Jenova

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Jenova (ジェノバ, Jenoba^?) is a fictional video game character, and is one of the major antagonists in the PlayStation and computer role-playing game, Final Fantasy VII. The character also appears in a retelling of a section of the game in the original video animation Last Order: Final Fantasy VII, and in flashbacks in the movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Throughout the game, Jenova is often referred to as a "she", although the character's gender is not definitively confirmed. Furthermore, through Ifalna's description of Jenova's approach to the Cetra and Sephiroth's statements concerning—and his use of—Jenova's abilities, it is known that Jenova's cells can change their form, even from male to female appearance.^[1][2] (Note: Ifalna calls Jenova "he" in the Playstation version of the game, yet refers to the creature as "it" in the PC version.) This concept is also confirmed by the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω guide.^[3]

Jenova is indicated to be an extraterrestrial lifeform, composed of strange cells that carry her will and power even when separated. Her name has long been speculated to be a portmanteau of "Jehovah" and "nova," the Hebrew name of God and the Latin word for "new," thus meaning "New God." Various points of symbolic signifiance within the game's storyline may support this notion, but it has not as yet been confirmed. The creature is also known as "the Calamity from the Sky/Skies" or "Heaven's Dark Harbinger".

Jenova has a major role in the continuity of Final Fantasy VII plot. In the game, many of the main characters, including Cloud Strife, Vincent Valentine and Zack, have been injected with Jenova cells at some point in their lives. All members of SOLDIER were also given Jenova cells, as were the "Sephiroth clones" in Nibelheim. Additionally, all these individuals were infused with mako. This procedure leaves its subjects stronger and more resilient to physical attacks, but the cells and mako can also have various effects on one's mind, some beneficial (improved magical ability) and others detrimental (insanity). Sephiroth's case is more enhanced as he was injected with Jenova cells while in the fetal stage, giving him some extra abilities, such as flight, as a result.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Arrival 1.2 The Jenova Project 2 Hojo's Jenova Reunion Theory 3 Control 4 Encounters 5 Music 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Arrival

Approximately two thousand years before the main events of the game, Jenova arrived on the Planet, having traveled through space on a meteor. Its landing rendered a giant wound to the Planet that would later come to be known as the "Northern Crater," a blight on its surface to which the Planet would channel its Lifestream in an effort to heal even up to the beginning of the game.^[4][5]

After its arrival, Jenova emerged from the Crater and approached the Cetra (also known as "the Ancients"), using her psionic abilities to glean the memories and emotions of the Cetra from their minds, and then instinctually shifting her form in response, assuming the appearances of their deceased loved ones. This allowed her to get close enough to them to infect them with its virus, which then drove those infected insane and turned them into monsters.^[6]

Most of the Cetra were mutated in the time that followed^[7], though the survivors attempted to defend the Planet despite their dwindling numbers. They were abandoned in the defense of the Planet by the regular humans (those descended from the Cetra who gave up their Planet-revering lifestyle and subsequently lost their close relationship with the Planet), though a small band of survivors mounted an assault on the Calamity from the Skies and managed to defeat it nonetheless.^[8][9] Now effectively neutralized, the creature was sealed away in the Northern Crater.^[10] As a result of Jenova's onslaught, only a few Cetra would survive into the modern era.

[edit] The Jenova Project

Approximately 30 years before the main events of the game began, Professor Gast excavated the creature, named it "Jenova," and mistakenly identified it as a Cetra.^[10][11] Being Shinra's top scientist, the Jenova Project was approved under his guidance and conducted in Nibelheim. The project intended to produce in the modern era an individual with the abilities of the Cetra. Ultimately that would result in the birth of Sephiroth, child to Gast's assistants (Hojo and Lucrecia), and inheritor of Jenova's power.^[12][13][14] Some time after the birth of Sephiroth, Ifalna, one of the last Cetra, informed Gast that Jenova was not an Ancient, and Gast fled from Shinra in regret of what he had done. However, Hojo continued Gast's research and would later use it to augment select candidates for becoming members of SOLDIER, Shinra's elite force.^[15]

Only 5 years before the start of the game, Sephiroth would learn of the Jenova Project and read the flawed reports identifying Jenova as an Ancient. Further, he would misinterpret them as stating that he was produced from Jenova's genetic material. Believing himself to be the sole survivor of a race abandoned to a sacrificial death by the species that currently dominated the Planet, he lashed out in rage, razing the village of Nibelheim and slaughtering most of its citizens in his blind wrath. He then attempted to retrieve the remains of Jenova from the nearby mako reactor, but due to the interference of Cloud Strife, only managed to escape with the creature's head, retreating with it into the Lifestream. In the time that followed, Sephiroth would gain mastery over Jenova's powers, essentially acting as an evolved form of the creature. Its own mind — that of an instinctual creature seeking to destroy — ceased to operate and the will of Sephiroth assumed control.^[16]

After drifting through the Lifestream, Sephiroth arrived at the site of Jenova's impact. While in the Lifestream, he had absorbed the knowledge of the Cetra and now set in motion a simple yet devastating plan: scarring the Planet, so that when it healed, he would be situated in the middle of the wound, where he could absorb the Lifestream's energy and then be reborn as a "god" who could control the Planet's lifecycle.^[17] Jenova's body was moved to the Shinra HQ in Midgar, where it remained for five years until the events of Final Fantasy VII, when Cloud tried to save Aerith. It was then that "Sephiroth" took control of Jenova's body and broke free from its container murdering President Shinra along with a multitude of the Shinra personnel working in the building.

