Lea
| Lea | |||
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| Japanese | リア | ||
| Rōmaji | Ria | ||
| Other names | Axel (アクセル Akuseru) | ||
| Voice actors | (Ja:) Keiji Fujiwara (KHBBS through KHIIIRM) (En:) Quinton Flynn | ||
| Homeworld | Radiant Garden | ||
| Games | Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Kingdom Hearts III | ||
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| Lea
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| Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep |
| A likable, upbeat boy who tends to jump into things without consulting anybody else-sometimes with disastrous results. He seems to be hung up on other people remembering him, and taught Ventus the importance of making friends. He and his own best friend, Isa, have bigger plans. |
| Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance |
| The human form of Axel, one of Organization XIII's Nobodies. He has awoken in Radiant Garden. |
| Kingdom Hearts Union χ |
| KINGDOM HEARTS BbS (2010) A friendly and childish boy. He seems to be planning something with his friend Isa. |
| Kingdom Hearts III |
| A Keyblade wielder who was once a Nobody and member of Organization XIII, at which time he went by the name "Axel." After regaining his humanity, Lea joined forces with Sora and the other guardians of light. Through difficult training, he learned to summon and wield a Keyblade. |
- "I want everybody I meet to remember me. Inside people's memories, I can live forever."
- —Lea to Isa
Lea is the human form of Axel, which he is better known as due to his more prominent time as a Nobody. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, he appears as a teenager and a close friend of Isa. He appears as an adult in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, in which he chooses to become a Keyblade wielder under Master Yen Sid.
Story[edit]
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep[edit]
Lea lives in Radiant Garden alongside his best friend Isa, and conspires with Isa to break into Ansem the Wise's castle by sneaking past the castle guards, Aeleus and Dilan. Shortly after Terra and Aqua leave Radiant Garden, Lea and Isa cross through the Central Square on their way to sneak into the castle, and find Ventus and his Wooden Keyblade on the ground. Lea returns it to Ventus, and teases him for using a "kid" weapon. Lea proudly shows off his frisbees and challenges Ventus to a sparring match. Ventus readily accepts and easily defeats Lea, though Lea tries to claim the match is a draw. Lea vows to Ventus that they will meet again, as they are now friends. As they walk away, Isa asks Lea why he keeps befriending strangers, and Lea answers that he wants to live forever in the memories of everyone he meets.
Blank Points[edit]
Sometime after Terra-Xehanort loses his memory and is taken in by Ansem, Dilan throws Lea and Isa out of the castle after one of their attempts to sneak in. Afterward, the pair go to the Castle Town to buy sea-salt ice cream from Scrooge McDuck.
Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts II[edit]
After hearing mysterious cries from the castle and rumors of human experimentation, Lea and Isa sneak into the castle to investigate. They find their way into the Heartless Manufactory where they encounter a girl in a cell, Subject X. Secret Report 5 On subsequent visits, they befriend the girl and resolve to help her escape, but she disappears before they have a chance. In order to locate her, they decide to become apprentices to Ansem. Secret Report 6
However, shortly after Lea and Isa become apprentices, Ansem disappears, and Terra-Xehanort removes the hearts of the other apprentices, including Lea and Isa.[1] Their strong hearts allow their bodies and souls to continue on as Nobodies, and they become members of Organization XIII. They are renamed to "Axel" and "Saïx" and inducted as Numbers VIII and VII, respectively.
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded[edit]
Sometime after Axel sacrifices himself to give Sora safe passage to The World That Never Was, and with the destruction of his Heartless, Lea is recompleted as a human in Ansem's lab alongside Isa and the other former apprentices of Ansem the Wise. Destiny
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance[edit]
Lea has a dream of Roxas reminding Axel of the promise he made to him and Xion to always be there to bring them back, and he awakens, with his memories of his time as Axel intact. Lea finds that four of the founding members of Organization XIII—Aeleus, Even, Dilan and Ienzo—have been recompleted as well, but Braig and Isa are missing. Lea decides to look for them. After searching the castle interior to no avail, Lea prepares to search outside, but is stopped by Aeleus and Ienzo. Ienzo explains that if Braig and Isa were recompleted, they would have appeared in the same place as the others. Lea disregards this, and leaves to look for Braig and Isa elsewhere.
