| 1 | [[WMG:[[center: [- ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' '''[[Characters/KingdomHearts Main Character Index]]'''\ |
| 2 | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsDestinyIslandsTrio Destiny Islands Trio]] ([[Characters/KingdomHeartsSora Sora]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsRiku Riku]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsKairi Kairi]]) | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsDisneyCastleTrio Disney Castle Trio]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsRoxasAxelAndXion Clock Tower Trio]] ([[Characters/KingdomHeartsRoxas Roxas]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsAxel Axel]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsXion Xion]]) | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsTerraAquaAndVentus Wayfinder Trio]] ([[Characters/KingdomHeartsTerra Terra]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsAqua Aqua]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsVentus Ventus]]) | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsPartyMembersAndSummons Party Members and Summons]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsXehanortsIncarnations Xehanort's Incarnations]] ([[Characters/KingdomHeartsMasterXehanort Master Xehanort]]) | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsOrganizationXIII Organization XIII]] ([[Characters/KingdomHeartsXigbar Xigbar]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsSaix SaĂ¯x]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsVanitas Vanitas]]) | Disney Villains ([[Characters/KingdomHeartsDisneyVillainsMaleficentsCouncilAndAllies Maleficent's Council and Allies]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsOtherDisneyVillains Other Disney Villains]]) | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsIndependentVillains Independent Villains]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsEnemyCreatures Enemy Creatures]] ([[Characters/KingdomHeartsHeartless Heartless]]) | '''Ansem and his Apprentices''' | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsXCharacters Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] Characters]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsSupportingOriginals Supporting Original Characters]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsSupportingSquareEnix Supporting Square Enix Characters]] | [[Characters/KingdomHeartsSupportingDisney Supporting Disney Characters]] -] ]]]] |
| 3 | ---- |
| 4 | !!Due to lengthy periods between releases and the prevalence of {{Late Arrival Spoiler}}s, spoilers from installments before 2010 may be unmarked. Read at your own risk. |
| 5 | ---- |
| 6 | This is a listing of Ansem the Wise and his four apprentices that appear in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | '''Beware of unmarked spoilers.''' |
| 9 | ---- |
| 10 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 11 | |
| 12 | [[folder:General]] |
| 13 | * TheAtoner: All of the apprentices seem to regret their betrayal of Ansem except for Braig and Xehanort. Ansem the Wise himself regrets the lengths he went in his quest for revenge. From ''3D'' onwards, they work together to aid the heroes in their quest. |
| 14 | * AerithAndBob: Dilan and Even are rather average names compared to how unusual the other names are. |
| 15 | * APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: All of Ansem's apprentices conducted covert, inhumane experiments on the heart and darkness resulting in the creation of new Heartless. Not long after Ansem ordered them to stop, Xehanort led Braig, Dilan, Even and Aeleus in banishing him to the Realm of Darkness while lying to young, impressionable Ienzo about how Ansem went mad. This was all before they lost their hearts, plunged Radiant Garden into darkness and formed Organization XIII. |
| 16 | * BackFromTheDead: All of the apprentices had their hearts forcibly removed by Xehanort creating Heartless, but they also had wills strong enough to continue on as Nobodies. When those Nobodies and Heartless were destroyed, all of the apprentices were revived as their original selves. |
| 17 | * FaceHeelTurn: Their research was supposed to protect their city of light. Under Xehanort's influence, all the apprentices plunged the world into darkness before forming the villainous Organization XIII. Even Ansem the Wise gets hit with this to an extent as his exile to the Realm of Darkness made him obsessed with getting revenge at any cost. At the very least he plays the role of a [[NominalHero Nominal]] HeroAntagonist in ''358/2 Days.'' |
| 18 | * HeelFaceTurn: What every member aside from Xehanort and Braig ultimately pulls from ''3D'' onwards. |
| 19 | * LockedOutOfTheLoop: Judging by their first scene in ''III'', Ienzo and Aeleus seem to be under the impression that Sora has Roxas's memories, which was disproven all the way back in the Nobody's [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII first appearance]]. Specifically, Ienzo references how Roxas and Zexion last saw each other at the Castle That Never Was while Aeleus outright refuses to speak to Sora due to his guilt regarding Lexaeus's... less than [[SinkOrSwimMentor stellar teaching methods]]. |
| 20 | * ParentalSubstitute: It's implied that the apprentices had been this to the young orphaned Ienzo though only Ansem and Even get any screentime engaging with this. Aeleus is also implied to have a rather strong bond with Ienzo due to their working relationship as Nobodies, though it's never portrayed as parental in nature. |
| 21 | * RedemptionDemotion: After recompletion into humans, the apprentices have at the very least lost the power to summon Corridors of Darkness though they're hardly the only examples in the series to lose that ability. On a similar note, Ansem the Wise lost his powers over Darkness not long after dropping his anger and hatred towards his former apprentices. |
| 22 | [[/folder]] |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[folder:Ansem the Wise / [=DiZ=]]] |
| 25 | !!Ansem the Wise / [=DiZ=] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ansem_the_wise_khii_8.png]] |
