Aerith Gainsborough

Aerith Gainsborough (エアリス・ゲインズブール), transliterated as Aeris Gainsborough in the English releases of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics, is a character in Square's (now Square Enix) role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII. She was designed by Tetsuya Nomura with influence from Yoshinori Kitase, Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yoshitaka Amano.

She is one of the main characters of Final Fantasy VII, a young woman allied with the eco-terrorist organization AVALANCHE. Over the course of the story, AVALANCHE begin to pursue the game's antagonist Sephiroth, and the player learns that she is the last surviving Cetra, or "Ancient", one of the planet's oldest races. She is ultimately murdered by Sephiroth. She has also appeared in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts series.

She is voiced in Japanese by Maaya Sakamoto. In English, she is voiced by Mandy Moore in Kingdom Hearts, Mena Suvari in Kingdom Hearts II and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Andrea Bowen in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and the Re Mind DLC of Kingdom Hearts III, and Briana White in Final Fantasy VII Remake, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Aerith and the events surrounding her death in Final Fantasy VII have been met with overall positive reception from critics and fans.

Concept and creation
Aerith was designed by Tetsuya Nomura, with influence from director and scenario writer Yoshinori Kitase and Hironobu Sakaguchi, whilst Yoshitaka Amano created conceptual artwork which helped to influence her design. She has green eyes and long brown hair tied in a braid with a pink ribbon. She wears a long pink dress, a bolero jacket, and brown hiking boots. The long dress was designed to appear ladylike and contrast with Tifa Lockhart's miniskirt. During development, Aerith was supposed to be Sephiroth's sister, as their designs resembled each other. However, they were made former lovers, with Aerith remembering Sephiroth when meeting Cloud as both are ex-SOLDIERS. Late during development, Aerith's first love was changed to Zack Fair.

Her green eyes were meant to symbolize nature and contrast with Tifa's brown eyes. Nomura did not change much of Aerith's design for Advent Children, but her design was updated in Kingdom Hearts with the removal of her bolero jacket, which made her attire resemble how Amano had originally drawn her. Other changes included the addition of bracelets and a belt. Nomura modified her dress in Before Crisis, adding white and green colors; this version was also used as the basis for her design in Kingdom Hearts II.

Aerith's original Japanese name is. This was transliterated to "Aeris" in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics and "Aerith" in later products. Both transliterations have basis, as the Japanese "su" (ス) is used when transcribing "s" and "th"  to Japanese. However, official Japanese material uses the spelling "Aerith",  and developers stated that "Aerith" is a near-anagram of "Earth".

In early planning stages of Final Fantasy VII, Aerith was to be one of only three protagonists alongside Cloud and Barret. During a phone call to Kitase, it was suggested that at some point in the game, one of the main characters should die, and after much discussion as to whether it should be Barret or Aerith, the producers chose Aerith. Nomura stated in a 2005 Electronic Gaming Monthly interview: "Cloud's the main character, so you can't really kill him. And Barrett... [sic] well, that's maybe too obvious". While designing Final Fantasy VII, Nomura was frustrated with the "perennial cliché where the protagonist loves someone very much and so has to sacrifice himself and die in a dramatic fashion to express that love". He found this trope appeared in both films and video games from North America and Japan, and asked "Is it right to set such an example to people?" Kitase concluded: "In the real world things are very different. You just need to look around you. Nobody wants to die that way. People die of disease and accident. Death comes suddenly and there is no notion of good or bad. It leaves, not a dramatic feeling but great emptiness. When you lose someone you loved very much you feel this big empty space and think, 'If I had known this was coming I would have done things differently'. These are the feelings I wanted to arouse in the players with Aerith's death relatively early in the game. Feelings of reality and not Hollywood".

According to Nomura, "death should be something sudden and unexpected, and Aerith's death seemed more natural and realistic". He said: "When I reflect on Final Fantasy VII, the fact that fans were so offended by her sudden death probably means that we were successful with her character. If fans had simply accepted her death, that would have meant she wasn't an effective character". From the original release of the game, rumors have circulated that Aerith can be resurrected in or that the original plan was to have her come back, but this was scrapped in development. Nomura has categorically stated that neither of these rumors were ever true, as he said that "the world was expecting us to bring her back to life, as this is the classic convention". A lengthy petition asking for Aerith's revival by Japanese players was sent to Kitase, but he dismissed it, pointing out that "there are many meanings in Aerith's death and [her revival] could never happen". Mena Suvari explained that for Advent Children, Aerith was given a mothering feel with an ephemeral presence, and expressed joy for her role.

