Final Fantasy VII

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[edit] Introduction

The playable characters of FFVII.
Front page of the FF7 Citadel.
In 1997, Final Fantasy VII, the seventh game in the Final Fantasy series, was released by Square for the Playstation consol. Fans were instantly enamoured with its complex story and characters. Cloud Strife, the main character of the game, was an anti-hero by video game standards, and his personality as well as his interaction with the other characters inspired uncountable fanworks.

The movie Advent Children was the start of a new age in the fandom; numerous new fans joined the already massive FFVII following, and the influx of new ideas, new fanworks, and new kerfluffles is still going strong.

FFVII is arguably the most popular game in the Final Fantasy series. Its success has spawned a movie (Advent Children), cartoon (Last Order), and a number of prequel and sequel games (Dirge of Cerberus, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding), novellas (Maiden who Travels the Planet and On the Way to a Smile), and rumors persist that Square-Enix is going to remake the original game.

[edit] Characters

The fact that most of the male characters, including the main antagonist Sephiroth, are considered bishonen may also explain its lingering popularity.

[edit] Main Characters

[edit] Minor Characters

  • Don Corneo
  • Heidigger
  • Lucrecia Crescent
  • Marlene Wallace
  • Palmer
  • President ShinRa
  • Professor Hojo
  • Reeve
  • Rufus ShinRa
  • Scarlet
  • Shera
  • Zack Fair
  • The Turks
    • Elena
    • Reno
    • Rude
    • Tseng

[edit] "New" Characters

  • Angeal Hewley
  • Azul
  • Cissnei
  • Denzel
  • Genesis Rhapsodos
  • Grimoire Valentine
  • Kadaj
  • Lazard
  • Loz
  • Nero
  • Professor Hollander
  • Russo
  • Shalua
  • Shelke
  • Weiss
  • Yazoo

[edit] Specific Terminology

Below is a list of terms and their definitions that are used in this fandom. These terms were created by shortening and combining character names to form a portmanteau to describe the relationship between the characters. Occasionally, the position of the characters' names defines who is the dominant member of the couple. Pairing for which no portmanteau currently exists are indicated using the traditional slash (/)or 'x' format.

  • Aeriseph or Sephris refers to the relationship between Aeris/Aerith Gainsborough and Sephiroth.
  • Cidvin or Valenwind refers to the relationship of Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine.
  • Cleris/Clerith or Cloris/Clorith refers to the pairing of Cloud Strife and Aeris/Aerith Gainsborough.
  • Cloti or Clofa/Cloudfa is a term that refers to a relationship between Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart.
  • Vincrecia refers to the relationship between Vincent Valentine and Lucrecia Crescent.
  • Vinti or Ticent refers to the relationship between Vincent Valentine and Tifa Lockhart.
  • Yuffentine is a term that refers to a relationship between Yuffie Kisaragi and Vincent Valentine.
  • Yuffiroth refers to the pairing of Yuffie Kisaragi and Sephiroth.
  • Zangeal refers to the pairing of Zack Fair and Angeal Hewley.
  • Chocobohead is a fairly common term applied to Zack Fair and Cloud Strife because of their distinctive spikey hairstyle.
  • SHM refers to the 'Silver-Haired Men', Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, as a group and is not necessarily indicative of a sexual relationship.
  • Ukeroth refers to yaoi fanfiction in which Sephiroth is the submissive member of the relationship.


Besides these Final Fantasy VII-specific terms, other common words found in the fandom include:

  • bishonen refers to attractive male characters
  • doujinshi are fan-made Japanese comics
  • mpreg refers to fanwork that features pregnant males
  • seme, which is a Japanese word and refers to the dominant member of a relationship
  • shoujo ai is a Japanese term that refers to a female/female relationship that is not as explicit as yuri
  • shounen ai is a term that refers to a male/male relationship that is not as explicit as yaoi
  • slash, which refers to a male/male relationship
  • uke, which is a Japanese word that is used in English to describe the submissive member of a relationship
  • yaoi, which is another Japanese term, refers to a slash relationship
  • yuri, which is yet another Japanese term, refers to a female/female relationship

[edit] Timeline

Below is a partial timeline of events that took place in this fandom.

[edit] 1997

  • On January 31, 1997, FFVII was released in Japan.
  • On September 7, 1997, FFVII was released in the United States.
  • Posing as a Squaresoft employee, Ben Lansing circulates a rumor that "explains" why Aeris can't be resurrected.[1] He later confesses[2], though the original rumor persists for years. This is among the first (and arguably the most famous) Aeris resurrection rumor; there will be many more in the years that follow.

[edit] 1998

  • The Final Fantasy VII Citadel was founded by Ambigore. It would grow to become one of the largest and most enduring FFVII sites on the internet.
  • Through his prolific contributions to IcyBrian's RPG Page, Frank Verderosa becomes known as one of the best known fanfic writers in the fandom.

[edit] 2002

  • Another famous Aeris resurrection rumor, simply known as The Equinox, first appeared around this time.

[edit] 2003

  • Advent Children, a movie that takes place two years after the ending of Final Fantasy VII, was first announced at the Tokyo Game Show.
  • AdventChildren.net was founded by Summoner Yuna. Though not the first AC fansite, it quickly becomes the largest.

[edit] 2004

[edit] 2005

[edit] 2006

[edit] 2007

[edit] Kerfluffles

The Final Fantasy VII fandom has had oodles of bad fanfiction, Mary Sues, and ugly photomanipulation. Fans have long debated who Cloud's true love is, whether Aeris is a better name than Aerith, if Cloud/Sephiroth can be considered canon, if old school fans are more devoted than newer fans, and the possibility of resurrection and its affect on Cloud's lovelife. It's darkest moment may have been when one fan announced that she had married Sephiroth on the astral plane.[7]

There has also been a variety of debate over elements of the canon that the original game left ambiguous. For example, there was some degree of debate over what, specifically, The Promised Land referred to, and whether the game's final battle takes place in the Lifestream or in Cloud's mind.

Final Fantasy VII has also been the centre of debate for other Final Fantasy fans. Final Fantasy VI fans have a history of resenting VII's popularity, and with VII's recent popularity, many Final Fantasy fans have come to see VII's fans as "lesser." Conversely, fans of VII have been asserting their place within the Final Fantasy heirarchy for years, and the recent influx of fans has only strengthened the popular sentiment that it is the "best game in the series."

Final Fantasy VII fandom has dealt with a lot of internal tension over the release of new, but associated media such as Advent Children and Crisis Core. Both have brought in new fans who are sometimes at odds with older fans, often over canonical changes. New fans are often accused of being shallow and simple, while older fans are often accused of being elitist and stuck-up. In reality, most fans hover at some point between the two ends of the spectrum rather than ardently denouncing either old or new fans.

[edit] Influential fanworks

This section needs more information.

[edit] Influential Fans

[edit] Fandom size

[edit] December 2006

There are 15,836 stories on FanFiction.Net as of December 22, 2006.

[edit] December 2007

As of December 30, 2007, there are 17 stories and 8 videos on FanLib. [8]

[edit] External Links

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

Below is a partial list of articles and academic sources to help you continue to learn about this community.

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