A E R I T H   G A I N S B O R O U G H

What makes the identification of a character should start at their character construction—as a writer, this is when you’re determining the existence of this character, the motivation that drives their agency and purpose in the story (or even that of the story itself), etc. If this is layered [depth], only then would I personally say they’re a “complex character”.

What flows through that and becomes a part of the character’s “dynamic range”, like their personality and the range of elements attached to their character that is shown in different situations—like the, “this character acted this way here”, and “they showed this there”, “they have this significant item to represent this”, etc. This can easily be synonymous to that construction, or it can really just be it’s own thing if written that way. This in of itself can be interesting and “layered” in the sense that there is variety, hence the “dynamic range” terminology, but the understanding of that is different than what is for the sake of describing a character’s depth for identification. I would argue this is defined at the construction stage as opposed to in the counted showings of dynamic range, that otherwise, doesn’t have to be dependent upon what’s established in the construction. If you can see the flow in the range, chances are it started at the construction either way. A character’s growth is also NOT what defines their complexity, but that too can be synonymous to the construction and flow through for better storytelling. If their purpose is what changes and adds layers, depths—the WHY to what their purpose is, the it definitely applies. In most cases, you’d hope it does, but of course, you can have character’s undergo change for a specific element (or just learn something, becoming better on that front), but what sets their purpose is still 1 layer. Basically, the “lesson learned” could be an isolated thing that doesn’t really interact with their purpose as a character.

And to make it clear, whether a character is “complex” or not DOES NOT determine if they’re a good/poorly written character. I will never not stop fighting that as the art of simplicity or “less is more” is literally a thing that translates in a lot of different things. A simple character can absolutely be fine.

This is really primarily in the perspective of how we identify characters and really why—at least on this level of identification (things like complex, simple, protagonist, antagonist, etc.), the construction level makes more sense than the conditional moments alone. And it can be important as to not create a misleading, if inefficient label on the character. You can’t just identify a character as a “fan-service character” because the author wrote a few moments like that (which is typically more about their style than it is about the character), or if to go even more general, to be like, this is a “video game character” for a character that originated and immediate source material is that of a “anime or manga”. Like, the type of answer you’d give if you’re answering “who is this?” Of course, complex vs simple is a weird answer to give, but if for the sake of identifying FOR a character’s existence, then the logic still applies.

Some examples I’d look at are three well known shonen protags of Naruto, Goku, and Luffy.

Continua a leggere

Zerith and Cloti Lines & Quotes Parallels

FFVII Original Game, Advent Children (sequel), and Crisis Core (prequel) are written by Kazushige Nojima…. so it’s not surprised to see how he wrote both pairings in similar way as I found these parallels:

Parallel #1: KOIBITO ( 恋人 )

Zack and Aerith

The two characters deeply involved with Aerith were Zack, who would become her lover (koibito), and Tseng, her guardian.  (CC: FFVII Complete Guide)

One day, Zack is suddenly landed in a church in the slum. His cheerfulness and dependability capture Aerith’s heart and they’re being in a (koibito) lovers-like relationship. Although they can only see each other periodically, their thoughts keep them close in spirit. (Aerith’s profile, CC: FFVII Ultimania, pg. 22)

Cloud and Tifa

“Is Tifa your girlfriend (koibito)?” (Aerith asking Cloud, FFVII Remake Chapter 8)

There are many dimensions to Tifa’s character. She’s like a mother, also a sweetheart (koibito), and a close ally in battle (Advent Children Reunion Files book, pg. 19~ Nomura’s interview)

Parallel #2: SWEET YOUNG LOVE, WHAT SHE LIKES ABOUT HIM 

Aerith about 16 years old Zack: 

“He’s strong, kinda funny, and there’s something special about him.”  (Crisis Core Chapter 5 - First Date) 

Tifa about 14 years old Cloud: 

“You were so small then … and cute.”  (Original Game scene 116 - Cloud Dark Past) 

Parallel #3: SHE DRESSES UP FOR THE PROMISE THEY MADE

Zack and Aerith

For when they meet again on their next date, Zack’s specific suggestion was Aerith wearing pink. Aerith–who continued to wait for Zack’s return–starts to wear pink after making this promise (CC: FFVII Complete Guide–Keyword Collection)

Cloud and Tifa

Believing in Cloud’s promise, Tifa’s waiting to see Cloud become a SOLDIER like Sephiroth. Tifa dresses herself in a pretty and sexy look. Does she do that to spirit up herself in preparing for a touching reunion? (Tifa Lockhart Character Profile from CC: FFVII Ultimania)

Parallel #4: SHE ASKED IF HE KNEW A CERTAIN SOLDIER

Zerith: Aerith asked Cloud about Zack in SOLDIER in the Playground (FF7 Remake)

“Did you have any SOLDIER friends? Any war buddies? So Cloud, you were SOLDIER 1st Class, right? Weird. Just that you were in the same rank with the first guy I ever loved.”

