Final Fantasy VII Spin-off OVA With Denzel

Out of all the good guys, bad guys and gay guys (i.e. Cloud), not to mention all those hot chicks from Final Fantasy VII, none whatsoever will be the focus of the new spin-off OVA that was announced to be included in next month's Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete release. Instead, Square Enix picked the most boring character possible: Denzel, that sick kid from the Advent Children CG movie. A truly "WTF" choice, indeed.



Denzel's story is one of three novelettes that make up the "On the Way to a Smile" collection (authored by Kazushige Nojima), which takes place in that two-years gap between the FF7 game and the Advent Children movie. In it, Denzel wants to enlist in the World Regenesis Organization, under the leadership of the former Shinra head Reeve. The other two short stories focus on the more familiar characters Barret and Tifa; and as I'm sure you'll agree, the latter would've been a much more exciting choice for an OVA.

Oh, well. Tifa, Aeris, Yuffie and Marlene will just have to stay locked in our final fantasies for the time being. As for this new OVA, it's to be titled On the Way to a Smile - Episode: Denzel, and released on April 16 together with the FF7:AC Complete edition. Around that same date, another "On the Way to a Smile" novel will be released as well, expanding the collection with three more stories: about Yuffie, Turks and Red XIII.