Axel in Kingdom Hearts

Personality

Axel from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Axel's personality is very different compared to most other members of the Organization. His attitude also changes during the series. When he is first introduced at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Axel has a mysterious, stoic, and calm demeanor on par with that of Marluxia. He seems to be a very good liar, as he earned Vexen's, Marluxia's, and even the trust of Larxene in only a short amount of time. He also seems to be very committed to the Organization, shown in a cutscene where he battles Marluxia. He seems quite distant at times during his time in Castle Oblivion, ignoring Vexen's insults and almost completely unfazed by Larxene's flirtatious behavior towards him. While he is seen as collected, intelligent, and even somewhat overconfident, cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories make him sound as if he is acting at times, possibly hinting at his dislike for the other members.

Although in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, Axel is shown to hold Larxene and Zexion in good company to an extent. Cutscenes show Axel making friendly conversation with Larxene while Marluxia is not around, and making friendly bets with Zexion as to which member will be defeated next. But eventually Axel betrays Larxene by letting Naminé escape and seemed disappointed yet satisfied upon her elimination. Axel also has Riku Replica annihilate Zexion to ensure that his actions in Castle Oblivion go unnoticed by the rest of the Organization, and to help Saïx keep his rank in the Organization.

Axel's personality changes drastically in between the two games, possibly due to his friendship with Roxas. In Kingdom Hearts II, he has a very laid-back, "go with the flow" outlook on many things, including missions and battles. But he also is shown to have a very kind, heartful side, ironic because he is a Nobody and has no heart. His friendship with Roxas and Xion and his moving final words are examples of this.

He also stated that Roxas made him feel "like he had a heart". Axel was very close with Roxas and Xion. He acted like an older brother towards them, being their main source of advice and wisdom. In some cases he got them out of trouble, including helping out Xion and Roxas when Xion could not summon her Keyblade and preventing them from destroying one another when they were tricked by the Organization into fighting each other.

In both games Axel has been shown to have a very typical "Nobody" side to his personality as well, being cold, unforgiving, and merciless. In Re: Chain of Memories, he interrupts Vexen's cries for mercy with a cocky "Goodbye" before incinerating him without any hesitation. He also seemed to be amused by the deaths of his comrades as shown in the scene where he is making bets with Zexion. This cruel attitude also occurs when Marluxia uses Naminé as a human shield against him—Axel confidently declared he would kill Naminé to get to Marluxia. Also in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, he appeared indifferent to angering Xaldin.

In both Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II, Axel displays emotion, which is unusual given that Nobodies cannot feel anything. He himself notes this in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories when he begins laughing, but catches himself and stops. He even mocks his ability to feel towards his death. Whether he, Roxas, Naminé, and Xion all seem have something unusual in common regarding the heart, is unknown. But it has been hinted by Xemnas, and Axel himself, that by being close in contact with Sora's heart, Axel began to feel emotions of his own.

Out of the whole Organization, Axel is probably the most difficult to read. One never knows what he is thinking (as Lexaeus stated) or whose side he is really on. Most of the time he seems to be just messing around, but he may have done more thinking than everyone else combined, as stated in Jiminy's Journal. Similarly, in both Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Axel tends to avoid eye contact when lying.