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Excellent analysis! Really enjoyed it!

Something else I appreciate about Shulk as a character is how accurately he represents the autism spectrum without romanticizing or demonizing autism like so many media with autistic characters tend to do. Shulk has traits that a lot of people on the spectrum tend to have, like: -being an introvert -Having an obsession of some kind (his hyperfixation being machines) -Has trouble connecting with people emotionally -Has anxiety -Struggles to separate his own feelings from others -Sometimes lies to people to avoid hurting their feelings (the sandwich scene and the scene where he sees Otharon dying and decides not to tell Reyn or Sharla) -Spends most of his time on his own -Others often have to start conversations with him instead of the other way around As someone on the spectrum, Shulk is honestly the most accurate depiction of Autism I've ever seen in media. The game doesn't glorify or undermine him in any way just because he's implied to be autistic. That combined with Fiora's death and how accurate of a depiction of autism shulk is as well as the amazing writing made this my favorite piece of media ever and to this day, I still never shut up about this game in hopes that more people will play this emotional rollercoaster of a series. This game singlehandedly cured my depression and thats part of why Shulk is honestly my favorite protagonist ever.

Wow most of this stuff flew right over my head when I finished the game. It's why I love videos like these!

I often struggled with not seeing a clear personality in Fiora after she returns, the way that she stops directly confronting appears at face value to be a loss of what made her a distinguishable character. Without being told directly, I didn't realize the careful subtlety of her approach, without knowing the reasons behind her actions, she appeared to be a bland character. Also the way that the dialogues keep presenting Shulk as her motive kind of makes it seem like that is the core of her personality, instead of her empathy and understanding of other people.

This video made me think of Shulk completely differently and how I may have similar social issues, it reminded me that like Shulk, I need to grow.

Absolute masterpiece, please make more content!! I adore character/story analysis with every fibre of my being, and you're so amazing at driving points home. Xenoblade is my favourite game franchise, with 1 being my beloved, I even have a Monado tattoo to remind me to always strive for a better future. I love Zelda so much too, especially Skyward Sword and Majora's Mask so any content there (or elsewhere in the franchise) would be deeply appreciated!!! :) Thank you for creating such phenomenal, thought provoking content which broadens my views on this excellent franchise!

I do have one minor (and I mean minor) nitpick. I don’t like describing anyone as “lacking” theory of mind because it’s not really an accurate description. It’s not a matter of ability but rather making the effort to consciously apply it, like you said. But pretty much everyone is *capable* of it, and the idea that certain groups are not is the result of a very badly done study, that has been blindly repeated, and contributes immensely to the dehumanization and ostracism of said groups.

*sigh* … unzips switch case Time to play Xenoblade again. But for real I’ve had this game since the day it came out in the US and I’ve probably played it 4 or 5 times and watched the major cutscenes many more. But I never consciously noticed like 90% of this.

this video highlighting the mental of shulk and zanza is well appreciated as i often don't see it talked about enough whenever discussion about xeno 1 arise. very well put together video.

I honestly dismissed a lot of Fiora on my first playthrough since I was so blown away by the story but now I do realize how Fiora encompasses the overarching story of Xenoblade with her siding with everyone as a whole

I love this game so much 😭😭 i want to see Ontos again one day

Another incredible Xeno series video from you, which was totally expected! I highly encourage you to continue making these amazing videos, (if you weren't going to already, lol) and if you do, i do seriously think your channel will begin to blow up and get HUGE, ESPECIALLY when XC4 or anything else Xeno series-related comes out anytime within the next couple of years, or so. Keep it up, basically!!!

When i experienced xenoblade 1’s story again after like 5 years it really made me realize how little credit i gave to fiora and now she’s probably in my top three characters for that game

I had no idea Fiora was tied to each game in such an intricate way. Thank you for the analysis, this video was amazing! Everytime I see something like this I can't help but fondly remember the memories I share with this series.

really liked this video, i was in the camp that she is just there to deliver a sandwich and then die i rly overlooked a lot of the messages she embodies and u made me see it xenoblade has so many themes and so many storylines and arcs, it’s very ez to overlook some of them (kinda like how everybody is sleeping on noah, just bc he is a very subdued and introverted guy)

this was a beautfiul video. it rekindled my love with this game even more. thanks you for this masterpiece

The “Little by little..” line from Shulk at the end is my favorite line in the entire game.😊

Great analysis! I didn't learn to appreaciate Fiora until Definitive Edition and I love the change in tone that she brings to the party

Thanks for makin' this video. I've been stuck in depression, filled with terrible choice paralysis...and it's striking to see a game I love so much mirror those exact feelings. Maybe I should replay it...

Shulk just like me fr

I hadn't even considered the gameplay-story integration of Shulk choosing to see Visions or not in the final boss battle, that's so cool. Great breakdown of.... essentially the whole story hahah, wonderful job.

