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->Kadaj: "I will not have you talk about Mother that way!"
->Loz: "Meanies!"
->Rude: "Our appologies."
->Reno: "Ah, your mom's cool."
->Loz: "Meanies!"
->Rude: "Our appologies."
->Reno: "Ah, your mom's cool."
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* [[ILetGwenStacyDie I Let Aerith Die]]: As it was in FFVII, one of the reasons for Cloud's depression until he finally allows himself to be forgiven.
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* [[ILetGwenStacyDie I Let Aerith Die]]: As it was in FFVII, one of the reasons for Cloud's depression until he finally allows himself to be forgiven.forgiven...[[AesopAmnesia even though he seemed to have gotten over somewhat in the original game.]]
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The original release of ''Advent Children'' can be seen (legally) for free on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDVrMQhsN0 YouTube]], [[NoExportForYou except for some poor Europeans and Canadians, apparently.]]
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The original release of ''Advent Children'' can be seen (legally) for free on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDVrMQhsN0 YouTube]], [[NoExportForYou except for some poor Europeans Europeans, Australians and Canadians, apparently.]]
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It Got Worse renamed to From Bad To Worse
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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Basically everything involving the children. They all qualify as being [[LittlestCancerPatient little cancer patients]], but then [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]] when [[spoiler:they're kidnapped by the silver-haired men]] who have some very...questionable attitudes towards them. Finally, there's their [[spoiler:baptism]] by Cloud.
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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Basically everything involving the children. They all qualify as being [[LittlestCancerPatient little cancer patients]], but then [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]] goes FromBadToWorse when [[spoiler:they're kidnapped by the silver-haired men]] who have some very...questionable attitudes towards them. Finally, there's their [[spoiler:baptism]] by Cloud.
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* TradeYourPassionForGlory: The entire cast save Cloud. That's why defeating [[spoiler:Sephiroth]] [ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself Is Something Cloud Has Got To Do Himself]].
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* TradeYourPassionForGlory: The entire cast save Cloud. That's why defeating [[spoiler:Sephiroth]] [ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself Is Something Cloud Has Got To Do Himself]].
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* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Why didn't Yuffie just pass around some materia, have everyone cast one of their maxed-out spells (most of the materia was green), and wipe Kadaj and his ilk off the face of the earth? Because they've lost their edge - they've moved on and rebuilt their lives after Sephiroth's defeat, while Cloud spent all of his time brooding on [[ILetGwenStacyDie his failure to save Aerith.]] Tifa infers, from her defeat at Loz's hands, that none of them are the demigod-slayers they used to be. None of them save Cloud, who has refused to let go of his grief, is still riding the wave of desperation that let the party match superhumans like Sephiroth blow-for-blow. She even says those ExactWords. Letting him finish the final fight himself not only keeps them out of his way, but enables him to find closure.
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* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Why didn't Yuffie just pass around some materia, have everyone cast one of their maxed-out spells (most of the materia was green), and wipe Kadaj and his ilk off the face of the earth? Because they've lost their edge [[TradeYourPassionForGlory Traded Their Passion For Glory]] - they've moved on and rebuilt their lives after Sephiroth's defeat, while Cloud spent all of his time brooding on [[ILetGwenStacyDie his failure to save Aerith.]] Tifa infers, from her defeat at Loz's hands, that none of them are the demigod-slayers they used to be. None of them save Cloud, who has refused to let go of his grief, is still riding the wave of desperation that let the party match superhumans like Sephiroth blow-for-blow. She even says those ExactWords. Letting him finish the final fight himself not only keeps them out of his way, but enables him to find closure.
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* TradeYourPassionForGlory: The entire cast save Cloud. That's why defeating [[spoiler:Sephiroth]] [ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself Is Something Cloud Has Got To Do Himself]].
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The original release of ''Advent Children'' can be seen (legally) for free on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDVrMQhsN0 YouTube]].
[[NoExportForYou Except for some poor Europeans and Canadians, apparently.]]
[[NoExportForYou Except for some poor Europeans and Canadians, apparently.]]
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The original release of ''Advent Children'' can be seen (legally) for free on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDVrMQhsN0 YouTube]].
YouTube]], [[NoExportForYou Except except for some poor Europeans and Canadians, apparently.]]
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messed up on the Alphabetization (or whatever it\'s called)
* HopeSproutsEternal: Mimmicking TheStinger from [[FinalFantasyVII the original game]], Red and his children come across [[PollutedWasteland Midgar]] overrun with greenery at the very start of the movie.
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* HopeSproutsEternal: Mimmicking TheStinger from [[FinalFantasyVII the original game]], Red and his children come across [[PollutedWasteland Midgar]] overrun with greenery at the very start of the movie..
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* HopeSproutsEternal: Mimmicking TheStinger from [[FinalFantasyVII the original game]], Red and his children come across [[PollutedWasteland Midgar]] overrun with greenery at the very start of the movie..
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* YourMom: Subverted, Reno and Rude immediately appologize for insulting Jenova in front of Loz and Kadaj.
->Kadaj: "I will not have you talk about Mother that way!"
->Loz: "Meanies!"
->Rude: "Our appologies."
->Reno: "Ah, your mom's cool."
->Kadaj: "I will not have you talk about Mother that way!"
->Loz: "Meanies!"
->Rude: "Our appologies."
->Reno: "Ah, your mom's cool."
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* WhoIsThisGuyAgain: Combined with ContinuityLockout, while all of the main characters from the original game make an appearance, more than half of them are never referred to by name throughout the movie.
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got the DVD, had subtitles on, heard it in the dub
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** This is actually the only time a swear gets subbed. Of course [[HeterosexualLifePartners Reno and Rude]] are ''supposed'' to say "holy shit" when Bahamut Sin unleashes a breath of fire, but the subbers changed it to "hell no".
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** This is actually the only time a swear gets subbed. Of course [[HeterosexualLifePartners Reno and Rude]] are ''supposed'' to say "holy shit" when Bahamut Sin unleashes a breath of fire, but the subbers dubbers changed it to "hell no".
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[[NoExportForYou Except for some poor Europeans, apparently.]]
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[[NoExportForYou Except for some poor Europeans, Europeans and Canadians, apparently.]]
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* CulturalTranslation: Not really. For example, the Japanese have a more nuanced relationship with insects than Americans do, so calling Cloud a "chrysalis" carries more meaning, though Yuffie's "He's a bug?" response works just fine.
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* CulturalTranslation: Not really. For example, the Japanese have a more nuanced relationship with insects than Americans do, so calling Cloud Kadaj a "chrysalis" carries more meaning, though Yuffie's "He's a bug?" response works just fine.
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Justified by internal logic and Word Of God. Therefore not impossible
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* BeyondTheImpossible: Omnislash Version 5, seen in the original ''Advent Children'', as well as Version 6 in ''Complete''. They both completely defy the laws of physics, [[RuleOfCool not that the movie(s) obey the laws in the first place.]]
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** In one of ''Complete'''s new scenes, Cloud throws two of his swords as boomerangs. One comes back quite soon. The other one he catches about 10 seconds later, still in mid-flight, using the sword he was already holding. [[BeyondTheImpossible The laws of physics wept, before getting kicked to the curb]].
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** In one of ''Complete'''s new scenes, Cloud throws two of his swords as boomerangs. One comes back quite soon. The other one he catches about 10 seconds later, still in mid-flight, using the sword he was already holding. [[BeyondTheImpossible The laws of physics wept, before getting kicked to the curb]].
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* RuleOfCool: Acknowledged by the animators as the ''only'' rule they followed in designing the fight scenes.
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* RuleOfCool: Acknowledged by the animators as the ''only'' rule they followed in designing the fight scenes. This includes Omnislash Version 5, seen in the original ''Advent Children'', as well as Version 6 in ''Complete''.
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* TheReveal: In all of the promotional material for ''Advent Children'' (including the {{Playstation 3}} [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thsnDqQu0mQ technical demo]] that remade the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' opening with the new character designs), no shots of Aerith showed her whole face. Even in the actual film, the first unobscured shot of her face is [[spoiler:at the very end when her spirit turns to look back at Cloud before going away with Zack]]. Given, her face has become one of gaming's most famous ones, and [[RuinedFOREVER if the modelers screwed it up...]]
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* TheReveal: In all of the promotional material for ''Advent Children'' (including the {{Playstation 3}} [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thsnDqQu0mQ technical demo]] that remade the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' opening with the new character designs), no shots of Aerith showed her whole face. Even in the actual film, the first unobscured shot of her face is [[spoiler:at the very end when her spirit turns to look back at Cloud before going away with Zack]]. Given, her face has become one of gaming's most famous ones, and [[RuinedFOREVER if the modelers screwed it up...]]
