Back when I was going at a decent clip with things written when I sat around at work, I wrote up a faux paper. I hadn't seen much of them within FF7 fandom, but then, since there really isn't a show of school life, it really shouldn't be surprising.

Reactionary Literature: Sakeguchi's World of Ruin as an Anti-foreigner Work

In this period after the Wutai War (seen so momentous that our calender system recieved a change), many aspects of Wutanese culture have permiated our continent: we eat their food, play their games, watch their films, even their language is used as a form of slang by the members of the SAF¹.

One of the more popular imports has been Hironobu Sakeguchi's (I will use the Eastern system of nomenclature for this piece: family name last.) fantasy novel, The World of Ruin. This work, when examined closely, shows much of the anti-foreigner sentiment presistent during the period of war that it was written. Regardless, thanks to the rising popularity and availability of S-Net, it became a globally-known work, recently translated into Eastern Standard. Though some fans of the work claim that there was a loss of the true meaning of the work during translation, many simply enjoy the story without focusing on the words used to construct it. I will be examining both the official translation of Ruin and a fan-translation released earlier.

The view that this work is anti-foreigner, that is, anti-Midgar, is supported easily: it was written during General Sephiroth's Miyako campaign and Sakeguchi, like many who were able to do so, moved from his home prefecture to Miyako's fortifications. The time of the siege has produced other works of literature, mainly dealing with the confusion and terror that the civilian population must have been feeling. A fantasy novel would be a simple way to go about things, any similarities to real persons could be covered up or easily dissimulated.

Fans have speculated that not only is this an anti-Midgar work, but that the characters in the novel have very definate, very real stand-ins. In some cases, some figures merit more than one (more on this later). To begin, I will summarize the plot. The World of Ruin is superficially about a motley group of adventurers that unite against a great evil, standard fantasy game fare. Their initial struggles are against the Empire, a technology (steam power combined with magic--MagiTek) based autocracy powered through "magicite"--crystals imbedded with strange properties. The Empire also employs MagiTek Knights, who are directly imbedded with magical abilities (anyone else who performs magic must channel energies through a magicite crystal). When considering the characters, particularly those with connections to the Empire, debate risen over which real person each is supposed to represent.

Arguments have been made that this was a direct attack on Shinra and their policies, mainly on the obvious similarities between MagiTek and mako power ², and those of the MagiTek Knights and Shinra Soldiers ³. However there exist some, seemingly superfluous, differences. The mako showering process is guarded as a company secret by Shinra, and the making of Knights is imagined in graphic detail by Sakegouchi. There is also the sense that the Empire snatches up promising candidates regardless of how they feel about things. And while the Soldier selection process is rigourous, they enlist out of their own free will. Though many people call it such, the "magic" that is produced through materia is a harnessing and channeling of energies using the materia as a syphon, and Gaia's energies as a source.⁴

The presence of Soldier, particularly in Wutai, introduces the trio characters I wish to analyze first: Celes Chere, Kefka Palazzo, and Leo Christophe. I will begin with Celes. She is one of the three Generals of the Empire, mainly associated with her initially cold demenor and her complimentary skill in ice magic. As this book was written during the successful Miyako campaign, readers tend to associate Celes with General Sephiroth, particularly when exploring their demenors. As on fan puts it:

They're both shown as very distant. Celes has shut down and she only slowly "warms up" after Locke starts affecting her. General Sephiroth seems the same way, only his separations look like Shinra's doing. They've been showing him off as this child prodigy and now as the hero of the war. It must be impossible for him to have friends. Does he? You'd think that the tabloids would be on him night and day, trying to find out if he goes out or is dating.⁵

Personalities aside, the three Generals can, in their own ways, stand for Sakegouchi's interpretation of how General Sephiroth seemed to him. Celes has already been shown as an example in his aloofness. The other two Generals, Kefka and Leo, are more difficult. Kefka is the most troubling. Simply put, he is insane. Kefka may represent Sakegouchi's anger at the war. Before moving to Miyako, he lived in Odawara prefecture, totally destroyed during earlier campaigns, the last of which--and the most damaging--was led by General Sephiroth. This raises an interesting question. Kefka later kills the Emperor and attempts to gain godhood. Is Sakegouchi jibing at Eastern "reverence" for Sephiroth or in his own way making a prediction for Sephiroth? Will the "reverence" really turn into a religion? Some would say it has already begun, with small "net shrines" devoted to Sephiroth appearing in abundance.

Leo appears as another puzzle. He goes along with the Empire's demands until it affects him personally. Fans have associated his reactions as a result of his love for Tina/Terra (Tina in the original text, Terra in the translation. More on the interesting nature of her name later.). Now Sakegouchi seems to say that sympathy will change Sephiroth's aloofness to something else. Another interpretation is that Leo is not General Sephiroth at all, but an everyman, with subsets even thinking that this "everyman" is in fact an actual officer of Soldier. Of course, debates rage as to who, in fact, this Soldier is.⁶

Now, I can start in on the main chracter of the work, Tina, whose name has been translated to "Terra"...

---

1.Anonymous ("LeetMaster"), online interview

2. Worldofruin.snet forums, "Analysis Time, Part 2" htpl:\\forums.worldofruin.snet\initial.pthp?distopic=2993

3. Ibid.

4. Faremis, G., Hojo, T. Basic Principles of Mako Energy: A Primer. 1960, Midgar University Press

5. Name withheld, "A Mirror of Truth?", "Heavenly: a Celes Shrine". htpl:\\celes.rainblossom.oline\content\mirror.hdl

6. "Wars of the Lion", htpl:\\gwn.worldofruin.snet\articles\leowars.hdl