Has anyone else found it a little odd that Shinra has fan clubs for SOLDIER First Class members?
Fan clubs are exclusive to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, in which:
Zack Fair can join for the SOLDIER members Sephiroth, Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley. Depending on the player’s actions they can also cause a fourth fan club for Zack himself to rise.
They are:
- Keepers of Honor for Angeal
- Red Leather and Study Group for Genesis
- Silver Elite for Sephiroth
Fans can send email to each other about the lives of those in SOLDIER First Class. And as we see on the street of Sector 8, they fight over who’s the best.
From first glance, it seems like only women join. All of the fan club members you meet in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. And they swoon over their subject. I’m sure this is just a cynical portrayal of fans in real life. Sephiroth has a pretty big fanbase in the gaming community. Genesis acquired fans after his performance in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. And we all love Zack. I haven’t seen much about Angeal, though…
But fan clubs are probably why Cloud Strife and Genesis Rhapsodos idolize and join SOLDIER. They want to become heroes, and SOLDIER is useful propaganda for Shinra. America has something very similar.
Yet, fan clubs are the equivalent of a country making an action figure of a sitting General. But then again, maybe President Shinra was a reality TV show host at one point in his life? Perhaps this is a cynical take on capitalistic countries who market their war heroes to the general public?