Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile

On the Way to a Smile ファイナルファンタジーVII

Light Novel7.6489 votes1 volumes · 12 chaptersFinished

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Synopsis

Mercenary Cloud Strife and his allies have prevented an apocalyptic attack from the psychotic Sephiroth, but human civilization remains in tatters. Furthermore, each member of Avalanche, the victorious rebel group, struggles with a growing emptiness and a lack of purpose in their new reality. Cloud's childhood friend, Tifa Lockhart, who feels responsible for the loss of innocent lives, desperately tries to sustain her relationship with him. Still, the burden of their dead companions leads to a growing rift between them. Meanwhile, Barret Wallace and Red XIII search for a new ambition now that the threat of Sephiroth has passed, and Yuffie Kisaragi returns to her home nation of Wutai to help its citizens combat a new disease known as Geostigma. But somewhere in the lifestream—the collective spiritual energy of the world and all who have died on its surface—lurks the remnants of Sephiroth's vengeful spirit, left to stew in its hatred toward Cloud and the rest of the human race. And while the soul of someone dear to Cloud monitors Sephiroth's growing animosity, the villain's revenge plot continues to spiral closer to completion. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Publication notes

Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile is a series of short stories taking place between the events of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The light novel was published in English by Yen Press under the Yen On imprint on October 30, 2018. It was also released in Spanish by Planeta Cómic on April 9, 2019.

Published

Apr 16, 2009

Authors

Nojima, Kazushige

External links

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MAL rank: #2836
Members (MAL): 1,336
Favorites (MAL): 18

Related titles

Adaptation

Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile - Episode: Denzel (anime)