| 28 | [[caption-width-right:275:"It appears we've come to a standstill. This has gone on long enough. Riku... I think you know what needs to be done."]] |
| 29 | [[caption-width-right:275:[[labelnote:Click here to see Ansem as [=DiZ=]]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/181_5star_diz_render.png[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 30 | |
| 31 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Genzo Wakayama (Japanese), Creator/ChristopherLee (English, ''KHII'', ''358/2 Days''), Creator/CoreyBurton (English, all other appearances, including ''358/2 Days'' cutscenes in ''HD I.5 [=ReMIX=]'') |
| 32 | !!!'''Appearances:''' ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII II]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII III]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory Melody of Memory]]'' |
| 33 | ->''"I'm afraid that any world you try to create... Any world of yours... would be an empire of ignorance. That is why you and your creation are destined to fall!"'' |
| 34 | |
| 35 | Once the kindly ruler of Radiant Garden, Ansem the Wise was cast into the Realm of Darkness by Terra-Xehanort when he turned Ansem's followers against him and took over the land. Adopting the alias [=DiZ=] ("Darkness in Zero"), Ansem eventually returned to the Realm of Light and plotted vengeance against Xemnas and Organization XIII, and intended to use Sora and those allied with him to do it. |
| 36 | ---- |
| 37 | * ActionSurvivor: It's rather impressive that he lasts as long as he does in the Realm of Darkness without any sort of combat ability whereas Aqua was absolutely dependent on her skills and magic to last as long as she did in the same world. Then again it's not like he carries around a keyblade which is stated to [[MagicIsAMonsterMagnet attract Heartless and turn them hostile towards wielders.]] |
| 38 | * AllForNothing: In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', he realizes that for all his research into the heart, he still doesn't really know anything about it at all. He even admits it was foolish of him to try and understand it in terms of data. |
| 39 | -->'''Ansem''': "''The process of encoding hearts is incalculable. The inhabitants of my Twilight Town were data created from real hearts. I was convinced that they would act and behave the way I had envisioned—but I couldn't have been more wrong. A heart is so much more than any system. I saw it when Roxas and Kairi crossed paths. I knew. But I was too stubborn to accept it. It's always the same. I try to wrap my mind around things my heart already knows, only to fail. While I was trying to bring Sora back, I had so many plans in store. But once Sora was an acting force, they fell apart. All my research amounted to nothing, compared with that one boy's heart.''" |
| 40 | * AndIMustScream: Banished to the Realm of Darkness by Xehanort and the rest of his apprentices sans Ienzo, he was forced to wander that corruption and monster-infested wasteland for almost a decade with the only thing keeping him sane being his note-taking and thoughts of [[ThePowerOfHate Anger, Hatred,]] and {{Revenge}} towards those that had taken everything from him. Such negative sentiments eventually grant him control over the Darkness which he uses to escape from the Realm of Darkness and set up shop in the abandoned mansion in Twilight Town. |
| 41 | ** After the events of ''II'' he finds himself back in the Realm of Darkness again. Caught in the blast of his Encoder, he lost his powers over Darkness and having shed his ambitions of hatred and revenge, he is once again trapped with no hope of escape. Though the BlackCloak he carrys with him prevents the Corruption of Darkness from destroying him, he still slowly loses his memories until he meets up with a similarly trapped Aqua. |
| 42 | * TheAtoner: Once he realizes the evil behind his actions. One of his last deeds before the Kingdom Hearts Encoder goes up is to apologize to Roxas for what he did. In ''III'' upon getting back to the Realm of Light via Demyx he works with Ienzo to prepare a replica that Roxas can use as a new body and then in the ending he also works on giving Naminé a replica body. |
| 43 | -->'''Ansem''': "''Roxas and Naminé... If there is any reason that I still draw breath, it is to atone for what I did to them.''" |
| 44 | * BadassBookworm: Remember the library from Kingdom Hearts? That's this guy's. |
| 45 | ** Ultimately downplayed since it's shown later that he's not much of a fighter at all, but he nonetheless braves several dangerous circumstances and makes it through alive everytime through a mix of cunning, strong will, and pure luck. |
| 46 | * BandagedFace: As [=DiZ=]. |
| 47 | * BeneathTheMask: Near the end of Roxas' prologue in ''II'', when he sees that Riku has taken on the form of Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem laughs at the sight. As he admits to Mickey later in the World That Never Was, he was actually deeply ashamed that Riku had become a victim of his lust for revenge and his laughter was a facade to hide it. |
| 48 | * BlackCloak: As of ''Birth By Sleep'''s secret ending, he is wearing an Organization black coat to protect himself from the darkness. |
| 49 | * BrainUploading: ''Dream Drop Distance'' reveals that he uploaded a complete version of his mind to Sora's own mind along with his research data. Data-Ansem is actually very personable and intelligent and even jokes around with Riku, having not lost its memory like the real Ansem. |
| 50 | * BroughtDownToNormal: Unfortunately, like Riku, he lost his powers over Darkness when his Kingdom Hearts Encoder exploded, leaving him trapped in the Realm of Darkness without the ability to open a dark corridor. |
| 51 | * CastingAShadow: Obtained dark powers through his festering hatred when he was banished to the Realm of Darkness. They're quite convenient for creating Corridors of Darkness and magically altering his own appearance. Lost after the events of ''II'' as detailed above. |
