History Anime / FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren

''Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'' is {{the movie}} sequel to the seventh entry in the [[RunningGag magnitude-describingly]] popular ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series.

Limited-edition copies of the movie came bundled with a novella detailing several characters' points of view during the two-year TimeSkip. The ''Advent Children Complete'' UsefulNotes/BluRay re-release included an OVA version of one of the novella's stories; it also added additional footage to the film that either expanded on the plot ([[ReCut a necessary move]]) or altered parts of it ([[RetCon not so necessary]]).

* AlasPoorVillain: Kadaji's death. He was easily the most sympathetic of the villains. He fades away in Cloud's arms while calling out to his mother as the GrayRainOfDepression falls around them.

* 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 that tough.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Every fight scene violates at least one law of physics; how many laws a given fight breaks differs from scene to scene. Unlimited jumping distances are the most common law broken. RuleOfCool applies here, though.

* BadassBoast:
** Two in a row. [[spoiler:After Cloud defeats Sephiroth: "Stay where you belong... in my memories." Sephiroth's response is to [[DeathGlare look Cloud in the eye]] and say, "I will ''never'' be a memory."]] Doubly badass for quoting his own OminousLatinChanting ("Noli manere, manere in memoria").

** Tifa prepares to face Bahamut SIN all by herself until Barret steps in--and brings the rest of the party with him. "Reunion", indeed.

* BloodierAndGorier: The ''Complete'' recut. While the characters didn't recieve apparent battle damage in the original version of the movie, ''Complete'' shows characters getting dirty as they fight, as well as damage being done to Bahamut SIN (e.g., some armor breaking off the face, revealing flesh and blood). The biggest change is toward the end of the fight between Cloud and Sephiroth, where Sephiroth stabs Cloud repeatedly in mid-air--to the point that Cloud becomes a bloody mess who is barely able to stand.

* TheBrute: Loz.

* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Rufus]] to Kadaj.

* CombatPragmatist: Yazoo, [[spoiler:who not only DOES JustShootHim, he shoots him in the back while he's looking at the sky]].

* CoolShades: Rude has [[strike:a spare pair]] [[RunningGag many spare pairs]] of sunglasses in his jacket. Some parts of the fandom insist that Rude has a special costuming Materia just for producing CoolShades. (Cloud's goggles are often counted, too.)

** Cloud's Fusion Swords, which is[=/=]are currently the page image for BifurcatedWeapon.

** Loz and Yazoo's gunblades, which get bonus points for having a cool name: The Velvet Nightmare.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: Kadaj is the BigBad of the film; he even engages Cloud in a SwordFight near the end. But he is still just a [[ThePawn pawn]] in Jenova and Sephiroth's endgame, moreso when Sephiroth resurrects using Kadaj's body.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: This is basically everything involving the children. They all qualify as being [[LittlestCancerPatient little cancer patients]], but then it goes FromBadToWorse when they are kidnapped by the silver-haired men, who have some questionable attitudes towards them. And there is also their baptism by Cloud.
** In the game, Materia were placed into slots on weapons. In the film, Kadaj infuses a sphere of Materia into his arm. (His sword, Souba, does not appear to have Materia slots, but that still raises implications.) The next time Kadaj shows up, he summons Bahamut SIN and continually blasts people with magic. This would require, at minimum, two Materia pieces--one for the summon and one for the spell. After Yazoo shoots Cloud in the back, we see him and Loz each raise one arm; they soon reveal that they are pumped full of Materia of multiple different colours. At this point, you can tell [[ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin they've been getting the good stuff]].

* ExactWords: Barret's "He's got ten minutes" line during the fight with Kadaj? Check the timestamp. Now check the timestamp during [[spoiler:the RedemptionInTheRain scene]]. The entire Cloud vs Kadaj[=/=]Sephiroth battle lasted ''no longer than ten minutes''; this includes the slow motion scenes, the DeadPersonConversation, and [[LimitBreak Omnislash]] [[FinishingMove Version Seven]].
* FastballSpecial: ''All the party members'' perform it on Cloud. Yes, even ''[[KilledOffForReal her]]''. And this is not on separate occasions--this is the aerial equivalent of a bucket brigade, with Cloud as the (highly ballistic) bucket.