Side Story

Main characters

Cloud Strife2996 fan favorites
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Blood type: AB Height: 5' 7" (173 cm) Date of Birth: August 11 or August 19 Age: 16 (FF Before Crisis, FF Crisis Core), 21 (FFVII), 23 (FF Advent Children), 24 (FF Dirge of Cerberus) Birthplace: Nibelheim Main protagonist in Final Fantasy VII. He has blonde hair and vivid, blue eyes, and is a featured SOLDIER member. His shimmering blue eyes are a sign of having been exposed to mako energy from Shinra. By the beginning of the original game Cloud is a mercenary working for the AVALANCHE group. At first, Cloud displays a cold and uncaring demeanor, but he gradually adapts to his role as a leader. Aerith and Tifa are potential love interests for him. In the movie Cloud and Tifa run a bar and a delivery business.
Sephiroth1762 fan favorites
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Sephiroth is the elite fighter of SOLDIER and a revered war hero, as well as the arch-nemesis of protagonist Cloud Strife. Sephiroth went missing after the Nibelheim mission, where he went insane and burned the small town to the ground after finding out that he was created for an experiment; an effort to create a superbeing with the cells of an alien known as Jenova, whom he considered his mother. His biological parents are Professor Hojo and Lucrecia Cresent, Sephiroth was injected with the Jenova cells during the foetal stage. He is best known for killing the last remaining Ancient (people born of the planet, who nurture and communicate with the Planet, and finally return to it), and almost destroying the planet. Originally the poster boy for strategic genius, bravery and all that good stuff, Sephiroth's fall into madness makes him into a sadistic killer who delights in the suffering of others. His favorite person to torment is Cloud, whom he calls his "puppet." His will is said to be second to none and for this reason, Sephiroth refuses to merge with the Lifestream even after his defeat. He returns in Advent Children once again, refusing to remain "just a memory." Also he is left-handed. His long katana is called 'Masamune'.
Zack Fair1217 fan favorites
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Age: 16–23 Year of birth: 1985 Height: 185 cm Hometown: Gongaga A 1st Class Soldier in the making with a simple yet passionate dream of becoming a hero. Enthusiastic, passionate and positive. He will take on any mission to prove his worth to the Shinra company. Also popular among the women in Midgar, he soon gets his own fan club. Zack left his home town of Gongaga at the age of fourteen to join the Shinra Electric Power Company's military forces. He was promoted to Soldier 2nd Class sometime in the next two years. Unlike many Soldier members, he has a 1st Class mentor named Angeal Hewley. (Source: Final Fantasy Wiki)
Tifa Lockhart1017 fan favorites
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Blood type: B Height: 5'6" (167 cm) Birthdate: May 3, 1987 Occupation: Bartender, Avalanche member While deceptively strong, Tifa is empathic and emotionally shy. While identifying and responding to the feelings of others, Tifa does not express her feelings often and when she does she struggles doing so. Tifa has motherly qualities, acting as a support for others, and keeping the others around her optimistic. In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Tifa has grown more forward and tries to keep their family unit together when Cloud falls into depression. She acts like a parental figure towards the children in her care, both defending them in battle and giving them emotional support. Though not clingy, she appears hurt by Cloud's distantness. Tifa pushes him to take action and to stop brooding with what he considers to be his past failings. (Source: Final Fantasy Wiki)
Aerith Gainsborough541 fan favorites
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Aerith Gainsborough is a character from the Final Fantasy VII series who is portrayed as kind and gentle, eager to help her friends to the best of her ability. She is typically seen wearing a pink ribbon in her hair, a pink dress with short brown coat, and brown boots. In the game Crisis Core, she wears a white sleeveless dress. She is also one of Cloud's potential love interests. She was previously dating and in love with Zack Fair. She is first introduced as a flower girl, and she briefly converses with Cloud Strife, a mercenary who is fleeing from the bombing of a Mako reactor by himself and AVALANCHE. The two later meet at the church in the Sector 5 slums, when he falls down from the plate and through the roof of the church. Later, when faced with the possibility of being captured by the Turks, the two join forces to escape. As he reminds her of Zack Fair, she asks him to be her bodyguard in return for one date. She is eventually captured by Shinra and taken to the science lab, however Cloud and friends infiltrate the building and save her. She then joins them in the pursuit of Sephiroth, while embarking on a journey of self-discovery as well. After a failed attempt to foil Sephiroths theft of the Black Materia, she ventures alone into the Forgotten City for as yet unknown reasons. Cloud and his companions follow after her, eventually finding her praying at an altar. As she looks up to smile at Cloud, however, Sephiroth appears and kills her by impaling her through the torso. The materia given to her by her mother, which she wore in her hair, falls from the altar into the water and was lost. After fighting an incarnation of Jenova, Cloud carries her body out into a lake in the Forgotten City, and releases her back to the Planet. The party later learns the reason for her being in the Forgotten City; through her mothers materia, now known as the 'White Materia', she was able to summon Holy, the ultimate White Magic, and the only force capable of repelling the ultimate Black Magic, Meteor. Even though she successfully managed to cast Holy before her death, it was held back by the sheer force of Sephiroths will. When he was finally defeated and Holy was released, it appears that it was too late to function as effectively as it should, for Meteor - already summoned by Sephiroth and set on a collision course with the Planet - had come too near the Planet's surface. While Holy clashes with Meteor, attempting to prevent its impact, the gravity of both Meteor and Holy pulling on the spell in opposite directions weakens it, leaving it with too little room to take effect. The Lifestream then flows forth from within the planet, intervening with Holy and Meteor, and acting as a battering ram while aiding in the destruction of Meteor. This scene is followed by a vision of Aerith within the Lifestreams energy. She later makes several appearances in the CGI film, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. As Cloud's spiritual guide, she urges him to move on in life, to forgive himself for the tragedies that were beyond his control and to tell him that she never blamed him for her death. During several flashes, she speaks to Cloud in an open meadow laden with flowers, cheerfully and kindheartedly poking fun at how he needlessly burdens himself with the past, but also acknowledging his suffering and offering kind words of support. Towards the end of the movie, somehow she causes it to rain, the water curing the victims of the Geostigma when they come into contact with it. She is also seen at the church at the very end, watching Cloud, alongside Zack Fair. (Source: Wikipedia)