Cloti: Tifa asked Zack about Cloud in SOLDIER via mails (Crisis Core)

“Are there any blond guys in SOLDIER?  Well, it’s just a dream… Any girl would love to have a blond SOLDIER guy protect her when she’s in a pinch. I almost forgot. Please don’t tell anyone in SOLDIER that I asked about the blond guy. Okay?” 

Parallel #5: THEY THINK OF EACH OTHER UNDER THE SKY

Zack and Aerith – the cloudy & azure sky

Zack think of Aerith:  “I wish I could show this sky to…” (Crisis Core DMW Cloud Scene #4: Cloudy Sky)

Aerith think of Zack: “He was like a cloud drifting through the skies. As we peered skyward through the rafters of a heavenless Midgar, we made a promise. And that was the last time we spoke.” (Crisis Core 1st Official Trailer)

Cloud and Tifa – the starry & night sky

Cloud think of Tifa: “I was just thinking about the past.”  (Crisis Core DMW Cloud Scene #3: Starry Night At The Well)

Tifa think of Cloud: “Like the sky that night, the heavens were filled with stars. Did you imagine the sky? The stars were gorgeous. It was just Cloud and I. We talked at the well.”  (Original Game scene 116 - Cloud’s Dark Past)

Parallel #6: PROMISE AT THE NIBELHEIM WELL/WATER TOWER

Zack and Aerith –  CC Chapter 013: I Promise

Aerith: Hello… (calling by phone) Zack: Aerith! Aerith: Finally, got through to you! Zack: Ah, sorry about this but I’m in the middle of something right now. I’ll  give you a call a little later . Aerith: No. it’s okay. You don’t have to. Zack: I understand. I’ll come visit. Aerith: I’ll be waiting. Zack: I’Il see you. It’s a promise.

Cloud and Tifa –  OG scene 6: A Childhood Promise

Tifa: You said you wanna tell me something. Cloud: This summer… I wanna leave this town to Midgar. I wanna join SOLDIER… like Sephiroth. Tifa: Is it tough being SOLDIER, isn’t it? Cloud: Yeah, I probably could not go back to this town for a while. Tifa: Hey, why don’t we make a promise? Mmm… if you really get famous and I’m ever in a bind, you’ll come save me, alright? Whenever  I’m in a trouble, my hero will come rescue me. Cloud: Alright, I promise.

Parallel #7: SHE WON’T BE AFRAID WITH HIM, HE PROMISED

Zack and Aerith – CC Chapter 8: 23 Little Luxuries

Aerith: “When you come back from your assignment, let’s go sell flowers under the sky together. I won’t be afraid if you’re with me.”

Zack: “Yeah, I’ll go with you. That’s a promise.”

Cloud and Tifa – OG Scene 136: Understanding

Tifa: “But, it’s alright even if no one comes back. As long as I’m with you… As long as you’re by my side… I won’t give up even if I’m scared.”

Cloud: “Afterall, I promised. That if anything were to ever happen to you, I would come to help.”

Parallel #8: MUTUAL AFFECTIONS/RECIPROCAL FEELINGS

Zack and Aerith

Zack and Aerith meet by chance in a church in the Slums. They become intimate with each other. (FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Compilation Timeline)

From the boy’s profile

Having fallen into the sector 5 slum church during a mission, Zack has a fateful meeting with Aerith, a young girl who was tending to flowers in the church. They share a “puratonikku koi” / chaste romantic love, satisfied just to be together. Those joyous days seemed like they would last forever… (Zack’s Profile, CC: FFVII Ultimania, pg. 13)

From the girl’s profile

CC shows her meeting and relationship with Zack, and the budding love between them. However, fate would tear the couple apart. (Aerith’s Dengeki Profile)