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** Though Barret does say "He's got 10 minutes", before he presumably would jump in. It just never came to that.
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* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: Inverted; the Japanese version of ''Advent Children Complete'' uses a new ending theme song called "Safe and Sound" but everywhere else uses the original theme, "Calling."
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** Not so much "forgiven" as "forgotten", but everyone's attitude towards working with the Shinras is basically *shoulder shrug*. Even ''[[WellIntentionedExtremist Barrett]]'' is without complaint, and he witnessed them personally kill his original FiveManBand ''and'' drop the Sector Seven plate on the slums. That being said, [[DemotedToExtra he wasn't the focus of the movie]].
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** Not so much "forgiven" as "forgotten", but everyone's attitude towards working with the Shinras is basically *shoulder shrug*. Even ''[[WellIntentionedExtremist Barrett]]'' Barret]]'' is without complaint, and he witnessed them personally kill his original FiveManBand ''and'' drop the Sector Seven plate on the slums. That being said, [[DemotedToExtra he wasn't the focus of the movie]].
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* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: Kadaj's katana (which is basically two blades on one hilt), Cloud's Fusion Swords.
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* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: Kadaj's katana (which is basically two blades on one hilt), Cloud's Fusion Swords.''Fusion Swords''.
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** Ironically for a movie so bent on RuleOfCool, this is [[RealityIsUnrealistic entirely possible]]. ''Squama frontalis'', a part of the frontal cranial bone that forms the forehead itself, is one of the (if not ''the'') toughest bones in the human body[[hottip:* :Also the reason headbutts are effective]]. In some people it may reach a full inch or more in thickness, and thus is entirely able to stop at least a handgun bullet. Of course, the force of the impact would still create a shockwave that would pulverize the brain behind it. Surviving without skull penetration? Depending on the angle, possible. Surviving without at least some brain injury? Extremely unlikely. Cloud's brain is MadeOfIron too.
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** Ironically Ironically, for a movie so bent on RuleOfCool, this is [[RealityIsUnrealistic entirely possible]]. ''Squama frontalis'', a part of the frontal cranial bone that forms the forehead itself, is one of the (if not ''the'') toughest bones in the human body[[hottip:* :Also body[[hottip:*:Also the reason headbutts are effective]]. In some people it may reach a full inch or more in thickness, and thus is entirely able to stop at least a handgun bullet. Of course, the force of the impact would still create a shockwave that would pulverize the brain behind it. Surviving without skull penetration? Depending on the angle, possible. Surviving without at least some brain injury? Extremely unlikely. Cloud's brain is MadeOfIron too.
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** [[spoiler:With Cloud it's at least partially justified; the sequence in which he talks to Zack is probably taking place in his head, where time may be passing by slower. With Sephiroth, he's just really into crazy monologues and everyone seems happy to indulge him.]]
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** [[spoiler:With Cloud Cloud, it's at least partially justified; the sequence in which he talks to Zack is probably taking place in his head, where time may be passing by slower. With Sephiroth, he's just really into crazy monologues and everyone seems happy to indulge him.]]
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** The stinger for ''Complete'' directly references this - [[spoiler:The first shot is of the spot Zack died, with flowers growing, and Denzel asking if it was someone's grave. Cloud replies that it was where "a hero began his journey". After this, the shot fades to Aerith' church, where the sword has been moved to.]]
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** The stinger for ''Complete'' directly references this - [[spoiler:The first shot is of the spot Zack died, with flowers growing, and Denzel asking if it was someone's grave. Cloud replies that it was where "a hero began his journey". After this, the shot fades to Aerith' Aerith's church, where the sword has been moved to.to and been restored.]]
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** Debatable. This trooper was around when the first trailers starting to appear and remembers the debates about if they were going to bring out Sephiroth (or Aeris and Rufus for the matter) or not. Most of the scenes from the earlier trailers involving him were recreated flashbacks anyway, except for the last trailer that shoved him briefly at the end.
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trope renamed at TRS
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* {{Nakama}}: Cloud's party and the Turks.
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* TrueCompanions: Cloud's party and the Turks.
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* {{Flanderization}}: This movie was basically what stablished Cloud's persona as an emo who angst constantly, even though in the original game he leaned more to the DeadpanSnarker territory.
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* ArtisticLicensePhysics: For the final fight, they decided that things like gravity and momentum don't apply to members of SOLDIER.
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* RedemptionInTheRain + RedemptionEqualsDeath: Kadaj being invited into the Lifestream by Aerith.
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[[NoExportForYou Except for some poor Europeans, apparently.]]
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[[NoExportForYou Except for some poor Europeans, apparently.]]
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[[NoExportForYou Except for some poor Europeans, apparently.]]
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* CulturalTranslation: Not really. For example, the Japanese have a more nuanced relationship with insects than Americans do, so calling Cloud a "chrysalis" carries more meaning, though Yuffie's "He's a bug?" response works just fine.
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* ShowyInvincibleHero: Going through the SOLDIER process really makes one a badass. Tifa, Yuffie, and the rest are {{Badass}}, but Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo are superhuman, and it takes the three of them working together to make a match for Cloud.
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* DefiantStoneThrow: Marlene, to Yazoo.
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''Advent Children'' served as quite the turn-around for SquareEnix (specifically, the Square half) after ''FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' flopped -- it proved Square '''does''' have what it takes to make a movie that's at least watchable. ''Advent Children'' really is a LoveItOrHateIt entry in the franchise (like so many before it), but the biggest complaint for both fans and non-fans was [[MindScrew the hard-to-follow storyline]] (even with WordOfGod present to help clear things up).
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''Advent Children'' served as quite the turn-around for SquareEnix (specifically, the Square half) after ''FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' flopped -- it proved Square '''does''' have what it takes to make a movie that's at least watchable. ''Advent Children'' really is a LoveItOrHateIt entry in the franchise (like so many before it), but the biggest complaint for both fans and non-fans was [[MindScrew the hard-to-follow storyline]] (even with WordOfGod present to help clear things up).
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[[quoteright:255:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Advent_Children.jpg]]
->''To those who loved this world...\\
And knew friendly company therein...\\
[[ContinuityLockout This reunion is for you]].''
'''''Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children''''' is {{the movie}} sequel to the seventh entry in the [[RunningGag *insert magnitude-describing]] [[OverlyLongGag adverb here*]] popular ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series.
Two years after the destruction of Meteor in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', people all over the world are now infected with the deadly Lifestream-distributed disease Geostigma. In spite of this, humanity is still working to rebuild in the wake of Sephiroth's attempts at global destruction -- and those who saved the world are no exception. In the city of Edge (built from the remnants of Midgar), Cloud now lives a quiet life with Tifa, Marlene, and a sickly orphan named Denzel. To Cloud's dismay, he soon discovers that the influence of Sephiroth is far from gone…
''Advent Children'' served as quite the turn-around for SquareEnix (specifically, the Square half) after ''FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' flopped -- it proved Square '''does''' have what it takes to make a movie that's at least watchable. ''Advent Children'' really is a LoveItOrHateIt entry in the franchise (like so many before it), but the biggest complaint for both fans and non-fans was [[MindScrew the hard-to-follow storyline]] (even with WordOfGod present to help clear things up).
Limited-edition copies of the movie were bundled with a novella detailing several characters' points of view during the two-year TimeSkip. The ''Advent Children Complete'' {{BluRay}} re-release included an OVA version of one of the novella's stories and added additional footage to the film that either helped to expand on much of the plot ([[ReCut which was a necessary move]]) or alter entire parts of it ([[RetCon which wasn't.]])
The original release of ''Advent Children'' can be seen (legally) for free on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDVrMQhsN0 YouTube]].
----
!!This film contains examples of:
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Sephiroth, Cloud, Kadaj... Basically anyone who uses any kind of blade has one of these. Cloud's is so sharp that it can apparently cut through ''entire skyscrapers''.
* AdultFear: The silver-haired men kidnap innocent children, effectively brainwash them and then put them in harm's way (said harm being a ''gigantic dragon''). For any good parent, the first part alone is utterly terrifying. Somehow this does not prevent them from getting a [[spoiler:RedemptionInTheRain scene]] at the end of the movie.
* AllThereInTheManual:
** Before ''Complete'' more adequately explained the plot, the best way of comprehending the movie (as well as learning of other interesting information) was to buy the ''Reunion Files'' book, the filmic equivalent of an FF ''Ultimania'' book. Whilst it's technically only available in Japan, it's also thankfully fully bilingual, featuring both English and Japanese text.
