Cloud and Tifa’s
Relationship in AC/ACC
by FF_Goddess, Angelalex242, and Anastar
In the beginning of Advent Children/Complete, Cloud has rejected the company of
his former companions, including Tifa. He has distanced himself from everyone
and has actually moved into Aerith's church. He is seen listening to his voice
mails, but not making any attempt to call anyone back. It soon becomes very
clear that Cloud and Tifa's relationship continues to be quite strained, as
shown in the official novella Case of Tifa.
As it turns out, Cloud has been afflicted with a terminal disease called
Geostigma. Rather than spending his final days with his family and friends,
Cloud chooses to seek refuge in Aerith’s church and tells no one that he is
living there. This speaks clearly of Cloud’s desire to be near Aerith again, and
indicates that Aerith’s church is where Cloud feels closest to the flower girl
he lost. Cloud has refused to tell anyone of his sickness, or to speak to anyone
about the deep burden of sorrow and guilt that he carries in his heart for the
death of Aerith.
Tifa, meanwhile, is running the new and improved Seventh Heaven in Edge, just
outside of Midgar. She is taking care of Barret's daughter, Marlene, as well as
an orphan boy named Denzel, whom Cloud found one day at Aerith's church. Tifa is
also acting as a relay for Cloud’s delivery service by letting him know about
orders by
voicemail.
As the movie progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that Tifa is extremely
frustrated with Cloud. He had run off to live in Aerith’s church without telling
Tifa where he was going. Cloud also hid the fact that he has Geostigma from Tifa.
Not only that, but Cloud is away from the Seventh Heaven all of the time, never
checking in, never answering Tifa’s calls to his mobile phone, and refusing to
speak of his inner issues with Tifa. This can only indicate that many
difficulties exist in Cloud and Tifa’s relationship.
Tifa's official profile from Advent Children/Complete even states that she is
"disappointed in Cloud, who has closed off his heart and is lost in memories of
his past".
Overall, Cloud and Tifa have very few
moments together in Advent Children/Complete. Cloud actually spends more time communing
with the spirit of Aerith during the movie than he does in Tifa's presence.
Whenever Aerith is seen, she appears in light and/or white space,
wearing pink as usual, which makes her an entrancing presence full of light.
On the other hand, in many scenes when Cloud and Tifa are shown together on screen, everything
seems mired in darkness, as shown in the screenshot below. The Seventh Heaven itself is portrayed in dismal tones.
Both Cloud and Tifa wear black. The interaction between Cloud and Tifa at the
Seventh Heaven is also quite harsh and strained.
Yet, CloudxTifa supporters are often heard saying that Advent Children/Complete promotes the CloudxTifa pairing. Let’s examine their evidence more closely.
In the first place, CloudxTifa fans claim that Cloud and Tifa must be
romantically involved since they were both living in the Seventh Heaven for
about a year prior to the beginning of Advent Children/Complete. However, they seem to
forget that Barret was living in the Seventh Heaven with Tifa at the beginning
of Final Fantasy VII, too, and that Barret and Tifa were actually raising
Marlene together at that time. Nobody took that to be evidence that Barret and
Tifa were romantically involved. Wedge and Biggs were also living at the Seventh
Heaven with Tifa at the beginning of FFVII, yet no one felt that Tifa was
romantically involved with either of them. Since Tifa has lived with other male
friends on a platonic basis, then living together can’t be used as conclusive
evidence that Tifa is romantically involved with Cloud. After all, she could
also be living with Cloud as a friend on the same platonic basis as she did with
Barret, Wedge, and Biggs. The issue of Cloud living at the Seventh Heaven will
be discussed further in the essay
Friends vs. Family – Cloud Living with Tifa on this
website.
Actually, there are a number of things that shed a great deal of doubt on the
idea that Cloud and Tifa became romantically involved after Final Fantasy VII.
In the first place, Cloud is depicted as being very depressed, brooding, and
angst ridden in both Advent Children/Complete and Case of Tifa. If Cloud
were truly in love with Tifa and felt loved by her in return, it’s highly
unlikely that he would have estranged himself from her to the extent that he
did.
Granted, Cloud was dealing with issues that can lead to depression, such as
terminal illness and guilt over the death of loved ones. However, if Cloud and
Tifa were in a loving relationship based on understanding and reciprocity, then
it’s very unlikely that he would have distanced himself from her comfort, help
and support. If Cloud were truly in love with Tifa, then it would be far more
likely for Cloud to rely on her support, to share his feelings with her, and to
keep in touch with her. Yet, Cloud did none of these things.
