Aerith Gainsborough Aerith Gainsborough , alternately known with the first name Aeris , and other times with the surname Gainborough , or Gainsbourg , is a playable character in " Final Fantasy VII " and a major character in the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " ; appearing in " " , " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " and " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " . She is the last of the Cetra , an ancient race with powerful magical abilities , and so the Shinra Electric Power Company hunts her throughout her life , seeking to exploit her powers . Name . In the original English release of " Final Fantasy VII " , Aerith ' s name was transliterated as " Aeris " by . This stems from the nature of the katakana alphabet and how it is used to represent loan words . The name in kana is エアリス , " e - a - ri - su . " Because the Japanese alphabet lacks a true " th " sound , ス ( su ) is often used as a best - fit substitute for the sound when spelling out loan words . If a work is being translated with relatively minimal context , however , it can be difficult to spot these cases if the intended word is not immediately obvious . As the translator of " Final Fantasy VII " likely lacked much or all of the context discussed in the Etymology section , " Aeris " is the most logical transliteration of エアリス when the word is given with no other context , as ス is also commonly used to represent a " solo S " in addition to a " th . " Since " Kingdom Hearts " and in all related appearances since , the official English spelling of her name has been retconned to " Aerith " . An article in " GameFan " magazine ( volume 4 issue 5 , from May 1996 ) shows the characters that were known at the time . In the issue Aerith ' s name was written as " Aerith , " as opposed to " Aeris " found in the game . The magazine also translated Barret ' s name as " Bullet . " Although she was never seen referred to as Aerith in - game prior to " Kingdom Hearts " , in the original " Final Fantasy VII " , before being given the opportunity to name the character she is named " Aerith " by default within the game ' s code . This is never seen by the player since the first time her name is seen is after the name select screen , where the name selection screen defaults to Aeris . This means that if the name selection screen could be bypassed , her name would natively display as Aerith . This also applies for Cloud , who is called Ex - SOLDIER in the game , but this is changed when the player gets to the name selection screen where the default on the name selection is " Cloud . " The same also applies for Red XIII , who is called " Red " before naming him , but unlike the latter two , this is seen at the top of a dialogue box during the player ' s first interactions with him , and changes to " Red XIII " in the name selection screen . The official English website for the 2012 PC re - release of " Final Fantasy VII " refers to her as " Aerith Gainsborough . " Despite this , the translation of the game remains unchanged from the original 1998 PC release and the default name is still Aeris . Profile . Appearance . In " Final Fantasy VII " , Aerith wears a shin - length pink dress that buttons up the front and a red bolero jacket . She wears brown boots and metal bracers on her wrists and around the edges of her jacket sleeves . In all her appearances Aerith ' s long light brown hair is plaited with a large pink ribbon ; within the ribbon she keeps the White Materia orb given to her by her mother . Segmented bangs frame Aerith ' s face and she has emerald green eyes . Aerith wears the same basic attire in " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " with new details to her jacket , giving her two pockets on the breast and replacing the metal bands on the sleeves with leather belts . This is how Aerith appears in most of her spin - off appearances . In " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " , Aerith wears a blue and white dress with a red camisole underneath and white wedge sandals with pink straps . During their first date Zack Fair buys her the iconic pink hair ribbon , and later suggests Aerith continue to wear pink , likely prompting her wardrobe change to what is seen in " Final Fantasy VII " . In " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " Aerith wears a pink , white and red top tied around the neck with buttons up the front , and a frilly white and green skirt . In " Kingdom Hearts " , Aerith wears a variation of her original " Final Fantasy VII " attire , abandoning the jacket and bracers , instead wearing a series of metal bracelets on one arm . She also wears a thick bright blue belt . Her outfit in " Kingdom Hearts II " is based on her " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " outfit , but her skirt is pink . Personality . Aerith is upbeat and joyful , and several times in " Final Fantasy VII " attempts to