| 52 | * TheChessmaster: With Xemnas as his opponent. Most of his plotting occurs in ''Chain of Memories'' and ''II'', though ''Dream Drop Distance'' reveals he left the groundwork for one more, to aid in the restoration of Roxas and Namine. |
| 53 | * ClearMyName: An aspect of his motivation since the fall of Radiant Garden. |
| 54 | * ColdHam: Somewhat inverted compared to the Xehanorts. He's capable of some dramatic speeches and monologues but he's always calm and composed with subdued body language. |
| 55 | * CoolOldGuy: Once he takes off the bandages. He's even cooler in ''Dream Drop Distance'', where he takes up joking with Riku about Sora, and reminds him of how much he's changed from his "Riku-Ansem" phase. |
| 56 | * CrazyPrepared: |
| 57 | ** Knowing that he needed to make sure that his data would be safe, he stored it within the one place he knew for a fact would be available and able to defend itself to the point where people wouldn't even know it would be there at all: Sora's heart. This extended to the point of him storing an entire data-copy of himself within said heart, along with his research data, so that when it was necessary, someone could retrieve it, even if he himself might not have survived to see that day. |
| 58 | ** Even after being blown into the Realm of Darkness and losing his memory, he still managed to have a black coat on hand to protect him. |
| 59 | * CulturedBadass: A remarkably polite individual, especially once he realizes how much his actions have hurt people, but if you endanger the worlds he will do everything in his power to make sure you don't succeed. |
| 60 | * DarkIsNotEvil: He's a [[{{Jerkass}} real jerk]] and a ManipulativeBastard, but, regardless of his use of Corridors of Darkness, he still refuses to submit to the darkness like Xehanort and Organization XIII's founding members and works in the interests of light, regardless of his personal reasons. |
| 61 | * DeflectorShields: Apparently has enough control over Darkness that he's able to defend himself from Riku's attack with invisible barriers when he tries to Strike Ansem in ''Chain of Memories'' while the latter is still disguised as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Later on in ''II'' he's able to defend himself from Axel's chakrams with one of these though it's likely he was only able to because [[DomainHolder they were still in the virtual Twilight Town he created.]] |
| 62 | * DisneyDeath: The ending of ''Birth by Sleep'' shows that he survived his sacrifice and now waits for Sora to free him and Aqua from the Realm of Darkness. |
| 63 | * DomainHolder: Is TheOmnipotent over his digital Twilight Town, and even highest-level Nobodies (e.g., Axel) and TheChosenOne-level Keyblade-wielders (e.g., Roxas) can't fight him there. But without this HomeFieldAdvantage, he's screwed against even lowest-level Nobodies (e.g., Dusks). |
| 64 | * DramaticUnmask: Near the end of ''Kingdom Hearts II''. That said, it's only dramatic to the viewers. The only other person present (King Mickey) already knew who he was. |
| 65 | * EasyAmnesia: He teetered on the edge of it for his entire exile to the realm of darkness by his disciples, but kept focus thanks to hatred. When he ends up there again after ''II'', he quickly forgets almost everything but Sora, presumably because he doesn't have such hatred anymore. All he's holding on to is his memory of Sora, since he put his research data, all he has left to help him with, inside of him. His conversation with Aqua and her recognizing he's talking about Sora seems to bring it back, as by the time ''III'' rolls around he's back to normal. |
| 66 | * EccentricMentor: Not nearly as much since the end of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', but he still has a couple of quirks. |
| 67 | * EvilSoundsDeep: Subverted. He has the world's greatest villain's voice, but he's actually on the side of good. |
| 68 | * EmperorScientist: As Ansem the Wise, his title was fittingly Sage-King. |
| 69 | * FantasticRacism: [=DiZ=] justifies his actions against the Organization XIII, no matter how cruel, by noting that they have no right to exist in the first place. Although numerous other characters (up to and including Sora himself) have this point of view in ''II'', reasoning that Nobodies possess no real emotions and thus aren't worthy of pity or mercy, [=DiZ=] is far more malicious in his hatred of Nobodies, and he learns how wrong he is to use the "Nobodies-Don't-Exist" justification as a general rule by the end of the game, when he removes his bandages. |
| 70 | * FreudianExcuse: Organization XIII's founders, excluding Ienzo, betrayed him, ruined his name and his city, and trapped him in AnotherDimension [[BleakLevel of pure darkness filled with nothing but horrible, deadly monsters.]] His only choice was to use ThePowerOfHate to survive and escape and by then, almost a decade has passed with nothing left to his name aside from the clothes on his back and the Secret Ansem Reports he carried with him. Is it any wonder he wants {{Revenge}}? |
| 71 | * FunWithAcronyms: ''D''arkness ''i''n ''Z''ero. An in-universe example that he never explains personally to anyone else in universe, and is only mentioned in his Secret Reports. |
| 72 | * GentlemanAndAScholar: Ansem the Wise has both a keen intellect and the charisma to have amassed a group of apprentices. Subverted when he's acting as [=DiZ=] who's selfishness and bitterness eventually drives his allies away though the moment he loses the mask, he starts to act more agreeable like he used to. |
| 73 | * GadgeteerGenius: If it's any indication, he built a machine that ''digitizes hearts.'' It did explode spectacularly, but only due to the sheer amount of hearts being digitized, not from the effort of digitization itself. |
| 74 | * GoodIsNotNice: After being trapped in the Realm of Nothingness. He grows out of it as he enters his status as TheAtoner. |
| 75 | * HeelRealization: He finally realizes how horrid he has become by the time he storms the Castle That Never Was with his Kingdom Hearts encoder, though this began back during the beginning of the game when he saw just how far Riku was willing to go to save Sora. |
