I Can’t Sleep - Sephiroth | Peaceful Bedtime Reading for Sleep

Episode Date: September 15, 2024

Unwind with this calm bedtime reading about Sephiroth, one of the most iconic characters from the Final Fantasy series. Benjamin’s soothing narration explores Sephiroth’s origins, story, and lasting cultural impact, all shared in a steady and peaceful cadence. With fact-filled storytelling—no whispers, no hypnosis—this episode is designed to ease insomnia, quiet restless thoughts, and help you gently learn while you relax. Perfect for fans of gaming, fantasy, or anyone seeking rest. Press play, let go of the day, and drift into sleep with the story of Sephiroth. Want More? Request a Topic: https://www.icantsleeppodcast.com/request-a-topic Ad-Free Episodes: https://icantsleep.supportingcast.fm/ Shop Sleep-Friendly Products: https://www.icantsleeppodcast.com/sponsors Join the Discussion on Discord: https://discord.gg/myhGhVUhn7 This content is derived from the Wikipedia article on Sephiroth, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. Read the full article: Wikipedia – Sephiroth. Happy sleeping! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to a Glassbox media podcast. What if I told you that most of the modern day self-help advice you've been hearing could actually make you worse? The key to a better life isn't about feel-good gimmicks that sound catchy. The Mentally Stronger Podcast gives you access to a licensed therapist who shares science-backed tools that will actually change your life. Hi, I'm Amy Morin, psychotherapist, mental strength trainer, and international best-selling author. In each episode, we cover research-back strategies, like how to stop relying on willpower and start creating habits for lasting change. And the five mental strength-building exercises you can do from your couch. I also speak to world-class experts like Dr. Nicole Kane, who shares how to permanently heal anxiety by addressing the root cause.

With over 200 episodes in our catalog, this podcast is for you if you're ready to crush self-doubt, conquer challenges, become stronger than ever with therapist-approved strategies that can change your life. Listen to Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice. I'm your host, Benjamin Boster. Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled, Seferoth, Final Fantasy. Sephyroth is a character from the Final Fantasy video game series developed by Square, appearing as the main antagonist of Final Fantasy 7,

a former soldier of the Mega Corporation Shinra and the co-worker of Zach Fair and Superior of Cloudstrive. He possesses superhuman physiology as a result of an experiment in which Shinra injected him with cells from the extraterrestrial life form, Genova. 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 7. Additionally, he appears as a guest

character and other video games and media, such as a recurring boss in the Kingdom Heart series, and as a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura conceived and designed Sephraoth as an antagonist and foiled to Cloud, as he rejects his identity in order to fulfill what he believes to be his destiny. While Cloud reaffirms his self-worth amidst a similar crisis of identity, in Japanese, Sephiroth has been voiced by the character actor Toshi Yuki Morikawa and the majority of his appearances. He was voiced by Shin Ichoromiki in Ergaze

and Yuchiro Omahara as young Sephiroth in Ever Crisis. In English, Sephiroth has been voiced by L. Lance Bass in Kingdom Hearts 2002, and by George Newborn in Kingdom Hearts 2, 2005, and the compilation of Final Fantasy 7 meta series 2004 to present. In Final Fantasy 7 remake, he was voiced by Tyler Hecklin, a role he reprises in the remastered Crisis Corps, Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, 2022, replacing Newburn's English performance in the original release. 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. Sephraath was a collaborative effort between Yoshinuri Katase, Tetsuya Nomura, and scenario writer Kazushige Nojima. Katase says back when he was designing Sephraoth, you had villains like Darth Vader and Thanos,

who were absolute evil powers. All of these different characters have these different ideals about where they think the world should be and how it should change. The conflict between them is clear in the remake, the idea of multiple possibilities in worlds that could happen, which will become clear in later installments. Looking at the villain, he was a heroic soldier operative just like Cloud was,

more experienced, and Sephroth was an idol to the people. A character like that turning evil was the kind of appeal he was going for. Katase believes that inspirations for Sephiroth came from a lot of different places. Katase further said Sephiroth is not a copy of one character, but taking different aspects and merging them together, resulting in the character shown in the game.