In the near future the Xenoblade community will be in dire need of an analysis such as this for Xenoblade X. That game, much like this one, is extremely misunterstood in regards to subtle themes that are presented without a big climatic fanfarre. It would be fascinating to see your interpretation and thematic mapping of XCX. It is a daunting task, seeing as XCX subtle themes are all over the place from map design and environmental storytelling, to NPCs walking around and impactful revelations hidden in plain sight or unlikely corners but I think you are uniquely qualified for this. Thank you for this outstanding analysis.

Ohh my god this video makin' me ugly-cry it's so good. god I love xenoblade 1's cast tysm for making this excellent analysis.

This video is everything, please keep doing this kind of analysis.

Wow, yeah this is a bloody fantastic video, and you've definitely helped me see her in a new light. Previously, I was a vehement Fiora hater, but you've helped soften that view. I do disagree on a few points regarding her characterisation in the xenoblade 1 segment of this video, and I still think she's overall the weakest character in terms of writing from that game (but xenoblade 1's cast is the weakest written overall, hot take), but I do appreciate her thematic role within the story more. I also utterly adore the parallels in the subsequent entries and I think your analysis of them was fantastic. And the trinity processor segment blew me away, like holy fuck that makes so much sense. Not sure about origin itself being the Ontos figure, I understand how the conclusion was drawn but it feels iffy regarding origins' sentience and not really acting in arbitration over aionios like the Ontos figures normally do, but everything else you said made way too much sense, especially with the Pneuma and Logos dynamic being the same in every game. It makes way more sense why Pneuma and not Ontos is on the top socket in the official trinity processor art, given that her ideology is always associated with the party. It's also made me much more of a fan of Fiora being Lucky 7 than I was previously, as I'd just written it off as Takahashi forcing her importance again (like it was done somewhat in xenoblade 1). I still personally prefer the previous theory we had, being that Lucky 7 was the entire xenoblade 1 party in a blade of origin metal forged by Melia, because it makes more sense with the preestablished lore surrounding origin metal that is built up through Lucky 7 itself, and also gives Melia a similar level contribution in the fight against mobius to Nia instead of getting shafted again in favour of Fiora (Poor Melia...). Anyway, great video.

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Thank you for making this. I agree that Fiora often gets severely overhated for reasons that go far beyond any of the justifiable ones like her lack of focus or screentime. While the script does leave some things to be desired regarding her focus on Shulk and the game's fixation on the love triangle, some people have this bizarre fixation to the point of even hostility against the possibility that she has anything going on besides that, and it's become so widespread for what's patently a bad-faith argument that it's a shame videos like these are necessary to dispel that myth, but I appreciate it all the same. And I'm really glad that you shone a light on the parallels between her and Rex, who is loved by a lot of the fandom for those same traits (when he's not being severely misunderstood by the fans who act like he's something very different than he actually is). Again, Rex's relative simplicity (and I'm not even saying that's a bad thing here) is something a lot of the fandom is willing to embrace for the positive trait it is, as his conscious refusal to deviate from his outlook is what protects him from falling victim to the nihilism plaguing the people around him. Yet when Fiora shows these identical traits, the same fans bash her as weak-willed and mindless for it, even though she's also shown working hard to present with that similarly straightforward personality as an active choice of defiance, and even though it's something she sometimes struggles to maintain, as Melia herself notes.

Frustrated that in XC1 the color for Alvis/Ontos is Green and the color for Meyneth/Pnuema is Red only for it to flip in XC2...

Wow this was very well thought out. It’s amazing how deep the story and characters are and all how it ties together in the end. Xenoblade is art. Thanks for making videos on one of my fav video games! Xenoblade deserves more recognition and love and this only helps

Totally changed my mind about Fiora. Back when Takahashi first revealed that Fiora was Lucky 7, many people thought it was bad, I even saw some takes say it was a cop out or lazy writing. This video really shows how intentional Takahashi and his team's writers are.

You just have to love Lucky 7.

I'd love it if you analysed Alvis! I found his character confusing in both of my playthroughs

I was like low key a Fiora hater before watching this video, but the analysis has provided me with an appreciation of one of the few aspects I didn’t already highly adore about this series. Something I’d love to see discussed a little more in the community is how interesting and even profound it is that the main soul or dream held within Lucky Seven is Fiora. The one who would refuse fighting before trying to find a way out with words manifested in Aionios as a weapon of unparalleled strength able to cut anything. I think that says a lot about the hopelessness of Aionios and puts simply how evil and unreasonable Moebius are.

It definitely looks like the protagonists of Xenoblade 2 and 3 took much inspiration from Fiora.

