Sephiroth (Final Fantasy)
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| Sephiroth | |
|---|---|
| 'Final Fantasy series and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII' character | |
| Sephiroth artwork by Tetsuya Nomura Sephiroth artwork by Tetsuya Nomura | |
| First game | Final Fantasy VII |
Sephiroth (セフィロス, Sefirosu) is the central antagonist in the Squaresoft role playing game Final Fantasy VII. He has had — relative to Final Fantasy VII's continuity — four non-canonical appearances in other games: Ehrgeiz, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II and Itadaki Street Special. Within the continuity of Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth has also made appearances in the mobile game Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, the CGI film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and the midquel OVA Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. His appearance was designed by Tetsuya Nomura.
Sephiroth appears as a tall man with long silver hair, bright emerald green, cat-like eyes, a long black coat, white metallic pauldrons and belted black boots. He carries the sword Masamune a sort of odachi, a weapon that has appeared in each installment of the Final Fantasy series. In Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth was the most famous member of SOLDIER, a paramilitary branch of the Shin-Ra corporation, until he mysteriously disappeared five years prior to the beginning of the game. He then returns to enact a plot which threatens the game's world, bringing him into conflict with the game's protagonists, and particularly with its main character, Cloud Strife, who shares a past with Sephiroth.
In Japan, Sephiroth's voice was provided by seiyū Shinichiro Miki in Ehrgeiz and Toshiyuki Morikawa in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts II. In the English version of Kingdom Hearts, his voice was provided by Lance Bass of 'N Sync. In all other appearances to date, such as those in the English versions of Advent Children and Kingdom Hearts II, however, he is voiced by George Newbern.
Biography
Template:Spoiler Sephiroth was born 25 to 30 years before the start of the game[1] (exact year left unknown) to Professor Hojo and Lucrecia of Shin-Ra. Though some fans previously believed that Sephiroth was the son of Vincent Valentine—who was in love with Lucrecia—the FFVII Ultimania Ω Guide confirms that he is the son of Hojo[2], as does Hojo himself during the game.[3]
A moment later, Zack arrived and rushed up the stairs in the pod room to Jenova's chamber, attempting to stop Sephiroth, as well. Though he put up a valiant effort, he too was dispatched, and sent reeling from Jenova's chamber. Sephiroth then prepared to take Jenova's body from its chamber, but before he could, Cloud entered and took up Zack's Buster Sword to stop Sephiroth himself. Before Sephiroth knew the young Shin-Ra grunt was there, Cloud had gutted him through his lower back. Thinking that Sephiroth was downed permanently by his brutal attack, Cloud turned back [4]
Sephiroth emotionally manipulated Cloud into handing over the Black Materia, which Sephiroth then used to call forth Meteor. Afterward, AVALANCHE and the Shin-Ra executives that were present were forced to flee from the collapsing area, and Sephiroth erected a barrier of energy around the Crater. The barrier was created not only to prevent unwanted intrusion, but to make himself undetectable to the WEAPONS, which would have otherwise targeted and attacked him.
In the story's climax, this barrier is penetrated by Shin-Ra's efforts, and Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE descend into the Northern Crater to defeat a mutated Sephiroth. This marks their first and only encounter with the real Sephiroth. His body hatches from a pupa-like material (Bizarro Sephiroth) and prepares to absorb the Lifestream. After destroying Sephiroth's body, his spirit makes a final mental assault upon Cloud, attempting to overcome his will as easily as it had done in the past and take Cloud's body as his own. Despite having the upper hand, Sephiroth leaves an opening that Cloud takes advantage of, allowing him to overcome Sephiroth during this mental duel inside the Lifestream, banishing his spirit back to the Planet's collective of life energy.[5]
Advent Children
It has been two years following the defeat of Sephiroth, and a disease called "Geostigma" has spread throughout the world, afflicting many with its ill symptoms of extreme fatigue and open sores on the skin. The now reclusive Cloud finds himself confronted by a strange trio of silver-haired brothers who are the physical manifestations of Sephiroth's will and spiritual energy, his powerful will having allowed him to endure the Lifestream and emerge from it before being fully diluted.[6] Their leader the middle age brother , Kadaj, would later transform into Sephiroth after absorbing the contents of a case containing Jenova's remains. Sephiroth then reveals that he has been using Geostigma in a plan to corrupt the Planet's Lifestream and grant him control of it. From there, Sephiroth would repeat Jenova's goal to travel to another world. He and Cloud then engage in their final duel, in which Sephiroth displays various powers surpassing those of other characters featured in the film such as literally flying, slicing a huge section of a tower, and even calling the "tainted lifestream" with a mere wave of his hand to cover the sky. Despite this, however, he is defeated by Cloud's Omnislash Version 5 Limit Break.
