The Unversed emblem.

The Unversed (アンヴァース Anvāsu?)[1] are monsters that appear in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. They attack Terra, Ventus, and Aqua on many occasions over the course of their respective journeys.

Story

Before Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

This information is based on alternate scenes or materials and is not considered canon within the overall plot of the series.
The first Unversed are born soon after Vanitas is created by Master Xehanort. Vanitas attempts to destroy the creatures, but he merely absorbs them. Their negativity worsens his mental state, and this, in turn, spawns more Unversed. A vicious cycle begins that does not end until Ventus's damaged heart contacts Sora's new one. After this, Vanitas leaves Ventus and is forced to fight more Unversed. The pain and suffering this causes him leads him to submit to Master Xehanort and agree to help him forge the χ-blade.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

 
Vanitas tells Ventus the Unversed come from him.

After Master Eraqus conducts Terra and Aqua's Mark of Mastery exam, the Unversed are unleashed in accordance with Master Xehanort's ambitions. In each of the worlds they plague, the creatures are attracted to negativity.[2] They ultimately cease to be after Ventus fuses with Vanitas, who reveals the Unversed only existed to make Ventus stronger.[3]

Kingdom Hearts III

File:Unversed KHIII.png
Spiked Turtletoads ravage Monstropolis.

As a result of Master Xehanort's plan to gather thirteen darknesses for the second Keyblade War, Vanitas is brought forward in time to clash with the Seven Guardians of Light. The Unversed, and Vanitas’s control over them, return as well. Intrigued with how negative emotions are exploited in the world of Monstropolis, Vanitas sends hordes of Unversed to that world. On the Laugh Floor at the Monsters Inc. factory, the Unversed utilize the company’s former business model of deploying Scarers into children’s bedrooms to collect scream energy, allowing them to accumulate enough negative emotion to reconstitute Vanitas’s heart.

After Vanitas’s defeat at the hands of Sora and Ventus, the Unversed cease to exist once more.

Design

 
The Cursed Coach's eyes resemble a crying face.

Unversed come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. A key component of their design is emotion, thus their red eyes are made to resemble laughing, angry, and crying faces. The emblem that appears on the bodies of all Unversed represents a heart that expresses emotion.[4]

Nature

 
The Flood, which lacks an Unversed emblem.
"It happened when you and I were split into two. The negativity took shape as these monsters. They are what I feel—a horde of fledgling emotions under my control."
—Vanitas, explaining the Unversed to Ventus

Unversed are "those who are not well-versed in their own existences".[?] They are the result of the negative emotions produced when Ventus and Vanitas were separated by Master Xehanort. The Unversed are extensions of Vanitas himself, thus they obey his every command.[3] They only exist if Vanitas also exists, and if Vanitas is destroyed, they also are destroyed.

List of Unversed

Notes and references

  1. ^ The Unversed were once publicly known as "Unbirths" due to a fan mistranslation.
  2. ^ Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Eraqus: "All the more reason, then, for concern—for he tells me the Princesses of Heart are in danger. Not only from the forces of darkness, as you may assume...but also from a new threat—one that feeds on negativity. Fledgling emotions that have taken monster form—Yen Sid calls them the "Unversed.""
  3. ^ a b Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Vanitas: "I released them in all the worlds I could, hoping to lure you away from home and isolate you from your Master. We needed to make you stronger. The Unversed were the perfect opponents. And better yet, no matter how many times you defeat them, their negativity flows right back into me."
  4. ^ Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania, Testuya Nomura: "Their design concept became the theme of ‘emotion’, and we went with various motifs, such as a laughing face, angry face and crying face. The Unversed mark was also modeled on the heart from emotions."

See also