Eliwood: A Feature-Length Vindication. [Fire Emblem: Support Science #8] (Blazing Sword) 

Conclusion: Eliwood is Eligood.

roy may be our boy, BUT ELIWOOD IS OUR MAN

*claps* *cries* *tears*

Eliwood: "Our power is no match for nergal" Canas with the Luna tome: "Hold my beer"

When Elbert was in jail with the dragon kids, all he did was talk about his son? As a parent, I can say that's pretty accurate.

If being a good person was easy, nobody would be bad.

Ike: *I fight for my friends!* Gingerwood: *I fight **_alongside_** my friends!*

There is an interesting comparison to be made between Eliwood and Nergal in regards to how both characters had to deal with their powerlessness to protect the people they loved. Eliwood's side was covered in the video but Nergal's side is only made known on Hector mode chapter 19xx. You learn that Ninian and Nils are the children of Nergal and his dragon wife Aenir. Aenir was abducted and Nergal left Ninian and Nils to rescue her, but he failed. At this point Nils and Ninian had entered the Dragon's Gate, so in order to open the gate Nergal sought to attain more power. This lead to him becoming absorbed in the dark magics which caused him to lose sight of why he wanted to open the Dragon's Gate originally, instead becoming absorbed only in attaining more power. While Eliwood overcomes his grief by staying true to his beliefs and relying on his friends rather than his own power, Nergal had no one to rely on and lost himself to the dark arts trying to get his family back. This parallel between the main protagonist and the main antagonist really helped me to appreciate both characters even more.

"Ideals are easy to have, yet most challenging to keep."

I'm surprised you didn't talk about how people keep mistaking him for his son

When I heard that Eliwood wanted a special dance I lost it

I wish I had a ghaast to write my papers

Well this video pretty much summed up why Eliwood is my favourite male FE lord and in my top 5 overall FE lords. This is easily my favourite support science video of yours Ghast and it's great to see you show so much love to such an under appreciated character, also I'm totally 100% with you on Eliwood & Ninian being the best pairing in Fire Emblem!

Eliwood is perhaps my third favorite FE lord. he in my mind, is the perfect blend of Lief and Marth. while not as characterized as Leif. he is quite possibly a great Character. I completely agree when you say he's underrated and Sold short.

Alright, after watching this, I can safely say that you did Eliwood major justice. There were so many things I liked about him, and I learned so much more watching this. So thanks bro. I wish I could sub twice.

I think the best way to contextualize Eliwood's growth is that, while his personality and ideals didn't develop, his motivations for them did. He started out as a polite, earnest, and kind man because that was how proper lords are supposed to conduct themselves. It's through the journey he takes, and the losses he endures, that he comes to appreciate just how valuable those traits are.

ニニアン。▼ 僕はきみが好きだ。▼ 何があっても、 それだけは変わらないから。▼ きみの秘密がなんだろうと、 僕の気持ちは変わらない。▼ きみを悲しませるものがあるなら、 僕がそれを取り払う。▼ だから、もう泣かなくていい。▼ きみが、いつでも笑顔でいられるなら そのためにはなんだってしよう。▼ こんな気持ちになった女性は 君が初めてなんだ、ニニアン。▼ FUCK YOU GHAST I DIDN'T WANT TO CRY TODAY

The most underrated lord in FE :'(

This brings up a really tragic thing about Eliwood. He clears the dungeon showing he is worthy of Durandal. He gains confidence in his strenght and what is the first he did with it?...yeah

Fucking almost made me cry man, all those awesome bromance and romance, Eliwood looks like such a badass to me now.

Also : Hector is like Jotaro : Only 17 despite looking like he's at least in his mid-twenties.

YES! Eliwood gets the recognition he deserves. Didn't make him a 5 star in Heroes for no reason!