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: The film has an unusual in-universe example. Cloud accuses Kadaj and the Remnants of being this, even telling them outright that they have no idea why they are doing what they are doing. Kadaj [[ShutUpKirk refuses]] [[TalkToTheFist to care.]]
* GenkiGirl: Yuffie

* GreaterScopeVillain: While Kadaj and the Remnants pose the main threat for most of the film, their main goal is to revive Sephiroth, whose influence can be felt throughout.

* HiddenInPlainSight: [[spoiler:Rufus has Jenova's head all the time, Kadaj doesn't seem to notice this at all despite being near him for most of the president's screen time]].

* 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''.

* ItOnlyWorksOnce: Cloud tries to repeat the ending of ''Final Fantasy VII'' and [[spoiler:kill Sephiroth with omnislash, but it becomes immediately apparent that Sephiroth was ready this time. Instead it's Sephiroth who makes a repeat performance by skewering Cloud through the stomach like he did during their skirmish in Nibelheim when Cloud goes in for the final slash. Sephiroth even takes the time to mock him for it.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Sephiroth:''']] Is this the pain you felt before... Cloud? Let me remind you. ''This'' time you won't forget.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Barret and Cid.
* KarmaHoudini: ''Reno''. Iin ''Complete'' he has a conversation with Rude where he admits that he's happy helping people now, but he isn't quite sure if any one of them can really make up for what they did what with the whole almost destroying the world thing.

** 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]]. Bonus points for the music in their fight scene basically being a piano cover of the game's standard fight theme.

* {{Lifestream}}: The [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII original game]] is the TropeNamer.
* [[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.

** Cloud gets the most of them; he uses all his [[LimitBreak Limit Breaks]] from the original game save for Cross Slash and Meteorain. Easily distinguishable for the blue aura surrounding Cloud when he's about to pull one off:

*** Shortly thereafter, he uses Climhazzard against Bahamut SIN, this time finishing him for good.

** Barret unleashes what seems to be a reminiscent of Big Shot straight to Bahamut SIN's face.

** [[spoiler:Aerith]] also gets a couple [[spoiler:from beyond the grave. She calls upon Great Gospel to heal the Geostigma in Cloud, which then pools to act as a healing spring. She uses it again after Sephiroth's defeat to heal people all over Midgar. In the Bahamut SIN fight, she also fuels Cloud with Fury Brand, allowing him to perform two Limit Breaks within a few minutes of time.]]

** ''"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...

* NoFlowInCGI: Averted, but... [[DemotedToExtra Hope you weren't a big fan of Red XIII]], because to save on money they avoided showing him as much as possible.

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The silver-haired men. Miniboss, check. Quirky... definitely.

* ResurrectionRevenge: Ever since his death, [[OneWingedAngel Sephiroth]] has kept himself from being assimilated by the planet's {{Lifestream}}, by focusing on his hatred of the one who killed him: [[TheHero Cloud]] [[ArchEnemy Strife.]] So his first order of business upon coming back to life, was to settle the score. But Cloud defeats him a second time, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyPlwtBTXpk after a hard fought battle.]]

* 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]]''.]]

--> ''"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 [[TradeYourPassionForGlory Traded Their Passion For Glory]] - 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. Though Barret does say "He's got 10 minutes", presumably before he would jump in, it just never came to that.

** 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.''

* YourMom: Subverted for two different reasons. Reno and Rude insult Jenova in front of Loz and Yazoo. When they take offense to it, Rude apologizes instantly. Reno attempts to follow through, then realizes they're talking about ''Jenova's friggin' head'' and [[DoubleSubverted snaps back into battle mode]].

->''[[DeadPersonConversation You see? Everything's... alright.]]''

* LipLock:
** The dub. Oh so much.

* AscendedMeme: Sephiroth never actually had a wing in his human form until ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts''. It appears during the finale here. Also counts as a ShoutOut.

