Sephiroth's Legs: Gone.

[Squall of SeeD]

His hair is kind of wrapped around his lower body. Plus, he's wearing black trousers. Combine those two elements, and it might look a little like he's got no legs. In this picture, you can indeed see hair in front of him. However, that seems to be sprouting out of the front of his body, not just hanging down behind him. See how the hair blends into the flesh of his stomach?

We're talking about torn flesh hanging there. If his hair floated against it, it's going to be pressing against it and would blend right in with it. Flesh isn't all that thick, you know?

Either his body hair grew to unnatural lengths while he was in the Lifestream, or that's something to do with Jenova's head. For whatever reason, there are whisps of hair hanging down in front of his body.

Again, the hair is behind him. The very picture you linked to shows it behind him over his shoulder. We already know that it's long enough to be reaching down below his waist, which happens to be gone.

In this picture, the "legless illusion" is caused by the density of the crystal he's inside, and by the reflections on the crystal's surface. Hos body just fades away as the crystal gets darker.

Look closely. At no point can you see a clear boundary, as though anything's actually been severed. He's obscured, he's hidden, but he's all there.

Again, there's torn flesh hanging there in a very obvious boundary. Note the areas pointed to by the red arrows in the picture that will follow momentarily. The length of the various bits of torn flesh aren't even constant. How can you determine that there's no clear boundary? Also, note that a rock that is present out behind his hair to his left is visible directly beneath his torso, where there should be legs: Linkage.

For the benefit of the visually impaired, I've taken the liberty of acquiring another screenshot that clearly shows open space beneath his torso. Also, note that some of that hair can clearly be seen between his arm and his left rib cage, thus clearly showing that its extending from behind him and floating forward (that bit of hair will be pointed to with a red arrow): Linkage.

The very notion that he'd lose his legs and nobody would notice or care... that's just slightly unhinged.

I noticed. I care. Do I count? Oh, you mean somebody in the game. Well, I don't know, Big D... but if I were any of those folks in that game, I'd be a little more concerned with that giant chunk of rock and fire that the body was going to be used to bring down than I would be with the body itself. Maybe I'm just slightly unhinged, and maybe that's just me, though.

[Doomgaze]

[Luthien Rogue]

Doom, what was the point of your post? O.o What are those pics for? o.O

[Weimar Pluto Knight VII]

He's trying to show us that the final boss forms don't have legs, either, it seems.

[Big D]

Actually, in this picture, it looks as though his lower body has become a kind of fibrous, hair-like form. In the picture, you can see some hair in front of his torso. However, that hair starts in front of his body, not behind, not wrapped around. What I meant about 'blending' is that there seems to be a 'transition' from solid tissue to fibrous tendrils, not a delineated boundary between two distinct regions.

In this case, the answer is simple: Jenova transformation. He's begun to shed his human form for something greater. We know that he began to transform before he got the Black Materia; in the Temple of the Ancients, Sephiroth's projection says, "...I am becoming one with the Planet." Present tense - the process is already occuring. So, it makes sense that he'd be changing, bonding with Jenova already. In the entire game, no form of Jenova, and no human transformed by Jenova, is ever seen to have legs.
See, for example: Jenova-BIRTH, Jenova-LIFE, Jenova-DEATH, Jenova-SYNTHESIS, Helletic Hojo, Lifeform: Hojo N/A, Bizarro Sephiroth, and finally Safer Sephiroth. It would seem that legs aren't a priority for Jenova.

Considering that, it'd not be too surprising to discover that Sephiroth's transformation made his redundant legs disappear early on.
What others are describing as "torn flesh" looks more to me like Sephiroth's thick locks of hair. However, it's the same colour as his skin, and it blends right into the flesh of his stomach. Torn skin doesn't look like that; to my eyes, he's begun to turn into something else. Futher evidence: look at his pectoral muscles. There are thick, parallel ridges at his sides. They look a little like ribs, except that no human being has ribs running in that direction. They don't match any known muscle configuration, either. If anything, they look a little like gills... but then, no human has those either. The only reasonable conclusion is that they are some kind of unnatural transformation. This was discussed extensively in an article on some other website somewhere.

Notice that Jenova's head isn't visible in any of those FMVs? Sephiroth took it with him into the Lifestream, yet not it cannot be seen. One can only conclude that he has already bonded with it. This would help to explain why Sephiroth is at the heart of the Jenova Reunion, and it'd also explain why he's apparently beginning to change form.

