News ► Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories The Novel Cover Art Revealed!

[Oracle Spockanort]

For many fans who have been awaiting the release of the Kingdom Hearts novel series for many years now, it was a delightful surprise to discover that the second volume based on Chain of Memories would be releasing only six months after the first novel in the series. On September 22nd, 2015, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories The Novel will release in bookstores across North America and online for the first time ever!

The Kingdom Hearts novel series, written by Tomoco Kanemaki (scenario writer for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days) and illustrated by Shiro Amano, was first published on June 30, 2005 and has seen a release of 18 novels based on the games & two special novels thus far. The on-going novel series serves as a unique experience for fans of the Kingdom Hearts series, providing more in-depth looks into the lives and personalities of beloved characters as well as adding new events and backstories that were previously not seen in the games.

Yen Press will publish Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories The Novel under their light novel imprint Yen On. You can check out the cover of the novel along with links to where you can order it below!

Also, don't forget to pick up a copy of Kingdom Hearts: The Novel to see how Sora's journey began, and Shiro Amano's manga series based on the games!

KINGDOM HEARTS: Chain of Memories The Novel 
Page Count: 416
Price: $20 USD
Release Date: September 22nd 2015

Sora, Donald, and Goofy have defeated Ansem and restored the world. But beyond the dark door--a door that had to be closed--Riku and King Mickey remain. And so the trio sets off again on a journey to find Riku and the king. As they progress through Castle Oblivion and encounter agents from the mysterious Organization XIII along the way, Sora and his friends begin to lose their memories. What does it mean to hold something dear? And in the end, what path will Sora choose?

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[Oracle Spockanort]

Is it bad that I get excited for each novel release because that is one more novel closer to everything in the KH2 novels and BBS novels <3

I need to see Riku hug/save Donald and I swear Riku and Sora hug but I think I get confused because there is more hugging in KH2 novel than in the games and I have a lot of wishful thinking

and everything in BBS ;~; <3

CoM is great, though. A lot of insight into Riku's troubles and Repliku's thoughts on his false memories.

 

[Sdog]

It looks like Goofy is taking a selfie of the trio. I love it.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

It's already preordered at my trusted publisher for imports, hehehe. Soon the KH 1 novel will get a companion.

And no, it's not bad to get excited for the novels as they probably do nearly all the characters thrice as much justice in terms of development and insight than the games ever did.
Kanemaki may not be able to write very engaging battle scenes, but just like Amano's manga, her novels make you care about the characters much more.

I've said it before somewhere, but even the small scene of interaction between Aerith and Jiminy Cricket in the KH 1 novel or SDG actually brooding over the Ansem Reports gives some satisfaction the games simply fail to deliver.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

It looks like Goofy is taking a selfie of the trio. I love it.

AH, HE DOES! Too cute! And this was drawn in the days before selfies so Goofy was on his selfie game before it was even cool~

It's already preordered at my trusted publisher for imports, hehehe. Soon the KH 1 novel will get a companion.

The book is rather large, so it is nice to be able to have another that will match its size.

And no, it's not bad to get excited for the novels as they probably do nearly all the characters thrice as much justice in terms of development and insight than the games ever did.
Kanemaki may not be able to write very engaging battle scenes, but just like Amano's manga, her novels make you care about the characters much more.

Agreed!

I've said it before somewhere, but even the small scene of interaction between Aerith and Jiminy Cricket in the KH 1 novel or SDG actually brooding over the Ansem Reports gives some satisfaction the games simply fail to deliver.

It always bothered me that we collect the reports but never see Sora and the gang respond to them. If there is one thing I want KH3 to have, it is that if there are reports there are cutscenes connected to them after you discover one.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

Oh, the CoM one is coming soon and I haven`t even read the KH1 one. Really looking forward for all those little interactions you guys mentioned!

But the question is, where on earth I will summon the necessary time to read all these? Dam you sociology exam and bachelor degree, stop stealing my time.

Quick question, is Kanemaki still in the KH team, you know, writing KHIII?

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Quick question, is Kanemaki still in the KH team, you know, writing KHIII?

We don't know who is writing KH3 with Nomura atm, but Kanemaki only served as scenario writer for Days.

 

[hlc1988]

Fantastic! Getting the cover means its closer to release.

Could we soon be hearing news of a KH2 novel release? COM was announced 2 months before the first novel was published.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

We don't know who is writing KH3 with Nomura atm, but Kanemaki only served as scenario writer for Days.

Hmm, didn`t Amano say KH2 will be his last KH manga series? Gasp! This can only mean one thing: KH2 is his last because he is writing III with Nomura!

... I know it is not gonna happen, but a man can dream eh? I really hope Nomura has skillful writers to help him.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Fantastic! Getting the cover means its closer to release.

Could we soon be hearing news of a KH2 novel release? COM was announced 2 months before the first novel was published.

We might! Depends on Yen Press' schedule for 2016.

Hmm, didn`t Amano say KH2 will be his last KH manga series?

I keep hearing this and I don't really get it. He said that Kingdom Hearts 2 was ending, not that he was done with the manga series for good.

 

[MasterZero]

If there was one thing I liked about Chain of Memories it was the characters and story.

 

[LightUpTheSky452]

Ahh! So excited! I loved the first novel so very much, so I'm definitely interested in checking the CoM one out! Especially since I've really been adoring CoM's story lately. September can't come fast enough, as far as I'm concerned^_^

Y'know... I really like the cover choice, too. I wonder if it might cue in some fans of the games--that don't know any better, and who see this--to the fact that CoM takes place directly after 1.

