Xehanort

Xehanort (ゼアノート) is a fictional character who is the main antagonist of the Dark Seeker Saga, the first phase in the Kingdom Hearts series by Square Enix. He was introduced as the original form of the sentient Heartless "Ansem, Seeker of Darkness" in the first game and the Nobody Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep reveals the human elder Xehanort who, like his alter-egos, wishes to recreate the mythical Kingdom Hearts to gain the power to recreate the universe in his image. While Kingdom Hearts III is the last major installment focusing on Xehanort, the 2020 mobile game Dark Road explores his childhood and descent into villainy.

Xehanort was created by Kingdom Hearts director and designer, Tetsuya Nomura, who decided to revise elements of the character when Square Enix greenlighted Kingdom Hearts II. Critical response to Xehanort was originally mixed as a result of his multiple alter-egos with different names potentially being confusing to the audience. His further exploration in Birth by Sleep and his boss battles were the subject of praise.

Creation and development
Xehanort was originally conceptualized by Tetsuya Nomura as a villain who would only appear in the video game Kingdom Hearts. However, when Square Enix got the approval to make the sequel Kingdom Hearts II, Nomura put together an outline for the character. He was often told by the manga artist that they felt "the characters come alive however they want," and some parts did change from their original conceptualization. Nomura conceived Xehanort as a character which the players study throughout each installment of the series. Ansem symbolizes the heart while Xemnas symbolizes the body, leading to the focus of the original Xehanort in the future titles. In retrospect, Nomura believes this was properly explored, as each game builds up Xehanort's character until his full introduction.

The biggest change to Xehanort's character in Kingdom Hearts II is how his doppelganger, the Heartless Ansem Seeker of Darkness, was revised to feel more like an imposter of the real Ansem the Wise, with more villainous traits. Kingdom Hearts II features another Xehanort doppelganger, the Nobody Xemnas, who is the leader of Organization XIII. The concept of Organization XIII began with Xemnas as the first member and Roxas, Sora's Nobody, as the last. Each of the original members' name is an anagram of their original name prior to becoming a Nobody, with the addition of the letter "X", which is revealed in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep to be derived from the χ-blade.

The organization's members wear black, hooded coats that shield them from the corrosive effect of prolonged use of the Corridors of Darkness, portals they use to traverse among worlds. Following the release of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Nomura revealed a connection between the cameo characters and Xemnas, but wanted to leave it up to people's imagination, as he still could not reveal their identities. This was done through the fight sequence between Sora's predecessors and the unnamed elder, who is later revealed to be Master Xehanort, and his apprentice Vanitas.

Nomura explained that Master Xehanort wishes to bring back the Keyblade War and see what happens afterward with his own eyes. However, by the time he finds a way to accomplish this, he will only have a few years left to live. Since he wants to become young again, he finds Terra and defeats him with darkness so he can take his body. This is the Xehanort that Ansem the Wise takes in and makes his number one apprentice. In response to rumors saying that Sora's story would end in Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura answered that Sora is the protagonist of the series and that Xehanort's arc would end in such a title. In retrospect, Nomura said it was difficult to enjoy Sora's side of the story and instead like Xehanort's character when making the narrative.

Casting
Billy Zane voiced Ansem in the first game. He was replaced by Richard Epcar for the later titles. Reflecting on his work, Epcar enjoyed his works in the Kingdom Hearts franchise due to all the people he met. Xemnas was voiced by Norio Wakamoto in Japanese and Paul St. Peter in English. Peter felt that the quick audition led to a positive response from the staff. He came to enjoy voicing Xemnas alongside Wormmon from Digimon Adventure 02. He found the role challenging as he had to work as carefully as Wakamoto.

For the eventual release of Birth by Sleep, Ryōtarō Okiayu was chosen as Terra's Japanese voice as the staff wanted an actor who sounded similar to Chikao Ōtsuka, Xehanort's original voice, and Akio Ōtsuka, Xehanort's later voice who also voiced the villain while using Terra's body. The staff found Chikao's to be a dry sort of voice, and Akio's a deep, resonating sort of voice, and liked how Okiayu bore elements from both actors. This eventually led to the possession of Terra's body in the prequel by Xehanort and how they would become the villains from the main games. Nomura claims a hidden message in Xehanort's last lines when he hints that somebody else is in Terra's heart. Chikao Ōtsuka died during the development of Kingdom Hears III. While Square was compiling Ansem's voice, in the same scene they could hear Master Xehanort's line. At the time, no substitute voice actor had been chosen, so the staff thought that maybe some line they had recorded previously was playing, but it turned out that Akio Otsuka, the voice actor for Ansem that took Xehanort's identity, was playing the part. The staff, surprised by how uncomfortable they felt, decided to ask him to play the role. Master Xehanort was voiced in English by Leonard Nimoy in Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance. Following Nimoy's death in 2015, Rutger Hauer assumed the role in Kingdom Hearts III, later to be replaced by Christopher Lloyd in the Re:Mind DLC and Melody of Memory following Hauer's own passing.

