Anime: Last Order: Final Fantasy VII

Critic’s Log - Earthdate: November 27, 2013. Supplemental Review: Last Order: Final Fantasy VII.

If you have played Final Fantasy VII and remembered the things shaped the events of the game, then this is for you… Here’s Last Order: Final Fantasy VII.

After the destruction of Nibelheim at the hands of Sephiroth, Zack and Cloud are on the run from the Shinra Corporation. As they make their way back to the town of Midgar, they recall the horrible events that happened at Nibelheim, as well as fight for survival against Shinra.

To be technical, this is a Studio Madhouse production and from what I can tell about this OVA is that this is what Final Fantasy VII would look like in Anime form, and this sort of a cool special for the Final Fantasy VII series. This was released as part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII however, this is the only entry that doesn’t take place before or after the original game. This entry takes place within the original game, except that it does not count within the series’ canon. This OVA was made as a little special for the fans of Final Fantasy VII. As a production standpoint, this OVA looks fantastic and that’s to be expected by Madhouse, but the animation isn’t perfect even though they could have done much more for something that’s only 25 minutes long. The character designs are okay but not jaw-dropping. Some of the animation does have some slight cheap effects. Most of the time, the animation is pretty good.


The music by Takeharu Ishimoto is the weakest factor of the whole OVA, it is forgettable, it has one memorable tune, and a remixed tune from the original game. Everything else is not worth going over and very forgettable. The soundtrack is just uninspired. Except for the ending theme yet that’s not memorable either.

As with the voice acting, I should point out that an English Dub does not exist in this OVA. Don’t ask me why, it just doesn’t. Takahiro Sakurai is good as Cloud. Kenichi Suzumura is okay as Zack, and Toshiyuki Morikawa is terrific as Sephiroth. The casting is good for the most part.

When it comes to characters, development isn’t such an issue except for some of the members of the Turks who I assume are from the game Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII. I don’t have much to say about characters because this takes place during the game for most of the scenes.

As with the story, it’s pretty much a recap of the events that took place in the game. The storytelling is awful in this special and it was meant to showcase the events in anime form. This may sound questionable for some fans of the game, but if you don’t mind this, then it shouldn’t be a problem. I hate to make this review short but I really don’t much to say about this OVA

Last Order: Final Fantasy VII is available by Sony Pictures. It was released alongside the Special Edition of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Since there was a quantity of 77,777 copies, my best guess is that it is out of print unless this was only in Japan.

With all that said, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII doesn’t really offer too much except that it is a nice extra treat for the Final Fantasy VII fans. This doesn’t add much to the Final Fantasy VII series, but it does showcase the events from the game well in anime form. It is a little unfortunate a dub does not exist. But with a forgettable soundtrack and the little time that this OVA has, I can honestly say that this is optional viewing.

I give Last Order: Final Fantasy VII a 4.3 out of 10, it is NOT REALLY GOOD!

Feel free to leave a comment.

Last Order is not needed to watch in order to understand the story of FF VII. What you watch in Last Order can be seen during the game (if you do the right steps, which wasn't my case).

Animation
The animation is ok, specially the fighting scenes which are very good. Background animation is ok, it is very dark because the action occurs mainly during the night so there isn't a big problem with the colors. The characters are well drawn and with the correct colors based on the game.

Sound
The sound in Last Order is not that good, is not catchy, unlike the game which had a marvelous OST. Background music was well chosen in the fighting scenes but they could have used more of the game.

Story
If you haven't played the game or known the story of it, Last Order will be a mess to you, confusing and with no sense, basically you are watching a piece of a huge puzzle. But if you played the game it will complete a part of the story of the game that you can miss if you don't go to the right place in the right time. Something good in the way the story is presented, is the many time changing present-past-present.

Characters
The characters do not evolve at all during the episode, and they don't have a proper introduction. You will find that there are more Turks than those you see in the game, and here you can see how the relationship between Zack and Cloud was.

Value
I could only recommend this OVA to those who played the game or know the story of the game, otherwise you won't understand a thing about it.

Enjoyment
I have enjoyed it, I have played the game so I understood the story, but in the end I wanted more.

Last Order is a definite mixed bag, but I found myself liking it overall due to my fondness of FF7.[br][br]Visuals[br]The visuals are decent. The style of the anime is nice, with decent artwork and good animation at the action points. However, since most of the anime takes place at night and in enclosed or guarded areas, there isn't all too much to show in terms of colour and scenery or variation, which brings down my liking for it to a small degree. Another small dislike is the action choreography, which I believe could have been way better, especially with this being a release with Advent Children. But even though the majority of key parts from Last Order feature as a hidden part in the game itself, to see it in anime form is well worth it.[br][br]Sound[br]I found the sound to be mediocre at best, but mostly below average. The voice acting was a bit shabby in my opinion, and the musical score with opening/closing themes were pretty bad metal that I did not care for. The sound effects were quite average, with all the guns making the required noises, but never anything memorable, or with any particularly decent ambiance.[br][br]Story[br]The story I must admit, is not impressive in the least when thought of as a stand-alone piece. You can say that it has no beginning or end, and that whatever happens between the opening and closing of the anime is not really too interesting anyway. However, this is a FF7 fan piece, and luckily for me I can appreciate it as such since I am an avid FF7 fan. The implications of what the anime means in terms of the reasoning behind the FF7 lead character's mysterious past, is in my opinion very interesting, and helps put puzzle pieces of a much grander story into place. Indeed, FF7 had such an engrossing storyline for those who liked it, that any other piece of it is no doubt something to lap up hungrily. But how does one rate a single piece of a huge picture? This factor adds into my annoyance with Last Order - why make that piece of the whole when there were so many others to choose from, possibly better suited to being an anime? Last Order never begins, it never ends, it just exists. I do feel however that the developers tried hard with what they had to create something very watchable.[br][br]Characters[br]There really isn't any stong character development going on in Last Order. It's too short for such a thing to happen. Once again I'm torn between what's present in the anime, and what's obscured just beyond it - I know the characters here are awesome in FF7 as a whole, but they simply aren't necessarily up to par here, in this particular segment of the story.[br][br]Value[br]This anime has an average replay value, in that I'd watch it again definately, but only when I was playing the game through. Otherwise there isn't really much of it that I would necessarily want to come back to specifically.[br][br]Enjoyment[br]I enjoyed Last Order more for what it represented - a part of a much larger awesome whole - than for what it actually was: a small anime that needed more time to get going in order to achieve something good. Of course I recommend it to FF7 fans, but in this case, only FF7 fans.