Lea uses a Corridor of Darkness to travel to Disney Castle and finds Maleficent and Pete holding Minnie hostage. Lea blocks Maleficent's attack against Mickey, Donald, and Goofy with his chakrams, distracting Pete long enough for Minnie to escape. After Maleficent and Pete retreat, Lea reveals himself to the group and introduces himself as Lea. Lea, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy travel to the Mysterious Tower, where Yen Sid brings them up to speed regarding Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam and Xehanort's inevitable return. Lea tells Yen Sid he wants to become a Keyblade wielder, shocking everyone present. Due to the dire situation, Yen Sid agrees, but warns Lea it will not be easy. Lea is taken to the Secret Forest to practice, where Merlin and Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather have altered the flow of time.
Learning of the danger everyone else is in, Lea arrives in The World That Never Was just in time to save Sora from becoming Xehanort's final vessel in the Real Organization XIII. Lea is attacked by a hooded Organization member who is quickly revealed to be Saïx, catching Lea off guard. Lea, Mickey, and Riku attempt to escape with the sleeping Sora in tow, but are momentarily stopped by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness's Dark Figure until Donald and Goofy knock into it with Mickey's Star Shard. Having run out of time, the new Organization begins disappearing, its members returning to their proper place in time.
Back in the Mysterious Tower, Riku decides to go back into Sora's dream to awaken him, and Lea promises to save Riku if the darkness gets him. After Riku succeeds in waking Sora, Yen Sid declares Riku a Keyblade Master, and Lea tells Riku that he'll catch up to him in no time and become a Keyblade Master as well. Lea reveals to Sora and Riku that he is trying to become a Keyblade wielder, and wanted to use a Keyblade to save Sora, but hasn't been able to summon it yet. As he is demonstrating, he suddenly successfully summons his Keyblade, Bond of the Blaze, for the first time.
Afterwards, Lea returns to the Secret Forest to resume his training.
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-[edit]
Kairi meets with Yen Sid to discuss training as a new Keyblade wielder, and is told that Lea will also be training with her. She is shocked to learn that Lea was once Axel, but is assured that Lea is now on their side.
Kingdom Hearts III[edit]
Lea trains with Kairi in the Secret Forest. Kairi's appearance sometimes reminds Lea of Xion, although he is unable to determine what he is remembering. After one such instance, Lea asks Kairi to call him "Axel". Some time later, the pair receive new outfits from Yen Sid, but Lea decides to stick to his black coat.
After Aqua and Ventus are rescued, the Guardians of Light gather at Mysterious Tower. Lea tries to make sense of how everyone knows each other or is connected to each in some way. Ventus then reveals that he remembers him from years before, to Lea's surprise and delight. Lea is given a Gummiphone by Jiminy.
That evening, Lea visits the Twilight Town Clock Tower with three sea-salt ice creams and laments that he hasn't been able to save Roxas. Saïx appears suddenly, claiming that he isn't there to fight, and points out that Lea bought an extra ice cream for someone besides Roxas, although Lea doesn't know why. Saïx reminds Lea that they apprenticed to Ansem the Wise to rescue Subject X, and accuses Lea of giving up, which Lea denies. When Saïx says it's a futile effort trying to retrieve their lost friends, Lea counters that he'll not only retrieve them but Isa as well.
The next day, Lea and the other guardians travel to the Keyblade Graveyard and fend off an immense swarm of Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed. However, Lea gets incapacitated by Terra-Xehanort before a Demon Tide eliminates him and the rest of the Guardians. Sora is able to use the power of waking to retrieve the hearts of the other guardians and return them to the beginning of the encounter. This time, Terra-Xehanort and the Demon Tide are fended off with help from the Lingering Will and the spirits of the Dandelions, allowing the Guardians to chase after the Organization.
