Yuj (ユージュ, Yūju?) is a non-playable character in Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2. He is a member of NORA and a 19-year-old man standing at 181 cm in Final Fantasy XIII and is 22 years old in Final Fantasy XIII-2.[1]
In the demo included with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, Yuj's appearance is made to look like a generic NPC because his design was yet to be finalized. His final design features blue hair and feathers decorating his attire.
Datalog
Final Fantasy XIII
Template:See Also A junior member of NORA, Yuj is a kindhearted young man with an insatiable interest in fashion. Though he lacks the same courage as Snow and Gadot in dangerous situations, his calming influence make him an invaluable asset to the team.
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Template:See Also NORA is a vigilante group of young do-gooders from the Cocoon town of Bodhum. No strangers to fending for themselves, the group went on to found the settlement of New Bodhum in the harsh environment of Pulse.
NORA consists of four core members: the intimidating Gadot, Snow's right-hand man; the amiable mood maker, Yuj; the mechanical genius, Maqui; and the NORA House resident chef, Lebreau.
Snow, NORA's founding member, is presently away from New Bodhum.
Appearance and Personality
Yuj has feathery blue hair and striking hazel eyes. He wears a orange shirt with a subtle yellow gradient, with a dark red, long-sleeved shirt underneath, as well as black leather pants and black leather boots. His pants have a bag sewn in on the right hip, and he dons a scarf and feathers that he wears tucked into his belt. The belt appears to be made up of multiple links of metal with a small pattern pressed into them. He wears a necklace with a leather square that has the same patterns as the belt embossed upon it and a metal pendant over his clothing.
Official concept art.
Yuj has an upbeat and cheery personality. He seems mature compared to the other members of NORA, and is as rational and level-headed. However, he can be vain and narcissistic. He is fond of cats and grooms and takes care of Serah's cat, Snow, once Serah leaves on her journey.
Due to comments made during flashbacks in Final Fantasy XIII-2, it is probable that Yuj thinks of NORA more as his family than a group of friends.
Story
Final Fantasy XIII
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Lebreau tells Yuj and Maqui to "grow up".
Yuj is first met when he shows his antipathy to the Sanctum and the Primarch who call the extermination of innocent people the 'migration'. He watches over kids with fellow NORA members Maqui, Gadot and Lebreau, while the NORA leader, Snow, goes to the Pulse Vestige searching for his fiancée Serah.
Later, Yuj reappears in Eden, where he and the other NORA members scold Snow for 'heroing' alone without the aid of his NORA buddies. During a flashback scene, Yuj can also be seen sitting at the cafe with Gadot.
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Template:Sideicon After Cocoon's fall NORA settles on Gran Pulse building a new town that comes to be known as New Bodhum. Sometime after Snow left the town to look for Serah's missing sister, Yuj found a cat and brought her to the NORA house. After discussing who would take care of the cat, he said they all will as they are like a big family. Yuj was the one who possibly named the cat 'Snow'.
Yuj and Maqui shooting at rift beasts.
Yuj, along with Gadot, Maqui, and Lebreau, fights off the monsters when New Bodhum is attacked. While Serah, Mog, and Noel travel to the Meteorite Impact Site they met Yuj who questions Serah about her new outfit. Later, he, Maqui, and Gadot try to deceive Noel from taking Serah on a journey to find Lightning, stating that it's impossible.
When Serah, Mog, and Noel are about to leave New Bodhum, Lebreau catches Yuj, Gadot, and Maqui eavesdropping. Yuj admits to combing the cat and proclaims himself as her keeper while Serah is not there to look after her.
A dream version of Yuj is met later in Serah's dream world where she enters after being defeated by Caius Ballad in the Void Beyond. He shows concern when Serah voices that she is confused and offers to carry her; however, Serah turns him down, saying that she's "not that sick".
After Serah and Noel have opened the Time Gate to Academia 500 AF, they can return to New Bodhum where the members of NORA bid them good luck, Yuj included.
Final Fantasy XIII: Reminiscence -tracer of memories-
A "polaroid" of NORA.
NORA members' souls found their way to the new world where they were reincarnated and established a restaurant, the "Nora House". One day, a reporter investigating the stories of people having memories of a past life in another world visits the restaurant and orders the Nora Special. The taste triggers a flood of memories, and the reporter recalls her past life: she was Aoede, a reporter caught up in the Purge who helped expose Sanctum's lies by airing Purge footage with the help of broadcast hacks by Maqui. The members of NORA remember Aoede and Lebreau tells her where to find Serah.
Creation and Development
According to the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, Yuj's final appearance was practically finished by the time the demo was made, but there was still disagreement in the development team on whether to green-light the design or use a less flamboyant one, which is why the demo had a placeholder appearance.
Voice
Yuj is voiced by Wataru Hatano in the Japanese version and Jeff Fischer in the English version.
Other Appearances
Final Fantasy Artniks
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Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Template:Sideicon Yuj appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game with a Water-elemental card, depicting his artwork for Final Fantasy XIII.
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Gallery
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Trivia
Demo version of Yuj.
- A reference in Final Fantasy XIII is made to Yuj's changed appearance since the demo, stating that he went to Eden and got a "whole new look".
- This is further alluded in Final Fantasy XIII-2 when Yuj asks Serah about her new outfit and calling the meteorite a new fashion designer.
- In "LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII - Inside the Square" promotional video, Yuj's original appearance is seen once again.[2]
- The textures on Yuj's model end in such a way that the seam for his head textures runs down the middle of his face. This essentially means that his face is perfectly symmetrical.
References
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