Furthermore, if Cloud were in love with Tifa, why would he move into Aerith's
church after he became ill with Geostigma? Cloud should have been able to rely
and depend on his loved ones for comfort and support when he was faced with such
a crisis. Instead, Cloud suddenly disappears without even telling Tifa where he
was going. If Cloud truly loved Tifa, it’s only logical that he would have
wanted to spend the time he had left with her, rather than isolating himself in
an abandoned church where he is constantly reminded of another woman. Why would
Cloud do this if Tifa is the one he loves?
For another thing, we also learn in Advent Children/Complete that Cloud has actually lost
the will to live. Why would Cloud lose the will to live if he truly felt that he
has something or someone worth living for? Look at the following passage from
Advent Children/Complete:
[… The scene then goes back to the Edge in the 7th Heaven
where Cloud is looking out a window. Tifa wakes up shortly afterwards.]
Cloud: Reno and Rude are out looking.
[ Shows a short clip of Cloud going through that Forest on his motorcycle then
shifts back ]
Tifa: You have Geostigma, don't you? You are going to give up and die, is that
it? [ Cloud is silent ] So it is...
Cloud: There is no cure.
Tifa: Yeah, but that's not stopping Denzel, is it? Don't run! Let's fight it
together! We can help each other, I know we can.
[ Cloud is silent again ]
In this passage, Tifa
herself recognizes that Cloud has chosen to "give up and die". When she asks
Cloud if this is what he has chosen to do, he doesn’t deny it. If Cloud truly
loved Tifa, then she should have been enough motivation for him to fight to
live. This point alone is very strong evidence that nothing romantic is going on
between Cloud and Tifa.
Actually, Cloud only begins to regain hope after meeting with Aerith again. It’s a turning point in Advent Children/Complete for Cloud once he realizes that Aerith never truly left him at all. Cloud even says that he “feels lighter” shortly after Aerith appears back to back with Cloud in a flower field on his way to the Forgotten City and reassures him that he was not to blame for her death. So, the only voice that seems to be able to comfort and reassure Cloud is the voice of Aerith. Furthermore, it is only at the end of the movie, when Cloud sees Aerith smiling back at him, that Cloud realizes he is no longer alone.
There is a scene in Advent Children/Complete where Tifa is beaten unconscious by Loz in Aerith’s church. When Cloud finds Tifa, he passes out next to her from an attack of Geostigma. Rude and Reno find the two of them there and carry them back to the Seventh Heaven. Once Cloud and Tifa regain consciousness, Tifa says this to Cloud:
"Don't run! We'll fight it together! We can help
each other! I know we can!"
Cloud says nothing, looking at the floor.
Tifa turns away, disappointed. "I guess that only works for real families."
"Tifa," Cloud says at last, still refusing to look at her. "I'm not fit to help
anyone. Not my family, not my friends... nobody."
After that, Cloud doesn't say anything more. Why would Cloud turn his back on
Tifa's offer to help if he really loves her? If Cloud was truly in love with
Tifa, he would have accepted her help. Obviously, Cloud's rejection of her offer causes
her
pain. Why would Cloud treat his "true love" in such a callous manner?
Remember, too, that Tifa's official profile from Advent Children/Complete states that she is "disappointed in
Cloud, who has closed off his heart and is lost in memories of his past". That
certainly doesn’t sound like the profile of someone's chosen love.
As mentioned earlier, there is a scene in Advent Children/Complete where Tifa is beaten
unconscious by Loz in Aerith’s church and passes out in Aerith’s flowerbed. When
Cloud finds Tifa, he rushes over and takes Tifa in his arms. Soon afterwards,
Cloud passes out in Aerith’s flowerbed next to Tifa due to an attack of
Geostigma. CloudxTifa supporters like to claim that this scene is romantic,
since Cloud takes Tifa in his arms. In the first place, Cloud also held an
injured Kadaj in his arms toward the end of the movie. Did that indicate
romance? Cloud also held both Zack and Aerith in his arms as they died, yet
CloudxTifa supporters never considered it to be evidence of
romance.
As for the claim of CloudxTifa supporters that Cloud rushing to Tifa's side shows his love for her, Vincent also dashed in to help Cloud during Advent Children/Complete in the Sleeping Forest while Cloud was battling the silver haired trio in the Forgotten City. In Final Fantasy VII, Barret rushed to help Tifa in Junon when Scarlet was trying to execute Tifa in the gas chamber. Yet, these examples were never considered to be evidence of love or romance.
CloudxTifa supporters also feel that the scene of Cloud and Tifa lying next to
one another in the flowers of Aerith’s church is quite romantic. However, the
creators say that this scene is about something else entirely. The creators have
specifically stated that this scene is about Aerith healing Cloud and Tifa, and
that it foreshadowed Aerith’s later appearance in the church. Look at this quote
from the Reunion Files:
"There's some foreshadowing that the church is where Aerith is going to appear," says Nojima. "There's a point in the plot where Cloud and Tifa are lying unconscious on the flowers here and their wounds are healed. Also, Aerith has a sort of 'watery' image about her, so we used water to convey her presence."
