If the plot of Lightning Returns confuses you, this post should help you understand 1000x better. Even if you think you’ve got it down, I’m about to let you in on a little detail not included in the Western versions of the game. And no, I’m not talking about that one scene where Bhunivelze fails to explain Hope’s story.

What if I told you there is a giant translation error that spans the course of the entire series?

What if I told you Bhunivelze can actually see and manipulate souls?

I. Introduction

If you think about Lightning Returns too hard, you’re likely to unearth many a plot hole. Most of them probably revolve around Lumina and Serah. (How did Serah get into the ark if she wasn’t in the clavis? She was inside Lumina the whole time!) Many of the plot holes, however, are non-issues in the Japanese version of the game. Why is that?

The main issue is the concept of the human soul. This problem actually begins in Final Fantasy XIII-2, in Augusta Tower 200 AF, when Noel explains to Serah what makes humans different from the duplicates inside. In English, Noel explains that the goddess Etro gives “spirit” to humans. “Spirit?” you say. “That wasn’t in Lightning Returns! What the hell is that?” Talk about a super vague concept!

In reality, this is the beginning of a giant translation error, in which the Western/Judeo-Christian concept of “soul” is used as short-hand to avoid explaining the actual Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology. In the Final Fantasy XIII series, a human is made up of three main parts: the body (a physical component), the soul, and the heart (both non-physical components). In Japanese, these are respectively called karada (体), tamashii (魂), and kokoro (心).

The confusion comes from sloppy translations regarding the soul and the heart. The “spirit” Noel refers to–and later in the Requiem of the Goddess DLC Lightning addresses it as well–is the first translation of kokoro, or “heart.” “Spirit” is already a poor translation; in English, it usually refers to either a ghost or someone’s strength of will. In Lightning Returns, things get even muddier when they drop the word “spirit” altogether. They use no standard for how to translate kokoro; sometimes they refer to it as “heart,” while even more often they translate it as “soul.” Hopefully, you already see the problem here. The Japanese version already has a separate concept for “soul,” and that’s tamashii. In other words, in the English version of Lightning Returns, it’s impossible to tell what the word “soul” means, since they use that one word to address two different concepts.

In this post, I aim to properly explain the concepts of tamashii and kokoro as they are presented in the original Japanese version of the Final Fantasy XIII series. Then, I will go through all the major areas of the series where the translation error occurs, and I will correct those errors. This will make clearer the story and mythology that were left unintelligible in the third game, Lightning Returns.



II. Terminology

First, we need to understand what tamashii and kokoro are. As with most spiritual concepts, they are vague and have no set definition. This section will address how they are generally presented in the Japanese language and how they are utilized in the Final Fantasy XIII series.

These terms, especially kokoro, are notoriously difficult to translate. I do not pretend to be an expert on the matter. My experience with these terms is through Japanese literature and culture study, which were the focus of my undergraduate degree. At some point in Japanese literature, you are bound to come across the term kokoro. The fun part is listening as people try to explain it. Now, I shall continue the tradition.



tamashii (魂) - “soul”

Tamashii is most often translated as “soul.” It is used to translate the Judeo-Christian concept of the eternal soul. The word existed before Christianity was introduced to Japan, so it can mean more than just that given some context.

The most important components of tamashii are that it is non-physical and represents the eternal part of a human being. It is the essence of humanity. Please note that it is already a distinct concept from kokoro; it does not contain the same elements you will find in kokoro, such as emotions. Keeping that in mind, continue reading.

From here on out, I will use the word “soul” to refer to the concept of tamashii and nothing else.



kokoro (心) - “heart”

As I mentioned before, kokoro is most commonly translated as “heart.” This is not the literal heart in your chest cavity, but a non-corporeal heart that contains all the non-physical parts of a human being. A quick glance at Wikipedia will bring up the words “heart; mind; mentality; emotions; feelings.” These hopefully will help guide you in the right direction. Kokoro is usually located at your core, which is the center of your gut. It is the location where a person would disembowel themselves to commit harakiri (literally “stomach cutting”). Instead of being the “essence of humanity” that the tamashii is, kokoro is more of the “essence of you,” that thing that makes you you and distinguishes you from others. It is your emotions, your thoughts, your personality.



From here on out, I will use the word “heart” to refer to the concept of kokoro and nothing else.

Within the Final Fantasy XIII series, heart and soul are treated similarly to how the terms are outlined above. The soul is the eternal part of a human being. It is the piece that gets recycled through reincarnation. The heart is the emotions and personality. It fades away into the chaos when a person dies. A reincarnated soul is given a new heart when it is born, and thus, it becomes a different person than the one it was before.

