The appeal and evaluation of "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete": A reevaluation of the ultimate visuals and story

FINAL FANTASY Ⅶ ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE - FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE -

■ Public Media

OVA

■ Original Media

Anime Original

■ Release date

April 16, 2009

■Release and sales

Sony Pictures Entertainment

■Frequencies

130 min

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 1

■ Director

・Director: Tetsuya Nomura

■ Production

・Production and production: Square Enix

■Works

©2005,2009 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights reserved. CHARACTER DESIGN:TETSUYA NOMURA

■ Story

Two years have passed since the battle. The once prosperous Mako city of Midgar has fallen into ruin, but the people are steadily on the road to rebuilding. However, a mysterious disease called "Star Scar Syndrome" is plaguing the people. With no cure, this disease kills those who are infected one after another, and it has become a new threat to the people who were beginning to regain hope. Cloud, who runs a delivery service and lives quietly with orphans, is heartbroken from the emotional wounds of losing his precious companions in the previous battle, and closes his heart with deep self-reproach and guilt. One day, Cloud receives a phone call requesting a job. The request is for a man called Kadaj to provide protection. Kadaj and his men are young and violent. Soon, their evil hands reach out to the orphans who lived with Cloud. What is their purpose? Why are they targeting Cloud? Cloud is troubled by the inevitable battle. "Can sins be forgiven?" After a long struggle, Cloud makes up his mind to fight. At last, a battle beyond human understanding with Kadaj and his men begins.

■Explanation

This masterpiece, which was released on DVD and UMD in September 2005 and achieved astounding sales as a straight video title, with over 1 million copies shipped domestically and over 3.6 million copies shipped worldwide, is now finally being released as a high-quality CG video work on "Blu-ray Disc" with approximately 30 minutes of new scenes added, altered and re-edited as the "Complete Version"!

*Quoted from Amazon

■Cast

・Cloud Strife/Takahiro Sakurai・Tifa Lockhart/Ayumi Ito・Barret Wallace/Masahiro Kobayashi・Aerith Gainsborough/Maaya Sakamoto・Vincent Valentine/Shogo Suzuki・Cid Highwind/Kazuhiro Yamaji・Yuffie Kisaragi/Yumi Kakazu・Red XIII/Masachika Ichimura・Marin Wallace/Miyuu Kurokudahara・Denzel/Kyousuke Ikeda・Reno/Keiji Fujiwara・Rude/Daisuke Kusunoki・Rufus/Toru Okawa・Kadaj/Shoutaro Morikubo・Yazoo/Yuji Kishi・Rods/Kenji Nomura・Zack/Kenichi Suzumura・Sephiroth/Toshiyuki Morikawa

■ Main staff

・Director: Tetsuya Nomura・Co-director: Takeshi Nozue・Scenario writer: Kazushige Nojima・Producer: Yoshinori Kitase・Art director: Yusuke Naora・Composer: Nobuo Uematsu・Arrangers: Tsuyoshi Sekido, Kenichiro Fukui, Keiji Kawamori, Shiro Hamaguchi, Kazuhiko Toyama・Co-producer: Shinji Hashimoto・Mecha and creature design: Takayuki Takeya・Produced and produced by: Square Enix

■ Main Characters

Cloud Strife

Gender: Male Age: 23
Blood type: AB
Birthday: 8/11

He was hired by the anti-Shinra group "Avalanche" and worked with them, but was caught up in a great battle over the "Planet". He fought for the world and saved the "Planet". His various memories of the past intertwined with his true self, but he was able to find it during his journey in the previous game, "FF VII". However, he now rejects others and lives alone...

Sephiroth

Gender: Male Age: Unknown Blood type: Unknown Date of birth: Unknown

A legendary swordsman of Shinra's elite SOLDIER unit, he was once called a hero. However, when he found out that he was created by Shinra, he was consumed with an intense hatred for humans. That hatred became an intense and absolute threat to the planet itself. And even though he was supposed to have lost the battle, Sephiroth still appears before Cloud as an afterimage...

・Tifa Lockhart

Gender: Female Age: 22
Blood type: B
Birthday: 5/3

Cloud's childhood friend, and the only person who knows his past. A martial artist, he was a key member of the anti-Shinra organization, Avalanche, until two years ago. He currently works at the Seventh Heaven store and looks after Marine and the orphans.

Barrett Wallace

Gender: Male Age: 37
Blood type/O
Birthday: 12/15

Two years ago, he was the leader of the anti-Shinra organization "Avalanche" and fought using his lost right arm as a weapon. The young girl Marin is his driving force. He currently leaves Marin in Tifa's care and is working to discover a new energy source to replace Mako.

Vincent Valentine

Gender: Male Age: 27
Blood type: A
Birthday: 10/13

A former Turks gunman. In the past, his body was modified by Shinra, giving him immortality and the ability to transform into a monster, and he was forced to live with that fate. He has been investigating the world since then on his own, and has some knowledge of the events they are currently facing.

Kadaj

Gender: Male Age: Teens Blood type: Unknown Date of birth: Unknown

The leader of the trio who are after Cloud. The trio are also brothers. He has a turbulent mental state, ranging from pure madness, to calm and violent, to childish and intelligent. He mainly uses a double-edged sword called a Soba.