In Remake,Briana White studied Sakamoto's acting to appeal to fans.

Musical theme


A leitmotif associated with Aerith is played several times throughout Final Fantasy VII, and was composed by Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. it is first heard during the flashback scenes with Aerith's mother at her house, and also plays as she is killed by Sephiroth. The piece "Flowers Blooming in the Church" is based on it.

"Aerith's Theme" is very 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. A piano arrangement of the theme appears twice in Advent Children, and the track "Water" shares similarities with it. The opening phrase of "Aerith's Theme" appears prior to the climax of the track "Divinity II", which also includes as its final line the Latin phrase "Sola Dea fatum novit" ("Only the goddess knows fate"), and is also featured during the end credits of the film. It has been reinterpreted on the OverClocked ReMix Final Fantasy VII compilation Voices of the Lifestream. In 2013, "Aerith's Theme" achieved the third place in the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Final Fantasy VII
Aerith Gainsborough is first introduced as a flower seller, when she briefly converses with Cloud Strife, a mercenary working for the anti-government group AVALANCHE, who are fleeing from the bombing of a Mako reactor. The two later meet in Aerith's church in the Sector 5 slums, where she is faced with the possibility of capture by the Turks. Aerith asks Cloud to be her bodyguard for the cost of a date. She is eventually apprehended, but is ultimately rescued by Cloud and his allies. Aerith then joins them in the pursuit of Sephiroth, while also embarking on her own journey of self-discovery.

After a failed attempt to foil Sephiroth's theft of the Black Materia, Aerith ventures alone into the Forgotten City. Cloud and his companions pursue her and eventually find her praying at an altar. As Aerith looks up to smile at Cloud, Sephiroth appears and kills her by impaling her through the torso. Cloud carries Aerith's body out into a lake in the Forgotten City and releases her back to the Planet. Reeve Tuesti, the head of Shinra Urban and Development, brings the news of her death to Elmyra Gainsborough, Aerith's adoptive mother. The party later learns why Aerith was in the Forgotten City; through her White Materia, Aerith was able to summon Holy, the only force capable of repelling the ultimate destructive magic, Meteor, which Sephiroth has summoned. Although Aerith successfully cast Holy before her death, it is being held back by the power of Sephiroth's will. When Sephiroth is finally defeated and Holy is released, it appears that it is too late to function effectively, as Meteor is approaching the Planet's surface. While Holy clashes with Meteor and attempts to prevent its impact, the gravity of both Meteor and the Planet pulling on Holy in opposite directions weakens it. Aerith is seen praying whilst urging the Lifestream to defend the planet. The Planet's Lifestream then flows forth, intervening between Holy and Meteor and aiding in the destruction of Meteor.

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
In Before Crisis, which is set several years prior to the events of Final Fantasy VII, Aerith becomes the target of the original incarnation of AVALANCHE, led by Elfé, who seek to prevent Shinra from acquiring the last surviving Cetra. Instead, AVALANCHE intend to use her to learn the whereabouts of the Promised Land for their own purposes, although a member of the Turks tries to protect her.

Aerith makes several appearances in the CGI film Advent Children as Cloud's spiritual guide, urging him to move on with his life and forgive himself for the tragedies that were beyond his control, telling him that she never blamed him for her death. During their spiritual reunion, Aerith speaks to Cloud in an open meadow laden with flowers, poking fun at how he needlessly burdens himself with the past, but she acknowledges his suffering and offers kind words of support. One of Aerith's interactions with Cloud comes when each member of the original game's party helps in Cloud's final attack against Bahamut SIN; she appears as the last party member to assist Cloud. She appears again in the final scene of the film, along with Zack Fair, where she gives Cloud more words of encouragement before she and Zack walk into the light. Near the end of the film, it is discovered that water mixed with the Lifestream flows beneath the flowerbed in Aerith's church, which manifests itself as a cure for Geostigma.

The On the Way to a Smile novella "Case of the Lifestream – Black & White" focuses on Aerith and Sephiroth's respective journeys through the Lifestream after the end of the game but before the events of the film. The "Black" section deals with Sephiroth, and the "White" with Aerith.

