Lea (リア)
Role	Neutral (Birth By Sleep) Keyblade Wielder (Dream Drop Distance)
Origin	Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Home World	Radiant Garden
Katakana	リア
Romaji	Ria
English Voice Actor(s)	Quinton Flynn
Japanese Voice Actor(s)	Keiji Fujiwara

"I'll see ya when I see ya. After all, we're friends now. Get it memorized."

—Lea to Ventus

Lea is the original persona of Axel, and a close friend of Isa, Saïx's original persona. He appears in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, as a teenager, alongside Isa, and then in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance as an adult.

Journal entryEdit

Kingdom Hearts Birth by SleepEdit

A likable, upbeat boy who tends to jump into things without consulting anybody else---sometimes with disastrous results. He seems to be hung up on other people remembering him, and taught Ventus the importance of making friends.

He and his own best friend, Isa, have bigger plans.

StoryEdit

Kingdom Hearts Birth by SleepEdit

While Ventus is in the Radiant Garden, Lea walks by, picking up the Wooden Keyblade that Ventus had dropped on the ground. He asks Ventus if it's his. When Ventus responds that it is, Lea says it's cute how he still plays with wooden swords despite his age, and takes out his Frisbees. The two introduce themselves, and then Lea calls for a one-on-one fight, finally prompting a smile from Ventus.

After the battle, Lea calls Isa out for not trying to make up excuses for his loss and cheer him up, causing him, Ventus, and Isa to laugh. He then tells Ventus that they'll meet again someday, since they are now friends. After that, Lea tells Isa of how he wants everyone he meets to remember him, that way, he'll become immortal through their memories, though Isa jokes that Lea will be immortal for being obnoxious. The two walk off and look up at the castle, apparently 'ready.'

Sometime after Terra-Xehanort is defeated, Lea and Isa's plan is revealed, as both were seen being thrown out of the castle by Dilan with Aeleus looking on nearby. In the next scene, Lea buys sea-salt ice cream from Scrooge McDuck and gives one to Isa as they stare up into the sky.

Lea's and Ventus's newfound friendship makes many possible references to the subsequent friendship between Axel and Roxas.

Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 DaysEdit

At an unknown point in time, Lea's heart was consumed by darkness, turning him into a Heartless. However, his strong heart and will gave him the ability to continue on as a Nobody: Axel. Some time later, Organization XIII found his Nobody, who received the name Axel and was inducted into their ranks as Number VIII. It is known that he joined alongside Isa's Nobody, Saïx, and the two had a secret, unknown plan.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop DistanceEdit

Sometime after Axel's sacrifice, with his Heartless counterpart defeated at an unknown time, Lea comes to in Ansem's computer room in Radiant Garden, noticing his lack of eye markings before realizing that he is a complete being again. Also realizing that Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo are also normal again, Lea notices that aside from Xehanort, both Braig and Isa are missing.

Later, Lea talks with Aeleus and Ienzo in Ansem's study after searching the castle for the other revived members of Organization XIII. Ienzo says that the others could have awakened in other worlds like Traverse Town. Lea says he will go look for them, stating how he dislikes "always being stuck with the icky jobs." From within a Corridor of Darkness, Lea saves Mickey and Minnie from Maleficent and Pete with his Chakrams in Disney Castle. After Pete and Maleficent leave, he proceeds to introduce himself, saying "My name is...Lea" along with his trademark "Got it Memorized?"

In the Mysterious Tower, Lea meets with Yen Sid and asks to undergo the training to become a Keyblade Wielder, regardless of the latter warning him of the dangers that might befall him. In a special area where time flows differently, Lea undergoes hastened training with help from Merlin and the Three Good Fairies.^[1] Later in Where Nothing Gathers, though unable to utilize a Keyblade at the time, Lea shows up just in time to save a comatose Sora from Master Xehanort's attempt to convert the youth into his final vessel. After answering Braig that he made a promise to Roxas and "would always be there to bring him back," Lea finds himself in a brief confrontation with Isa before telling Riku that he is fine with being called by either his true name or that of his Nobody.

Back in the Mysterious Tower, Riku decides to go into Sora's heart to awaken him, and Lea says he will help Riku should he fall into the darkness again. After Yen Sid announces that Riku and the awakened Sora have respectively passed and failed the Mark of Mastery Exam, Lea claims that he will catch up to Riku soon while revealing to them his intent to use a Keyblade. Trying to manifest it once more, Lea gets astonished when his Keyblade appears, shocking everyone else as well. Soon after, Lea departs to check up on things at Radiant Garden.^[2]

Weapons and AbilitiesEdit

In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Lea's weapons and abilities are virtually identical to those of his Nobody counterpart, Axel. He still wields his Eternal Flames and has mastery over fire. Later, Lea acquires a currently unnamed Keyblade with a handle similar to his chakrams and a blade that looks like a flame. It looks like a combination of the Frolic Flame and Bond of Flame Keyblades.

AppearanceEdit

In Birth by Sleep, Lea looks about the same age as Ventus, with short spiked hair with the spikes styled upward. Lea has a slight widow's peak though more noticeable. Lea's eyes are also more of a turquoise color than Axel's striking green. He wears a sleeveless orange jacket with a white, sleeveless shirt underneath, and tan, baggy pants with red and white sneakers and black socks. The pockets of his jacket are a much darker shade of orange than the rest of it. He lacks Axel's purple, upside-down teardrop facial marks in the actual game, but curiously they are present in his official artwork.

He also wears a yellow and brown keffiyeh around his neck. The pattern of this keffiyeh changes abruptly near Lea's neck, from stripes to a very organized checkerboard pattern. Similar to Braig's scarf, the tip of Lea's keffiyeh is frayed slightly. He bears a curious resemblance to Hayner.

Lea carries around two red Frisbees with black edges, each adorned with a Bomb design, which later influence his choice of weapons when he gets older: chakrams.

In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, other than missing the teardrop facial marks, Lea is identical to his Nobody, Axel, donning a Black Coat and wielding the Eternal Flames, and later, an unknown Keyblade.

PersonalityEdit

Lea is both childish and competitive, willing to disrupt Isa's schedule for his fight with Ventus. This is also evident during the ending credits when he is seen trying to escape from Dilan's grasp by flailing around his limbs, unlike Isa, who realized they couldn't escape and barely moved.

He wishes for everyone he ever meets to remember him, so he can live on forever through people's memories. Like his Nobody, he uses the phrase "Got it memorized?" on multiple occasions.

TriviaEdit

• In an issue of Famitsu PSP+PS3, Lea's name is misspelled "Lia". It was also once misspelled on the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep official website, though it was later corrected.
• Although it was a joke, Lea's statement that he should have been friends with Ventus rather than with Isa foreshadows future events. In the future, his Nobody would choose to become friends with Roxas rather than stay friends with Saïx, Isa's Nobody.

See alsoEdit

• Axel

Notes and referencesEdit