# Talk:Aerith Gainsborough

This article name is "Aerith Gainsborough". This is not a typo, nor is it incorrect.
Please do not change any name spellings - these changes have been made many times and have always been reverted. Please also be aware that when editing the template values it may affect the display of the images.
Any discussion on this should occur below. People are aware in FFVII English localisations Aerith's name is Aeris, but per WP:NCON it is policy on the English Wikipedia to use the official and most common name, and Aerith has been used in favor of Aeris in more recent localizations. Changes may occur dependent on the name spellings used in upcoming Final Fantasy VII sequels.
Be sure to read through the topics below, and if you want to ask a team of Final Fantasy editors, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Final Fantasy.
Be sure to date any comments that you make in the discussions, any undated comments may be subject to removal.
This article was moved from Aerith Gainsbourg to Aerith Gainsborough on 15 September, 2005 (see talk page/archives)

"Aeris ventures alone into the Forgotten City for an unknown purpose. Cloud and his companions give chase, eventually finding her praying at an altar. As Aeris looks up to smile at Cloud, Sephiroth appears and kills her with a single thrust of his sword. The materia given to her by her mother, which she wore in her hair, falls from the altar into the water." - regarding this part of the text, i often find myself asking why did she go to sephiroth and why does she just sit there praying. I think there might be an answer, she sacrificed herself, maybe just maybe she could only summon holy in death. --Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 17:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't think we should add this. To me it seems like OR. The Prince (talk) 17:57, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
I second that, this is totally WP:OR. MythSearchertalk 18:13, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Let's discuss the issue rather than edit back and forth. (Guyinblack25 talk 22:32, 4 June 2008 (UTC))

Already was working on starting a discussion, don't worry. :) Nezu Chiza (talk) 22:41, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