** Besides the ''Reunion Files'', a series of [[http://xcomprandomness.co.uk/ff7novels/ novellas]] collectively called "On the Way to a Smile" documents the events between the film in the game, including how Edge was built, how Cloud and Tifa ended up living together, what the party members were doing during their two years off, who Denzel is, and what Geostigma is in greater detail. To say the novellas explain a lot of stuff not present in the film would be an understatement.
** How [[spoiler:Rufus Shinra]] survived also counts. Any chance for him to explain himself in the movie was lost when Cloud cut him off.
* AMillionIsAStatistic: Everyone seems a lot more concerned about Sephiroth's return than the silver-haired men kidnapping every single child in Edge. Somewhat justified in that Sephiroth posed a danger to the entire world, but still.
* AnimeHair: Not as bad as it could have been, but it was still present. The movie's about Cloud, after all.
* ArcWords: The "Reunion".
* ArmorIsUseless: None of the characters wear metal armor, except perhaps for Cloud's pauldron, which is never used. Averted when Cloud gets shot in the face, but only his goggles get shot off...although it is quite possible that TheGogglesDoNothing, and Cloud's face is just THAT tough. Alternately, [[CrazyPrepared he has Adamantine Goggles]].
* ArtEvolution: An "all-at-once" example. The original game had a very anime and cartoony design, even beyond the silly Lego-people polygons. Following the trend of the main series as a whole, Square Enix decided that in FFVII's next generation, they should go as realistic as possible. The new style stuck, and the entire Compilation has been near-photorealism since.
* ArmCannon: Barret, now [[{{BFG}} bigger]] and [[MoreDakka better]] than ever.
* AscendedMeme: [[spoiler:Sephiroth never actually had a wing in his human form until ''KingdomHearts''.]] It appears during the finale here. Also counts as a ShoutOut.
* BackFromTheDead: [[LateArrivalSpoiler Sephiroth]]
* BadAss: Quite a fair few of them, ranging from characters to tropes, in varying levels.
* BadassBiker: Cloud, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz.
* BadassBoast:
** Two in a row. [[spoiler:After Cloud defeats Sephiroth, he tells him: "Stay where you belong...in my memories." Sephiroth's response is to [[DeathGlare look Cloud in the eye]] and declare "I will ''never'' be a memory"]], doubly badass for quoting his own OminousLatinChanting ("Noli manere, manere in memoria").
** In the original Japanese, Sephiroth's final line is "Ah, but I am much more than ''that''."
* BadassCape: Vincent's cape definitely counts, especially during his intro scene. This makes him a better ninja than Yuffie.
* BadassLongcoat: Sephiroth
* BadassNormal: Rude. In a world where just about every fighting adult can practically fly, and even Reno has crazy climbing skills, Rude manages to hold his own against Loz with nothing but fists (and some awesome shades). Also, [[spoiler:he manages to stop Loz and Yazoo with his homemade bombs]].
** Rufus Shinra too. Played Kadaj like the bush-leaguer he is without so much as getting out of his wheelchair and then [[spoiler:engages Kadaj in a sky-diving chase sequence in pursuit of Jenova's head]].
* BelatedHappyEnding:
** Aerith and Zack are finally shown reunited in the afterlife.
** Cloud. He tried right after the game, and made a good run of it, But his survivor's guilt eventually caught up with him. Contracting Geostigma put the final nail in the angst coffin. However, events in the movie (spelled out in the Ultimania) make it clear Cloud has dealt with his major issues and finds his promised land surrounded by his friends and his family by the final end.
* BeyondTheImpossible: Omnislash Version 5, seen in the original ''Advent Children'', as well as Version 6 in ''Complete''. They both completely defy the laws of physics, [[RuleOfCool not that the movie(s) obey the laws in the first place.]]
* BifurcatedWeapon: Cloud's Fusion Swords, totaling of ''6 different swords''.
* {{Bishounen}}: Cloud, Sephiroth, Kadaj, Yazoo, Vincent
* BigDamnHeroes: Cloud in ACC arrives just in time to see Denzel about to be devoured by Shadow Creepers and a collapsing building falling on a stunned Tifa. He [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throws]] parts of his [[BifurcatedWeapon bifurcated]] BFS and tags all three Shadow Creepers, saving Denzel. He then ''[[AbsurdlySharpBlade slices a building in half]]'' to get to Tifa before she gets squashed. Ladies and Gentlemen, [[HesBack the man is back in the game!]]
* BishonenLine: Kadaj gets even ''more'' bishonen and far more powerful when he [[spoiler:briefly turns into Sephiroth]].
* {{BFS}}: Cloud and Sephiroth
* BloodlessCarnage: Played mostly straight in the original, but gruesomely averted in ''Complete'' when Sephiroth repeatedly impales Cloud in mid-air near the end of their fight.
* BondVillainStupidity: Sephiroth, who has at least two good chances to kill Cloud and decides to fight and taunt him a bit more. It arguably makes sense with Sephiroth. Dude's been waiting two years for his revenge; he's going to take his time and enjoy it.
* TheBrute: Loz
* CelebrityVoiceActor:
** Japanese: Ayumi Ito as Tifa
** English:
*** Steve Burton as Cloud
*** RachaelLeighCook as Tifa
*** Christy Carlson Romano as Yuffie Kisaragi
*** [[AmericanBeauty Mena Suvari]] as Aerith Gainsborough
*** George Newbern as Sephiroth
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Rufus]] to Kadaj.
* TheCoconutEffect: The entire reason Cloud is constantly depicted as emo in the movie (despite the fact that he got over his problems by the end of the game) is because at this point the fandom had made this out to be his only mental characteristic and wouldn't recognize him otherwise.
* CombatPragmatist: Yazoo, [[spoiler:who not only DOES just shoot him, he shoots him in the back while he's reminiscing]].
* ContinuityLockout:
** Though there's a recap at the beginning, the movie sorta requires that you play the game to really make sense out of it. Luckily, the DVD came with a recap of key events.
** ''Complete'' comes with an additional feature that recaps the events of the other spin-offs, although ''DirgeOfCerberus'' is glanced over, as it's set a year after ''Advent Children''.
* CoolShades: Rude's, the guy even has [[strike:a spare pair]] [[RunningGag many spare pairs]] in his jacket. Some parts of the fandom insist that Rude has a special Materia just for producing CoolShades. Cloud's goggles are pretty cool too.
** Spare sets or a costuming Materia, Rude has good reason for taking such measures as the first set get stepped on by Reno during their brawl with Yazoo and Loz.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Reno, possibly. [[spoiler:President Shinra turns out to be a Crouching Cripple Hidden Badass.]]
* DarkMessiah: Kadaj really channels this in the scene at the lake.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: About half the characters, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII all laid out in its predecessor]].
* DeadPersonConversation: [[spoiler:Cloud has one with both Aerith and Zack.]]
* DemotedToExtra: All the original playable characters not named Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Vincent. ''Especially'' Red XIII, who gets exactly one line before the end of the film.
** Although in Red XIII's case, it was because his model was a pain to render, what with all that fur.
* DevelopmentHell: The original movie was announced at Tokyo Games Show 2003, and wasn't released in Japan until late 2005, due to significant changes to the script during early development. ''Complete'' was announced at TGS 2006, and would subsequently not be released until March 2009.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Kadaj. He's the BigBad of the film and even engages Cloud in a SwordFight near the finale, but is ultimately a [[ThePawn pawn]] in Jenova and Sephiroth's endgame and is replaced by the latter.
** [[spoiler:He also suspects it all along, going so far as to voice his distress at the prospect to Rufus when they're alone in the high-rise.]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Basically everything involving the children. They all qualify as being [[LittlestCancerPatient little cancer patients]], but then [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]] when [[spoiler:they're kidnapped by the silver-haired men]] who have some very...questionable attitudes towards them. Finally, there's their [[spoiler:baptism]] by Cloud.
* DumbMuscle: Loz
* EasilyForgiven:
** Not so much "forgiven" as "forgotten", but everyone's attitude towards working with the Shinras is basically *shoulder shrug*. Even ''[[WellIntentionedExtremist Barrett]]'' is without complaint, and he witnessed them personally kill his original FiveManBand ''and'' drop the Sector Seven plate on the slums. That being said, [[DemotedToExtra he wasn't the focus of the movie]].
** More like, "Yazoo, Loz, Kadaj and, oh, yeah, fucking '''''[[spoiler:Sephiroth]]''''' are [[ConflictKiller way more important than revenge!]]"
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. Particularly [[TenderTears Loz]].
