Maiden who Travels the Planet

[Quexinos]

Hey I don't post much here so I hope this is alright, I just am looking for opinions.

So how many of you have read this? This novella by Benny Matsuyama was released with the Ultimania Omega. It focuses on what happened to Aerith after she was killed and how she got the lifestream going to stop meteor and everything. Personally, I love it. I think it's one of the best FFVII novella's written. If you haven't read it, here you go:

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Web Novel - Hoshi wo Meguru Otome - The Maiden who Travels the Planet

What is everyone's thoughts on it? This novella tends to get looked over a lot and I personally hate that. I've even heard people argue it's not canon... nothing else that Benny wrote for Square has ever been questioned so I fail to see why this is.. I mean I know people say it's never mentioned again but... was the other stuff mentioned? . There's no contradictions in it or anything. I'm curious, do you guys here think it's canon? Do you like the story?

Let's discuss

 

[Baron Van Wolfen]

Meh i thought the case of the lifestream - White is almost the same thing and did a better job with the inconsistancies(well it was written by nomura, it also contradicts maiden on some points).

I still think maiden is non-canon for various reasons but ill keep those to myself.

About maiden, it's good i suppose. A nice read but it edges into aerith fanboyism a little too much for me. If you like aerith definitely read it as you will enjoy it.

 

[The Witch]

Of course it's canon. SE has never said otherwise. It's a beautifully written story of a great character and her journey even after death. All mushy romance aside, the story is just very interesting. The detail they put into Aerith's character adds so much to who she is and we couldn't have gotten it from the game.

Personally, I think it's amazing that SE showed us another point of view, like being in the Lifestream. That was the coolest thing SE could have done.

 

[Quexinos]

Nothing Square has ever written or released contradicts anything in Maiden. It's a myth that it's contradicted.

 

[The Witch]

Really xO Mind posting how, Q?

 

[Quexinos]

You saw it already but okay I'll post again. Here's my TL DR didn't post about Maiden

Maiden of the Canon
By Quexinos. "Contradictions" list by TresDias aka Squall of Seed

Over the years Square Enix has released many materials including anime, Ultimanias, and novellas to coincide with the Final Fantasy VII Compilation. In September 2005, a large official guidebook called Final Fantasy VII Ultimana Omega came to surface. Though the book is considered official pretty much unanimously, the questionable material seems to come at the end. Included in this book is a novella written by Benny Matsuyama entitled Hoshi wo Meguru Otome (星を巡る乙女), known by English fans as "Maiden of the Planet" (though a more accurate translation would be "Maiden Who Travels the Planet.") Despite the fact that the novella is published inside an official book, several people have claimed that the novella itself is "unofficial" or not to be taken as canon. There are a few reasons as to why some fans think this, but are those reasons actually enough for the average fan to come to the conclusion that Square Enix released nothing more than a piece of fanfiction in their Official Guidebook, without so much as a hint of the story being non official? Let's take a look at some of these reasons and hopefully put to bed one of the oldest and oddest myths of the FFVII Compilation.

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Reason #1. Maiden of the Planet is non canon due to the fact that it's not listed as an official entry of the Compilation.

Before I begin this argument, I must explain the difference between "canon" and "Part of the Compilation." Part of the Compilation is an official entry of the Compilation such as OTWTAS and the games themselves. These are always considered canon. However, canon does not always mean part of the Compilation. Ultimanias are canon, but they are not an official entry in the Compilation. The same goes for interviews. They are not in the Compilation, but the information in them is considered canon. Basically, anything that's part of the Compilation is always canon, but on the contrary things that are canon are not always part of the compilation.

While it's true that Maiden of the Planet is never listed as being part of the Compilation, this does not necessarily mean that it isn't canon. For example, let's take FFVII Kaitai Shinsho or FFVII Dismantled to English speaking fans. It is an official strategy guide by Square Enix that was released in 1997 with official interviews, information on the game, materia, enemies and weapons, and even monologues by the characters. This was also written largely in part by Benny Matsuyama. It's pretty much like an Ultimania. Dismantled and the Ultimanias are never listed as part of the Compilation, but they do, in fact, contain official and correct information that Square approves and publishes in many books. So their validity should not be questioned. For the same reasons, Maiden's validly should also not be questioned. The information in the novella is accurate and coincides nicely with the actual FFVII Game (though some try to claim otherwise but I'll get to that later). Even if the story itself is not "part of the Compilation" this does not mean the story itself is unofficial or not canon.

Conclusion on Reason 1: Things that are not listed as part of the Compilation does not exclude them from being canon or official. This should not be used as a reason for Maiden not being official.

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Reason #2. Maiden of the Planet has been contradicted time and time again by the Compilation and other official materials. Square has clearly overwritten it and even if it was canon at one point, it no longer is.

