Template:FFVII character Aerith Gainsborough (Japanese: エアリス・ゲインズブール, Earisu Geinzubūru; also known as "Aeris Gainsborough"), is a fictional character from the role playing game Final Fantasy VII . She has green eyes, long brown hair which she ties in a braid with pink ribbons, and wears a pink dress. 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 series and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, she is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto; in the English version of Kingdom Hearts, she is voiced by singer Mandy Moore. In the English versions of Kingdom Hearts II and Advent Children, she is voiced by actress Mena Suvari.
Aerith is often referred to as "Aeris," due to translation issues. 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 syllabary by "su" (ス), or it may have been a deliberate aesthetic change on Sony's part. The alternative spelling was subsequently used in the English translation of Kingdom Hearts. However, both "Aerith" and "Aeris" may possibly be pronounced the same (as "Air-ris").
"Aerith"—and, consequently, "Aeris"—is a Japanese transliteration of the English word "Earth" (confirmed by the Final Fantasy VII: Kaitai Shinsho guide). In katakana (the Japanese alphabet used for words that are not of Japanese origin), the name is written as "Earisu". Syllables in the Japanese language are normally open, that is, they normally end in a vowel ("n" being the only consonant allowed in syllable codas; thus, the "i" after "r") and the Japanese language has no "th" sound, instead using "su". It became "Aeris" as a result of writing it in romaji (Latin characters representing Japanese sounds) to represent how it sounds when spoken in Japanese ("Air-ris").
"Aerith," the actual official romanization of the name, should technically never occur. As it's written, it's essentially a combination of the romaji form of the Japanese transliteration and the original English word that was transliterated. It's technically impossible for this to occur in romaji because there is no "th" sound in Japanese to be represented by romaji characters. Nonetheless, it's the official romanization chosen by the creators of Final Fantasy VII.
Biography
Past
Aerith was born to the last true Cetra, Ifalna, and her experimenter, Professor Gast. Previous to this, Ifalna had been captured by the Shin-Ra to be experimented on by Gast, their top scientist. The two fell in love and instead eloped; Gast continued his investigation into the Cetra's history with Ifalna's help in Icicle Inn and a baby girl, Aerith, was born to them.
While Aerith was still a baby, her family was attacked by Shin-Ra soldiers under the command of Professor Hojo, an evil scientist at Shin-Ra, killing Gast and capturing Aerith and Ifalna to be experimented on by Hojo. Seven years later, Ifalna was able to escape with Aerith as far as the Sector 7 slums train station in Midgar where a dying Ifalna passed Aerith to Elmyra Gainsborough, a childless widow.
Elmyra mentioned that Aerith tried to hide her Cetra powers, the ability to hear the souls from the Planet for example, to prevent herself from being taken by Tseng.
At the age of sixteen, Aerith dated her first boyfriend, Zack, who is linked to the Final Fantasy VII's protagonist, Cloud. Looking back on this relationship, Aerith comments that even though she and Zack weren't serious, admitted that she once liked him.
She makes a living selling flowers, which is how she eventually meets Cloud during Final Fantasy VII.
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Before Crisis
Shin-Ra, in hopes of advancing methods to harvest the earth's energy (see "Lifestream"), seek the last remaining survivors of the Cetra, an ancient race rumored to have the remarkable ability to communicate with the planet itself. Their search leads to Ifalna, the sole survivor (at the time). She is apprehended by Shin-Ra forces and subjected to many horrific experiments.
Ifalna, in captivity of Shin-Ra forces, becomes romantically involved with one of the more humane researchers, Professor Gast. Gast breaks her free and together, they escape to a remote mountain village and live (momentarily) in peace.
Following twenty days after the birth of their daughter, Aerith, Shin-Ra soldiers, led by Hojo, raid their home. Gast is slain and Ifalna is again abducted along with baby Aerith for further torture in Shin-Ra's labs.
Seven long years pass. The two, mother and child, flee from Shin-Ra's clutches to the municipal Midgar. Ifalna, wounded in the attempt and on the verge of death, begs a woman to take care of Aerith. The kindly widow, Elmyra Gainsborough, accepts and raises Aerith as her own. With the death of her mother Ifalna, Aerith is now the last survivor of the ancient Cetra (or simply, Ancients).
In adopting the title, she is burdened with its cursed circumstances. As the sole Cetra, her role as an envoy to the planet's cries (see "Lifestream") impose a responsibility far too overwhelming for a child to bear. To make matters worse, she has become the key target of the empirical Shin-Ra which is based in central Midgar--their hold completely enshrouding the city in economic and social disparity. Shin-Ra, inching closer to the Ancient's ___location, dispatches the Turks to finally recapture her.
