What is the deal with Ansem, Seeker of Darkness?

[Dagesh Lene 366]

We all know what Master Xehanort's plan is, to start another Keyblade War so that the World can be recreated as a World that has a perfect balance of light and darkness, as he says in his reports in Birth by Sleep:

 

"Someone must tear down this tyranny of light and reorganize the World around the darkness which then creeps back in." (Xehanort's Report VIII)

 

“If I become the first to open Kingdom Hearts' door, I can create a Next World in which light and darkness exist in perfect equilibrium.” (Xehanort’s Report IX)

 

We also find out in Dream Drop Distance that everything has happened according to Master Xehanort's plan:

 

"Yes.  They were all my doing.  I used the evil fairy to find seven pure lights for me, just as I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness." (Master Xehanort to King Mickey in Where Nothing Gathers)

 

We know that Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, and Xemnas were both carrying out Master Xehanort's plan, so how come, after Ansem travelled back in time to pass on the ability to time travel to Young Xehanort and give him the mission to find other versions of Master Xehanort from throughout time to make up the thirteen seekers of darkness, he tried to do his own thing that had seemingly nothing to do with Master Xehanort's plan?  In fact, he straight up tried to kill Kairi after the Final Keyhole was completed, saying to her, "The Keyhole is now complete.  You have served your purpose.  But now it's over."

 

My guess is that him trying to kill Kairi shouldn't be looked at too seriously because Nomura probably didn't know what he was going to do in future games yet.  Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have had Ansem try to kill Kairi.  Either that or Ansem thought that he could complete Master Xehanort's plan without starting another Keyblade War, which brings me to how I think Ansem's actions actually do make sense.

 

Master Xehanort wants the World to be consumed by darkness in order to "tear down this tyranny of light".  Then, after setting foot on Kingdom Hearts, he will gain the ability to create the Next World which he will build "around the darkness which then creeps back in".  What if Ansem thought that he already had the ability to do this without starting another Keyblade War?  As Ansem the Wise said in Secret Ansem’s Report 13, “His Heartless had attempted to draw out the great darkness of Kingdom Hearts, created from the hearts of all worlds.”  Maybe Ansem was trying to have the darkness on the other side of the Door to Darkness consume the World, and then enter the artificial Kingdom Hearts of Worlds to gain the power to create the Next World.  If he could do this, there would be no need for the Princesses of Heart after they opened the way to his artifical Kingdom Hearts.  He could kill Kairi if he wanted to.  However, his plan failed, and so, in the end, he ended up having to go with Master Xehanort's plan to start another Keyblade War in order to fulfill Master Xehanort's wishes to create a World in which light and darkness are in perfect balance.

 

Or, maybe Nomura has no real reason why Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, did this.  Who knows?

Edited May 24, 2018 by Dagesh Lene

[Felixx 6,646]

One word: Retcon.

 

None of the events of BBS and further games in the series were even planned when KH1 came out. Ansem SoD's original plan was to reach Kingdom Hearts. Later on it got retconned to him gathering the 7 lights.

Same goes for Xemnas btw. Nowhere in the game does it state that he looks for vessels, he even wanted to get a Sora puppet (Xion) to get the Keyblade and to gather more hearts. Cause again, original goal: reaching Kingom Hearts. Retconned to: gathering the 13 darknesses. All in all we can say, Nomura is not the best when it comes to planning ahead

[Alicia Maddox 2,141]

One word: Retcon.

 

None of the events of BBS and further games in the series were even planned when KH1 came out. Ansem SoD's original plan was to reach Kingdom Hearts. Later on it got retconned to him gathering the 7 lights.

Same goes for Xemnas btw. Nowhere in the game does it state that he looks for vessels, he even wanted to get a Sora puppet (Xion) to get the Keyblade and to gather more hearts. Cause again, original goal: reaching Kingom Hearts. Retconned to: gathering the 13 darknesses. All in all we can say, Nomura is not the best when it comes to planning ahead

I have always gotten the impression that Nomura just flies by the seat of his pants when he plans a KH game.

[Dave 5,715]

The head canon I cling to is that, sooner or later, Ansem has more or less become his own person with his own goals. Emphasized with the opening of DDD when he reasserts to Braig that his name is Ansem, not Xehanort.

[Dagesh Lene 366]

One word: Retcon.

 

None of the events of BBS and further games in the series were even planned when KH1 came out. Ansem SoD's original plan was to reach Kingdom Hearts. Later on it got retconned to him gathering the 7 lights.

Same goes for Xemnas btw. Nowhere in the game does it state that he looks for vessels, he even wanted to get a Sora puppet (Xion) to get the Keyblade and to gather more hearts. Cause again, original goal: reaching Kingom Hearts. Retconned to: gathering the 13 darknesses. All in all we can say, Nomura is not the best when it comes to planning ahead

 

I realize that Nomura did not have anything planned for the future.  However, he has been trying so hard to make everything fit together and make sense (he even explained why King Mickey is shirtless at the end of the first game in 0.2) that I was trying to make Ansem make sense.

 

He managed to make Xemnas' actions make sense.  In Dream Drop Distance, Xigbar explained to Sora, "Xemnas and Xehanort formed the Organization for a specific reason--round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind.  Translation--they were gonna turn all the members into Xehanort."  That would explain why Xemnas was still interested in gathering hearts to form his artificial Kingdom Hearts of People.  He told the Organization that Kingdom Hearts would make them finally exist, but what he did not tell them was that the heart that he was going to give them was Xehanort's.  The reason why he wanted Xion was as a failsafe in case Roxas and Sora proved to be useless to his plans.  So, Nomura has managed to make Xemnas' actions make sense in the current story, but he hasn't really explained Ansem's.

