Final Fantasy VII Characters
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Sephiroth
Vital Statistics
Age | Unknown |
Height | 185cm |
Occupation | Unknown; presumed dead |
Weapon | Katana |
Birthdate | Unknown |
Hometown | Unknown |

Biography
Written by Tiddles
Site Developer
Additional Information
Well, it seems like Sephiroth didn’t die five years ago, even though Cloud managed to throw him into the Lifestream under the Nibelheim reactor. (If you’re confused about the events of that time, Cloud’s bio should help clarify them.) We can only assume that he floated from there to Northern Cave where he rested in his shell of mako until Cloud gave him the Black Materia.So who were we following around on the first disc, then? There are several schools of thought on this. The most common idea is that he’s one of Hojo’s Sephiroth clones, which seems to be borne out by the numeral ‘I’ we know is tattooed on him. However, we also know that most “clones” are just normal people infected with Jenova cells, but perhaps in sufficient number, they could affect a physical transformation: we do see “Sephiroth” make himself look like Tifa at Northern Cave, and tell us that “The ability to change one’s looks, voice, and words, is the power of Jenova."
The second common theory is that it’s a “shadow” of Sephiroth who is causing havoc early in the game: a projection of Sephiroth’s will. I personally think this is less feasible, but it does explain the initial confusion of the “Sephiroth” you meet on the boat to Costa Del Sol and his subsequent increase in coherence over time, if you imagine that he gains power as the “clones” get closer to the reunion. My interpretation lies somewhere between the two camps: I believe that Sephiroth (or Jenova) is asserting control over one of the clones and influencing their appearance and actions. It’s open to debate, though.
Why does Sephiroth do what he does during the game? We know that he was a (relatively) normal person until his false discoveries that his mother was Jenova, and that she was an Ancient. It seems to be indicated that, at least by the end of the game, Sephiroth knows that what he learned in Nibelheim is far from the truth, so the reasons for his crusade must have changed somehow. My thought is that Sephiroth’s confusion and sorrow over what he thought he discovered in the Shinra mansion, combined with his proximity to Jenova, allowed him to be influenced into his later actions — the strange effects of the Lifestream may have compounded this, especially as he was carrying Jenova’s head close to him. We see a very similar chain of events occur through Cloud, giving Sephiroth the Black Materia and falling into the Lifestream, except that it’s Tifa who gets to talk to him in there rather than Jenova. Again, though, this is a personal interpretation of the game’s events.
Whatever the reason, Sephiroth’s goal is to cause a huge disruption in the Lifestream by having Meteor strike the Planet, and to be at the focal point of the Lifestream’s energy at that point, allowing him to soak it up and become a god of sorts, along with Jenova. Is it really his ambition, or hers? The game certainly builds up Sephiroth as the main villain, but it’s also clear that he’s a victim and a puppet of Jenova and Shinra, even more so than Cloud. The fact that he doesn’t even speak after the first Northern Cave encounter (other than in flashback) certainly doesn’t make things any clearer. Nevertheless, manipulated or otherwise, Sephiroth is dedicated to this goal, and it’s this that our heroes must ultimately stop.
The character of Sephiroth is often criticised for being a simple clone of a stereotypical anime villain. A fair criticism, but please don’t make the mistake of labelling all his fans as ignorant “fanboys": after all, they aren’t the ones who’ve spent enough of their time obsessively watching Japanese animation to realise. If you’ve never crossed paths with Generic Anime Villain 47, as I hadn’t when I discovered the game, you may find Sephiroth an engaging character: the questions outlined above, not fully answered by the game, are the reason many of us find the storyline to be of interest and worthy of expansion (though possibly not as much as it’s getting this year, but that’s for another page). Was Sephiroth simply a man of evil, waiting for a catalyst to unleash his ambitions, or simply a sorry victim who never realised the irony of calling Cloud a puppet? Unless sequelitis ’04 ends up explaining it, we’ll never know.
Caves of Narshe: Final Fantasy VII
Version 6
©1997–2025 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.
Version 6
©1997–2025 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.