In the time immediately following Sephiroth's departure into the Lifestream, Hojo, believing Sephiroth dead, began experimentations on other humans, specifically the survivors of the Nibelheim massacre. Injected with Jenova cells and showered with mako, the results of the experiment were known as "Sephiroth clones." (The Sephiroth clones were not genetic copies of Sephiroth, but rather humans augmented with a similar procedure to that which produced Sephiroth.)^[18][19]

[edit] Hojo's Jenova Reunion Theory

The Jenova Reunion Theory was postulated by Professor Hojo concerning Jenova's cells. His theory states that if Jenova's cells are separated, they will instinctually strive to reunite.^[20] He believed that this "Reunion instinct" would act upon any living thing — provided it had the capability for conscious movement — injected with Jenova's cells, influencing it to travel to a place where the carriers of the cells would be beckoned.

The core plot of Final Fantasy VII revolves around the Reunion, in which the Sephiroth copies or "clones" are all being drawn to the Northern Crater, where Sephiroth willed Jenova to be a part of his plan. Sephiroth was also able to make additional use of these individuals while they were being led to the Reunion, exerting influence over them — including Cloud, who was injected with a large amount of Jenova cells which enables Sephiroth to have some control over him — and using them to enact the retrieval of the Black Materia. Finally, the clones were drawn to the Northern Crater's Whirlwind Maze, where the Jenova cells were reassimilated by the main body of Jenova through the murder of the Sephiroth copies and the casting of their bodies into the Crater itself.^[21]

In Advent Children, three "remnants" of Sephiroth, calling themselves "Jenova's children", attempt a new Reunion that would allow Sephiroth to be reborn. To accomplish that, they sought out what remained of Jenova's head. Lacking Jenova cells, they couldn't sense her location on their own. However, those with Geostigma, a fatal disease caused by Jenova's scattered cells, could. So Kadaj, the leader of the three, used his will to take down the body defenses of the children Yazoo abducted and turned them into "bloodhounds".

When Kadaj's spirit body combined with the remains of Jenova's head, the cells reconstructed a new body for Sephiroth. From there, Sephiroth battled with Cloud once again and was again defeated.

Though it has been postulated variously that these are surviving Sephiroth clones, members of SOLDIER or remnants of Sephiroth's physical body — as they are identified as conduits or "larva" for Sephiroth's mind and form — the film refers to them as "shinentai" in Japanese, clearly differentiating them from members of SOLDIER and Sephiroth clones, who are always referred to by those terms in the original game and in the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Guide. "Shinentai" essentially identifies them as a manifested will or consciousness. In this case, it is the will of Sephiroth as embodied through spirit energy, for when his soul was reclaimed by the Lifestream at the end of Final Fantasy VII, he was unwilling to succumb to this fate and his powerful will allowed him to pull out of the Lifestream before his consciousness could be entirely diluted. However, he had already been divided into three large conglomerations of spiritual energy, but without a physical form (Jenova cells) in which to meld them. Thus, this divided life energy physically manifested separately, in a manner reminiscent of the manifestation of the spirits known as "the unsent" in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 or the "seishintai" ("spirit bodies") of the Ancients in the Temple of the Ancients. To summarize, the three were actually the physical manifestations of Sephiroth's divided spirit — and that of the surrounding Lifestream into which his spiritual energy had flowed in the brief period before he was able to defy his fate — but with their own personalities and an obsessive devotion to Jenova.^[22] In the English language dub of the film, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz are referred to as "Remnants" of Sephiroth while in the subtitles they are sometimes referred to as "Avatars."

[edit] Control

There has been much debate in the past over the nature of Jenova's influence on Sephiroth and vice versa. However, this was prior to the publication of the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Guide, a guide to the game's story published by Square Enix and endorsed as canonical. It states that Sephiroth's will and ambition were great enough that he was allowed to control Jenova's cells.^[16]

Regardless, some fans still claim that Sephiroth seems to be at least influenced by the Jenova cells inside him, suggesting that while he wishes to carry out his own plans, by virtue of the high concentration of Jenova cells in his biological composition he wishes to carry out Jenova's instincts in a different form, represented by his desire to become one with the Planet. Jenova—apparently an instinctual being of perversion and destruction—ruined the Cetra by deceiving them and ultimately deforming them with her virus. Sephiroth's plan to become one with the Planet likewise involved extensive manipulation and destruction, and Sephiroth would, as a result, be the core of the Planet's lifecycle, essentially allowing him to manipulate and destroy on a cosmic scale. In light of this, some suggest that Sephiroth could be considered an evolved version of Jenova: a human being with the emotions, motivations and conscious perceptions associated with having a human mind, while also possessing the instincts for destruction and domination.