In regards to his characterization, the character does not see himself as an evil being, but instead a chosen man to accomplish a goal. Changing the world throughout his chaos will reach the promised land, which is the opposite of what Cloud's group wants. Sephraoth was designed by Final Fantasy Seven's character designer Tetsuya Namura. Nomura has stated that Sephraoth was made to be a contrast to the game's main protagonist, Cloud, who was originally designed to have slicked back black hair. Kitasay believes Sephiroth's role in Final Fantasy 7 to be one of the main reasons for the game's popularity.

His name was derived from the Kabbalah, in which the ten Sephora on the Tree of Life, represent the ten attributes through which God reveals himself. His character and role as main antagonist existed from the earliest stages of development, as originally Numerra thought that the game's plot would deal exclusively with Cloud strife pursuing him. His weapon, the Masamune, which has been featured in numerous Final Fantasy titles, is an elongated nodachi that he learned to use during his days in soldier. The Masamune is named after the famous Japanese swordsmith, Oro Noyudo Masamune, whose blades are considered national treasures in Japan. When designing Cloud and Sephraoth,

Nomura was influenced by his view of their rivalry mirroring the legendary animosity between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro. With Cloud and Sephiroth being Musashi and Kojiro, respectively, Sephiroth's look was defined as Kakoi, a Japanese term combining good looks with coolness. Yoshitaka Amano, who had handled character illustrations for previous Final Fantasy titles, noted a contrast between Cloud, a young, passionate boy, and Sephraoth, a more mature and cool individual, as intriguing, though not unusual as a pairing. Nomura wanted Sephiroth to appear early on in the game and then have the plot deal with the protagonist following him, so that gamers would not meet the final boss until extremely late in the game. Sephroth was initially going to be

Arith Gainsborough's sibling as indicated by their similar hairstyles Later, however, he was changed to Arith's past love, whom she would remember upon Meeting Cloud. This character was then changed to Zach Fair and Seferos' prior relationship with Arith was dropped. In early drafts of the game,

Sefroh's personality was brutal and cruel, with a strong-willed and calm ego. He was to suffer from Makco addiction, resulting in a semi-conscious state as a result of high exposure to Mako energy. Sefroath was also intended to manipulate Cloud into believing that he was a creation of his will, but this aspect of the story was later abandoned. In another cut scene, when Sefroffroth's physical body is first seen in the northern crater, it was to be female. Jason Greenberg, the only artist working on the original PC port, recalled a crash bug that happened during Sephiroth's supernova technique.

Near the end of the development cycle, many team members were done with their work and helped to test the game as much as possible. Greenberg spent nearly 24 hours play testing battle during development, since his transformation into safer Sephiroth in the game's final battle, Sephiroth has had a single black wing on his back, referencing his theme song, One Winged Angel. While in Japanese, Toshi Yuki Murakawa consistently voiced Sephiroth, multiple actors voiced him in English,

Lance Bass, George Newburn, and Tyler Hecklin. Nomura has called Sephiroth the ultimate, antagonist in the Final Fantasy 7 saga. There can't be anyone else, and regards him as an enemy from a previous generation, in contrast to his remnants who appear in Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children. For Advent Children, the film's sequel to Final Fantasy 7, scriptwriter Kazeshigue Nogima thought that the film's plot would be less entertaining without Safferoth. His rival in the film was introduced in the early stages of development.

but the official decision as to how to bring him back was not reached until later. Nomura originally planned to have him appear from the start, but as it took the staff two years to develop his design, the idea of his presence throughout the film was scrapped, and it was decided instead to have him only appear on screen for a short time. Saffroth was designed for the film to emphasize his otherworldlyness, such as the fact that he has never seen blinking or breathing, and his voice is always monotone and calm. In the film, the staff stated that his strength had considerably increased to the point that he had

ascended to a new level of existence. Despite initially encountering problems as to who would voice him, Nomura said that once Morikawa auditioned for the role, they knew they had their actor. Morikawa was instructed by the staff to speak all of Sephiroth's dialogue as if he felt superior to every other character in the film. The voice director and Morikawa agreed to make Sefroh's voice sound calm to the point that he believes he cannot lose to cloud, suggesting to Morikawa that he may reappear at some point in the future. In the prequel Crisis Core,

