There's quite an interesting tendency in the various "analysis" of this character. On the one side she's accused to lack a character arc because it's too interwoven with Cloud's - which is enough of a weird accuse, as if she, of all characters, was expected to have a life disjointed from sociality..? Isn't every person the product of their social experiences and relationships with other human beings? How comes nobody accuses Vincent to lack a character arc because it revolves around Lucrecia? - while on the other hand she's harshly accused to be a regrettable character because she's too busy trying to overcome her personal issues to tell immediately Cloud her version of Nibelheim incident, or because she scolded him during AC - as if all of this happened for no reason.
So either she lacks a character arc and she's completely devoted to Cloud, or she has one and Cloud is not her only concern, people should pick one or just stop "analyzing" characters in purposeful bad faith, to push the idea that if Aerith could have been in that situation instead of her things would have been better, which is wrong by all means, but still it is a groundless comparison with the only purpose to trick the interlocutor and reach the consensus that this character is bad/shallow/uninteresting/unworthy, so by default the other one must be "the good one" aka the winner of "the competition".
If she's constantly portrayed in every single entry of the story by Cloud's side, then Cloud is involved in her life just like she's involved in his. Hell, Cloud devoted his youth trying to be worth her attention, and later created a fake persona based on her perception of him, to cope with the sense of guilt for failing to save her twice. HE revolves around her.
It's pointless to try to describe her as a sort of annoying insect that stubbornly keeps flying around him. It's a matter of common sense.
Seriously, nothing ruins this story and its characters for me more than these bad takes.
As a Cloti, what do you think about the criticism of OG FF7 where Tifa revolves around Cloud too much?
I think people need to get over the fact Tifa's story entwines with Cloud's because she's the deuteragonist and her role is to support the protagonist.
okay I just had to back up a bit to verify it was you. How we feeling about Roche
My thoughts on Roche can be found summarized here
To not summarize them:
I love how stupidly consistent with the original he feels. I love Reno's comment in remake that all SOLDIERS are in fact, massive weirdos. I love how gay they let him be. I love that he quotes Romeo & Juliet. Except, in this universe, Loveless is the stand in for shakespeare and there's actually several shakespeare lines in the performance at the saucer. So there's like a 90% chance Roche was just quoting Loveless when he said that. I love that he put in the effort to hire a full brass band for his showdown in Junon. I love his stupid little keychain (yes I had it equipped for like half my playthrough)
Most of all I love that Cloud???? Weirdly respects him???? After their first duel, whenever Roche shows up, Cloud plays by the rules and tells all his allies to stand down so they can 1v1. He genuinely likes Roche and has this begrudging fondness for their random shonen rivalry. You don't see him giving Sephiroth any of that. Cloud has so many random people obsessed with him, and you know the only one he tolerates??? Roche. What the hell.
If we're talking about his final fight, let me just say: Ow.
Full image, baby soldiers having a snooze. For the friends who don't use X ^^
Having a comfort character is great and I think it’s fine to have one but if you can’t handle someone politely saying that they don’t like that character or giving criticism of them that’s probably something to bring up in your next therapy session.
Conservative politics are an incubator for the worst people to manipulate the dullest of minds.
Conspiracy theories give the D-student oxygen.
I - 30something yo mom - never looked "adult" once in my life. Draw fanart, play videogames, rant about fictional stories and lores, cosplay, read manga and basically do whatever makes me feel good and I regret nothing.
Bc once your age hits a 'serious' number, you start to think - "damn, I should probably stop geeking and get more serious." But then you scroll and see a 34y/o woman writing fics after driving her kids to school, a 40y/o dude making fanart of his fav super heroes and you realize - "nah, I'm actually good"
Masterlink: https://hartmonkey.tumblr.com/post/674955243020238848/a-complete-analysis-of-final-fantasy-vii
This is the first post in my chapter-by-chapter analysis of the entire Final Fantasy VII. Each chapter will be primarily based on the 1997 game, with discussion of the Remake and other entries in the compilation where relevant (ie. when they pertain to the original story). Aside from a spoiler-warning for the entire FF7 (this is the only warning I’ll give on that regard), I want to note a few things before we start.
Keep reading
This is perhaps a controversial question, but what is your stance on Tetsuya Nomura's writing? There are people who claim he is a bad writer, yet either don't provide concrete evidence or give feedback fueled mostly by ad hominem attacks. All stories need critique, but in terms of a largr audience, people seem to resort to insulting Nomura's work more often than actually provide constructive criticism, going so far as saying he's trying to destroy his own work than save it--a very bold statement. Unfortunately, this stigma's carried over to the Final Fantasy 7 fanbase, and people are blaming Nomura and perpetuating the narrative that he's changing the story. Yet these people seem to ignore not only their interviews, but also who the main writer of the Final Fantasy 7 Compilation actually is. Anyway, sorry if this is a controversial ask, but I'd love to hear your thoughts since you have a sharp perspective on things like this!
Not a problem at all, it’s definitely something that people bring up often in both the FF and Kingdom Hearts circles.
As you said, a story will always have some criticism launched its way, but the commentary here goes beyond that. It’s people trying to assess authorial intent by dismissing the facts. Both FF7 and KH are written by more people than Nomura himself—these are projects that take multiple inputs and creative minds to create when it comes to the more story-beat parts of the game, certain interviews even point out who influenced/created certain decisions. It’s always a group effort, even if the designated people have a final say in approval. It doesn’t detract from the creative endeavors of all other individuals involved.
But, him being the Director, people want to blame someone, if not blaming the entirety of the company. This is what people are doing with their issues founded on localization as well—they’re either venting all their frustrations towards one person (Sabin), or the company as a whole. It never means that actual critique is unfounded, but people need to do it in a way that actually makes sense and is rational—that’s what makes it “constructive”. The visions for these games go beyond just one person, and if we want to look at them critically, we need to do so that goes beyond that as well.
I wouldn’t classify my issues with the writing of either series as “Nomura’s problem”, I’d just be more specific about what issue it is for me in the series and concentrate on it as itself. Because I know mine don’t come down to be “his issue” so specifically. The only reason I’d ever go beyond that is if there was some evidence that my specific issue DID come from him or a specific person, then I’d talk about it in addition to the problem itself. I know there are people fully blaming Nomura for the changes in FF7R, literally ignoring the interviews that talk about both Nomura and Hamaguchi being limiters to the numerous potential ideas proposed for the game, especially from Kitase who wanted big changes. And even then, Hamaguchi was the one who wanted the players to fight Sephiroth at the end of Midgar, something else fans often complain about.
There’s a reason that in all these interviews they all speak on decisions as “we”. It’s a collective. Whatever is allowed [green-lit] by Directors or Co-Directors shows there’s a common mindset and acceptance amongst a team working together. Though, I don’t feel it ever should be the equivalent of this single person blame game that doesn’t really hit at what the problem actually is.
Cait Sith's prediction in the OG
Cait Sith's DMW in Crisis Core
Guess who's the real star ⭐️
A E R I T H G A I N S B O R O U G H
Hardcore FFVII fan sharing theories & fanart, sometimes silly stuff ⋆ AuDHD ⋆ She/her ⋆ INTP ⋆ Atheist ⋆ Non-native English speaker, be merciful with my odd way of writing ⋆ Twitter @TerraFatalis
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