III. Fabula Nova Crystallis Mythology Video

Now, we dive in. I apologize for the wall of text above, but it was necessary for us to be able to approach the content of the Final Fantasy XIII world. I shall go through each mistranslated element of the series and apply our new terminology to gain a better understanding of what is actually happening in the story.

We begin with a video separate from the Final Fantasy XIII games, the video outlining the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology. If you do not know what I’m talking about, you really need to see this video. Go search “Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology” on YouTube and watch that thing. Just keep in mind that those translations are to be taken with a grain of salt. You can find a decent translation here. It correctly translates kokoro as “heart.”



Notice anything interesting? “Soul” is entirely missing from the mythology. Etro’s role revolves merely around the concept of “heart.” Combined with what we know from the Dead Dunes in Lightning Returns, the chronology goes as follows:

- Etro injures her own body, spills her blood onto the earth, and eventually dies

- Lindzei makes humankind from Etro’s blood

- Humans do the bidding of the gods in life and then die

- In the Unseen Realm, Etro gives a piece of chaos to each dead soul because she feels affection for humans. The piece of chaos is “heart.”

- Humans are then reborn and keep balance in the world

From the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After novella, we know that the first human was Yeul, and that she was also the first human to die. She goes to Valhalla with both a soul and heart. This means that humans were already created with souls and hearts. However, the nature of these hearts is not clear. Did her heart come from the chaos, or was it something else? Regardless, her heart fades away, leaving only her soul in Valhalla. Later, other dead humans’ hearts and souls disappear into the chaos. However, from Lightning Returns we know that the souls that disappear are just waiting in the chaos to be reborn.



A consequence of this revelation is that souls are not chaos. Souls go to the chaos when they die, but they do not become chaos. Rather, they wait inside the chaos until they are reborn. For clarity’s sake, I will go ahead and spoil a future plot point for you: in a living human, the soul is located inside the heart. Remembering that heart is chaos, the soul resides within chaos at all times. The chaos becomes a “location” in this case instead of a force. When the human is alive, the soul is in a heart, and when the human is dead, the soul is in the chaos of the Unseen Realm.



One more thing to note. In the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After novella and in Lightning Returns, it is established that fal'Cie do not have emotions. “Fal'Cie” in this case refers to the fal'Cie gods Pulse, Etro, and Lindzei. By extension (given Bhunivelze’s unfamiliarity with emotions), we can conclude this applies to Bhunivelze as well. Since emotions come from the heart, this likely means that none of the gods have hearts that resemble the human heart. (They do have hearts, because we know Etro gives hers to Caius.) This says nothing about whether or not they have souls. In fact, given that Etro has a physical body in life but is unable to be seen in death, it’s very likely that they do have souls, and that Etro’s form in Valhalla is just a soul.



IV. Paddra Nsu-Yeul

Yeul is central to understanding not only what heart and soul are but how reincarnation works. Yeul’s reincarnation is special. From the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After novella, we know she is the first human born (resembling Etro and Mwynn) and the first human to die. Her soul is different from all the others: while every other soul joins the chaos to be recycled, Yeul’s soul remains separate and wanders around Valhalla. (Please note: all souls including Yeul’s lose their hearts.) While the other souls are not destroyed, they lose their form and sense of self, so that when they are reborn they take on a new form and identity.

Yeul always retains her form because she does not merge with the chaos. Etro pities her, so she sends Yeul’s soul back to be reborn, but gives her a new heart. We know this because she has a different personality each time she is born. (“A Yeul who dreamed of travel, a Yeul who loved to sing, a Yeul who collected flowers.”) Their personalities are much more prominent in the novella, so please read that if you want a better taste.

Yeul’s rebirth is a bad thing for the balance of the world, though. Here is where things get really messy. We learn from Lightning Returns, each time Yeul is reborn, her soul is splintered. Souls don’t have a size because they are non-physical, so effectively this just multiplies her soul. Each soul has a heart with different desires. Those desires and thoughts contradict each other, especially with regards to Caius. But, because her soul does not fade away each time she dies, those desires remain and are converted into energy. This creates the Unseen Chaos that destroys the world: Yeul’s feelings multiply the energy of the chaos inside Valhalla, destroying the balance, and that chaos breaks out from Valhalla.



V. Etro and Caius Ballad

I have to pause here and explain the relationship between Etro and Caius, which does not play out intuitively. In English, we know that Caius received Etro’s heart and gained immortality. However, this heart is not kokoro but actually shinzou (心臓). Shinzou is the literal heart inside your chest cavity that pumps blood.

