Aerith Gainsborough

Aerith Gainsborough (Japanese: エアリス・ゲインズブール, Hepburn: Earisu Geinzubūru) is a character in the media franchise Compilation of Final Fantasy VII by Square Enix. Her first appearance was in the role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII, developed by Square, and she has appeared in other installments in the Final Fantasy series and the Kingdom Hearts series by Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. She was designed by Tetsuya Nomura with influence from Yoshinori Kitase, Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yoshitaka Amano.

Aerith is a young woman allied with the eco-terrorist organization AVALANCHE. During the group's pursuit of the game's antagonist Sephiroth, it is revealed that Aerith is the last surviving Cetra, or "Ancient", one of the planet's oldest races. She is ultimately murdered by Sephiroth. Aerith has been met with generally positive reception, and her unexpected death is considered to be one of the most memorable scenes in the series.