Final Fantasy VII
Aerith, now a flower seller, tries her best to lead a normal life despite numerous kidnapping attempts by the Turks. She retreats routinely to a local run-down church which serves as an ideal hideaway from the insanity of the outside world. According to her, it is the only place where flowers seem to grow, a symbol of hope that is followed many times throughout the game.
Chronologically, the game begins here, ten years after her initial arrival in Midgar. While on a seemingly typical flower route, she bumps into a frantic Cloud who flees from the scene of Avalanche's successful bombing of a Mako Reactor.
The two would later reunite in Aerith's church, this time, under more tense circumstances. Faced with the possibility of being captured by Shinra, Aerith asks the mercenary to be her bodyguard against the Turks for the cost of one date. She is eventually kidnapped but once again saved by Cloud and company. Aerith joins them in the pursuit of the malevolent Sephiroth, as well as a journey of self-discovery.
Although Aerith makes a point of putting on an image of innocence, she is in reality much less naive than she lets on and takes the opportunity to showcase her coyer side around Cloud, with whom she is openly flirtatious. She generally remains optimistic throughout the journey though her shady and somewhat mysterious actions leads others to believe she knows more about Sephiroth's conquest than she lets on.
After a failed attempt to foil Sephiroth's stealing of a dangerous materia, Aerith recklessly ventures alone into the City of Ancients. Cloud gives chase and eventually finds Aerith just in time to see her impaled on Sephiroth's sword. Cloud and gang ensue a fight against a form of Jenova and secure a quick victory. But, shaken, hurt, and saddened, they mourn the loss of a dear friend. Cloud takes Aerith's body, wades out into the middle of the lake of Ancient Capital, and gives her body back to the planet by releasing her into the depths of the water.
The party learns that, through her White Materia (handed down from Ifalna), Aerith summoned "Holy," the only force capable of repelling Sephiroth's cataclysmic summon, Meteor. In order to initiate its effect, however, Sephiroth would have to be defeated. Inspired by Aerith's ultimate sacrifice, the party sets out on a final showdown. Cloud succeeds in killing Sephiroth, however Holy is activated too close to the planet. While Holy clashes with Meteor to prevent impact, their powers are augmented by each other and create an even more destructive force. In a climactic FMV, the earth's Lifestream spews from the planet and bands together to diffuse the monstrous structure. This magnificent showing is followed by a vision of Aerith--an indication of her final efforts to save the planet (this is discussed more in "The Maiden that Travels the Planet").
Maiden Who Travels The Planet
The Maiden Who Travels the Planet is 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 once she has returned to the Lifestream after her death at the hands of Sephiroth.
The story revealed that a Cetra's strength of will and understanding of the Planet allows their consciousness to exist within the Lifestream without being diluted. Aerith begins a journey through the Lifestream, encountering people who have died over the course of the game, including Biggs, Wedge and Jessie of AVALANCHE, as well as Dyne, President Shin-Ra, Zack and Hojo.
Her true feelings for Cloud are revealed during the course of the story, and it is also confirmed that it was she who called the Lifesteam into action to aid Holy in defeating Meteor. It is further revealed that the deceased members of AVALANCHE, as well as Dyne and Zack, assisted her in this final defense of the Planet.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Aerith's appearances in Advent Children run few and far between, but her actions profoundly affect the outcome of events once again.
Since Sephiroth's defeat, the party has had no time to rejoice. Though the planet has been saved by Aerith and the others' actions, a fatal illness known as "Geostigma" plagues many. Cloud, now infected with the disease as well, isolates himself from his friends. Though resolute, he is maddened by his failure to prevent the deaths of Zack and Aerith, and believes himself unable to help anyone. Not wishing to be a burden on the family of sorts he has made with Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel (an orphan they've taken in), he secludes himself from them in Aerith's church.
Aerith makes several appearances throughout the course of the movie as Cloud's spiritual guide, urging him to move on in life and to forgive himself for the tragedies that were beyond his control. During their spiritual reunion, Aerith speaks to Cloud in an open meadow laden with flowers, cheerfully poking fun at how he needlessly burdens himself with the past, but acknowledging his suffering and offering kind words of support.
One of Aerith's greatest boons to Cloud during the film comes when each member of the original game's party lends their respective strength to Cloud's final attack against Bahamut SIN, an act symbolizing one of the film's primary themes of comraderie (summed up by Cloud's final line in the film: "I'm not alone"). Aerith makes an appearance as the last of the party members to lend a helping hand, giving him one final reassuring boost of his friends' faith in him.
Near the end of the film, it is discovered that the Lifestream flows beneath the flowerbed in Aerith's church, this revelation coming after an explosion caused by Kadaj leaves a large hole in the soil, thus explaining how flowers were able to bloom in a place as desolate as Midgar. It is here that a cure for Geostigma is discovered: the water mixed with Lifestream that had been beneath the church (the developers also acknowledge that the water is a symbolic representation of "Great Gospel", Aerith's final limit break from the original game).