A revised One-Winged Angel theme—Advent: One-Winged Angel (Sairin: Katayoku no Tenshi) —is played throughout the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth, this time with heavy rock and orchestral elements, as well as new lyrics.
Manifestation
All manifestations of Sephiroth seen throughout the game — excluding flashback sequences and his real body at the Northern Crater — are Jenova's main body under his control and with his appearance (the forms of Sephiroth seen from the Shin-Ra headquarters to the cargo ship that left Junon), smaller pieces of the body of Jenova under his control and with his appearance (at Nibelheim, the City of the Ancients, and in the Whirlwind Maze at the Northern Crater) and astral projections (the illusions seen at the Northern Crater prior to Sephiroth calling forth Meteor).
In the finale of the original game, Cloud's final confrontation with Sephiroth is purely mental/spiritual and takes place in the Lifestream as a final duel of their wills. Sephiroth is defeated, and his soul dissolves back into the Lifestream, though he manages to avoid dilution and returns in Advent Children for a true final confrontation of a physical nature through Kadaj.
One-Winged Angel
Safer Sephiroth is the final form of Sephiroth seen in the original game. Though one more battle follows Safer Sephiroth's defeat, it is a scripted battle purely for plot purposes and cannot be lost, so the fight with Safer Sephiroth is essentially the final battle of the game as far as gameplay itself is concerned. It follows the battles with Jenova-SYNTHESIS and Bizarro Sephiroth, and after Safer Sephiroth is defeated, a staged battle, a lengthy final cutscene, and the credits follow.
The Safer Sephiroth battle is unexplained and leaves many questions unanswered, adding to Sephiroth's mystique and prompting much speculation about the battle's significance to the plot of Final Fantasy VII and its symbolic meaning.
Names
The name "Safer Sephiroth" may have been a mis-romanization of the boss' name when translating from Japanese, as was the case with Helletic Hojo, which should have been translated as "Heretic Hojo," and "Bizzaro Sephiroth," which should have been "Rebirth Sephiroth"[7]. A common rumor is that "Safer" is a mistranslation of "Seraph" due to Safer Sephiroth's angelic appearance. This may be indeed the case, though the original Japanese was "Seefa" (セーファ), rather than "Serafu" (セラフ), which would indicate the fault lies with whoever romanized the word in the Japanese version. (However it is far more likely that the original name is actually "Sepher Sephiroth", referring to the writing of the same name within 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley, by Aleister Crowley.) Sephiroth does bear many similarities to a seraph, as seraphim are described in the Hebrew Bible, being humanoid angels with six wings: "With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying."[8] Safer Sephiroth can easily be interpreted as bearing the appearance of a seraph with an additional wing added in place of his right arm.
Safer Sephiroth is also known as the "One-Winged Angel," "One-Winged Angel" being the name of the well-known song which accompanies the battle with Safer Sephiroth. The title is also significant to Sephiroth's character due to its fallen angel connotation, a symbolic form of reference for those who have fallen from grace. To some, the name "One-Winged Angel" seems strange, as Safer Sephiroth has a total of seven wings. However, the original Japanese name is "片翼の天使 (Katayoku no Tenshi)," which means "an angel with wings on one side," rather than an angel with only one wing. However, "One-Winged Angel" is most likely in reference to the wing that replaces Sephiroth's right arm. Yet, in Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (right after he is defeated by Cloud and his presence fades away from Kadaj) Sephiroth appears in his classic black outfit, albeit with one large wing protruding through his right shoulder blade. Lucifer, or Satan, is commonly referred to as a "one-winged angel" as God cut off one of his wings before banishing him.
Appearance
Safer Sephiroth appears as a deformed, tanned, angelic being. He is unclothed, and all of his body below his torso has been replaced by a cloud-like formation with six white wings (two normal ones between two larger ones with decorative frills) emerging upside-down from where Sephiroth's legs would normally be. There are also two large, interlocked rings on his back, forming a symbol of the Empyrean Halo (a.k.a. "the Celestial Rose"), the final Heaven and the abode of God in The Divine Comedy.
His left arm (which is the arm that he would usually be holding his Masamune with) is normal, but his right arm has been replaced with a large purple, green and red wing, the colors of the Jenova-BIRTH, LIFE, and DEATH bosses.