* FanNickname: Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were colloquially referred to as the SHM (Silver-Haired Men) in fan forums before their official names were made public, and sometimes still are.
* FastballSpecial: ''All the party members'' perform it on Cloud. Yes, even ''[[KilledOffForReal her]]''. Note that this is not on separate occasions... this is the aerial equivalent of a bucket brigade, with Cloud as the (highly ballistic) bucket.
* FeatherMotif: Black feathers for Sephiroth.
* FightScene: It'd be more accurate to say the movie contains ''non''-{{Fight Scene}}s. The original cut is 90 minutes long. The fight with Bahamut Sin starts about 45 minutes in, and the whole rest of the movie is one long fight. A good chunk of the first half is fighting too.
* TheGunslinger: Yazoo and Vincent
* GenericDoomsdayVillain: An unusual in-universe example. Cloud accuses Kadaj and co. of being this; stating that they don't really know ''why'' they're being antagonistic. Kadaj, however, [[ShutUpKirk doesn't]] [[TalkToTheFist care]]
* GenkiGirl: Yuffie
* GogglesDoNothing: Reno's don't seem to do anything other than to look cool and give him red rings around his eyes. Completely averted with Cloud, though--in addition to their regular purpose (keeping dirt out of his eyes) the goggles also prevent him from taking a bullet right between the eyes.
* HeelFaceReturn: Rufus shows up and explains he's seen the error in his ways and is working to undo the damage he did. His repentance kind of makes sense in that the consequences of Shinra Company's activities were extremely dramatic by the end of the game, and nearly were even worse.
* HellBentForLeather: Pretty much everyone who can be considered {{Badass}}.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Rude and Reno
* HiddenInPlainSight: "A ''good'' son would have known."
* HighlyVisibleNinja: Yuffie
* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler:Sephiroth hijacks Kadaj with around ten minutes left in the film.]]
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: Kadaj's katana (which is basically two blades on one hilt), Cloud's Fusion Swords.
* [[ILetGwenStacyDie I Let Aerith Die]]: As it was in FFVII, one of the reasons for Cloud's depression until he finally allows himself to be forgiven.
* ImplausibleFencingPowers: Rampant.
* ImprobableAimingSkills:
** Yazoo, who shoots Cloud's sunglasses off his face at point blank range and gives him only a tiny cut on the forehead, though it's more due to Cloud's ability to [[MadeOfIron shrug off a bullet to the forehead]].
** Ironically for a movie so bent on RuleOfCool, this is [[RealityIsUnrealistic entirely possible]]. ''Squama frontalis'', a part of the frontal cranial bone that forms the forehead itself, is one of the (if not ''the'') toughest bones in the human body[[hottip:* :Also the reason headbutts are effective]]. In some people it may reach a full inch or more in thickness, and thus is entirely able to stop at least a handgun bullet. Of course, the force of the impact would still create a shockwave that would pulverize the brain behind it. Surviving without skull penetration? Depending on the angle, possible. Surviving without at least some brain injury? Extremely unlikely. Cloud's brain is MadeOfIron too.
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Reno manages to casually fly a helicopter under a highway...''backwards''. Yazoo later tops this by flying through the open side doors of Reno's helicopter...in a ''motorcycle''.
* IntellectualAnimal: Red XIII. Also Cait Sith, who is [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot a robotic Scottish cat]].
* ItIsNotYourTime: Cloud, after [[spoiler: being shot by Yazoo]], has a brief encounter with [[spoiler:Aerith and Zack]] who tell him he doesn't belong with them yet.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Barret and Cid.
* KarmaHoudini: ''Reno''.
** People seem to forget that even though President Shinra ordered the Midgar plate to be dropped that Reno was the one who ''physically did the deed''. JustFollowingOrders is not an excuse. Does he get any kind of karmic punishment in this movie? Of course not. He's demoted to PluckyComicRelief.
** We shouldn't forget, however, that Barret and AVALANCHE ''also'' responsible for terrorist actions that killed innocent people. If that can be swept under the rug, then there's really no reason Reno's actions can't be. And besides, with the whole Sephiroth and Meteor incident having transpired and the ''whole world'' needing rebuilding, a dropped plate seems like an insignificant event by comparison and retribution for it would be pointless.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Right after Tifa [[IAmNotLeftHanded (seemingly)]] defeats Loz, the classic ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' victory chime [[ThemeTuneCameo starts playing in the background]]. It turns out to be [[SorryILeftTheBGMOn the ringtone to Loz's cellphone]].
* LetThemDieHappy: [[spoiler:Kadaj's death.]]
* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Mother, Like Son]]: Invoked by Sephiroth, who states that he's more or less forgotten (or given up) on his original goal of becoming a god and has decided he's going to follow in Jenova's footsteps; flying through space draining worlds of all their life essence.
* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: The original CE of the movie was available only in a limited run in Japan, and equated to around $300. It included the ''Last Order'' OVA, a cap and t-shirt with the Fenrir symbol printed on each, a Play Arts ''FFVIIAC'' Cloud with Fenrir, the voiceover script, a special reprint of the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII original game]] and the movie itself, complete with director's commentary and a special features disc. An American equivalent would be released much later, with many of the physical extras (save for the OVA) removed. ''FFVIIAC Complete'' also somewhat qualifies, considering the approximately 20 minutes of new footage and the ''On The Way To a Smile'' OVA.
* LipLock:
** The dub. Oh so much.
** ''"Dilly dally shilly shally"'', a nonsense phrase used in the English version to replace the Japanese "zuruzuru", an onomatopœia that mimics the sound of dragging a heavy load. Since the entire film is about Cloud letting his guilt and feelings of powerlessness weigh him down ("I feel...lighter"), it [[MakesSenseInContext makes sense in context]]. "Dilly dally shilly shally" on the other hand....
** The LipLock also resulted in things like [[http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/auntiebedjo519/Banana.gif this]].
* LittlestCancerPatient: Denzel and the other kids battling Geostigma.
* LostInTranslation: Cloud's sword in the movie was originally called the First Tsurugi by fans, both all six assembled blades and the base blade. In actuality, this name refers ''only'' to the base blade - the others were never given names by the production staff, who just used "Fusion Swords" to describe them. The mixup came from a misunderstanding of a transcription of Tetsuya Nomura's DVD commentary. Even the word "Tsurugi" (Chinese for broadsword) isn't the original one used (they just went with 'ken', evidently).
* MamaBear: Tifa
* MessiahCreep: Try watching [[spoiler:the baptism scene at the end of the movie]] and tell us that's not what's happening with Cloud.
* MissingTrailerScene: The first 2 trailers are infamous for being made almost entirely of test footage, none of which was used in the final movie (save the scene relating to Aerith's death). Interestingly, some screenshots of these scenes are actually on the back of the original DVD box.
* {{Nakama}}: Cloud's party and the Turks.
* NamesToKnowInAnime: Notable, since this was the first major instance in which the cast had voices. Most of them have stayed on too.
** TakahiroSakurai as Cloud.
** ToshiyukiMorikawa as Sephiroth.
** KeijiFujiwara as Reno.
** TohruOokawa as Rufus.
** KenjiNomura as Loz.
** MaayaSakamoto as Aerith.
** KenichiSuzumura as Zack.
** JunichiSuwabe as Tseng.
** HideoIshikawa as Cait Sith.
* NoExportForYou: Complete's vocal theme, "Safe and Sound," is not in Western releases of the film, which is odd considering that the song is written by Gerard Way from MyChemicalRomance and sung entirely in English . Furthermore, it's only available on the Japanese iTunes. "Calling" from the original version was used for the Western release.
* NoFlowInCGI: Averted to such cost, they avoided having to where possible. [[DemotedToExtra Hope you weren't a big fan of Red XIII]].
* NowThatsUsingYourTeeth: Bahamut SIN catches Cloud's sword strike in its ''mouth''.
* ObfuscatingDisability: Rufus Shinra always sits in a wheelchair and is covered in a long cloak, making him appear to be crippled and highly disfigured. That way Kadaj constantly keeps turning his back to him, which comes in handy in the end, as he can stand, walk, and use guns without much problems, at least for a short time.
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Cloud when [[ItWasHisSled Sephiroth is resurrected]] ''right in front of him''. Later returned the favor with the Omnislash Version 5. In Complete, Sephiroth BLOCKING the original Omnislash.]]
* OlderHeroVsYoungerVillain: According to [[AllThereInTheManual Reunion Files]], Nomura said he wanted Cloud to fight someone younger than him, resulting in Kadaj. It also qualifies as a DoubleSubversion. Cloud is 23 at the time of the movie and Kadaj physically looks like he's in his late teens, but given ''how'' the latter was created he's actually no older than ''two''.