| 76 | * HeWhoFightsMonsters: In his quest to bring down the schemes of the Organization XIII, he became racist and as immoral, if not more so in some extents, than some of the members of the group itself, making him into a Type IV AntiHero. He seems to have figured this out by the time he storms the Castle That Never Was. |
| 77 | * InTheHood: A standard feature, and he has not taken it off. |
| 78 | * {{Jerkass}}: Regarding Roxas, though he does apologize for it in the end, shortly before his HeroicSacrifice. |
| 79 | ** He's arguably worse regarding Naminé, since for the most part, despite her being a Nobody, he treats her civily and as a trusted partner...only to [[KickTheDog order Riku to kill her]] when she [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness had served her purpose.]] Naminé's reaction to learning about this shows just how big a betrayal this was for her. |
| 80 | * KickTheDog: His manipulation of Roxas, ordering the execution of Naminé, seeing Riku (and pretty much everyone else) as nothing but a tool for his own vengeance, and actively sabotaging King Mickey's attempts to contact Riku. |
| 81 | * KidnappedScientist: In ''III'', Ansem [=SoD=] on behalf of the Thirteen Seekers "rescues" him from the Realm of Darkness and takes him to Twilight Town so he can learn more about Subject X. Fortunately, the real Ansem is soon rescued from Xehanort's clutches by Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Vexen. |
| 82 | * TheLeader: After the events of ''III'' he resumes his role as the sage-king of Radiant Garden. |
| 83 | * LegacyCharacter: His real name is taken by so many people that he actually comes across an impersonation paradox by accident. |
| 84 | * ManInTheIronMask: Played with. Xehanort stole his original name and banished him to the Realm of Nothingness. When he escaped, he decided to fulfill the "disguised face" part of the trope himself, and occasionally used magic to impersonate the guy impersonating him. |
| 85 | %%* MaskPower |
| 86 | * MasterActor: His impersonation of of Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness during the events is pretty much spot on, [[EvilIsHammy perfectly capturing his mannerisms,]] and his [[TheCorruptor fixation with darkness and trying to control others.]] His powers over Darkness apparently even allow him to mimic some of the Dark Seeker's combat abilities as well, at least to the extent where he can serve as a [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits Tutorial Boss.]] It helps that at that point, Riku's hesitation to use the powerful Darkness in his heart was weakening him, justifying how in retrospect Riku was struggling to even harm [[NonActionGuy a guy later revealed to have no combat experience.]] |
| 87 | * MeaningfulName: [=DiZ=] is a corruption of the first three letters of Disney. Also InUniverse. It stands for "Darkness in Zero". |
| 88 | * ModestRoyalty: Outside of his [=DiZ=] guise he is typically seen wearing a [[LabcoatofScienceAndMedicine lab coat]] no different from his apprentices' except for some sort of red sash draped over his shoulder. While befitting his scientific knowledge, this is pretty understated attire for a world's king. |
| 89 | * MrExposition: Provides lots and ''lots'' of plot exposition almost every time he appears. |
| 90 | * NiceGuy: By the end of ''II'' and ''Birth by Sleep'', Ansem seems to have reverted to his selfless ways and willingly sacrifices himself to stop Xemnas from succeeding with his artificial Kingdom Hearts. He apologizes to Roxas via Sora, and expresses to Aqua his remorse for everything he put Sora, Roxas, and Riku through while they are in the Dark Margin, openly hoping that Sora will ultimately open the Door to Light and right all of his own wrongdoings during his quest for revenge. |
| 91 | * NominalHero: [=DiZ=] in ''KHII'', ''Chain of Memories'', and ''358/2 Days'' is technically allied with the main protagonists against Xehanort and the Organization but is by far the least heroic of them all. [=DiZ=]'s reasons for wanting to thwart the Organization's scheme and destroy its members is initially not so much to protect the worlds as much as to exact revenge on Xehanort and his other former apprentices, despite his claims to Roxas about serving the worlds. [=DiZ=] himself repeatedly uses and glorifies the power of hate and darkness, only differentiating himself from Xehanort by his refusal to succumb to darkness and ostensible alignment with the heroes' goals, and he is perfectly willing to ruthlessly destroy and manipulate innocent lives, especially Nobodies like Roxas, to get what he wants. This characterization shifts into that of a ClassicalAntiHero once he realizes his mistakes. |
| 92 | * NonActionGuy: Has no martial abilities to speak of and is overwhelmed by a group of low-tier Nobodies. |
| 93 | * NotQuiteDead: Though he seemed to perish during the climax of ''II'', the secret ending of ''Birth by Sleep'' reveals that he survived and was cast into the Realm of Darkness. |
| 94 | * ParentalSubstitute: Took young Ienzo under his wing after his parents passed away though the ''Character Files'' implied that he was [[WhenYouComingHomeDad often too busy to really take care of him.]] Still, he fondly recalls those moments of kindness when Ansem The Wise would treat him to ice cream whenever Ienzo was scolded by Even for making mistakes in his studies. When the two reunite in ''III,'' it's clear how much Ienzo looked up to the man and how much he regrets working together with those who had betrayed him. On Ansem's side, he apologizes to Ienzo for allowing himself to be consumed by hatred and fail him in his obligations toward his young ward. |
| 95 | * PetTheDog: When Roxas was not able to go on a trip to the beach in the simulated Twilight Town, he allows him to see the "ghost train" as means to make up for it, even though it had nothing to do with completing his plans. Lampshaded by Riku. |
| 96 | -->'''Riku''': That's almost kind of you. |
| 97 | * PointyEars: His ears have slight points to them. Given they weren't present in his depictions in the past, it's probably a side-effect of the darkness. |
