Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Tetsuya Nomura
Takeshi Nozue (co-director)

Writer:

Kazushige Nojima (event scenario writer)

Release Date:

14 September 2005 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

2 years later...

Plot:

An ex-mercenary is forced out of isolation when three mysterious men kidnap and brainwash the city's children afflicted with the Geostigma disease.

Plot Keywords:

Disease | Brother | Orphan | Fight | Sword Fight

Cast

Takahiro Sakurai	...	Cloud Strife (voice: Japanese version)
Ayumi Ito	...	Tifa Lockhart (voice: Japanese version)
Shotaro Morikubo	...	Kadaj (voice: Japanese version) (as Shoutarou Morikubo)
Maaya Sakamoto	...	Aerith Gainsborough (voice: Japanese version)
Keiji Fujiwara	...	Reno (voice: Japanese version)
Taiten Kusunoki	...	Rude (voice: Japanese version)
Yûji Kishi	...	Yazoo (voice: Japanese version) (as Yuuji Kishi)
Kenji Nomura	...	Loz (voice: Japanese version)
Shogo Suzuki	...	Vincent Valentine (voice: Japanese version) (as Shougo Suzuki)
Masahiro Kobayashi	...	Barret Wallace (voice: Japanese version)
Kazuyuki Yama	...	Cid Highwind (voice: Japanese version) (as Kazuyuki Yamaji)
Yumi Kakazu	...	Yuffie Kisaragi (voice: Japanese version)
Hideo Ishikawa	...	Cait Sith (voice: Japanese version)
Masachika Ichimura	...	Red XIII (voice: Japanese version)
Miyuu Tsuzuhara	...	Marlene Wallace (voice: Japanese version)
Kyosuke Ikeda	...	Denzel (voice: Japanese version)
Junichi Suwabe	...	Tseng (voice: Japanese version) (as Jyunichi Suwabe)
Megumi Toyoguchi	...	Elena (voice: Japanese version)
Rina Mogami	...	Girl (voice: Japanese version)
Banjô Ginga	...	Reeve Tuesti (voice: Japanese version) (as Banjou Ginga)
Kenichi Suzumura	...	Zack (voice: Japanese version)
Tôru Ôkawa	...	Rufus Shinra (voice: Japanese version) (as Tooru Ookawa)
Toshiyuki Morikawa	...	Sephiroth (voice: Japanese version)
Steve Burton	...	Cloud Strife (voice: English version)
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	Tifa Lockhart (voice: English version)
Steve Staley	...	Kadaj (voice: English version)
Wally Wingert	...	Rufus Shinra (voice: English version)
Quinton Flynn	...	Reno (voice: English version)
Crispin Freeman	...	Rude (voice: English version)
Dave Wittenberg	...	Yazoo (voice: English version)
Fred Tatasciore	...	Loz (voice: English version)
Steve Blum	...	Vincent Valentine (voice: English version) (as Steven Jay Blum)
Beau Billingslea	...	Barret Wallace (voice: English version)
Chris Edgerly	...	Cid Highwind (voice: English version) (as Chris Edgerley)
Christy Carlson Romano	...	Yuffie Kisaragi (voice: English version)
Greg Ellis	...	Cait Sith (voice: English version)
Liam O'Brien	...	Red XIII (voice: English version)
Grace Rolek	...	Marlene Wallace (voice: English version)
Benjamin Bryan	...	Denzel (voice: English version)
Ryun Yu	...	Tseng (voice: English version)
Bettina Bush	...	Elena (voice: English version)
Andrea Bowen	...	Girl (voice: English version)
Jamieson Price	...	Reeve Tuesti (voice: English version)
Rick Gomez	...	Zack (voice: English version)
Mena Suvari	...	Aerith Gainsborough (voice: English version)
George Newbern	...	Sephiroth (voice: English version)
Axel Alba	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Shane Baumel	...	Kid 1 (voice: English version)
Wendee Lee	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Abigail Mavity	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Mary Matilyn Mouser	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michelle Ruff	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)

Directed by
Tetsuya Nomura
Takeshi Nozue		(co-director)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kazushige Nojima		event scenario writer

Produced by
Shinji Hashimoto	....	producer
Yoshinori Kitase	....	producer

Original Music by
Kenichiro Fukui
Keiji Kawamori
Tsuyoshi Sekito
Nobuo Uematsu

Film Editing by
Keiichi Kojima

Art Direction by
Yusuke Naora

Costume Design by
Takayuki Takeya

Art Department
Kazuyuki Ikumori	....	sets and props supervisor
Kazuhito Yamamoto	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Kazuyoshi Iino	....	voice recording engineer: Japanese version
Toru Kamekawa	....	sound recording engineer
Yoichiro Kano	....	sound mixing engineer
Rita Kedineoglu	....	dialogue editor: voice recording US crew
Rita Kedineoglu	....	recording engineer: voice recording US crew
Kensuki Matsushita	....	general manager
Toshiaki Uemara	....	voice recording engineer: Japanese version

Visual Effects by
Takumi Kimura	....	lead lighting artist
Yoshinori Moriizumi	....	sequence supervisor
Koji Tanaka	....	visual effects supervisor
Yasuharu Yoshizawa	....	composite supervisor