Murakawa portrayed Sephraoth in a charismatic fashion, as early on Sephiroth is presented as a hero. The black wing that Sephiroth and the other Shinra experiments on Geoen Genesis show act as a sign of corruption. For Final Fantasy 7 remake, Yoshinori Katase wanted Sephiroth to have more scenes than in the original game, due to his popularity, and compared him with the build of the build of the film. the film Jaws. In the climax of the remake, Cloud encounters Sephiroth once again, and his swords following the fight were kept as ambiguous. While remake and rebirth focus on the adult Sephiroth, the mobile phone, Ever Crisis, and First Soldier, instead focus on Seferoth's

childhood, where he was given a more sensitive characterization, as he interacts with other characters related to soldier. Nomura reworked the design to fit properly, focusing more on his shorter hair. Yuichiro Umihara was shocked upon being cast for Sephiroth's role in the game, pressured due to how Morikawa already established Sheffero's popularity in previous installments. He was influenced by Morikawa's presence when recording for the game, to the point he feared Sephiroth did not sound as young as requested by the demand.

As a result, he often talked with the director and the rest of the staff about how he should sound. In Final Fantasy 7, Sephiroth is the focus of two pieces of music, written by series composer Nobuoamatsu. His primary theme is The Chosen by the Planet, a piece utilizing bells, low drums, and a deep chorus, which accompanies his appearances throughout the game. In the final battle, births of a god plays while the player fights Sephiroth's first form, Bizarro Sephiroth, also known as Reverse Sephyroth. The most well-known piece is one-winged angel, an angel with a wing on one side,

which is played during the final confrontation with Sephyroth. It contains Latin lyrics taken from sections of the Carmina Burana, In an interview featured on G4's Game Makers, formerly icons, Uymanatsu revealed that the piece was designed to be a fusion of the musical styles of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and rock musician Jimmy Hendricks. The song revolves around his character, as this was what Uematsu was thinking about when writing it. Two official covers have been done of the song. The first is an orchestration used in Kyixtrifice.

kingdom hearts, arranged by the series composer Yoko Shimura. The second is used in Advent Children, which plays throughout the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth, and features the progressive metal stylings of Nubuo Uamatsu's former band, The Black Mages, as well as orchestral elements and new lyrics. There is also a fourth version titled Vengeance on the World, which plays in Crisis Corps. Seferoth is the main antagonist in Final Fantasy 7. It is revealed over the course of the game that Seferoth was once the most powerful member of soldier, Shinra's elite military division, who was celebrated as a heroic veteran of the Shinra Wutai War. After the war, Sephraath was sent on a mission to the village of Niebelheim, where he discovered that he was

the product of a biological experiment that combined a human fetus with tissue from the extraterrestrial life form, Genova. Upon discovering the truth of his origins and the experiments that created him, Sephiroth developed an intense hatred for Shinra, which developed into hatred for all life. After learning that Genova, who he comes to consider his mother, attempted to take control of the planet 2,000 years ago, he decided to follow in her footsteps. and become a god who would rule over the planet. His plan to become a god is based upon his belief that he can merge with the planet's life stream, taking control of it and the planet itself. Sephraith makes several cameo appearances in the Final Fantasy 7 prequel before crisis,

in which he supports Shinra and their battle against the eco-terrorist organization Avalanche. The Niebelheim incident is also featured in the game. Ova Last Order also depicts the Niebuheim incident. Sephiroth also appears in Advent Children, a CGI film set two years after Final Fantasy 7. In the film, Kaddage, Laws and Yazoo, his remnants, tried to reincarnate him. Although Kadaj eventually succeeds, Cloud once again defeats Sephraoth, whose body changes back to Kadaj is upon his defeat.

Sephiroth is also the focus of the On the Way to a Smile novella, case of the live stream, black and white. The story is set after the end of Final Fantasy 7, but prior to the events of Advent children, and centers on Areth and Seferoth's journey through the life stream, and Sephiroth's creation of geostigma, a disease that affects anyone who came into contact with the tainted life stream. He is mentioned in dirge of Cerberus, a game set one year after Advent children,

in which his biological mother, Eccrescent, discusses the experiments which gave birth to him. He is one of the main characters in the Final Fantasy 7 prequel Crisis Core, in which he and protagonist Zach Faire search for two missing soldiers, Genesis Rhapsodos, and Angeal Hewley. This game also depicts the Nebelheim incident where Safferoth appears as a boss. Executive producer Yoshinori Kitase was pleased with Sephraoth's role in Crisis Corps, feeling that he was given a more human side. Sephraith appears in Final Fantasy 7 remake as the main antagonist.

