#ffviima

Now, if you’ve been following me for a while (or read my last review of FFVII:MA), you’ll recall that the first time Team Four Star had a character make fun of a masculine woman, I was very critical, pointing out that being demeaned is something that trans and masculine women are forced to deal with on a regular basis.

I also argued that in the context of the show, having the only masculine woman be treated this way during the only time she is asserting her proper gender feels more like the intent is to make fun of masculine and trans women in general, rather than being the bit of representation they likely intended.

With FFVII:MA, however, Takahata101 seems to be going out of his way to assert something different: namely that trans and masculine women’s genders are valid, and it is only reasonable to treat their gender as such.

With that in mind, Tifa making fun of Cloud for crossdressing works, because it matches the cruelty and emotional carelessness of her established character without being the only voice we hear speaking of Cloud’s crossdressing.

The Church of Brodin has been more than supportive, a group of Chip ‘n’ Dale dancers gladly gave Cloud panties, Giuseppe is more proud of Cloud than his own son, and Aerith has been nothing but supportive since the beginning. And to top that all off, not even Don Corneo rejects Cloud upon discovering his true gender; if anything, he seems more excited once he knows the truth.

None of that is to say that this episode is perfect, of course. It suffers from some pacing issues, which is par for the course when Team Four Star is dealing with slower and calmer material. In particular, the scene in the “sex dungeon” feels slow, and while the slowdown is necessary to develop character (and expand upon Aerith’s innocence and jealousy), it feels like a significant shift both from the rest of the episode and the series as a whole, in regards to both pacing and tone.

The tonal shift in that scene might pay off later, of course; it could easily be a sign of the kind of moments we can expect to see in the future, and if that’s the case, then it means Takahata101 is working to overcome Team Four Star’s weaknesses in slower storytelling.

Rating: 4/5

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Stray Observations

Cloud: “One drugs, please.”

Cloud: “Grapefruits and three bras.” *sigh* Rookie mistake, Cloud. Everyone knows for a quick and dirty breast form you use nylon socks filled with grain and tied shut.

Cloud: “You don’t want me. I’m a virgin!” Poor, sweet, little Cloud, unaware of predators love for innocent prey.

Before I close, I want to take a brief moment to talk about the importance of representation. To do this, I’m going to take a small tangent. Back when I published my review of Dragonball Z: Abridged Episode 15, not long after KaiserNeko decided to reblog it and spread it, I received a message whose sender I am making anonymous, and in it I was asked “who are you and what makes you think Team Four Star needs to pander to tumblr gender politics.”

Well, sender, the truth is, I am but a humble critic, and my personal reasons for wanting to see proper representation of gender nonconforming folk is not a sufficient reason for them to want to do better (well, it kinda is, but I’ll get to that). There is, however, a sufficiently compelling reason for them to do so, and that reason is respect.

By acknowledging criticism of their representation and working to better it in the future, Team Four Star shows that they have respect for their viewers that they may have misrepresented, and for the actual experiences that they must go through every day. “Tumblr gender politics” in general is based upon this same notion, and through efforts to raise awareness about what these people’s experiences are, they imply the need for respect of their person, and show the harm of disrespecting someone’s identity.

See, Final Fantasy VII contains, as an incredibly important part of its plot, a sequence where Cloud must cross-dress and pose as a woman in order to rescue Tifa, and I was worried that the over-the-top caricatures present throughout most of this series would carry over into their handling of the cross-dressing sequence, which could easily lead to harmful jokes at the expense of trans and gender-nonconforming people.

Takahata101 nails it from the very beginning though, and this happens in part due to the presence of Aerith, whose unbridled optimism and supportiveness has her leading Cloud gleefully through the transition process, where someone like Tifa or Barrett would have immediately rejected the idea.

It’s also incredibly meaningful that Cloud is the one to suggest that he cross-dress; while he makes the comment that he could do so off-handedly, it still suggests that posing as the other gender isn’t outside of his comfort zone, and the ease with which Aerith convinces him to go for it provides more evidence for this, and it is finally fully proven that Cloud desires this when he justifies cross-dressing in the terms of how much better than Tifa he would look while he saved her.

It’s also important to note the positive reactions of Giuseppe and the Church of Brodin to Cloud’s desire. Giuseppe has great dresses all around, but as soon as he realizes that it will be Cloud’s first dress, he abandons the rest of his work in order to make the best dress of his life just for him.