The image is completed by the background for this battle, which—despite the battle taking place in the bowels of the Planet—is a kaleidoscopic ring of clouds in a blue sky, offering the illusion that the battle takes place in a heavenly plane of existence. This may be a result of the battle taking place within the Holy magic that resided in the background of the former battle, and may serve as yet another allusion to the Celestial Rose: the layout of clouds is reminiscent of past conceptualizations[1], in which it appeared as a throng of angels encircling a sun-like God, a formation that symbolizes God's perfection and radiance. This imagery is reinforced during the Super Nova attack, as the sun and its shockwave emerge from behind Safer Sephiroth.
![[1]](https:/upwiki/wikipedia/en/3/30/Dore-empyrean.jpg){kind=link}
In Sephiroth's cameo appearance in Kingdom Hearts, though this version of him bears very little resemblance to Safer Sephiroth, he does have a single, large, feathered black wing behind his right arm dramatically alluding to the "One-Winged Angel" title. He also briefly takes this form in Advent Children. In Kingdom Hearts II however, he has two additional wings sprouting from his hip areas (more than likely a reference to seraphim, which have six wings, and his Safer Sephiroth form).
Musical Themes
Sephiroth is also the focus of three pieces of theme music written by series composer Nobuo Uematsu. His primary theme song is Those Chosen by The Planet, a piece utilizing bells, low drums, and a deep chorus, which accompanies Sephiroth's appearances throughout the game, and is one of the most popular themes often associated with Sephiroth. Birth of a God accompanies the battle against Bizarro Sephiroth, the first of Sephiroth's final two forms. The most noteworthy piece — and a lingering fan favorite — is one that plays during the final confrontation with Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel. The lyrics of the original version of One Winged-Angel (excerpts from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana) differ from those of its Advent Children rendition, Advent: One-Winged Angel.
Other appearances
Sephiroth has thus far made four separate notable appearances outside of his Final Fantasy VII role. The first is as a selectable character in the fighting game Ehrgeiz, which also features appearances by other characters from Final Fantasy VII. In this game, Sephiroth is controllable both in his normal appearance and the shirtless version that Cloud confronts alone at the end of Final Fantasy VII. The second is in the English and Final Mix versions of Kingdom Hearts, where he appears as an optional boss in the game's arena setting using his various techniques from Final Fantasy VII. For example when fighting Safer Sephiroth in FF7 he uses an attack called "Heartless Angel" which reduces a character's HP to 1 and MP to 0. A similar attack is used, with the same name, in Kingdom Hearts. While casting it, Sephiroth says, "Descend, heartless angel!", which has been widely mistaken for "Sin harvest". A new orchestration of One-Winged Angel serves as the background music for this battle. In Final Mix Sephiroth has a verbal conversation with Cloud in speech bubbles in which Sephiroth is telling Cloud about the darkness within Cloud, and then they fight. The third appearance is as yet another boss fight in Kingdom Hearts II. In this title, his role is expanded beyond its status in the original Kingdom Hearts, as he makes an appearance during the main story of the game and is involved in a subplot involving Radiant Garden resident Cloud Strife, whom Sora met in the first game. Sephiroth's background is not revealed though he is said to be the manifestation of the darkness in Cloud's heart.
Sephiroth's fourth outside appearance comes in the game Itadaki Street Special, where Sephiroth appears as a playable character along with Cloud, Aerith and Tifa from Final Fantasy VII.
Within his Final Fantasy VII role, Sephiroth has appeared in Before Crisis and the OVA Last Order, both of which detail events before the beginning of Final Fantasy VII. He also appeared in the cinematic sequel to Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children. He makes a brief cameo appearance in a flashback during Dirge of Cerberus, but has no dialogue or major role in the story. He has also been confirmed to be a central character in the upcoming Final Fantasy VII game for the PlayStation Portable, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.He appears in Kingdom hearts II also. He battles Cloud at Hollow Bastion.
References
- ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (2005). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix. p. 9. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
- ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (2005). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix. pp. 211, 219. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
- ^ Hojo: "What will Sephiroth think when he finds out that I'm his father?" ... / Cloud: "Sephiroth might've just been a part of them." (Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ (Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (2005). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix. pp. 590–591. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
- ^ Morrow, Glenn (a.k.a. "Squall of SeeD") (2005). "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Plot Analysis; section entitled The Origin of the Silver-Haired Men (Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz)". IGN. Retrieved 24 February.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (2005). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix. p. 539. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
- ^ International Bible Society, ed. (1978). Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan. pp. Isaiah 6:2. ISBN 0-3109-1997-5.
External links
- Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Translations FAQ - Translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω
- Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII: Last Order - Screenshots of Sephiroth in Last Order: Final Fantasy VII, an animated prequel to Final Fantasy VII
- Sephiroth Masamune Sword - Full size replicas of the sword Sephiroth uses in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
- Angels Instead - in-depth Sephiroth character analysis and gallery shrine