"I am the chosen one. I have been chosen to rule this planet."
—Sephiroth in Crisis Core
Sephiroth is the primary antagonist of Final Fantasy VII, and one of the major villains of its extended universe. A member of SOLDIER, Sephiroth was idolized for his supreme strength and considered a war hero. After misinterpreting his origins, and believing himself to be the only remaining survivor of the Ancients, Sephiroth enacts a vendetta against mankind, with the ultimate goal of becoming a god and controlling the Planet. Many of the events in Final Fantasy VII are underlined by Cloud Strife and his friends trying to locate Sephiroth in order to make sense of unresolved questions laid forth early in the game.
Sephiroth is arguably the most popular Final Fantasy series villain - his appearance, name, and musical theme are all highly praised among fans, and he has appeared in many spin-off titles. He is also consistently voted as one of the top video game villains in polls and lists on video game websites, such as GameFAQs and IGN.
In Japan, Sephiroth's voice was provided by seiyū Shinichiro Miki in Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring and Toshiyuki Morikawa in all subsequent appearances including the Kingdom Hearts series. His voice was provided by Lance Bass of *NSYNC fame in the English version of Kingdom Hearts, a decision that was received negatively by some fans. He is voiced by George Newbern in all subsequent appearances, which has been better received.
Sephiroth was designed by Tetsuya Nomura. Sephiroth, in all his appearances, wears a long black coat with silver pauldrons, black boots and black clothing. The top of his clothing underneath his uniform is split to reveal his chest, covered by crossing leather straps. Sephiroth's hair is long and silver, a contrast to Cloud's blond spikes, with his bangs parted to either side of his face. In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, his bangs are noticeably shorter than in any of his earlier appearances. Beyond his clothing and hair, Sephiroth is known for his green cat-like eyes and the Masamune, his seven-foot long katana he is rarely seen without. His battle stance with the sword is to hold it over his left shoulder with the blade curving downward. Sephiroth usually wields the Masamune two-handed. In later appearances a single black wing emerges from his right shoulder.
In the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth's uniform remains the same as in Final Fantasy VII, but his coat has several buckles instead of just one, and the original SOLDIER logo in his belt is replaced with the redesigned version of the logo for the Compilation.
In the Kingdom Hearts series, Sephiroth retains his core design of silver hair and a black coat, but his clothing is given red linings and is a different shape. His sleeves have small red wings, and he bears a black wing over his right shoulder, which has become another of Sephiroth's trademark character traits. He bears two additional wings underneath his coat in Kingdom Hearts II. In Dissidia, Sephiroth's design is similar to his Final Fantasy VII design, but his pauldrons are changed to resemble Yoshitaka Amano's artwork and his coat is closed by a belt as in Nomura's design.
Sephiroth's personality is one of cold ruthlessness. Prior to his madness, he was not particularly anti-social, as he has friends in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- and willingly tells Zack, and Tifa about Mako and Materia on Mt. Nibel. All the same, his cold exterior and professional attitude turn people away. Sephiroth is intelligent and respectful to those he deems worthy - he considers Professor Gast Faremis a great scientist, but looks down on Professor Hojo and describes him as "a walking mass of complexes". In Crisis Core, Sephiroth maintains an outwardly professional demeanor, but is loyal and friendly to a select few, and has a dry sense of humor. Sephiroth is confident to the point of arrogance, but as the strongest SOLDIER alive, it could easily be argued he has the right to be. Well-spoken and somewhat graceful, Sephiroth is universally calm, collected, and in control. He can be frustrated and caught off his guard, but this rarely happens.
