How Did Sephiroth Become Evil? | Final Fantasy Lore 

Hojo was a nut job. It was so satisfying to end him in that epic parachute mission in FFVII.

I wonder how he would have turned out if Hojo had been kept out of it. As in letting Lucrecia keep him?

A hero all the way through wish he’d find out who his real mother is I believe jenova is using him like a puppet it’s said she can control those with her cells since sephiroth has more cells than the others she has a stronger hold and he doesn’t realize it since she can’t do shit without help

Vincent was his biological father which makes Hojo as his stepdad even worse

@@sabrinagidney-oc3xv At this point in the story of FF7, Jenova is a virus, one that is used for the purpose of enhancing strong-minded SOLDIERS to become physically stronger. However, if used on a specimen with a weak mind, it can run rampant through that person. The Jenova cells Sephiroth carried were completely dormant before that event in the Shinra Mansion. And he, not being able to not accept his origins, made himself susceptible to those Jenova cells within him as soon as there was a door to mental weakness. He then, as he starts to question his existence, starts experiencing mental lapses and mental breaks, grabbing his head in pain, not at all different from the mental breaks Cloud experiences. I’m sure you’ve heard of “Ore Sephiroth vs. Watashi Sephiroth”, but I can quickly summarize. Simply put, it’s a difference in Japanese pronouns used at different times that separates the Sephiroth who is fully in control of his faculties (Ore- before he learned his origins) between the Sephiroth who, after becoming mentally vulnerable when having a difficult time accepting his origins, finally became susceptible to the Jenova cells he was carrying (Watashi Sephiroth). They then began to infect him as he cracked, again, no different to Cloud and his breaks. It is still Sephiroth regardless, just lost, no different to the way Cloud is still Cloud in FF7. He’s also just lost, but the journey of FF7 allows us to find him within himself. Sephiroth is not quite so lucky. The Jenova cells within Cloud shattered him instantly due to his own personal trauma of witnessing his hometown burn, personal lack of self esteem, and personal failure. He was not mentally equipped enough to handle the SOLDIER treatment and was vulnerable from the start. The Jenova cells within him made him mirror a false personality, Zack’s personality, which Cloud seemingly used as a guide to cope and find some level of false foundation and protection in, but which also left him open to be deceived. With Sephiroth, the Jenova cells within him made him continue to mirror his false (more like misunderstood) existence after he learned of his origins because he had no other guide to follow but Jenova’s, his supposed mother according to Shinra, and who Gast mistakingly believed to be a Cetra. She is clearly not. And Sephiroth respected Gast’s words way more than he did Hojo’s, so he continued to believe that he was an Ancient and that his family was wronged. In both cases, they “mirror” these falsities because that is how the nature of Jenova, a shapeshifter/doppelganger, acts when literally within humans in this world. It creates deception (or opportunities for deception) through false realities and half truths (something Sephiroth himself embraces when deceiving Cloud, and the player, in the original). As I’ve evidenced already, Nojima has stated that Jenova is no longer living like she once was. And, even when she was in her unadulterated form 2000 years ago, was never able to “pull any strings”. What Jenova used to do was shapeshift to the likes of the Cetra’s past loved ones, deceive them to close proximity, and infect them into monsters. She was never able to “puppet” them. It’s only Sephiroth who can hijack human bodies in black cloaks for control, as he is something Jenova isn’t, a human heir who was born of her and who inherited her abilities. What Jenova can control are her other body parts across the world while her head regenerates and resurrects into a new form at the Norther Crater the same way Sephiroth’s body does he same. I had to give you all that information about Sephiroth and Jenova to articulate the nuance of their nature, because it’s not simply “she’s controlling him like a puppet and he has no control over his actions”. She also helped “control” Cloud to give Sephiroth the Black Materia on multiple occasions, but the correct word is not “control”, it’s really “influence”, as only Sephiroth has the potential to actually take over and control Cloud. Either way, Cloud was still Cloud, and Sephiroth is still Sephiroth. What this really has to do with that people are unclear about is how Jenova cells affect those within this world. However, Sephiroth is more intimately tied to Jenova than anyone else, being born of her from the ground up, so much so to the point that he inherited her nature and acts his own will in her name upon false pretenses/deceptive influence. They’re partners at best. You fight both of them at the end after all, where he is the final boss EVEN AFTER she’s defeated.