In the interests of avoiding an edit war, time to open this up for discussion again it seems. Her official name is Aerith and has been for quite some time. Official literature from Japan has supported this even from the time of FFVII. Mislocalization resulted in Aeris, and this has been fixed in the US since around the time of Kingdom Hearts. Aerith being the official name even resulted in this page being moved to the current naming convention. Frankly, I see no reason to use two different forms of her name in the article outside of a concession at the beginning mentioning the situation, and any direct quotes. Using Aerith in part of the article and Aeris in the FFVII and FFT sections both looks bad from a style standpoint and may be confusing to readers unfamiliar with the older name. I recommend the aforementioned explanation and the use of Aeris only in the direct quotations and any article link names, and Aerith in the body of the article per WP:NCON and Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style. Nezu Chiza (talk) 22:41, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Not to mention that the article itself got enough information that why the correct name, Aerith, is used over the incorrect, Aeris, while some editors who refuses to read or accept simple logic keep changing it with their own knowledge, which introduces factual error and original research. MythSearchertalk 03:34, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Her official name in Japan is of no relevance to her official English name. In English, the character's name is spelt Aeris in FFVII and FFTactics, and Aerith in other media. The article's name is obviously Aerith, since it's the current official spelling, but when writing about each media, the name used in that media should be used. We don't have any source to say whether the spelling "Aeris" was an error or not, and even if it was (and yeah, it most probably was), the role of an encyclopedia isn't to rewrite history but to report facts. The different translations should and are accounted for, but they're not "corrected". That would be original research. There is nothing confusing about the current version of the article. On ther other hand, altering direct quotes from the PSX game and third-party sources like you did is confusing as it contradicts the two-name explanation and mislead people into thinking the PSX game never used a different spelling to begin with. Other articles from this project follow the same logic of not rewriting history. For instance, the spellings of the NES version are primarily used in the FF1 article, while the more recent spellings are indicated in parentheses. The spellings of the PSX version are used in the FFTactics article, while the more "correct" spellings of the PSP version are reserved for the PSP version (which in that case has its own article). Remember that we're dealing with various fictional works, not a real person with physical integrity and identity. Per WP:WAF, differences (and more globally retcons, plot-holes, etc.) between the various works of a series should be accounted for, not "corrected" to reflect what "really" happened and how things "really" were. Kariteh (talk) 07:55, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
The correctness I am talking about here is what the creator originally used.  We are talking about a fictional work here, and thus the creator's version should be the correct one.  Also, I have never alter any direct quotes, do not accuse me of doing anything of that sort. MythSearchertalk 09:47, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Well, technically, the creator used...whatever Japanese characters because stupid Windows Firefox doesn't like to display them.
As for accusations, there's always this. There's nothing in what Kariteh said that mentioned you in particular. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 09:56, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Technically, the creator used Aerith in Japanese publications including the original FFVII game manual which I still have with my game CDs and the FFVII 10th anniversary Ultimania along with the Japanese characters エアリス.  The reply Kariteh used altering direct quotes from the PSX game and third-party sources like you did is confusing  sounds extremely like an accusation to me since it is under my reply, I guess it is directed to the top comment but it sounds more confusing when placed in the wrong position, especially the first half of the paragraph is replying my comment.  That is why I insist the creator used Aerith instead of Aeris.  The fact is that the English version used Aeris, I am not going to argue about it or change the article's portion or quote back to Aerith on those cases, yet I stand my ground on the correctness of Aerith over Aeris.  And anyone trying to change all other instances in the aritcle from Aerith to Aeris is introducing factual error and is not paying respect to the creators. MythSearchertalk 14:00, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Uh. Currently We use Aeris when we're recapping works that used Aeris, we use Aerith when we're recapping works that use that, and we'll use Fred when we're recapping works where she's called Fred. The only one trying to change the status quo, AFAICT, is Nezu. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 16:21, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
And using the names like that makes little to no sense. Having the warning at the beginning about the name disparity would fix all the problems, using two different spellings of her name looks bad and is against policy anyway. Why is that so hard to understand? I realize that, as fans, you have your minds locked onto one thing, but that doesn't make it right. Status quo doesn't equate to absolute correctness. Also, Kariteh, I don't appreciate your little dig. I accidentally altered ONE third party source for the name Aeris, leaving all others, and someone else was kind enough to fix it. Attempting to use that accident as an excuse to accuse me of original research is really reaching, I'm afraid. Why do you insist on trying to make this personal? How is my wanting to correct the article THREATENING to you? A In any event, I suppose we'll have to leave her name as Aeris in those two sections despite policy. After all, Wikipedia is a fan forum, not an encyclopedia, and I apologize for forgetting that. Nezu Chiza (talk) 16:33, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