The Organization members disperse through the Skein of Severance, and Lea and Kairi pair up to face Xemnas, Saïx, and Xion, whose face is obscured by her hood. After taunting Lea about his connection to Xion, Xemnas departs, leaving Lea and Kairi to fight Saïx and Xion. Re Mind Sora catches up to them, and shortly afterward the three are overpowered. Xemnas reappears and, when Lea attacks him, forcibly dismisses Lea's Keyblade, and attempts to kill him. Xion stops him, and Xemnas orders her to kill him instead. However, Roxas's heart stirs and calls out to Xion, causing both their hearts to return to their designated Replicas and the memories of Xion to return to everyone. Roxas, Xion, and Lea then engage Xemnas in order to reclaim the Recusant's Sigil that binds them together. Re Mind
Xemnas kidnaps Kairi and flees. Lea is left to recover as Sora, Roxas, and Xion subdue Saïx. Once Saïx is defeated, Lea expresses disgust at his friend being reduced to Xehanort's pawn. Saïx admits that he was jealous of Axel's friendship with Roxas and Xion, and the two reconcile as Saïx fades away. Lea then urges Sora to go after Kairi while he and his friends catch up.
Lea, Roxas, and Xion reunite with Sora and the other Guardians after Xehanort opens Kingdom Hearts, and help to hold it back while Sora, Donald, and Goofy confront Xehanort. After Xehanort is defeated, Lea and the others follow after them and share their light with Sora so that he can close Kingdom Hearts. The group is then ejected back to the Keyblade Graveyard, where Sora leaves them to retrieve Kairi.
Having recovered his friends, Lea finally changes into his new clothes and celebrates at the Clock Tower alongside Roxas, Xion, a restored Isa, Hayner, Pence, and Olette. After this, Lea gathers at the Destiny Islands alongside the other guardians and their friends to play, and watches Sora fade away from existence.
Design[edit]
During his youth in Radiant Garden, Lea looks about the same age as Ventus. He has blue-green eyes and spiky, bright red hair which is styled upward. He has a slight widow's peak. He wears a sleeveless orange jacket with darker orange pockets over a white sleeveless shirt, tan baggy pants, black socks, and red and white sneakers. He also wears a yellow and brown keffiyeh around his neck. Most of the keffiyeh has a striped pattern, which changes abruptly to a checkerboard pattern near Lea's neck. The bottom edge of the keffiyeh is frayed.
After being revived as an adult, Lea wears the black coat he wore during his time as Axel and appears almost identical to his former Nobody, but lacks the tear-shaped markings below his eyes. His hair is longer and not as upright, and descends down his neck onto his shoulders.
After Master Xehanort's defeat, Lea wears a long sleeveless hooded black vest, a sleeveless dark-grey-and-red plaid button-down shirt with a short-sleeve black shirt underneath, burgundy leopard-print pants, and black mid-calf heeled boots.
Personality[edit]
As a teenager, Lea is mischievous and childish. He conspires with Isa to sneak into Ansem the Wise's castle and flailing childishly upon being caught and thrown out by Dilan. Lea is smug and sarcastic, as shown he teases Ventus upon meeting him and exhibiting a competitive streak by challenging the latter to a duel. Lea seeks to live forever through the memories of those he meets, and he promises to always be there for his friends. Due to this, Lea often says, "Got it memorized?" as a catchphrase, emphasizing his desire to be remembered by those he meets.
Lea values his friendship with Isa, who he considers his best friend. However, after turning into Nobodies, their friendship became strained, with the two friends drifting apart due Isa's personality changing too much after he became Saïx.[2] In spite of this, Lea shows concern for Isa and sets out to find him when he notices that Isa is missing after the Organization XIII members are restored as humans in Radiant Garden. Retaining his memories from his time as Axel, Lea continues to treasure his friendship with Roxas as he considers Sora to be a friend since their respective Nobodies were best friends.