Animation Department
Yoshihiro Kitano	....	animation supervisor
Jun Masuda	....	character model supervisor
Kei Miyamoto	....	character technical supervisor (as Ken Miyamoto)
Yusuke Naora	....	character designer
Tetsuya Nomura	....	character designer
Kohichiro Shiratori	....	animation supervisor (as Kouichiro Shiratori)
Kouichirou Shiratori	....	animation supervisor
Chiharu Tsutsui	....	character designer
Keisuke Wakaba	....	background designer

Casting Department
Bob Buchholz	....	additional casting: voice recording, US crew (as Robert Buchholz)
Rita Kedineoglu	....	casting director: voice recording, US crew
Ned Lott	....	additional casting: US crew

Music Department
Koji Hajima	....	conductor: "One Winged Angel"
Shiro Hamaguchi	....	orchestral sounds: "One Winged Angel"
Kyosuke Himuro	....	composer: song "Calling"

Other crew
Mayuko Aoki	....	motion capture model
Kenji Arai	....	battle motion actor
Bob Buchholz	....	voice director: English version (as Robert Buchholz)
Kenichiro Fukui	....	band stager: "One Winged Angel"
Brian Gray	....	translator: English
Miwa Hashiguchi	....	battle motion actor
Masaya Hojo	....	voice production coordinator: Japanese version
Kazuyuki Ikumori	....	set supervisor
Jun Ishi	....	motion actor
Jun Iwasaki	....	special coordinator: XSEED JKS, Inc.
Tomohiko Iwase	....	voice production coordinator: Japanese version
Nadia Kedineoglu	....	production coordinator: voice recording US crew
Rita Kedineoglu	....	production manager: voice recording, US crew
Akihiko Kikuma	....	motion actor
Minako Kobayashi	....	voice production coordinator: Japanese version
Richard Lormand	....	publicist: international
Yasuhiro Miyakawa	....	battle motion actor
Yoshinori Moriizumi	....	sequence supervisor
Masakazu Morita	....	motion actor
Jun Murakama	....	battle motion actor
Jun Murakami	....	battle motion coordinator
Tetsuin Murata	....	motion actor (as Tesshin Murata)
Yukiko Nakamura	....	motion actor
Syoutarou Okubo	....	motion actor
Manabu Satô	....	voice production coordinator: Japanese version
Riichi Seike	....	battle motion actor
Yoji Shimizu	....	voice director (Japanese version) (as Youji Shimizu)
Isamu Tachihara	....	motion actor
Jyun Takagi	....	production coordinator: voice recording, Square Enix, Inc.
Takayuki Takeya	....	mechanical/creature designer
Masahiro Watanabe	....	battle motion actor
Kyoko Yamashita	....	special coordinator: XSEED JKS, Inc.

Thanks
Ned Lott	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Square Enix Company
• Square USA

Distributors

• Square Enix Company (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2006) (Argentina) (all media)
• Destination Films
• LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Omnibus Japan  Japanese voice recording
• Skylark Sound Studios  voice casting: recording & production services (US recording)
• Spliced Bread Productions  contracting and payroll services: US recording)
• Studio Echo  Japanese voice recording
• Tohokushinsha Film  voice production management: Japanese version
• Tokyo TV Center  Japanese voice recording
• Xseed Games  special coordinator (as XSEED JKS, Inc.)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action violence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U (DVD) | Brazil:12 (DVD version) | USA:PG-13

Company:

Square Enix Company

Trivia:

Red XIII's real name is actually Nanaki, Red XIII was the name given to him as a test subject in Midgar

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene when Cloud comes to fight Bahamut, while taking the sword from the bike, the sword model is briefly seen passing through the other sword model.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Elena: Tseng! Look at this.
Tseng: Pay dirt.

Movie Connections:

References Final Fantasy VIII: Fainaru fantajî VIII (1999) (VG)

Exactly what I hoped for.

Now after watching The Advent Children twice, the storyline isn't as shallow as majority has criticized it to be in my opinion. If you haven't played FFVII or disliked it for whatever reason, this movie is most likely not for you. Being familiar to the original story is a prerequisite to understanding AC fully, otherwise you will just see the greatest CG animation in your life so far.

Without actually spoiling the storyline, I must admit that after seeing AC we have been putting pieces together with my friends relying on our knowledge of FFVII. Seeing it second time allowed to actually pay attention to the story more and most of the questions we may have had were answered. Some were not. AC is clearly for FFVII players/fans and doesn't honestly try to be anything else. There is little to none realism in it outside FFVII world which serves the purpose. Music is mostly reconstructed FFVII themes with a heavier touch (TBM team according to end credits) and works well with the eye candy without exceptions. I found the music enhancing the experience added to the visual fireworks in all situations.

We all know you can't put a FFVII in 1.5 hours and keeping that in mind the storyline actually offered more to me than I expected. There are two issues at hand in FFVII : AC and both stories were wrapped up very smoothly between the action sequences. And trust me when I say there's a lot of it. Action that is.

I'm changing my vote from 9 to 10 after watching it the second time because I had missed a few explanatory sequences I couldn't put together the first time that provided some answers. As a warning, it's going to be easy to disregard the story and concentrate on graphics, but try not to judge the Adevent Children because of that. If you don't let the story in, it's no wonder it seems sloppy.

I'm not going to praise the graphics because I assume we all know they are awesome, which might be an understatement. Especially characters talk so much more with their facial expressions than ever before. I hope you pay attention to the storyline for it actually makes sense and works well with the whole. Get ready for the ride of your life, there are no breaks.