I also love how they change the track that plays after Eliwood slays Ninian if Eliwood had A support with her from "Reminiscence" too "Shattered life".

i bet im the only thinking "holy shit that horse is buff"

That was well worth 40 minutes of my time. I don't usually agree with your opinions, Ghast, but Eliwood is one of my favourite Lords in the series too and it's very welcome to hear a well put-together piece on what makes him compelling as a main character. Excellent job. That said, I'll just jot down some of my thoughts regarding some of the points made: - On Eliwood being a weaker fighter: Honestly, I feel like you're understating him just a little, at least from a lore perspective. While it's true that Eliwood is a sub-par unit for most of the game, at least in terms of lore it's implied that he's a reasonably strong fighter by reputation, given that he's more than a match for Hector in duelling, that Karel recognises immediately that he will be an exceptionally strong swordsman when he's older, and of course that the guy is statistically superior even to Perceval in FE6. As far as the supports you mentioned go, I feel like Hector is more concerned about Eliwood's lower stamina and thus capacity to fight for extended periods - or in gameplay terms, HP/Def - versus Marcus and Harken worrying about Eliwood's dislike of fighting in general, which he expresses near the beginning of the game. I'd say that the key here is that Eliwood does not derive any sense of catharsis from fighting, unlike Hector and Lyn - thus even with despicable people like Nergal, he fights them because it's necessary, but doing so does not resolve his emotions in the same way it does for the other two. Hence he comes across as someone who isn't a natural fighter, which belies his true (or at least implied) ability. - A note on his character that you didn't bring up that I think is relevant to Eliwood's character is how Bramimond sees him. If you recall, when the group meets Bramimond, Eliwood simply asks Bramimond to believe in them when they say they won't misuse the power of the legendary weapons. Eliwood is the only person other than Athos that Bramimond acknowledges in the conversation, albeit through Roland - "…Once… There was a man much like you. His gaze never wandered. It was ever fixed straight ahead…" This has a payoff later when we meet Roland and he has the same self-sacrificial nature that Eliwood does, but more than that, Bramimond's cryptic words serve to highlight Eliwood's strength of character, even if twinned with more than a little idealism, and the character arcs that you drew attention to in your analysis of Eliwood in the main story. - I'd personally say that Eliwood's defining character moment is the part where he states that he feels nothing but pity towards Nergal, in spite of everything that he's done. While it does serve to contrast Eliwood with Hector (who essentially just announces his desire to chop Nergal into tiny bits), it's also a marvellous culmination of Eliwood's characterisation and part of what I really like about him. He doesn't derive any pleasure or catharsis from the thought of defeating Nergal, unlike most JRPG protagonists would; but more than that, he is empathetic enough that even without knowing all of Nergal's backstory he can appreciate what must have happened to push Nergal to that state, and doesn't let his own feelings get in the way of that appreciation. That and he gives one of the few tolerable "Power of Friendship" speeches beforehand. - Not directly related to Eliwood, but I'd dispute the claim that Hector believes that to cry is to be weak - actually, I'd say it's the opposite. His conversation with Lyn indicates that he's entirely aware of why people cry and that he considers his inability to do so to be his greatest weakness - he is physically incapable of purging his emotions by letting go and crying, or showing emotional weakness; and because of that, he's prone to having his decisions influenced by these bottled-up emotions. I don't think his surprise at Lyn crying is so much a conflation of physical strength with emotional repression as much as it is seeing someone who he feels is a lot like him being able to deal with the problem successfully - as both are still dealing with the fallout from losing their parents. - Similarly to the above, it does always vex me when people say that FE7's ending was an "ass-pull" or similar, as it's really nothing of the sort in the wider story context - it's the final piece in the puzzle that links together Nergal, Bramimond and Idoun, and acts as a reaffirmation of Athos' philosophy and one of the main messages of the game.

FE7: Eliwood had to prove his worthiness to wield Durandal. FE6: Lol give it to literally anybody who uses swords

Fuck yeah, Eliwood is awesome, definitely one of my favorites characters, would 100% put him as high as my third favorite lord.

“Take note FE switch, this is how you work the power of friendship trope” Comedy at its finest

Well Ninian does have an explanation for why Roy's mother is dead. I know anything can happen, but I don't see Lyn or Fiora having major health issues.

Eliwood is honestly my favorite Lord.

Eliwood is honestly the best Blazing Sword character and it is sad how underrated he is both in gameplay and character

Eliwood!!!!! GOOD BOY!!!