Sephiroth was literally jokerpilled 😔

Is it weird that I kinda feel for Sephiroth? I mean, the dude was basically third wheeling a friendship which I myself I have been in growing up. Angeal was nice to him but didn't really see him a part of his circle and Genesis saw him as a guy he needed to one upped. Curious how different things would be if Vincent snatched up Sephiroth and raised him as his own son.

So sad.. I really hope something happens differently so he can feel differently about his existence. At this point he only cares about Cloud. In an abusive manipulative way yeah though I wonder if it will still be like that when this trilogy is finished.

@@skysetblue9578 I suspect Sephiroth's attachment with Cloud comes from a combination of envy and subconsciously seeing Cloud as a reflection of his true self. Envy, because Cloud had the family and home Sephiroth had always wanted. Reflection, because he shares the same emotional vulnerabilities and insecurities as Cloud (both feel like they were never 'good enough' for the people they admired/loved).

@@JayAndersenGreatestProfile A lot would've changed had Vincent been there to help, especially after acquiring Chaos. He rightfully called Lucrecia out when he demanded to know if 'this is what she wanted' when she willingly injected her own baby with foreign cells. Then, after all the shit down and Lucrecia bailed on everyone, instead of saving Sephiroth from Hojo and Shinra (which would've redeemed Vincent and saved an innocent child from a life he never asked for), he chose to sleep in his coffin instead. :P Dr. Gast is no better either. He was the only paternal figure in Sephiroth's life when he was a child. But not only did this jackass ditch Sephiroth (leaving a kid to essentially fend for himself), but he was also the HEAD MAN of the Jenova Project. Under HIS watch, Dr. Gast allowed his colleagues/subordinates (Hojo, Hollander, Lucrecia, and Gillain) to conduct experiments on unborn babies with UNVERIFIED Cetra DNA. It was all for the sake of revitalizing the Cetra race, according to Dr. Gast. But stupid-ass Dr. Gast couldn't even be bothered with verifying Jenova's true origins first lol. It was only AFTER the experiments took place that he bothered to investigate further. :P He created these 'monsters', then fucked off with Ifalna to do his own thing, thereby allowing Hojo to take over. Lotta people rightfully give Hojo shit for leading Sephiroth down this path. But the majority of horrific decisions and actions (which led Sephiroth down this path) were made mostly by the 'good' characters of the game, from Dr. Gast to Vincent Valentine. They all were too self-absorbed in their own drama and personal goals that they didn't bother to take any responsibility for the mess they created or left behind.

@@dantespimp Unreleated question, how salty would Genesis be if found Sephiroth got in Smash?

Sad part is that he doesn't even know that Lucrecia was his mom and Hojo was his dad.

@@Violent_Wolfen right. Sad indeed. I always wondered what went through his mind when Zack asks him what about his parents the time they arrived in nibelheim. He mentions jenova being his mother and laughs off whatever he thought about his dad.

@@Violent_Wolfen I think he suspected though, but didn’t say anything about it. Well…he almost did but didn’t finish that thought.

@@DarkMirria1 quite possibly. He thought of Hojo as a father in some way or another considering the OG conversation before the mako fountain with tifa and Zack. He mentioned that Hojo was like a father in respect to teaching him things about mako energy, life stream and materia. So perhaps he had some inkling if anything beyond ignorance.

Wasn't sephiroth already dead by the time the game starts? We're all those interactions illusions of Jenoba? It looked like he burned down the town to cover the theft of him stealing Jenoba and just run away.

i do agree with ur take on the mental fortitude part! which prolly explains why zack was able to withstand the mako infusions and hojo's further experimentation on him with more mako and jenova cells.

It is more like he was always evil, but because he was raised to be Shinra's Golden Boy, he developed this nurture of an identity to be somewhat human. It was always fragile and didn't took much to destroy it and revert the Son of Hojo to the similar extent of madness he inherited from his father. He may had been somewhat formed that way by Jenova, but I believe just being Hojo's son did enough of that madness in itself.

💯

100% yes.

Ikr he was lied to jenova isn’t his mother and he’ll never know the truth most likely stupid hojo

If he didn't want to kill everyone yeah I'd agree 😅

Dude that was whole main cast in Crisis Core. No one deserved what they got in that game. Even Aerith wasn't exempt from it. Playing it again being older, yeah the game is really dark.