cheer up her fellow party members . As she was raised in the Midgar Slums , Aerith maintains that she can take care of herself and can fight off Shinra troops , as well as demonstrating more subtle forms of savvy . Aerith is flirtatious with Cloud and possesses a carefree and naive nature , expressing a desire to fly on an airship when the party sails out of Junon . When Aerith has made up her mind about something she will not listen to anyone who tells her otherwise . Though she means well , Aerith can be insensitive to other people ' s problems , like when Barret is troubled in the Gold Saucer . Aerith and Tifa often spend time together when the party splits up and are good friends , though Aerith expresses slight jealously when she discovers how close Tifa is to Cloud . As a child , Aerith was reluctant to accept her Cetra heritage , and in " Final Fantasy VII " she admits to Cloud she considers herself lonely , as she is the only remaining Cetra . She exhibits personality quirks at times , such as being afraid of the sky in " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " , and claiming she can " hear the wind calling her " in " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " . These traits may be influenced by her Cetra heritage allowing her to communicate with the Planet . Aerith has a strong sense of forgiveness , displayed in occasions such as with Cloud after the events at the Temple of the Ancients . She even shows compassion to people who might not deserve the gesture , like Tseng . Aerith is portrayed as an independent , outgoing , motherly , and kind young woman who displays an intuitive understanding of others and is deeply in - tune with nature . Her extrovert personality is a contrast to Tifa ' s more withdrawn guarded mindset . In Aerith ' s later portrayals in " Before Crisis " , " Crisis Core " and " Kingdoms Hearts " her outgoing , playful nature is not as apparent , and instead shows a more prayerful and dreamy demeanor . Story . Early life . Aerith was born to Ifalna and Professor Gast Faremis in Icicle Inn on February 7th , 1985 , making her half - human and half - Cetra . When she was barely twenty days old Professor Hojo tracked Gast down , killed him , and captured Ifalna and Aerith . The two became subject to numerous experiments at the hands of Hojo and Shinra as they researched the Cetra . Seven years later , in 1992 , Ifalna and Aerith escaped the Shinra Headquarters , but Ifalna was wounded and only made it as far as the train platform in the slums under Sector 7 before collapsing . Elmyra Gainsborough was there to wait for her husband ' s return from the Wutai War , and before passing , Ifalna asked her to keep Aerith safe and so Elmyra brought Aerith home with her . For years Elmyra raised Aerith alone as her adopted daughter in the slums of Sector 5 . Shinra relocated her , and Tseng of the Turks , who considered Aerith a friend , attempted to persuade her to join Shinra willingly instead of capturing her , but Aerith refused . At the time , the Wutai War ate up most of Shinra ' s resources postponing the Neo Midgar project — the project Shinra primarily wanted Aerith for . As Aerith grew up she continued to hear the Planet and although she was reluctant to admit it , was aware of her Cetra heritage and tried hard to hide it . Aerith spent time in the Sector 5 Church . Due to the Mako Reactor s draining the life out of Midgar and the surrounding areas , little could grow around the metropolis . Regardless , Aerith cultivated a flower patch out of the dirt under the church ' s floorboards . Relationship with Zack . In 0000 , a fifteen - year - old Aerith meets Zack Fair when he falls into the church from the Sector 5 Reactor . When he awakens , Zack mistakes being in heaven and Aerith as an angel , but she corrects him . Zack suggests a date , but Aerith brushes him off . She shows him around , and Zack buys Aerith her trademark pink hair ribbon . The two visit the Sector 6 park and Aerith tells Zack she fears SOLDIER members for being experiments who love to fight . Zack reveals being in SOLDIER , and she apologizes . Tseng calls Zack back to the Shinra Headquarters , but he promises to see Aerith again . Aerith and Zack continue to speak frequently over his cellphone and see each other for the next two years . After Angeal ' s death , Zack visits Aerith who holds him as he cries . Angeal ' s will lingers in the form of a canine copy that settles at the church and defends Aerith from rogue Shinra security robots . Zack suggests Aerith sell flowers to make money , as flowers are a luxury item in Midgar , and constructs flower carts for her . The two head out to the slums to open her business , but it does not go well . Aerith asks Zack for " a few tiny wishes , " and Zack has her write them down for him . This is the last time the two would see each other , as later that day Zack is dispatched to Nibelheim with Sephiroth