This argument always makes me tilt my head in confusion because the Compilation itself has contradicted itself so many times, it's hard to keep track. Official books and Ultimanias outside the Compilation have also contradicted one another. How anyone can say something or another isn't canon because of contradictions seems really strange to me, but just to humor these people, below is a list of what certain people claim are "contradictions." I would like to give a very very special thanks to Tres Dias who sent me a list of these contradictions and even took it one step further to say whether or not these were contradictions against the original game, or against other parts of the Compilation.

*Contradiction claim #1: Maiden says that "the entire planet's consciousness was awakened," while her 10th Anniversary Ultimania profile says she used only a "portion" of the Lifestream to stop Meteor.

While at first glance this does seem like a contradiction, no where in Maiden did it say how much of the Lifestream was used to stop Meteor. Yes the entire planet's consciousness was awakened, and everyone was helping, but just because she had the entire Lifestream at her disposal doesn't mean she used all of it. Also the video at the end of the game shows parts of the Lifestream still spreading off the horizion which would mean much of the Lifestream was not actually near Meteor.

Conclusion on contradiction claim #1: These two ideas are not mutually exclusive. This is not a contradiction with the original game or with the wider compilation.

*Contradiction claim #2: In Maiden, Aerith meets up with Hojo's Spirit, but in Dirge of Cerberus, it is revealed that Hojo's spirit was uploaded into the World Wide Network.

Again, yes this does seem like contradiction at first, but the problem with this one is the information isn't accurate. Hojo did not upload his actual spirit into the Worldwide Network, but digital copies of his mind. Lucrecia refereed to her own fragments as a mind copy, as she states in DoC:

Jenova's cells... Vincent... Stored as data... Must leave... Thought... I loved... Record.. Memory copy... For him... It was wrong... Wait... Disperse... ...so sorry... Apply... ...but I... For... Fragment... Survive... Hope... who...? - Lucrecia, Dirge of Cerberus

These fragments are shown interacting with Vincent and Shelke despite the fact that the real Lucrecia is shown to be alive and behind a waterfall, encased in crystal. So these fragments are simply a copy of one's original mind, not their actual spirit. It is also revealed that Hojo began to extract his fragments before Avalanche actually fought him. The opening to DoC shows Vincent finding Hojo now laying motionless in front of the cannon's computer terminal, of which one of the screens says "start fragment program." In other words, the copy fought in DC was created before Hojo even battled AVALANCHE (there sure wasn't any lab equipment on top of the Sister Ray for scanning and recording one's mind), and distributed into the worldwide network immediately before he died. The copy is simply that, a copy. Not the original Hojo. Hojo's spirit is in the Lifestream and his copy is in the Worldwide Network

Second, while in the official English version of DC, Hojo's copy says, "Three years ago, while I was still running about looking for Sephiroth, I took it upon myself to distribute my data-- my mind, my knowledge, my inner being, across the worldwide network," the Japanese text from that scene says something different:

"Into the Worldwide Network, I scattered my fragments ...... my mind ....... data of my thoughts and knowledge." Here, the copy specifically refers to itself as fragments -- which we know, thanks to Lucrecia, to be data that is a copy of someone's mind. Hojo's copy further explains that fragments -- and, therefore, itself -- are "data of my thoughts and knowledge."

As explained in DC, these fragments were left behind as a failsafe in the event that something untoward should happen to Hojo after injecting himself with JENOVA's cells during the original game:

I attempted to perfect my body for Omega by injecting myself with Jenova's cells. However, that didn't go as I had planned.

I failed to consider the fact that the cells might try to take over my mind and eat away at my soul.

And so, as a safety measure, I came up with a brilliant plan to transmit my neurodata across the worldwide network. - Hojo, DoC

He then distributed the recorded fragments into the worldwide network with his final breath after being defeated by Cloud and co. atop the Sister Ray during the original game. This is depicted in DC's opening, where Yuffie detects life signs still at the top of the cannon during an evacuation of the area on the night Hojo was killed.

Granted, there is a moment where a ghost-like apparition of Hojo arises from Weiss's body after Vincent defeats him in battle prior to Omega's awakening, but by that point, Hojo's fragments had come to inhabit that living body. Given FFVII's cosmology -- in which the memories of the dead are recycled into new spirit energy to give life to new living things -- what could the thoughts and memories that inhabit and act through a living body be called but a spirit, even if they began as computerized data? The copy is simply that, a copy. Not the original Hojo. Hojo's spirit is in the Lifestream and his copy is in the Worldwide Network

Conclusion on contradiction claim #2: This contradiction claim contains inaccurate information and is therefore not a contradiction with the original game or with the wider compilation.

*Contradiction claim #3: Maiden says that all the Cetra have diffused into the Lifestream yet in Case of Lifestream White, Aerith is able to rally many of the Cetra to help her.