Nothing was said by the creators about the scene portraying romance between Cloud and Tifa. Instead, Nojima talks only about how the scene foreshadows Aerith’s presence.
There’s far more indication that this scene is actually about Aerith than about Cloud and Tifa. In the first place, Cloud and Tifa are surrounded by a white light that only appears when Aerith is on screen. The scene also takes place in Aerith's church, which is the place where Aerith and Cloud first met. Cloud and Tifa are surrounded by flowers planted and tended to by Aerith before her death. Flowers have, in fact, become a sort of symbol for Aerith herself. Finally, a wolf symbolizing Cloud's guilt enters and stands next to him during this scene. Given all these factors, it can easily be seen that this scene is more about Aerith than about Cloud and Tifa.
Another thing often said about this scene by CloudxTifa advocates is that Cloud and Tifa are pictured using Yin-Yang symbolism while they lie next to one another in the flowers, and that this Yin-Yang symbolism represents Cloud and Tifa’s love for one another. However, their bodies are not positioned in a Yin-Yang shape like CloudxTifa supporters claim. A Yin-Yang shape is that of two inverse shapes with opposite colors locked together, whereas Cloud's body is actually quite far from Tifa’s. Cloud’s body is also angled away from Tifa’s, and there’s a large blank space between them. Compare the position of their bodies to the yin-yang symbol pictured to the right below:
Their two bodies are more in a curvy T-shape than in a
Yin-Yang position. Cloud
and Tifa are also both wearing the same color, whereas Yin-Yang symbols usually
show opposing colors. Furthermore, Yin-Yang doesn’t always indicate romantic
love. It can also be used to indicate other relationships or connections in the
universe. The issue of whether there is any symbolism present in the position of
Cloud and Tifa's bodies will be explored more fully in
The Symbolism of Yin-Yang
on this website.
CloudxTifa supporters also make certain claims about the ending of Advent
Children/Complete. For one thing, they often claim that Cloud gives a special smile just
to Tifa after he regains consciousness in Aerith’s church near the end of the
movie. In actuality, the sequence goes like this: Cloud smiles at all of his
friends and the children after becoming conscious. Then the camera focuses on Tifa’s face as she
gives Cloud a beautiful "I knew you could do it!" smile. After she smiles, the
camera pans back to Cloud, whose expression hasn’t changed. Cloud is still
smiling at all of his friends, and then he immediately turns to smile at the
children. At no time does Cloud give a special smile just to Tifa.
Actually, one smile given a great deal of special focus at the end of the movie
is Cloud's smile for Aerith. While Cloud is smiling at his friends and the
children, Avalanche is still heard talking in the background while the kids are
cheering. But the minute Cloud sees Aerith, the whole world goes on mute button.
Nothing else can be heard, although you can vaguely see the others off to the
side. The world has essentially melted away, and it never comes back. The film
ends with Cloud's smile at Aerith, and the rest of the world does not intrude.
Cloud's smile becomes wondrous the moment Aerith appears on screen, and Tifa
completely fades into the background. Once Cloud sees Aerith, his attention is
entirely focused on her.
In general, Cloud's facial expressions in Advent Children/Complete are given focus
whenever Aerith is near. In the Reunion Files, it was stated that Cloud's facial
expression received extra attention because Cloud speaks with his eyes instead
of his mouth. If you study Advent Children/Complete closely, Cloud's face tends to get
the most focus whenever Aerith is near. His expressions are seen closely in
scenes such as the flower field when he’s back to back with Aerith, when he
thinks of Aerith at the Seventh Heaven, when he sees Aerith in the Bahamut
battle, and when he lets Aerith’s healing rain wash over his face. However, the
greatest focus given to Cloud's face is when he breaks into a beautiful smile
when looking at Aerith at the end of the movie. From the Reunion Files:
When Cloud regained consciousness, he found
himself in the Church. He saw the familiar faces of his friends and the orphans
watching over him, and a smile slowly spread across his face. Aerith and Zack
stand beyond the door, watching over them. At last, Cloud is no longer alone.
...Then Cloud finally fights with Sephiroth, the kids gather around him by the
water, he smiles, and Aerith smiles and watches them from a distance...
~Tetsuya Nomura, Reunion Files
Notice that there is no mention of Cloud's "special smile
just for Tifa".
