Aerith

Aerith is a character who lives in Traverse Town in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden in Kingdom Hearts II. Like most of Sora's allies, she originates from the Final Fantasy series. Aerith is voiced by Mandy Moore in Kingdom Hearts, Mena Suvari in Kingdom Hearts II, and Maaya Sakamoto in the Japanese versions of both games.

Aerith, as an ally of Leon and Yuffie, is one of the three core Final Fantasy characters of the series, and takes an active support role with them in the defense of Hollow Bastion in Kingdom Hearts II. She also plays a part in Cloud's story, though does not directly assist him as she does her other allies.

Kingdom Hearts
''She lost her home to the Heartless at a very young age. Beneath her gentle disposition lies a strong will and a firm sense of duty. Many are naturally drawn to her. Aerith works with Leon and Yuffie to learn more about the Heartless and the "key".''

"Final Fantasy VII"

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
''A young woman who fought the Heartless. Her calm demeanor hides an unbreakable will.''

Aerith also has a mysterious sense of truth, and is aware that Traverse Town and its inhabitants are a figment of Sora's memory.

Kingdom Hearts II
Final Fantasy VII

''A young woman whose quiet eyes belie an unbreakable will. Like Leon, she met Sora while living away from her hometown, and helped him now and then on his journey.''

Now Aerith works with Leon and Yuffie to restore the town to its past splendor.

Kingdom Hearts
Aerith is encountered by Donald and Goofy on the first trip to Traverse Town, where she explains the nature of Ansem Reports, as well as the Keyblade to them. She had a few more appearances along with Leon and Yuffie. Later, she showed up in Hollow Bastion after Ansem disappeared, and spends her time studying the Heartless's research in Hollow Bastion's library. If you talk to her a multiple number of times she will give you the missing Ansem Reports that Maleficent had and Curaga, the strongest Cure spell in the game.

In a scene exclusive to Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Aerith reveals she was aware Cloud was at Olympus Coliseum, and mentions Cloud seeking Sephiroth when she discusses the matter with Sora.

During the end credits she was seen with Leon and Yuffie inside the Hollow Bastion library, and was the first to greet Cloud when Cid returns him to their world.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
She appears in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a memory-based version of Aerith appears, along with Leon, Cid, and Yuffie, in the memory-based Traverse Town in Castle Oblivion. At first, she, like the other characters, expresses disbelief that she seems to know Sora despite not remembering him. After speaking with Sora one-to-one, however, she comes to realize that she is just a projection based off his memory of her. She (and Maleficent in Riku's Reverse/Rebirth story) are the only ones to realize this. She tells Sora to be on his guard. However, it seems that Sora is the only one who can see her in the first place, as Donald and Goofy assume that she had gone back with Leon, Yuffie, and Cid already.

Kingdom Hearts II
Aerith is a member of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. In Kingdom Hearts II, she wears a modified version of her Before Crisis outfit, though wearing a pink skirt instead of blue. She helps during the invasion of Hollow Bastion by healing Yuffie and presumably continues to aid other characters or fight against the Heartless. Aerith assisted Sora later in the game during his movement against the Master Control Program by downloading the deletion program while guarding the computer room.

In her last appearance of the game, during the ending credits, she is seen sitting on a ledge and looking up towards the Radiant Garden's sky, possibly wondering what happened to Cloud and Sephiroth after their fight at the Dark Depths (assuming the player has completed the sidequest involving them). Throughout the story she encourages Cloud to do what he must to fulfill his goals. Aerith is sure that Cloud will find his light, which will lead the way back to her.

Appearance
In Kingdom Hearts, Aerith bears a strong resemblance to her original appearance in Final Fantasy VII, though she lacks her short, maroon overcoat and her thick, metal wristbands are replaced with what looks like coiled wire. She also has a loose, lilac belt around her waist with black string tied into a bow on it that was not present in her original design. Aerith wears a pink dress with magenta lining and buttons going down the front, all of which are buttoned except for the last two. She has a black string tied in the same fashion as the one on her belt around her neck like a necklace.

Her eyes are green and her hair is brown. Aerith's hair is long and styled into three braids; two short ones on either side of her head and one long one in the back, the latter sporting a red bow. Her bangs frame her face in a very similar manner to Sephiroth's own bangs (this is likely because at one point during the developing stages of Final Fantasy VII, Aerith and Sephiroth were planned to be siblings). She also wears brown boots.

In Kingdom Hearts II, Aerith's look changes, now somewhat resembling the way she looked in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, albeit with several differences. The side braids she originally had are now simple curls her eyes and ribbon are much brighter, while her boots (not the sandals she wears in Crisis Core) are paler. Aerith now wears a carmine pink and white top held up by a string that wraps around her neck. Underneath this top, Aerith wears a pink dress with a horizontal white stripe near the bottom. She wears yet another dress underneath the first one, this dress being white and slightly longer than the first.

Abilities
Aerith, unlike most other Final Fantasy characters, has not yet been either a combat ally or opponent for Sora, or seen to engage directly in battle against an opponent, and so her combat abilities, if any, are unknown. Aerith does seem able to cast magic, however, as she casts a Curaga spell on Yuffie during the invasion of Hollow Bastion, and also upgrades Sora's Cure spell. This seems roughly in-line with her Limit breaks, centered around healing, in Final Fantasy VII. Despite never physically being seen in battle, she is implied at one point to have held off waves of Heartless spawned by the MCP (coldly spurning Leon's concern over whether she would be able to handle it by herself), hinting that she does possess combat abilities.

She carries no visible weapons at any time, unlike most other Final Fantasy characters, but it would likely be a quarterstaff as per her original incarnation.

Origin
Aerith Gainsborough debuted in the original Final Fantasy VII as one of the lead female protagonists alongside fellow party member, Tifa Lockhart. Though seemingly fitting the role of a White Mage in this game, Aerith uses an actual melee weapon in the form of a staff rather than a scepter. Aerith is the last member of an ancient race known as the Cetra. She makes a peaceful living as a flower girl with some form of communication with the Planet and develops a short-lived relationship with Zack before meeting Cloud. Aerith's death at the hands of Sephiroth went down as one of the most famous events in RPG history, and it is this that makes Cloud more determined than ever to fight and defeat Sephiroth once and for all.

Trivia

 * Although Aerith's name is used in the script, it is never spoken during voiced scenes. This is due to uncertainty during the game's development whether her name would be translated as "Aerith", or as the mistranslation "Aeris" that appeared in Final Fantasy VII
 * Kairi bears some notable similarities to Aerith, with similar roles, hair and dress colors, personalities, and their tendency to pick flowers. In the series, they are also from the same world.
 * Additionally, during the credits in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Kairi is shown picking flowers and suddenly looking up at the sky as if sensing something. This is almost identical to a scene from Aerith's original role in Final Fantasy VII, in which Aerith senses Zack's death while picking flowers in her personal garden.

Gallery
Aerith

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