Axel
- "My show now, Keyblade master. Who am I? Oh, my name's Axel. Got it memorized?"
- —Axel
Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames (おどる火の風 Odoru Hi no Kaze, lit. Wind of Dancing Flames), is Rank VIII within Organization XIII. He wields the element of flame and enchants his weapons, twin chakram, with his element to unleash powerful rapid attacks. He commands the Assassin Nobodies.
Considered a Trump card by the rest of the Organization, he acted as a double agent in Castle Oblivion, keeping track of Marluxia's plans for the other members, then betrayed the Organization for his friendship with Roxas, acting of his own accord to try and see him again once Roxas joins with Sora. Axel will appear in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days as a playable character in the multiplayer format.
Journal Entries
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
A mysterious figure who stands in Sora's path.
Hard to read, half the time Axel seems to just be messing around... but for all we know, he's done more thinking than everyone else put together.
- Reverse/Rebirth
No. 8 in the Organization.
He is a shadow whose intentions and secrets are hidden from all.
Axel has no qualms about exploiting others to suit his needs. He used Sora and Naminé to silence Marluxia and halt his plot against the Organization.
Axel claims he and Sora have something in common, but that connection is unclear.
Kingdom Hearts II
Organization XIII's Number VIII. He commands fire and carries a uniquely-shaped weapon.
He has proven to be an odd duck of sorts within the Organization, lashing out against treachery, yet stirring troubles with his own betrayals all the while.
He claims he and Sora share some sort of bond, but Sora can't imagine what that might be.
Story
Meeting Roxas
When Roxas was first born, Xemnas found him in front of the old mansion in Twilight Town. When prompted to join Organization XIII he abruptly refused and was left to wander the large scape of the town. In the Final Mix+ version of the game, Roxas first saw Hayner, Pence, and Olette, yet despite his knowing that he couldn't feel, he was jealous. However, in the manga rendition of Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas did not see the three until after joining the Organization.
Axel later stepped in to convince Roxas to join Organization XIII, using a strangely friendly approach to win him over with a talk on the clock tower and some Sea Salt Ice Cream.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
"You didn't think after that introduction, I would give up oh so easily?" --commenting on Sora's behavior after he purposely allowed himself to be defeated in the first battle.
In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories while Sora and Riku wandered around in Castle Oblivion, Axel worked for the two parties of the already divided Organization in the castle. One side, Larxene and Marluxia, sought to use Sora's powers to usurp Xemnas and the rest of the Organization while using Naminé to alter Sora's memories. Those who stayed in the castle basement were Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion--three of the original members of Organization XIII. The three realized Marluxia's ambitions and tried to counteract by using Riku to destroy Sora. At first, Axel joined the rebel group, though his intentions at that decision point remained unclear.
Upon throwing the first battle with Sora, Axel admitted to testing the Keyblade master's strength. Axel gave up a card created from Sora's memories for him to progress further in the castle. After leaving Sora bewildered, Axel holds a serious conversation with Larxene in which he professes an interest in the fact that Sora retains his self-consciousness even after becoming a Heartless.
After Vexen nearly reveals the existence of Roxas to Sora, Axel was ordered by Marluxia to dispose of him. Axel did so effortlessly, and was at last accepted by Marluxia and Larxene into their conspiracy. Using this to his advantage, Axel allowed Naminé to escape and contact Sora. He later confronted Marluxia, allowing him to figure out that he acted as a double agent during their entire time in the castle. Citing his previous order to rid the Organization of traitors, Axel readied to attack Marluxia, even after Marluxia used Naminé as a shield, but was interrupted by Sora, whom he eventually fought for the last time. At the end of the battle, Axel pretended to be defeated and confused Sora with the words "It was worth saving you after all," and vanished.
After his battle with Sora, Axel met with Zexion in the castle basement. Zexion brought up the subject of Riku and requested data on Destiny Islands in the form of a card. Despite their previous collaboration, Axel later offered Riku Replica the honor of killing Zexion, promising the duplicate that he would gain new powers and be able to defeat the real Riku. The exact reason for Axel's betrayal is not stated, and seems self-contradictory after he had helped stop Marluxia's betrayal, though it was true that both sides of the Organization members in Castle Oblivion had their own ideas for betrayal. Axel commented that it would be more interesting to see Sora and Riku's future than to save Zexion; however, this may have had something to do with Axel's friendship with Roxas, which could have been the reason why he effortlessly destroyed Vexen--to prevent either Sora or Roxas from meeting. In Re: Chain of Memories during the scene known as "Tactician's End," Axel stated the reason for his betrayal of Zexion, saying: "You just found out way too much." What Zexion "found out" is never explained.