* OminousLatinChanting: Sephiroth's awesome theme tune.
* OmnicidalManiac: Sephiroth, just like his dear mother before him.
* OneWingedAngel: Wouldn't be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' without it. [[spoiler:Kadaj becomes Sephiroth, then Sephiroth sprouts his wing at the fight's climax]]. The last one is subverted, however, in that [[spoiler:he dies immediately after it appears.]]
* ThePawn: The silver-haired men to Sephiroth and Jenova.
* PeekABangs: Kadaj
* ThePlague: Geostigma
* PointThatSomewhereElse: Near the beginning of Cloud and Sephiroth's fight, when Sephiroth points his sword in Cloud's face while he's laid out.
* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang:
** Yuffie's entire contribution to the film is having a flashy shuriken to throw around.
** In one of ''Complete'''s new scenes, Cloud throws two of his swords as boomerangs. One comes back quite soon. The other one he catches about 10 seconds later, still in mid-flight, using the sword he was already holding. [[BeyondTheImpossible The laws of physics wept, before getting kicked to the curb]].
* PrecisionFStrike :
** Denzel, after regaining his senses and seeing Tifa get hurt. "Son of a BITCH!"
** This is actually the only time a swear gets subbed. Of course [[HeterosexualLifePartners Reno and Rude]] are ''supposed'' to say "holy shit" when Bahamut Sin unleashes a breath of fire, but the subbers changed it to "hell no".
* ProductPlacement: The Panasonic [=P900iV=] cellphone.
* PsychopathicManChild: One of Kadaj's defining traits.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The silver-haired men. Miniboss, check. Quirky...definitely.
* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really Somewhere In Their Late Teens]]: Kadaj and his brothers might look like young men, but the truth is, as [[spoiler:Sephiroth's remnants]], they're only about two.
* RecycledSoundtrack: Piano tracks come directly from a previous Final Fantasy VII piano album.
* RememberTheNewGuy: If you find yourself wondering who this Denzel kid is, trust us, you're not the only one. ''Complete'' expands on his role and backstory.
* RestartAtLevelOne: See Took A Level In Badass. Initially, the party struggles against Kadaj's crew. They eventually pick up the pace later, wipe out Bahamut SIN, and kill Sephiroth all over again. This is probably signified as Cloud keeps adding more pieces to his sword.
** The adding of pieces serves as a ShoutOut to the way the game had Cloud upgrading by getting meaner and meaner swords.
* TheReveal: In all of the promotional material for ''Advent Children'' (including the {{Playstation 3}} [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thsnDqQu0mQ technical demo]] that remade the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' opening with the new character designs), no shots of Aerith showed her whole face. Even in the actual film, the first unobscured shot of her face is [[spoiler:at the very end when her spirit turns to look back at Cloud before going away with Zack]]. Given, her face has become one of gaming's most famous ones, and [[RuinedFOREVER if the modelers screwed it up...]]
* RuleOfCool: Acknowledged by the animators as the ''only'' rule they followed in designing the fight scenes.
* RuleOfDrama: Probably the 2nd rule that truly matters in this show after the RuleOfCool, the prime example would be [[spoiler:Aerith showing up to help Cloud...inside ''[[SphereOfDestruction Mega Flare]]''.]]
* SeriousBusiness: Loz and Yazoo about [[MommyIssues their mom]].
* SoLastSeason: [[spoiler:In ''Complete'', Cloud tries to finish Sephiroth with the original Omnislash. Sephiroth blocks all the lead-in attacks and impales him in the middle of the finishing leap. He's going to need another approach.]]
* SpiritAdvisor: Aerith and Zack
* SteppingStoneSword: Constantly, especially during the fight with Bahamut.
* SoapOperaDisease[=/=]IncurableCoughOfDeath: Geostigma. A Genetic disease [[spoiler:born of Sephiroth's hatred after dissolving into the lifestream but not dissipating.]] In ''Complete'', Vincent basically describes it as Magical AIDS.
* SpeedEchoes: Omnislash Version 5 (and 6).
* SurvivorGuilt: Cloud seems to have this in spades at the beginning of the film. He gets better.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: In ''Complete'', Cloud really had a lot of time to [[spoiler:talk with Zack while Sephiroth was approaching from the sky]]. Sephiroth himself indulges in this a fair amount as well.
** [[spoiler:With Cloud it's at least partially justified; the sequence in which he talks to Zack is probably taking place in his head, where time may be passing by slower. With Sephiroth, he's just really into crazy monologues and everyone seems happy to indulge him.]]
*** As Sephiroth is in WhyDontYouJustShootHim mode while doing that, it's really no wonder nobody complains; they live longer that way.
* TheEndOrIsIt: Sephiroth's last words seem to indicate he believes this.
--> ''"I will...never be a memory...."''
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Why didn't Yuffie just pass around some materia, have everyone cast one of their maxed-out spells (most of the materia was green), and wipe Kadaj and his ilk off the face of the earth? Because they've lost their edge - they've moved on and rebuilt their lives after Sephiroth's defeat, while Cloud spent all of his time brooding on [[ILetGwenStacyDie his failure to save Aerith.]] Tifa infers, from her defeat at Loz's hands, that none of them are the demigod-slayers they used to be. None of them save Cloud, who has refused to let go of his grief, is still riding the wave of desperation that let the party match superhumans like Sephiroth blow-for-blow. She even says those ExactWords. Letting him finish the final fight himself not only keeps them out of his way, but enables him to find closure.
* TogetherInDeath: Zack and Aerith
* TookALevelInBadass:
** Or ''regained'' levels, more like. Tifa comments during Cloud's fight with Kadaj how they all got weaker since the end of the game, but Cloud's retained much of his edge due to his isolation, and after entering single combat with Kadaj, seems to once more become "the man who killed Sephiroth"...''twice.''
** Also, Denzel in the ''Complete'' version in comparison to the old version.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil:
** Did ''you'' think Sephiroth was going to come back for this movie?
** Not the trailer, but the cover for the ACC Blu-Ray release shows both Cloud and Sephiroth on the front of it. But anyone whose a fan of ''FFVII'' would have known they were going to bring him back anyway.
* UpdatedRerelease: ''Complete''. Roughly 30 minutes more footage, as well as some altered scenes.
* VariableTerminalVelocity: Kadaj manages to fall faster than Rufus Shinra, even though Rufus fell first.
* WeaponTombstone:
** Zack's [[{{BFS}} Buster Sword]].
** The stinger for ''Complete'' directly references this - [[spoiler:The first shot is of the spot Zack died, with flowers growing, and Denzel asking if it was someone's grave. Cloud replies that it was where "a hero began his journey". After this, the shot fades to Aerith' church, where the sword has been moved to.]]
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: At a very early stage in development, the only featured characters were going to be Cloud, Tifa, Kadaj and Sephiroth. The run-time was also planned to be far lower than in the final movie; early interviews mentioned around the 40 minute mark. This would change as it became apparent that fans were expecting ''much'' more than the initial script apparently had, prompting a fairly extensive rewrite. The TGS 2003 trailer, and the unused footage it contains, probably comprises the remains of that early version of the movie.
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo
* WouldHitAGirl: Loz, who defeats Tifa in battle. He would have killed her had Marlene not interfered.
----
''[[MemeticMutation Advent Children is the LONGEST CUTSCENE EVER]]!!!''
->''To those who loved this world...\\
And knew friendly company therein...\\
[[ContinuityLockout This reunion is for you]].''
'''''Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children''''' is {{the movie}} sequel to the seventh entry in the [[RunningGag *insert magnitude-describing]] [[OverlyLongGag adverb here*]] popular ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series.
Two years after the destruction of Meteor in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', people all over the world are now infected with the deadly Lifestream-distributed disease Geostigma. In spite of this, humanity is still working to rebuild in the wake of Sephiroth's attempts at global destruction -- and those who saved the world are no exception. In the city of Edge (built from the remnants of Midgar), Cloud now lives a quiet life with Tifa, Marlene, and a sickly orphan named Denzel. To Cloud's dismay, he soon discovers that the influence of Sephiroth is far from gone…
''Advent Children'' served as quite the turn-around for SquareEnix (specifically, the Square half) after ''FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' flopped -- it proved Square '''does''' have what it takes to make a movie that's at least watchable. ''Advent Children'' really is a LoveItOrHateIt entry in the franchise (like so many before it), but the biggest complaint for both fans and non-fans was [[MindScrew the hard-to-follow storyline]] (even with WordOfGod present to help clear things up).