Similarly, the Church of Brodin are planning on forcing Cloud into a masculine challenge of strength to obtain a wig, but when they find out that he wants the wig for the sake of (in Aerith’s words) “becoming a woman,” they give it to him without the contest, claiming that it is not their place to question or challenge his lifestyle choice.

It’s interesting as well that the wig, which normally might be seen as an object denoting femininity, has been adopted by a church of ripped, masculine dudes as a symbol of their god’s masculinity, which is a fairly clever inversion of expectations.

Finally, when the members of the Church of Brodin give Cloud the wig, and Squaticles says that no one has the right to discriminate against another person’s lifestyle, Cloud says that he feels that context is needed. Now, I’m just a girl running a film criticism blog and mostly writing about abridged series, but I can’t help but wonder if, just perhaps, that’s a nod to my criticism of DBZA Episode 15. Maybe I’m being a bit presumptive here, but it would actually be pretty amazing if that were the case, as I’d have a definitive example of my writing having an effect on the world, and who doesn’t want that?

Rating: 5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

I do feel I should add a brief addendum pointing out that crossdressing and being a trans or masculine woman are not the same, but the handling of gender non-conformity in this episode is still excellent.

Cloud: “Aerith, it would appear to me that Tifa has been kidnapped by a Mafia leader with the intention to give her the sex.” Aerith: “Oh no, she can’t do that ‘til she’s married!”

The first thing you’ll notice about this episode is that we only spend half of it with the main cast. We’re left with Cloud, Tifa, and Barret as commentators once they’ve infiltrated Shinra Headquarters, but the entire second half of this episode is a board meeting with only the minor interjection of our heroes.

That’s a pretty bold decision, and it works extraordinarily, with the time away from our main cast serving as a refreshing break in which Takahata101 and Antfish let loose with the clever comedy. It’s a testament to their writing ability that they’re able to make a scene discussing budgetary concerns this hilarious, and it’s even more to their credit that departing from the main cast for so long feels more like a treat than a loss.1

The rest of the episode is spent on one of Team Four Star’s funniest jokes to date and an exposition dump. The cast’s ascension up the stairwell is classic comedy: Takahata101 causes major pain to his characters for a perceived award only to snatch it away at the last minute. The exposition dump then, is framed as the ravings of a pot-obsessed hippie, who just decided to grab Aerith off of the streets after the death of her (potentially pot-obsessed) mother.

Sandra Espinoza sells this scene perfectly, delivering the history of her adopted daughter with the perfect combination of aloofness and motherly care. Finally, to top this episode off, we even get a moment between Barret and Marlene that is the perfect blend of touching and hilarious, as Barret instructs her to be sure to take a 25% cut off of anything that Elmyra (Aerith’s adopted mother) has her sell.

Rating: 5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

1You could view it as a failure on their part that we don’t miss focusing on the heroes, but the break from the dark complexity of Barret and Tifa and their negative influence on Cloud was very much needed.

Elmyra: “They offered her a free helicopter ride, and well, how can anyone say no to that?” Barret: “Believe it or not, very easily.”

Elmyra: “You must be the father of Marlene.” Barrett: “WHY THANK YOU, for assuming that automatically.” Elmyra: “I can sense these things. Also, she has a gun, and your hand is a gun.” Barrett: “Fair assessment.”

Elmyra: “Aerith is the last of the Setra, an ancient race that will lead us to the Promised Land.” You never realize how crazy this is until you hear it said by a drug-addled hippie.

Elmyra as Aerith’s Mom: “I’m… dying… TO TRY THAT SWEET KUSH!”

*60 flights of stairs later* Cloud: “Guys, the door’s locked…” *-60 flights of stairs later*

Cloud: “I can’t believe we just got away with that.” Tifa: “Seriously, they thought you were with ‘urban development!’” Barrett: “Yeah! I mean I have no idea why they would… think I was in urban… develop… OH THAT RACIST CUNT!”

Tifa: “You can’t tell my murder-boner what to do Cloud!” Barrett: “We are erect with rage!”

Palmer: “First you take both your hands and you make a telescope outta them. And then what you see in the night sky there, that’s one space. And then, you take one billion gil, which is how must one space costs, by the way, and then, you toss it into a fire! And the smoke delivers the payment to space! And that’s how you buy space!” Shinra: “Reeve, I would like the space program budget to go through you from now on.” Palmer: “AAAAAHHHH BUT I WANNA GO TO SPACE!!! I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA!!!!!” Shinra: “Fine, cousin Palmer, you will go to space eventually.” Barret: “These are the people who have been beating us.”

