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So, I've had a week to grok everything.
Advent Children was pretty. Oh, it was pretty. But if you were in it for anything but the pretty, it was disappointing.
I'll start by admitting that Advent Children jossed my preferred interpretation of FFVII's ending - that Holy didn't completely protect the Planet and humanity was wiped out - by the very fact of its existence. Still, I had hoped against hope that Square Enix wouldn't go with a crowd-pleasing happi endo at the end of AC, that humanity's death sentence had been issued a stay of execution but not pardoned.
Instead, not only was humanity pardoned, but everyone got the happy end...except for my favorite character. Of course, it's a given that if anyone survives, it's going to be Cloud & Co, followed by the Turks, so the fact that they did just that wasn't much of a shocker to me. Kadaj's redemption at the end was a nice (if cliche) touch, but I am torqued by the fact that Rufus is alive. Especially considering the fact that Sephiroth isn't.
Despite what anyone claims to the contrary, Sephiroth is not the main villian of FFVII. He is the main figurehead (a somewhat sympathetic one at that), and this is an important distinction. He's also the product of a rotten system, and the people who created that system are the true villians, which is why Sephiroth's second death and Rufus's survival make for such a morally bankrupt ending.
Again, Sephiroth is the culmination of a system that Shira/Rufus et al. created. He was the immediate threat, and from a narrative perspective where Cloud's survival is paramount, he needed to be eliminated. But from a narrative perspective where the Planet's survival is paramount, he's a red herring, because I don't believe for a second that Rufus is reformed.
But Sephiroth tried to destroy the Planet, you protest.
To which I answer, which would you prefer: slow death on a Mako-impoverished planet or a quick one by Meteor? Sure, Rufus claims he's going to put right what he made wrong, but that sounds suspiciously like staying the course to my ears, especially when he thinks the havok he's unleashed on the Planet is 'so fun I can't stand it.'
There's a certain amount of ambiguity wiggle room within the Advent Children storyline - Kadaj's "As long as you guys exist, this is just going to keep happening again and again" line, I'm looking right at you here - that I can't entirely rule out the possibility of anothercash cow sequel should the mood strike SE. I just wish the ending for the sequel we have had been better.
これで以上です。
Advent Children was pretty. Oh, it was pretty. But if you were in it for anything but the pretty, it was disappointing.
I'll start by admitting that Advent Children jossed my preferred interpretation of FFVII's ending - that Holy didn't completely protect the Planet and humanity was wiped out - by the very fact of its existence. Still, I had hoped against hope that Square Enix wouldn't go with a crowd-pleasing happi endo at the end of AC, that humanity's death sentence had been issued a stay of execution but not pardoned.
Instead, not only was humanity pardoned, but everyone got the happy end...except for my favorite character. Of course, it's a given that if anyone survives, it's going to be Cloud & Co, followed by the Turks, so the fact that they did just that wasn't much of a shocker to me. Kadaj's redemption at the end was a nice (if cliche) touch, but I am torqued by the fact that Rufus is alive. Especially considering the fact that Sephiroth isn't.
Despite what anyone claims to the contrary, Sephiroth is not the main villian of FFVII. He is the main figurehead (a somewhat sympathetic one at that), and this is an important distinction. He's also the product of a rotten system, and the people who created that system are the true villians, which is why Sephiroth's second death and Rufus's survival make for such a morally bankrupt ending.
Again, Sephiroth is the culmination of a system that Shira/Rufus et al. created. He was the immediate threat, and from a narrative perspective where Cloud's survival is paramount, he needed to be eliminated. But from a narrative perspective where the Planet's survival is paramount, he's a red herring, because I don't believe for a second that Rufus is reformed.
But Sephiroth tried to destroy the Planet, you protest.
To which I answer, which would you prefer: slow death on a Mako-impoverished planet or a quick one by Meteor? Sure, Rufus claims he's going to put right what he made wrong, but that sounds suspiciously like staying the course to my ears, especially when he thinks the havok he's unleashed on the Planet is 'so fun I can't stand it.'
There's a certain amount of ambiguity wiggle room within the Advent Children storyline - Kadaj's "As long as you guys exist, this is just going to keep happening again and again" line, I'm looking right at you here - that I can't entirely rule out the possibility of another
これで以上です。
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If they felt they had to go with a redemption ending, they should have redeemed Sephiroth, because the emotional payoff would be greater for a familiar character than an undeveloped one like Kadaj.