Thanks Ghast. I grew up with this game, and I always wanted to be just like Eliwood as a kid, and I think it was this game, and Eliwood's world view that molded me in to the man I am today. Thanks for giving this underrated lord a shot.

>having a full team of unpromoted units in the final chapter

I thought this was a new video when i saw the new thumbnail lol

After many years, Eliwood has been trying to convince the community of him being the best lord. But now with the help of his new friend Ghastu!!!, they may be able to TIP THE SCALES.

10/10 great job ghast! We've waited for this for a while and it was worth it entirely. Too bad it was so good I can't wait for the next support science!

Eliwood is my favourite lord

First 20 minutes is how the supports between Eliwood and characters and the story contribute to Eliwood's character arc from a prince to a man. The last 20 minutes is why Ninain and Eliwood's relationship is OTP, which I think everyone could agree on

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this video. When I was a little kid the first game I ever seriously got into was FE7. Sure I sucked at it, by the time I reached chapter 20 I only had the lords and Oswin left alive. But I still really enjoyed it. Eliwood's introduction always stuck with me, he looked just so damn heroic. I always liked Eliwood after that, despite my friends disageeing and think him to be a bad lord. So thank you for making this video, it affirmed my feelings about one of my childhood heroes and games. Keep these support science video's comming!

These are my favorite kinds of videos, I love it when people go in depth about character and story and I applaud you for doing a good job with it.

my man💜

Always loved the chemistry between Eliwood and Ninian. It's probably why I couldn't bring myself to make the latter my waifu in FEH, despite how much I love her character, haha.

I haven't watched this fully yet but I'm already thankful

Eliwood is basicly Marth 2.0 except that he promotes, gets a horse and new weapon type. IMO

"What kind of main character gets the 3 star treatment in Heroes?" Marth, Seliph, Roy, Eirika, Chrom, Robin, and Corrin.

Underrated lord. So good even Nergal had to acknowledge Eliwood having A-supported with Ninian despite being the supposed big bad antagonist.

"It's pretty much like Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler if either of them were actually cool." SHOTS FIRED YUGIOH FANDOM

FE7 is my favorite entry in the series, but it's things like this that make me realize that there is so much more there that I didn't even realize. I've never really disliked or thought little of Eliwood, but he never stood out as much as the rest. Who knew that Eliwood has actually shaped part of my world view? I wouldn't have found this out if not reviewing the title here. Thanks Ghast

Everything in Fire Emblem 7's writing just screams sincerity, spontaneity and naturalness, and Eliwood represents the peak of all this. I love this game because it is a fairytale, a sincere story about friendship and emotions, told not through clichès but by calling into question every values that these characters hold.

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS LETS GOOO

As an Eliwood stan this is my FAVORITE video on the internet thank you Faerghast! I wish you could make more videos on Eliwood, but he only appeared in one game, no fe6 doesn't count. RU-vid should add the ability to like a video multiple times. This might sound really stupid, but I un-ironically get chills when I watch this video. Much love Faerghast

I agree that Eliwood's and Ninian's support is great, in fact I shipped them in my playthrough, and I can imagine Roy being part manakete

My favourite lord, from my favourite FE, thanks for being awesome Ghast!!!

Holy crap, I cried in joy when you started talking about Eliwood and Ninian. Eliwood is my second Favorite Lord, first being Marth. Amazing beautiful video

I still wanna know why the legendary weapons of the main characters in fire emblem games can break. I mean, the Falcion doesn't, why does Durandal? Why does the Sword of Seals? It really makes no sense to me why the weapons specifically meant to slay the final boss...can break.

This was my favorite support science for my favorite character. I find that Eliwood’s resolve to stick with his morals inspiring and after seeing exactly how that effects the other characters and the story, I love the character even more. Than you for making such amazing videos. It’s encouraged me to play more of these games and experience more of stories it has to offer

So, in short: Eliwood is not great because of how his character develops over the course of the story, but rather due to the way he refuses to let those events change him.