@@scribble71891 think the question here is who started it - hojo or shinra, because I would say hojo but considering he was at odds with Hollander using the same jenova cells to create a super soldier I feel that's it's less plausible but I can't say shinra either because hojo might have gone his own way with research although he was working with shinra the whole time

@@neezduts69420 honestly i think it was just in hojo's nature to be immoral and unethical.

I can see that happening but probably changed it up due to sword slicing event later in game.

@@inavitago7689 I think he was always intended to kill her, it was all stated in an interview along with the brother thing

their hair look nothing alike huh

@@vincenthammons6705 Yeah it does. Look at the bangs.

Not Brother, boyfriend

Bro…. Take it easy.

Dude you're hitting on ALL the right points, and not enough people discusses his trauma. One of the important things about his narrative, is how good-natured he was without any outside positive influences in his life. Before Jenova, Sephiroth had a tender heart, and Crisis Core showed so much of how much he cared but most importantly he yearns for love and familial acceptance. This is the basis of what was broken, and how this breaking, even breaking up the heart, allowed Jenova to twist him into this evil corruption of him, the opposite of his real nature. I can only hope that Final Fantasy 7 remake is going to do the job of showing his true nature overcoming these adversities and restoring his heart to what it once was.

Maybe there was a sadictic side inside him since the beginning because in BC he made a mess on Avalanche soldiers, regular human soldiers mind you. So I agreed with we saw a human side of Sephiroth on CC but maybe on Ever Crisis we could see more of his personality because I still think that when he discovered being an experiment it was a quick change on his personality. Like if that calm and cool demeanor wasn't completly true

All hail lord Sephiroth 🖤

@@SilverLionhart I like to imagine that sadistic side was developed during his childhood in the labs. Imagine a 6 year old going through the monster challenges and lab tests like Zack did for Hojo as side quests in Crisis Core. That'll twist someone up inside without necessarily making them sadistic towards everyone. Vicious survival instinct and ruthlessness bottled up until it's unleashed on acceptable targets. Sephiroth's definition of "acceptable targets" just expanded to everyone and everything after he lost everyone and everything.

They weren't injected directly with Jenova cells, that was Sephiroth while he was still in the womb. Instead, they injected the cells into Angeal's mother, then her cells into Genesis. Ironically, the attempt to make them more compatible with humans just ended up making the mix more unstable.

Correction to your correction: Genesis lived and is in great health, as per the ending of Dirge. He looks better than ever and seems to have the ability to control life and death.

@@NeoNaito I think he is right tho, Genesis is fine only thanks to the lifestream the cured him at the end of Crisis Core, IF i remember correctly

Regular soldiers don't get any S or J cells. That only happened to Zack and Cloud after the Nibel incident, when Hojo experimented on them. Regular soldiers only get bathed in Mako to give them enhanced/superhuman abilities.

Genesis and Angeal were born from a woman that was injected with Jenova cells, these are G(illian) cells. Where as Hojo and Lucresia, I for get her name, injected Jenova in to her egg that was seeded with Hojo's sperm. G cells soldiers with the way the process works they allow for Jenova to absorb those cells were as S cell do not. Though he can control them and eventually Sephiroth becoms powerful enough that he can inhabit the body of anyone that merges with Jenova cells.

The way I see it, the reason why Sephiroth is so obsessed with Cloud, is because he is the last connection he had to Angeal, and this was the only reason why Sephiroth had any interest in Zack, since Angeal was very close to Zack and even gave him his sword which represented his dreams and ideals, which then were later passed down to Cloud, as Zack had mentored him and was close to him, and even gave him the purpose of being his living legacy, since Cloud was a weak minded person that just looked up to others. I believe that Sephiroth thinks, if he is able to fully break Cloud, then his last connection to humanity which was with Angeal and his legacy, will allow him to finally move on and gain true power, but through the power of friendship as in every shonen story, Cloud has always beaten Sephiroth in the end. I think its really sad what happened to Sephiroth, because with Zack when he was feeling down, he always had people around him like Cissnei, Tseng, Aerith or even that 2nd class SOLDIER buddy, who made him feel like he was much more than a weapon, since in Crisis Core there were a lot of moments, where even Zack himself whos been shown to be a really strong person, had his doubts about possibly being a monster himself, but unlike Sephiroth who didn't open to anyone, Zack was able to let other people into his life, and died fighting for what he truly believed in which did make him a hero in the end, since he gave his life to protect Cloud, and even gave him a better life by giving him the purpose of being his living legacy. And for those people that think that Zack was not smart for doing what he did, you have to consider that if Zack really had taken Cloud elsewhere, and tried to live a life somewhere far away from Midgar, they would have lived a life being on the run, since Shinra had spies everywhere and their army was huge, when Zack decided to take the fight straight to them, he massively reduced their army and made things better for Cloud in the long run, though I'm really interested in what the remake will turn out, since Zack's story did not end in it.