This discussion seems like it's really prone to assumptions and prejudging, so please stay calm and try not to put words or thoughts into other people's mouths, everybody. In case of doubt, ask the other editor to clarify his view rather than imagining their view. MythSearcher, I don't think anyone here ever recommended changing all instances of Aerith to Aeris. Nezu, I'm not a fan of Final Fantasy VII; it's my least favourite FF. It's a shame something as irrelevant as this has to be said; it's totally irrelevant to the discussion, but apparently it has to be specified since you've brought up the "fan" factor. Concerning my "little dig", I did no such thing. The term "third-party source" was secondary in my post, the important term was "PSX game". You had changed Aeris to Aerith in quotes taken directly from the game's script, that's what I was pointing at. I suppose I could have omitted "third-party source" to be more to the point. But anyway, there is nothing personal in this; I really try not to be personal in this kind of discussion, and in fact it's probably why MythSearcher thought I was referring to him (I didn't mention your name, so the confusion arose).
Anyway, yes I believe we should spell her name as Aeris in the PSX game sections and Aerith in the others. You (Nezu) brought up some policies which only apply to the article's title; the article's title should indeed be Aerith Gainsborough, and no one is challenging that. However, these policies don't apply to the spelling of the character's name in the article; there is no "naming conflict" per se, just several games and works. Some feature a character named "Aeris", others feature the same character but named "Aerith", and they should be described accordingly. I don't see any reason to use Aerith when referring to the PSX game. Square Enix has never explicitely stated "The character's name was misspelt in the PSX game", so we don't have the possibility to use Aerith when speaking about the PSX game. An encyclopedia's role is to describe, not prescribe. What we can do is explain that the name has two spellings, and then there can be no reason for readers to be confused. Again, please consider the examples of Final Fantasy (video game) and Final Fantasy Tactics/Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions; these are not this article, but their case is relevant since they are part of the same wikiproject. Kariteh (talk) 17:43, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
And I, Nezu, pointed out to you, Keriteh, that that was an accident, and I even thanked the person who corrected it when they fixed it. You assumed I had made the change to mislead and contradict things, basically assuming bad faith on my part. Still, you wouldn't have known I thanked the person who corrected it, and that it was a mistake on my part, so perhaps those are mitigating circumstances. Or perhaps not, since saying it would mislead people and contradict the two name issue implies you weren't inclined to assume good faith. As a final note, however, you should know that using the logic "Well, X, Y, and Z articles do it this way, so W should as well." isn't a valid rebuttal. In any event, the inertia against the changes I recommended is too strong, so their is no point in my regurgitating my points over and over. My views are know, with at least one other person supporting them. You, Keriteh, have A Man in Black supporting your side, so as it stands we can reach no consensus. I'll continue to hope that changes in my favor, however, as I'm sure you hope that it will continue in yours. For the moment, let's have pax between us. Nezu Chiza (talk) 19:12, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
I think the problem here is that kariteh did not notice the anon who just changed all instances of Aerith to Aeris, and thus I mentioned that the correct name used should be Aerith instead of Aeris, and of course I am only implying the ones that are Aerith in their according source and translation.   It is getting confusing and the issue here is that 4 people discussing here actually seems to have a pretty close view on the topic, the only problem here is that an anon account did something else that is way off and my comments are directed against that type of action.  I am bailing out, this will not get any better with me confusing this any further, sorry.  MythSearchertalk 21:21, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
This is really remnant of the Terra vs. Tina argument... As it stands, Aerith is the correct spelling for a reason. That reason is that it has been used in every canonical addition to the Final Fantasy VI world... i.e., the -s spelling hasn't been used since the original FFVII and can thus be considered obsolete. Plus, it is common knowledge that the Japanese language doesn't have a sound for /θ/ ("th"); the closest approximation for that sound is their /s/ sound. It is my personal opinion that Aeris does indeed sound better, and that Aerith sounds like the original name is being lisped by a mentally challenged person, but nevertheless, the -th spelling, according to its current usage over the -s spelling, is what was originally intended by Square, and we have to respect that. Mikhajlovich (talk) 02:15, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Her name is Aeris in Final Fantasy VII, the game for which she is, by far, the most well-known. This is the only game in which she is a main character, and as such, it is the most exhaustive treatment of the subject material that currently exists. Newer sources that only mention her in brief passing are not more valid just because they are newer. To my knowledge, no statement from any official source exists claiming that the "Aeris" localization (NB: not translation) was a mistake, and thus any claims that it was are original research and have no place here.
But I'm not in the mood for a revert war with you people. Enjoy feeling superior for having "educated" the populace of your "superior" knowledge of Japanese culture, otakus. ~ 24.149.43.87 (talk) 00:56, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