Aerith appears in the prequel game Crisis Core, where she is 16 years old. She meets Zack, whom she develops feelings for during his stay in Midgar. Aerith and Zack develop a romantic relationship, but Zack is killed after escaping from being held in a Mako chamber for four years in the Shinra Mansion basement and defending Cloud from Shinra soldiers. During those years, Aerith helped her adopted mother earn a living by growing and selling flowers, a job that results in her meeting Cloud at the beginning of Final Fantasy VII.

Aerith is featured prominently in Final Fantasy VII Remake, which covers the Midgar portion of the original game. Unlike in the original localization, the remake gives her name as the more widely-accepted Aerith rather than Aeris.

Other appearances
Aerith's character has appeared in several games outside of the Final Fantasy VII continuity. In Final Fantasy Tactics, she appears as a flower girl; when a group of criminals harasses her, Cloud appears and the player engages in battle with the group, letting her escape. Itadaki Street Special features a playable version of Aerith, as well as other Final Fantasy VII characters Tifa Lockhart, Cloud Strife, and Sephiroth. She also appears in Itadaki Street Portable with the same characters from Special, with the addition of Yuffie Kisaragi. Aerith appears in the fighting game Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as an assistant character. She is also featured in the rhythm game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy as a sub-character representing Final Fantasy VII. In LittleBigPlanet 2, Aerith is featured as a downloadable character model. Aerith also appears as a Mii costume and Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Aerith appears in the Kingdom Hearts series as a member of a group dedicated to defeating the Heartless, which includes fellow Final Fantasy VII characters Yuffie and Cid, and Leon of Final Fantasy VIII. In the plot of Kingdom Hearts, Aerith suggests a method for defeating the Heartless to protagonists Donald Duck, Goofy and Sora, and gives advice to the player throughout the game. She also appears 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 her dress from Before Crisis. She, Leon, Cid and Yuffie run a restoration committee for the town of Hollow Bastion. Aerith and the restoration committee return in the Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind expansion, helping Riku search for the missing Sora.

Hoshi o Meguru Otome, a novella written by Benny Matsuyama which appears in the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω guide, follows Aerith's journey through the Lifestream following her death in Final Fantasy VII. Aerith is mentioned on a graffiti in a subway station early in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph, which reads "Aerith Lives".

Reception
Aerith has received an overall positive reception from critics. GamesTM referred to her as a "gaming legend". RPGamer's Stuart Hoggan opined that although Aerith "represented the token damsel in distress", she "broke the mould in terms of personality", possessing "an admirable pluck that was not brassy nor off-putting". In a This American Life episode, titled "Save the Girl", reporter Lina Misitzis described the character as one-dimensional and lacking in personality. She and Kotaku writer Mike Fahey conclude that had the character been anything other than a pretty girl she would have needed much more development in order to elicit an emotional response from the player. Aerith's romantic relationship with Cloud was also praised though some sites noted there were arguments between fans about whether or not Tifa was more suitable to be Cloud's love interest. In a retrospective, Polygon analyzed several arguments fans have made about Cloud's preferred partner and how each side misrepresents the other's chosen heroine. Polygon concludes that there is no winning couple as, after killing Sephiroth, Cloud has a vision of Aerith when Tifa tries to help him and the duo agrees to meet her again. In contrast to this, Aerith's relationship with Zack Fair was noted to be a more impactful based on her role in Crisis Core. Cloud is also seen as a Messiah with Tifa and Aerith being one of his main supporters to help progress and defeat Sephiroth, though the end of the narrative has Cloud appreciating the victory thanks to his "pillars".