Until the movie was released, the upper half of Aerith's face had been kept hidden by Square Enix. This tactic left many fans speculating on how she would look in her Advent Children incarnation, and resulted in others producing fabricated images that they claimed were official. Aerith's full face is revealed in Advent Children's final scene, and is shown again during the credits.
Other Appearances
Kingdom Hearts
Due to it being an alternate universe, Aerith also makes a notable appearance in the Kingdom Hearts series. She is a member of a group dedicated to defeating the Heartless, which also includes Cid Highwind and Yuffie Kisaragi of Final Fantasy VII, and Squall Leonhart of Final Fantasy VIII (aka, Leon). Her attire is mostly unchanged; the only changes were the short red jacket she wore over her pink dress is gone, the ribbon on her hair is now red instead of pink, her gold bangles were replaced with silver bracelets on her left wrist, and she now wears a purple belt. You can now see her shoulders and underarms.
Aerith encounters Donald Duck and Goofy in the streets of Traverse Town and escorts them to the Traverse Town hotel. It is there that she suggests recovering the scattered pages of Ansem's Report to find a way to destroy the Heartless.
In the Kingdom Hearts manga, she appears to Sora, Donald, and Goofy when the trio go to look for Leon, who is training in the sewers. Aerith is seen serving sweet beverages, like barley tea and soda with milk, drinks that Leon dislikes because they are sweetened.
After the locking of the Hollow Bastion keyhole, Aerith returns to her home where she is reunited with Cloud in the Hollow Bastion library.
After making a brief appearance in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a perceptive figment of Sora's memories, Aerith returns in Kingdom Hearts II, wearing a modified version of the white dress she donned in Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII. In her hair, instead of pink, she wears red (or pink with a red hue) ribbons. She, along with fellow Final Fantasy VII characters Cloud, Cid, Yuffie, and (new to the KH series) Tifa, help Sora fight against the Heartless.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Aerith also somehow manages to make her presence known in Final Fantasy Tactics (as Aeris). During the course of the game, Aeris shows up offering to sell the characters a flower for one gil.
Later, after Cloud Strife is pulled through time and wanders around the streets of Zarghidas, he encounters Aeris, who offers him a flower for one gil, similar to his first encounter with her in Final Fantasy VII. Cloud doesn't respond but instead stares at her, probably due to her resemblance to the Aerith he knew. Aeris asks Cloud if she reminded him of somebody. He denies it and walks away, leaving her to wonder if something is wrong with him.
Shortly after Cloud left, a group of thugs appear from the shadows and start harassing Aeris for the 30,000 gil that she and her mother owes them. After pleading with them to give her a week to come up with the money, the thugs then examine her and tell her that she's "pretty good looking!" and suggest that she sells her body instead of flowers.
Cloud, angered by what he's seen, tells the thugs to get their hands off her then tells Aeris to run away. Aeris does as she's told and runs off-screen, leaving Cloud to fight off the thugs.
The flower girl is identified as being Aeris: She has her job, her basic personality, and her looks, yet she's somehow not in her actual time nor does she know Cloud. No explanation has been given to her presence in this game.
Itadaki Street
Aerith also appears as a playable character in Itadaki Street Special and the upcoming Itadaki Street Portable, along with many other characters from Final Fantasy VII including Tifa, Cloud and Sephiroth.
Tales Of Symphonia
Although she is not actually shown in the game, Aerith is referenced in Namco's Tales of Symphonia. In the slums of Tethe'alla's capital city, Meltokio, when you initiate conversation with a NPC near the back of the slums, he says "I heard there was a cute flower-seller in here, but... I guess it was just a false rumor." This is a reference to both Aerith and Midgar, as the city is divided into both an upper-class level, and the slums.
Personality
Aerith is a friendly, upbeat and cheerful young woman, and often seems a rather simplistic character. Throughout the game, however, she reveals the deeper aspects of her personality (and its temper), displaying her complexities. She is constantly mindful of the fate of the Planet, and concerns herself with issues dealing with her heritage as the sole survivor of the Cetra.
Despite her feelings of loneliness as the last of her race, Aerith puts on a positive and optimistic front. Though she is physically weak, she displays emotional strength, especially in carrying the responsibility of saving the Planet. Despite the dangers she has faced her whole life not only as an object of Shin-Ra's greed, but also from the dangers of growing up in the slums, she is gives hope, support and encouragement to her friends. She also shows her bravery and strength when she decides to handle Sephiroth on her own.
Elmyra tells Cloud of Aerith’s stubborn determination and habit of stating what’s on her mind, and, indeed, once her mind is made up, it is hard to change it. She also tends to be a bit frank, but always tries to add joy to life and displays a stark understanding of others. This was exemplified in Advent Children, when she told Cloud that he should seek forgiveness from himself instead of her.