| 98 | * PoliticallyIncorrectHero: As detailed under FantasticRacism, [=DiZ=] treats all Nobodies like garbage, even the more benevolent ones like Naminé and Roxas but he's still working together with the heroes. Drops this behavior after he removes his mask. |
| 99 | * ThePowerOfHate: His rage towards his treacherous apprentices is what kept him sane in the Realm of Darkness and gave him the darkness based powers to escape it. This is what makes his CharacterDevelopment backfire on him when he's thrown back into the Realm of Darkness. With no anger left he is not only stuck there but loses his memories as well. |
| 100 | * {{Revenge}}: Another major motivation, especially with what he [[LotusEaterMachine does to]] [[DefectorFromDecadence Roxas]], who had nothing to do with the above. The power of Sora's and Riku's strong hearts cause him to think differently. |
| 101 | -->'''Mickey''': I can't help you with revenge.\ |
| 102 | '''Ansem''': I know. Riku's told me a thousand times. |
| 103 | * RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He personally storms the Castle That Never Was in an effort to stop Xemnas himself. |
| 104 | * RedemptionEarnsLife: As of ''Birth By Sleep'''s secret ending, he's revealed to have survived the explosion of the Kingdom Hearts encoder. |
| 105 | * ReverseArmFold: Prone to this and all official artwork and renders of him depict him in such a pose. It seems to emphasize his deep-thinking personality. |
| 106 | * SanitySlippage: His reports suggest that he was [[TheCorruption slowly losing his Heart and overall sanity to the Darkness]] while exiled to the Realm of Darkness and that only ThePowerOfHate was keeping him from losing it all mentally. This goes a long way in explaining why [[TookALevelInJerkass he seems so different after he became [=DiZ.=]]] |
| 107 | * ScienceHero: What he does to help the heroes is typically through the use of his inventions, and not in up front combat. |
| 108 | * ShutUpHannibal: The above quote is a response to Xemnas's motive rant. |
| 109 | * TheSmartGuy: They don't call him wise for nothing. |
| 110 | * StealthMentor: To Riku in ''Reverse/Rebirth''. Considering his true selfish motivations at the time, he may also qualify as an EvilMentor variant. |
| 111 | * TheStoic: Downplayed. He's no [[TheSoulless Nobody,]] but he has a calm, composed manner of speaking and doesn't emote a whole lot in terms of body language or facial expressions, though Christopher Lee's performance is generally more expressive. |
| 112 | * SophisticatedAsHell: Subtle, but when Roxas confronts him at the end of the prologue right before Sora awakens, [=DiZ=] calls him a tool, using just enough metaphorical language so it's not immediately obvious. |
| 113 | * SupernaturalGoldEyes: Due to his use of darkness. |
| 114 | * ThinkingUpPortals: The mechanics of Corridors of Darkness revolve around this. |
| 115 | * TooManyBelts: There are quite a few belt-like straps on his pant-robes but those two belts wrapped around his head, apparently keeping his red face bandages secured are a very odd example of this. |
| 116 | * TookALevelInKindness: He's actually a lot nicer after he takes off the bandages on his head, and even acknowledges that anything can grow a heart in ''3D'', apologizing to Roxas some time before. |
| 117 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Sea-salt ice cream. He apparently loves it so much that he has it as the password to his computer. |
| 118 | * VoluntaryShapeshifting: He can change his appearance with the power of [[CastingAShadow darkness]]. |
| 119 | * YoureInsane: In ''III'', Ansem [=SoD=] confronts him about the disappearance of Subject X, still convinced that Ansem the Wise arranged it because of some secret she knew. Ansem snaps back, "You are ''completely'' deluded, Xehanort." Indeed, the Secret Reports all but confirm that Braig was responsible for moving her. |
| 120 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Orders Riku to kill Naminé after Roxas rejoins Sora for explicitly this reason. He doesn't go through with it. |
| 121 | [[/folder]] |
| 122 | |
| 123 | [[folder:Dilan]] |
| 124 | !!Dilan |
| 125 | [[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dilan_khiii_7.png]] |
| 126 | %%[[caption-width-right:245:some caption text]] |
| 127 | |
| 128 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YosukeAkimoto (Japanese), David Dayan Fisher (English) |
| 129 | !!!'''Appearances:''' ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded coded]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII III]]'' |
| 130 | ->"Radiant Garden shall not fall under the likes of you." |
| 131 | |
| 132 | Dilan is the complete being of Xaldin. Dilan was one of Ansem's six apprentices who betrayed him by researching the Heartless. |
| 133 | ----- |
| 134 | * APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Surprisingly enough, in ''Birth by Sleep'' Dilan shows no signs of his eventual [[FaceHeelTurn betrayal of his master]] and general douchebaggery. Instead, he is presented as both extremely loyal to his master and genuinely concerned for Ven's well-being. |
| 135 | ** ''Dream Drop Distance'' implies that none of the apprentices (save Terra-Xehanort and Braig) willingly gave themselves over to the darkness. |
| 136 | * BackFromTheDead: In ''3D'', but recovered in ''III'' and undergone a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 137 | * BigOlEyebrows: Very much so. |
| 138 | * DreadlockWarrior: Unlike Xaldin, he keeps his dreads tied up in a low ponytail giving him a cleaner, less wild appearance than his Nobody. |
| 139 | * GeniusBruiser: Strong enough to serve as a guard, smart enough to do research under Ansem. His journal entry in ''Birth by Sleep'' suggests that he was a shrewd manipulator even before becoming Xaldin. |
| 140 | * HeelFaceTurn: Upon his return, like the rest of the apprentices. |
| 141 | * HotBloodedSideburns: A trademark specialty, it seems. It carried over even when he was Xaldin, too. |
