Is Maiden of the Planet Canon?
by Anastar
CloudxTifa supporters often claim that the novella Maiden of the Planet
should not be considered canon. This claim is automatically suspicious,
since Maiden of the Planet negates several things that CloudxTifa supporters
have always believed to be true. For example, Maiden of the Planet makes it
clear that Aerith truly loves Cloud, that Aerith loves Cloud more than Zack,
that Aerith no longer has romantic interest in Zack, and that Cloud was
heartbroken by the loss of Aerith. All of this evidence contradicts some
main beliefs held by supporters of the CloudxTifa pairing. As a result,
CloudxTifa supporters try to disprove the legitimacy of this novella in
several ways. Let’s examine their evidence more closely.
In the first place, CloudxTifa supporters claim that Maiden of the Planet
cannot be considered canon because it was written by Benny Matsuyama, who
was not a member of the creative staff that worked directly on the
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. The other novellas included in On the Way
to a Smile were written by Kazushige Nojima, the original scenario writer
for Final Fantasy VII. However, Square Enix has clearly stated that Benny
Matsuyama wrote Maiden of the Planet under its careful supervision. Benny
Matsuyama had been commissioned by Square Enix on prior occasions to write
side stories for the FFX Ultimania Omega and the FFX-2 Ultimania Omega.
Before the release of Advent Children, Tetsuya Nomura approached the staff
of Bentstudio and said that he wanted a new book published about Final
Fantasy VII so that fans could enjoy the game once again. The resulting book
was the FFVII Ultimania Omega, an official guidebook to Final Fantasy VII
authorized by Square Enix. In addition to the novella Maiden of the Planet,
the FFVII Ultimania Omega is over 500 pages long and contains an official
walkthrough and story guide to Final Fantasy VII, comprehensive biographies
of the FFVII characters, official production artwork, a guide to FFVII
cameos in other Square games, interviews with the creators of FFVII, and
previews to other games in the Compilation of FFVII.
Furthermore, the FFVII Ultimania Omega is referred to on
Square Enix's official website
as part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII under Magazines/Books, as
shown in the following screenshot:
Note: The words “Compilation of FFVII” are in Japanese
on the website.
Since the FFVII Ultimania Omega is an official guidebook authorized by
Square Enix, was compiled and edited under the supervision of Square Enix,
is referred to on SE’s official website as part of the Compilation of FFVII,
and contains official interviews, artwork, and information copyrighted by
Square Enix, its validity cannot be questioned, and no part of it should be
excluded.
Another reason used by CloudxTifa supporters to argue against the idea that
Maiden of the Planet should be considered canon is that they believe it
contains inconsistencies to the rest of the Compilation of FFVII. Once
again, let’s examine their evidence more closely.
In the first place, the entire compilation is filled with inconsistencies.
For example, several changes were made during Cloud and Zack's escape from
Nibelheim in Crisis Core. In Final Fantasy VII, Zack knocks the guard out at
feeding time when the guard brings Zack a food tray. In Crisis Core, Zack
breaks through the glass of the experimental tube when he sees Angeal's
face. In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud and Zack had actually planned their escape
for feeding time, as shown by scratches on the beakers, which can be seen in
the screenshots below. Their escape is unplanned, however, in Crisis Core.
Other inconsistencies are shown in Crisis
Core, as well, such as the colors of Shinra uniforms, Tifa's outfit, and
Zack's death scene. There’s even inconsistencies present in the novella Case
of Tifa, written by Kazushige Nojima, who was the scenario writer for Final
Fantasy VII. In one part of Case of Tifa, it’s stated that Avalanche went to
Kalm to see Elmyra, Aerith’s foster mother. While there, Cloud tells Elmyra
what had happened to Aerith. This is inconsistent with Final Fantasy VII,
since Cait Sith tells Cloud’s party during Disk 2 that he had already
informed Elmyra about the death of Aerith. Inconsistencies can also be found
in Advent Children, in details such as Kadaj using a blue/green materia to
summon Bahamut, while the Bahamut summon materia is red in FFVII.