The name of this heart Caius bears is the “heart of chaos,” or “kaosu no shinzou.” Essentially, this is an organ that pumps chaos through Caius and keeps his body eternally young and immortal. The Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After novella also states that this shinzou heart belongs to Etro, and that destroying it kills Etro. One important thing to note is how Etro herself is not inside of Caius. Etro’s soul is able to exist separately from her shinzou heart. This shinzou heart could very well be that “non-human” heart lacking emotions that the fal'Cie gods possess.



VI. The Savior

At long last, we get into the Lightning Returns content. For the rest of the post, I will be explaining the major plot points of the final game that were confused by the mistranslation, inserting the correct terms where they were supposed to go. First, we will tackle the role of the savior. The majority of this information comes from two scenes: the scene in the beginning when Hope explains the savior’s task, and the scene near the end in the Historia Crux when Lightning and “Hope” discuss Bhunivelze’s thought process. With the correct terminology, we get the following:

On the savior:

- Lightning’s role as the savior is to save souls and guide them to the new world, not to save hearts. She can only save the souls of the living (some side quests prove that this last part is not true).

- In exchange for Lightning’s help, Bhunivelze promises to revive Serah.

- Hope establishes (and later Bhunivelze confirms) that Bhunivelze is unable to see the hearts of humans.

- Never does anyone establish that Bhunivelze cannot see or manipulate souls.



On Lightning’s emotions:

- Lightning acknowledges that her emotions have been tampered with. They are either missing or muted.

- Lightning draws the conclusion that her muted emotions are the result of an issue with her heart, not her soul.

- Hope states that his emotions are also missing. Again, no mention of it being an issue with his soul. Emotions = heart.

On Lightning as the new goddess of death:

- The only time Bhunivelze has ever seen chaos was when Valhalla broke through to the human realm.

- Bhunivelze is not able to create or gather hearts.

- Bhunivelze wants Lightning to become the new goddess of death. She will take dead souls and place them in the hearts of humans she will pull from the chaos, and thus humanity will reincarnate.

What’s the number one thing we should all take from this? Bhunivelze cannot see hearts, which are pieces of chaos.



VII. Lumina and Serah Farron

In this section, I will correct the storyline relating to Lumina, Serah’s soul, and the fake Serah.

On Lumina’s existence:

- The place inside Lightning Lumina often appears is referred to as “inside Lightning’s heart.”

- When Lightning went into crystal stasis, both Lightning’s soul and Serah’s soul were inside Lightning’s heart.

- Bhunivelze cuts Serah’s soul out of Lightning’s heart to use as leverage.

- Lightning locked away her heart when she was young. It falls out with Serah’s soul when Bhunivelze removes her. Lumina is that piece of her heart.

- The above establishes that Bhunivelze can manipulate souls and that Lumina = Lightning’s heart + Serah’s soul.

- Since Lumina has Serah’s soul, she understands Serah’s will, which is why she tells Lightning she is a “special case” who can speak about what Serah wants.



On the fake Serah:

- Bhunivelze can shape matter and create any material thing, and he also can make illusions. He creates an image of Serah to keep Lightning acquiescent.

- Lumina gets Lightning to believe that this image of Serah does not contain Serah’s heart.

- In the ending cinematic, the fake Serah admits she does not have Serah’s heart inside her. (Please note the English has this backwards and has them talk about Serah’s soul instead.)

- Inside Lightning’s heart in the final cinematic, the image of Serah creates her own feelings of love based on Serah from Lightning’s heart, which is where the scene takes place. (“What’s in here is…” “Me [Lightning]!”)



The takeaway: Bhunivelze is capable of making sentient beings, but they do not contain hearts made from chaos. He is, however, able to cut out and discard a soul from Lightning’s heart, showing that he can manipulate souls.

VIII. The Soulsong

Now that we know there are two separate non-physical pieces of a human, that calls into question the role of the clavis and the Soulsong. Much of the English version actually got this right: the souls are the main focus of the ritual. The speaker for the dead, Cid Raines, also elaborates more on the power of chaos that these souls have access to.



On the destruction of a soul:

- Souls and memories are mutually dependent upon each other. Dead souls survive because the living remember them, and the living remember their dead loved ones because those souls have not been destroyed. (This is how the English version translated it as well.)

- Since souls are distinct from the chaos and survive to be reborn, it follows that the chaos does not destroy them. Cid Raines confirms that souls are swept into the sea of chaos but are not destroyed.



On the Soulsong:

- Vanille does have the power to hear the souls of the dead, not their hearts. (Their hearts have long since faded away.)

- The clavis has the power to gather souls to it, not hearts. It then destroys the dead souls, causing the living to lose their memories that those people ever existed.

- The reason the Order of Salvation wants the Soulsong is so that they will forget their memories of the dead. This will ease the pain in their hearts and make their hearts lighter.