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Well, that's certainly true. But I still can't be sad about it for the same reason that I hope Nii doesn't kick the bucket at the end of Saiyuki. He, like Rufus, is just too much fun to have around. And Rufus's survival means the story -will- continue, if only in my head. There are just some worlds that I don't want to have end. XD
I agree with you completely re the Sephiroth redemption. I never really felt that connected to Kadaj and his siblings (though I did like Loz and his crocodile tears). Sephiroth would have had much more resonance for the audience. They probably felt it was too much of a retcon though, given the ending of the game.
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Not me, because these sorts of people don't go punished in real life, so I like them to be punished in fiction. And I really can't see FFVII continuing without Sephiroth.
Not sure I agree with you about the impossibility of a redemption for him, either. I could easily see that being worked into the storyline, with its pre-existing Cloud/Cloud&Aeris redemption elements. I'm really not certain SE had any clear idea of where they were going with AC even as they completed it. "I won't become just a memory," Sephiroth says, and does exactly that, which was an amazing let down. That's it?
Overall, I felt like they made him less complex and didn't compensate for it with the new trio. The more I think about it, the more I realise this sequel is more frustrating to me than the original ending.
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Did I say that? I didn't mean to. XD;; I don't think either redemption for Sephiroth or redemption for Rufus is impossible really, though I imagine that now that Sephiroth has been defeated twice (or is that three times? I've forgotten how many final forms he had in the game) it'll be substantially harder to resurrect him once again. Annoying if you're a Sephiroth fan and annoying if you're not, as Cloud looks better fighting him than anyone else (can see now why 'Dirge' has Vincent as the lead).
Rufus's redemption or lack thereof is still a much more intriguing topic for me though, if only because I like his type of villain. His "death" in the game was unsatisfying for me, because as you've said, he/Shinra are the Prime Movers. He really deserves something a bit worse and substantially more personal than an explosion, assuming he hasn't repented. And if he is sincere, well, it'll be fun to see what he has planned. Reno's last line at the lodge was so very, very tantalizing. :D
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(And to make a clean breast of things, I suppose I should add that a good part of the reason I'm glad Rufus doesn't die at the end is because I like his voice actor. Such a shallow fangirl am I. XD;;;)
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(Boy howdy, are my narrative kinks showing here or what?)
It struck me last night that one of the most annoying aspects of Sephiroth's AC death was how anticlimactic it was. The writers stuck him in because you can't have FFVII without Sephiroth. The problem is exactly that - that they stuck him in. It felt unnatural and clumsy. He transforms out of Kadaj because...? fights Cloud for a little bit, it looks really cool, and then oops, we've only got ten more minutes left, so he dies. Didn't add anything to the story and didn't mature the characters in any perceptible fashion. The should have stuck with Kadaj as the primary opponent.
if only because I like his type of villain.
I like Sephiroth's type of villain – intelligent but in waaay over his head. If that villain can't win, then I at least like a martyrdom/redemption. Or a pyrrhic victory where he and his tormentors both go down.
The last line is tantalizing indeed, but as you said, how many times can you bring Sephiroth back? Keep doing it and it gets ridiculous, but I find his current end as stock bad guy really dissatisfying.
And Rufus, while an intriguing baddy, is not the focal point of my FFVII fangirling. Can you tell?
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I'm not certain it was Rufus when SE first announced AC two years ago. Remember, AC was originally meant to be 60 minutes long with all of three characters making an appearance. I'm willing to bet that Towel Man was Sephiroth at that point. AC was announced prematurely, and I get the feeling that the story was still being rewritten as they went into the final production stages.
I'm with you on the VA love. ;＾D But what's Morikawa going to do from now on?
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Sephiroth-lessgame to get to it.From:
Did not know this!
I'm with you on the VA love. ;＾D But what's Morikawa going to do from now on?
Soul Calibur III? XD
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Re: Did not know this!
This was from the September 2003 issue of Doramaga, which was the first magazine to announce AC. Serves as a nice reminder of exactly how much has changed.
There is Soul Calibur, but I would prefer more Sephiroth Toushin Taish-- I mean, Homura Soldier First Clas-- I mean, all my favorite Morikawa rolls end up getting offed by the protagonists. Woe. ;^)
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It can be pretty easily argued that Rufus was also an unfortunate result of Shinra and his father. I don't care too much for him, but surviving and kindasorta trying to set things right jived with me. Even if he did, um, end up failing his part.
Last Order paid a small amount of sympathy to Sephiroth. It was kind of hard to hate on a villain who keeps saying 'mother'. That, or creepy. ~_^
The tears in his eyes... that did make my heart twinge and hope for some sort of ending where Sephiroth could, y'know, cut off his hair and live out a different life.