Other claims about inconsistencies being present in Maiden of the Planet are
quite untrue. For example, some claim that Maiden of the Planet asserts that
Aerith is able to appear to Cloud in Advent Children because she is Cetra,
whereas Maiden of the Planet actually says no such thing. In actuality,
Aerith never manifests to Cloud or any other living person during Maiden of
the Planet. The story only states that Aerith is able to maintain her
individual consciousness as a spirit due to being Cetra, which is quite
different from being able to manifest to living beings.
Another thing in Maiden of the Planet that some people claim to be
inconsistent with the rest of the Compilation is the relationship shown
between Aerith and Zack. Advocates of the ZackxAerith pairing claim that
their love was confirmed in Crisis Core, and therefore, the dynamic shown
between Aerith and Zack in Maiden of the Planet isn’t consistent with that.
This can be disputed for several reasons.
In the first place, Crisis Core only depicts Aerith’s relationship with Zack
before she met Cloud, and before Zack went missing. Maiden of the
Planet happens five years after Crisis Core, so Aerith's feelings for Zack
could easily have changed during that time span. In the second place, the
FFVII Compilation Ultimania only confirms that Zack was Aerith’s first
love, not her only love. In the third place, it has been confirmed
that the affection level between Aerith and Zack is optional in Crisis Core,
since there's a system similar to the Date Mechanism incorporated into the
game. This is fully documented in the
Crisis Core Walkthrough/FAQ by Absolute
Steve at GameFAQs. Besides, the relationship between Aerith and
Zack is also optional in Final Fantasy VII and varies according to the
affection level established between Aerith and Cloud. For example, Aerith's
responses to Cloud can change in Gongaga after they learn about Zack's
death. Therefore, while some people’s *interpretation* of Zack and Aerith’s
relationship may be contradicted, the actual portrayal of their relationship
is not.
There’s one more supposed inconsistency in Maiden of the Planet which is
often referred to. After Cloud defeats Sephiroth and Aerith starts summoning
the Lifestream to defeat Meteor, Zack says this to her:
"Hey Aerith, did you see Cloud's finishing?"
Zack guided his energy into the second wave as Meteor was thrown back losing
its force. "That was one my sword techniques too. Doesn't it charm you
again?"
Some people take this to mean that Zack is claiming to have taught Omnislash
to Cloud, whereas the only attack Cloud ever learned from Zack was Meteorain.
However, if you study the wording carefully, Zack doesn’t actually say that
he taught Omnislash to Cloud. Instead, Zack says that "Cloud's finishing"
was one of his sword techniques. By that, Zack may have simply meant the
final blow of Cloud’s limit break, since Omnislash is a combination of 15
individual sword slashes. Another possibility is that Zack was merely making
that claim in an effort to charm Aerith, which would be totally consistent
with his character.
In actuality, Maiden of the Planet is quite consistent with Final Fantasy
VII, following both the mythos and elements of the game and providing a
premise for different elements of Advent Children. For example, Maiden of
the Planet provides a basis for Zack and Aerith appearing together in Advent
Children, and explains why Aerith has retained the individuality of her
spirit rather than merging with other souls of the Lifestream. Maiden of the
Planet also establishes a clear foundation for Cloud's guilt as shown in
Advent Children, and provides a premise for the existence of the Negative
Lifestream when it says this:
Aerith knew one of the reasons why there was a place
that the Lifestream couldn't approach. That place had a barrier that
Sephiroth setup.
The story is also very consistent with Final Fantasy VII in that it explains
how Sephiroth blocked Aerith's will after her death, explains the premise
behind Cloud's multiple personality, gives details about Aerith summoning
the Lifestream to attack Meteor at the end of the game, and is quite
consistent with other details in Disks 2 and 3 of the original game.
Therefore, most questions about whether or not Maiden of the Planet can be
considered canon seem to be based on contradictions to the interpretations
of Final Fantasy VII held by supporters of the CloudxTifa and ZackxAerith
pairings. Instead, this novella fully backs the CloudxAerith interpretation
of Final Fantasy VII, which is apparently the true reason that supporters of
CloudxTifa and ZackxAerith attempt to discredit it.
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