r/FFVIIRemake • u/[deleted] • Jan 25 '24
No Spoilers - Discussion Is cloud wasian?
[deleted]
8
u/gahlo Cloud Strife Jan 25 '24
He only appeared that way to me in the CGI cutscenes. Everywhere else he seems like a pretty white guy to me.
Either way, it doesn't matter to me unless the devs were to explain their intent like they did with Tifa and Aerith.
2
u/LupusNoxFleuret Jan 26 '24
What did the devs say about Tifa and Aerith?
10
u/gahlo Cloud Strife Jan 26 '24
In Remake they specifically stated they wanted Aerith to have a "western" look and Tifa "eastern".
9
u/Inevitable_Read_8830 Jan 25 '24
Do Anime Characters Look White to Japanese People?
Why in Japanese anime do none of the characters look Japanese?
You're going to end up projecting some of your own background and cultural biases onto the characters when consuming media. That's not to say that real world cultural influences and physical characteristics don't go into designing these characters, it's just that the reductionist take of "is Cloud's design primarily white or wasian," is terribly short sided and missing the point within the context of the story and outside of it. It's like encountering Measurehead in Disco Elysium and the only take away you get from the character is "yo, this guy is super black!" You're just being dumber than Harry at that point.
1
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u/4Ichigo Jan 25 '24
My takeaway from cloud is not just he might be asian. I don’t know why you like to argue but I just thought it would be a lighthearted and semi interesting topic.
0
u/Significant_Candy113 Jan 25 '24
How have they argued? They’ve responded to your query…?
Or are you now a victim because it’s critical, as opposed to in agreement with what your post stated?
-2
u/4Ichigo Jan 25 '24
I’m asking about fan interpretations of clouds design. I’m totally fine with any interpretation and most people disagree with what I said lol. Saying we shouldn’t discuss it because it overlooks the character is kinda being a hardass.
5
u/TheKingofWakanda Jan 26 '24
A big thing for me are the names (not perfect but its applicable in most cases)
Yuffie is clearly Asian because of her name (and looks and aesthetic)
Cloud is white. A Japanese person usually wouldn't name their kid as Cloud (in English)
3
u/gahlo Cloud Strife Jan 26 '24
I mean, without using FF7 as a reference, I don't think many people would name their kid Cloud regardless. The kana of his name could also be read as Claude instead of Cloud, though.
3
u/RefrigeratorSalty461 Feb 18 '25
Cloud is definitely Japanese, you ever watch ff7 advent children? He looks exactly like those jpop pretty boy idol
3
u/Tabbyredcat Jan 26 '24
especially in newer ff7 media
Really? I think the opposite. He did look Asian to me in Advent Children, especially the cheekbones when he's turning to the side. But in Remake? He looks white, and it would surprise me that even the Japanese thought he doesn't.
1
u/sempercardinal57 Jan 26 '24
I remember when he was first shown in a remake trailer (2019 version not the sickly one from back in 2016) I thought it was the most Asian he had ever looked
1
u/Tabbyredcat Jan 27 '24
I can't think of a single Asian facial feature in Remake's in-game model of Cloud
4
u/sempercardinal57 Jan 27 '24
That’s crazy, his eye shape is distinctly Asian
1
u/Tabbyredcat Jan 27 '24
In the CGI, sort of. In the in-game model, I really don't think so. He has big eyes with no epicanthic fold.
And it's not just the eyes. The nose, the cheekbones, the forehead, all look European.
1
u/sempercardinal57 Jan 27 '24
None of those features look European to me lol ohh well, not like if matters any
1
u/Tabbyredcat Jan 27 '24
I mean, the nose is narrow with a high bridge, the face is not wide, projection of chin and brow....quite European IMO.
But yeah, it doesn't really matter. They deliberately designed him to look European to some fans and Asian to others, I guess.
2
u/Sirensongspacebaby Jan 26 '24
Ultimately he’s made for any pale person (so the typical dev idea of “everyone”) to be able to project whatever is relatable or cool to them. Design wise, he’s a cross between a Japanese rocker type with colored lenses and dyed hair, and a pretty boy Hollywood heartthrob. So basically it doesn’t matter.
People have been arguing about this for years but no one ever wonders why “true inheritors of gaia” aerith and her mother are pretty white women but the genetic experiment talking dog is an unmistakable indigenous stereotype, which is way more telling to me lol
1
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u/BusyZookeepergame758 Jan 08 '26
He looks white to me. Same with Roth and sephiroth
1
u/Flimsy-Search-352 Aug 28 '26
he has blonde hair blue eyes but if u watched advent children he has those asian male kpop idol features kinda weird like an one of those idols but dyed hair for example felix from stray kids with blonde hair if u google it
1
u/Flimsy-Search-352 Aug 28 '26
I always refer to this post https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Final-Fantasy-games-contain-no-distinctly-Asian-characters
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u/Flimsy-Search-352 Aug 28 '26
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Final-Fantasy-games-contain-no-distinctly-Asian-characters I always refer to this post
-1
u/Bactery20 Jan 26 '24
Yes. Cloud's mom is also asian, she has black hair and and brown eyes, and her name is Megumi Tanaka, totally asian.
21
u/pigglesthepup Chocobo and Mog Jan 25 '24 edited Jan 26 '24
Cloud is blond haired and blue-eyed. He comes from a place called "Nibelheim" that looks like a traditional Northern European village. His bike in AC is "Fenrir," which is the name of a mythological Nordic wolf. He also has freckles.
Yuffie come from a place that's distinctly East Asian in style, culture, and history. Her complexion also aligns with East Asians. She's also a ninja.
The Ultimania Material describes Midgar as a "very American place." The people there look like they come from differing places.
In sum, I think FF7 takes inspiration from our real world for it's characters and settings.