Kingdom Hearts II
Plagued with questions as to why he has a Keyblade and subconsciously seeking out Sora, Roxas leaves the Organization. Axel, who found companionship in Roxas, was distraught by this decision.
Shortly afterward Roxas was captured by Riku and put in Ansem the Wise's Digital Twilight Town where his memory was wiped and replaced with an artificial one, leading him to believe he was a normal teenager. Axel was sent to the simulated town to bring Roxas back to the Organization; however, his first effort failed due to DiZ's appearance and the restarting of the Twilight Town program. Roxas was dumbfounded by Axel's appearance and commented, lacking any memories of him and hence awareness of what was going on. Pressed by the threats by Xaldin and Xemnas, Axel later accepted the Organization's order to either eliminate Roxas or be destroyed himself. Axel again tried to recover Roxas without the need to kill him, though this failed when Roxas attempted to bluff with information he learned from Naminé. Roxas learned that the two had been best friends and mentioned this to Axel in an attempt to save himself, but his bluff was called when he was unable to remember "[their] boss' name." Before Axel can attack Roxas, DiZ intervenes and Roxas escapes for the Twilight Town mansion. The two meet again at this mansion in the computer room basement. Despite Roxas's recovery of his memories, Axel informed him that it was too late and fought Roxas and his dual Keyblades. Axel lost the fight and disappeared, choosing not to carry out his mission and rather took the risk of being branded a traitor. While Sora reawakened with Roxas inside him, Axel was entrusted by Riku to protect Naminé, according to a non-dubbed scene of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ and the manga rendition. Naminé's words, about those who are dear to them despite being Nobodies, strangely moved Axel before the two left Riku in a portal of darkness.
A second chance with Sora
"The guy you just saw. He's their leader! Got it memorized? X-E-M-N-A-S."
--telling Sora about the Organization's superior, Xemnas.
During Sora's exploits to the different worlds, Axel appeared before Kairi on a beach across Destiny Islands, intending to kidnap her to draw Sora out. Axel's plan was simple; if Sora were to become a Heartless again, then Roxas would be reborn. However, Kairi escaped through a Corridor of Darkness created by Riku and landed in Twilight Town where she stayed for some time in wait of Sora. Axel, however, followed her to the town and stole her away again, but not long afterward she was taken captive by Saïx who was under orders to give Axel something to actually worry about.
After the invasion of the Radiant Garden by the Heartless, Sora confronted Xemnas, the leader of the Organization. Xemnas decideed to take his leave and Axel later greeted Sora. Axel hinted that the Keyblade caused the hearts that composed the Heartless to flee, but refused to say what Organization XIII would do with those hearts. Upon being questioned of the whereabouts of Kairi, Axel pologizes for losing her, but fled for his life (and body, for the Organization threatens to turn him into a Dusk if he fails to bring back Roxas) when Saïx arrived at the scene, threatening to give him the "maximum punishment."
Death
- "He...was the only one I liked...he made me feel...like I had a heart. It's kinda...funny. You make me feel...the same...."
- —Axel, referring to how Sora reminded him of Roxas
On the way to The World That Never Was, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey are trapped in Betwixt and Between by Nobodies, but Axel arrives to help. Apparently, he had already been in the passage battling the Dusks, a ploy by the Organization to destroy him, which explains why he was clearly weak during his assistance battle with Sora. Sora and Axel battled the Nobodies, but seeing that the Dusk's numbers were too great, Axel decided to put every bit of his energy into one massive attack to destroy the Nobodies and save Sora, who stayed with him until the moment he faded. He sincerely apologized to Sora for getting Kairi involved. Confused, Sora asked him what he was trying to do and Axel confessed that he wanted to see Roxas, the only one who made him feel like he had a heart. Oddly enough for Axel, Sora made him feel the same way and used these final words to urge Sora on to rescue Kairi. Axel opened the passageway to The World That Never Was with the last bit of strength he had in him before disappearing into darkness completely. Afterward, in a new scene from Kingdom Hearts Final Mix+, Xigbar and Luxord were curious about Axel doing something as foolish as turning against the Organization for the sake of his friendship with Roxas, but Xemnas revealed that Axel's disappearance served to stir Roxas from his rest, claiming Axel's disobedience not entirely meaningless and pitiful. Xemnas also stated that due to contact with Sora, Axel could be reborn full with a heart. Whether or not this is true remains unclear. Naminé, however, backs up this notion in the written novel of the game in which she mentions that Axel never truly died, but rather faded into darkness where he would wander until he would find his heart. In Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ Axel made one final appearance in Roxas's flashback where he gives a final farewell to his best friend. This was Nomura's way of granting the fan's wish to have the two meet again.
