Aerith Overrated?

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I don't find Aerith at all overrated. She actually seems to me as one of the more unpopular main characters of the series. I found her character pretty likeable, but some fans tend to twist her character into a Mary-Sue because of her somewhat angelic "aura".
 
They say she's a "damsel in distress" but quite frankly I don't ever once see her begging for help. She only asks Cloud to be her bodyguard because she was in danger. Tbh, I think Tifa was more of the damsel because she was always being asked to be saved.... But Aerith? Hell, that girl went to face Sephy alone! She knew she had to, she didnt ask Cloud to go do it for her!
 
More like Tifa WANTED to be a damsel in distress, if anything lol. She's a tough girl. I'm pretty sure both girls were perfectly capable taking care of themselves, but who wouldn't wanted to be saved by a big, strong guy, amirite? :P They're both just raging romantics. Tifa and Aeris are alot more alike than some people may think :monster:

Angelic Shinigami said:
I found her character pretty likeable, but some fans tend to twist her character into a Mary-Sue because of her somewhat angelic "aura".
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IAWTC

Edit: I read through the topic and I'll try to adress some of the contention.

NO, Aeris' death was not needed to summon Holy. that would just make no sense, as why would Sephiroth kill her if the summon required the summoner to die? Anyways, it is irrelevant because in the end Holy was too late - Sephiroth was the one who was blocking the magic. One Sephiroth is defeated, Holy is released.

However, whether or not her death was needed to control the Lifestream into fighting Meteor is debatable. This is the power Ancients posess. I'm not too clear if they are required to be a part of the Lifestream to actually implement this power, however. Of someone could clear that up, it would be greatly appreciated :) She does keep guard over the planet in the Lifestream.

I'll just post some stuff from the 10th Anniversary Ultimania regarding the matter:

" FFVII - The Forgotten Capital
She sent her prayer for Holy to the Planet, and immediately afterwards lost her life at the hands of Sephiroth."

" FFVII
She used a portion of the Lifestream to stop Meteor’s descent."
 
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I personally have to agree with Aerith being over-rated...

My opinions stems from the fan's apparently constant referrence to her death thanks to Sephiroth. It seems to me most of the fans liked her more because of her death.. Sure, i find her personality great, cute, innocent.

But to the question 'Is Aerith Overrated?', I'll probably say yes..
 
Going back to the first page, Kuhn, you said that Aerith could have controlled the Lifestream without dying, like Sephiroth... but that is incorrect. One, you only meet the real sephiroth at the end of the game, and I'm not actually sure it's him there either. It's clones and/or Jenova for the entire rest of the game.

Remember when Cloud got stuck in the Lifestream? How messed up he was because of it? Now imagine drawing all of that power into yourself, as much as you possibly can. If Aerith had gone that route, she would have sacrificed herself in a different way.

Also, I'm beginning to wonder if Holy required her to die.. so that she may control the Lifestream after her death. Everyone has always thought that Holy didn't work (because the members of the party, who didn't know any better, thought so) but it could just be that she didn't realize what she needed to do until that last moment just before Meteor hit.
 
I don't think Aerith is overrated at all, Sephiorth's the one that's overrated.
Don't get me wrong here, Aerith is my favourite character but I do dislike it when some of the hardcore Aerith fans make her out to be some perfect angelic being.
Which she isn't, Aerith has flaws just like the rest of the cast in VII.
 
Jesus Christ with Cornrows... I just made this thread the other day. 5 pages already... Amazingly it still seems to be somewhat on topic too...

Anyhow, there have been some interesting points in this thread. I don't think Aeris is overrated though. She is truly loved by some fans (usually female) and sometimes to an almost freaky level... but that doesn't mean she's overrated. She plays an incredibly important roll in the game and I don't think people's appreciation of her is a overestimate.

As for the stupid comment, I do agree a little actually. Not because she wasn't "smart enough to move" but she ran off alone and got killed. I remember Cloud waking up in Gonzaga and being informed that Aeris ran off. My first thought was that it was a stupid move on her part. Granted I was genunely concerned for her... but I also thought it was a particularly stupid move.
 
Relient A said:
Going back to the first page, Kuhn, you said that Aerith could have controlled the Lifestream without dying, like Sephiroth... but that is incorrect. One, you only meet the real sephiroth at the end of the game, and I'm not actually sure it's him there either. It's clones and/or Jenova for the entire rest of the game.

Remember when Cloud got stuck in the Lifestream? How messed up he was because of it? Now imagine drawing all of that power into yourself, as much as you possibly can. If Aerith had gone that route, she would have sacrificed herself in a different way.
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Aeris is an Ancient, so she could communicate with the Lifestream without being part of it like Cloud or Seph were. That question is that if she were alive, could she have controlled it as she had while dead?