1) PSX =/= PS1. 2) Didn't some of the English copies of FFVII use "Aerith" (with all of them containing as much in the debug room, along with "Barett", which had surfaced on the NA FFVIIAC site)? 3) In a timeline included in the BradyGames guide to DoC-FFVII-, a screenshot was used with "Aeris", but the text under it used "Aerith" (this goes toward observance of the version produced, but maintaining consistency in discussion by a singular name choice). 4) "Vica" versus "Weiss"; just throwin' that out there. T.J. Fuller, Jr. (talk) 15:00, 12 November 2008 (UTC)
I believe the demo used Aerith, but no retail versions of the final game did (unless you were like me and changed it :P), since both the versions out before its release date and the versions sold as greatest hits. Plus the European one, too... ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ (talk) 15:54, 12 November 2008 (UTC)
I'm a bit late to clearing this up, but here goes. No, not a single English release used "Aerith" in the plot. In addition, I need to clear something up about the developers. As I recall, the original concept art for Aerith used "Erith" - and many instances she is referred to as "Earisu". So we have Erith, Aerith and Earisu all used by the Japanese developers. Because of that, saying "the developers used Aerith so that was their intention" is not true - the developers used Aerith (and Erith, Earisu) because they could not use English adequately. --Teggles (talk) 08:04, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
No, that does not mean that it was not their intention, it only means that the name was not settled at the point of the concept arts.  It is settled at the very moment when the original Japanese game was released, and all publications used the name Aerith from that point on.  Also, Earisu seems to be a simple direct romanization of the Japanese name, thus it is not an example of inadequate use of English, it is simply writing the pronunciation of Japanese words in English alphabets.  MythSearchertalk 08:44, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
Yeah, alright. Fair enough. Either way, Aerith isn't used in any English game. --Teggles (talk) 09:03, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
What? It's used in the Kingdom Hearts series, as well as Crisis Core. Not to mention Advent Children, which I'll grant isn't a game. I've never gotten to that part in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions but I'd wager it's used there too. ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ (talk) 12:09, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
If you read what I was replying to, you'll see I meant English Final Fantasy VII games. :( --Teggles (talk) 12:14, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
One big thing I don't get How is it  "Earisu" in Japanese but spelled out Aerith(MAKES NO SENSE) they could, when usually you translate "su" sound into S or Z like Guts,sometimes said Gutz, from Berserk(pronounced Gutsu ) Gantz(pronounced Gantsu, in the little between on the English version of the anime). I personally believe to this day it's Aeris and I hate when it spelled that "Aerith", when you directly translate it from japanese,which the English team did and got Aeris. More Evidence is that at the end of FF7AC they play the song which is credited as "Aeris' Theme" . But I have no right to aruge with the developers how ever I believe all english verisons should remained Aeris because it's actual true spelling and not a forced translation.-67.180.225.161 (talk) 21:14, 26 December 2008 (UTC)
Look at it from the other direction -- they came up with the name 'Aerith', and since there's no 'th' sound in Japanese, they had to make due with what they could. The Japanese have always used 'Aerith' in Latin letters, in merchandice, etc. (for instance, I have the FFVII soundtrack in my hand right now, the book has a list of characters, with 'Aerith'). ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ (talk) 21:57, 26 December 2008 (UTC)
Also, the so called evidence above mentioned is only lack of Japanese knowledge. Especially in the same game, Sephiroth is rendered as Sefirosu.  There is no excuse in not understanding su and th are inter-changeable in Japanese.  If directly translating, it could still be Aerith instead of Aeris, it is a matter of choice if there are no other evidences, which is not the case here but this is how it works in Japanese. MythSearchertalk 04:42, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
I would like to bring up the valid point that in every Final Fantasy OST, her theme song is featured as "Aerith's Theme," in both midi versions and piano covers. Why anyone called it Aeris is unknown. 最後の最初のチップを提供する (talk) 03:27, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
