Anima is female (She/Her) in FFX and what that means in FFXIV

[Iscah]

Anima is female (She/Her) in FFX and what that means in FFXIV

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It does bring up some questions as to who she is in this game, but it would only make sense to continue using the same pronouns as the game that the material came from.

Anima being female in FFX doesn't inherently "mean" anything in terms of FFXIV at this point, except that there is a precedent for using feminine pronouns.

Her specific identity as Seymour's mother, on the other hand, could be a starting point for speculation as to Anima's role in FFXIV. Though it's also possible that they're just using it because it's a cool and monstrous design that fits the setting.

I would also make a distinction between Anima the summon and Seymour's mother who took on the form of Anima, but the lack of other instances makes it hard to separate them. (As I understand, FFX is the only real instance of Anima, and any other references are specifically to the FFX identity of the summon.) If she had instead taken on the identity of a more familiar summon like Ifrit, would we argue that every instance of Ifrit must be female?

While it's wrong to default to "he", I'm hesitant to assume it must be female here as well.

In the case of the FF series there's more of an excuse because they don't necessarily rely on each other, but I still think it'd be really weird if Shiva appeared as a dude.
There's just certain things that are established and repeated to the point you begin to expect certain things.

I don't see any reason for it to be inherently weird to have a male Shiva, particularly when her exact design changes from game to game. There's no reason why they couldn't apply the overall concept of her design to a male character.

Maybe she's Hydaelyn

Anyone seen Zenos mom lately? My guess is that.

Both interesting concepts! I've toyed with the idea of it being Hydaelyn-related too, not because I particularly want it, but it could intersect with a number of things - mother-figure, imprisoned primal, tormented soul... and reading through the entry on the FF Wiki reminded me that we ultimately have to fight and defeat our summons there to bring an end to the state that Spira is in.

[Lanadra]

I really don't see how or why Anima's gender even matters. Anima will likely be a boss to kill, that's it. I don't ponder Ifrit's gender, nor Garuda's.. I kill them. I also doubt rather strongly that Anima would be offended if someone 'misgendered' her, it's a fictional character.

[Lauront]

Both interesting concepts! I've toyed with the idea of it being Hydaelyn-related too, not because I particularly want it, but it could intersect with a number of things - mother-figure, imprisoned primal, tormented soul... and reading through the entry on the FF Wiki reminded me that we ultimately have to fight and defeat our summons there to bring an end to the state that Spira is in.

Given the resemblance to the Amano artwork, I think it's quite possible that it will relate to one or both of them. You can always throw in other references to, e.g. Zenos goes for her power and the warped idea of his mother manifests in such a spawn - that would tie in with how such things are known to work. But I think an easier explanation is the warped remaining consciousness of either Zodiark or Hydaelyn. The "clutter" to clear away before the Primal is fully battle-ready again, if you will, and ready to accommodate a new "heart". Perhaps it is just another beastie Fandaniel unleashes, but it's hard to ignore the similarities between Anima and the Amano art, with their connected "body".

Edit: Reflecting on it, I actually see now where the idea might make sense. Zenos has visions of the Final Days. So far we see little suggesting that's enabled him to "hear" Hydaelyn. Also, a friend of mine pointed out that her "call" - "Hear, think, feel" - bears in it the elements of the Final Days. Hear: the Sound; Feel: fear, terror etc.; Think: usage of creation magicks to manifest the monsters. One wonders how Zenos will react to hearing such a message, especially as he may well have some mommy issues. Viewed in that light, perhaps we will see some warped mother-figure enter the picture.

[Vahlnir]

I really don't see how or why Anima's gender even matters. Anima will likely be a boss to kill, that's it. I don't ponder Ifrit's gender, nor Garuda's.. I kill them. I also doubt rather strongly that Anima would be offended if someone 'misgendered' her, it's a fictional character.

I don't think most people would care, to be honest. I know I wouldn't. This thread is pointless, in my opinion.

[Jennah]

I don't ponder Ifrit's gender, nor Garuda's...

Well, I *didn't*, until 5.3 mentioned Azem fighting "Ifrita"

[JisKing98]

Plottwist its the new 3rd summon for summoners

[Jade3173]

Well, I *didn't*, until 5.3 mentioned Azem fighting "Ifrita"

wonder if Ramewl and Shivalry will get name dropped

[Kikoten]

It's a hunch, and I haven't read through the thread before posting, but I gather that the OP is asking about gender to narrow down whom, singularly or tribally, Anima may or may not come from. I haven't played FFX, but going off everything I've read, Anima's gender is likely attached to who's responsible for conceiving it. So that makes me wonder: who will be responsible for Anima's presence?

I'm betting Fordola.

EDIT: ...or the Warrior of Light. Because hey, Azem could have been a male or female, right?

[Iscah]

It's a hunch, and I haven't read through the thread before posting, but I gather that the OP is asking about gender to narrow down whom, singularly or tribally, Anima may or may not come from.

Why would you come into the middle of a discussion, without reading it, to give a theory on what is being discussed?

And there's no need to assume that Anima is summoned by anyone in particular, especially when we increasingly have non-summoned trial bosses and a whole new class of monsters from the Final Days.

Even if it's summoned, the summoners are more likely to be from a place that we'll explore during the expansion.

[Kikoten]

Why would you come into the middle of a discussion, without reading it, to give a theory on what is being discussed?

And there's no need to assume that Anima is summoned by anyone in particular, especially when we increasingly have non-summoned trial bosses and a whole new class of monsters from the Final Days.

Even if it's summoned, the summoners are more likely to be from a place that we'll explore during the expansion.

Read the entire thread after I got home. It'd be totally wild if Anima predates even Zodiark/Hydaelin.