Following his fall into insanity, Sephiroth retains most of the above personality traits, but becomes murderous and vengeful. He also develops something of a messiah complex, proclaiming several times he is "the chosen one", destined to lead the Planet and become a god. In Dissidia Final Fantasy, Kefka calls him "Just another sadist with a god complex. Like THAT'S anything special!". His intelligence has increased vastly following his time in the Lifestream where he absorbed the knowledge of the Ancients. At one point, Sephiroth even says he is greater than the Ancients. He has become highly cruel and enjoys in mentally torturing Cloud. In Advent Children, during one of his iconic lines, asks Cloud what he cherishes so he may simply take it from him. Sephiroth is fiercely devoted to Jenova and her cause, even though her body serves as little more than his avatar. However, it is also stated that he himself is an agent towards Jenova's will.[5]
Interestingly, in Dissidia, there was at least one hint that he may have some sadness despite his nature, as Cecil Harvey tells Sephiroth before fighting him that "there is sorrow in [Sephiroth's] wintery eyes." In addition, in both Dissidia games, when he is defeated, he remarks in a calm tone "I fall into the shadows", implying that he is accepting of defeat, or doesn't care if he is defeated or not.
In the Japanese releases, Sephiroth uses the pronoun "ore" prior to his insanity, a common masculine pronoun. Following his "death" at Nibelheim he begins to use "watashi" instead, a more formal pronoun with no attached gender. This post-madness mannerism is also used in his spin-off appearances such as Dissidia.
"I knew ever since I was a child, I was not like the others. I knew mine was a special existence. But not this kind."
—Sephiroth in Crisis Core
Sephiroth was born to Professor Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent approximately twenty-seven years before Final Fantasy VII (exact date of birth unknown[2]). Before Sephiroth's birth, Hojo and Lucrecia were working as assistants to Professor Gast, Shinra Electric Power Company's top scientist, on the Jenova Project. The project studied the remains of an extra-terrestrial entity known as Jenova, who was mistakenly thought to be one of the Cetra, an ancient people that had the power to "talk to the Planet". Hojo injected cell samples from Jenova into the pregnant Lucrecia and her unborn baby. Lucrecia carried Sephiroth to term, his fetal form merging with the Jenova cells as he developed.
After his birth, Shinra raised Sephiroth to be a super soldier, the very first SOLDIER. They told him nothing of his mother except that her name was "Jenova," and that she died during childbirth. It was implied he knew his father was the mad scientist Professor Hojo, although this seemed to earn the Professor no respect in Sephiroth's eyes. He has referred to his father as "inexperienced" and "a walking mass of complexes" — however, Sephiroth respected Professor Gast until he left Shinra under Ifalna's guidance. Sephiroth proves to be incredibly strong, gaining worldwide fame for his exploits such as his role in Shinra's victory against Wutai in 0000. President Shinra comes to rely on Sephiroth during the events of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, calling Sephiroth in whenever the situation personally threatens the President's life, like during the first AVALANCHE attack on Junon on February 30, 0001. Sephiroth engages the AVALANCHE leader, Elfé, but she blocks his strikes, impressing him. While the two are fighting, Elfé questions why Sephiroth is fighting. She asks whether he ever wants to "fight for a reason", which seems to have a profound effect on him. The results of Sephiroth choosing to fight for a reason would one day threaten the entire Planet's existence. He is later sent in on June 18, 0002, to "rescue" Professor Hojo who had almost defected with the AVALANCHE forces attacking the Shinra Headquarters.
In SOLDIER, Sephiroth has two friends, Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos. Though the three are rival SOLDIERs First Class, they see each other as close friends. When Genesis and Sephiroth duel in the virtual reality Junon, Sephiroth seems to be the strongest, but the fight ends inconclusively. Angeal stops the fight before either hurt each other too badly, although the small wound Genesis takes does not heal. Sephiroth offers his blood as a transfusion, but is told his blood is not compatible. Genesis eventually defects from Shinra, making Sephiroth uneasy about his missions against him. Just before his final mission, Sephiroth hints he may leave Shinra altogether.