Episode 4 hasn’t really answered those concerns in a substantive way, though it hints at a greater reality lying under Aerith’s exaggerated character. One thing I will say for sure is that Aerith and Cloud already have a subtle chemistry, which is good (and arguably something the original game was lacking) because their relationship is going to be the crux of most of the important character beats in the future. Standing on her own though, Aerith is an extreme manic pixie dream girl, the likes of which I haven’t seen outside of Elizabethtown.

And that’s not the worst thing, given the context. Aerith easily fits in to the cast of incredibly exaggerated caricatures we’ve seen in Barret and Tifa, and to a certain extent her caricature does a good job of pointing out the absurdity of the manic pixie dream girl.

The little glimmers of resistance seen in her interaction with Reno as well as her knowledge about SOLDIER also hint at parts of her character that don’t fit the mold of the manic pixie dream girl that Takahata101 likely simply hasn’t had time to explore yet, and will expand on in future episodes. Still, Aerith’s general submissiveness leaves something to be desired as of now (which could be the point), and I hope that it is something addressed in future episodes.

Rating: 4/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

1Spoilers: Aerith, a very typical manic pixie dream girl, abandons the man tropes demand she protect in order to fulfill her destiny and save the earth, sacrificing her own life in the process (and leaving me without my goddamn white mage).

Zack’s little psychic conversations with Cloud are great, and I love how it is blended with Aerith’s attempt at waking up Cloud.

Aerith’s “You apologized, so I have to forgive you,” is very reminiscent of Goku’s lines when he’s defeated Vegeta. “Krillin, if he’s sorry, then there’s nothing we can do.”

I can’t tell if Takahata101 is trying to impersonate Quinton Flynn with his Reno voice, but if he is, it’s pretty damn good (and the performance in general is great too).

The remix of Aerith’s theme that plays at her home is just fantastic.

Aerith: ‘They even broke your magic smoke vase.” Aerith’s Mom: “Yes, even my vaporal gateway into Shiva’s garden.”

Cloud: “Yes, it has everything a house needs. A sandbox. A ladder. A slide. The basic amenities.”

This is why I find the prison rape threats held over Cloud to not only be unproblematic, but thematically poignant. Prison rape jokes in general are fairly unfunny, serving to reinforce homophobic ideas and harmful stereotypes about prisoners as well as reducing a severely traumatic event to a punchline, and there aren’t many occasions where they can be redeemed.

But Takahata101 does just that by leaning into the real horror behind rape, and acknowledging that Tifa reinforcing those fears onto Cloud is utterly reprehensible. It makes for a dark turn, and while it happens somewhat abruptly, it’s completely effective at establishing the immorality present in AVALANCHE, who originally were goodhearted underdogs.

This deconstruction of our heroes shows a lot of promise, and if Takahata101 and Anthony “Antfish” Sardinha continue to handle this darkening of the source material this well, it’ll make for an excellent thematic core to the series (especially if they also follow through on Cloud’s identity crisis).

On a similar note, we’re only two episodes in, and yet I’m already finding the incredible contrast between Final Fantasy VII: Machinabridged and its source material to be absolutely fascinating. I mentioned last week that Final Fantasy VII is frequently lauded by its fans as the greatest RPG of all time, and while I don’t agree with that statement,1 I do believe that FFVII is a wonderfully written RPG, thanks to how well it deconstructs its characters.

Cloud is your typical antihero, but then it turns out he’s not, and has been lying about being this antihero since the beginning. Barret easily fits the “Angry Black Man” trope, but he’s primarily concerned with being a good father and protecting the environment. Tifa’s tough physicality and visible sexuality doesn’t preclude her from having a strong intellect and an incredibly kind heart.

I could go on,2 but I wanted to highlight the difference between the characters we’ve met so far in FFVII:MA. Cloud is no longer brash, confident and brooding; he’s a nervous wreck with no sense of identity. Barret is cruel, vindictive, and probably not a very great parent, and Tifa is cruel and manipulative instead of kind and caring.

Now, in Episode 2, unlike the last, each of these characterizations hit on an emotional reality (last episode they were caricatures crafted to fit the theme, which was perfect for the first episode), and that emotional reality drives their relationships forward just as well as their characterizations in the original, even though these new characterizations can be a lot darker.