Ah finally, the Eliwood art style that fits this beautiful support science

I love Eliwood, first Eliwood capped strength and speed before promotion

I didn't even notice it was 40 mins of watching, it just felt refreshing to have another look at Eliwood after playing so many other FE games(2,4,5 and 10), I got to say he is one of my favorite characters from the whole series, and my favorite couple with Ninian; he really deserves some love. The day I get him on heroes though...thank you for an awesome vid.

I feel Eliwood is a refinement of the Marth archetype. Just getting into your channel now with your support things being interesting. I feel people overlook Eliwood's development because his start and end is the same, and the nuances of it went over the head of many of young player. But OH YEAH, he got done dirty in FEH, though its uneven favoring is infamous. At least he got a legendary version sooner than the FE4/5 mains. But 3 star initial? Oof, it might be one thing to get 4star initial but that. His FE7 Epliogue/FEH Brave (He did well enough in the CYL polls) version comes off as a tribute to Ninian.

Finally someone else who apretiates Eliwood. A lot of people needs to watch this video, since Eliwood is such an amazing character, and people simply love to hate him, just because "he's not Hector"

This makes me want to make a video on Lyn. People like her but they don't talk about her being a good character. People who dislike her don't really go beyond her being "forced" or unnecessary to fe7 as a character. Hector and Lyn are understandably popular because they are a breath of fresh air from the traditional fire emblem Lord, but they are sort of liked superficially .

There's probably hundreds of comments about this already, but in case there aren't, the translators actually goofed in the EliwoodxHector A support. In the original script, it was HECTOR, not Erik, who cut his palm; Hector offered to shake hands with Erik, but he turned it down and ran. Eliwood then accepts the handshake. It doesn't make a massive difference, though. Still a great character and a great video about him. (Also in Japan the Rapier triples in might against Cavalry, would have helped Eliwood's usefulness)

41 minutes? oh hell yes, get the popcorn and sit down to enjoy some well deserved gushing over my boy Eliwood...

Man. I love this game to death, and I never even knew you could get an additional talk conversation if Lyn and Hector had an A support. Damn.

Thank you so much for this video. Eliwood is without a doubt my favorite character in the FE franchise, and his relationship with Ninian is also my favorite pairing in the series. Amazing video, thank you Ghast!

This is why I love FE7

I LOVE the pairing between Eliwood and Ninian....it's so adorable...and so romantic.....

can i also take a time to acknowledge you ghast....you really do amazing analysis of these characters and i did watch the whole video and I think its one of the best 40 mins well spent. thank you ghast and i hope you keep up the good work....have fun with SoV

I really like Eliwood, too. played the FE7 several times and his story is truly inspiring. Not one moment do I see him in the story very disappointing, especially with his friendship with hector and his love to ninian.

ELIWOOD!!! Too bad he looks like shit in Heroes, but he still best lord.

If Eliwood wins choose your legends three, it truly will be a good day.

wasn't Elbert the one who freed the twins? Also, it's funny that Hector's math is wrong (13+13+5=31 not 30).

"What kind of main character gets a three star treatment in heroes?" *Marth his descendant and Eliwoods Son*

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THISS!!! i REALLY LIKE ELIWOOD

Eventually, Eliwood stabs Ninian with his other sword, if ya know what I mean.

Don't forget he also got shafted in the artwork department with Heroes... I happen to like Hector's Codename Steam esque art and Lyn's anime art of sorts, but Eliwood... Those eyes.. o_o

I like how you changed the thumbnail

If Hector 17, then I'm 17. Also, this was hella in-depth. I was swearing this was gonna be a normal support science, but it's above and beyond.

Man, I love this series. So much depth. Long live Fire Emblem!

