Yuj (Final Fantasy XIII)

Yuj is a non-playable character in Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2. He is a member of NORA.
In the demo included with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, Yuj looks like a generic NPC because his design was yet to be finalized. His final design features blue hair and feathers decorating his attire.
==Datalog==
===Final Fantasy XIII===
A junior member of NORA, Yuj is a kindhearted young man with an insatiable interest in fashion. Though he lacks the same courage as Snow and Gadot in dangerous situations, his calming influence makes him an invaluable asset to the team.
===Final Fantasy XIII-2===
NORA is a vigilante group of young do-gooders from the Cocoon town of Bodhum. No strangers to fending for themselves, the group went on to found the settlement of New Bodhum in the harsh environment of Pulse.
NORA consists of four core members: the intimidating Gadot, Snow's right-hand man; the amiable mood maker, Yuj; the mechanical genius, Maqui; and the NORA House resident chef, Lebreau.
Snow, NORA's founding member, is presently away from New Bodhum.
==Profile==
===Appearance===
Yuj has feathery blue hair and striking hazel eyes. He wears a orange shirt with a subtle yellow gradient, with a dark red, long-sleeved shirt underneath, as well as black leather pants and black leather boots. His pants have a bag sewn in on the right hip, and he dons a scarf and feathers that he wears tucked into his belt. The belt appears to be made up of multiple links of metal with a small pattern pressed into them. He wears a necklace with a leather square that has the same patterns as the belt embossed upon it and a metal pendant over his clothing.
===Personality===
Yuj has an upbeat and cheery personality. He seems mature compared to the other members of NORA, and is as rational and level-headed. However, he can be vain and narcissistic. He is fond of cats and grooms and takes care of Serah's cat, Snow, once Serah leaves on her journey.
Due to comments made during flashbacks in Final Fantasy XIII-2, it is probable that Yuj thinks of NORA more as his family than a group of friends.
==Story==
===Final Fantasy XIII===
thumb|left|Lebreau tells Yuj and Maqui to "grow up".
Yuj shows his antipathy to the Sanctum and the Primarch who call the extermination of innocent people the "migration." He watches over kids with fellow NORA members Maqui, Gadot and Lebreau, while the NORA leader, Snow, goes to the Pulse Vestige searching for his fiancée Serah.
Final Fantasy XIII Gaiden Shōsetsu: Yumemiru Mayu, Akatsuki ni Otsu tells the story of what happened to NORA after Snow left for the Pulse Vestige. NORA guided surviving Purgees to take refuge in a crevice in the ground. After breaking through PSICOM's defenses they escaped the Hanging Edge and hid inside an ancient Pulsian building inserted between the layers of Cocoon's outer shell during its construction, a large vestige that "shouldn't" exist and the perfect place for the Purge survivors to lay low and wait out the army's search efforts. Gadot led a combat team to ensure everyone's safety and food and supplies were sent through Lenora's Garage, a shop maintained by Maqui.
By hacking the Sanctum's information channels through his own network, Maqui tapped into a live feed and projected a hologram of a broadcast from Palumpolum being captured by a military surveillance camera. The footage depicted a plaza turned into a war zone as a pillar of ice conjured by magic froze everything, and a Pulse l'Cie. Yuj recognized the l'Cie as their leader, Snow. Having been worried about Snow since the Pulse Vestige plummeted into Lake Bresha, the news of his survival brings relief to NORA who begins planning their next step as Snow's appearance was the sign they needed to build a resistance movement to help him. As the Sanctum's troops are concentrated around Palumpolum, leaving holes in the security around the Hanging Edge, NORA and the refugees would be able to escape, and they leave their shelter and set out for Eden, the capital of Cocoon and the Sanctum's seat of power.
Yuj and the other NORA members meet Snow in Eden where they scold him for "heroing" alone without the aid of his NORA buddies. As Snow's party heads for the Orphan's Cradle, Yuj and the other NORA members help evacuate Eden.
===Final Fantasy XIII-2===
After Cocoon's fall, NORA settles on Gran Pulse building a new town that comes to be known as New Bodhum. Sometime after Snow left the town to look for Serah's missing sister, Yuj found a cat and brought her to the NORA house. After discussing who would take care of the cat, he said they all will as they are like a big family. Yuj was the one who possibly named the cat 'Snow'.
Yuj, along with Gadot, Maqui, and Lebreau, fights off the monsters when New Bodhum is attacked. While Serah, Mog, and Noel travel to the Meteorite Impact Site they met Yuj who questions Serah about her new outfit. Later, he, Maqui, and Gadot try to deceive Noel from taking Serah on a journey to find Lightning, stating that it's impossible.
When Serah, Mog, and Noel are about to leave New Bodhum, Lebreau catches Yuj, Gadot, and Maqui eavesdropping. Yuj admits to combing the cat and proclaims himself as her keeper while Serah is not there to look after her.
A dream version of Yuj is met later in Serah's dream world where she enters after being defeated by Caius Ballad in the Void Beyond. He shows concern when Serah voices that she is confused and offers to carry her; however, Serah turns him down, saying that she's "not that sick".
After Serah and Noel have opened the Time Gate to Academia 500 AF, they can return to New Bodhum where the members of NORA bid them good luck, Yuj included.
===Final Fantasy XIII: Reminiscence -tracer of memories-===
NORA members' souls found their way to the new world where they were reincarnated and established a restaurant, the "Nora House". One day, a reporter investigating the stories of people having memories of a past life in another world visits the restaurant and orders the Nora Special. The taste triggers a flood of memories, and the reporter recalls her past life: she was Aoede, a reporter caught up in the Purge who helped expose Sanctum's lies by airing Purge footage with the help of broadcast hacks by Maqui. The members of NORA remember Aoede and Lebreau tells her where to find Serah.
==Other appearances==
===Final Fantasy Artniks===
FF13 Yuj R+ I Artniks.png|Final Fantasy Artniks.
===Final Fantasy Trading Card Game===
Yuj appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as Water-elemental forward cards.
TradingCardFF43.jpg|Yuj [2-091C] Chapter series card.
Yuj 1-175R from FFTCG Opus.jpg|Yuj [1-175R] Opus series card.
===Final Fantasy Portal App===
Yuj appears as a Triple Triad card.
==Behind the scenes==
According to the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, Yuj's final appearance was practically finished by the time the demo was made, but there was still disagreement in the development team on whether to green-light the design or use a less flamboyant one, which is why the demo had a placeholder appearance. His placeholder appearance has appeared as an NPC in both Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
The textures on Yuj's final model end in such a way that the seam for his head textures runs down the middle of his face. This essentially means that his face is perfectly symmetrical.
A reference in Final Fantasy XIII is made to Yuj's changed appearance since the demo, stating that he went to Eden and got a "whole new look". This is further alluded in Final Fantasy XIII-2 when Yuj asks Serah about her new outfit and calls the meteorite a new fashion designer. Yuj's original appearance is seen again in "LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII - Inside the Square" promotional video.http://youtu.be/FNOMrWCchR0?t=2m54s
===Voice===
Yuj is voiced by Wataru Hatano in the Japanese version and Jeff Fischer in the English version.
==Gallery==
Beta-Yuj-FFXIII.png|The beta Yuj.
Yuj concept2.png|Yuj concept art.
Yuj-Yuge.jpg|Yuj in Bodhum.
Yuj-CloseUp.jpg|Yuj in the Hanging Edge.
Lebreau and Yuj.png|Lebreau and Yuj during the Siege of Eden.
XIII-2 NORAMemebers.jpg|Yuj in Final Fantasy XIII-2.
==Citations==
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XIII
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XIII-2
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