It is also possible--like the rest of the Organization with the exception of Xemnas and Roxas--that there is a Heartless version of Axel. Whether this will be touched upon in a later game is yet to be seen.
Fighting Style
As the Flurry of Dancing Flames, Axel uses two uniquely shaped weapons called chakrams, and specializes in Fire manipulation. He can summon pillars of flame at will and strike with rapid combos using his chakrams. He can also surround his chakrams in flame and throw them like boomeranges, spinning and looping them to hit opponents multiple times. In his one on one battle with Roxas in Kingdom Hearts II, Axel also summons a circle of fire to surround them and leaps into the flames to hide, emerging to strike with rapid attacks, and then leaping back to keep his opponents off their guard.
Card
Trivia
- It has been noted that Axel bears many similarities to Reno from Final Fantasy VII. Their similarities include facial markings, wild red hair, similar personalities, and also share voice actors as noted above. Tetsuya Nomura commented on the connection between Axel and Reno, stating that he wanted to experiment by placing a familiar character in a new environment and role. Nomura clearly stated in an interview that the two are "different people, but subconsciously alike."
- Axel is often considered a popular member of the Organization and from the series by fans, mainly due to his role in the games, abilities and sacrificial death. In fact, he was also a popular member of the Kingdom Hearts staff and, according to the "Kingdom Hearts Character Report Volume 2," he was initially supposed to die at the end of Roxas' Prologue, but his popularity caused him to be continued into the main game of Kingdom Hearts II.
- In Chain of Memories, Axel's catchphrase is "Commit it to memory," but in Kingdom Hearts II, it was changed to "Got it memorized?," which is a more liable English translation of his original Japanese phrase, "Kioku shita ka?," which is also a past tense question. Re: Chain of Memories corrected the translation to the past tense version.
- In the English language versions, Axel's death scene was edited to remove the flames that were consuming his body.
- In the manga based on Kingdom Hearts II, Axel's search for Roxas in Twilight Town is expanded, and it is revealed that lesser Nobodies were stealing pictures of Roxas because they could not tell pictures apart from the real Roxas.
- In both Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II, Axel is shown to display emotions, which is unusual given that Nobodies can't feel anything. Even he himself notes this in Re:Chain of Memories when he begins laughing and stops, saying "Hey, wait. I'm enjoying this! You guys really are something else!". Whether he, Roxas, and Naminé all seem have something unusual in common, regarding the heart, is unknown.
- There was a bit of controversy about Axel in Chain of Memories, being the only character in the series who swore. After letting Namine go after feeling the enjoyment come over him, he said the line (which he's saying to Sora and the Riku Replica), "So you guys are making me feel this? Well keep it going because it's about time you gave me one hell of a show!" In Re:Chain of Memories, the scene is changed to Axel saying, "Hey, wait. I'm enjoying this! You guys really are something else!".
- Axel is the first (and so far only) Organization XIII member to act as a (temporary) party member.
- It is notable that (in the English version) Axel's voice in the GBA version of Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II sound noticeably different. If one listens to the sound effects, Axel has a deep and bold type of voice, whereas in Kingdom Hearts II he has a relaxed and easy going voice.
- Quinton Flynn's portrayal of Axel in Re: Chain of Memories differs from his Kingdom Hearts II rendition in the sense that he speaks eloquently and seriously, occasionally slipping into a rough tongue from time to time when acting playfully and enigmatically around colleagues or the Keyblade Master. This portrayal fits well with Axel's originally loyal and mature personality prior to building a relationship with Roxas, during which his voice could have easily changed to become more laid-back and lax. It could be interpreted that he became more easy going due to his friendship with Roxas, which may not have developed yet beyond their working relationship. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days lends credibility to this theory as the game, where Roxas' friendship with Axel develops, occurs after Sora's story in Chain of Memories.
- Axel and Xemnas are the only two members of Organization XIII to appear (physically) in more than one main series game, though Xemnas only appears in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix as a secret boss.
- In Re:Chain of Memories, Axel is the only Organization member whose deck is made up of only attack cards.
- Axel is one of only four members of Organization XIII not killed by a keyblade master, as he killed himself in a kamikaze attack to save Sora. The other three are Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion.
- In a new scene for 358/2 Days, Roxas, Axel and Xion are seen at Destiny Islands sitting on the paupu tree. Interestingly, their positions mirror those of Sora, Riku and Kairi in the prologue of Kingdom Hearts.