Mainly because I know a lot of people (at least there used to be, and probably still at least a few now) didn't originally know about CoM, so when they picked up KHII, they were like, "What? But Sora was running in a grassy field the last time I saw him, and now he's in a bubble? What the heck is going on?!"

...IDK. Just a thought.

Also, I'm still really uber ecstatic that Yen Press is doing all of this for us fans. Those guys rock!

 

[Rydgea]

Funny how this artwork now looks "old school". His style has definitely tightened over the years.

Can't wait to gobble this up~

 

[Lonbilly]

I should probably get my hands on the first novel, in this case. Glad to see it's so long, as it should be. Question, do they make these in hardcover and paperback, or just paperback? I'm fine with the latter, but I'd love to have the novels in beautiful hardcover on my shelf.

Granted, while I love the manga and Amano, I'm hesitant on the novels. On one hand, Days was my second least favorite game story-wise (and least favorite gameplay-wise), so I'm not exactly confident in how the writing for the novels would be since Kanemaki was involved with Days (although I think I read Xion was her idea,and I actually like Xion, so that kind of helps my opinion of her writing). Plus, if she is also the author for the BbS novels, which I'm personally still upset about because they made Vanitas into a tragic character instead of this pure-villain he was in BbS, then I am slightly worried these may disappoint.

Still need it for my collection, nonetheless.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I should probably get my hands on the first novel, in this case. Glad to see it's so long, as it should be. Question, do they make these in hardcover and paperback, or just paperback? I'm fine with the latter, but I'd love to have the novels in beautiful hardcover on my shelf.

Paperback only. I've only seen Yen Press release hardcover volumes for special reasons...

Granted, while I love the manga and Amano, I'm hesitant on the novels. On one hand, Days was my second least favorite game story-wise (and least favorite gameplay-wise), so I'm not exactly confident in how the writing for the novels would be since Kanemaki was involved with Days (although I think I read Xion was her idea,and I actually like Xion, so that kind of helps my opinion of her writing). Plus, if she is also the author for the BbS novels, which I'm personally still upset about because they made Vanitas into a tragic character instead of this pure-villain he was in BbS, then I am slightly worried these may disappoint.

Still need it for my collection, nonetheless.

I can understand the concern.

The novels are very easy to read, though sometimes a bit simplistic but this is a result of the way Japanese light novels are written. The first novel only served to enhance the games story to me. It wasn't a 1:1 retelling which was both a blessing and a curse. Great because Kanemaki added a ton of really interesting bits that made the characters interact more and be a bit more likable. Bad because some pretty iconic moments were missing...

Off the top of my head I can remember that the paopu scene isn't in the novels and they merge the scenes with SRK talking about leaving the island and Kairi's comment on Riku changing into one part. Depending on how you felt about those scenes, it might not even really be that bad of a thing.

All in all, I really enjoyed the novel. Very fun read with a bit more life in them than the games. I find them worth reading, and definitely different (while still being similar in the friendship area) from her work in Days. I think Days was a mix of many problems, like expectations of the fans, too much focus on Xion as a new character and not the Org themselves, too many slow moments that work in novels but not in actual games...

Yeah, she wrote all of the novels, so she is responsible for the Vanitas thing. I feel like judging the Vanitas thing is best saved for the actual novel's release, though. We've really only seen summaries of the scene and no actual chapter translation, so who knows how much of it is exaggeration or truth.

Honestly it isn't surprising she made Vanitas tragic considering his relation to Ven and probably wanting to give Vanitas something more concrete than "evil minion made by Xehanort to be evil and do evil stuff for evil goal." I can see the appeal in giving him a backstory. I don't have much of an opinion about it these days, though.

 

[DoctahFaz]

I was very happy with the first novel. I love the extra exposition and dialogue, as well as the decision to cut out some sections that weren't exactly relevant to the overall story, one of them being my least favorite world. It's also that these additions aren't just "fan fiction" and actually semi-canon due to Nomura's consulting with the author.

Looking forward to CoM, most especially because I assume it will depict Sora's thoughts from the third person point of view as he proceeds through Castle Oblivion and loses memories as well as the background scenes between the Organization XIII members. It's more of a conflict-filled plot (internally and externally) than the original game.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

I keep hearing this and I don't really get it. He said that Kingdom Hearts 2 was ending, not that he was done with the manga series for good.

Ah okay. For some reason I thought he meant the whole KH -series. Fascinating to see what he does next.


I really like the stuff what Amano does, but I think there is one aspect of the game that he can`t replicate. The troll personality that Xigbar has. I really like the way he has done Saix, but for me he just dosen`t catch the important parts of Xigbar`s personality.

 

[kuraudoVII]

The first novel was written incredibly well, so I'm really excited to see how Chain of Memories gets adapted.

 

[Dreaded_Desire62]

The first novel was written incredibly well, so I'm really excited to see how Chain of Memories gets adapted.

Ditto, I can't wait to read it.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I really like the stuff what Amano does, but I think there is one aspect of the game that he can`t replicate. The troll personality that Xigbar has. I really like the way he has done Saix, but for me he just dosen`t catch the important parts of Xigbar`s personality.

When he first started writing Xigbar, that was back before we found out he was Xehanort's lackey. I imagine if he does end up making BBS and KH3D manga (maybe, maybe not), he'd probably push more of what we see in the games out into his rendition.