and never returns . In the upcoming years Aerith overcomes her fears and ventures above the plate to sell flowers , although she elects to using a basket rather than a cart . In Episode 6 of " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " Aerith sells flowers to Rude when he goes on his date with Chelsea . In Episode 11 , on August 9th , 0002 , the player Turk meets Aerith leaving her house , surprised by the blooming flowers . Aerith tells the Turk she wishes to leave Midgar to see the world as she can hear the wind calling to her . AVALANCHE arrives searching for her , and the player Turk helps Aerith evade them . Shears defeats the player Turk and Aerith is taken to the church to meet the leader of AVALANCHE , Elfé . Elfé tells Aerith AVALANCHE wants to bring down Shinra and protect the Promised Land , and it would be in her best interests to ally with them . Aerith hears an " old voice " emanating from Elfé , inadvertently leading to the discovery of the Turk spying on them from the rafters . After the Turk battles Shears and Fuhito , Elfé is stricken by a sudden weakness , and AVALANCHE retreats . Tseng arrives and the Turk allows Aerith to flee while they distract him . When Zack escapes Shinra custody years later , the final Angeal copy who was left watching over Aerith when Zack left Midgar , seeks him out but soon dies , leaving behind a letter from Aerith as it fades . As Zack reads it , he discovers Aerith has been doing well selling flowers in Midgar , and during the four years he has been gone she has written Zack eighty - nine letters , though he never receives the rest of them . Tseng has the letters and sends the Turks to locate Zack before the Shinra army so they can save him and deliver the correspondence , but the Turks ultimately fail . Aerith tends the flowers in the church while , outside Midgar , Zack is gunned down by Shinra forces . She looks up and clasps her hands . Meeting Cloud and AVALANCHE . On December 9 , 0007 , at the beginning of " Final Fantasy VII " , Aeris meets Cloud as he flees from the bombing of the Sector 1 Reactor . Cloud has the option to warn her to get to safety , buy a flower from her , or blow her off . Later , after a failed attack on the Sector 5 Reactor , Cloud falls into the church and awakes on the flower bed . Reno of the Turks comes to apprehend Aeris who asks Cloud to become her bodyguard , offering him a date as payment . Cloud helps Aeris escape and takes her home , and Aeris tells Cloud of her Materia heirloom that " does nothing . " Cloud sneaks out early in the morning to return to Sector 7 alone , but Aeris confronts him and Cloud agrees to bring her along . Taking a break in the Sector 6 playground , the pair spots Tifa on a chocobo cart , and assumes Don Corneo has kidnapped her . Through an idea of Aeris , she and a crossdressed Cloud infiltrate the Don ' s mansion to rescue Tifa , who reveals she did not need rescuing as she was trying to get information on Shinra from Corneo . Corneo divulges Shinra has learned the location of the base of operations of the eco - terrorist group AVALANCHE Tifa and Cloud are members of , and is planning to drop the plate covering the sector to destroy the entire area . The party ' s attempts to stop Shinra fail , and Aeris is captured by Tseng while taking Marlene , the daughter of Barret — the leader of this incarnation of AVALANCHE — to safety . The only surviving members of AVALANCHE , Cloud , Tifa and Barret , attempt to rescue her from the Shinra Headquarters . Aeris has been brought to Professor Hojo ' s lab and during an executive meeting Hojo explains to the top echelons of Shinra he plans to breed her to produce a test subject with extraordinary longevity . As Hojo places Red XIII and Aeris in the same containment tank Red XIII feigns aggression toward her . AVALANCHE storms the lab and Red XIII and Aeris are released , Red XIII joining Cloud to defeat Hojo ' s experimental monsters while the other members of AVALANCHE safeguard her , but the group is captured by the Turks . Instead of returning Aeris to Hojo ' s lab , she is imprisoned in the cells with the others . Her heritage is made known to them , and during their captivity Sephiroth manifests through Jenova ' s remains that were stored in Hojo ' s lab to attack Shinra , and the group is freed from their cells . They discover President Shinra murdered and Aeris leads the others out while Cloud and Tifa remain behind as Cloud confronts the new president of the company , Rufus Shinra . Pursuit of Sephiroth . They escape Midgar , and Aeris decides to accompany the others on their quest to hunt down Sephiroth as she wants to find out more about her heritage , having heard Sephiroth is seeking the Cetra ' s Promised Land . They keep running into the Turks , with Tseng ensuring she is alright upon their meeting in the Mythril Mine . They pass through Junon and stow away on a cargo ship . During the voyage