I realize this argument has been done to death's door and bag, but I just think I should add in my thought on the matter. As someone else mentioned the Tina/Terra argument, I thought it necessary for me to mention that everyone I know who actually played FF6 when it came out still refuses to acknowledge her name as Tina. I still don't feel comfortable with it, because it was NOT the name I grew up with when I was a teenager. In the same vein, Aeris is the name that I have heard since BEFORE the game ever came out in the US, and it is the name I am contiuing to use today. I always mentally recorrect it whenever I see it as Aerith. If I remember correctly, the entire Aeris/Aerith issue didn't even START until they decided to do something with her character again down the road and "retranslated" it. I have said before that while I admire Square for getting the MANY glaring plotholes and other problems out of the way, I don't feel comfortable with changing names. This is the Eggman/Robotnik (I prefer Robotnik) and Ultros/Orthros (again, I prefer Ultros. I believe the fans actually campaigned to KEEP his name from being changed in the GBA release of FF6. If I may take a moment and get away from Final Fantasy... look at Godzilla. Yes, his real name is Gojira (and I use both intermixedly) but hardly anyone in the US ever refers to him as that, because that wasn't the name many of us grew up with. In Godzilla's case, both names are readilly accepted. Sometimes I hear Japanese people tell me Godzilla just sounds better. For me, Aeris will and always shall be the proper spelling of her name. Much the like sequals and prequals to FF7, the name change is just another bastardization of the series. No argument people make can change that, and I'm positive I'm not alone in that thinking. Dakmordian (talk) 11:29, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Except that Aerith has always been the official named, even used by the creators on concept art. It was a mistranslation, nothing more, and they probably retranslated it 1) because she was a major character, inside and outside the FFVII universe, 2) they received negative feedback, and 3) it had been years FVII and Tactics were originally released. It doesn't matter if it was her first translated name, or if people don't feel comfortable with it; fact is, her official name is Aerith, the newer games have been changed to reflect it, most critics refer to her as Aerith, and most people who still refer to Aeris acknowledge that Aerith is official and it's just their preference. WhiteArcticWolf (talk) 13:05, 12 October 2009 (UTC)
The uncomfortableness is called first impression, nothing more, nothing less.  And the refusal to change to the proper name is simply a refusal to rational reasoning, from those who insist on adhering to their own habit and refuse to change for the better.  Any smoker can claim the same, them feel more comfortable smoking, and any drug addict can claim the same, the feel more comfortable abusing drugs.  Fine, stay your own way, but do not brag about it that you refuse to change.  WhiteArcticWolf got it nailed here, Aerith is the current official name and they fixed the mistranslation officially, and it is not others problem that you keep using the wrong term as if it is correct.  Just don't drag others into that incorrectness. —Preceding signed comment added by MythSearchertalk  13:39, 12 October 2009 (UTC)
Terra/Tina is a very different case. It was changed NOT because of any error or whatever, it was a conscious decision to choose a name to something "exotic", which Tina is not in the US but is in Japan. Considering her name has been that for the subsequent versions as well as Dissidia, it's pretty obvious it's considered her official English name -- even though it's certainly clearly 'Tina' right on the soundtrack and other places. (And I'm sorry, "refusing to agknowledge her name is Tina" doesn't make any sense. Yeah you may be used to Terra -- me too -- but that IS her name is Japan like it or not) ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ (talk) 14:13, 12 October 2009 (UTC)
Just chiming in, but I want to point out that the original "Official literature from Japan" poster is a dirty liar. The Japanese name is comprised of four characters (use latin vowels) E-A-Ri-Su. The final u, of course, is silent. It's fine with me if the official name has been changed to "Aerith," but don't justify it with ridiculous arguments about Japanese. They have no ability to say or write "Aerith," because it doesn't even exist in their alphabet or language, so the adoption of this spelling is an aesthetic and not a linguistic decision.Googlymoogly64 (talk) 15:27, 4 March 2012 (UTC)
This is a dead argument; no one's written in years here. But it's not a lie anyway. Written in katakana, there is no "-th" ending, but several Japanese books and guides use the Latin alphabet as well. (For example, my Advent Children book writes out all the names with the Latin letters.) The majority of the Japanese population wont be pronouncing it Aerith, but if someone there spoke English fluently and correctly, they'd be able to. WhiteArcticWolf (talk) 21:19, 4 March 2012 (UTC)
This isn't really a solid contribution to the debate, of which I have no true knowledge in terms of what was "intended"... but it is interesting to note in Greek mythology Eris (homophone and near homonym to "Aeris") is the goddess of "strife". I wouldn't remark on this, except the FF developers have shown a predilection for mythology... This is an extrapolation out of nowhere and I have no intention of putting this down anywhere as fact (so don't worry), but if there is any genuine Eris/Aerith connection, I would guess either the localization theory of why it changed is true, or the developers purposefully wanted to make her name in English less obviously "Eris" = Strife. And yes, I know it was Cloud's name that was Strife and not Aerith's, but it is a remarkable coincidence (... which, in the end, may be simply what it is). 99.245.2.216 (talk) 02:37, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