I love Eliwood so much. He's my favorite protagonist in the series.~ Also, not sure if I'm the only one who noticed, but is it just me, or do the three heroes of FE7 seem to be a reference to the classic Three Musketeers? Eliwood draws parallels to Athos (NO, NOT THAT ONE), being the calm, gallant, steadfast, levelheaded leader of the group who does a great job of balancing out his two more vivacious allies, and also can serve as a trustworthy confidant and even a shoulder to cry on at times. Hector is pretty much the spitting image of Porthos, the loud, reckless, muscular knucklehead who sometimes comes off as a bit tactless and even kind of...well...not the sharpest blade in the convoy, but has your back when push comes to shove. Lyn probably gets the short end of the stick, as she closest resembles Aramis, who is seen as the charismatic and overall friendly one, and is often seen as effeminate, but any other resemblance stops there. (Aramis is also seen as a bit of a ladies' man in the book, and Lyn probably has the most love interests out of the three, each of them teased at by one character or another that they might have a thing for her, so that might also be a nod to her possible inspiration). -And I guess Mark/Marcy(?) is D'Artagnan; not much of a connection because he/she's kind of a silent protagonist, but they're both sort of rookies implied to be younger than the main trio who tags along, slowly befriending each of them and gaining their respect, and really comes into their own in terms of what they aspire to be.-

THANK YOU! Finally, someone who gets Eliwood... I contend that he is the best-written Lord-unit in Fire Emblem for all the reasons you listed, but especially because he doesn't need a 'perspective shift' to grow as a character. It's extremely well-balanced with Hector's and Lyn's character growth, and overall is refreshing.

One aspect of characterization that FE Heroes adds that I really like about Wood is relationship with his son Roy. It's odd since he speaks of Roy as if it were the older FE6 Eliwood despite using his 7 incarnation, but seeing how the two hold such admiration for each other was one of the best additions to their characterization and it was nice to not see them reduced to one-note characters like many others.

Who's watching this when Legendary Eliwood came out in Fire Emblem Heroes? Also, kudos to the video! It made us understand how important Eliwood is in the game. There is no badass Hector or a nostalgic Lyn without Eliwood's help. He is Blazing Sword's greatest lord and companion of all time!

It's like the second or third time I've watched this. And a fair few playthroughs of FE7, but Jesus Christ I still always tear up at EVERYTHING he goes through..... I love this guy, my favourite Lord by far. And I love the video too, greatly executed and paced

Best support science so far! Can't wait for the next one.

I love you for putting valentine eliwood in the thumbnail

Honestly, I needed to play Hector Mode to like Hector, where else with Eliwood his introductory made me like him right off the bat, and he has been my favorite lord ever since.

22:58 I NEED THAT ART

I really liked Eliwood, even as a unit. The lances he gets upon promotion just makes him my favorite calvary unit :)

Eliwood will forever be my all time favorite Fire Emblem lord!

This makes me want a legendary Eliwood for Heroes! We already have Legendary Lyn and Hector! Get on it IS!

Wow, that was fantastic. I couldn't agree more; especially about the Ninian segment. I'm playing through Blazing Sword for my first time right now, and reading those supports has been one of my favorite parts of the experience.

Eliwood is like Marth 1.1 Just a little refined, strengthened by having more participating friends, stronger relations to his friends, family, and enemies, and just generally being an updated take. Marth is the classic, Renaissance style, Eliwood is the 20th century-style pinnacle, and Dimitri is the postmodern deconstruction. Extending this way too far, Sigurd and Seliph are the modern deconstruction and reconstruction, respectively. I'm sure there's a place for Chrom as an 18th century Enlightenment hero somewhere in there.

I like how you updated the thumbnail

Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU. I've been a fan of Eliwood since I first played FE7 in 2004, and was always dismayed by all the bashing of him as "boring, whiny, wimpy, generic." Eliwood, to me, is like Aang in ATLA (another character I adore who gets spit on by fans): their world view is challenged, and despite having to grow and learn lessons along the way, they retain their core values. Growing as a person does not have to equal outgrowing things like idealism and optimism. In fact, it shouldn't. Cynicism and misery are the easy way out, it takes strength to keep believing in things even when life challenges you. Bonus thanks as a Hector+Eliwood and EliwoodxNinian fan, too. :3

Ghast, this video was amazing! In my first runthrough of Blazing Sword, Eliwood at first didn't stand out to me. But I fell in love with his character the further into the story I got. He's personally not my favorite lord but I do appreciate him and what he stands for and this video helped reinforce that even more.

I see that you are a man of Love Abounds as well