The exact definition of JENOVA is ultimately debatable. Based on Advent Children SpoilerVincent's assessment of JENOVA as "heaven's dark harbinger"/"an unpleasant thing sent by heaven"/any similar translation of the lines, one could potentially argue that JENOVA is in the nature of a judgment/plague sent by some unknown deity. I disagree with this assessment, particularly because it seems to conflict with what one might call, for lack of a better phrase, the "theology of he Lifestream."Originally Posted by One_WinGed_d3mon
Further, Sephiroth's stated intent before the climactic battle between Cloud and Seph adds detail, but further ambiguity, as to the overall role of JENOVA. Sephiroth, according to what he tells Cloud, desires to use Gaia (the planet) itself as a vehicle to move throughout the universe and establish a new planet. He then ties this back in with the "actions" of JENOVA. These lines vary greatly between translations, so I can't fully pass judgment until SE releases the official translation. Suffice it to say that, in many ways, Sephiroth and JENOVA are indistinguishable from one another.
Ultimately, then, it's difficult to pin an exact definition to JENOVA. It's certainly an extraterrestrial entity, very much like a virus, and diametrically opposed to the Lifestream of Gaia.
There's nothing, however, to suggest that JENOVA was sent by some more powerful/advanced race, or that it's from an alternate universe. These theories don't work, simply because there's literally nothing to support them.
Hopefully, the recently released FFVII Ultimania Omega guide or some other SE document will shed more light on the origins and exact nature of JENOVA.
Not exactly. The Cetra didn't just decide to be friends with JENOVA; they were deceived by the entity's ability to change its shape, which allowed it to inflict them with a mysterious virus.Originally Posted by One_WinGed_d3mon
The following is taken from Ifalna's testimony in the Icicle Inn tapes.
Further, JENOVA didn't die, per se. It was defeated and confined by the Cetra, but could still come back.Ifalna: I'm all right... When the Cetra... were preparing to part with the
land they loved... That's when it appeared! It looked like... our... our dead
mothers... and our dead brothers. Showing us spectres of their past.
Gast: Who is the person that appeared at the North Cave? I haven't any idea.
Ifalna: That's when the one who injured the Planet... or the 'crisis from the
sky', as we call him, came. He first approached as a friend, deceived them,
and finally...... gave them the virus. The Cetra were attacked by the virus
and went mad... transforming into monsters. Then, just as he had at the
Knowlespole. He approached other Cetra clans...... infecting them with... the
virus...
Beyond this, it's obvious from FFVII that JENOVA's cells remain alive, even when separated.Ifalna: Yes, but... There is no record of Weapon ever being used. A small
number of the surviving Cetra defeated Jenova, and confined it. The Planet
produced Weapon... But it was no longer necessary to use it.
Gast: So, Weapon no longer exists on the Planet?
Ifalna: Weapon cannot vanish. ...It remains asleep somewhere on the Planet.
Even though Jenova is confined, it could come back to life at some time... The
Planet has not fully healed itself yet. It is still watching Jenova.
Given the fact that Shinra had, as of the events of FFVII, developed advanced robotics, space flight, and the like, I hardly find it impossible that the jet was the product of current-era technology. There's nothing that actually links it to the Cetra. While there are numerous arguments for the supposition that the journey of the Cetra was interplanetary, as opposed to intraplanetary, none of them really have all that much to recommend them. In any case, a jet is hardly representative of deep space travel.Originally Posted by One_WinGed-d3mon




Reply With Quote