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is a fictional character from Square Enix's ''Final Fantasy'' series. She first appeared as a playable character and protagonist in the role-playing video game ''Final Fantasy XIII'', in which she features as a resident of the artificial world of Cocoon. After her sister Serah is declared an enemy of Cocoon, Lightning attempts to save her: she and others are then chosen by the fal'Cie, a divided race of demigods who rule the worlds of Gran Pulse and Cocoon, to destroy Cocoon. Lightning reappears as a supporting character in ''Final Fantasy XIII-2'', acting as protector of the Goddess Etro. She is the sole playable character in ''Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII'', wherein she sets out to save her world, which is destined to end in thirteen days. She has featured in other ''Final Fantasy'' games, most notably the crossover game ''Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy''. Lightning was created by Motomu Toriyama, the director and scenario writer of ''XIII'', and designed by Tetsuya Nomura, a regular character artist for the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Their idea was to create a strong female protagonist who was adept at combat and less feminine than previous ''Final Fantasy'' heroines. Aspects of her early design and personality were later altered, or transferred to other characters. After ''XIII'', Lightning's design was revised several times to reflect her role and development in each game, particularly in ''Lightning Returns''. Her name in Japanese, , was originally a placeholder. Because of its similarity to the name of a pastry, her first name was changed to "Claire" in other countries. Lightning has received mixed commentary from critics—much of it relating to her cold personality, which was compared to that of ''Final Fantasy VIIs protagonist Cloud Strife. She was criticized for her relative absence in ''XIII-2''. Her role in ''Lightning Returns'' had a mixed reception: some critics saw her as underdeveloped and unlikable, while others found her better developed and more human than in previous games. Lightning later appeared on lists, compiled by video game publications, of the best characters in the ''Final Fantasy'' series and in video games as a whole. She has been received favorably in polls of public opinion by ''Famitsu'', Square Enix, and other organizations. == Character design == Lightning was designed by regular ''Final Fantasy'' character designer Tetsuya Nomura, who had previously served as the character designer for ''Final Fantasy VIII'' and ''X''. Nomura has said that multiple designs—including some by staff members other than himself—were considered for Lightning,〔 while Toriyama has claimed that Nomura's first draft "looked so cool and strong that there was no need for any retakes."〔 Because of the graphical capacities of ''Final Fantasy XIII''s prospective platforms, Nomura was able to include far more detail in Lightning's design than in his previous character designs, such as her cape and facial features.〔 This necessitated far more effort on his part.〔 Commenting on an early form of her design, Nomura explained that she is essentially a "cool character", in that she is serious and unforgiving. However, he could not make the character too masculine for fear of losing player empathy.〔 Characteristics from earlier versions of the design included blond or silver hair and Asian-looking facial features. Her final art was made less Asian-looking than these early drafts and her hair color changed to pink, while Hope Estheim was given silver hair.〔〔 Lightning's final hair color and hairstyle were intended to reflect her femininity, and to counterbalance her athletic body.〔 Daisuke Watanabe, while writing the script for ''XIII'', paid particular attention to fleshing out Lightning's non-romantic relationship with Snow Villiers and to showing her development as a person while protecting Hope.〔 Lightning's real name is Claire Farron in English and in Japanese. During the early stages of production, Lightning's real name was Averia: "Eclair" was used to keep this name secret, but it was eventually chosen as her official name.〔 Her English name, Claire, was chosen because the name "Eclair" is closely associated with a type of pastry.〔 The name "Lightning" was not chosen by Nomura but by other members of the development team: Nomura had wanted to abandon the tradition of naming ''Final Fantasy'' protagonists after weather events, and was surprised by the choice.〔 Several models of Lightning's house were constructed for ''XIII'' but were removed due to space issues.〔 Her weapon in ''XIII'', the Blazefire Saber (known as in the Japanese version) was designed to mirror the ability of the game's summoned monsters, the Eidolons, to transform into animal-, human- and vehicle-like shapes.〔 The game's version of Odin, Lightning's Eidolon and a recurring summoned monster in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, was intended to present Lightning as a knight on horseback. He was written as a father figure for Lightning.〔 In later games in the ''XIII'' series, Odin was developed into a friend to whom Lightning could show her deeper feelings.〔 Due to global demand and the development staff's desire to further Lightning's character, development began for a sequel to ''XIII''. The game tackles the question of whether Lightning is happy after the events of ''XIII''.〔 Even before a sequel was greenlit, Toriyama had wanted to create a truly happy ending for the character.〔 Lightning's outfit in ''XIII-2'' was designed by Isamu Kamikokuryo. He worked from a rough sketch by Nomura of how Lightning should appear.〔 The outfit was redone several times by Kamikokuryo: a qipao and a science fiction-inspired design were both discarded because they clashed with the game's atmosphere. The final design was inspired by the valkyries of Norse mythology.〔 The outfit was meant to reflect the environment around Lightning.〔 It features a feather motif to represent Lightning's light, delicate side and her growing powers.〔〔 She was depicted as having transcended her human limits, making it difficult to depict her as a normal person.〔 Her outfit in ''Lightning Returns'' was designed by Nomura. He was told by Toriyama to create something representative of her final battle, with "strength" as the main guideline. The resultant outfit, which resembles a leather bodysuit, has spinal column patterns on its sleeves and is primarily colored red and white.〔 Nomura later commented that he felt "a strong reaction within ()" while creating Lightning's final look.〔 Nomura's design was Kamikokuryo's favorite out of the many outfits created for the character.〔 Her other outfits for the game were designed by Kamikokuryo, Toshiyuki Itahana, and Toshitaka Matsuda:〔〔 many of them drew inspiration from the character designs of regular ''Final Fantasy'' artist Yoshitaka Amano.〔 In addition to the new costumes, Lightning's in-game model was rebuilt from the ground-up.〔 Her breasts were enlarged and several of her outfits were designed to present her in a more feminine way.〔 For the game's epilogue, Toriyama wished for Lightning to appear in an everyday setting and normal clothes. The team considered ending the game with Lightning either meeting or speaking with her allies, but Toriyama wished the story to begin and end with her alone.〔 He has claimed that Lightning, with her solo role in ''Lightning Returns'', was the ''Final Fantasy'' series' "first female protagonist".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lightning (Final Fantasy)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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