In comparison, there are only two moments in Advent Children/Complete when Tifa gives
Cloud a meaningful look. One is the scene already mentioned when Tifa smiles at
Cloud after he regains consciousness in Aerith’s Church, which Cloud doesn’t
reciprocate. The other is when Tifa stares determinedly at Cloud before tossing
him into the air during the Bahamut battle. Cloud's expression, however, wasn’t
even shown after Tifa gives him this meaningful look, which indicates that the
creators didn’t consider it to be important.
Cloud's body language also tends to be quite different in the movie when he is
near Aerith, as opposed to Tifa. He spends half of his time on screen with Tifa
with his back to her, or he isn't looking at her at all. Compare this with Cloud
straining to turn and see Aerith in the flower field, looking intensely into
Aerith’s eyes during the Bahamut battle, reaching out for Aerith, taking her
hand, and watching her every move during the ending of Advent Children/Complete. After
Cloud’s first meeting with Aerith in the flower field when he attempts to turn
around and see her, Cloud spends the rest of the movie looking directly into
Aerith's eyes, facing her, and reaching out for her.
At the end of the movie, Cloud sees Aerith near the doorway of the church. As he
walks toward her, he also sees Zack standing in the doorway. From the moment
Cloud's eyes land on Aerith, Tifa is completely ignored. Aerith tells Cloud that
everything will be alright, smiles tenderly at him, and then walks into the
light. Zack waves at Cloud and follows Aerith out of the church and back into
the Lifestream. It is during this moment that Cloud states:
"I know. I'm not alone... not anymore...."
Cloud then rides off on Fenrir down a sunlit highway, as
if he is going somewhere. In Calling, Aerith is shown standing alone in a flower field.
Then, she suddenly turns, as if sensing the approach of someone. Cloud hasn't
passed her by yet, he is merely on the outskirts of the flower field. Cloud
reaches the flower field and begins riding through it, the pink ribbon still on
his arm, fluttering in the wind; the flowers stretch for miles and miles. The
camera follows him no further. In the background, a song entitled Calling is
playing during the entire scene. This song was especially picked by Tetsuya
Nomura, who said this about the song:
In the scene where it plays I'm trying to portray
the message of the film and Cloud's feelings through silence and the song. I
think people will feel the persuasive power of the song when they view the
scene. ~Tetsuya Nomura
This ending was changed at the end of Advent Children Complete. Although Aerith is no longer seen waiting in the flower fields, the road that Cloud
travels is still surrounded by flower fields. Nomura specifically says in
the Reunion Files that this location was chosen because the flowers on either
side of the road are the same color as the flowers in Aerith's Church:
In keeping with the notion that Cloud is in the live action world in the end, we filmed the video for the ending credits in Hawaii. There are fields of flowers on both sides of the road, and the colors - yellow and white - are the same as the flowers in Aerith's church." ~Nomura, Reunion Files, pg. 87
The location for the Safe and Sound video at the end of Advent Children Complete is the same as the location for the Calling video, so it's safe to assume that it was picked for the same reason. In the same way as the Calling video, there is nothing seen of Cloud's return to the Seventh Heaven, which is significant. There is no meaningful reunion shown between Cloud, Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene. Instead, Cloud is shown out by himself on the road, surrounded by flowers chosen because they're the same color as the flowers in Aerith's Church.
If the creators had indeed wanted to show that Cloud had “moved on”, that closure had been brought to his relationship with Aerith, and that he was now ready to settle down with Tifa in a loving relationship, such a message would have been more easily portrayed by having Cloud go back to the Seventh Heaven and taking Tifa into his arms.
Instead, Cloud is shown alone on his motorcycle riding amidst Aerith's flowers. The only thing seen of Tifa during the ending is that she is pictured with all of Cloud's friends from Avalanche along with Marlene and Denzel in a framed picture on his desk. In front of that picture, taking center stage, lie flowers from the flower fields surrounding the road during the ending sequence. Numerous photographs of those same flower field are also shown scattered over the top of his desk and tacked to the walls. The pictures and bouquet make it clear that Cloud visits there often, hinting that Aerith remains part of Cloud’s life.
The new Safe and Sound video at the end of Advent Children Complete finishes with a picture of the interior of Aerith's Church. Why end the movie - Cloud's story - at the Church instead of at the Seventh Heaven? Typically, movies end with something significant to the main character. This makes it obvious that Aerith's Church continues to be a place of significance in Cloud's life and that he intends to visit there often.
Cloud is no longer alone because he has been reunited with Aerith and Zack. The subtle clues in Advent Children/Complete all point to Cloud continuing to love Aerith and keeping her alive in his heart.
Advent Children Love Triangle FAQ
See these essays for more discussion of Cloud and Tifa in AC:
More About Cloud and Tifa's Relationship
Friends vs. Family: Cloud Living with Tifa
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~ Script excerpts taken from the Advent Children Script at Oritsuru