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Anima is a fal'Cie from Final Fantasy XIII, also referred to as "the Pulse fal'Cie". Anima resides at the top of a large structure that is laid out like a maze on the inside, known as the Pulse Vestige to the people of Cocoon. It is a mechanical being with a glowing crystal core.

Datalog[]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

This fal'Cie had been hibernating deep within the Bodhum Vestige. It branded Serah, as well as Lightning, Snow, and the others, condemning them all to the grim fate of Pulse l'Cie. Although it appears Anima was brought to Cocoon in the Vestige centuries ago, Sanctum authorities had no knowledge of the alien stowaway's presence. Its discovery, and the resultant fear that Bodhum’s population may have been tainted by its magic, spawned the Purge.

Story[]

Final Fantasy XIII[]

Oerba Ultimania concept

Pulse Vestige in Oerba before the War of Transgression.

Before the War of Transgression and being moved to Cocoon, Anima was located in the village of Oerba on Gran Pulse and was the village patron protecting it from hostile wildlife. During the war Anima branded Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille as l'Cie, giving them the Focus to transform into Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon. Goddess Etro placed the l'Cie in crystal stasis before the task was complete, and the l'Cie's crystallized forms were placed near their fal'Cie in the structure where Anima resided.

Cocoon was damaged in the attack and looted Gran Pulse for repair materials. Anima's throne with the crystallized l'Cie still inside was lifted up into Cocoon and became Cocoon's Pulse Vestige located in the town of Bodhum. Anima remained dormant within the closed-up Vestige for the next 500 years until the l'Cie came out of their crystal stasis and left the building. With the door to the Vestige open, a local girl, Serah Farron, ventured inside and encountered Anima, who turned her into a l'Cie. PSICOM discovered the Vestige and a squadron of soldiers entered the building, all of whom were branded l'Cie, and turned into Cie'th. The Vestige was closed off, and when Serah and her fiancé Snow Villiers tried to re-enter it, Serah jumped onto a ledge on the Vestige from Snow's aerobike and got trapped by silver substance emerging from the Vestige, being taken as the fal'Cie's prisoner. Afterward, PSICOM moved the Vestige to the barred-off Hanging Edge area with Anima still inside.

Anima Hanging Edge

Lightning and Sazh stand before the Pulse Vestige that contains Anima.

Lightning, Snow Villiers, Sazh Katzroy, Oerba Dia Vanille, and Hope Estheim enter the ruins to find Serah. She asks Lightning to save Cocoon, then crystallizes. Snow believes she is merely resting in crystal sleep, but Lightning believes Serah to be dead. The group confronts Anima, who battles them, and brands them Pulse l'Cie. The group is transported to an alternate dimension where the god Pulse implants eidoliths somewhere on their bodies, turning them into l'Cie.[note 1] PSICOM attacks Anima with lasers, obliterates Hanging Edge, and Anima falls into Lake Bresha, crystallizing it. It is assumed this means the fal'Cie's death. In Final Fantasy XIII Gaiden Shōsetsu: Yumemiru Mayu, Akatsuki ni Otsu, it is revealed that the shockwave of Anima's crystallizing of Lake Bresha emanated throughout Cocoon and temporarily disabled all fal'Cie.

When Anima marked Serah as l'Cie, she saw a vision of Ragnarok. Barthandelus tells Lightning's group that Serah's Focus was to "assemble the tools for Cocoon's destruction", i.e. to gather fresh l'Cie to become Ragnarok. However, when Vanille met Serah on the beach of New Bodhum, the latter claimed she "dreamed she destroyed the world". Remembering this, both Vanille and Snow come to believe Serah's Focus was to also become Ragnarok, but that she overcame it and turned to crystal despite defying it.

Final Fantasy XIII-2[]

Serah and Noel Kreiss encounter a Proto fal'Cie, called Adam, that greatly resembles Anima, but although they retain the same appearance, they are not the same entity. It is unknown why the Proto fal'Cie resembles the Pulse fal'Cie, but it is possible Hope chose the design of a lowerworld fal'Cie to avoid similarities to the Sanctum ones. The Proto fal'Cie's Cie'th take form of Pulse Cie'th as well.

Spoilers end here.

Gameplay[]

In Final Fantasy XIII, Anima is fought as a boss at the Pulse Vestige by Lightning, Snow, and Sazh.

Another boss in its likeness was planned for the game at one point, Nemesis, but the DLC it was planned for was never made. This boss model was reused as Adam for Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]

FFRK Anima FFXIII

Anima from Final Fantasy XIII appears as an enemy.

Mobius Final Fantasy[]

Anima appears as a light-element ability card. Its artwork was illustrated by Jeremy Chong.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Anima is a feminine Latin and Italian noun for "soul" or "breath". Ancient Romans believed that one's anima resided in the chest; when a person died, his or her soul escaped from the body with the breath. Anima was associated with emotion and the heart; its metaphysical counter part, animus, was manifested in the brain and in one's sense of logic.

In Jungian psychology, the Anima can be defined as two things:

  • One's inner self, which is in contact with the subconscious, as opposed to one's outward persona.
  • The subconscious (yet partially conscious) female psychological qualities, which Jung said reside in all males and is usually an aggregate of a man's mother, but may also incorporate aspects of sisters, aunts, and other important female figures.

Anima Sola, or lonely soul in Roman Catholicism, is usually pictured as a soul in Purgatory who has chains that bound her wrists, which when broken, mean she has repented for her sins. The Anima Sola requires not only divine assistance, but also the help of the living.

Many fal'Cie in Final Fantasy XIII are named after summoned monsters from past Final Fantasy games. Anima is named after Anima, the optional aeon from Final Fantasy X.

Notes[]

  1. When Anima brands the party as l'Cie, they enter a dark realm where church bells chime. An entity with a man's face with one half of the face covered enters from a crystal structure and brands the party with the brand of the l'Cie. This entity is revealed in the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega to be the god Pulse; the fal'Cie are the ones who choose the l'Cie, but the gods are the ones who do the branding. The dark realm where the party is seen during this scene is in a different dimension, referred to as the "realm of the gods".
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