This theory is actually true?

canon or theory?

I subscribe to this theory because the big bad is jenova not Jesus. He died for our sin needlessly. Redemption arc is what I'm hoping for, but we will see...I want to see what sephiroth sees at edge of creation

@@horunovaraki6060 no lol

@Burger_King as of now nobody knows what sephiroth in the remake is doing or what he is in general.

I still like to believe if he ran into his actual mother, some interesting things will happened. Hojo on the other hand, not so much lol

yes.

Could you imagine? If he had joined AVALANCHE (the first incarnation), Shinra would've been screwed.

The guy speaking in this video is wrong about alot of details.

It was made after the OG game so it makes sense they would add a bunch of stuff the OG game never even hinted at. I also dislike CC for that reason. They make Zack more important than he actually was and now he's been forced into the remake as some pivotal character AFTER his death....

100% this. Even Aeris admits she didnt really take the relationship with Zack too seriously, and now hes supposed to be super important lol.

I was really hoping Crisis Core Reunion would've further elaborated more on Sephiroth's 'friendship' with Genesis and Angeal to explain his downfall better. After all, Sephiroth attaching himself to a toxic friend like Genesis would indicate he wasn't in a good healthy place in his life (much like attaching yourself to a toxic girlfriend would indicate you had poor self-esteem issues). But Reunion didn't do anything with this. Nomura has such a hard-on for his Genesis/Gackt Gary Stu creation, he never wants us to perceive Genesis as a shitty guy (which would then help us see a pattern of unhealthy relationships/attachments Sephiroth forms with others - from Jenova to Cloud). Instead, Nomura keeps wanting us to see Genesis as this misunderstood mofo. :P

This is why I don't like alot of these "Lore explained" videos. Many of these guys use CC as the base point of explanation... whereas original fans know that you should always explain the characters using the OG as a base point. CC should be explained, but with the preface that it wasn't cannon AT FIRST.

You are not factoring that he was infused with alien DNA that has a mind (or directive) of it's own. This could be why "he" went crazy. He was corrupted by the Jenova cells... This could be why he disdains human life and feels he is above it.

he still has empathy, but i feel like he uses it to hurt ppl now, play with their emotions...

İ Like Him too :) İ Am Already A Huge Fan Of Villain characters İ Like Them So Much :)

Weak pvssy! Met, Janus Pater Zeal!

Battle with Magus - The Musical. Now You ☠ Lavos theme 🎶

I also think not knowing who his parents are and thinking an alien that crashed into the planet in order to destroy it is his mother kind of messed up his world view

I mean, initially, yes Jenova's influence convinced Sephiroth to turn evil but after falling into the Lifestream, Sephiroth became so mentally powerful to the point where he could reverse Jenova's control over him so Jenova really only influenced his actions during the Nibelheim incident and nowhere else.

@@larrymunn5279 I'm pretty sure it's been confirmed that Sephiroth grew strong enough to the point where he controls Jenova... I mean just look at the way he acts during the Nibelheim incident compared to after he fell into the Lifestream; in Nibelheim, he is completely under Jenova's control and shares her goal of taking over the planet but once he falls into the Lifestream, Jenova becomes his puppet and his plan changes, he's not trying to get Jenova to absorb all life, he's trying to use Meteor so that he himself can absorb the Lifestream and become a god... like, if this was Jenova in control, wouldn't she force Sephiroth to fight the team to defend her instead of throwing herself into harms way to try and stop the team from reaching Sephiroth?

Sephiroth was never under Jenova’s control. Jenova refers to Sephiroth as her master in the whirlwind maze. Hojo also confirms Sephiroth was always the one in control.

