Thanks to ayatoujohime for the inspiration!

First, I think we know what happened: Aerith is dead.

But the Game Theorist analyzes the series and thought maybe she did die and that cloud actually killed her. You can check the theory below:

The theory says Cloud killed Aerith. I won’t give away how, here, so please watch the video. I think it’s one of the best Game Theory the Game Theorist has theorized. Heh. Now course, these theories don’t impress everyone. Sure, speculation is great. However, not everyone has the patience to sit around and think of alternative theories. Some people just want this theory to die a violent death, much like Aerith did. Ayatoujohime wrote this about the theory:

First and foremost, sorry for my spelling of Aeris. It’s the one I grew up with and therefore find as the most comfortable to use.

Now, for the uninitiated, it’s the Sephiroth didn’t kill Aeris; he just incapacitated her theory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEJ_3_wYROc&feature=channel_video_title

It’s already 2018 and people are still circulating that shit on Facebook. Ugh. It’s just animators not having a grasp on what an instantly fatal stab would look like; all there is to it. They’re not combatants or healthcare professionals, so they get a bit of a pass if they get it slightly wrong. Artistic license, anyone?

And why is there no blood on Aeris but there’s blood in other stuff, like walls and Sephiroth’s head? Well, duh, they can’t have blood spurting out because of direct violence. It was the 90’s; ESRB was still very anal about the ratings. Ever notice how Cloud and co never draw blood from anyone they hit?

I myself like crazy game theories. And Game Theories (the channel) is usually intelligent. But when it gets so overused, to the point that meme-loving younger millennials and Gen-Z kids who just recently got into FF7 take it as gospel canon truth, then it very much should die.

Animators not having a grasp on what a fatal stab wound would look like? Well, yes, that’s partly it. And this scene contains a lot of technical issues. Throughout the Aerith Death FMV:

• Aeris and Cloud face different directions
• gloves and accessories disappear and reappear inexplicably
• Cloud’s standing in what appears to be a bottomless pool

I think the animators forgot or even purposefully neglected, to include blood in the finished product. I don’t blame them. If the title were rated M, many kids wouldn’t have seen this game. So not animating blood was probably a conscious choice. Then, this could mean that Sephiroth killed Aerith, and Cloud did nothing wrong.