In what would become his final mission, Sephiroth is ordered to inspect the Mako Reactor outside the town of Nibelheim on September 22, 0002. He enters with a small entourage, consisting of one other member of SOLDIER and a few Shinra MPs. Among this group is SOLDIER 1st Class member Zack Fair and his friend, a 16-year-old Shinra trooper named Cloud Strife. At the reactor, Sephiroth finds several pod-like chambers containing monstrous creatures, apparently former humans, mutated by exposure to Mako. Deeper inside, he finds a larger chamber labeled "JENOVA" containing a strange feminine-looking creature. When Zack suggests a connection between SOLDIER and the creatures in the tanks, Sephiroth flies into a rage. Crisis Core shows an expanded version of events at the Nibelheim Incident, and Genesis plays a large part in Sephiroth's madness. During this time, Genesis tells Sephiroth he was born from the Jenova Project, its goal to produce a "monster". Going in more depth about Jenova and the project Genesis states more facts, but Sephiroth does not understand all of what Genesis tries to tell him.
Deeply disturbed by the fact the creature had the same name as his "mother," and by the idea he might have been created in an experiment similar to the one that created the monsters in the pods, Sephiroth makes his way to the mansion that had been occupied by Shinra researchers, and begins reading the research notes in the basement library. As a result of what he learns, Sephiroth becomes enraged and psychotic. Based on the Shinra reports, he comes to believe Jenova was a Cetra, and therefore he as Jenova's "son" is the last Cetra survivor. He also believes the human race had betrayed the Cetra 2,000 years in the past, leaving them alone to defend the Planet from a calamity it had faced (eventually revealed to have been Jenova itself), and resolves to take vengeance for his "ancestors". Sephiroth during the burning of Nibelheim.
On October 1st, Sephiroth proceeds to destroy Nibelheim, setting the town on fire and killing many of the townspeople, before returning to the reactor to claim Jenova's remains. He is pursued by Tifa's father, Tifa, Zack and Cloud. At the reactor, Tifa takes up Sephiroth's Masamune from her father's corpse and attacks him, but he disarms her and cuts her down. Shortly after entering Jenova's chamber, Zack arrives and attacks him. In Final Fantasy VII Zack is easily defeated, but Crisis Core alters this into a full battle where Zack fights Sephiroth in a fair fight. Either way, Zack is defeated and tossed out of the chamber. Cloud enters the reactor and picks up Zack's Buster Sword, rushing after Sephiroth. Caught off-guard, Sephiroth is impaled from behind through the abdomen and collapses.
Due to Sephiroth's enhanced anatomy he survives Cloud's assault, though wounded greatly. As Cloud leaves him to tend to Tifa, Sephiroth slices off Jenova's head and stumbles from the room. Cloud attacks him again, but Sephiroth stabs him with the Masamune. Cloud summons unknown strength and uses the sword as a lever, hurling Sephiroth into a pool of Mako below the reactor. Sephiroth vanishes with Jenova's head still in his grasp, apparently falling to his death. Following the Nibelheim Incident Shinra seals the records on Sephiroth and declares him killed in action, and rebuilds Nibelheim in order to cover the incident up, populating it with Shinra employees paid to act as the town's citizens.
In actuality Sephiroth fell into the Lifestream, his willpower too great to allow himself to be consumed. Over the next several years Sephiroth travels the Lifestream, increasing in power and knowledge, and eventually the fragments of his body congregate at the Northern Crater, joining to recreate Sephiroth's physical form in a cocoon of Mako. His powers and desires enhanced, Sephiroth's goal now is to merge with the Lifestream and seize control of it to become a god. Though his physical body is encased in Mako, Sephiroth is now able to control Jenova's cells as an extension of his body and thus act on his plans through her. Hojo meanwhile injects Zack, Cloud and the survivors of Nibelheim (save for Tifa who was rescued by Zangan before Shinra found her) with Sephiroth's cells, turning them into Sephiroth Clones. Hojo believed the Jenova cells inside Sephiroth would call for a "reunion" of those who shared her cells, and wished to see his theory put to the test.