At that chosen day, she accidentally met Zack, SOLDIER 1st Class, and they were attracted to each other. (Aerith’s Profile, FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania)

The destined encounter with Zack makes them becomes the irreplaceable existence to each other.  (Aerith’s profile, CC: FFVII Ultimania)

His cheerfulness and dependability capture Aerith’s heart and they’re being in a lovers-like relationship. (Aerith’s profile, CC: FFVII Ultimania)

Cloud and Tifa

When their companions disperse to the places where people important to them await, Cloud and Tifa, who remain, reveal their feelings for each other together. (FFVII Ultimania Omega, pg. 198; story summary)

When Cloud and Tifa remain behind alone, in their final hours, together they disclose their feelings for each other. (FF 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 2: Scenario guide, FFVII Story Summary, pg. 232)  

From the boy’s profile

Declares that the team should dissolve in the final hours before the final battle, and communicates his feelings together with Tifa, who remains behind at the airship with him. (Cloud’s Profile, FFVII Ultimania Omega, pg. 15)

From the girl’s profile 

She ventured into Lifestream together with Cloud. Amidst the course of him trying to ascertain his memories, they became aware of the thoughts/feelings which each other was holding. (Tifa’s Profile, FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania. pg. 42-47)

In FF7, Tifa is the only one who knows Cloud’s childhood, and furthermore, she holds the key to people involved in the story of Nibelheim’s burning down, which is also depicted in CC. She and Cloud came to realize their feelings for each other in the end of the story, and live together in AC and DC.(CC:FFVII Ultimania, Tifa Lockhart Profile)

For many years, Cloud and Tifa have been holding favor for one another. At last facing the impending final battle with Sephiroth, they confirm together their feelings of desire toward partnership. (Tifa’s Profile, FF 25th Memorial Ultimania)

Parallel #9: THEY GO BACK TO WHERE THEY BELONG

Zack and Aerith – Afterlife

Zack Profile in FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania: In order to help Cloud recover, he assured him from the Lifestream together with Aerith.

Aerith Profile in ACC Dengeki: She joined the Lifestream, but even then she carries on watching over the planet and Cloud. At all times, her first love Zack is always by her side.

Both are mentioned: …She starts to leave, together with the friend who had given his life to Cloud. Cloud no longer has to suffer in loneliness. And so they too go back to where they belong. Back to the current of life flowing around the planet. (FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania–Revised Edition, ACC Playback)

Cloud and Tifa – Living World

Cloud Profile in FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania: With the help of his friends, he defeated Bahamut SHIN, which Kadaj’s gang had summoned. He defeated Sephiroth after his Advent, and returned to Tifa and the children.

Tifa Profile in ACC Dengeki: At the end of a long struggle, she gently welcomes back Cloud on his return home after settling things with himself.

Both are mentioned: “Inside, I felt one thing was for sure: Cloud and Tifa would be together. Everybody would be living back home where they belonged.” (Kazushige Nojima-the scriptwriter, Advent Children Reunion Files book)

Parallel #10: DESCRIBED AS A SINGULAR ITEM / A PAIR

Zack and Aerith described in ACC

For Cloud, they were people whom he can never forget. The two irreplaceable people; Zack, “who was sent to death because protecting me” and Aerith, “who met a tragic fate as I couldn’t protect her” became “the unforgivable sins” in his heart.

(Advent Children Complete Post Card Book)

Cloud and Tifa described in CC

Cloud and Tifa are childhood friends, both born in Nibelheim. When Cloud leaves the village, he calls Tifa out to the water tower and promises that he will become a SOLDIER. At the same time, he is also made by Tifa to promise that he will come to rescue her if she is ever in trouble.

Following this, the pair experience many hardships, such as the Nibelheim incident which also appears in CC, and the Jenova War in FFVII, and through these the distance between them shortens. And in AC they live together, with Barret’s daughter Marlene, and a boy named Denzel. Though there was also a period later where Cloud lived away from them after having contracted Geostigma, they finally reach a commune with each over and return to living together once again. In DC, they rush together to Vincent’s aid, in his battle against Deep Ground SOLDIER.

(CC:FFVII Complete Guide Book)

This moment is just...

AMAZING💕

“Tifa said to take you home, kid.”