Rating: 4.5/5

Stray Observations

1On the grounds of writing alone, FFVII falls short in comparison to other games in the series, like VI, Tactics, and XII, all of which have stronger and better developed characters and storylines than VII (not even mentioning more recent Westerns RPGs like Oblivion, Mass Effect, or The Witcher, which outshine the storytelling of FFVII even more).

Gameplay wise, it’s also definitely one of the worst in its series (materia is fun but ain’t no esper, and they really weren’t ready for 3D until FFX), with only II and XIII really being definitively worse. And while very few Western RPGs outside of Dark Souls have gameplay I would consider “good,” they’re still streets ahead of FFVII’s clunky menus and Active Time Battle (which was perfected in VI).

2Seriously, every single character in this game is a deconstruction of their own archetype. Aerith is a manic pixie dream girl who abandons the male hero she’s “supposed to save” and sacrifices her life for everyone, leaving the male hero more alone and broken than ever.

Red XIII is a scientifically engineered wolf-creature who uses his fierce appearance to hide extreme intelligence and sensitivity. Cid is a loudmouthed redneck who is interested in and competent at flight and interstellar travel, and he also chooses to abandon his dreams of traveling into space in order to save the life of his assistant.

Reno and Rude, two “mindless thugs” from Shinra, are suave, cool, and genuinely good people, who refuse to question the actions of the men who have treated them incredibly well since the beginning. Rufus Shinra is a spoiled bratty kid who constantly questions the legacy of his father, and doesn’t realize until it’s too late that he’s been on the wrong side since the beginning.

Sephiroth… is a bit harder to pin down, because he’s mostly a parallel to Cloud as well as a warning to him of what he could become. His “ultimate” design is also interesting, as when he is at his strongest and has achieved “godlike power,” he takes the form of not only a fallen, but a broken, one-winged angel, showing the futility of his quest.

“REBELANCHE!”

Tifa: “Let me guess, you’re all pissy because that was ‘freedom-fighting’?” Cloud: “No, that was terrorism!” Tifa: “Oh, come on, how was destroying a factory that sucks the life out of the planet terrorism?” Cloud: “Every part of it was terrorism!”

Tifa the Liar.

Barret: “Did you f*** up?” Cloud: “What even is f***ing up?”

“Shinra determined that the explosion was caused by the group AVALANCHE.” *sounds of jubilation* “Little is known about this group…” *more jubilation* “Until today.” *sounds of dismay*

“Coming up next, the dark, demented reality of Chocobo breeding.” I’m literally shivering thinking about those horrors.

Cloud: “Please, like anyone’s gonna recognize me from that picture.” Tifa: “Hair.” Cloud: “Oh, you’re so right.”

Their absurd characters are all pretty fantastic, with Takahata101 (in a stroke of genius), making the entirety of AVALANCHE a bunch of obnoxious and dumb kids, with the exceptions being Cloud and Barret, who are still absurd in their own right. Barret comes off as an absurd parody of “Mr. T,” (thanks to Anthony “Antfish” Sardinha) with his trademark “Don’t f*** up” both asserting his authority and demeaning the only one around him that would otherwise be his equal.

Cloud then is played off as an anxious wreck, totally clueless of what he is about to do and what the future has in store for him (capped off with a genuinely creepy hallucination of the voice of Zack, who lends credence to the implication that Cloud might genuinely be unstable).

Finally, Jessie, an otherwise entirely forgettable character, is made into the best character gag of the episode, as a shady root-canal procedure has left her with an incredibly strong lisp that throws even more chaos into the operation.

These great characters are tied together with a common purpose: to blow up the Eco-Friendly Peace Factory (previously known as the Mako Power Plant). And each member except Cloud is perfectly comfortable with this, because they are “eco-terrorists,” or as they would say, people fighting to save the planet.

It’s certainly oddly fitting that the only people we’ve seen who claim to be heroes and are fighting to save the planet are a group of dumb kids managed by an overbearing leader, but it takes a brilliant turn at the end when they’ve blown up the factory and abandon Cloud, because maybe groups trying to save the world are filled with nothing more than obnoxious, inconsiderate assholes. And maybe you’re forced into them anyway.

Rating: 5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

The naming gag is great, and I look forward to seeing it for the rest of the characters.

Eco-Friendly Peace Factory!

Barret: “There will be an AVALANCHE of Justice!” Cloud: “And how exactly…” Barret: “We’re gonna blow this motha-f**** up.”

The subtitles being in the font from the original game is a very nice touch.