Meanwhile, the youthful Xehanort was voiced by Takanori Okuda and Benjamin Diskin. Diskin commented he had to manage his pitch to sound as young as Okuda. As a result, Diskin was afraid about his performance due to how the early trailers of Kingdom Hearts III could be received. Diskin had played the numbered titles of the franchise and thus had little knowledge about his character since Xehanort's identity was primarily explored in the non-numbered games. Throughout the recording of Kingdom Hearts 3D, no one told him what his character was going through, or what his motivations were. As a result, the actor had little understanding of the narrative.

Appearances
Xehanort is re-established as an elderly Keyblade Master from the Destiny Islands who acquired the means to transplant a piece of his heart into the bodies of others, which he uses to orchestrate the events up to Kingdom Hearts III to suit his agenda. Throughout the series, Xehanort is driven by an obsessive interest in the Keyblade War, a historic cataclysm that produced the universe's present, fragmented state. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, he attempts to use the hearts of his pupils Ventus and Vanitas to forge the χ-blade and unlock Kingdom Hearts to incite another war and create a new world where light and darkness exist in perfect balance. He transfers his heart into Terra's body to prolong his own life, but is defeated through the combined efforts of Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, gaining amnesia in the process. In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Xehanort returns to his original form following the destruction of Ansem and Xemnas, who are revealed to have been created to re-enact his original plan. He intends to gather seven "guardians of light" and thirteen "seekers of darkness" in the form of the Princesses of Heart and Organization XIII, respectively. He uses time travel to assemble Ansem, Xemnas, and other versions of himself from across time into a new Organization, sending their hearts into replica bodies to co-exist with their present selves. In Kingdom Hearts III, after he is defeated and his past selves are eliminated during a showdown against Sora's group, he surrenders and allows his heart to pass on together with his former friend Eraqus. The mobile game Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road explores the character's backstory, during his time training with Eraqus in his youth, and reveals him to be the descendant of Ephemer.


 * Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (闇の探求者アンセム), Xehanort's Heartless and the main antagonist of the first Kingdom Hearts and Riku's story in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. He uses Maleficent to gather the Princesses of Heart and produce the Keyhole to Kingdom Hearts, later possessing Riku's body to regain his human appearance. As revealed in Dream Drop Distance, his incorporeal form allows him to travel to the past to initiate Xehanort's teenage self. Following Ansem's destruction, his presence lingers within Riku's heart in Chain of Memories until it is destroyed by Ansem the Wise's malfunctioning heart encoder in Kingdom Hearts II.
 * Xemnas, Xehanort's Nobody and the main antagonist of Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. He is the founder and "superior" of the first Organization XIII, whom he manipulates into constructing artificial Kingdom Hearts to turn them into vessels for Xehanort's heart, as revealed in Dream Drop Distance. His name is an anagram of "Ansem" with an additional letter "X".
 * Terra-Xehanort, the original form of Ansem and Xemnas, who was first seen as Ansem the Wise's amnesiac apprentice. He is created in Birth by Sleep after Xehanort's heart is transferred into Terra's body, confining Terra's heart within a monstrous vessel called the Dark Figure (うしろの人). Despite his amnesia, he steals his mentor's identity while conducting his experiments involving Heartless and Nobodies. In Kingdom Hearts III, Terra's heart takes control of the Dark Figure and returns to its body with Sora's help, expelling Xehanort's heart.
 * Young Xehanort, Xehanort's adolescent self and the main antagonist of Dream Drop Distance, whom the Heartless Ansem summons from the past to assemble the "real" Organization XIII from his other incarnations and a certain member of the previous Organization. Though he loses his memories upon returning to his time, he remains motivated by the destiny "etched in [his] heart" to carry out all of his future self's plans.

Reception
USGamer praised Xehanort's debut in the series for giving the narrative a major impact as he takes over the role of the Disney villains and corrupts and possesses Riku's body. The scene is noted to expand the series' lore little by little, not only through Riku's actions but also because it explores the ruined Hollow Bastion, which is a former lively place now ruled by Xehanort. In the book Kingdom Hearts II (Boss Fight Books Book 16), Alexa Ray Corriea describes Ansem as a mad scientist whose multiple personalities would confuse the audience. Xemnas' early characterization was described as the "gray area" of the series since, during Kingdom Hearts II, the character and his group were not related to darkness or light. Comic Book Resources enjoyed Riku's handling of Xehanort's powers, as he managed to use them to overcome his inner darkness in both Chain of Memories and Dream Drop Distance. The same was said with how Riku once again used Ansem's power for justice in Kingdom Hearts II and 358/2 Days to defeat Roxas and help in Sora's awakening in the former game, as Roxas was needed to awaken the comatose teenager. The site listed Sora's and Riku's fight against Xemnas's as one of Riku's best action sequences. Xehanort manipulating Riku into using the darkness has been compared to Queer Lens due to parallels seen in his journey with self-acceptance and real-life experiences of accepting one's sexual identity, according to TheGamer. GamesRadar enjoyed the final boss fight from the game. The site noted that Ansem still manages to further corrupt Riku, labeling his resulting personality as unwilling to reunite with Sora. His next form Xemnas' handling in Kingdom Hearts II was called predictable. This led to more criticism as Ansem's and Xemnas' destructions led to the return of the original Xehanort, rendering the heroes' actions meaningless. William Humberto Huber from the University of California, San Diego, compared Xehanort's multiple identities and antagonism to the rehabilitation of Emperor Hirohito during the American occupation of Japan after the Pacific War. Tiago Clariano from the University of Lisbon notes that the multiple Xehanorts have a tendency to contradict each other's goals, but even in his final defeat, the villains are being played by an unknown force, Luxu, who will also replace him in upcoming games.