Approximately five years after his supposed death, in December 0007, Sephiroth enacts his plan and puts out the call for the reunion to call the Sephiroth Clones to come to the Northern Crater. Jenova's remains, which had been moved to Shinra Headquarters in Midgar, shapeshift into Sephiroth's form and break out of containment. Jenova/Sephiroth releases Cloud and the members of AVALANCHE, who were being held prisoner, and kills President Shinra after declaring Shinra should never acquire the Promised Land. Cloud, seeing Sephiroth's Masamune left at the scene of President Shinra's death, suspects Sephiroth may be alive, and sets out with AVALANCHE to find him and settle the score for what happened to Nibelheim. Sephiroth's true body hibernating in the Whirlwind Maze.
The party first sees Sephiroth on the Cargo Ship, where he alludes to the Jenova Reunion. He also appears some time later in Nibelheim, where he again mentions the Reunion. At the Temple of the Ancients Sephiroth reveals the full extent of his plans - the Planet relies on the Lifestream to heal itself when wounded, and the Northern Crater where the Lifestream is abundant is where Jenova fell two thousand years ago. Using the Black Materia, Sephiroth plans to call the Ultimate Destructive Magic - Meteor. The impact caused by Meteor will heavily injure the Planet, and Sephiroth will place himself at the center of its impact zone as the Lifestream emerges to heal the Planet's wound. Thus Sephiroth will merge with the Lifestream, becoming a god ruling over the Planet.
Cloud succeeds in acquiring the Black Materia, but Sephiroth exerts his influence over Jenova's cells and takes control of Cloud, who hands the Materia over to Jenova. At this time, Aeris Gainsborough, the true last survivor of the Cetra, tries to use the White Materia to summon Holy, the only power able to counter Meteor. During her attempt to call forth the Ultimate White Magic, Sephiroth (or rather, Jenova transformed into his image) impales her with his sword, killing her. Though Aeris had successfully called Holy, Sephiroth holds it back within the Planet with his will as augmented by Jenova's power. Cloud and his allies continue tracking Sephiroth to the Northern Crater.
At the crater, Cloud kills Jenova in Sephiroth's form and reclaims the Black Materia, this time giving it to a party member to keep it safe. Cloud and Tifa continue deeper into the crater and find an illusion of Nibelheim's destruction, showing a man with black hair in Cloud's place. Sephiroth tells Cloud he was never at Nibelheim and is not even real, being nothing more than a cluster of Jenova cells who had taken on the memories of a boy named "Cloud." Sephiroth's manipulations and lies take their toll, and shatter Cloud's fragile mind. Meanwhile, Sephiroth projects an illusion to the party members left behind of Tifa asking them to come to Cloud and her aid, and the member entrusted with the Black Materia follows them. Cloud takes back the Black Materia and Sephiroth reveals his true body. Cloud delivers the Black Materia to Sephiroth, who uses it to summon the Meteor. The crater collapses, and Cloud's allies are forced to flee with Rufus Shinra. The Planet unleashes the Weapons from their sleep and Sephiroth erects an energy barrier over the crater to keep them from detecting him.
With the Weapons wreaking havoc and keeping his enemies from rallying against him, Sephiroth begins shapeshifting his body into a form befitting a god, awaiting Meteor's arrival. Cloud eventually recovers and the party receives unlikely assistance from Shinra. In later January 0008, they fire the Mako cannon, known as the Sister Ray, at the Northern Crater, piercing Sephiroth's barrier and allowing Cloud and his allies to enter the crater and find Sephiroth.
Descending into the crater, they eventually find Sephiroth at the Planet's core, blocking Holy. After they dispatch Sephiroth's larva-like Bizarro∙Sephiroth form, Sephiroth emerges from it, his true body transformed into Safer∙Sephiroth, a god-like being with seven wings and great power. Cloud and his allies destroy Sephiroth, but his mind endures as Cloud and his allies begin to escape the crater. Pulling Cloud into the Lifestream for a final battle, Sephiroth assaults Cloud mentally and again attempts to take control of his mind, but Cloud's mental defenses have grown, and he defeats Sephiroth. Battered and bloody, Sephiroth dissolves into the Lifestream, seemingly destroyed forever.