The most impressive feat here is just how many funny and clever moments Takahata and Antfish pack into each scene. The escape from Shinra Headquarters in particular is packed to the brim as we cross-cut between Cloud fighting with Rufus and Barret fighting a giant robot; Cloud and Rufus’ battle is primarily a battle of wits, with Cloud interrogating Rufus as he attempts to challenge Cloud’s confidence in his friends, and Barret’s battle is primarily about him having to take control of Aerith and Red XIII in order to stand a chance against a giant robot. Both of these battles pull double duty as well, with the first establishing Rufus as a carefree rich kid, and the second showing us Barret’s capability as a leader firsthand, which has only been alluded to before now.

There’s also the inspired motorbike chase scene, where we follow our protagonists through the city streets of Midgar from the perspective of a news helicopter. The news anchors provide clever commentary on the ridiculousness of the chaos and the size of Cloud’s sword, ending with a segue into what I can only assume is a horrifying story about Muggle immigration. The opening is also clever, setting up this new “Sephiroth” character as someone brutal, violent, and interested in our protagonists. Aerith’s comment about him is surprisingly eerie, with Kira Buckland working in clever contrast to the typically joyful demeanor she imbues her with as she comments on his simultaneous familiarity and unfamiliarity.

Finally, at the end of the episode, as Cloud attempts to rally the protagonists to go off in search of Sephiroth, Tifa asserts that Cloud feels safest when he is around her, and Cloud goes off, challenging Tifa on her use of intimidation to manipulate him, and calling her out for failing to respect him as a friend, or even a human being. On the one hand, this scene is incredibly satisfying; I’ve written before about how this show’s thematic concern is how terrible people are still capable of doing the right thing, as evidenced by Cloud’s experiences, and Cloud’s rant serves as a way to for Cloud to challenge Tifa to not just be on the right side, but to be “in the right” as well. The trouble is, though this speech is long overdue, it is a complete tonal shift from the rest of the episode, and contradicting the fairly optimistic tone of the rest of the episode is incredibly jarring, serving to disconnect me from a story that I want to be invested in.

But more than that, the biggest issue I have with this moment is that it doesn’t feel properly set up within the context of the episode. Cloud and Tifa bicker at the beginning of the episode over the possibility that they might be forced to have sex with each other, to be sure, but Tifa also decides to stay back and make sure Cloud survives his battle with Rufus, and though she attempts to downplay the significance of her action by making a “69” joke, it’s quite clear that she stayed behind because she genuinely cares about Cloud. Perhaps the significance was lost on Cloud, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, as he wants to make note of the kindness of Tifa’s action. That leaves us with a scene where Cloud rants about Tifa’s selfishness without having been given a particular reason to raise the issue, and the last moment of the season, as wholly cathartic as it is, doesn’t make much sense within the context that’s been provided.

Rating: 4/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

Barrett: “When I was a wee lad, every day I would go to my church, get on my knees, and pray to whatever god would listen. I’d say ‘God, are you there? It’s me, Baby Barret. Now there’s only one thing I want in this world more than anything. Now I don’t care if you take my arm, my friends, or the home in which I sleep, what I want is a talking-dog-best-friend!’ Now here I stand, armless, friendless, and homeless, but not talking-dog-best-friend-less!” Red XII: “Oh my god! We’re best friends?” Barrett: “YEAH!”

*Standing in a massive pool of blood* Red XII: “Scouting report: where do I begin?”

Rufus: “Think of the chocobo as a spaceship.” Palmer: “Ah, that makes sense!”

Barret: “Vice President Rufus-Ain’t-Nepotism-A-Bitch-Shinra.”

Tifa: “Okay, sweetheart, can you do me a solid? Let the adult handle this.” Aerith: “Oh, you’re right. You are much older looking. Bye!” Savage.

Cloud: “There’s nothing my friends can’t handle!” Barret, facing down a giant robot: “We cannot handle this!”

Cloud: “Your family’s weird.” Rufus: “You have no idea.” Palmer, flying a helicopter: “I’m taking this to the moon, and you can’t stop me!”

I’m going to nitpick a moment and say that the flashback structure of Barret’s attempt to leave through the front door is a bit awkward, and there’s no justification for the nonlinear storytelling. It does match the rapid fire back and forth cutting of the previous escape sequence, but I feel like going through the events linearly would have been just as, if not more, effective from a storytelling standpoint. I tend to be fairly harsh on nonlinear storytelling though, so I recognize that this might be coming down to my personal taste (but I also never consider that harshness to be unfair).