CinemaBlend praised how the prequel explores Xehanort's character while highlighting how he nearly succeeds in defeating all the protagonists from the game. Comic Book Resources noted that several of Xehanort's actions contribute to the heroes' downfall. Another aspect of Birth by Sleep touched on by 3DJuegos was the relationship between Xehanort and Eraqus. In "How Kingdom Hearts Reframed Darkness", Fanbyte writes that Xehanort is the foil of Eraqus based on his research from his diaries and how their values of light and darkness contrast with each other. Xehanort's further exploration of darkness and light was compared with the writing of Hayao Miyazaki's work as well as Clamp's, especially X. Xehanort constantly performs experiments on the main characters to further develop his studies. GamesRadar claimed that Kingdom Hearts III further developed Xehanort in the ending when Eraqus' spirit contacts his dying friend in regards to how "more to light than meets the eye", referring to the chess game they played as children. Giving up, Xehanort fully yields, sees the power of the light, and entrusts the χ-blade to Sora before dying. The chess game was replicated in real life, with GamesRadar finding it ridiculously expensive. Despite calling him a mystery, HardcoreGamer said that Kingdom Hearts Union X - Dark Road further explores Xehanort's origins as it further examines the origins of the Keyblade weapons and their wielders. Comic Book Resources listed his alter egos as the sixth most challenging boss ever in the game, while his true persona ranked second behind Yozora.

MeriStation referred to the character in general as complex and manipulative, while at the same time redeeming in his final moments, he accepts his defeat to Sora and gives him the χ-blade to the youth as he moves to the afterlife with Eraqus. Fanbyte noted that there were several theories about Xehanort's character within the fandom that could become true in Kingdom Hearts III. The two of them are whether or not enigmatic Luxu was his true identity or whether Sora's replica Xion became another vessel carrying Xehanort's heart. GameDeveloper lamented that Xehanort's role in Kingdom Hearts III was poorly developed as Square Enix was more focused on developing the Disney properties, with Xehanort and his underlings having little screen time until Sora ends most of his journey. This further gave the ending an arc fatigue as the player has to face all of Xehanort's incarnations in a single row without breaks.

In retrospect, Inverse claims that Xehanort was a villain shrouded in mystery due to his early appearances as a man possessing Terra until his proper introduction as Master Xehanort in Birth by Sleep. With Xehanort's eventual death in Kingdom Hearts III, Inverse believes that creator Tetsuya Nomura is aiming to create a proper successor to Xehanort, as seen in extra cutscenes revealing that one of the villain's comrades, Luxu, turned out to have his own proper agenda and is seen busy aiming his new plans with other warriors. Nevertheless, the same website found Xehanort to be one of the most incoherent characters ever seen in gaming due to the multiple plans he carries across the franchise. In La Légende Kingdom Hearts, Xehanort's multiple alter ego are noted to having too many mysteries. His relationship with Luxord is never addressed whereas Xemnas is interested in finding Ventus. When Xehanort possessed Terra, the writer gave such form the nickname of "Terranort" who becomes one of the biggest culprits behind several lost across the franchise until Sora reaches him in the Keyblade Graveyard from Kingdom Hearts III. Meanwhile, The Nameless One, Xehanort's own Keyblade remains as one of the oldest weapons in the narrative especially when it is revealed it was passed on from the Masters of the Masters and was forged from the x-Keyblade itself with the writer claiming it was given its own distinctive name on purpose.

Zane's work as Xehanort (Ansem) was noted by Kotaku in an article involving "cheesy video game voice acting", as the writer claimed "Zane's performance is a combination of rocky growlings and deep bass utterances" as a result of how many taunts he makes during the cutscenes, making the villain stand out. CinemaBlend enjoyed Nimoy's performance. Hauer's portrayal was praised by MeriStation, who noted that Xehanort was one of the actor's final works before his death. Christopher Lloyd's performance in the DLC was praised by TheGamer, as they believed he fit the character.