Reno419 fan favorites
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Reno is a Turk fighter, comrade/partner of Rude, who uses an electric rod. Most often characterized as loud, reckless and laid-back, Reno is assigned to lead the Turks after Tseng was injured (at least in the movie), which then indirectly shows his seniority despite his "slacker" appearance.
Yuffie Kisaragi159 fan favorites
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Birthplace: Wutai Date of Birth: November 20, 1991 Sign: Scorpio Age: 9-15 (Before Crisis, Crisis Core), 16 (Final Fantasy VII), 18 (Advent Children), 19 (Dirge of Cerberus) Height: 160cm (5'2") Blood type: A She is a Ninja and a Thief, wielding a large shuriken. As a rebellious and cocky tomboy, Yuffie desires to restore her homeland Wutai to the glorious nation it was before being conquered by Shinra. Despite her sometimes obnoxious personality, Yuffie is friendly, helpful, and willingly helps the party in their battles. Yuffie has a cocky, proud, brash personality, and at times can be aggressive, a bit of a tomboy and acts unashamedly towards her goals. She has a tendency to bestow honorific titles on herself, such as "Great Ninja Yuffie", "The Single White Rose of Wutai" and stating that everyone is "Dyin' to talk to a babe like her". Despite being the daughter of Wutai's leader, Godo Kisaragi, Yuffie has little tolerance for tradition and is highly rebellious to Wutai's old-fashioned ways, which lead to her clashing with her father. She is clever and cunning, able to trick the party with ease. Despite this, she is not at all averse to heroics and is a reliable ally and caring friend. Yuffie is the subject of two running jokes in the series. One is her motion sickness, as she gets ill whenever on a moving vehicle, be it an airship or a boat. The other is her obsession with Materia - when she joined the party, it was merely to steal their Materia stock. In Final Fantasy VII, she claims she wants Materia because Shinra banned it in Wutai and she wants to use it to restore Wutai's glory. However, her obsession is shown to be intact in her appearances before and after the game, having found various other reasons to hunt the magical baubles.
Red XIII46 fan favorites
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First appearing in Final Fantasy VII. Red XII is a young warrior and last of his tribe. He first meets Cloud in the Shinra HQ as a test subject of the scientist Hojo. Red goes with Cloud and the others throughout the entire game developing tight bonds and learning about his own shrouded history. Red again appears in Final Fantasy Advent Children in a cameo appearance in the fight against Bahamut-SIN with Cait Sith riding on his back. Although much older then the rest of the cast at 50 years of age. Red's race lives for several years making him the equivalent of 18 in human years. Red is deep and thoughtful, with a sweet innocent demeanor. Red is always looking out for others and has a strong sense of loyalty both to his friends and his home town of Cosmo Canyon.
Rufus Shinra42 fan favorites
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Presumed dead in Final Fantasy VII, Rufus returns in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Infected with Geostigma, Rufus asks for Cloud's help to rebuild Shin-Ra. He also hides Jenova's head from Kadaj for most of the movie until he decides to reveal himself.
Cid Highwind34 fan favorites
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Cid is a playable character in Final Fantasy VII. In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, he appears to help fight Bahamut Sin. His new airship is the Shera/Sierra.
Tseng28 fan favorites
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Tseng is the stern, no-nonsense, and sometimes temperamental leader of the Turks. In Final Fantasy VII, he is brutally injured (but not killed) by Sephiroth while investigating the Temple of the Ancients. Like the other Turks, he returns in Advent Children, wherein he and Elena retrieve Jenova's remains from the Northern Cave before being attacked, and subsequently tortured, by Kadaj's gang. (Source: Wikipedia)
Rude18 fan favorites
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Rude is a tall, naturally bald man with a slight goatee. He always wears sunglasses and carries a number of spare pairs with him. Rude is rarely seen without his long-time partner, Reno, and is rather taciturn, tending to relegate the talking to Reno. Rude is a superb physical combatant and prefers to use his fists in battle. (Source: Wikipedia)
Barret Wallace11 fan favorites
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Barret is a playable character in Final Fantasy VII. In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Tifa takes care of his daughter (Marlene) while he travels the world searching for energy sources alternative to Mako. He appears to help fight Bahamut Sin.
Denzel7 fan favorites
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Denzel is a young brown-haired boy who resides with Cloud, Tifa, and Marlene in Edge. Denzel's first appearance was in Advent Children, and is the focus of Case of Denzel, part of the tie-in series of novellas On the Way to a Smile. He is the son of a woman named Chloe and a Shinra worker named Abel. Reeve's mother, Ruvie, raised Denzel until her death. Eventually, Denzel is found by Cloud and taken to live with him, Tifa, and Marlene. Denzel is voiced by Kyōsuke Ikeda in Japanese and Benjamin Bryan in English. In Case of Denzel, Denzel's parents are killed by the collapse of the Sector 7 plate. Before dying, Abel entrusted Denzel to an inhabitant of Sector 5 named Arkham, and Denzel was subsequently raised by Ruvie Tuesti. When Ruvie died in the chaos resulting from the Lifestream burst, Denzel settled in the Midgar ruins with Rick, a new friend, helping to collect material for the construction of the new town Edge. Rick later left Denzel, who wandered and eventually comes across Cloud's motorcycle. Soon afterwards, Denzel suffered a Geostigma attack and collapsed and was found by Cloud. Cloud believed that Aerith's influence had led Denzel to his bike and, as a result, Cloud brought him home with him. In Advent Children, Denzel's Geostigma continues to weaken him to the point that he agrees to accompany Yazoo to be "cured." Denzel, along with other abducted children, are taken to the Ancient City of the Cetra. There, Kadaj manipulates them and they fall under his control, having been awakened to a "Reunion Instinct." After a failed rescue attempt by Cloud, Denzel and the other children are taken to Edge, acting as human barriers for Yazoo and Loz whom attempt to tear down the Midgar memorial. Denzel regains himself after Tifa protects him from Bahamut SIN and returns to 7th Heaven to be with Marlene. Denzel is cured of his Geostigma by Cloud using Aerith's purified water. He is last seen at the end of the film in a photograph on Cloud's desk depicting the entire main cast. (Source: Wikipedia)
Marlene Wallace1 fan favorites
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Marlene is Barret's adoptive daughter.