Sephiroth is mentioned frequently in Hoshi wo Meguru Otome, as Aerith observes the effects Sephiroth's actions are having on the Lifestream and the Planet.
Sephiroth is also the focus of the On the Way to a Smile novella "Case of the Lifestream - Black". Here, Sephiroth uses the Lifestream's emergence to fight Meteor to infect the Planet with Geostigma, dispersing his memories among the Lifestream to spread the disease. He eventually uses memories from the Lifestream of others to craft his avatars in his own image and sends them to find Jenova so he can reclaim a true body. As Sephiroth is faced with dissolution into the Lifestream, he manages to avoid this by focusing on his hatred of Cloud, which allows him to maintain a core sense of being and remain separate from the other spirits.
During the events of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in 0009, Sephiroth is still dead but remains an active force terrorizing the Planet. Geostigma has spread throughout the world, afflicting many with extreme fatigue and open skin sores. The plague is revealed to be caused by Jenova's remaining consciousness in the Lifestream, and primarily affects children due to their weaker immune systems. The disease has also affected Cloud, who experiences visions of Sephiroth numerous times during the film.
The now-reclusive Cloud finds himself confronted by a trio of silver-haired men who are physical manifestations of Sephiroth's will. The three, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo, believe they are guided by their "mother" Jenova, but rather it is Sephiroth himself who forces their actions. The three seek Jenova's cells in order to be reunited with her, unaware of Sephiroth's ultimate plan to recreate a true body for himself using Jenova's last remnants. In the film's climax Kadaj absorbs Jenova's cells, and Sephiroth exerts his power over Jenova to shapeshift Kadaj's body into his own visage, restoring him to life once again. Sephiroth faces Cloud and reveals his new plan - to taint the Lifestream with those dead of Geostigma to the point he is able to control it, and use the Planet as a vessel to travel space and find a new Planet for him to rule.
Sephiroth and Cloud fight in the ruins of Midgar, and Sephiroth eventually gains the upper hand. Taunting Cloud before dealing the final blow, Cloud is reinvigorated by memories of his friends and family and destroys Sephiroth with Omnislash, utilizing his Fusion Swords to assault him from all directions. Weakened, Sephiroth's final words are "I will...never be a memory." His black wing folds around him and fades away in a flurry of dark feathers, leaving a weakened Kadaj to die and fade into the Lifestream as Aerith calls healing rain to cure the Planet of Geostigma. Chronologically Advent Children is Sephiroth's final appearance in the Final Fantasy VII timeline, and his current status is unknown, though it is likely given his past tenacity he continues to exist within the Lifestream.
According the Ultimania Omega, Sephiroth's relationship with Aerith was changed numerous times during production. At some phases they were to be lovers, in others siblings before their relationship was finalized in the final script.
In a deleted plot point, Sephiroth was to have created the "Cloud" the player controls during the game out of his emotions and will when he was defeated during the Nibelheim Incident. The being was but a phantom of the real Cloud, and Sephiroth would be able to take complete control over it and talk through its mouth. Sephiroth's will was also to be used to create an army of monsters that would be born out of crystallized Mako. In another deleted point, when Sephiroth's true body is first seen in the Northern Crater, it would have the contours of a female.
According to Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega[6], in the early story drafts Sephiroth was planned as a man whose "Jenova" element was artificially awoken using the power of Mako energy. His base personality was to be extremely brutal and cruel, with a strong interest in destruction and slaughter. He was also to possess a powerful will and ego, calm judgment, and a sharp mind. In the original story drafts Sephiroth would succumb to Mako addiction and suffer withdrawal symptoms and while a normal person would have been crippled, Sephiroth was a unique exception: only his madness would be amplified while he would manage to retain his composure.
