Kingdom Hearts III - Vol. 4 Ch. 40 - From Now On

[MangaDex]

 

[Late_Komei]

Woah, is this Kingdom Hearts day? What's with the mass upload of Kingdom Hearts- related manga?

 

[KSR_4849]

My group, Your Deer Friends, was commissioned to finish the remaining chapters of Kingdom Hearts III, given that chapters 31-40 were not under Yen Press' jurisdiction anymore, as they have lost their license to KH III by that time.

However, our commissioner had found a treasure trove of completed KH III chapters from a different source (tumblr) and subsequently asked for permission from the original translators to upload directly here in MangaDex.

Our job here is done, and our debts paid. Even though we didn't complete the rest of the work, we still find our job here technically complete.

Woah, is this Kingdom Hearts day? What's with the mass upload of Kingdom Hearts- related manga?

 

[Avonc4d0]

I was wondering if this manga would ever be completed, and lo and behold, it was. Props to the team for picking it up.

I'll be honest, this is quite a step down from previous adaptations of Kingdom Hearts, but it kinda makes sense, considering how KH3 is as a game. Both share certain issues such as nightmarish pacing and lack of time spent on the actual plot. But there were other issues I found that are unique to this manga. For one, if you've read the previous manga adaptations for kingdom hearts, you'll know in order to stand on their own feet while lacking the gameplay of the games, the mangas have their own unique style of humor that made them quite fun to read (KH1 - Sora randomly remembering quotes from a martial artist's autobio to take down a Darkside; KH2 - Kairi escaping from her imprisonment from the Organization by mimicing Dusks and tricking Demyx, etc)
KH3's manga does open with a bit of the same style, but it gets less and less prevalent as you read on. This might be a symptom of KH3's overall tone being considerably more serious than previous titles, but I feel like if the author had more freedom, we might've gotten something better. The manga also feels so rushed towards the end that it skips a lot of fights altogether. I wouldn't have minded skipping the fights with Larxene or Luxord for example, but skipping the fight between the Ice Cream Trio and Saix? That has got to be a crime. Seeing both trios from BBS and 358/2 Days reunite already felt a bit brief in the game but in this manga it was barely a couple pages for each, and that's pretty bad.

I think overall I had come to expect the KH mangas to not only be able to adapt a super fun and wacky video game series but also introduce enough of its own creative flare that makes them a joy to read despite if you've already played the games or not. But this adaptation of KH3 feels rushed and uninspired. I can only assume the author was pressured to complete this series shortly after KH3 came out, making it unable to receive the same kind of attention the previous mangas received, but I'm also suspecting the issues with the game I mentioned were just too difficult to rectify in comic form. But it is what it is, I suppose.

 

[SorinhaPhantasie]

I was wondering if this manga would ever be completed, and lo and behold, it was. Props to the team for picking it up.

I'll be honest, this is quite a step down from previous adaptations of Kingdom Hearts, but it kinda makes sense, considering how KH3 is as a game. Both share certain issues such as nightmarish pacing and lack of time spent on the actual plot. But there were other issues I found that are unique to this manga. For one, if you've read the previous manga adaptations for kingdom hearts, you'll know in order to stand on their own feet while lacking the gameplay of the games, the mangas have their own unique style of humor that made them quite fun to read (KH1 - Sora randomly remembering quotes from a martial artist's autobio to take down a Darkside; KH2 - Kairi escaping from her imprisonment from the Organization by mimicing Dusks and tricking Demyx, etc)
KH3's manga does open with a bit of the same style, but it gets less and less prevalent as you read on. This might be a symptom of KH3's overall tone being considerably more serious than previous titles, but I feel like if the author had more freedom, we might've gotten something better. The manga also feels so rushed towards the end that it skips a lot of fights altogether. I wouldn't have minded skipping the fights with Larxene or Luxord for example, but skipping the fight between the Ice Cream Trio and Saix? That has got to be a crime. Seeing both trios from BBS and 358/2 Days reunite already felt a bit brief in the game but in this manga it was barely a couple pages for each, and that's pretty bad.

I think overall I had come to expect the KH mangas to not only be able to adapt a super fun and wacky video game series but also introduce enough of its own creative flare that makes them a joy to read despite if you've already played the games or not. But this adaptation of KH3 feels rushed and uninspired. I can only assume the author was pressured to complete this series shortly after KH3 came out, making it unable to receive the same kind of attention the previous mangas received, but I'm also suspecting the issues with the game I mentioned were just too difficult to rectify in comic form. But it is what it is, I suppose.

I think this manga would have benefited from a volume 5, like the Days' manga. A couple extra chapters of Disney worlds to complete volume 4 and then an entire volume dedicated to the end of the game. If that was the case, volume 5 would have more space to better deliver the story, without it seeming so rushed.