* SurvivorGuilt: Cloud seems to have this in spades at the beginning of the film. He gets better, partly due to a conversation he has with Aerith in her Spirit Advisor role. He openly blames himself for her death, and she humorously mocks him, saying "Oh, boo hoo. Oh, poor me," as if to remind him that he couldn't exactly have ''stopped'' Sephiroth from killing her.

* LoveMartyr: Tifa, whose relationship with Cloud is not in the best place at the beginning of the movie. She loves him and has been trying to make it work, but he's still hung up on his feelings of guilt about Aerith's death and trying to seperate whatever feelings he may have had for Aerith from Zack's. Poor Tifa finally (quietly) snaps and tells Cloud she can't do this anymore.
-->'''Tifa:''' You have to decide. Us, or a memory.

* SurvivorGuilt: Cloud seems to have this in spades at the beginning of the film. He gets better, partly due to a conversation he was with Aerith in her Spirit Advisor role. He blames himself for her death, and she humorously mocks him, saying "Oh, boo hoo. Oh, poor me," as if to remind him that he couldn't exactly have ''stopped'' Sephiroth from killing her.

* SurvivorGuilt: Cloud seems to have this in spades at the beginning of the film. He gets better.

* [[ILetGwenStacyDie I Let Aerith Gainsborough Die]]: As it was in the game, this is one of the reasons for Cloud's depression--until he finally allows himself to be forgiven. ([[AesopAmnesia Even though he seemed to have gotten over somewhat in the original game.]])

* ExactWords: Barret's "He's got ten minutes" line during the fight with Kadaj? Check the timestamp. Now check the timestamp during [[spoiler:the RedemptionInTheRain scene]]. The entire Cloud vs Kadaj[=/=]Sephiroth battle lasted ''no longer than ten minutes''; this includes the slow motion scenes, the DeadPersonConversation, and [[LimitBreak Omnislash]] [[FinishingMove Version]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Seven]].

[[quoteright:255:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Advent_Children.jpg]]

* Zeerust / TechnologyMarchesOn: Advent Children may be a futuristic movie. But the characters use flip cellphones! This movie was released in 2005. The first smartphone would not come out till 2007. At the time, the flip cellphones used in the movie seemed advanced and futuristic. But eventually they would become very outdated.

* Zeerust/TechnologyMarchesOn: Advent Children may be a futuristic movie. But the characters use flip cellphones! This movie was released in 2005. The first smartphone would not come out till 2007. At the time, the flip cellphones used in the movie seemed advanced and futuristic. But eventually they would become very outdated.

* 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]].

* HiddenInPlainSight: "A ''good'' son would have known."

* FightScene: It would be more accurate to say the movie contains a few non-{{Fight Scene}}s instead. The original cut of the film is ninety minutes long; the fight with Bahamut SIN starts about halfway in, and the rest of the movie is basically one long fight, while a hefty amount oof the film's first half is also filled with fighting.

* BackFromTheDead: [[LateArrivalSpoiler Sephiroth]] is resurrected by Kadaj eating Jenova cells. [[spoiler:Cloud gets shot in the back and caught in an explosion after the Sephiroth bttle, but is stopped from entering the Lifestream by Zack and Aerith; he emerges in the Lifestream-infused pond in Aerith's church.]]

* ItOnlyWorksOnce: Cloud tries to repeat the ending of ''Final Fantasy VII'' and [[spoiler: kill Sephiroth with omnislash, but it becomes immediately apparent that Sephiroth was ready this time. Instead it's Sephiroth who makes a repeat performance by skewering Cloud through the stomach like he did during their skirmish in Nibelheim when Cloud goes in for the final slash. Sephiroth even takes the time to mock him for it.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Sephiroth:''']] Is this the pain you felt before...Cloud? Let me remind you. ''This'' time you won't forget.

* WorfHadTheFlu: Tifa gets her butt handed to her by Loz once he stops holding back. She later remarks to the others that in the two years since Meteorfall they all lost the level of strength they once had, and that only Cloud has managed to regain it.