Your favourited/hated XIII members: Poll results

Twelve to choose from, 6 made the cut.

Sending in the wrong guy – 11%, 115 votes (HATED)

You either really dislike him for his silliness, or you had trouble with the KHII battle.

He’s quirky, he’s funny, he plays music, but he’s the third hated Organization member, voted by our readers. I personally did not mind seeing Demyx in KHII and found his appearances to harken a nice, light-hearted feel that offers a breather from those serious, quiet folks in the higher Organization orders. Nevertheless, in gameplay, he deserves a spot on our list of most-hated. Demyx made a whopping total of 20 appearances in KHII-is that a counting error? Not for me! At least 10 of those appearances resulted from my failure to send Demyx into oblivion during our final battle. Some of mine (and others’) most agonizing hours of KHII were spent trying to beat the 10-second counter. That’s not even the tip of the iceberg-still had to deal with those erupting geysers. Demyx is known as the weakest and most cowardly member of the XIII, yet as weak as he’s portrayed to be, he certainly played a devastating tune to thwart Sora. He also has a whiny voice and is invariably the weirdest XIII member. It is my conclusion that the overly quirky personalities are not the most-loved.

Hate: Water clones and his constant fleeing from battle that tells us nothing of his actual strength.
Saving grace: He’s a musician. According to one of our readers, “that’s like, 20000 bonus points.” (Annonymous)

Girl in a foul mood – 16%, 175 votes (HATED)

Did you know that the book that this savage nymph was reading at the Castle was written by a French author bearing "sadistic" as his namesake?

With the spotlight that she would have loved were she still alive, Larxene takes the silver for second-most hated. Every encounter with Larxene in CoM gave players another reason to despise everything about her: her shrill laughs, her lies, her endless cruel taunts. Larxene is, without a shadow of a doubt, a truly terrible (and terrifying) person. Her demeanor seemed to be at its worst whenever she spoke with Sora, who was openly defiant of her mocking declarations and who was so bathed in light that words simply did not faze him, to Larxene’s frustration. Some consider Larxene’s nature to emulate that of a perfect villain, as her killer intent is open for all to see and any moral or interpersonal obligation non-existent. Complete with a deadly lightning attack and her swiftness in battle, it’s very easy to call her all sorts of names.

Hate: She stings like a bee and her comments are practically personally aimed at you.
Saving grace: She’s one of the better-looking members of XIII.

The high official, our low regard – 22%, 238 votes (MOST HATED)

The chilly academic was a lost cause the moment we met him. He carried the Organization's contempt with a little hubris from his own.

Vexen wins by a landslide as the most hated member of the Organization. Known as the mad scientist, he is the creator of the Riku Replica. The technology he invented set a premise to creating Xion, so, Vexen was an indispensable character who set events in CoM and Days into motion. That doesn’t mean we can’t hate him. Vexen evokes a sense of a being an old, washed-up fellow who has lived past his usefulness. His repeated failures to stand as a challenge to Riku and Sora did not put him in good light in front of the rest of the Organization. Nor did it with us. Despite his obvious lack of solid success, Vexen insists on arrogantly talking down to other, garnering dislike all around. Vexen is not amiable, witty or carries the stalwart coolness of other Organization members. He is a coward who fears his superiors, Marluxia and Xemnas, and is a slink who prefers to let others do his dirty work. He’s not entirely despicable, but that doesn’t give us much leeway to go easy on him.

Hate: His insistence to be treated as a superior, yet never backing that up with his actions.
Saving grace: He made the Riku Replica, giving us the benefit of a new plot point.

Blue hair, sharp tactics – 8%, 90 votes (LOVED)

He doesn't like to dirty his hands, but when Zexion needs to ensure mission fulfillment, he goes all out.

Trailing only 1 vote away from Xemnas, Zexion takes third place as a favourite character. However, there is a big, glaring difference between Zexion and the top 2 favourites. Zexion was one of the characters who didn’t survive past the events in CoM and thus, his contributions were limited in the overarching story. Moreover, he was more involved in the events of Reverse/Rebirth, with much fewer appearances in Sora’s game. Despite his lack of lasting impression in the plotline of the series, Zexion has proven to be a fan favourite at his debut. As smart as he is good-looking, Zexion deftly pulls the strings behind the scenes and demonstrates himself as one of the most loyal and committed Organization members. Despite being Sora and Riku’s enemy, Zexion’s hard-working and polite demeanor earn him a dignified respect from fans. Nothing is more attractive than a thoughtful character enshrouded in mystery. Plus, his deceptive illusion tricks against Riku were impressive to witness.

Love: Reader Robyn summed it up nicely, “Favorite: Zexion because of his epic illusions, horrible death, and cool hair.”

Dark and superior – 8%, 89 votes (LOVED)

A rather handsome looking fellow, is he not? Ruthless, to boot.

The Superior himself landed a spot as no. 2 on our favourites list. Xemnas has established a long, drawn-out history with Kingdom Hearts. He first appeared before us on the PS2 in Final Mix, as a mysterious hooded man with extraordinary abilities, claiming to know more about Sora than Sora knows of himself. As the leader of his lethal pack, Xemnas is the mastermind behind the intent and purpose of the Organization. Many of the schemes that we witnessed in CoM and KHII were ordered by this person of ingenious calculations, including the assignment of Marluxia and Vexen’s team to Castle Oblivion, the creation of Riku Replica and Xion, Axel’s orders to the Castle and to retrieving Xion, Roxas’ inception, and most other things that put Sora’s missions in motion. At all times, Xemnas has been steadfast and ruthless in his dealings; perhaps that’s why we dyke out the brownie points for his character. He’s the perfect villain. Misguided by his own powerful desires, Xemnas attempted to exert control over what he feels must be the correct state of the universe. With insurmountable hubris and long sermons, he dominated over things that proved to be beyond his comprehension.

Love: The melodramatic deliverance of his philosophical soliloquies; the extremely memorable final battle in KHII.

Memorized in the pages of time – 45%, 457 votes (MOST LOVED)

In Days, Roxas gave Axel the winning ice cream stick. You're right, Roxas, Axel is a "winner" by all means.

To try to prevent an overwhelmingly obvious win, I excluded Roxas from this poll. Of course, that did nothing to stem the overwhelmingly obvious win of Axel, who’s tried and true as the Organization member everyone cared for and cared not for going without. His demise in KHII drew an outcry of mourning and sadness for fans who expected him to make a return, either as a complete person (given that his Heartless also gets wiped out) or even revived beyond the realms of logic. In his first appearance in CoM, it was difficult to understand this fiery persona, which seemed to dither and change sides on a whim. Not until KHII and Days was it clear whether he was helping Sora from the shadows, doing a dirty job for the Organization or simply following his own, unannounced agenda. Drawing a comparison with twilight Riku, Axel is a complicated fellow who straddled between good and evil. His association within the XIII inevitably pitted him against Sora, but his bond with Roxas pushed him to put faith and loyalty to the test. Due to that strength in friendship, Axel is-aside from Roxas and Xion-the only other member who developed undeniable feelings that Nobodies are normally born without. Axel died a hero’s death and we see today that he is unforgettable for it.

Love: Axel’s cool and collected, but when provoked, he turns into a flaming opposition, leading to dramatic battle sequences against our heroes, Sora and Roxas.

What’s your take?

Sakuchan – You’ve seen the votes, and you’ve read my analysis-how did they jibe with your overall feelings of how these members ranked? Could there be more to the tale than what has been portrayed here? By the way, the last time I checked, Axel was voted by a couple of people as a hated character. To each their own.