Aerith's death in Final Fantasy VII has received a great deal of attention. According to GamesTM, her death helped establish the popularity of Final Fantasy VII. Players commented on message boards and blogs about the emotional impact the scene held. Fans submitted a petition to Yoshinori Kitase requesting her return. Tom's Games called the scene "one of the most powerful and memorable scenes of the Final Fantasy series—or any other game, for that matter". Edge called her death the "dramatic highpoint" of Final Fantasy VII, and suggested that reintroducing her through the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles "arguably undermines this great moment". Said death has also been cited as the defining moment of a star-crossed love story, between her and main character Cloud Strife. Brian Taylor, writing for Kill Screen, described a cottage industry of fan theories for how to return Aerith to life or prevent her death. He compared these efforts to the letter-writing campaign to convince Charles Dickens not to let Nell, the endearing protagonist of The Old Curiosity Shop, die at the end of the book. Taylor affirmed that the acts of discussing these fan theories and dissecting the game code to test them comprise a valid and important part of the experience of the game. In A Feeling of Wrongness: Pessimistic Rhetoric on the Fringes of Popular Culture, Aerith is seen a highly developed character due to Cloud visiting her mother and how often the protagonist and the heroine often talk. As Aerith plays a more active role in combat, her death is also noted to affect the gamer as a result of how useful she is. Benjamin Banasik from Heidelberg University noted the impact of Aerith's death is mostly seen in Cloud's characterization in Advent Children as he seeks redemption for her, leading him to his transformation into a heroic leader in the process. In The World of Final Fantasy VII: Essays on the Game and Its Legacy, Aerith's death is described as a disastrous traumatic reminder of the eventual war. Game journalist Mike Fahey expressed concern in regards to this event being repeated in the Remake chronology as he saw the original Aerith as the least developed heroine in the game.

The character's traits in the remake were praised by Siliconera due to how caring she is and how developed she becomes across the narrative. Despite criticizing for not doing wrong things that balance her, Siliconera still enjoyed the scene where she volunteers for Don Corneo. Nevertheless, the site enjoyed how enigmatic she is for the way she interacts with the members from the cast. The Escapist noted that while the player primarily controls Cloud, Aerith remains as the actual hero of the game. Despite being seen as a damsel in distress at first, Aerith proves herself to be capable of showing notable strength which made a massive impact in the gamer when Sephiroth kills her. As a result, when the Remake was released, gamers wondered if in this game it was possible to save her. In the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Aerith's role in Remake and comments in the ending are noted to build up the apparent message of the installment in regards to how the same narrative should not be repeated with Aerith's quote "boundless, terrifying freedom" which is made in response to Sephiroth's values. Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences also wrote about Aerith's characterization in Remake and its comparisons with the original one; Aerith's specter that interacts with a confused Cloud about their potential relationship was noted to stand out in the game as the former tells the latter not to fall in love with him as if Square Enix is reacting to the player's constricted conditions, potential desires, and narrative expectations when compared with the original Final Fantasy VII where the player could have dates with most of the early characters.

In "More Than Just a Flower Girl: A Personal Thank You to Aerith Gainsborough", Alana Hagues from RPGFan expresses multiple feelings involving her Aerith's characterization; Despite being initially bothered by the idea of Aerith by a "girl" or weak, Hagues' noticed that she saw the character in a different light upon deciding to fully complete Final Fantasy VII. Rather than being a damsel in distress, Aerith appeared to challenge gender stereotypes as while faces too many problems in life like dealing with the death of Zack or being the final Cetra, she manages to deal with them and remains strong enough to appreciate life. This is highly notable when Aerith interacts with Cloud or Barret and expresses comfort to them or she lives inside the dangerous areas from Midgar. Aerith also serves as a major contrast to the first three playable characters: Cloud, Barret and Tifa and manages to fit. Aerith's death at the hands of Sephiroth hit the writer further when Cloud says ""Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry…or get angry…". From this point, Hagues started having several thoughts about Aerith, how she would no longer assist Cloud and contrast the other love interest Tifa. She realized Aerith was further stronger in Final Fantasy VII over Kingdom Hearts and Crisis Core which delighted her when seeing her again in Remake as it "understands her spirit in the original, but it also does one better, giving her more agency and power throughout".

When it comes to Rebirth, Digital Trend wrote "In defense of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s polarizing ending" where Cloud's failures to save Aerith in the story comes across dealing with trauma; The returning player find a possible way to stop Aerith's death like Cloud attempts and instead ends in tragedy again. As Remake ends with Zack surviving his death while going to Midgar, Aerith appears to also be able to challenge her fate. In penultimate chapter, Aerith's fate begins to feel more inevitable; Rebirth starts feeling like a role-playing game based on An American in Paris due to the surrealism employed in the alternate timeline where Cloud tries to make Aerith survive but it is impossible in his world. Eventually, Aerith tells Cloud that she is going to die just like Zack dies in the original timeline and it is her choice. This scene helps Cloud not feel the event to feel like a personal failure and that he can improve himself.