On the power of chaos:

- The Cid Raines that appears to Lightning is just an image so that the dead may speak with her. It has no traits (heart) that define him as Cid Raines anymore, but his soul does exist because Lightning still remembers him.

- One rough but literal translation of something Cid says: “When the soul is reborn, chaos is placed within that person’s chest. That chaos is an invisible power called ‘heart’.”

- Cid explains that the unlimited power of the chaos is kizuna (絆) or “bonds.” A single person cannot make much use of the power, but the more bonds she forges with other souls, the more power she can use.

- To use the power of chaos, one must reach out to a soul within the chaos (a dead soul). This is why Lightning says she needs Serah’s help at the end. She uses her bond with Serah to create that giant sword made out of all the souls of humanity, which is the unlimited power of chaos that can defeat a god.



IX. Hope Estheim and Bhunivelze

Last but not least, we get to the material that suffered the most from the mistranslation (and not just THIS mistranslation). There are so many misconceptions about Hope’s story in Lightning Returns that I unfortunately have to attempt to address all of them in order for this to make sense.



On Hope’s farewell:

- Before the final day begins, Hope calls Lightning. In English, he asks what will happen to his soul after the Soulsong. In Japanese, it’s much different. Hope instead tries to tell Lightning something about his heart. He never mentions his soul.

- As stated in the section on the savior, Hope suspects his heart is messed up. He meets Lightning inside her heart and explicitly tells her Bhunivelze tried to mess with his heart. (If you read the post-LR novella Tracer of Memories, you will learn that Bhunivelze was able to achieve this through driving Hope insane with illusions.)

- Hope explains that with the arrival of the final day, Bhunivelze will cast him off because he has become expendable. He then disappears.



On Hope’s location:

- The Hope that guides Lightning from the ark is in fact the real Hope, not an imposter. His soul also still remains inside his body, but his heart (his emotions) has been tampered with.

- Bhunivelze uses Hope’s body as a vessel inside the cathedral. It is not clear where Hope’s soul is at this time. It is clear, as will be explained momentarily, that Hope’s heart is inside Bhunivelze’s body.

- Bhunivelze eventually crushes and absorbs Hope’s body. If Hope’s soul was still inside that body, it is at this point definitely inside Bhunivelze.

- When Bhunivelze speaks, in the Japanese version, it is with Hope’s voice. Careful study of fal'Cie lore will reveal that none of the fal'Cie gods had the ability to speak. Bhunivelze gains this ability from absorbing either Hope’s soul (unless it was still inside his body) or his heart.

- Bhunivelze explains that he turned Hope’s body into a vessel so that he could study human hearts and interface with them in the new world. (Note that in the English this is replaced by a non-canon proclamation that somehow Bhunivelze will become the shared soul of all humanity and read their hearts, something he is definitely not able to do.)

- Lightning asks what Bhunivelze did with Hope’s heart, not his soul. Bhunivelze explains he does not know because he cannot see hearts. This implies that wherever Hope’s heart is, it has been there since the moment Hope was cast off.

- Lightning states that she will exploit Bhunivelze’s weak point by unlocking the heart trapped inside him. It should already have been clear that Hope’s heart was ruining Bhunivelze since he was breaking down in fits of tears and rage.

- When Lightning stabs Bhunivelze with the knife, she says that the last soul she will save is Hope’s. (This is accurately translated in the English version.)

- Lightning’s knife, which the Ultimania guide explains is her method of delivering her feelings, awakens Hope’s soul and heart and frees him from Bhunivelze. (If in fact Hope’s soul was not in his body when it was destroyed or inside Bhunivelze, it would have been in the chaos. In this case, Lightning would have freed his heart, which would have then reunited with his soul in the chaos and woken him up.)

I wish I didn’t have such a mess to untangle, but the English version really messed up here. It may take a while for a lot of that to make sense. Basically, the Hope in the ark isn’t a fake. Bhunivelze accidentally absorbs his heart. Bhunivelze doesn’t see the value of human hearts, and this blindness allows Hope’s heart to overwhelm him. Lightning uses Hope’s heart to save his soul.

X. Afterword

With any luck, some of the confusion surrounding somewhere in the ballpark of one million plot holes will have been lessened. I understand this will not answer all questions about the story since a lot of Lightning Returns was rushed, vague, and contradictory. If you still have questions, please feel free to send them to me; I’ll try to puzzle them out. Just note that many things (such as whether Hope had just a piece of his heart or a muted version of his heart while in the ark) do not have explanations in the canon, so we are left to speculate. There are probably plenty more plot lines that are helped by this post that I didn’t think of. I just don’t have the time to cover the entire series right now. At the very least, I hope you learned something today.