[Squall of SeeD]

Actually, in this picture, it looks as though his lower body has become a kind of fibrous, hair-like form.

But D, in this picture it's obvious that the only hair-like material in that crystal is the hair running down from the back of his head and across his back.

At the very least, I'm glad that you're acknoweldging that his legs aren't there (a transition from your last Post).

What others are describing as "torn flesh" looks more to me like Sephiroth's thick locks of hair. However, it's the same colour as his skin, and it blends right into the flesh of his stomach.

Look again. His hair is white. His flesh is... flesh-colored. The material hanging there below his torso is the same color as his chest and arms, not the same color as his hair at all.

For that matter, that material hanging there is far more wide than the locks of his hair. Compare it to the hair that is only an inch away on the picture. Furthermore, the material hanging there isn't the same length as the hair seen only a moment later in the game in this picture.

Speaking of that picture, note also that the color of the flesh on his abdomen is not the same color as the hair. There's an obvious line of demarcation.

By the way -- and I should think that this would be as prominent a point as any I've made -- if what we see there isn't the same hair we saw a moment before here, then where'd all that hair go?

For that matter, when the camera angle changes back to the same angle as seen here as the Black Materia begins interacting with Sephy's body about four seconds later, why is it that his hair is in the same position as it was previously, and there's not all that long hair extending from the bottom of his abdomen as your claim would require there be?: Linkage.

Considering the length of it, the small object that is the Black Materia certainly wouldn't be obscuring it if it were there.

In this case, the answer is simple: Jenova transformation. He's begun to shed his human form for something greater. We know that he began to transform before he got the Black Materia; in the Temple of the Ancients, Sephiroth's projection says, "...I am becoming one with the Planet." Present tense - the process is already occuring.

He meant "I'm going to become one with the Planet," D. If you'll recall, Aerith asks him this: "How do you intend to become one with the Planet?" He goes on to explain his/JENOVA's plan to do this, something which had not yet been even so much as set in motion:

Sephiroth
"It's simple."
"Once the Planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the
injury."

(He slashes again, chuckling.)

Sephiroth
"The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the
injury."

(He thrusts his sword into the ground.)

Sephiroth
"...What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the
very life of the Planet?"
"Think how much energy would be gathered!"

(He pulls his sword from the ground. His whole body begins to flash,
electrically, as he laughs.)

Sephiroth
"Ha ha ha. And at the center of that injury, will be me."
"All that boundless energy will be mine."

(He slashes his sword.)

Sephiroth
"By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a
new life forn, a new existence."
"Melding with the Planet... I will cease to exist as I am now."
"Only to be reborn as a 'God' to rule over every soul."

Futher evidence: look at his pectoral muscles. There are thick, parallel ridges at his sides. They look a little like ribs, except that no human being has ribs running in that direction. They don't match any known muscle configuration, either. If anything, they look a little like gills... but then, no human has those either. The only reasonable conclusion is that they are some kind of unnatural transformation. This was discussed extensively in an article on some other website somewhere.

And Homo Sapiens don't have hair that defies gravity like Cloud's, or walk like a toy like Barret does (go to Blue Laguna.net and download the FMV entitled "Motorcycle Chase" to see what I mean). The graphics rendering of those FMVs was not exactly on par with being realistic.

Notice that Jenova's head isn't visible in any of those FMVs? Sephiroth took it with him into the Lifestream, yet not it cannot be seen. One can only conclude that he has already bonded with it. This would help to explain why Sephiroth is at the heart of the Jenova Reunion, and it'd also explain why he's apparently beginning to change form.

(Advent Children Spoilers; highlight to read.)
(SPOILER)JENOVA's head is still present in Advent Children, however. This fact and the fact that no one ever makes note of the head in the game suggests Sephiroth's body didn't merge with JENOVA's head.


To summarize, the principle of Occam's Razor (all things being equal, the most simple explanation is the best) applies here:

1) What we are shown is the very obvious fact that his legs were gone and no long hair was growing out of Sephiroth's lower abdomen, whereas his very long hair was drifting behind him and to the left.

2) We're then shown a camera angle of his body from in front of his body and to its right, meaning his torso is now in front of the hair drifiting to the left from our perspective.