| 142 | * InconsistentSpelling: The North American release of ''KHII'' mistranslated his real name as Dilin; the PAL release and all subsequent games rectified this. |
| 143 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: In ''Birth by Sleep'' he's initially dismissive of Ventus, but worries for his safety once the latter runs off to chase after an Unversed. This is initially his default mode before he became Xaldin. |
| 144 | * ManipulativeBastard: Stated to be skilled at manipulating others in his journal entry. While his Nobody, Xaldin is a particularly sinister example, Dilan himself [[InformedAttribute never demonstrates such a trait]] in his debut game. |
| 145 | * SatelliteCharacter: To a greater extent than Aeleus and in sharp contrast to his Nobody counterpart, Dilan lacks any known personality besides being Ansem's apprentice. In ''3D'', he is still unconscious and he doesn't speak at all in ''III''. |
| 146 | * ThoseTwoGuys: Always paired up with Aeleus in his scenes. Unlike their Nobody selves, who have extremely different roles in the story, more fleshed out characters (albeit still minimal compared to other Organization members), unique powers and abilities, and dying very far apart in the timeline, Dilan and Aeleus are so similar and share their spotlight to such a degree that they may as well be the same character. This is the case in both ''Birth by Sleep'' and ''III'', and was only not the case in ''Dream Drop Distance'' because Dilan spent that entire game unconscious. |
| 147 | * TheVoiceless: Doesn't speak at all in ''III''. |
| 148 | [[/folder]] |
| 149 | |
| 150 | [[folder:Even]] |
| 151 | !!Even |
| 152 | |
| 153 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/even_khbbs_4.png]] |
| 154 | |
| 155 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NachiNozawa (Japanese, ''Birth by Sleep'') Creator/ShigeruChiba (Japanese, ''Melody of Memory''), Creator/DerekStephenPrince (English) |
| 156 | !!!'''Appearances:''' ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded coded]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII III]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory Melody of Memory]]'' |
| 157 | ->"Well, let's say I have a feeling we are destined to cross paths again." |
| 158 | |
| 159 | Even is the complete being of Vexen. He is one of the six apprentices of Ansem the Wise who betrayed him by researching the Heartless and destroying Radiant Garden. |
| 160 | ----- |
| 161 | * APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: In ''Birth by Sleep'', Even seems to be genuinely kind and helpful instead of the InsufferableGenius he later becomes after [[FaceHeelTurn betraying his master]]. |
| 162 | * TheAtoner: While he initially appears to be part of the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness/Real Organization in ''III'', it's eventually revealed that he was only pretending to work with Master Xehanort. In truth, he felt horrible for what his experiments had led to and was using the XIII Seekers as a way to develop new replicas that Roxas, Xion, and Naminé could use as new bodies. |
| 163 | * BackFromTheDead: In ''3D'' as Even. He secretly performed a HeelFaceTurn prior to becoming a Nobody again in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', but ultimately returns to his original form at the end of the game. |
| 164 | * DeadpanSnarker: Very much so, especially as it carried over to his time as Vexen in ''[=CoM=]'' and ''[=Re:CoM=]''. |
| 165 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: Tells Ventus that he has a feeling that they'll meet again in the future. While that has yet to actually happen, he did meet [[IdenticalStranger Roxas]] as Vexen. |
| 166 | * HiddenHeartOfGold: A relatively proud, friendly and rather decent guy overall. However, it should be noted Ienzo easily suspected Even might have betrayed them again after being restored, describing him as a "devious" man. He turns out to be unapologetically good, though. |
| 167 | * ParentalSubstitute: According to the ''Character Files,'' he was the one who personally looked after Ienzo the most as Ansem was often too busy. Ienzo recalls him being very stern and prone to reprimanding him for going on walks by himself or making mistakes in his calculations, but he believed that [[ToughLove these harsher moments came from a place of love.]] Evidentally, the two becoming Nobodies put a stop to this with Vexen becoming crueler and more self-absorbed and Zexion no longer showing the man any sort of respect whatsoever. Even after recompletion, Ienzo warns Sora to watch out for Even/Vexen, believing them to be untrustworthy. That said, Vexen is revealed to have pulled a HeelFaceTurn and by the end, Ienzo and the recompleted Even are back to working together under Ansem so it can be surmised that the two have reconciled with one another. |
| 168 | * ResurrectionSickness: When he finally awakens after recompletion, he notes that he was unconcious longer than the others and surmises that the circumstances around his [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath Nobody's destruction]] may have contributed to this. In any case, his isolation from the others allowed him to covertly rejoin the Real Organization as part of a plot to atone for past misdeeds. |
| 169 | [[/folder]] |
| 170 | |
| 171 | [[folder:Aeleus]] |
| 172 | !!Aeleus |
| 173 | |
| 174 | [[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aeleus_khiii.png]] |
| 175 | %%[[caption-width-right:259:some caption text]] |
| 176 | |
| 177 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FumihikoTachiki (Japanese), Dave Boat (English) |
| 178 | !!!'''Appearances:''' ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded coded]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII III]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory Melody of Memory]]'' |
| 179 | ->"The castle is presently closed." |
| 180 | |
| 181 | Aeleus is the complete being of Lexaeus. He was one of Ansem's treacherous apprentices. |
| 182 | ----- |
| 183 | * APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: ''Birth by Sleep'' shows Aeleus to have been a loyal and honorable man, before his [[FaceHeelTurn betrayal of Ansem the Wise]]. |