Wow, Square-Enix actually managed to do something mostly right! While Last Order is quite short and doesn't make a lot of sense on its own, it's probably the most faithful adaptation I've ever seen. For hardcore fans of Final Fantasy VII, this is a must-see. Last Order is the original, dark story of Cloud and Zack's past and the incident at Nibelheim, put into short anime form for your convenient viewing as you reminisce over the golden age of Final Fantasy.

Animation is rather mediocre. I didn't find it detracting, but I surely wouldn't watch this for the animation either. Maybe a little bit too much of a "super power" feel to the action scenes for my taste, but (quite thankfully) unlike Advent Children this wasn't all action.

Overall the character designs were good, except for Sephiroth who showed too much expression of rage and emotion on his face. Sephiroth should have more of a cold, aloof sort of rage to keep the bishounen look intact. The youthful Tifa and Cloud were both done really well, and made sense as younger version of their present-time counterparts (especially Tifa's chest).

Sound was nothing spectacular either. Didn't really enhance or detract.

Last Order gets a big plus for story -- not for being a complete story in itself, but for doing such a great job of telling a mostly-self-contained portion of Final Fantasy VII's story in only 25 minutes. I also really like the presentation style, switching back and forth between present day with the Turks hunting down Cloud and Zack, and the events five years ago in Nibelheim.

Characters have their ups and downs. Cloud really doesn't say or do much of anything, but it's appropriate if you know the full story. Besides, the few things he does say are perfect. Zack is a lot more of a hotshot than I remembered him being. Especially in the present day sequence when he's just escaped a horrible fate at the bottom of a gothic mansion, he seems a good bit more cheerful than I would have thought. But maybe that's just the way he is -- we never really got to see his character so much in the original telling. Tifa.. well, she's really not developed much, unfortunately. Too little time. And Sephiroth... well, he's Sephiroth, what do you expect?!

Last Order is by no means an anime masterpiece. In the grand scheme of things, it's rather mediocre. But where it shines is as an anime adaptation of part of the original Final Fantasy VII story! If you can appreciate this I think you'll like it a lot; otherwise it's anyone's guess. Now, if only Square could make an entire OVA this faithful, we might have a real masterpiece!

Final Fantasy 7 has already perpetuated the world with its seemingly perfect plotline that could draw in almost anyone with its mystery. But a game cannot cover every aspect of its own plot, with release dates and such forcing developer to leave sections of the game open to speculation. This short OVA is a rather well done attempt to fill in the gaps that were left open in the game.

Animation

The animation is 1st rate. The majority of the OVA revolves around the action scenes that Zack, SOLDIER 1st class, participates in. The animation is fluid and doesnt sputter for a moment as the OVA spans out. All the characters from Cloud to the common Shinra soldiers are well drawn and colored accordingly giving the game characters an excellent debut on the anime scene.

Sound

The sound was good, a nice mix of techno funk junk in the fight scenes, relaxing guitar in the mellow scenes, and other sorts to give the body a good rush as you watch the OVA throughout its entierty. As for the voice acting, top notch! Each voice fits accordingly with the characters persona, design, and attitude.

Story

For me there is nothing wrong with the story, the main point for the lower rating is that if the viewer has never played the game then this is nothing more than a complicated series of events and action sequences revolving around a dormant lead. But for those of us who have played the game, the OVA delves into the past series of events that led up to Cloud's arrival in Midgar. From his escapades with Zack at the Mako Reactor in Nibelheim, a look into how they were originaly captured by Hojo, to their grand escape from the hands of Shinra to Zacks death, the OVA gives us a small glimpse into the past of our lead in the game and fills in the small holes in Cloud's past that are a necessary addition if we want to bring the entirety of the FF7 saga to completion from OVA to Game to Movie.

Characters

Once again, the characters are not properly introduced or fleshed out since it was already done so in the FF7 game, but if you played the game we get to see more of the Turks and the extent beyond the main 4. We also get to see Zack and how his relation with Cloud had developed from its humble beginnings to its tragic end.

Value

If you played the game, the value is unquestionanle, a must see for any FF7 fan. But if one hasn't played the game, watch it for the action and not the plot, or just don't bother since there is no real point in watching something you have no clue about.

Enjoyment

I liked it quite a bit, and made me wish for more, 20 some odd minutes is just not enough for FF7.