Part 3: Another Bombing [A Complete Analysis of Final Fantasy VII]

Welcome to the third chapter of my FF7 analysis. I am writing these posts as one long rumination under the assumption that you have read the prior chapters. If you are new here (thanks for coming!), please head to the following masterlink before proceeding further: https://hartmonkey.tumblr.com/post/674955243020238848/a-complete-analysis-of-final-fantasy-vii

Last chapter we briefly noted Cloud, Tifa and Barret’s train trip to Mako Reactor 5. This chapter will take a deep look into their individual motivations and personalities as revealed throughout the mission. Before examining this venture, let’s backtrack just a little to an often overlooked moment. I’d left it out last chapter for it feeds into the combat system we are about to embrace – a system that is in every way married to FF7’s lore (the external worldbuilding) and arcs pertaining to individual characters. This moment is where Barret asks Cloud to give the tutorial on using Materia.

Continua a leggere

I’m not good with Japanese, but these lines sound VERY similar!  

It would be interesting to know if there are others, did you spot any?

FFVII Remake vs Crisis Core comparison

Woof

Zack and Cloud communicating through their mako tanks

The Misconceptions of FF7: A Cloud, Aerith & Tifa Analysis (Links)

As a side to - for all my efforts - an objective analysis of the one of the greatest masterpieces in fiction, this post has been on the back of my mind for a while. I did not initially want to do this post. But with all the enmity and spitefulness accumulated in the FF7 fanbase that has warped perceptions of its heroines into ludicrous caricatures over the years, it saddens me to feel that it is now a must. I am, of course, talking about the misconceptions of Cloud’s character, and the false notions & unwarranted hate surrounding Aerith and Tifa.

For anyone interested, this post is in 5 parts, linked below:

Part 1: The misconceptions around Cloud Strife

https://outbythehighwind.tumblr.com/post/640346131917946880/the-misconceptions-of-ff7-a-cloud-aerith-tifa

Part 2: Cloud’s relationship to Aerith

https://outbythehighwind.tumblr.com/post/640346297225904128/the-misconceptions-of-ff7-a-cloud-aerith-tifa

Part 3: Cloud’s relationship to Tifa

https://outbythehighwind.tumblr.com/post/640346303037112320/the-misconceptions-of-ff7-a-cloud-aerith-tifa

Part 4: Aerith and Tifa in their relationships to Cloud

https://outbythehighwind.tumblr.com/post/640346307697967104/the-misconceptions-of-ff7-a-cloud-aerith-tifa

Part 5: Aerith and Tifa as FF7′s heroines

https://outbythehighwind.tumblr.com/post/640346343012024320/the-misconceptions-of-ff7-a-cloud-aerith-tifa

Talk about a coincidence!

Crisis Core and Advent Children References

Second post about CloTi and ZeriTh hints in FFVII Remake!

Find the previous post here.

THE PERFECT OUTFIT

Be sure to pick an outfit that goes with mine, okay?

Leave it to me, Tifa!  😂

In order to sneak in Don Corneo’s palace, Aerith and Tifa wear nice elegant dresses, and Cloud has to disguise himself as a lady. It’s interesting how Cloud and Tifa’s outfits can match in colors, fabrics and details:

These are the OG canon outfits. To get this combination the player has to choose the Mature dress for Tifa in Chapter 3, and complete Chocobo Sam odd jobs in Chapter 9. The odd jobs depend on the answers given at Wall Market: if the player prefers Tifa probably Cloud will get this dress. The CANON dress. 

To get the satin outfits the player has to choose the Sporty dress for Tifa in Chapter 3, and complete Madam M odd jobs in Chapter 9. Same logic: if the player prefers Aerith, probably this will be Cloud’s dress.

For this last combination the player has to choose the Exotic dress for Tifa in Chapter 3, and skip the sidequests in Chapter 9.

It reminded me how Cloud and Tifa’s outfits perfectly match also in Adven Children.

The choice of Aerith’s dress depends on how many Odd Jobs in Chapter 8 were completed:

6 sidequests: red dress

3-5 sidequests: long pink dress

0-2 sidequests: short pink dress

They don’t match with Cloud or Tifa’s, but her two new dresses are pink and also the train of the OG red dress has a lighter shade...

Do you remember the promise she shared with Zack in Crisis Core?

(Yes, I edited the picture. No I didn’t alter the meaning. Link for the whole scene).

These details are AMAZING 💗

What a coincidence!