as tools, and continues hurting Axel's friends and being corrupted by Xehanort through his Nobody Xemnas. While Riku admits his mistake to Sora and apologizes to him and his friends and pretty much gets a second chance in his life, Saïx only admits everything and apologizes to Lea/Axel in his dying breath before his recompletion as Isa.
- Xigbar/Braig has increasingly been framed as an antagonistic variant to Axel/Lea with the two making their individual debuts as snarky, relatively comedic, laid-back yet very dangerous members of the villainous Organization XIII who have little authority, Dual Wield their signature weapons and later on develop into Meta Guy Breakout Characters. That's about where the similarities end though as while Axel was incredibly manipulative and Faux Affably Evil in Chain of Memories, working towards some unknown agenda, he later turned out to only be working for the benefit of his friends and his developing friendship with Roxas and Xion would drive him to pull a Heel–Face Turn later on. Not to mention, his original persona of Lea was nothing more than a cheerful, ordinary kid prone to trying to befriend everyone he meets. By contrast, Xigbar while initially coming off as rather friendly if definitely shady in II whose odd vague statements indicate he knows way more than he lets on, it's later shown that his original persona of Braig was a sinister thug willing to resort to trickery and deception to aid the ambitions of the main antagonist for the apparently selfish motivation of wielding a keyblade himself and that he's always been privy to the malevolent true purpose of the Organization. There's also the fact that while Axel was a mostly close-range fighter that eventually gains his own keyblade after being recompleted as Lea, Braig/Xigbar fights from a distance in all appearances and regains his humanity only to give it up to continue working together with Xehanort as the Nobody Xigbar and seemingly perishes one last time in III lamenting his own lack of a keyblade.