Aeris tells Cloud she had glimpsed Shinra ' s " Highwind " back in Junon airport , and wishes she could fly on it one day . In Costa del Sol they run into Professor Hojo who asks Aeris about her late mother . She retreats to the hotel and mulls over the possibility of being the last Cetra in the world . In Gold Saucer she attempts to cheer up the frustrated Barret by telling him they are going to play , causing him to run off alone . In Gongaga the party runs into Zack ' s parents who haven ' t heard of him for years and Aeris reveals she used to be his girlfriend . Following a visit to Cosmo Canyon and speaking with the village elders , she comes to terms with her powers and duties as the last Cetra , although the knowledge of her task makes her feel more alone . Back in Gold Saucer Aeris is a date option for Cloud , and if the two go out she talks how much Cloud resembles Zack , but also realizes he ' s different and expresses a desire to meet the " real him . " The party tracks Sephiroth to the Temple of the Ancients , and Aeris uses her Cetra powers to help decipher the temple ' s mysteries and find the inner chamber . Sephiroth reveals his plan to use the Black Materia to call Meteor , the ultimate Black Magic . The temple itself transforms into the Black Materia , but Sephiroth takes control of Cloud forcing him into relinquishing it . When Aeris attempts to stop Cloud , he attacks her and is knocked out by a party member . While he is unconscious Aeris contacts Cloud in a dream , and tells him that as the last Cetra only she can stop Sephiroth . When Cloud awakens , Tifa and Barret tell him Aeris is gone . Cloud follows the clues she had given him in the dream to the Forgotten Capital . Return to the Lifestream . In a temple underneath the city the party finds Aeris praying on an altar . As Cloud approaches her Sephiroth attempts to take control of him to make him kill her , but Cloud resists . As Aeris finishes praying and lifts her head to see Cloud , Sephiroth — still using Jenova ' s body as a vessel transformed into his likeness — descends from the ceiling and impales her with the Masamune . Aeris collapses into Cloud ' s arms as her hair ribbon unravels , the White Materia that had been concealed in her hair bouncing off the altar into the water below . Enraged , Cloud turns on Sephiroth , who detaches a part of Jenova ' s body to fight Cloud , transforming it into Jenova∙LIFE . After Jenova∙LIFE is dispatched the party pays their respects to Aeris and Cloud rests her body to the pool of water in the center of the city . Reeve , a Shinra executive sympathetic to their cause traveling with the party in the guise of Cait Sith , later brings the news of her death to Elmyra Gainsborough and consoles her . Aeris was praying for Holy , the ultimate White Magic to defend against Meteor , called by the White Materia she had worn in her hair . The party later learns Aeris had succeeded in calling it prior to her demise , but Sephiroth is blocking its power . Cloud ' s party descends to the center of the Planet to defeat him , and after the battle Cloud has an out of body experience during which he faces off against Sephiroth ' s spirit alone . Vanquishing his nemesis , Cloud finds himself among the Lifestream with Aeris extending her hand to him . As Cloud tries to grasp it he returns to his body and saves Tifa as the cave begins to crumble . He tells her he can meet Aeris again in the Promised Land . Sephiroth ' s defeat releases Holy , but by this time the Meteor has fallen too close and Holy ' s energy is unfocused by its gravity . Within the Lifestream , Aeris ' s spirit commands it to emerge from the Planet and push Meteor back allowing Holy to fully focus its energy , and in January of 0008 , Holy and the Lifestream destroy Meteor and save the Planet . Aerith ' s role in the Lifestream fending off Meteor is expanded in the novella " Hoshi wo Meguru Otome " , which depicts Aerith in the Lifestream immediately after her death helping to fight Sephiroth ' s influence over it as well as meeting other dead characters from the game including Barret ' s childhood friend Dyne , fallen AVALANCHE members Biggs , Wedge and Jessie , President Shinra , Hojo and Zack , whom she is surprised to learn is dead . She helps Tifa and Cloud when they fall into the Lifestream and into Cloud ' s Subconscious and when Holy fails to defeat Meteor , Aerith commands the Lifestream to push it back and help Holy destroy it . Aerith is also the central character in the " On the Way to a Smile " novella " Case of the Lifestream - White . " As Sephiroth avoids dissolution and spreads Geostigma using the Lifestream tainted with his memories , Aerith tries to help heal the spirits of the dead and contain the damage being done to the Lifestream . Despite the help of the spirits of other Cetra , those infected with Geostigma die faster than Aerith can heal their spirits , so she resolves