In The Reunion Files for Advent Children, Nojima has stated that Sephiroth's only true goal in the film is take revenge on Cloud, who he saw as a Shinra Army rookie. His revival had been decided to occur early on in the project, but not the exact reasons or means of how he would be revived, and these details were decided at later dates. Sephiroth's dialogue was also made to sound profound, as "he thinks on a level higher than humans," and his hair and eyes were exceptionally difficult to animate. His hair was animated by hand to make sure it looked as real as possible, and he was given an otherworldly appearance with, as co-director Takeshi Nozue stated, "an attractive nose and thin lips. It's a face you'd never see in real life". Various minor details were made to emphasize Sephiroth's other-worldly character - he was never made to blink, almost never grunted or breathed, and even in the heat of battle kept his voice calm and controlled. Nomura said that when creating Sephiroth, his appearance was set, but he had trouble deciding what kind of voice he should have - once Toshiyuki Morikawa auditioned, Nomura knew he was exactly what he wanted. Morikawa noted that, with Sephiroth's on-screen presence, he knew his final lines had to be done properly, and with input from the director, gave Sephiroth's iconic final words a sense that "he's not done yet."
"Sephiroth's strength is unreal. He is far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard about him."
—Cloud Strife to his party
Even after appearing in so many titles, Sephiroth's true power is unknown. It's stated in the official book Reunion Files that the Sephiroth seen in Advent Children has "ascended to a new level of existence" and is much stronger than before. Though he was defeated, Sephiroth never used the full extent of his powers in the final fight against Cloud, and because of that, his true potential is still unknown. Advent Children producer Yoshinori Kitase has said, "Sephiroth's existence and will is extremely powerful. There is nothing stronger, nothing above him."
Sephiroth is a master swordsman and has superhuman strength, agility and reflexes. He is able to produce beams of energy by swinging his sword, dash past or up to opponents in the blink of an eye and can effortlessly cut through solid metal and concrete with his signature weapon, the Masamune. He has great magical abilities, and is equipped with a full set of Mastered Materia in Final Fantasy VII. In Crisis Core he is able to teleport, the only Final Fantasy game where he can do this, but he also has this ability in the Kingdom Hearts series. Zack Fair, Genesis Rhapsodos, Elfé, Lightning and the Warrior of Light have been able to battle Sephiroth competently, but of these five, only the Warrior of Light has actually defeated him at his full potential, causing Sephiroth to flee - he eventually overpowers Zack, Genesis and Elfé, and it is implied that he was holding back when he faced Lightning. Only Cloud has shown the consistent ability to best Sephiroth in battle across his various appearances.
Following his immersion in the Lifestream, Sephiroth gains the ability use magic without the need for Materia, and can manifest the Masamune from the Lifestream by willing it to appear. Having taken over Jenova, he is able to shapeshift her cells into his visage and other forms. This allows Sephiroth to remain "alive" in a sense even when dead by morphing Jenova's cells into a new body for himself to act through from within the Lifestream, but his ability to do this seems limited. Sephiroth also has a measure of psychic abilities, the ability to read minds, project illusions and levitate objects and people. As an extension of his control over Jenova, Sephiroth is able to control the "negative Lifestream" composed of those killed by Geostigma, as shown in Advent Children. In Advent Children, Sephiroth has the ability to fly, and in his EX Mode in Dissidia, has the ability to glide using his wing.
Sephiroth's trademark attack is Supernova, his ultimate attack when faced as Safer∙Sephiroth. Crisis Core and Dissidia present Supernova as his Limit Break. Sephiroth's other trademark attacks are Heartless Angel, a move that drains the opponent's HP to a single point, Octaslash, a sequence of eight sword attacks, and Shadow Flare, a barrage of dark energy orbs. In Kingdom Hearts and Dissidia, he is also able to use Meteor.