As an adult, Lea acts as cocky as his Nobody counterpart. He retains his competitive streak, demonstrated when he challenges Master Xehanort while defending Sora and states that he intends to compete with Riku in the art of the Keyblade. After his restoration, Lea is often referred to as Axel by Sora and his allies, much to his exasperation, prompting him to correct them. Eventually, Lea relents to being referred to as Axel after Riku addresses him by the wrong name. Ultimately, he decides to go by Axel after seeing Kairi as Xion for a moment, believing that being called Axel was important in remembering what he'd forgotten.
Saïx notes that Lea was prone to crying when he was young; thus his Nobody gained tear-like marks under his eyes to symbolize how much Lea cares.
Lea cares very deeply for his friends, as shown in his determination to bring them back. He has a fear of his friends disappearing, after what happened to Subject X, Ventus, Roxas, and Xion. Throughout Kingdom Hearts III, Lea is very emotional whenever reminded of his old friendship with Isa and despite everything Saïx put him, Roxas and Xion through, he continues to sees him as a good friend even when he returns to being Saïx and during their battle, would try to reach out to Saïx and seems to express a level of remorse for his abandonment of Saïx for Roxas and Xion. He cries when he almost remembers Xion and when he, Roxas and her are finally reunited. His bonds with them drive Lea to fight to protect them, even if he's wounded or inadequately armed.
Abilities[edit]
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep[edit]
As a teenager, Lea is not physically shown fighting, though he has an offscreen spar with Ventus and loses. His weapons during that time consist of two red flying disc toys with black edges, each adorned with a Bomb design, which later influence the chakrams Axel wields during his time in the Organization.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance[edit]
Upon reaching adulthood following his Nobody and Heartless's destruction, Lea initially wields his Nobody's Eternal Flames chakrams. By the end of Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam, he has gained the ability to wield the Bond of the Blaze Keyblade, which bears features from his chakrams and the Bond of Flame and Frolic Flame Keyblades, having received a magically compressed training session from Yen Sid, Merlin, and the three fairies.
Kingdom Hearts III[edit]
In Kingdom Hearts III, he fights by holding his Keyblade by its guard similarly to his chakrams, performing combos that spin it in-hand to attack, and can Formchange his Keyblade into his chakrams at will in a manner similar to a dual Fire Raid attack. Lea also appears to possess swift agility similar to that of his Nobody counterpart and also can perform an attack similar to Axel's "Wild Dance" from Kingdom Hearts II. All of Lea's attacks deal Fire damage. As a party member, Lea will only attack Saïx or Xemnas[KH III RM], never Xion.
Lea's base stats are 210 HP, 100 MP, 44 Strength, 45 Magic, and 42 Defense.
| Actions | |||||
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| Ability | Total Power Modifier | Attribute | Status Effect | Description | |
| Attack (Combo) (たたかう (コンボ) Tatakau (Konbo)) |
4.0 | Fire | — | Knocks enemies back with a combo attack. | |
| Firaga Cutter | 2.2 | Fire | — | Swings weapon upward at high speed. | |
| Firaga Slicer | 2.0 | Fire | — | Throws weapons at the target. MP Cost: 10 | |
| Support Abilities | |||||
| Ability | AP | Description | |||
| Double Team | — | Deal extra damage when attacking the same target as the player character. | |||
Lea's flying disc.
Notes and references[edit]
- ^ Kingdom Hearts III, Lea: "One day we're apprentices, the next Ansem the Wise has up and vanished, the day after we're Nobodies, day after that we're doing icky jobs for Xemnas."
- ^ Secret Reports, Axel: "Talking to Roxas and Xion always brings back memories of my human life, back when I was a kid. It's a weird sensation. I ought to be able to share all this with Saïx, but I just don't feel like it anymore. It's strange, but I'm content with just missing what's gone. I'm not the one who changed. You did."
| Lea's Keyblades |
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| Bond of the Blaze |
