Template:FFVII character
Aerith Gainsborough (formerly Aeris Gainsborough and originally Aerith Gainsbourg), is a major character from the role playing game Final Fantasy VII, and one of the main playable characters. She fights with a metal quarterstaff; however, her physical attacks are relatively weak, and she is better utilized as a mage. Her limit breaks are used to heal or protect the party. In the original Japanese versions of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, she is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto; in the English version of Kingdom Hearts, Mandy Moore.
Aerith is often referred to as "Aeris," due to the incorrect transliteration of her name in Sony's English translation of the game. The official Romanization was "Aerith" from the start (as can be seen in the Japanese instruction manual and other official printed materials). The problem may have originated due to the fact that the foreign sounds "s" (as a stand-alone consonant) and "th" are both represented in Japanese syllabery by "su" ス, or it may have been a deliberate aesthetic change on Sony's part. The correct spelling was subsequently used in the English translation of Kingdom Hearts, although never spoken. "Aerith" may be based on the Hebrew name Erith, "flower", which makes sense considering her association with flowers; and also "Earth," due to her ability to communicate with the Planet.
Biography
Before Crisis
Aerith is the last known remaining Cetra, or Ancient, after the death of her mother Ifalna. Ifalna was captured and experimented on by Shin-Ra forces; however, a brilliant Shin-Ra scientist named Professor Gast fell in love with her, and together they escaped. 20 days after Aerith's birth, Shin-Ra soldiers led by Hojo tracked them down in Icicle Inn and killed Gast. Aerith was abducted by the Shinra along with Ifalna and taken to Hojo’s lab. 7 years later, Ifalna managed to escape with Aerith to Midgar, but died shortly after reaching the city. Aerith was then adopted by a lonely woman named Elmyra Gainsborough. She evaded the Turks numerous times and was also deliberately released by Tseng. At this time she encountered Elfe, whom Aerith believed she shared the same soul with.
Final Fantasy VII
Now a beautiful flower girl from the Midgar slums, Aerith first met Cloud Strife after he and Avalanche destroyed a Reactor. They would later meet again, with Aerith asking Cloud to be her bodyguard after a run-in with Reno of the Turks. She joined Cloud and his group when they escaped from Midgar to search for Sephiroth. Aerith, although consistently referred to as being "innocent," is actually a very spunky, outgoing girl and slightly mischievous and flirtatious. She remains optimistic and kind throughout the journey.
Aerith was killed by a manifestation of Sephiroth, who impaled her while she was attempting to summon "Holy" - a mysterious force that protects the Planet by destroying everything it believes is bad - by using the White Materia given to her by her mother. It was eventually revealed that she did successfully summon Holy, but Sephiroth's power was holding it back. After her death, Holy was able to prevent Meteor from destroying the Planet. However, Holy did considerable damage protecting the Planet, causing the Lifestream to absorb Holy and prevent it from completely destroying humanity. (Midgar was left in a state of ruin, regardless.)
Throughout the game, it is hinted that Aerith and Cloud had begun kindling a romantic relationship, this is prevalent in mutual teasing, flirting, and a general concern for each other's well-being. However, when they reach the village of Gongaga, Aerith finally reveals that Zack was her first boyfriend and that Cloud resembled him. Despite this, Aerith says that she recognized the difference in Cloud and Zack's personalities. She eventually developed strong feelings for Cloud prior to her death, this is encouraged during the Gold Saucer date mini-game. For more information on Zack and Gongaga see their respective entries.
Maiden Who Travels The Planet
A novelization written by Benny Matsuyama that appears in the Ultimania Omega Guide for Final Fantasy VII. It is the story of Aerith during Final Fantasy VII while she is in the Lifestream, after her death at the hands of Sephiroth. It shows Aerith's encounters with people who have died over the course of the game, which includes Biggs, Wedge and Jessie of AVALANCHE, Dyne, President Shinra, Zack and Hojo.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Until the movie was released, Aerith's face, or at least the upper half of her face, had been kept "hidden" by Square Enix. This tactic has left fans speculating on how she would look like in her Advent Children incarnation and many times, various edited images from people claiming that it was Aerith's face revealed have appeared. (Example) The full face of Aerith is revealed at the end of Advent Children (once at the actual end of the film and again during the ending credits). [1]
![[1]](http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/1886/aerith15qq.jpg){kind=link}
Kingdom Hearts
Aerith also had a notable appearance in the Kingdom Hearts series. She was a member of the organization dedicated to defeating the Heartless, which also included Cid Highwind and Yuffie Kisaragi of Final Fantasy VII, and Leon, aka Squall Leonhart of Final Fantasy VIII.
Aerith was the one who encountered Donald Duck and Goofy in the streets of Traverse Town. Aerith escorted the King's aids to the Traverse Town hotel. It was there that she suggested recovering the scattered pages of Ansem's Report to find a way to destroy the Heartless.
After the locking of the Hollow Bastion keyhole, Aerith returned to her home where she was reunited with Cloud in the Hollow Bastion library.
Fandom
Aerith is one of the most beloved characters in the Final Fantasy series. Her death was unexpected and shocking to most players when the game first came out; her death has been lamented so widely that some even consider spoiler warnings completely unneeded when discussing it, as it has become such a widely known fact.
A persistent rumor maintains that Aerith either could be resurrected in some versions the game or that she was meant to be resurrected but the feature either could not be completed or was dropped at a relatively late stage of development. The production staff have repeatedly stated that this is not the case. By their admission, Aerith's death was always intended to be a permanent and tragic event, a response to the dramatic clichés of heroic sacrifice and resurrection. Another reason for the enduring rumor might have to do with the in-game resurrection of a character in a
Even after years of extensive search, no in-game way of resurrecting Aerith has been discovered. Nothing in the actual game data seems to contain any substantial evidence of resurrection methods ever existing, and none of the game FMVs have any indication of inaccessible scenes or alternate endings. Various cheat programs can put Aerith back to the party, though, but there are very few specific lines or weapons for her afterwards, and this may make the game hang in various parts. Nevertheless, rumors of Aerith's resurrection are some of the most widely known rumors in the history of video games
The Aerith Revival rumor has similarities to the urban legend of the older Squaresoft game Chrono Trigger in regards to a character named Schala. Ironically, this game also contains a scene where the player can resurrect a dead character.
Another source of debate is the "spirit" of Aerith. If the player backtracks to the church in the Midgar slums, a "spirit" of Aerith can be seen in the church tending to the flowers or standing in the aisle, and will vanish if approached. Whether this is an easter egg created by the developers or a glitch in the game remains subject of much debate. Intrestingly, a similar scene appears in the Advent Children movie.
One of the earliest and most notorious of these rumors was put out by Ben Lansing [2] who unsuccessfully tried to retract it later [3] after his "authoritative" article had snowballed into a big debate.
Aerith makes an appearance in both Final Fantasy Tactics (as Aeris) and the Kingdom Hearts series. While her name was changed in the US version of Final Fantasy VII to Aeris, her name was officially changed back to Aerith after her cameo in Kingdom Hearts. Aerith also makes an appearance in Itadaki Street Special.
External links
- FFVII: Advent Children Web Novel - On the Way to a Smile A fansite with translations of the Final Fantasy VII novels
- Ancient Memories An Aerith Gainsborough fanlisting