Sephiroth is a temporary party member in Cloud's flashback in Final Fantasy VII. He cannot take damage, acts of his own accord in battle, and his equipment cannot be removed. Sephiroth has no Limit Break and cannot charge his limit meter: if the player uses cheats to boost Sephiroth's limit meter, it will never fully charge. His Materia are all mastered. His equipment and Materia are as follows:
Sephiroth is fought in Final Fantasy VII in the Lifestream as the game's final boss. He fights a one-on-one duel with Cloud, but it is impossible to lose the battle. Before the final cinematic confrontation the player battles against his "pupa" form, Bizarro∙Sephiroth, and his "god" form, Safer∙Sephiroth. Sephiroth is fought as a boss in Crisis Core twice and can be challenged again in Missions. Experiment No. 124 is a facsimile of Sephiroth that serves as the final opponent in the "Hojo's Laboratory" series of Missions.
Sephiroth is named for the סְפִירוֹת Səphīrōth (medieval Hebrew form of Sephirot). Sephiroth is a plural noun in Hebrew; the singular is Sephirah (also spelled Sefira). The Sephiroth are described in the Kabbalah as the manifestations of God that allow Him to manifest in the physical and metaphysical universes, referring to Sephiroth's simultaneous existence in the Lifestream and the Planet, and his manifestations through Jenova.
Sephiroth also means "counting" (of numbers), which can be attributed to the Sephiroth Clones. Sephiroth's penultimate form, Bizarro∙Sephiroth, is a mistranslation, and "Rebirth Sephiroth" would be much more apt.
It is often believed the name Safer∙Sephiroth is a mistranslation, similar to how Helletic Hojo should have been translated as "Heretic Hojo." A common rumor is that "Safer" is a misspelling of "Seraph" (שרף) due to Safer∙Sephiroth's angelic appearance. A Seraph (plural "Seraphim", שְׂרָפִים) is described in the Hebrew Bible as being a humanoid angel with six wings:
"Above Him stood the Seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew."
Safer∙Sephiroth could easily be seen as a Seraph, with a seventh wing in place of his arm. However, the origin of the name Safer∙Sephiroth is Hebrew; the boss's name as written in Japanese is "セーファ・セフィロス," or "Sēfa Sefirosu"; note that "safer" can also be transliterated as "sefer," "sapher," and "sepher." "Sepher" (סֶפֶר) is Hebrew for "book;" thus, Safer Sephiroth (Sefer Sfirot) literally translates to "Book of Numerations." However, it more likely refers to the 10 Kabbalistic Sefirot, the ten aspects of creation according to Jewish Mysticism.
Sephiroth is the focus of three pieces of theme music written by the series composer Nobuo Uematsu. His official theme in Final Fantasy VII is "Those Chosen by the Planet", a piece utilizing bells, low drums, and a deep chorus, which accompanies Sephiroth's appearances throughout the game. "Birth of a God" accompanies the battle against Bizarro∙Sephiroth, the first of Sephiroth's final two forms.
The most noteworthy piece (and a lingering fan favorite) is the one that plays during the confrontation with Safer∙Sephiroth, "One-Winged Angel". In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, a slightly altered version called "Enemy to the World" is played, and another version called "Advent: One-Winged Angel" is played during the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. "One-Winged Angel's" showing in every game in which Sephiroth appears has made it become more widely recognized as Sephiroth's theme song, as opposed to "Those Chosen by the Planet".
A 2D sprite of Sephiroth, modeled after Final Fantasy V style sprites, occasionally appears in the loading section of the Anthology port of Final Fantasy V.
Chaos has summoned a combined force of Final Fantasy's ultimate villains in an attempt to gain control of a number of Crystals, resulting in total control of the Final Fantasy worlds. Sephiroth is one of these villains and stands as the villain representing Final Fantasy VII, opposing Cloud Strife.