Relient A said:
Also, I'm beginning to wonder if Holy required her to die.. so that she may control the Lifestream after her death. Everyone has always thought that Holy didn't work (because the members of the party, who didn't know any better, thought so) but it could just be that she didn't realize what she needed to do until that last moment just before Meteor hit.
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In order to summon Holy, no she did not have to die to use the magic. Holy was summoned befoe Aeris died, but Sephiroth was blocking it from working. Once Sephiroth was destroyed, Holy was released. But by this time it was too late to work properly, as Meteor was already almost colliding with the planet.

Aztec Triogal said:
As for the stupid comment, I do agree a little actually. Not because she wasn't "smart enough to move" but she ran off alone and got killed. I remember Cloud waking up in Gonzaga and being informed that Aeris ran off. My first thought was that it was a stupid move on her part. Granted I was genunely concerned for her... but I also thought it was a particularly stupid move.
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I sort of agree. Somehow the word "stupid" doesn't sit right with me, but yes it wasn't a very smart move on her part. This brash characteristic she has was apparent the very moment we met her in the slums. Tragic characters are not tragic without their tragic flaw. Aeris wasn't a perfect little angel, and should not be treated as such... but because her own brashness was one of th reasons she died, it doesn't make her have less of an impact. In fact, it makes it even more sad. Who can relate when a perfect, unbelievable person dies? Death strikes harder when you realize it happens to someone more real and relatable.

Thus, I reiterate from my first post...
Aeris' death =/= sacraficial, messianistic (that would be Yuna in FFX, actually)
Aeris death = loss of hope for humanity
 
Is Aerith overrated? Yeah, probably. What FF7 character isn't though (unless you're talking about Cait Sith or something)? That's not to say she isn't quite worthy of much of her popularity, but rather that in a game so overexposed, even the best of characters probably get too much mainstream attention. I totally adore the character, I think she's great, but yes, she, like most of FF7's cast, is overrated.
 
I don't think you can call a character overrated if she contributed to Sephiroth's defeat. If she hadn't dummoned Holy, even though she didn't finish it, it would have been a lot harder, even impossible for Sephiroth to be beaten.
 
I don't think Aerith is overrated...I admit that Aerith has many fans because of her tragic death and her personality but i don't think she is overrated...At last she is one of the main Characters too even if she dies and you can't say someone that saves the planet overrated...
 
I really don't wanna call it over-rated. She's loved; plain 'n' simple.

She wasn't able to complete the whole game as a Playable Character, but she still played almost the biggest role in the end by using Holy to halt Meteor.

Sure a lot of people focus on her, her supposed love life, her sacrifice or whatever you wanna call it, but in the end she was a loved character in a video game that boosted a gaming franchise, and even a gaming genre (RPG's) overall.
 
Overrated?
I never though of Aerith that way. Her death was meant to last through the entire game seeing how in such a short time she became so special to everyone around her. She was nice, sweet and surely had best intentions at heart for everyone.
I have read in the previous posts that she didn't have to die in order to put Holy into action, true; but I think that the fact that she was killed and even then she was able to put Holy into play and save the Planet proves that she is stronger then she looks. I like to think that she lives in the Lifestream now looking over the Planet; that's what makes more sense to me.
In end, wonderful character she was. =)

~Tifa~
 
There is a huge flaw in claiming that Holy was summoned before she died... in that you never even see it until AFTER there is an 8 foot sword sticking out of her chest. So if theories are going to be made based on assumptions, the truth cannot ever be known.
 
Relient, her death was not required for Holy. Her use of it and her death at Sephy's hands are listed as two separate actions in her timeline in FF7 10th Ani Ulti and her death is listed as a simple murder not a sacrifice in various places.

As for Aerith overrated- yes. In battle. Her limits are largely useless for the time they are available, especially her 4th level limit, and its hypothetical usefulness would be pointless.

Storywise, no, as she performed a worthwhile role in the story both before and after her death, though a number of her more ardent fans definitely overrate her.
 
Reliant A said:
There is a huge flaw in claiming that Holy was summoned before she died... in that you never even see it until AFTER there is an 8 foot sword sticking out of her chest. So if theories are going to be made based on assumptions, the truth cannot ever be known.
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Then why would Sephiroth be the one to "sacrafice" her if he was trying to stop Holy? It does not make sense that Holy would need a sacrafice. Also, because you see Holy after she dies is also highly assuming that Aeris was a sacrafice. There is nothing to suggest Holy needed a sacrafice. Assuming she was a sacrafice defies logical sense.

Also, the truth is known. It states clearly in the Ultimania (a book that explains the events of the Compilation) that Aeris manages to summon Holy, then dies immediately after. Goes to Ancient Captial, summons Holy, dies. Completely separate events that do not reuqire one for the other to happen.
 
Well it's kind of pointless to speculate now, considering the Ultimania, which is official to the game itself, explains that these are all three separate events. Aerith summoned Holy before she died. It's plain and simple and right there in front of your face.
 
The problem with that is though, not many of us have read it or have access to it. Sure you can probably find translations of it on the 'net, but for those who have just played the game, and the game only, it's not fair to smack them with the Ultimania just because they haven't read it.

What's a link anyway to access the Ultimania?
 
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