Sephiroth (Final Fantasy)

Sephiroth
Final Fantasy character
Sephiroth artwork by Tetsuya Nomura for Final Fantasy VII
First game	Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Created by	Tetsuya Nomura Kazushige Nojima
Designed by	Tetsuya Nomura
Voiced by	English Lance Bass (Kingdom Hearts) George Newbern (most appearances) Tyler Hoechlin (2020-present)[1] Japanese Toshiyuki Morikawa (Advent Children onward, most appearances) Shin-ichiro Miki (Ehrgeiz) Yūichirō Umehara (Ever Crisis, teenager)
In-universe information
Race	Human/Jenova hybrid
Weapon	Masamune

Sephiroth (Japanese: セフィロス, Hepburn: Sefirosu) is a fictional character from the Final Fantasy video game series developed by Square (now Square Enix) and the main antagonist of the Final Fantasy VII, the seventh game of the series. He is a mutated human, formed from the cells of an alien lifeform and an unwanted fetus. A former soldier of the megacorporation Shinra and the coworker of Zack Fair as well as the superior of main protagonist Cloud Strife, he possesses superhuman physiology as a result of an experiment in which Shinra injected him with cells from the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova when he was still a fetus. Upon discovering this, Sephiroth becomes consumed by rage and decides to take control of the Planet by harnessing its life force and annihilating all life on it in order to become a god amidst the destruction. Sephiroth's background and role in the story are expanded upon in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Additionally, he appears as a guest character in other video games and media, such as a recurring boss in the Kingdom Hearts series and as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Character designer Tetsuya Nomura conceived and designed Sephiroth as an antagonist and foil to Cloud, as he rejects his identity in order to fulfill what he believes to be his destiny, while Cloud re-affirms his self-worth amidst a similar crisis of identity. In Japanese, Sephiroth has been voiced by voice actor Toshiyuki Morikawa in all of his appearances. He was voiced by Shin-ichiro Miki in Ehrgeiz and Yūichirō Umehara in Ever Crisis. In English, Sephiroth has been voiced by Lance Bass in Kingdom Hearts (2002), and by George Newbern in Kingdom Hearts II (2005) and the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII metaseries (2004–present). In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Newbern was succeeded by Tyler Hoechlin, a role he reprises in the remastered Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (2022), replacing Newbern's English performance in the original game.

Sephiroth has been well-received within the video game community and is highly ranked on many lists of the best video game villains and Final Fantasy characters based on his role in the narrative and his high challenge level. He was also the subject of analysis as a Final Fantasy villain who lost his humanity upon learning of his alien heritage, and how he attempts to corrupt Cloud by exploiting his mental weaknesses.