・Yazo

Gender: Male Age: 20s Blood type: Unknown Date of birth: Unknown

A carefree and elusive young man. In "Velvet Nightmare", he mainly uses a gun with a twin-barreled sword motif (the gun only functions as such).

Rods

Gender: Male Age: 20s Blood type: Unknown Date of birth: Unknown

Contrary to his tough appearance, he is childish and whiny on the inside. He mainly uses a pile bunker called "Dual Hound" (a weapon that functions as both a stun gun and a shield).

Marin Wallace

Gender: Female Age: Unknown Blood type: Unknown Date of birth: Unknown

In the previous film, Barret raised Denzel as his father, but now that they live apart, Tifa is looking after him. She worries about Denzel, who is afflicted with Star Scar Syndrome, and is always concerned about him.

・Cid Highwind

Gender: Male Age: 34
Blood type: B
Birthday: 2/22

Cid, a man who loves the sky and was once one of Cloud's companions on a journey with him, has exceptional airship piloting skills. With his spear as his weapon, he fights the creatures that have appeared in the city.

・Yuffie Kisaragi

Gender: Female Age: 18
Blood type: A
Birthday: 11/20

Yuffie is a ninja girl from Wutai who wields a cross shuriken. She loves materia and always prioritizes it. She still suffers from severe motion sickness.

Reno

Gender: Male Age: Unknown Blood type: Unknown Date of birth: Unknown

A former member of the Turks whose catchphrase is "That's what I said." Although the Turks appeared as enemies in the previous film, their expressions do not suggest any hostility.

Rude

Gender: Male Age: Unknown Blood type: Unknown Date of birth: Unknown

A taciturn former member of the Turks. He worked with Reno on missions, and it seems they are still working together. What is their purpose...?

Denzel

Gender: Male Age: Unknown Blood type: Unknown Date of birth: Unknown

One of the children who fell victim to the Star Scar Syndrome. Tifa looks after him, and he is good friends with Marin. Although he sometimes has a blank look in his eyes...

・Sack

Gender/Male age at death/Unknown Blood type/Unknown Birthday/Unknown

Cloud's best friend from his time as a Shinra soldier. He was once one of the best 1st Class Soldiers that Shinra Company was proud of, but...

■ Related works

・FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN
・LAST ORDER FINAL FANTASY VII
・Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII
・On the Way to a Smile Denzel

■ Theme songs and music

・ED1
・Safe and Sound
・Lyrics: Gerard Way
・Composer: Gerard Way
・Singer: Kyosuke Himuro

FINAL FANTASY Ⅶ ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE - Review and Recommendation

"FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE" was released on Blu-ray Disc in 2009 as the complete version of "FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN" released in 2005. This work is a CG animated OVA that continues the story of Square Enix's popular RPG "FINAL FANTASY VII". It is a long-awaited sequel for fans, with a luxurious staff including director Tetsuya Nomura, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima, and music by Nobuo Uematsu.

The story of this work is set in a world two years after the ending of "Final Fantasy VII". The Mako city of Midgar has turned into ruins, and while people are on the road to rebuilding, a new threat, "Star Scar Syndrome," is spreading. The protagonist, Cloud Strife, lives quietly with orphans, but is tormented by guilt for the friends he lost in past battles. Meanwhile, a mysterious man named Kadaj makes a request to Cloud, and he is drawn into the vortex of battle once again.

The greatest appeal of this work is undoubtedly its visual quality. The 2009 version, which saw the evolution of CG animation technology, added about 30 minutes of new scenes, further improving the visual beauty. The battle scenes in particular are spectacular, with Cloud's sword techniques and Kadaj and his companions' attacks reproduced realistically. Furthermore, the characters' expressions and movements are also meticulously crafted, faithfully recreating the worldview of the original game.

In terms of story, the movie also contains many touching scenes for fans of the original work. It depicts Cloud's inner conflict, reunions with his friends, and battles with new enemies, delving deeper into the story that continues from the ending of the original work. In particular, the confrontation scene between Cloud and Sephiroth is a famous scene that fans cannot watch without crying.

The cast is also impressive, with the voice actors from the original game reprising their roles, including Takahiro Sakurai as Cloud, Ayumi Ito as Tifa, and Masahiro Kobayashi as Barret. In addition, talented voice actors such as Shotaro Morikubo as Kadaj, Yuji Kishi as Yazoo, and Kenji Nomura as Lods have been appointed to add depth to the story.

Don't miss the music either. Nobuo Uematsu's original soundtrack maintains the atmosphere of the original game while creating new emotions. In particular, the ending theme "Safe and Sound" features Kyosuke Himuro's powerful singing voice that brings the story to a climax and resonates deeply with viewers.

"FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE" is a work that can be recommended not only to fans of the original game, but also to those who like CG animation and action movies. This work boasts the highest quality in all aspects, including visual beauty, story, cast, and music, and you will discover something new no matter how many times you watch it. Please enjoy the beautiful images and moving story on Blu-ray Disc.

You can enjoy the world of FINAL FANTASY VII even more by checking out related works such as FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN, LAST ORDER FINAL FANTASY VII, Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII, and On the Way to a Smile: Denzel's Story.