Editing Aerith

{{Game|KH1|FM1|COM|REC|KH2|FM2}}
{{suite}}
{{youmay|the character|the [[Aerith Model|Gummi Ship Blueprint]]}}
{{Character
|name=Aerith
|image=[[File:Aerith KHII.png|350x400px]]
|game=Kingdom Hearts 
|katakana=エアリス 
|romaji=Earisu
|de=Aerith Gainsborough
|es=Aeris
|fr=Aerith
|type=Entelechy
|charworld1=Radiant Garden
|charworld2=Traverse Town
|origin=Final Fantasy VII
|company=Final Fantasy
|enva=Mandy Moore
|envan={{KH}}
|enva2=Mena Suvari
|enva2n={{KHII}}
|java=Maaya Sakamoto
|game1=Kingdom Hearts
|game2=Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
|game3=Kingdom Hearts II
|journalKH=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".<br><br>"Final Fantasy VII"
|journalSS=A young woman who fought the Heartless. Her calm demeanor hides an unbreakable will.<br><br>Aerith also has a mysterious sense of truth, and is aware that Traverse Town and its inhabitants are a figment of Sora's memory.
|journalKH2=Final Fantasy VII<br><br>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.<br><br>Now Aerith works with Leon and Yuffie to restore the town to its past splendor.
|journalUX='''KH II Aerith'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS II (2005)<br>A member of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee.<br><br>'''KH Aerith/Illustrated Aerith'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)<br>A girl with a gentle disposition, a strong will, and a firm sense of duty.<br><br>'''Tifa & Aerith'''<br>A girl on a journey to find someone, and her friend with mysterious powers.
}}
{{Q|No matter how far away we are, our hearts will bring us together again.|Aerith}}
'''Aerith''' is a character who lives in [[Traverse Town]] in ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories]]'', and in [[Hollow Bastion]]/[[Radiant Garden]] in ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''. Like many of [[Sora]]'s allies, she originates from ''{{ff|Final Fantasy VII}}''.

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.

==Development==
Aerith's name was never spoken in-game even though her name is written in the script. This is due to uncertainty during the game's development whether her name would be translated as "Aerith", or as the original translation "Aeris" that appeared in ''Final Fantasy VII''. The name "Aerith" would later be used in related releases of ''Final Fantasy VII'', making the original "Aeris" considered to be a mistranslated name.

Aerith's role in ''Kingdom Hearts'' was originally planned to be played by {{w|Aya Brea}} from the ''{{w|Parasite Eve}}'' series, but was changed halfway through development due to the request from the staff who worked on ''Final Fantasy VII''<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Ultimania]]''''', '''Tetsuya Nomura''': "This role was planned to be played by Aya from Parasite Eve until halfway through, but due to requests from staff who had worked on FFVII, Aerith was made to appear." [https://www.khinsider.com/news/A-Look-Back-KINGDOM-HEARTS-Ultimania-Gallery-Comments-Part-1-15519 Translation via Goldpanner]</ref>.

Aerith, Yuffie, [[Cid]], and Leon were originally set to appear in ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'', but they were removed from the game because, according to Nomura, there were too many plot lines already, and it would have gotten confusing.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania]]''''', '''Interviewer''': "Zack appears at the Coliseum, but was there a reason why he is the only ''Final Fantasy'' character this time around?" / '''Tetsuya Nomura''': "We wanted to have Cid and the gang in Radiant Garden, but that would have made the story go too far off track. The main story of ''Birth by Sleep'' is complicated enough as it is, so instead of making a lot of side roads, we concentrated on the main story. Which resulted in having no other ''Final Fantasy'' character but Zack make an appearance." [https://www.khinsider.com/news/Full-Nomura-Interview-20-KH-Mysteries-Solved-1366 Translation via Lissar].</ref>

==Story==
===''Kingdom Hearts''===
[[File:The Chosen One 01 KH.png|thumb|left|200px|Aerith briefs Donald and Goofy with information regarding the Heartless and Ansem the Wise.]]
Aerith approaches [[Donald Duck|Donald]] and [[Goofy]] on their first trip to Traverse Town, and she takes them to the [[hotel]], where she briefs them about the [[Heartless]], [[Ansem the Wise]]'s [[Ansem's Reports|reports]], and the [[Keyblade]], while Leon and Yuffie do the same with [[Sora]] in the next room. After Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeat the [[Guard Armor]], she joins Leon and Yuffie in sending them off, giving them 500 munny for supplies.

When Sora and the others return to Traverse Town, Aerith is with Leon as he trains in the Secret Waterway. She asks Sora to lock the worlds' Keyholes and directs him to Cid to ask about the [[Navi-G Piece]]s. Later, she joins Leon, Yuffie, and Cid in the Small House in the Third District, where they tell Sora about Maleficent and the fate of their homeworld. Aerith also tells him about the bell in the Second District, and she, Yuffie, and Cid advise him to investigate.

[[File:Sealing the Keyhole Hollow Bastion 03 KH.png|thumb|right|Aerith and the gang say their goodbyes to Sora, Donald and Goofy.]]
After Sora locks the Traverse Town Keyhole, he shares his adventures at the [[Olympus Coliseum]] with Aerith. A concerned Aerith, who is aware that [[Cloud]] was at the Coliseum in his pursuit for [[Sephiroth]], asks Sora to tell Cloud not take any reckless actions the next time they meet.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts Final Mix}}

After Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeat the [[Behemoth]] in Hollow Bastion, they find Aerith, Yuffie, and Leon waiting for them in the [[Grand Hall]], having been brought from Traverse Town by Cid. They tell Sora that defeating [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|Ansem]] will bring back the lost worlds, but will also restore the separation between them. After Sora locks the [[Final Keyhole]], she goes to the castle library, where she gives Sora four pages of Ansem's Report and strengthens his healing magic in anticipation of his battle with Ansem.

Sometime after Sora defeats Ansem, Aerith, Leon, and Yuffie greet Cloud when Cid brings him to the Hollow Bastion library.

===''Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories''===
A memory-based version of Aerith appears in the Traverse Town floor in [[Castle Oblivion]], along with Leon, Cid, and Yuffie. 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 along with [[Maleficent]] in [[Riku]]'s trek through the castle, 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]]. 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 them.

==Design==
Aerith is twenty-two years old during the events of ''Kingdom Hearts''<ref>''Kingdom Hearts Ultimania'', page 128</ref> and twenty-three during ''Kingdom Hearts II''.<ref>''Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania'', page 199</ref>

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 a braid down her back, with curls on either side of her face. 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. 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.

==Personality==
Although she has limited time in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, Aerith is shown to be very knowledgeable, such as on the subject of Ansem. She is kind and cares very deeply about Cloud, as well as Sora and his friends.

==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==
[[File:Aerith FFVII.png|150px|left]]
{{ff|Aerith Gainsborough}} debuted in the original ''Final Fantasy VII'' as one of the main protagonists. 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.
{{-}}

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
{{KH1}}
{{COM}}
{{KH2}}
{{FFCharacters}}