Limited-edition copies of the movie were bundled with a novella detailing several characters' points of view during the two-year TimeSkip. The ''Advent Children Complete'' {{BluRay}} re-release included an OVA version of one of the novella's stories and added additional footage to the film that either helped to expand on much of the plot ([[ReCut which was a necessary move]]) or alter entire parts of it ([[RetCon which wasn't.]])
The original release of ''Advent Children'' can be seen (legally) for free on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDVrMQhsN0 YouTube]].
----
!!This film contains examples of:
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Sephiroth, Cloud, Kadaj... Basically anyone who uses any kind of blade has one of these. Cloud's is so sharp that it can apparently cut through ''entire skyscrapers''.
* AdultFear: The silver-haired men kidnap innocent children, effectively brainwash them and then put them in harm's way (said harm being a ''gigantic dragon''). For any good parent, the first part alone is utterly terrifying. Somehow this does not prevent them from getting a [[spoiler:RedemptionInTheRain scene]] at the end of the movie.
* AllThereInTheManual:
** Before ''Complete'' more adequately explained the plot, the best way of comprehending the movie (as well as learning of other interesting information) was to buy the ''Reunion Files'' book, the filmic equivalent of an FF ''Ultimania'' book. Whilst it's technically only available in Japan, it's also thankfully fully bilingual, featuring both English and Japanese text.
** Besides the ''Reunion Files'', a series of [[http://xcomprandomness.co.uk/ff7novels/ novellas]] collectively called "On the Way to a Smile" documents the events between the film in the game, including how Edge was built, how Cloud and Tifa ended up living together, what the party members were doing during their two years off, who Denzel is, and what Geostigma is in greater detail. To say the novellas explain a lot of stuff not present in the film would be an understatement.
** How [[spoiler:Rufus Shinra]] survived also counts. Any chance for him to explain himself in the movie was lost when Cloud cut him off.
* AMillionIsAStatistic: Everyone seems a lot more concerned about Sephiroth's return than the silver-haired men kidnapping every single child in Edge. Somewhat justified in that Sephiroth posed a danger to the entire world, but still.
* AnimeHair: Not as bad as it could have been, but it was still present. The movie's about Cloud, after all.
* ArcWords: The "Reunion".
* ArmorIsUseless: None of the characters wear metal armor, except perhaps for Cloud's pauldron, which is never used. Averted when Cloud gets shot in the face, but only his goggles get shot off...although it is quite possible that TheGogglesDoNothing, and Cloud's face is just THAT tough. Alternately, [[CrazyPrepared he has Adamantine Goggles]].
* ArtEvolution: An "all-at-once" example. The original game had a very anime and cartoony design, even beyond the silly Lego-people polygons. Following the trend of the main series as a whole, Square Enix decided that in FFVII's next generation, they should go as realistic as possible. The new style stuck, and the entire Compilation has been near-photorealism since.
* ArmCannon: Barret, now [[{{BFG}} bigger]] and [[MoreDakka better]] than ever.
* AscendedMeme: [[spoiler:Sephiroth never actually had a wing in his human form until ''KingdomHearts''.]] It appears during the finale here. Also counts as a ShoutOut.
* BackFromTheDead: [[LateArrivalSpoiler Sephiroth]]
* BadAss: Quite a fair few of them, ranging from characters to tropes, in varying levels.
* BadassBiker: Cloud, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz.
* BadassBoast:
** Two in a row. [[spoiler:After Cloud defeats Sephiroth, he tells him: "Stay where you belong...in my memories." Sephiroth's response is to [[DeathGlare look Cloud in the eye]] and declare "I will ''never'' be a memory"]], doubly badass for quoting his own OminousLatinChanting ("Noli manere, manere in memoria").
** In the original Japanese, Sephiroth's final line is "Ah, but I am much more than ''that''."
* BadassCape: Vincent's cape definitely counts, especially during his intro scene. This makes him a better ninja than Yuffie.
* BadassLongcoat: Sephiroth
* BadassNormal: Rude. In a world where just about every fighting adult can practically fly, and even Reno has crazy climbing skills, Rude manages to hold his own against Loz with nothing but fists (and some awesome shades). Also, [[spoiler:he manages to stop Loz and Yazoo with his homemade bombs]].
** Rufus Shinra too. Played Kadaj like the bush-leaguer he is without so much as getting out of his wheelchair and then [[spoiler:engages Kadaj in a sky-diving chase sequence in pursuit of Jenova's head]].
* BelatedHappyEnding:
** Aerith and Zack are finally shown reunited in the afterlife.
** Cloud. He tried right after the game, and made a good run of it, But his survivor's guilt eventually caught up with him. Contracting Geostigma put the final nail in the angst coffin. However, events in the movie (spelled out in the Ultimania) make it clear Cloud has dealt with his major issues and finds his promised land surrounded by his friends and his family by the final end.
* BeyondTheImpossible: Omnislash Version 5, seen in the original ''Advent Children'', as well as Version 6 in ''Complete''. They both completely defy the laws of physics, [[RuleOfCool not that the movie(s) obey the laws in the first place.]]
* BifurcatedWeapon: Cloud's Fusion Swords, totaling of ''6 different swords''.
* {{Bishounen}}: Cloud, Sephiroth, Kadaj, Yazoo, Vincent
* BigDamnHeroes: Cloud in ACC arrives just in time to see Denzel about to be devoured by Shadow Creepers and a collapsing building falling on a stunned Tifa. He [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throws]] parts of his [[BifurcatedWeapon bifurcated]] BFS and tags all three Shadow Creepers, saving Denzel. He then ''[[AbsurdlySharpBlade slices a building in half]]'' to get to Tifa before she gets squashed. Ladies and Gentlemen, [[HesBack the man is back in the game!]]
* BishonenLine: Kadaj gets even ''more'' bishonen and far more powerful when he [[spoiler:briefly turns into Sephiroth]].
* {{BFS}}: Cloud and Sephiroth
* BloodlessCarnage: Played mostly straight in the original, but gruesomely averted in ''Complete'' when Sephiroth repeatedly impales Cloud in mid-air near the end of their fight.
* BondVillainStupidity: Sephiroth, who has at least two good chances to kill Cloud and decides to fight and taunt him a bit more. It arguably makes sense with Sephiroth. Dude's been waiting two years for his revenge; he's going to take his time and enjoy it.
* TheBrute: Loz
* CelebrityVoiceActor:
** Japanese: Ayumi Ito as Tifa
** English:
*** Steve Burton as Cloud
*** RachaelLeighCook as Tifa
*** Christy Carlson Romano as Yuffie Kisaragi
*** [[AmericanBeauty Mena Suvari]] as Aerith Gainsborough
*** George Newbern as Sephiroth
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Rufus]] to Kadaj.
* TheCoconutEffect: The entire reason Cloud is constantly depicted as emo in the movie (despite the fact that he got over his problems by the end of the game) is because at this point the fandom had made this out to be his only mental characteristic and wouldn't recognize him otherwise.
* CombatPragmatist: Yazoo, [[spoiler:who not only DOES just shoot him, he shoots him in the back while he's reminiscing]].
* ContinuityLockout:
** Though there's a recap at the beginning, the movie sorta requires that you play the game to really make sense out of it. Luckily, the DVD came with a recap of key events.
** ''Complete'' comes with an additional feature that recaps the events of the other spin-offs, although ''DirgeOfCerberus'' is glanced over, as it's set a year after ''Advent Children''.
* CoolShades: Rude's, the guy even has [[strike:a spare pair]] [[RunningGag many spare pairs]] in his jacket. Some parts of the fandom insist that Rude has a special Materia just for producing CoolShades. Cloud's goggles are pretty cool too.
** Spare sets or a costuming Materia, Rude has good reason for taking such measures as the first set get stepped on by Reno during their brawl with Yazoo and Loz.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Reno, possibly. [[spoiler:President Shinra turns out to be a Crouching Cripple Hidden Badass.]]
* DarkMessiah: Kadaj really channels this in the scene at the lake.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: About half the characters, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII all laid out in its predecessor]].
* DeadPersonConversation: [[spoiler:Cloud has one with both Aerith and Zack.]]
* DemotedToExtra: All the original playable characters not named Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Vincent. ''Especially'' Red XIII, who gets exactly one line before the end of the film.
** Although in Red XIII's case, it was because his model was a pain to render, what with all that fur.
* DevelopmentHell: The original movie was announced at Tokyo Games Show 2003, and wasn't released in Japan until late 2005, due to significant changes to the script during early development. ''Complete'' was announced at TGS 2006, and would subsequently not be released until March 2009.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Kadaj. He's the BigBad of the film and even engages Cloud in a SwordFight near the finale, but is ultimately a [[ThePawn pawn]] in Jenova and Sephiroth's endgame and is replaced by the latter.