3) The camera angle then returns to the previously shown angle of his body, with his hair still drifting off to his left while behind him, with, again, no long hair growing out of his lower abdomen.

4) All opposing views have either required ignoring the open space beneath Sephiroth's body, ignoring the specifics of the plan to become one with the Planet, or assuming something that's not suggested by the game and is ridiculously more complicated an explanation than "He fell through a Reactor, lost his legs as a result, and his torso was then carried to the Northern Crater by the Lifestream and there became encased in Mako, with the hair seen being the same hair shown previously and shown after being off to the left of him behind his torso before we were shown the torso from a front-right angle."

In this case, Occam's Razor would rule in favor of "He fell through a Reactor, lost his legs, and his torso was then carried to the Northern Crater by the Lifestream and there became encased in Mako, with the hair seen being the same hair shown previously and seen after being off to the left of him behind his torso before we were shown the torso from a front-right angle." And, again, an explanation of "The hair was growing out of the bottom of his torso" would require explaining where his actual hair went, because there's not any other hair in that crystal.

[BritishBun]

is that his hair in the second one or his skin!?

[Luthien Rogue]

is that his hair in the second one or his skin!?

=| .....

It's neither! It's actually a secret message! Look!

Teh Hidden Message Revealed!

(>O.O<)

[Chocobilly]

A further question would go as such...

Wasn't that Sephiroth that fell into the reactor a sephiroth clone and the real one was in the North Crater the whole time?

Point two: Doesn't it take like a long freaking time for materia to grow? I know that the reactors make it, BUT that is under high pressure and the like, and from the look of Sephi's place, I would say there isn't much pressure and such.

What do you guys think? Is this Sephi the same one who fell or not? Cause I really didn't think it was in the game, and I still don't think he was.

[Luthien Rogue]

A further question would go as such...

Wasn't that Sephiroth that fell into the reactor, a sephiroth clone and the real one was in the North Crater the whole time?

No. Sephiroth ended up in the Crater AFTER falling into the Lifestream. That's how he ended up there, encased in Mako.

Point two: Doesn't it take like a long freaking time for materia to grow? I know that the reactors make it, BUT that is under high pressure and the like, and from the look of Sephi's place, I would say there isn't much pressure and such.

Well, it's five years later, right?

What do you guys think? Is this Sephi the same one who fell or not? Cause I really didn't think it was in the game, and I still don't think he was.

I think you're the only person who doesn't think that the Sephy we see in the flashbacks is the real Sephy. o.O We know he's the real Sephy... o.O

[Chocobilly]

Oh okay.... Upon further research and thought I realize that they are the same guy... but in the game I was sure they weren't. Sorry, just thought I'd put it out there.

[ThaJinx]

I'm very disheartened and surprised that nobody's gone with the commonsense answer that, hey, Square can't show a penis in a game without losing most of its audience.

It's basic censorship, folks. It's not a deeper underlying mystery that contains the essential building blocks of existence. It's artistic censorship.

[Squall of SeeD]

I'm very disheartened and surprised that nobody's gone with the commonsense answer that, hey, Square can't show a penis in a game without losing most of its audience.

It's basic censorship, folks. It's not a deeper underlying mystery that contains the essential building blocks of existence. It's artistic censorship.

Whether censorship was at work or not wasn't the issue, though. The matter of how things were structured within the narrative was. Supposing censorship had really mattered, the matter of this debate would have still been "How did they go about it?" They could have just had him wearing pants. Instead his legs were simply gone. The lack of legs was the issue at hand.

[ThaJinx]

I feel I addressed the lack of legs issue in declaring why they weren't there, or, rather, why they weren't visible. If you'd like me to post a much longer, wordy, and entirely pointless post to make it sound more important than it really is, though, I can certainly do that. As it stands, I don't think it's a huge jump to think that Square wanted Sephie to appear in a natural state without being inappropriate to the audience.

[Squall of SeeD]

As it stands, I don't think it's a huge jump to think that Square wanted Sephie to appear in a natural state without being inappropriate to the audience.

Then they could have just given him pants, had the rock formation cover him up to his stomach, or not had the camera go below his wast, rather than render this: Linkage. There's various methods they could have employed to make him still appear to be in his natural state without there being anything that might have been deemed inappopriate.

On the other hand, there was only way to visually express that his legs were gone: By not rendering them and having the camera go below his waist.