Sephiroth stands apart from the other villains, acting to manipulate and trick Cloud on his own. Though the other villains do not understand why, Sephiroth had killed himself in a previous cycle of the war. As a result, during the game Sephiroth begins to remember things the others have forgotten, eventually believing he has found the secret to ultimate power and knowledge beyond their scope. Alongside his manipulations of Cloud, Sephiroth aspires to attain this power for himself and survive the destruction of Cosmos and Chaos to become a god. He is ultimately defeated by Cloud, and fades away, although not before telling Cloud he will return as long as Cloud "remains the way he is".
His alternate form is his shirtless appearance from the end of Final Fantasy VII.
Sephiroth reappears as a Warrior of Chaos in the prequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy alongside all the other characters from the original. His new alternate appearance consists of his original appearance from Final Fantasy VII.
There are a few trading cards depicting Sephiroth in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. One card displays the infamous scene of Sephiroth standing before the burning Nibelheim. Another shows his Dissidia artwork. A third card uses Sephiroth's Manikin in Dissidia, the Imaginary Champion.
Sephiroth appears in the Kingdom Hearts series as an optional boss and Cloud's archrival. It is implied this incarnation of Sephiroth is the physical embodiment of Cloud's dark memories, and as such cannot be permanently killed, as he implies Cloud has beaten him at least once beforehand only for him to return. Sephiroth attacks with sword combos, pillars of fire, meteors, and orbs of dark energy, and is commonly considered among the harder bosses of the series.
In the original Kingdom Hearts, Sephiroth appears to challenge Sora in the Colosseum, and after their fight Cloud appears and the two do battle. In Kingdom Hearts II, Sephiroth appears during the siege on Hollow Bastion, and later can be found on a cliff face after killing the MCP. Sephiroth is intrigued by Sora's Keyblade, and challenges him to test its powers. Afterwards, Sephiroth simply shrugs off the defeat, and implies Cloud is the only one who stands any chance at defeating him. He orders Sora to tell Cloud where to find him, leading to a second confrontation between the two. Both of their battles end with the two of them vanishing in flashes of light to places unknown. After defeating Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, the player is given the One-Winged Angel Keyblade, modeled after the Masamune.
In the original Kingdom Hearts, Sephiroth is voiced by Lance Bass, a former member of the 1990s pop music boy band 'N Sync. As he was not added until the Western release, he has no Japanese voice actor for the first game: the Final Mix release of the game uses the English voices, and so Lance Bass's voice is used. In Kingdom Hearts II, Sephiroth's Japanese voice is provided by Toshiyuki Morikawa, while George Newbern (who previously acheived fame as a voice actor by voicing the comic book character Superman in the DC Animated Universe) voices him in the English release, both of which have voiced Sephiroth in most of his appearances since then.
Sephiroth appears as a playable character in Itadaki Street Special along with Cloud, Aerith and Tifa from Final Fantasy VII. He also appears as a character in Itadaki Street Portable.
Sephiroth appears together with some other Final Fantasy VII characters in Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring. Sephiroth is controllable both in his normal appearance and the shirtless version Cloud confronts alone at the end of Final Fantasy VII. He fights mostly with his fists, but can also do sword-draw attacks and various combos with the Masamune, as well as use a variation of Meteorain.
A Sephiroth costume was to be sold as downloadable content for the character Sackboy in the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet, but was never released.
On July 4th, 2011, the Sephiroth costume, along with costumes of Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Vincent, was announced to be released on July 13th 2011 for LittleBigPlanet 2.
Sackboy's unreleased Sephiroth costume for LittleBigPlanet.
The Sephiroth costume as it appears in a LittleBigPlanet 2 advertisement.
Many models and action figures of Sephiroth have been released. Play Arts has released figures of Sephiroth as he normally appears, as well as Safer∙Sephiroth and Sephiroth's appearance in Kingdom Hearts. Among these figures are Sephiroth himself, Sephiroth standing atop Meteor, and a figure featuring Sephiroth in the Shinra Building ruins based on his battle with Cloud in Advent Children - a partner figure to this one features Cloud in a similar environment. Other Sephiroth-related items include pendants and rings with the theme of his single wing and/or the Black Materia, cold cast statues and even a fragrance.
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