Yet again, it sounds like a legitimate contradiction, but again, it is not. While her mother, the last living Cetra before her, is said to have become one with the planet, the fact is also that the Cetra Aerith gathers in Case of Lifestream White are said to be fragments of consciousness. Here is a quote from CoLW:

Having lost the core of their emotions, the surface animosity disappeared. The woman had found a solution, however more and more spirits steeped in spite appeared, and it was too much for her to bear. She rushed through the Lifestream in search of other souls to help her. Ancients, on the verge of diffusing. These fragments of consciousness accepted her undertaking.

In other words, the Cetra she gathers in CoLW were already diluted and weren't really spirits anymore. They were fragments. It wasn't until CoLW that she figures out how to bring them back into a conscious form to help her. If anything, this seems to back up what Maiden has presented and tells us that even though the Cetra had been diffused in Maiden, Aerith found a way to have them help her in CoLW.

Conclusion on contradiction claim #3: This is not a contradiction with the original game or with the wider compilation and is actually CONSISTENT between both stories.

*Contradiction claim #4: In Maiden Aerith and Zack witness Tifa reconstruct Cloud in the Lifestream but in Tifa's Crisis Core Ultimania profile it says that Tifa becomes the "only witness" to his blurry memory during the original game, and that she also plays an important role in him regaining his true self .

This is a case of selective reading. The quote in Tifa's profile says that Tifa became a witness to his blurry memories and ALSO helped put Cloud back together. It's talking about two separate events. Tifa was a witness to Cloud's blurry memory because she was the only one of the group that knew his memories were off. LATER, she helped put Cloud back together. And if the quote IS talking about the Lifestream event, right before Tifa enters into Cloud's consciousness she talks to some spirits, eventually falling over and clutching her head as she hears them moan and speak to her. She was SURROUNDED by spirits, so it would make sense that there would be many spirit witnesses to what happened with Cloud, not JUST Aerith. So this quote in Tifa's profile is either saying Tifa was the only living witness OR it is contradicting the original game, therefore it's not Maiden doing the contradicting.

Conclusion on contradiction claim #4: Maiden itself is NOT contradicting the original game or the Compilation, but Tifa's profile might be, but if it is, it's the original game.

*Contradiction claim #5: In Maiden it says that Sephiroth's consciousness smiled and laughed after Cloud defeated him, but in the original game Sephiroth is only shown being shocked.

Reading Maiden closely, it actually says that Sephiroth smiled trying to resist his defeat, but ultimately succumbed.

The mad apostate angel smiled boldly. But the damage he had taken was far beyond what he could endure and his spiritual body started to fall apart as he laughed. Beams of light blasted out from inside his body as if they were cutting him apart. - Maiden of the Planet

The statement seems to say he smiled, laughed and then the beams shot out. When we, the players, see Sephiroth after the battle, the first thing we see is the beams. There may have been a brief moment before Cloud dealt the finishing blow that Sephiroth did smile or laugh, before he looked up at Cloud in shock. This is really more of a case of Benny putting what he thinks happened into the story, and because we never see it happen, it can't be disproved.

Conclusion on contradiction claim #5: This is not a contradiction, but merely Benny adding his own interpretation of the scene.

*Contradiction claim #6: Maiden says that Aerith met Zack when she was 17. She was 15 when she met him in Crisis Core

Again, if you read Maiden you'll find out it says no such thing. It says Aerith was attracted by Zack's smile when she was 17. It does not say that's when they first met. She was 17 when she last saw Zack, so she may just be remembering the last time she saw him or explaining where her focus was at the time. This answer might seem a bit nit picky, but so are many of the "contradictions."

Conclusion on contradiction claim #6: This is not a contradiction with the original game or with the wider Compilation.

*Contradiction claim #7: In Maiden, Zack says to Aerith that Omnislash was his technique, though he never used it in Crisis Core.

The first thing I want to point out is that in Birth by Sleep, Zack actually DOES use Omnislash. However since AU games don't hold much water here, this seems to be a case of Zack trying to charm Aerith one last time. He is very flirtatious and playful after all.

Conclusion on contradiction claim #7: This is not a contradiction with the original game or with the wider Compilation, but in fact, very in character for Zack.

*Contradiction claim #8: As shown by the ending of Crisis Core, Aerith should have known that Zack was dead. She was able to sense when Elmyra's husband died, yet in Maiden she is completely shocked to see him.

The simple fact is, we don't KNOW what Aerith felt at the end of Crisis Core. It may have been she felt Zack died, or it may have been she just felt something bad happened. The reason she was able to sense Elmyra's husband's death, was because he came close to try to see Elmyra. Aerith's words in this case are, "Someone dear to you has just died. His spirit was coming to see you, but he already returned to the planet."

Also the 20th Anniversary Ultimania Character files says that Aerith didn't know Zack was dead.