And if you look into all other parts of the game, Greek mythology was seldom used unless it is a tradition of the FF gaming element.  The dominant mythology used in FF7 is Norse mythology, which you get midgard and such.  And also, other than Norse myth, another dominant myth in FF is the Arthurian legends, they have knights of the round table, excalibur, etc.  In fact, there's little Greek mythology involved.  —Preceding signed comment added by MythSearchertalk  19:18, 21 March 2013 (UTC)
The original name in English should be used, this is the English wikipedia not the Japanese one, look at the Mega Drive / Genesis argument on wikipedia, Genesis is used because it was the first name used in English despite the fact the system was named Mega Drive in Japan and every other country around the world. As such we should use Aeris here with a note that her Japanese name is Aerith. 77.97.151.145 (talk) 07:00, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

There's no policy or guideline stating the 1st usage should be the one used in the article, Aerith is relatively common, even in English media, and it is not obscure, thus your point of it being not English is not really valid. —Preceding signed comment added by MythSearchertalk  19:35, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

I removed the link of Cetra to the "Races of FFXII" page as that page no longer contains any mention of Cetra. Feel free to create a blurb on that page and relink. Coradon (talk) 00:04, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

No need. It's a trivial piece of in-universe information that would be hard to support with third party sources. Thanks for cleaning up the link. (Guyinblack25 talk 00:44, 25 June 2008 (UTC))
Uh, Aeris being a Cetra/Ancient is a central part of her character in Final Fantasy VII. Like 70% of the plot that surrounds her relates to her being a Cetra. And why would it need to be supported with third party sources? We're describing the plot of a game, only first-party sources are needed. --Teggles (talk) 05:16, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

When editing the article a notification replaces the normal one about the article size, saying: Aerith, not Aeris This article's name is "Aerith Gainsborough". This is not a typo. If you wish to discuss an "Aerith" → "Aeris" edit, please see the talk page. For now, all such alterations will be reverted back to "Aerith".
How and when was this made? Since when was it possible? It's the first time I've seen it in an article, but having it replace the kilobyte count...
Also, recently I've seen a bit of reverting regarding the th/s thing, and it's probably a good faith misunderstanding due to this message. Hidden text at Aerith_Gainsborough#Final_Fantasy_VII notes that Consensus has decided to keep her name as Aeris in the FFVII and FFT sections. Do not change it, please. Inline notes are harder to notice compared to the general notice for editing the article, so it should probably be added. 
- Zero1328 Talk? 07:21, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editnotice  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.234.153.86 (talk) 08:09, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Hey, I saw somewhere she has a birthdate listed. I think it's in the lil booklet that comes with the game. If I find it, would it be alright to put it in?--68.32.149.132 (talk) 04:35, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

Probably not. Certainly not in the infobox -- such info is considering as too detailed for WP (and in this case, inaccurate, since she's in multiple media). It *might* be ok in the prose about the game, if it can be fit in somehow without disrupting the flow. ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ (talk) 04:43, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
In the FF VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania, it is 7 Feb.  I think it is pretty accurate since it is on an official book.  If it is too detailed or not, it is up to other editors to decide, I don't think it is, but since someone thought otherwise, I am not adding it for the moment. MythSearchertalk 09:29, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
(Whoops, silly me, birth date, not age). It's partly a matter of slippery score and the main fact that her birth date adds nothing to info about her character, and it's irrelevant to her all things considered. Nothing would change if it was April instead of February, or whatever (where as some fictional characters, like say Sailor Moon (character), it's part of an actual story). ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ (talk) 12:24, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
I agree with Melodia. There's no real policy of guideline that says to include or exclude this specific information. However, there are some broader concepts that can be applied to this.
WP:IINFO is a policy that states "merely being true, or even verifiable, does not automatically make something suitable for inclusion in the encyclopedia." I've always interpreted this as there should be a good reason to add something to an article; it should further the readers understanding.
WP:WAF is a guideline that states a couple things.
Summary style: "Just because the spinout article is given more space to grow does not mean that excessive plot summaries or fictional character biographies are appropriate."
Conclusions: "All relevant aspects must be given due weight in all elements of the article page." (give weight where weight is due)
When I read these, I'm inclined to think the birth date would not add anything relevant to the article and is a trivial detail. Age is a similar detail that can be relevant to a story's plot, but can help give a bit of context to a story. I remember ages were added in for some of the main characters in Characters of Kingdom Hearts and it worked out fine. But they were written in the context of the game, not in an infobox. My two cents. (Guyinblack25 talk 15:31, 11 December 2008 (UTC))
I think a general idea of her age is definitely relevant to actually describing her character. Is she middle-aged or a teenager? It's important. --Teggles (talk) 02:42, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Regarding the 'She is Aeris in FFT' policy, I feel it should be noted that she is named Aerith in her appearance in the much better translation of the FFT Remake War of the Lions. Whether this affects policy I'll leave to others.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.9.102.199 (talk) 17:21, 29 January 2009 (UTC) 

