Final Fantasy VII: Shinentai

[branchandroot]

Also known as The Silverhaired Men.

From vol. 8 of Ah, Megami-sama!, translated by Stephen Lee.

Keiichi: "Shinentai"?

Belldandy: Umm...
When a person who died has some strong desire remaining

Belldandy: That desire might form an image and become a "Shinentai".

Keiichi: Eh?
Then she's a ghost?

Belldandy: No...
It's a little bit different

---------------- p.14

Belldandy: Ghosts are phenomena resulting from thoughts projecting
their form onto one's mind...

but a "Shinentai" forms an image as a real body.

So they're basically leftover will-bits. The interesting thing about that is that it is equally plausible that they are manifesting spirit fragments, and that they are either part of the Copy project or even SOLDIERs who have been overshadowed. Sephiroth's will never manifests without a physical vehicle, in game, which could argue for the latter. But 'shinentai' suggests that this may have changed, that Sephiroth's will itself has manifested body. Multiple bodies, in fact.

And, at first sweep, I thought they have to have physical vehicles, because Sephiroth manifests whole without absorbing Loz and Yazoo. But, in point of fact, we don't actually know that for sure. We don't see Loz and Yazoo between when they are caught in an explosion and when Sephiroth is defeated and Kadaj himself is diffused.

... which, actually, rather argues that they are spirits without vehicle. Kadaj dissolves, bodliy, into green sparkles.

That also makes some sense of how they can, effectively, equip materia to their bodies.

In addition, when Kadaj reaches the church with 'mom', he looks at/into the case and bursts into tears. When he throws his head back and then down, we get a scene flicker of Loz in place of Kadaj. Loz, the one who cries over mother, and has just been blown up.

All of this points toward the shinentai being fragments of Sephiroth's will/spirit who manifest solid bodies but are still, in the end, psychic energy and can merge into one another or with similarly solidified metaphysical substance such as materia.

Incidentally, it really does help to have played/seen the game first, otherwise you have no clue that the kneeling-curled-up thing that Kadaj does in front of Rufus is Sephiroth's posture whenever he first materializes/manifests.