Kingdom Hearts II is based on Square Enix's Playstation 2 video game of the same title. The series began serialization in Shounen Gangan from May 12, 2006 (2006-06) and continued until June 12, 2009 (2009-07), after which it was put on hiatus. Shiro Amano then serialized Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days in the same magazine from issues 2009-09 to 2012-09. Kingdom Hearts II resumed serialization in Shounen Gangan on October 12, 2012 (2012-11) and ended on May 12, 2015 (2015-06). A special chapter was published in Shounen Gangan on August 12, 2015 (2015-09).
TokyoPop published the first 2 volumes in English from July 31, 2007 to May 13, 2008 before release was discontinued. Yen Press republished the series in four omnibus volumes from July 30, 2013 to May 30, 2017.
In November 2015, Shiro Amano stated that Kingdom Hearts II would be his last manga adaptation of the series.