While his role as a presumed dead Shinra soldier retained similar, Sephraoth now appears into the early hours in the game as an illusion to taunt cloud and warn him to leave the planet. He also projects himself as a Sephyroth clone named Marco. In the final hour, Sephra appears in the Shinra building. After the group escapes Shinra's troops, Sephraught awaits them at the end of the Midcar Expressway, where he acts as the final boss. Defeated, Sephroth spares cloud and gives Sifroth. him seven seconds until the end, before disappearing, leaving behind only a fallen black feather.

In Final Fantasy 7 rebirth, Sephraoth appears as a playable character and party member in the game's first chapter, Fall of a Hero, which depicts their survey for the Niebelheim's reactor and his villainous origins with the infamous Nebelheim incident. In the present time, Sephroth taunts Cloud again with illusions. He is then pursued by Cloud and the party, where they encounter Sephraoth clones as well. Sefros later manipulates Cloud into giving him the black materia to summon Meteor. When Ereth attempts to stop him by summoning Cloud into an alternate reality,

Sephroath appears behind and swiftly kills her, prompting the party to avenger. However, Sephiroth transforms as Seferoth, Reborn, and upon defeat flees in the northern regions. Sephardt's first appearance outside Final Fantasy 7 was as a selectable character in the fighting game Air Guides. A redesigned Sephraoth also appears in the North American and European versions of Kingdom Hearts as an optional boss character in Olympus Colosseum. Lance Bass voiced Sephiroth in the game, while in subsequent titles he was replaced by

George Newbern. In the Japanese release of the game, Final Mix, an additional scene was added in which Sephyroth fights Cloud, although the result of the fight is not revealed. Sephraoth was not included in the sequel Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, as director Tetsuya Namura could not give him a storyline related to Cloud, and feared negative fan response if Sephyroth did not have a notable role in the story. He reappears as an optional boss in Kingdom Hearts 2, where he is first encountered by the series protagonist Sora, and then Cloud, who is pursuing him. When Sephroff battles Cloud, both of them disappear, with Sora believing that they went somewhere else to continue their fight. Nomura said that in the game, Sephiroth represents Cloud's dark side, in contrast to Tifa Lockhart,

who represents his light side. Although Sephraoth does not appear in the prequel Kingdom Hearts birth by sleep, he is mentioned as a hero that Zach Faire aspires to be. The staff, however, did not know if they would portray him as a being of darkness like he was depicted as in other titles. Due to Sephroath's many appearances as a boss in the Kingdom Heart series, Square Enix decided he would not return in Kingdom Hearts 3, as it would be redundant.

Sephora also appears in the Itadaki Street Games special and portable as an unlockable playable, playable character. Sefraaz was also the representative villain of Final Fantasy 7 in Decidia Final Fantasy and is featured in his Final Fantasy 7 guise, while an alternative outfit features his safer Sephardth form. His fight against Cloud in the game was based on their fights from, Final Fantasy 7 and Advent Children. Along with the rest of the seven characters in Dicidia,

Sephiroth appears in the prequel, Desidia 012. The game includes a slightly altered Final Fantasy 7 form for Sephraoth, as well as his Kingdom Hearts form. Seferoth returns as a playable character opposite Cloud in the third entry, DeCidia NT. His form from Final Fantasy 7 remake also appeared in Final Fantasy Brave Xvius. He is featured in the Rhythm Game Theatarism Final Fantasy and its sequel, Curtain Call, as an unlockable character, representing Final Fantasy 7. He appears in the puzzle platform game Little Big Planet and its sequel as a character model. Media Molecules, Alex Evans, felt honored that Sephraoth was allowed to appear in the games.

He also appeared as a cameo and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as a weapon, which was designed as a single black wing, representing Sephraoth's appearance during the final battle of Final Fantasy 7. Cephroth was included as a playable fighter in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate as the third fighter in Fighters Pass, Volume 2. Despite being officially released on December 22nd, 2020, he was made available five days prior for a limited time by an event called the Sephiroth Challenge,

in which the player must defeat him in a Final Fantasy-themed stamina match.