History Characters / FinalFantasyVIISephiroth

* {{Yandere}}: Usually subtextually depicted as one for Cloud, be it platonic or romantic, but the subtext is removed in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' and played straight. Sephiroth warmly describes the time Cloud killed him as "the crowning moment of [their] time together" and shows Cloud threatening visions of him killing Tifa and Barret, [[spoiler:even nearly physically killing Barret at one point,]] on top of asking Cloud [[WeCanRuleTogether to join him]] in destroying the planet. Sephiroth wants his [[WorthyOpponent dear nemesis]] all to himself and sees Cloud's companions as obstacles to be removed.

* TheSociopath: A more complex example as Sephiroth doesn't start off as one. He was capable of forming genuine attachments and developing respect for others, was open to helping others and was rather reasonable and polite. But once he discovers his origins, Sephiroth's personality is completely twisted, the first sign of his sociopathy manifesting with a newfound desire for bloodshed and an extreme obsession with his mother figure, JENOVA. By the events of the main game, Sephiroth is most commonly associated with an incredibly cold, antisocial demeanor that always persists whenever he's in anyone's presence. His monologue after killing Aerith is one where he doesn't care about feelings and emotions and is completely unmoved and unfazed by anything in his desire to destroy the world for his own ends. Additionally, he kills with no impunity, takes enjoyment in toying with his enemies, and harbors an intense amount of interest, especially towards Cloud, for his own amusement.

* PostFinalBoss: When Cloud duels him at the end of the original game, the battle is impossible to lose. The player is supposed to use Omnislash to finish him off, but even if the player does nothing, [[DevelopersForesight the dev team thought of a way to make Sephiroth still lose]].

** As the game continues it emerges he's more this trope to Aerith, once Cloud's real history is revealed and more of Aerith's comes to light. Both Sephiroth and Aerith are children of Shinra scientists involved in the Jenova Project, both use angelic symbolism, both survive dissolution in the Lifestream, and both are linked to one of the Ultimate Magics, the Black and White Materia. Sephiroth believed that his mother was an Ancient whereas Aerith's mother actually was one. Also, Aerith was a child of love between Prof. Gast and Ifalna, while Sephiroth was the loveless child of Hojo and Lucrecia, meant to be an experiment. Both of them grew up in not exactly healthy environments, and all their lives, they both wanted to reject their obviously unnatural natures, simply wanting to be normal, until, eventually, they had to face what they were. But while Aerith's acceptance of her Cetra nature made her willing to save the world, even at the cost of her life, Sephiroth decided to exterminate everyone else and the Planet, and install himself as a being above all others. The novella "Case of the Lifestream" notes that in the events leading up to ''Advent Children'', Aerith considered creating her own avatars on the surface to help fight Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, but decided it was more important to contact Cloud herself and let him handle it. During the development of ''VII'', the developers even considered making them siblings or lovers, driving their connection deeper.

* ItsPersonal: Averted at first, in that during the original ''Final Fantasy VII'', Sephiroth doesn't really care about Cloud personally despite the young man's vengeful spite for him. [[spoiler:That doesn't mean he's above using his knowledge of Cloud's fractured psyche as a tool to MindRape him when it suits his needs, however, and he even manages to outright possess Cloud a few times due to Cloud himself possessing Jenova cells]]. Then Cloud kills him, both physically ''again'' and as the remnant in his psyche, and that's when the MotiveDecay sets in as Sephiroth enacts this trope against him.

** As the game continues it emerges he's more this trope to Aerith, once Cloud's real history is revealed and more of Aerith's comes to light. Both Sephiroth and Aerith are children of Shinra scientists involved in the Jenova Project, both use angelic symbolism, both survive dissolution in the Lifestream, and both are linked to one of the Ultimate Magics, the Black and White Materia. Sephiroth believed that his mother was an Ancient whereas Aerith's mother actually was one. The novella "Case of the Lifestream" notes that in the events leading up to ''Advent Children'', Aerith considered creating her own avatars on the surface to help fight Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, but decided it was more important to contact Cloud herself and let him handle it. During the development of ''VII'', the developers even considered making them siblings or lovers, driving their connection deeper.

* FatalFlaw: {{Pride}} -- Sephiroth really is the strongest being on the planet, but this means he never recognizes when an opponent is an actual threat to him and he doesn't exert the full force of his powers against them. This is how Cloud repeatedly defeats him; Sephiroth prefers to toy with him instead of finishing him off when he has the chance, and then Cloud pulls a comeback and blindsides him.

* CoolButInefficient: In the non-Japanese versions of ''Final Fantasy VII'', Supernova seems like it should not only cause a GameOver but destroy the entire planet given its OverlyLongFightingAnimation consisting of blowing up the planets of the outer Solar System and then causing a supernova that cooks the inner planets... but all it does is leave each of your party members with 1/16 of their current HP, and maybe cause some status effects. ''It will never actually kill anyone.'' His less grandiose attacks can do more damage and actually kill.

* AnimalMotif: Between his slit pupils, his tendency to backstab people both figuratively and literally, the fang-like protrusions from his bangs, and his [[spoiler:brutal slaying of a Midgar Zolom]], you could say that Sephiroth is a bit of a snake.

* AnimalMotif: Between his cold, dead eyes, his tendency to backstab people both figuratively and literally, the fang-like portrusions from his hair, and his choice of a first monster to show Cloud he's killed, you could say that Sephiroth is a bit of a snake.

