"I am Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon! The son of the warrior, Seto!"

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Red XIII

Tidus/Zidane

"I am Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon! The son of the warrior, Seto!"

Red XIII

For all you people who don't know, Red XIII is a character from Final Fantasy VII. The only talking animal character in the game, Red XIII sure has is interesting. In fact, the character designer, Tetsuya Nomura, when interviewed, mentioned Red XIII as one of his best characters he designed. Although I agree that Red XIII certainly is inventive, I can't say the same for the other person he mentioned. Why he chose geeky Tidus over sexy Squall is beyond me. The only reason I could of was the fact he -is- a guy and therefore wouldn't see it that way, unless he's gay, which I doubt he is.

Stats

Job: Research Specimen
Age: 48
Weapon: Headdress
Height: 3'9"
Birthdate: Unknown
Birthplace: Cosmo Canyon
Blood Type: Unknown
Just as his name implies, he is an animal with fire-red fur. But under his fierce exterior is an intelligence surpassing that of any human's. His sharp claws and fangs make him good at close-range fighting, but other than that, not much is known about him. It's not even certain that "Red XIII" is his real name. A real enigma.

About Red XIII

Although he is 48 years old, he is actually still a teenager, because his race is an ancient, long-lived species. He is the equivalent of a 15/16 year old human. He shows more maturity than a typical teenager, however. The role of his race is to defend Cosmo Canyon and the people within from invaders. He is still too young, however, to take his place as the next guardian.

Red XIII's real name is Nanaki. When captured by SHINRA, Hojo named him Red XIII. Red for his fur, and XIII for the tattoo on his shoulder. He was the 13th specimen in his experiments. Once rescued from SHINRA Headquarters in Midgar, Red XIII longed only to return to his hometown, but eventually joins Cloud and the gang on a quest to save the planet.

Red XIII's Past

Not much is actually known about his past, although he is the last of his species. What we do know is that a while back, the canyon was attacked by the Gi tribe. Instead of defending the village, Red XIII's father, Seto, ran off to save his hide, leaving his mate and the people to fend for themselves. Red XIII's mother died at the canyon, and he had hated his father ever since.

When he was reunited at the canyon, his grandfather, Bugenhagen (a floating guy with no legs), told him the truth about his father. There is a cave that led to the back of the canyon. Seto entered the cave alone, fighting hordes of attackers. Outside, he continued to fight, but he was unable to return to the village, for his body was turned to stone by the poison arrows of the Gi tribe.

At the request of his mother and his father, the cave was sealed, and he promised never to tell a living soul about the incident, and thus Red XIII thought his father had ran away.

Here is a scene from the game:

Bugenhagen
"Nanaki, I want you to continue your journey with Cloud and the others."

Red XIII
"Grandpa!?"

Bugenhagen
"Listen, Nanaki."

(Bugenhagen floats back and forth.)

Bugenhagen
"Cloud says they are trying to save the planet. Honestly, I don't think it can be done. For even if they stop every reactor on the planet, it's only going to postpone the inevitable. Even if they stop Sephiroth, everything will perish."

(Bugenhagen stops and looks at Red XIII.)

Bugenhagen
"But, Nanaki. I've been thinking lately. I've been thinking if there was anything WE could do. As a part of the planet, something to help a planet already in misery...No matter what happens, isn't it important to try? Am I just wishing against fate?"

(He shakes his head)

Bugenhagen
"I am too old to do anything about it...This year, I'll be 130. Ho Ho Hoooo."

(He raises his arms)

Bugenhagen
"That is why, Nanaki, you must go with them! For my sake."

(He stops and hovers.)

Red XIII
"Grandpa..."

(Bugenhagen floats away from Red XIII.)

Bugenhagen
"I wanted to show you your real father before you left...I'm so glad that you came back while I was still alive to show you."

(Red XIII shakes his head.)

Red XIII
"Grandpa... don't talk like that. I don't want to think of life... without you....."

(Bugenhagen starts bouncing, then stops)

Bugenhagen
"Ho Ho Hoooo. Well, I've had a long life."

(Red XIII stands up courageously.)

Red XIII
"Grandpa! You must live! I'll see to it. I'll see to what's happening to the planet. And I'll come back to tell you."

(Bugenhagen turns towards him)

Bugenhagen
"Nanaki..."

(Red XIII leaps forward.)

Red XIII
"I am Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon! The son of the warrior, Seto! I'll come back a warrior true to that noble name! So please, Grandpa..."

(Red XIII looks up. The camera pans up; small drops of water are falling from above.)

Bugenhagen
"That's... Seto's..... Seto....."

Red XIII
"Seto... Fa... Father...."

(Red XIII leaps to the highest point on the rock structure and howls up to the moon, and Seto. The camera pans up to show Seto, tears falling from stone eyes.)

Wasn't that sad? It's much sadder when you're actually playing, though, so if you don't think that was sad, then that's okay.

Odd things about Red XIII

Attacking

For an animal with sharp teeth and claws, Red XIII never actually uses them in battle, aside from his limit breaks. In a normal battle, he instead uses a headdress to attack, which is certainly odd. He rushes up and peforms a forward somersault. Wouldn't it be easier to just run up and slash with his claws??? How can a headdress hurt anyone anyway?

What animal?

Although he doesn't look any known big cat (lion, tiger, etc), he does have the unmistakenable feline form, such as the nose and body shape, and yet looks decidedly canine as well, due to his long muzzle. His actual species has remained a great mystery, which is still debated even to this day.

Why a cat? -has a feline body.
-has a cat-shaped nose.
-has a 'mane' of sorts on his back, although it resembles more like a horse's mane than a lion's.
-has cat-shaped tail.
-walks like a cat.

Why a dog? -has a canine muzzle.
-has canine-shaped ears.
-has the ability to howl.

So is he a dog or a cat? I guess it's up to you to decide, as there doesn't seem to be a definite answer. As for me, I'll just call him a catdog, as he shares the traits of both.

Pictures

All the in game images were screengrabbed by me while playing the game. The official artwork was taken from various sites.

Red XIII official artwork
Red XIII giant official artwork
Red XIII battle
Red XIII
Red XIII in FMV
Red XIII in FMV
Red XIII in disguise
Red XIII in menu screen
Red XIII victory pose in battle
Red XIII victory pose in battle
Red XIII taking a nap at Cosmo Canyon
Red XIII in thought
Red XIII rendered
Red XIII rendered