At the time this story begins, Zack is already dead, but Aerith does not know this truth. - 20th Anniversary Ultimania page 197

Conclusion on contradiction claim #8: This is not a contradiction with the original game or with the wider Compilation.

*Contradiction claim #9: In Maiden it's said that Zack's smile attracted Aerith to him. In Crisis Core, it's established that his eyes attracted her to him

If anything is a legitimate contradiction, it's this one. However this is an extremely MINOR contradiction, and not to mention the fact that more than one thing can attract one person to another, in which case, it wouldn't really be a contradiction at all.

Conclusion on contradiction claim #9: Of everything listed, this seems to be the one true contradiction, but it does have a case against it.

*Contradiction claim #10: Aerith acts too cold to Zack in Maiden, she should have been a lot nicer to him given their interactions in Crisis Core.

This is more or less based on one's opinions on the game itself. Many people believed Aerith to be over Zack, and this is just more proof she's moved on. This seems to be backed by FFVII Dismantled and Case of Lifestream White where she expresses her fondness for Cloud but never mentions' Zack. Some people will argue that she only spoke of Cloud because she saw Sephiroth and was forced to remember him, and had she thought of Zack first she'd have acted the same way. This maybe true, but it might not be. We can't make any conclusions like that because it didn't happen. And until it does, this is in fact, not really a contradiction at all.

Conclusion on contradiction claim #10: This is not a contradiction with the original game or with the wider Compilation.

Those are all the contradictions that I'm aware of and as you can see, there's really only one legitimate contradiction. The rest are caused by selective reading and exaggerations. Maiden of the Planet is actually very true to the original game, and going by TresDias' FAQ which lists all the other contractions in the Compilation, Maiden is very true to the Compilation, moreso than many other entries.

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Reason #3. Maiden of the Planet is non canon due to the fact that it never gets mentioned again by Square Enix, even as something that is not part of the Compilation. Last order is not an official entry but Square still mentions it every so often. Maiden never gets mentioned, therefore it cannot be canon.

I really don't understand why it matters how often something is mentioned. Dismantled was never mentioned again, but it's an official strategy guide. I don't believe the Ultimanias mention one another very often either. As for Last Order, yes it gets mentioned, but it's NOT an official entry of the Compilation. So clearly how often something gets mentioned has no basis on how canon or official something is.

Conclusion on Reason 3: Sometimes things are mentioned again and some times they aren't. This doesn't, in anyway, make them unofficial or not canon.

So it seems to me that there really is not much of a case of Maiden not being canon other than, people don't like the information in it. There has been a lot in the Compilation that people don't like but that doesn't make it not canon. The fact is that if you're going by what Square has told us so far, there's no reason not to consider Maiden official. Now if Square comes out tomorrow and says it isn't, then so be it. I will retract my statements and I won't use Maiden in a debate or anything ever again. But for now it hasn't happened, and until Maiden or anything for that matter, is said not to be official or not to be canon, then it should most certainly be counted and it will be by most people whether certain fans like it or not.

I'd encourage anyone to read TresDias' FAQ for information on other contradictions in the Compilation. (search for 7.2Co for a list)

 

[Channizard]

That was a really interesting read. I never thought of Maiden as non-canon, I mean, why would it be? And I think if you look carefully the people who argue it are Cloti's, and it's PURELY because it's just an Aerith only novella that came around before OTWTAS came out, and it focused (some) on her feelings for Cloud. Not to get into an LTD but it just seems like a petty excuse of theirs to try and downgrade something that actually has meaning to the compilation... no not her love, but her death.

Also, I want to start a movement against Dismantled. Dismantled is a horrible translational error that SHOULD be Dissection. If you google FFVII Dismantled, you get squat... except for "The Complete Dismantling of VII" which is just the CC 10 year UO.

However you google Dissection, and you get the original 1997 book as well as its revised version (which came out in 2005...I think, not sure.) I've had the book for so long and didn't pay it much mind or submit it for translations an shit, because people were always talking about 'Dismantled' not 'Dissection'.

So spread the word, because people need to know the books correct title if they actually hope to use it for information.

 

[C i d]

Yeah I read it before and it was an interesting read! Your analysis on it's canon-ity is also interesting and well-thought I thought it's such a sweet addition to the story, seeing that Aerith equals pretty much nothing other than memory after disc 1. I appreciate the character better after reading it.

I consider it as canon. In fact, I find it weird when people reject certain parts of the compilation, like: "I don't consider Advent Children part of the story because of blah blah blah...." "Crisis Core sucks and it adds Genesis, etc... blah blah blah."

Most of the fans want additional bits to the storyline of the final fantasy titles (I understand some won't, but a majority does). So we should welcome each and every official/indirectly official bit since they are quite precious.

Just think these contradictions across the compilation as mistakes storytellers make. Let's just say every bit is told by a different storyteller, who may not be very accurate.