Your theory is entirely incorrect. Here's the actual story. Sephiroth had biological parents, Hojo and Lucretia. Sephiroth was conceived like any other normal child but was injected with Jenova cells while he was still in the womb. Same thing happened to Genesis except it was Hollander's experiment and it failed, which is why he degrades and Sephiroth doesn't. Sephiroth was never manipulated by Jenova, it's the other way around. During the events of FF7 original, the Sephiroth the party sees throughout the first half of the game is not actually Sephiroth, it's Jenova who is being controlled by Sephiroth (his real body is in the northern crater after he fell into the lifestream in Crisis Core). Jenova is a shape shifter and takes on the appearance of Sephiroth per his control. Cloud is also being manipulated by Sephiroth during the first half of the game. Everyone who was injected with Jenova cells was being drawn to the northern crater where Sephiroth is. Sephiroth's breakdown comes from him finding out he was a lab experiment, a "monster" so to speak during his mission to Nibelheim. Shinra mistakenly identifies Jenova as being an Ancient, when in reality she's an alien that crash landed in the northern crater thousands of years ago, and nearly wiped out all the Ancients. Sephiroth thinks he's an Ancient because Shinra thinks Jenova is an Ancient, which is not the case. The only actual living Ancient is Aerith (technically half ancient since her dad was Professor Gast, a normal human)

You mean me and not Sephiroth right 😎

@@DarnelHasLeft Mr famous has spoken

Sephiroth NEEDS a redemption arc. Not just by virtue of his circumstance, but just looking at how Sephiroth has grown as a pop cultural icon, he's transcended the franchise in more ways than one. speaking to the story, Jenova is the true villain and always have been. I think Sephiroth becoming an ANTI-hero is the best route. he's free of Jenova's will, and now onto acting on his own. His intent is just in his eyes, but still winds up at odds with Cloud. Its just now, instead of a hero vs. villain, Sephiroth's motives and intent become nuanced, and even agreeable, but his execution is what makes him an anti-hero that Cloud faces off.

No thank you. Aerith, Sephiroth and Cloud are the ones with the most storytelling.

I want it to be on his own terms though. I don't want the generic "oh no what have I done"!

@@elizabethchint2391 No one is asking for that I feel. Like I said above, Sephiroth needs to overcome Jenova, BUT to then evolve into an ANTI-hero. If anything, Sephiroth will probably view everything that transpired as JENOVA'S doing, and now he's free to rediscover his own will. Sephiroth as an antihero will allow him to become so much more than "the villain" and opens the door for much greater nuances and exploration. But AS an antihero, this allows him to maintain that epic beef with Cloud, but now on a whole new level.

@@TeamGXOne Sorry for the misunderstanding. Yeah this would be the way to do it.

Next, Magus Zeal. Why, Janus Zeal became so bad toward humanity?! Sound con-fused? Ford Fusion! Seed of Perdition - Lavos, World Révolution & Last Battle.

Was the comic for The zblys not writen in the early 90s?

Honestly kinda accurate

Don't forget Sephiroth is part Jenova. Not like he has jenova cells in him, he is genetically partially jenova. He was injected with her cells in the womb so he developed with those cells from fetus to baby. Which is why he doesn't degrade. So the similarities with Shinra and Vought are really kinda crazy.

I really loathe this comparison. They really don't have much in common other than being raised in a laboratory.

Night Sky!!! It’s been a while haha! I remember you! Thanks for all the support man it really means a lot ❤️🥰😭 and haha you ain’t seen nothing yet 😈😈😈

@@DarnelHasLeft plotting something devious over there 👀

😅😅😅 definitely noted! Thanks!!!

@@DarnelHasLeft Hello! I'm a show director and I often have to narrate, I noticed at 3:07 to like 3:11 that you got a little excited and did indeed stumble a few words. But it comes from passion. I'd say you're all good.

@@DarnelHasLeft Also thank you for the awesome video!

@@venti9925 Hey thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed!!! Haha yeah I didn’t realize how obvious it was how nervous/excited I was while recording! In hindsight it’s so noticeable 😭

As an xqc viewer, this guy talks extremely slow

It’s from new sakura wars, it’s called “place to return” it’s the instrumental version

Angeal and Genesis were just terrible characters. Ike voice: "You'll get no sympathy from me."

Thank you so much that’s so sweet of you to say!!! 🥰🫶

When I say Sephiroth is human I mean metaphorically, in the same way that superman is human! Superman is 100% alien but still has his “humanity”! Hope that makes sense!

He’s mostly human, both his real biological parents (Lucrecia and Hojo) were human, he’s just got some alien dna thrown into the mix it doesn’t make him not human at all. That is until he comes back from the dead anyways because he’s no longer using his original body.

Sephiroth respect or believed people are bullshit