[edit] Encounters

Jenova is seen twice before the characters actually fight her. In the Shinra building, the characters first see the headless main body of Jenova in a containment tank, with it later—under Sephiroth's control and his form—breaking free and slaughtering many Shinra personnel—as well as President Shinra himself—before heading to the roof and escaping.^[23]

Jenova's full form is first revealed in a flashback, seen preserved in liquid in a large glass tank in the Mt. Nibel mako reactor. Here, Jenova appears to be human-sized and is in the shape of a nude, blue skinned woman. Of note, when seen here, she is wearing a helmet that bears a plaque inscribed with the word "JENOVA" and some English text underneath. For several years, fans debated over what the other words on the plaque may be, as discerning them in the original in-game imagery was difficult. Eventually, the high resolution version of the in-game cutscene from Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII finally revealed that the plaque inscription reads "Made in Hong Kong; All rights reserved 1996; Squer Company Limited". Notably, the helmet has different inscriptions beneath "JENOVA" in both Advent Children—where the plaque is inscribed with the dates of Jenova's discovery and concealment to its container—and Last Order—where the plaque reads "Strict secrecy; Scientific inquiry section; Shinra Company Limited". The word "JENOVA" and its placement are the only consistent markings on the plaque across the various representations.

The first three forms of Jenova that the characters fight in the game are of identical shape and similar appearance, differentiated solely by color. These forms of Jenova have a somewhat humanoid shape, but lack distinguishable arms and legs, having wing-like appendages instead. Jenova-BIRTH is encountered in the Shinra cargo ship on the way from Junon to Costa del Sol, while Jenova-LIFE is battled in the Forgotten City of the Ancients, with Jenova-DEATH making its appearance in the Whirlwind Maze of the Northern Crater. Before each of these battles, Sephiroth is encountered before leaving part of Jenova's main body—which then transforms into one of the Jenova monsters—or transforming the form of Sephiroth itself into one of these creatures.^[24]

More specifically, Jenova-BIRTH is a tentacle of Jenova, detached from the main body^[23][25], while Jenova-LIFE and Jenova-DEATH are unidentified parts of Jenova's body transformed first to look like Sephiroth, and then later to bear their monstrous appearances. Jenova-SYNTHESIS—the last form of Jenova seen in the game—is encountered in the depths of the Northern Crater. Here, she looks significantly different from the three other forms, appearing now as a single, smaller feminine form with a large, hollow spherical fleshy shell behind her, and two tentacles in front. Jenova-SYNTHESIS was formed of the combination of what remained of the main body of Jenova, Jenova's head, and the cells taken back from the Sephiroth clones during the Reunion.^[26][25]

[edit] Music

Jenova has two signature soundtracks in Final Fantasy VII. One is J-E-N-O-V-A, heard during the fights with Jenova-BIRTH and Jenova-DEATH, as well as near the end of the game. J-E-N-O-V-A is not played during the battle with Jenova-LIFE — being instead replaced with Aerith's Theme due to the circumstances — but it is heard when Cloud and his team fight Hojo. This is possibly due to the fact that he is strongly tied to Jenova, and also because Hojo himself goes through transformations brought on by Jenova's cells during the fight. The second signature track of Jenova is Jenova Absolute, which is heard during the fight with Jenova-SYNTHESIS.

The soundtrack of Advent Children includes a heavy metal arrangement of the J-E-N-O-V-A track, which plays during the final battle between Cloud and Kadaj, and the Black Mages recorded another heavy-metal version of the song, featured on their first album. A piano arrangement was included on Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Translations FAQ translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω
• Jenova's helmet inscription, images of Jenova's helmet inscription.
• Calamity from the Skies fansite

v • d • e Final Fantasy VII and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Advent Children • Before Crisis • Crisis Core • Dirge of Cerberus • Last Order • Lost Episode Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding Cloud • Aerith • Tifa • Barret • Red XIII • Cid • Yuffie • Cait Sith • Vincent • Zack • Sephiroth • Jenova • Rufus • Turks Characters • Locations • Terminology • Timeline Materia • Midgar • Shinra • One-Winged Angel • Soundtrack • Reunion Tracks • Piano Collections • Advent Children Soundtrack • Dirge of Cerberus Soundtrack • Before Crisis & Last Order Soundtrack