to try and contact Cloud and stop the infection on the Planet itself . Aerith considers creating avatars similar to Sephiroth , but decides against this as she would rather meet Cloud as he remembers her . Geostigma crisis . Aerith ' s appearance in " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " is first hinted at when Cloud and Tifa collapse wounded on the flowers of the Sector 5 Church — they later awaken healed . Aerith appears to Cloud in a vision as he rides to the Forgotten Capital to save the children of Edge from Kadaj . Standing behind him she questions his reasons for coming , and Cloud says he wants to be forgiven . When Aerith asks " by who ? " Cloud turns to see her and the vision ends . When he loses his cellphone during his fight with Kadaj and his brothers , Aerith leaves a message on it as it descends into a pool of water , assuring Cloud she never blamed him for her death . During the battle against Bahamut SIN , Cloud is consumed in its attack , and amid the fireball sees a vision of Aerith , who takes his outstretched hand and transfers enough energy to him to cut through Bahamut ' s attack and destroy it . In the battle ' s aftermath Cloud pursues Kadaj and his brothers on motorcycle , eventually confronting Kadaj in the Sector 5 Church . Kadaj attacks Cloud with a blast of energy , destroying the flowerbed . Water full of energy from the Lifestream erupts in a geyser from the hole , healing Cloud of his Geostigma and sending Kadaj fleeing . Cloud follows him , and during their battle Kadaj absorbs Jenova ' s cells he had obtained from Rufus earlier to become Sephiroth . Sephiroth covers Midgar in the corrupted Lifestream and as Marlene and Denzel watch it descend over the city , she senses Aerith ' s presence . When Cloud defeats Sephiroth and he is transformed back into Kadaj , Aerith calls down healing rain over the city , curing most of the inhabitants of Geostigma . Hearing Aerith ' s voice and mistaking her as his mother , Kadaj dissolves into the Lifestream . His brothers attack Cloud and the three are consumed in an explosion . Floating in a void Cloud senses Aerith ' s presence and also mistakes her as his mother . She and Zack joke about it and Zack informs him that his place isn ' t with them yet . Cloud awakens in the water of the Sector 5 Church , and the Moogle Girl tells him " she " said to wait there and he would be back . Cloud uses the water to heal Denzel , a boy suffering from Geostigma he and Tifa had adopted , and the remaining children and the group celebrates . As Cloud surveys his friends he spots Aerith speaking to children near the church entrance before walking to the light - filled doorway where Zack waits . Aerith turns and smiles assuring Cloud that " everything ' s alright . " As she and Zack walk into the light , Cloud smiles as they fade . Later , as Cloud rides his motorcycle through the countryside , Aerith stands among the fields of flowers watching him whiz by . In " " , as Tifa is about to get crushed by falling foundation during the battle against Bahamut SIN , an image of Aerith about to meet her death at the hands of Sephiroth is superimposed over Tifa in Cloud ' s right eye . During the new ending , phones around Edge ring , and Aerith ' s unheard voice tells the children who answer to go to her church to be healed , confirming what was implied in the original release ( that it was Aerith who directed the children there ) . Aerith is no longer seen on the field in the ending in " Advent Children Complete " when Cloud rides his motorcycle during the credits . Gameplay . Aeris is a playable party member in " Final Fantasy VII " . She is focused towards casting magic and wields several staves which often contain many Materia slots and boost her Magic . All of her Limits are healing abilities and buffs and her magic stats are the strongest though her physical stats are the weakest . Her ultimate weapon , Princess Guard , is the only ultimate weapon in the game with standard Materia growth , and increases in attack power proportional to killed allies . Aeris is a date option for Cloud in the Gold Saucer and she is the easiest option to date . Aerith is fought as a boss in the Training Mode of " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " . In " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " Healing Wave is a Limit Break used by Zack when Aerith ' s portrait lines up in the Digital Mind Wave during a modulating phase . It acts similar to Great Gospel , healing Zack of all negative status ailments , granting him invincibility and restoring a large amount of AP , MP and HP , also increasing them beyond their max amounts if enough is healed . Zack can use Healing Wave after meeting with Aerith , since the beginning of chapter 5 . Creation and development . Aerith was designed by Tetsuya Nomura with influence from director and scenario writer Yoshinori Kitase and Hironobu Sakaguchi . Yoshitaka