Aerith often puts on a naïve persona, but in reality, is a wise and understanding person who knows what’s going on with the Planet and its people—healing people and giving them encouragement and hope even after her death.
Fandom
Aerith is one of the most beloved characters in the Final Fantasy series, and is also music composer Nobuo Uematsu's personal favorite. Her death was unexpected and shocking to most players when the game first came out; her demise 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 of 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.
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 regard 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. This can be seen any time from the addition of Aerith to the party onwards, including immediately after she and Cloud escape from Reno and after her capture by the Turks. Whether this is an easter egg created by the developers or a glitch in the game remains subject of much debate. However, it would seem that it is an easter egg by the developers, as an actual glitch in that part will allow the player to run up to Aerith, and if one talks to the children there, they will say something completely different from when Aerith's "ghost" is gone. Interestingly, 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 [1] who unsuccessfully tried to retract it later [2] 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 translated in the US version of Final Fantasy VII as "Aeris", her name was officially changed to Aerith after her cameo in Kingdom Hearts. Aerith also makes an appearance in Itadaki Street Special.
Romantic issues
The subject of Aerith's love life is in great debate among those who play Final Fantasy VII.
Prior to the events at Nibelheim, Aerith was apparently romantically involved with Zack, although she claims it wasn't serious. Regardless, she seems to be over him by the time the game begins, as she mentions that he probably just found somebody else. At this point, it has been five years (at least) since she heard from him. Zack, on the other hand only mentions Aerith in passing and never actually says her name. He just says he has "a place" he can go.
During the course of the game, it is mentioned that one of the Turks, Tseng, was interested in Aerith. While they did have a past history together, nothing in game was seen to directly support this (there's a translation error that suggests that they've known each other since both were young; in actuality, the statement Aerith makes on this matter is that she has known Tseng since she was young). While in Gongaga for the first time, Reno and Rude are seen talking about who they like. While Rude admits that he likes Tifa, Reno mentions that Tseng "likes that Ancient", meaning Aerith. If anything, Tseng's relationship with Aerith was more antagonistic than romantic. Even the mention that Tseng liked Aerith comes as gossip. Still, Aerith appears to harbor some slight feelings for Tseng, whether romantic or not, as evidenced by her words in the Temple of the Ancients, after they found him being wounded by Sephiroth.
Aerith and Cloud meet during the game, and she appears to be very flirtatious with him. It is said that she only liked Cloud because of Zack, as she directly mentions that it bothered her how much they were alike.
In Benny Matsuyama's novel Maiden Who Travels The Planet, it has been revealed that she loved Cloud more than Zack and thought that she loved him for who he truly was, as said early in the novella:
"At first, she thought he somehow had some similarities to her first love. Even so, his looks, voice and personality weren't similar, and he also made her think of him as a mysterious person... But it soon didn't matter. She loved him much more than her first love."
Later in the work, it is revealed that most of what she saw in Cloud had actually been emulated from Zack:
"But she couldn't figure out the truth. Her thoughts just went in circles. Aerith delved into her memories again. Memories that showed Cloud's individuality. The way he walked. She remembered all his actions one by one...
Most of those thoughts merged into the Sea of Mako and awakened a character. The character recognized the image she recalled and "he" woke up."
Aerith doesn't learn who Cloud really is until some time later when Tifa helps Cloud reconstruct his memories. It is then that she knows him for who he truly is. Further, despite not having known the real him before, she continues to love him once he's regained his memories and she's come to know him for who he really is:
"She was happy. She was happy that she now knew the real Cloud and was able to watch over him, even though it was just for a short while."
Aerith's Theme
A musical "theme," or leitmotif, associated with Aerith is played several times throughout the game. It is first heard during the flashback scenes with Aerith's mother at her house, and is repeated as she is struck down by Sephiroth. The piece "Flowers Blooming in the Church" is based on this theme. This piece is extremely popular among Final Fantasy fans, and has inspired an orchestral version, a piano version, and a vocal version performed by the artist Rikki (who also performed "Suteki Da Ne" for Final Fantasy X). Also, Stefan Schram[3] of the unsigned rock group Opus Podunk has recorded a solo bass version of the song. A piano arrangement of the theme appears twice in Advent Children, and the track "Water" also echoes shades of the theme. The opening phrase of Aerith's theme appears just prior to the climax of the track "Divinity II" which, shortly after, arguably referring to her, includes as its final line the Latin phrase Sola Dea fatum novit, or "Only the Goddess knows fate." Aerith's Theme is also featured during the End Credits of the movie.
External links
Template:FFVII character external links
- Fated, Aerith Gainsborough character shrine
- FFVII Citadel, FFVII fansite page that includes links to the "Maiden Who Travels the Planet" translation.