** [[spoiler:He also suspects it all along, going so far as to voice his distress at the prospect to Rufus when they're alone in the high-rise.]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Basically everything involving the children. They all qualify as being [[LittlestCancerPatient little cancer patients]], but then [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]] when [[spoiler:they're kidnapped by the silver-haired men]] who have some very...questionable attitudes towards them. Finally, there's their [[spoiler:baptism]] by Cloud.
* DumbMuscle: Loz
* EasilyForgiven:
** Not so much "forgiven" as "forgotten", but everyone's attitude towards working with the Shinras is basically *shoulder shrug*. Even ''[[WellIntentionedExtremist Barrett]]'' is without complaint, and he witnessed them personally kill his original FiveManBand ''and'' drop the Sector Seven plate on the slums. That being said, [[DemotedToExtra he wasn't the focus of the movie]].
** More like, "Yazoo, Loz, Kadaj and, oh, yeah, fucking '''''[[spoiler:Sephiroth]]''''' are [[ConflictKiller way more important than revenge!]]"
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. Particularly [[TenderTears Loz]].
* FanNickname: Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were colloquially referred to as the SHM (Silver-Haired Men) in fan forums before their official names were made public, and sometimes still are.
* FastballSpecial: ''All the party members'' perform it on Cloud. Yes, even ''[[KilledOffForReal her]]''. Note that this is not on separate occasions... this is the aerial equivalent of a bucket brigade, with Cloud as the (highly ballistic) bucket.
* FeatherMotif: Black feathers for Sephiroth.
* FightScene: It'd be more accurate to say the movie contains ''non''-{{Fight Scene}}s. The original cut is 90 minutes long. The fight with Bahamut Sin starts about 45 minutes in, and the whole rest of the movie is one long fight. A good chunk of the first half is fighting too.
* TheGunslinger: Yazoo and Vincent
* GenericDoomsdayVillain: An unusual in-universe example. Cloud accuses Kadaj and co. of being this; stating that they don't really know ''why'' they're being antagonistic. Kadaj, however, [[ShutUpKirk doesn't]] [[TalkToTheFist care]]
* GenkiGirl: Yuffie
* GogglesDoNothing: Reno's don't seem to do anything other than to look cool and give him red rings around his eyes. Completely averted with Cloud, though--in addition to their regular purpose (keeping dirt out of his eyes) the goggles also prevent him from taking a bullet right between the eyes.
* HeelFaceReturn: Rufus shows up and explains he's seen the error in his ways and is working to undo the damage he did. His repentance kind of makes sense in that the consequences of Shinra Company's activities were extremely dramatic by the end of the game, and nearly were even worse.
* HellBentForLeather: Pretty much everyone who can be considered {{Badass}}.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Rude and Reno
* HiddenInPlainSight: "A ''good'' son would have known."
* HighlyVisibleNinja: Yuffie
* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler:Sephiroth hijacks Kadaj with around ten minutes left in the film.]]
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: Kadaj's katana (which is basically two blades on one hilt), Cloud's Fusion Swords.
* [[ILetGwenStacyDie I Let Aerith Die]]: As it was in FFVII, one of the reasons for Cloud's depression until he finally allows himself to be forgiven.
* ImplausibleFencingPowers: Rampant.
* ImprobableAimingSkills:
** Yazoo, who shoots Cloud's sunglasses off his face at point blank range and gives him only a tiny cut on the forehead, though it's more due to Cloud's ability to [[MadeOfIron shrug off a bullet to the forehead]].
** Ironically for a movie so bent on RuleOfCool, this is [[RealityIsUnrealistic entirely possible]]. ''Squama frontalis'', a part of the frontal cranial bone that forms the forehead itself, is one of the (if not ''the'') toughest bones in the human body[[hottip:* :Also the reason headbutts are effective]]. In some people it may reach a full inch or more in thickness, and thus is entirely able to stop at least a handgun bullet. Of course, the force of the impact would still create a shockwave that would pulverize the brain behind it. Surviving without skull penetration? Depending on the angle, possible. Surviving without at least some brain injury? Extremely unlikely. Cloud's brain is MadeOfIron too.
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Reno manages to casually fly a helicopter under a highway...''backwards''. Yazoo later tops this by flying through the open side doors of Reno's helicopter...in a ''motorcycle''.
* IntellectualAnimal: Red XIII. Also Cait Sith, who is [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot a robotic Scottish cat]].
* ItIsNotYourTime: Cloud, after [[spoiler: being shot by Yazoo]], has a brief encounter with [[spoiler:Aerith and Zack]] who tell him he doesn't belong with them yet.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Barret and Cid.
* KarmaHoudini: ''Reno''.
** People seem to forget that even though President Shinra ordered the Midgar plate to be dropped that Reno was the one who ''physically did the deed''. JustFollowingOrders is not an excuse. Does he get any kind of karmic punishment in this movie? Of course not. He's demoted to PluckyComicRelief.
** We shouldn't forget, however, that Barret and AVALANCHE ''also'' responsible for terrorist actions that killed innocent people. If that can be swept under the rug, then there's really no reason Reno's actions can't be. And besides, with the whole Sephiroth and Meteor incident having transpired and the ''whole world'' needing rebuilding, a dropped plate seems like an insignificant event by comparison and retribution for it would be pointless.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Right after Tifa [[IAmNotLeftHanded (seemingly)]] defeats Loz, the classic ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' victory chime [[ThemeTuneCameo starts playing in the background]]. It turns out to be [[SorryILeftTheBGMOn the ringtone to Loz's cellphone]].
* LetThemDieHappy: [[spoiler:Kadaj's death.]]
* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Mother, Like Son]]: Invoked by Sephiroth, who states that he's more or less forgotten (or given up) on his original goal of becoming a god and has decided he's going to follow in Jenova's footsteps; flying through space draining worlds of all their life essence.
* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: The original CE of the movie was available only in a limited run in Japan, and equated to around $300. It included the ''Last Order'' OVA, a cap and t-shirt with the Fenrir symbol printed on each, a Play Arts ''FFVIIAC'' Cloud with Fenrir, the voiceover script, a special reprint of the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII original game]] and the movie itself, complete with director's commentary and a special features disc. An American equivalent would be released much later, with many of the physical extras (save for the OVA) removed. ''FFVIIAC Complete'' also somewhat qualifies, considering the approximately 20 minutes of new footage and the ''On The Way To a Smile'' OVA.
* LipLock:
** The dub. Oh so much.
** ''"Dilly dally shilly shally"'', a nonsense phrase used in the English version to replace the Japanese "zuruzuru", an onomatopœia that mimics the sound of dragging a heavy load. Since the entire film is about Cloud letting his guilt and feelings of powerlessness weigh him down ("I feel...lighter"), it [[MakesSenseInContext makes sense in context]]. "Dilly dally shilly shally" on the other hand....
** The LipLock also resulted in things like [[http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss280/auntiebedjo519/Banana.gif this]].
* LittlestCancerPatient: Denzel and the other kids battling Geostigma.
* LostInTranslation: Cloud's sword in the movie was originally called the First Tsurugi by fans, both all six assembled blades and the base blade. In actuality, this name refers ''only'' to the base blade - the others were never given names by the production staff, who just used "Fusion Swords" to describe them. The mixup came from a misunderstanding of a transcription of Tetsuya Nomura's DVD commentary. Even the word "Tsurugi" (Chinese for broadsword) isn't the original one used (they just went with 'ken', evidently).
* MamaBear: Tifa
* MessiahCreep: Try watching [[spoiler:the baptism scene at the end of the movie]] and tell us that's not what's happening with Cloud.
* MissingTrailerScene: The first 2 trailers are infamous for being made almost entirely of test footage, none of which was used in the final movie (save the scene relating to Aerith's death). Interestingly, some screenshots of these scenes are actually on the back of the original DVD box.
* {{Nakama}}: Cloud's party and the Turks.
* NamesToKnowInAnime: Notable, since this was the first major instance in which the cast had voices. Most of them have stayed on too.
** TakahiroSakurai as Cloud.
** ToshiyukiMorikawa as Sephiroth.
** KeijiFujiwara as Reno.
** TohruOokawa as Rufus.
** KenjiNomura as Loz.
** MaayaSakamoto as Aerith.
** KenichiSuzumura as Zack.
** JunichiSuwabe as Tseng.
** HideoIshikawa as Cait Sith.
* NoExportForYou: Complete's vocal theme, "Safe and Sound," is not in Western releases of the film, which is odd considering that the song is written by Gerard Way from MyChemicalRomance and sung entirely in English . Furthermore, it's only available on the Japanese iTunes. "Calling" from the original version was used for the Western release.