A famous war hero and SOLDIER 1st Class, Sephiroth is a living legend within Shinra, and considered the strongest SOLDIER ever produced. Years ago on an infamous assignment to Nibelheim, he discovered the truth of his origins; he was a SuperPrototype created by infusing a fetus in the womb with Jenova's cells. Misinterpreting the scientist's own misinformed research, he believed he was Jenova's biological son and that Jenova was the last of the Cetra, the precursor race that ruled the world before humans rose to power. Sephiroth put Nibelheim to the torch and set out to reclaim his legacy, but was defeated by Cloud and thrown into the Lifestream. There his spirit endured, and years later he took control of Jenova's body in the physical world to enact a plan: he would claim the Black Materia and use it to summon Meteor to strike the planet. He would place himself in the impact crater when the Lifestream emerged to heal the planet, absorbing it to become a god and reign over mankind.

* TheChosenOne: He proclaims himself such during his rampage at Nibelheim.

* TheCameo: A rather odd case: [[spoiler:during the duel between Cloud and Sephiroth at the Edge of Creation in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake the remake]], a familiar-looking celestial body can be seen in the distance. [[WordOfGod According to the guidebook]] ''Material Ultimania'', it is indeed Safer∙Sephiroth, or at least some kind of image of him. How he can appear in this timeline despite the deaths of the Arbiters of Fate changing the future is unknown, but Sephiroth's dialogue during the scene imply that, from the Edge of Creation, one can see the other timeline, though Cloud never mentions anything of the sort himself.]]

* ColonyDrop: His plan is to summon Meteor to impact the planet.

* DissonantSerenity: With the notable exception of the Nibelheim incident, Sephiroth is eternally calm and collected even when chaos is sprouting around him by his own doing.

* ForWantOfANail: He was considering retiring from SOLDIER at the time of the Nibelheim. If he'd stuck to his guns or just retired early, it's entirely possible that all of ''Final Fantasy VII'' and its aftermath could have been averted.

* GodhoodSeeker: His original goal, according to the first game, was to become a god by absorbing the lifestream and conquering "the Promised Land". As for what it is in the ''Compilation'', well... [[DependingOnTheWriter it varies]] but is generally this but with the twist of [[VisionaryVillain finding a new planet to build a utopia in his image on]].

* InsaneEqualsViolent: The reason why his GoMadFromTheRevelation moment resulted in his becoming an OmnicidalManiac.

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** After the party is imprisoned by Shinra, Sephiroth makes his first appearance by going on a massive killing spree inside the compound where you are imprisoned, leaving a trail of Shinra mook corpses as well as the Shinra president's body with a sword in his back. Of course, since just before this, President Shinra had arranged for Sector 7 to be destroyed, with the people both on the plate and in the slums, still inside all for the sake of wiping out AVALANCHE, it's hard to feel any sympathy for him. In fact, when they discover the President's body and discover who killed him, Barret's immediate response is to ask, "So Sephiroth is a good guy?"
** He gets it again in ''Crisis Core'' when he rejects [[spoiler:Genesis]], who asks him for help right before the Nibelheim Incident. Is condemning someone to a slow CruelAndUnusualDeath evil? Yes. But considering this is the same person who spends the entire game spouting MeaninglessMeaningfulWords and started his request for help by calling Sephiroth the perfect monster and pushing him further towards his [[GoMadFromTheRevelation breakdown]]...
* TheKingslayer: Early in the game, he murders [[PresidentEvil President]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Shinra]]. Given what a bastard [[AssholeVictim Shinra]] was, it's hard to fault him for it, even though [[KickTheSonOfABitch his motives were hardly altruistic]].

* SuperReflexes: Not only he has insane strength but he is also very quick on the draw. In ''Crisis Core'', when Zack held him at swordpoint, he quickly threw him off guard and off the platform they were standing. He also calmly deflected a fireball thrown by Genesis which caught even Zack off-guard.

* TragicVillain: Sephiroth may be evil to the point of [[EvilIsCool making it look cool]], but at the end of it all he's still a deeply disturbed man who was lied to all his life about his origins, deprived of any normal familial care & experimented on since his conception, and raised by some of the most morally bankrupt caretakers one could possibly have just so he could be used as a weapon. Not only that, but even after proving himself as a highly revered individual in SOLDIER, it forced him into conflict with some of the only people he was ever able to make friends with, and he lost all of them one way or another. If he'd had a better upbringing with more supportive people and was allowed to understand what he is, he might have never had his StartOfDarkness to begin with.

* TranquilFury: Opposite of Cloud, who let's out fierce HotBlooded yells, Sephiroth is always calm, it's eerie. His VillainSong "One-Winged Angel" even portraying Sephiroth as if he was "burning inside with violent anger"

* WouldHitAGirl: At Nibelheim he doesn't hesitate to disarm Tifa and slash her with the Masamune. There's also the whole "impaling Aerith" thing.

* ComboPlatterPowers: His SuperStrength is the stuff of legend and he is supposedly far stronger than even the most outlandish rumours paint him; post-resurrection he demonstrates {{Flight}}, {{Teleportation}}, VoluntaryShapeshifting (courtesy of Jenova, upon whom he was employing DemonicPossession) and a degree of PsychicPowers, as well as all the usual but high-level magical abilities common in the ''FFVII'' world. After his ''second'' resurrection it is cleanly demonstrated that he can unleash the deadly plague Geostigma and can create weaker avatars of himself, and he may have achieved CompleteImmortality of sorts in that he basically refuses to die due to sheer force of will keeping his soul tied to the Planet.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: He took after his "mother", Jenova, in terms of looks. [[spoiler: He also took after his biological mother's looks, Lucrecia.]]