 

He still acknowledges what Ansem did.  In Dream Drop Distance, it says in the chronicle for the first game, "Ansem was trying to complete the Keyhole to a doorway that led to the heart of all worlds: 'Kingdom Hearts.'"  Also, Ansem's journal entry in Dream Drop Distance says, "He tried to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, but fell to Sora in the end."  So, Nomura definitely didn't retcon what he did (except for maybe trying to kill Kairi, since the chronicle skips over that whole scene), he just isn't really explaining why he was trying to open the door to Kingdom Hearts.  So, I am going to assume that it is still canon that Ansem wanted to "draw out the great darkness of Kingdom Hearts", as Ansem the Wise says in Secret Ansem's Report 13.  And if that is still canon, then, as I stated in my original post, maybe he was just trying to accomplish Master Xehanort's plan in another way.

The head canon I cling to is that, sooner or later, Ansem has more or less become his own person with his own goals. Emphasized with the opening of DDD when he reasserts to Braig that his name is Ansem, not Xehanort.

 

That is a good point.  I hadn't thought of that.  However, after Ansem said that to Braig, he did still do what Master Xehanort wanted him to do by traveling back in time to send Young Xehanort on his mission, and Xehanort did say that he, Xehanort, used the evil fairy to find seven pure lights for him, just as he, Xehanort, prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness.  He seemed to imply with that statement that he was in control of Ansem and Xemnas, which makes sense since they are his Heartless and Nobody.  However, I suppose that Ansem could have become more and more of his own person over time.

[SoraDaxjer28 263]

The way I see it, Ansem -- The Seeker OF Darkness started to veer off on his own.  It is a little like a minion setting off to do whatever they choose, even if it is against their superior(s).

 

That aside, this might be how everyone shall react to Xehanort in "'Kingdom Hearts 3'",

[Movies798 1,360]

In Nomura's defense in one of his older interviews Nomura said that he originally had two stories for Kingdom Hearts. Those two stories were Kingdom Hearts 1 and Kingdom Hearts 2, so back then there was no Master Xehanort, no Keyblade War, and no Thirteen Seekers of Darkness. The way I see it is that Nomura probably never think this series was going to be this popular so he never planned ahead of an overall story of this Xehanort Saga. So like the others said Nomura retconned Ansem and Xemnas goals in Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 and had Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance to say that everything was planned by Master Xehanort. I for one don't minded because I love the Kingdom Hearts lore and don't care how confusing it is.

Edited May 24, 2018 by Movies798

[Felixx 6,646]

I realize that Nomura did not have anything planned for the future.  However, he has been trying so hard to make everything fit together and make sense (he even explained why King Mickey is shirtless at the end of the first game in 0.2) that I was trying to make Ansem make sense.

 

He managed to make Xemnas' actions make sense.  In Dream Drop Distance, Xigbar explained to Sora, "Xemnas and Xehanort formed the Organization for a specific reason--round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind.  Translation--they were gonna turn all the members into Xehanort."  That would explain why Xemnas was still interested in gathering hearts to form his artificial Kingdom Hearts of People.  He told the Organization that Kingdom Hearts would make them finally exist, but what he did not tell them was that the heart that he was going to give them was Xehanort's.  The reason why he wanted Xion was as a failsafe in case Roxas and Sora proved to be useless to his plans.  So, Nomura has managed to make Xemnas' actions make sense in the current story, but he hasn't really explained Ansem's.

 

He still acknowledges what Ansem did.  In Dream Drop Distance, it says in the chronicle for the first game, "Ansem was trying to complete the Keyhole to a doorway that led to the heart of all worlds: 'Kingdom Hearts.'"  Also, Ansem's journal entry in Dream Drop Distance says, "He tried to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, but fell to Sora in the end."  So, Nomura definitely didn't retcon what he did (except for maybe trying to kill Kairi, since the chronicle skips over that whole scene), he just isn't really explaining why he was trying to open the door to Kingdom Hearts.  So, I am going to assume that it is still canon that Ansem wanted to "draw out the great darkness of Kingdom Hearts", as Ansem the Wise says in Secret Ansem's Report 13.  And if that is still canon, then, as I stated in my original post, maybe he was just trying to accomplish Master Xehanort's plan in another way.

 

That is a good point.  I hadn't thought of that.  However, after Ansem said that to Braig, he did still do what Master Xehanort wanted him to do by traveling back in time to send Young Xehanort on his mission, and Xehanort did say that he, Xehanort, used the evil fairy to find seven pure lights for him, just as he, Xehanort, prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness.  He seemed to imply with that statement that he was in control of Ansem and Xemnas, which makes sense since they are his Heartless and Nobody.  However, I suppose that Ansem could have become more and more of his own person over time.

Well, unless Nomura or anyone else from Square Enix gives us an explanation on that there will never be a real truth. Ansem could have followed his own plans, or maybe opening the door that lead to the heart of all worlds was part of Xehanort's plan, for whatever reason. There is no wrong or right in this scenario because it's fact that Ansem's actions got retconned, so you can come up with your own solution for it to still make any sense.