I was curious as to why she was listed as "Mulatto"? Shouldn't that be Cetra?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by LadyPeridot (talk • contribs) 01:31, 1 July 2009 (UTC) 

Corrected. Thanks for the heads up. (Guyinblack25 talk 02:13, 1 July 2009 (UTC))
Erm guys, she is half cetra half human. Her mother was a cetra and her father was a shinra professor
I mean, did any of you actually play FFVII? Jun Hao Wu 02:21, 6 February 2011 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Juwu7 (talk • contribs)  

After her death in ff7 you can still see her in a chapel/church somewhere. Shouldn't this be mentionened?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.176.244.217 (talk) 10:23, 16 October 2009 (UTC) 

Wasn't Jenova the one who killed Aeries? I mean the Sephiroth we fight in disc one is not really Sephiroth and we know this because the real one is frozen in the northern crater. We begin to see Sephiroth after Jenova scapes and every time we see him we fight Jenova. Wouldn't this mean that it is Jenova leaving behind pieces of herself and doing as Sephiroth wills?
Then why is everyone so in love with the concept that it has to be Sephiroth the one who kills her? Can't it state that Jenova is the one doing it even if Sephiroth is behind it all? Well just my opinion.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.131.67.220 (talk) 00:58, 17 November 2012 (UTC) 

Sephiroth communicates with others using Jenova's body. Jenova may move but it never talks in the game. In fact when Cloud's group reaches Northern Crater Sephiroth remembers everything that happened so far. He is the mind controlling Jenova's body.Tintor2 (talk) 01:55, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
I know this, but if you just say Sephiroth killed her without explaining at least something about what you just told me, people that doesn't know will belive that is Sephiroth phisically. There must be something you could say there so you made clear it is actually Jenova who is there even if it's just a puppet for Sephiroth.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.131.67.220 (talk) 02:24, 17 November 2012 (UTC) 

Hello fellow Wikipedians,
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Aerith is really technically not part of AVALANCHE and she says "just a friend" when asked by Marle in the Remake.  Who is?  Barret, Tifa, Jesse, Biggs, Wedge, and Cloud.
You'll recall when they meet Rufus in the original game, Barret and Tifa both say they're part of AVALANCHE while Aerith says she's "a flower girl from the slums."  A similar scene happens in the Remake.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.33.206.242 (talk) 16:52, 20 June 2020 (UTC) 

It's a Japanese name, it should be ordered (at least in kana) as Geinzuburu Earisu, not Earisu Geinzuburu.
And doesn't it have kanji and furigana?

5.89.210.114 (talk) 17:35, 10 January 2024 (UTC)

The Japanese version of Final Fantasy games never use last names first either.Tintor2 (talk) 19:15, 10 January 2024 (UTC)

@102.216.73.219:
Transliteration error or no, I think it is important to describe her English name from the game that the character first appears in, given that we are on the English Wikipedia. While I am of the opinion that this doesn't need to be done in the lead, I'm reverting the changes for the paragraph in the body in the interest of WP:BRD, as these edits also made the paragraph unreferenced. This can be modified once there is a reliable source saying that Aeris was a transliteration error.
The discussion Talk:Aerith_Gainsborough#Aerith versus Aeris is almost 20 years old, and the character is appearing in new media, so time to start it up again. TheAlienAdventures (talk) 16:28, 7 September 2025 (UTC)

I will add that the second sentence I believe is original research "Both transliterations have basis, as the Japanese "su"  is used when transcribing "s"  and "th" to Japanese.", as I cannot find it in the 3 refs used. As such, I'm omitting it for now TheAlienAdventures (talk) 16:33, 7 September 2025 (UTC)