* NoFlowInCGI: Averted to such cost, they avoided having to where possible. [[DemotedToExtra Hope you weren't a big fan of Red XIII]].
* NowThatsUsingYourTeeth: Bahamut SIN catches Cloud's sword strike in its ''mouth''.
* ObfuscatingDisability: Rufus Shinra always sits in a wheelchair and is covered in a long cloak, making him appear to be crippled and highly disfigured. That way Kadaj constantly keeps turning his back to him, which comes in handy in the end, as he can stand, walk, and use guns without much problems, at least for a short time.
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Cloud when [[ItWasHisSled Sephiroth is resurrected]] ''right in front of him''. Later returned the favor with the Omnislash Version 5. In Complete, Sephiroth BLOCKING the original Omnislash.]]
* OlderHeroVsYoungerVillain: According to [[AllThereInTheManual Reunion Files]], Nomura said he wanted Cloud to fight someone younger than him, resulting in Kadaj. It also qualifies as a DoubleSubversion. Cloud is 23 at the time of the movie and Kadaj physically looks like he's in his late teens, but given ''how'' the latter was created he's actually no older than ''two''.
* OminousLatinChanting: Sephiroth's awesome theme tune.
* OmnicidalManiac: Sephiroth, just like his dear mother before him.
* OneWingedAngel: Wouldn't be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' without it. [[spoiler:Kadaj becomes Sephiroth, then Sephiroth sprouts his wing at the fight's climax]]. The last one is subverted, however, in that [[spoiler:he dies immediately after it appears.]]
* ThePawn: The silver-haired men to Sephiroth and Jenova.
* PeekABangs: Kadaj
* ThePlague: Geostigma
* PointThatSomewhereElse: Near the beginning of Cloud and Sephiroth's fight, when Sephiroth points his sword in Cloud's face while he's laid out.
* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang:
** Yuffie's entire contribution to the film is having a flashy shuriken to throw around.
** In one of ''Complete'''s new scenes, Cloud throws two of his swords as boomerangs. One comes back quite soon. The other one he catches about 10 seconds later, still in mid-flight, using the sword he was already holding. [[BeyondTheImpossible The laws of physics wept, before getting kicked to the curb]].
* PrecisionFStrike :
** Denzel, after regaining his senses and seeing Tifa get hurt. "Son of a BITCH!"
** This is actually the only time a swear gets subbed. Of course [[HeterosexualLifePartners Reno and Rude]] are ''supposed'' to say "holy shit" when Bahamut Sin unleashes a breath of fire, but the subbers changed it to "hell no".
* ProductPlacement: The Panasonic [=P900iV=] cellphone.
* PsychopathicManChild: One of Kadaj's defining traits.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The silver-haired men. Miniboss, check. Quirky...definitely.
* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really Somewhere In Their Late Teens]]: Kadaj and his brothers might look like young men, but the truth is, as [[spoiler:Sephiroth's remnants]], they're only about two.
* RecycledSoundtrack: Piano tracks come directly from a previous Final Fantasy VII piano album.
* RememberTheNewGuy: If you find yourself wondering who this Denzel kid is, trust us, you're not the only one. ''Complete'' expands on his role and backstory.
* RestartAtLevelOne: See Took A Level In Badass. Initially, the party struggles against Kadaj's crew. They eventually pick up the pace later, wipe out Bahamut SIN, and kill Sephiroth all over again. This is probably signified as Cloud keeps adding more pieces to his sword.
** The adding of pieces serves as a ShoutOut to the way the game had Cloud upgrading by getting meaner and meaner swords.
* TheReveal: In all of the promotional material for ''Advent Children'' (including the {{Playstation 3}} [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thsnDqQu0mQ technical demo]] that remade the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' opening with the new character designs), no shots of Aerith showed her whole face. Even in the actual film, the first unobscured shot of her face is [[spoiler:at the very end when her spirit turns to look back at Cloud before going away with Zack]]. Given, her face has become one of gaming's most famous ones, and [[RuinedFOREVER if the modelers screwed it up...]]
* RuleOfCool: Acknowledged by the animators as the ''only'' rule they followed in designing the fight scenes.
* RuleOfDrama: Probably the 2nd rule that truly matters in this show after the RuleOfCool, the prime example would be [[spoiler:Aerith showing up to help Cloud...inside ''[[SphereOfDestruction Mega Flare]]''.]]
* SeriousBusiness: Loz and Yazoo about [[MommyIssues their mom]].
* SoLastSeason: [[spoiler:In ''Complete'', Cloud tries to finish Sephiroth with the original Omnislash. Sephiroth blocks all the lead-in attacks and impales him in the middle of the finishing leap. He's going to need another approach.]]
* SpiritAdvisor: Aerith and Zack
* SteppingStoneSword: Constantly, especially during the fight with Bahamut.
* SoapOperaDisease[=/=]IncurableCoughOfDeath: Geostigma. A Genetic disease [[spoiler:born of Sephiroth's hatred after dissolving into the lifestream but not dissipating.]] In ''Complete'', Vincent basically describes it as Magical AIDS.
* SpeedEchoes: Omnislash Version 5 (and 6).
* SurvivorGuilt: Cloud seems to have this in spades at the beginning of the film. He gets better.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: In ''Complete'', Cloud really had a lot of time to [[spoiler:talk with Zack while Sephiroth was approaching from the sky]]. Sephiroth himself indulges in this a fair amount as well.
** [[spoiler:With Cloud it's at least partially justified; the sequence in which he talks to Zack is probably taking place in his head, where time may be passing by slower. With Sephiroth, he's just really into crazy monologues and everyone seems happy to indulge him.]]
*** As Sephiroth is in WhyDontYouJustShootHim mode while doing that, it's really no wonder nobody complains; they live longer that way.
* TheEndOrIsIt: Sephiroth's last words seem to indicate he believes this.
--> ''"I will...never be a memory...."''
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Why didn't Yuffie just pass around some materia, have everyone cast one of their maxed-out spells (most of the materia was green), and wipe Kadaj and his ilk off the face of the earth? Because they've lost their edge - they've moved on and rebuilt their lives after Sephiroth's defeat, while Cloud spent all of his time brooding on [[ILetGwenStacyDie his failure to save Aerith.]] Tifa infers, from her defeat at Loz's hands, that none of them are the demigod-slayers they used to be. None of them save Cloud, who has refused to let go of his grief, is still riding the wave of desperation that let the party match superhumans like Sephiroth blow-for-blow. She even says those ExactWords. Letting him finish the final fight himself not only keeps them out of his way, but enables him to find closure.
* TogetherInDeath: Zack and Aerith
* TookALevelInBadass:
** Or ''regained'' levels, more like. Tifa comments during Cloud's fight with Kadaj how they all got weaker since the end of the game, but Cloud's retained much of his edge due to his isolation, and after entering single combat with Kadaj, seems to once more become "the man who killed Sephiroth"...''twice.''
** Also, Denzel in the ''Complete'' version in comparison to the old version.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil:
** Did ''you'' think Sephiroth was going to come back for this movie?
** Not the trailer, but the cover for the ACC Blu-Ray release shows both Cloud and Sephiroth on the front of it. But anyone whose a fan of ''FFVII'' would have known they were going to bring him back anyway.
* UpdatedRerelease: ''Complete''. Roughly 30 minutes more footage, as well as some altered scenes.
* VariableTerminalVelocity: Kadaj manages to fall faster than Rufus Shinra, even though Rufus fell first.
* WeaponTombstone:
** Zack's [[{{BFS}} Buster Sword]].
** The stinger for ''Complete'' directly references this - [[spoiler:The first shot is of the spot Zack died, with flowers growing, and Denzel asking if it was someone's grave. Cloud replies that it was where "a hero began his journey". After this, the shot fades to Aerith' church, where the sword has been moved to.]]
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: At a very early stage in development, the only featured characters were going to be Cloud, Tifa, Kadaj and Sephiroth. The run-time was also planned to be far lower than in the final movie; early interviews mentioned around the 40 minute mark. This would change as it became apparent that fans were expecting ''much'' more than the initial script apparently had, prompting a fairly extensive rewrite. The TGS 2003 trailer, and the unused footage it contains, probably comprises the remains of that early version of the movie.
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo
* WouldHitAGirl: Loz, who defeats Tifa in battle. He would have killed her had Marlene not interfered.
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''[[MemeticMutation Advent Children is the LONGEST CUTSCENE EVER]]!!!''