| 184 | * BackFromTheDead: In ''3D'' and has undergone a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 185 | * CallBack: Lexaeus's unique way of teaching Roxas about [[LimitBreak Limit Breaks]] (ie: hitting Roxas in the face so hard that his health goes into the red and then having Roxas use his LimitBreak on a Heartless) is referenced in ''III'', as he feels so bad about the incident that he refuses to even talk to Sora upon meeting him. |
| 186 | * ElementalHairColors: Like his Nobody, he has auburn brown hair. |
| 187 | * GeniusBruiser: Mostly known for his exceptional strength, he's also intelligent enough to serve as one of Ansem's apprentices. |
| 188 | * HeelFaceTurn: Since his return, still sticks as of ''III''. |
| 189 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: With Ienzo, likely a carryover from their times as Nobodies. |
| 190 | * InconsistentSpelling: The North American release of ''II'' misspelled his real name as Elaeus; the PAL release and all subsequent games rectified this. |
| 191 | * LanternJawOfJustice: That chin of his could cut through ''diamonds''. |
| 192 | * TheQuietOne: Always a man of few words, in the third game he doesn't even speak at all. |
| 193 | * RedemptionDemotion: Ienzo mentions that his powers, including control of the Dark Corridors, have been lost. |
| 194 | * SatelliteCharacter: More so than his Nobody. He doesn't even speak in ''III''. |
| 195 | * ThoseTwoGuys: Always paired up with Dilan in his scenes. Unlike their Nobody selves, who have extremely different roles in the story, more fleshed out characters (albeit still minimal compared to other Organization members), unique powers and abilities, and dying very far apart in the timeline, Dilan and Aeleus are so similar and share their spotlight to such a degree that they may as well be the same character. This is the case in both Birth by Sleep and III, and was only not the case in Dream Drop Distance because Dilan spent that entire game unconscious. |
| 196 | * TheVoiceless: Doesn't speak at all in ''III''. |
| 197 | [[/folder]] |
| 198 | |
| 199 | [[folder:Ienzo]] |
| 200 | !!Ienzo |
| 201 | |
| 202 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ienzo_khiii_9.png]] |
| 203 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see young Ienzo]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ienzo_khbbs_4.png[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 204 | |
| 205 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkiraIshida (Japanese), Creator/VinceCorazza (English) |
| 206 | !!!'''Appearances''': ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded coded]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII III]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory Melody of Memory]]'' |
| 207 | |
| 208 | Ienzo is the complete being of Zexion. Ienzo was an orphan adopted by Ansem the Wise, and the youngest of his apprentices. |
| 209 | |
| 210 | ----- |
| 211 | * AdaptationDyeJob: His hair is much darker in the manga. |
| 212 | * AdorablyPrecociousChild: In his child form, he's ''shorter'' than ''Ven'' and his lab coat can't even fit him right. |
| 213 | * TheAtoner: Upon being recompleted, he seeks to make amends for his past misdeeds by helping resurrect Roxas. |
| 214 | * AscendedExtra: He goes from having small cameos in two games to being the MissionControl of ''III''. Even if we count Zexion's appearances, Ienzo was never a very prominent member of Organization XIII. |
| 215 | * BackFromTheDead: In ''3D'' and had undergone a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 216 | * CorruptionByAMinor: Ienzo is the one that convinced Ansem the Wise to build the secret lab where they could experiment on people's hearts. |
| 217 | * CreepyChild: Ienzo's role in ''Birth by Sleep'' seems to be staring, and ''just'' silently staring at you, even after you just saved him from being attacked by the Unversed which could have killed him. Now stop and think about the fact he was still a child when he became a Nobody. |
| 218 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Between losing his parents at a young age, being lied to that his adoptive caretaker went mad and abandoned him, having his heart forcibly removed while still being a ''child'', and being forced to live the next decade as a literally heartless abomination working tirelessly to regain his heart only to have that existence mercilessly ended as part of a cruel betrayal, he hasn't exactly lived the happiest of lives. That said, since recompletion, he doesn't seem to be too distressed by the misfortunes of his past though he definitely regrets his past actions as Zexion. |
| 219 | * DeathOfAChild: His Nobody is the first time you meet him, but he is a case where you do actually see his body with the other apprentices after Xehanort attacked them and later see it was indeed when he initially died by seeing the reformed Ienzo in the same position when Lea wakes up. |
| 220 | * EarlyBirdCameo: He's the first apprentice we ever learned about as an individual as Ansem's notes you collect address him by name in Kingdom Hearts 2. |
| 221 | * EnfantTerrible: He was the one who convinced Ansem to start experimentation with the powers of darkness which escalated into forcing people to turn into Heartless. |
| 222 | * EvilSoundsDeep: One of the few differences between Zexion and the recently revived Ienzo is that his voice is noticeably lighter in pitch. |
| 223 | * FaceHeelTurn: In his backstory, giving Ansem the Wise the idea for the experimentation on the heart. |
| 224 | * GoodHairEvilHair: A very mild example but Ienzo's hair is a bit neater and less messy compared to Zexion's. |
| 225 | * HeelFaceTurn: He is the first notable one to do so, along with the rest of the apprentices. |
| 226 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: With Aeleus, as a likely hold over from their time as Nobodies. |
| 227 | * HidingBehindYourBangs: As Zexion, his eye-obscuring bangs represented his secretive, scheming nature. |