Amano created conceptual artwork of Aerith for " Final Fantasy VII " , which also influenced her design . Her long dress was designed to appear ladylike and as a contrast to Tifa Lockhart ' s miniskirt . Making Aerith ' s dress with polygons was difficult at the time , but Nomura believed that thinking about how to make it move naturally would lead to improvement of skills and rendering . Her green eyes were meant to symbolize nature and also served as another contrast to Tifa ' s . Aerith was , along with Cloud and Barret , one of the first three playable characters designed for " Final Fantasy VII " before more were added . An early demo of " Final Fantasy VII " includes Aeris in the attack on the Sector 5 Reactor with Cloud and Barret , but she does not appear outside of battle and does not speak . During early plans for the game Aerith was to have the Geomancer job class . Though the final product has no job system , Aerith ' s Limit Breaks manifest as her drawing power from the earth , a typical trait of Geomancers . In the original development materials it is stated the DNA of her mother Ifalna , not Jenova , would have been used to create SOLDIER members , and Aerith herself would have been cheerful but naive regarding men , having never been in a relationship . In a subplot that was cut from the final game , Aerith would tell Cloud stories about a nameless SOLDIER who used to buy flowers from her years ago whom she fell in love with , but her feelings were unrequited . Cloud would have deduced the unnamed SOLDIER was Sephiroth , and would have gone out of his way to hide evidence of Sephiroth ' s true character from Aerith to avoid shattering her idealized vision of him . At an earlier point in development , it was considered that Sephiroth and Aerith would be brother and sister , a connection that was intended to be hinted at through their similar hairstyles . This was changed to Sephiroth being Aerith ' s former love , and then dropped . Tifa would also have told Aerith the truth about Cloud and the Nibelheim Incident , including Zack ' s presence there when the village was destroyed . Though he has made humorous remarks to the contrary , Tetsuya Nomura has stated that Aerith ' s death was always planned to be part of the plot , even when she , Cloud and Barret were the only planned characters . In an interview with " Electronic Gaming Monthly " , Nomura stated the following : When discussing the making of " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " , co - director Takeshi Nozue has said that Aerith ' s appearance was designed with particular detail , as it was believed fans would pay close attention to her when she appeared . Tetsuya Nomura stated they knew from the beginning they would not show her face until the final scenes , and when her face was finally revealed , he thought she looked " cuter than ever . " In the final scenes where Aerith turns to face Cloud in " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children Complete " , her facial structure is redesigned from its previous appearance , in addition to having sharper graphics from the film ' s different format . The members of AVALANCHE wearing pink ribbons in memory of her was an added detail when it was noticed no one mentioned Aerith ' s name in the film , and that if she was not going to be mentioned in dialogue there should be visual indication that AVALANCHE remembers her . In original concepts for Aerith ' s appearance to Cloud in a vision at the Forgotten Capital , the plan was for Aerith to appear on the back of Cloud ' s motorcycle and ride with him as they spoke . Motion capture for the sequence was done , but the scene was discarded when the development staff felt it would look too much like a ghost looming over Cloud ' s shoulder . Voice . Aerith was first voiced in " Kingdom Hearts " , and has had a number of different voice actresses in English . In " Kingdom Hearts " she was voiced by ; later she was voiced by Mena Suvari for " " and " " ; and she was voiced by Andrea Bowen for " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " and " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Aerith shares her Japanese voice actress , Maaya Sakamoto , with Lightning from " Final Fantasy XIII " and Diva from " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . Aerith ' s voice actress , Maaya Sakamoto , is married to Zack ' s voice actor , Kenichi Suzumura . Musical themes . Aerith ' s musical theme is called " Aerith ' s Theme . " Two other pieces focusing on Aerith , " Flowers Blooming in the Church " and " Water , " are derived from this central piece . In addition , the background theme of the final dungeon , " The Great Northern Cave , " contains a motif from her theme . A cover of " Aerith ' s Theme " with lyrics and the alternate title , " Pure Heart , " was sung by Ritsuko Nakano ( AKA Rikki ) the singer of the vocal theme of " Final Fantasy X " , " Suteki da ne , " as an additional song on the theme ' s album . Later versions , including versions with lyrics and orchestrated by Nobuo Uematsu , use the original title . Other appearances . Aerith has made appearances in the following games in the " Final Fantasy " series : Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . Aerith has had key guest appearances in the following non - " Final Fantasy " games : Other media . " Dead Fantasy " . In the " Dead Fantasy " series , Aerith is referenced by Cloud towards Yuna in the introduction of " Dead Fantasy IV " as a person he said goodbye to a long time ago . Cloud ' s rival , Helena Douglas from " Dead or Alive " , resembles Aerith . Both share the same hairstyle of a ponytail adorned with a ribbon , but her role in the series is as an antagonist . Games . An NPC in the Miner quests in 1 . 0 version of " Final Fantasy XIV " mistakenly called players by the wrong name . He would call a Midlander Hyur " Cloud " , and a Miqo ' te " Aerith " . Aerith Gainsborough is also among the names used in example sentences for the chat log filtering configuration . When the Mysterious Old Man in " Final Fantasy Dimensions " tries to introduce himself as " Clou - " , Alba replies by saying her name might as be " Aeri - " . In Blizzard ' s " World of Warcraft : Wrath of the Lich King " , there is an NPC flower vendor in the city of Dalaran is named , wearing clothing nearly identical to Aerith ' s " Final Fantasy VII " design . Aerith ' s costume appears as downloadable content for " " , along with Cloud , Sephiroth , Vincent , and Tifa . Aerith ' s outfit appears as a costume for Lyudmila N Ignatova in the third - person shooter arcade game " Gunslinger Stratos 2 " . Announced during a Tokyo Game Show , the costume was released as part of a Final Fantasy - themed collaboration event for the game in November , 2014 . A costume themed around Aerith ' s outfit is available as the 3P costume for Mirage Koas in the game " . Yoshitaka Amano ' s " Tranquility " artwork of Cloud and Aerith is shown on a wall in a scene in " . The picture was created by Amano to be used as a cover for the original . In " , there is a laboratory where Aya Brea tries to use a computer infected with a virus called " Fatekeeper " . The anti - virus , " Cloud " , is found inside the September issue of a magazine called " Aeris " . Other . In Disney ' s movie " , there is a message written in graffiti outside of Game Central Station that reads " Aerith Lives " . " Aerith Lives " is also a password in the " Deus Ex : Black Light " novel . Merchandise . Aerith has appeared in numerous merchandise . Etymology and symbolism . Aerith ' s name is meant to sound similar to " earth " due to her connection to the Planet . In the September 1997 issue of the " Famitsu " magazine , it is said " Aeris " is the transliteration of the word into katakana : " earth " turned into " earisu , " Aerith ' s Japanese name . Additionally , the Hebrew word עירית , " ʻīrīṯ " ( the " ṯ " was pronounced " th " ) , refers to the flower . It is also a modern Hebrew girls ' name , Irit . This might have been appropriate , considering Aerith ' s association with flowers . Because of the inexact way Hebrew treats vowels in writing , an alternate reading " ʻērīṯ " is also conceivable from an intuitive reading of the letters . Her name could also be representative of Tiferet , also pronounced Tifereth , representative of the sixth Sefira in the Tree of Life symbolizing love , beauty and self - sacrifice . This would tie up with the larger theme " Final Fantasy VII " has with Jewish mysticism . Given how Tifa ' s concept was developed after the decision to have Aerith die and certain characteristic originally attributed to Aerith in earlier story - boards were transferred to Tifa ' s storyline , it would make sense their names would be derived from a split of " Tifereth . " " Final Fantasy VII " derives symbolism from Jewish mysticism , and Aeris ' s character may have been influenced by it as well . " " are the ten attributes through which God appears , and Aeris may be tied to one such attribute , " chesed " , meaning kindness or love . It is a virtue which contributes to a concept translated as the healing of the world and the concept suggests man ' s responsibility to repair and transform the world . The Talmud says " the Torah begins with chesed and ends with chesed , " and Aeris is the first and last character seen in the main events of " Final Fantasy VII " ( excepting the epilogue ) . Those who embody " chesed " go " above and beyond that which is normally required , " and " chesed " is the first of the " sephirot " of the attribute of action ; in other words the initiation of action . This is similar to how Aeris ventures off alone to summon Holy . The " gematria " ( a numerological system for assigning numbers to words ) of " chesed " is 72 ; Aeris ' s birthday is the 7th of February .