We’re Finally Getting A Kingdom Hearts Anime
Disney's fantasy RPG is coming to TV with a brand new spinoff.
In the realm of video games, Kingdom Hearts has always existed in a league of its own. Thanks to a partnership with Disney, what would otherwise be another RPG in the vein of Final Fantasy became a genre-bending, world-hopping adventure where our hero Sora must explore realms of beloved Disney films like Frozen and Ratatouille and hang out with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.
This unlikely tonal mishmash has fueled the video game franchise for over two decades now, but it’s about to enter a brand new world: animated television.
Our first look at Kingdom Hearts: The Series, a new anime series coming soon to Disney Channel and Disney+.
Disney announced at D23 that Kingdom Hearts will expand into a spinoff anime series on Disney Channel and Disney+. Described as “a brand-new story that will expand on the universe of Kingdom Hearts,” the series will work with original video game creator Tetsuya Nomura and the studio Square Enix.
Considering this is a Disney+ series, it’s likely the brand synergy between Disney stories and Sora’s story will continue, but the new medium does introduce new possibilities: could we see Percy Jackson make an appearance? What about the Mandalorian? They’re still as Disney as anything else that’s appeared in the games. After all, we got to see Sora and co. in the hyper-realistic style of Pirates of the Caribbean. It would be intriguing to see how all of those translate to anime.
Kingdom Hearts combined a classic fantasy RPG with cameos from all corners of the Disney universe.
It’s not the first time that Kingdom Hearts has expanded beyond the games. We’ve already seen a Kingdom Hearts manga series, light novels, and even a card game. An anime series is, in a way, the next logical step for the franchise. But what will happen when this game series expands its reach to the mainstream Disney audience on streaming? We may just see a new resurgence of fans of this long — and often convoluted — saga.
But regardless of who it brings into the fold, this has to be an exciting announcement for longtime fans. Kingdom Hearts has often been an overlooked part of the Disney landscape, but an animated series will put a much-needed spotlight on this epic story. Even if it’s not a direct adaptation of the story, it has a unique opportunity to expand the story in ways a video game simply can’t.