| 228 | * HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: According to his testimony in ''III'', Xehanort claimed Ansem the Wise had gone mad, which Ienzo believed long enough to get his heart yanked out. In fairness to him, he was a kid at the time. |
| 229 | * MagicPants: A downplayed case but when Ienzo is reformed he's wearing essentially the same outfit he was when he died like the others, despite being the only one who aged so his clothing couldn't fit anymore. Downplayed in that with the coat itself at least as it was originally seen to be too big on the child sized Ienzo as you can see above and is later seen to have at least added a [[ClassyCravat purple cravat]] to match the lab outfits Even and Xehanort are normally seen wearing. |
| 230 | * MissionControl: Serves this role in ''III''. He keeps Sora, Donald, and Goofy up-to-speed from Radiant Garden with the Gummiphone, and analyzes Ansem the Wise's research data to help restore those who have been lost to darkness. |
| 231 | * ModestRoyalty: Being Ansem the Wise's ward, Ienzo is effectively the prince of Radiant Garden. He's also a chatty NiceGuy who doesn't wear anything to denote his royal status while Ansem at least wears a red sash on top of his labcoat. |
| 232 | * MotorMouth: While Zexion wasn't exactly TheQuietOne, Ienzo is notably far more chatty than he was. A little bit ironic since he was stone silent as a kid. |
| 233 | * NiceGuy: The revived Ienzo is shown to be nothing but friendly, helpful and accommodating. |
| 234 | * OccultBlueEyes: While not to a supernatural degree his cold blue eyes didn't exactly make him any less creepy when all he'd do as a kid is stare at you after saving him from the Unversed, and he turned out to be a powerful magic user as Zexion later on. |
| 235 | * ParentalAbandonment: Ienzo became Ansem's ward after the death of his parents. |
| 236 | * APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: For Ansem, thanks to some manipulating from Terra-Xehanort. Fortunately, they manage to patch things up quickly in ''III''. |
| 237 | * TheQuietOne: As a child he didn't say a word, but when the other apprentices come back after the defeat of their nobodies he's a ''lot'' more chatty. |
| 238 | * QuizzicalTilt: He gives one after Lea cuts him off when he sounds like he's going to start acting as MrExposition to answer his question after most of Organization XIII were revived where they originally lost their hearts. |
| 239 | * RedemptionDemotion: He mentions that he and the other recompleted Apprentices have lost their powers, including access to the Dark Corridors. |
| 240 | * ShorterMeansSmarter: Compared to the other apprentices his intelligence isn't too clear but he is easily the youngest and smallest of them by far (even with his post revival growth spurt) and in the role of a scientist like Even and Xehanort both were. |
| 241 | * SpannerInTheWorks: Xemnas learns of his involvement with restoring Roxas after the fact, as without his help in restoring both Roxas and Naminé things would've gone south really quick. The fact that Ansem the Wise helped alongside him and getting covert assistance from Demyx and Vexen certainly evened the playing field, as well. |
| 242 | * TeenGenius: Something that shows that he did technically age during his time as a nobody, as the reformed Ienzo is still Zexion's age, and he quickly jumps on the chance to start explaining and theorizing out loud when trying to figure out what not all of the Radiant Garden centered Organization members revived at the same place. |
| 243 | * TookALevelInCheerfulness: Didn't say a word in his appearances as a child and was prone to rather offputting staring. As an older Nobody, Zexion was polite but still a rather cold and stern person. Since being recompleted and regaining his heart as Ienzo, he's been far more upbeat and very earnest about trying to work together with the heroes. It's rather refreshing to see him give legitimate warm smiles to Sora and Aeleus considering how Zexion was more of a SmugSmiler at best. |
| 244 | * TookALevelInKindness: He's also noticeably nicer after being recompleted, along with Ansem the Wise returning to him and the apprentices, as well. |
| 245 | * TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Experimenting on the darkness in people's hearts? Check. Creating Heartless? Check. Helping destroy his home by accident? CHECK. While he ''did'' urge Ansem to take his experiments to the next level, he ultimately had no idea of the other machinations happening around him. ''III'' reveals that the others lied to him about Ansem, claiming that Ansem went mad and exiled himself to pursue his research. While he knows that he was just a kid at the time and was naive, Ienzo is still noticeably torn up for ever believing it for so long. |
| 246 | * TurnTheOtherCheek: Ienzo surprisingly doesn't seem to begrudge Lea for causing his incredibly painful demise when they were Zexion and Axel respectively, instead being cordial to him and answering his questions. Given that his murder directly resulted in Ienzo being recompleted, which is something he is very clearly happy with, perhaps he just decided to bury the hatchet. |
| 247 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: He only gets a couple of scenes in ''Birth by Sleep'', primarily being saved from some Unversed with Even showing up to get him and an ending scene of him and Ansem the Wise having some sea salt ice cream together, but this is the general impression. |
| 248 | * UsedToBeMoreSocial: Inverted. In stark contrast to his stoic child self, and his scheming Nobody self, the adult Ienzo is an adorably chatty nerd. |
| 249 | * WiseBeyondTheirYears: Hard to believe he's only a few years older than the protagonists, and still younger than Lea. |
| 250 | * YouAreInCommandNow: After the restoration of the original Organization members and Ansem the Wise being MIA, Ienzo takes charge of the group in Radiant Garden until Ansem returns. |
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FollowingContext Characters / KingdomHeartsAnsemAndApprentices
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