Every time you upload one of these I am thoroughly impressed. You're spot on once again, and the way you drew a line through the whole series starting with Fiora's outlook and showing how it matches with the message of every single game was just perfect. I think someone else in the comments put it very well, that Fiora's importance is undersold in both XC1 and 3, since she is presumed dead for a chunk of 1 and is literally a sword in 3 but her impact is truly massive, she alters the trajectory of the first game's story both when she leaves and reappears and is the physical embodiment of the ideas and strength that Noah and co depend on throughout the third game. She is undeniably at the core of the games' messages, even if her time as a character can be picked apart from a certain lens. I could never bring myself to dislike Fiora even after hearing the people who dismiss her as a tool for the narrative or a shallow love interest, and this is probably why. And she's cute.

The Lucky Seven!

What a sensational analysis. The parallels I could draw with Zanza and Moebius are immense as evident by 'He wished for a world in perpetual cycle of destruction and recreation', not unlike Z and the Moebius. No wonder in the both narratives, Zanza and Z represents the tyrannical will of Logos in which Fiora in both narratives stands in stark opposition. In the former, as Meyneth's vessel and the latter as Lucky 7 wielded by Noah, the next gen of Ouroborous. The Pneuma's will. I'm very excited to release my Moebius analysis in a few days, I hope you tune in and let me know your thoughts, Phantomheit. Really happy to see people like you deep dive into these games and show a side to them that can be hard on a psychological level to analyze with subtler themes.

I don't know how people don't think the whole cast of 1 isn't phenomenal. Fiora is a great character who I knew I loved and this video was a lovely tribute to her core values and overarching themes which are very prevalent throughout the series. Now I know why they tried *really* hard to push Fiora in the Japanese marketing, and she does deserve better, which FR shows she did eventually get with Shulk and Nikol's moments showing they did get to be a family.

The part about the trinity processors being represented within each game makes so much sense! Feel like something clicked into place in my mind

Her character design is so cute. Nia wil always be number one Xenoblade girl (Xenobabe if you will) but Shulk and Fiora have grown on me somewhat too.

Amazing analysis!

Great video! I honestly never put much thought into Fiora as a character, a younger me was just like "she's boring idc" and I never really challenged that first impression until now. Also, I never thought of the Monado as a representation of fear, but it fits so well, too... Young me was stupid for a lot of reasons 😂

Maybe the real xenoblade was the friends we made along the way. But seriously, I think it’s interesting to note that Fiora has Meyneth’s memories. To me, this at least implies that she has some inkling of the world before Klaus’ experiment. But that’s just my headcanon.

Fascinating video. Really opened my eyes to things about my favourite game I never knew or could put into words. Don't suppose there will ever be a video comparing these two complicated boys to Zanza's other half? I would find it really interesting to hear how Klaus factors into all this.

I find that it's really easy to get distracted by aesthetics or the general consensus around aspects of these games, but every time I watch one of your analysis videos, it cuts through that and opens my eyes to a new way of seeing my favorite series. It feels dramatic to say, but it's one of those things that makes me view my own life through a new lens just like the games themselves do. I sincerely appreciate it!

Your analysis is always incredible!! Truly you're bravely acting as the Pneuma to the Fiora discourse. Your videos always make me think and feel safe. Thank you so much!

It took me a few playthroughs and watchthtoughs of Xenoblade 1 to appreciate Fiora more and more each time. So by the time we find out she is "Lucky 7," I was only upset about it not being said in-game and whatnot but it made sense with her place in the narrative. Lovely analysis 😊

Well I have to give you props for this video. Really well put together and i thoroughly enjoyed it. Gave a unique perspective to Fiora that I definitely didn’t appreciate before.

Fiora being an important character goes without saying. However she’s quite a bad character. Just because she represents something important, doesn’t make her interesting, compelling or well written. Her ideology doesn’t really feel organic or genuine, it just feels like she’s the thematic spokesperson for the series concepts and has to do and say the things she does because no one else will. It also feels as though she’s forced to embody these aspects because she was away from the game for so long that they had to give her an important role. It really doesn’t feel genuine and I just have issues with Xenoblade 1’s character writing in general. I don’t see Fiora as the heart of the series, but whatever concepts she was associated with moved forward and were better established and executed in the future games.

not even halfway through the video and i think this conversation already made me realize a lot about myself. i knew that fiora isn't just "shulk" but i've struggled to understand her being nice. in a similar way, i got very little from mio in xc3 and mostly just saw her as being nice and it felt so empty to me. but after a recent conversation i had, i've realized that i just don't view a lot of acts of kindness as a positive thing and moreso a neutral because of my own views on the actions i take. i'm a very negative person towards myself and have dealt with depression for a long time so my perception of my actions are very biased. for example, i helped a friend get to and from a major, life changing surgery the other day and they were very grateful, but i felt nothing from it. like yeah that's just what i should do, it's not that big of a deal even though that's not what it was like for the other person at all. not that i'm trying to like humble brag about being nice lol but understanding the way i view an action like that and then looking at a character like fiora explains so much to me about how i perceive myself and these characters. this has opened up a whole new world of exploration for me, thank you for this video! you're my favorite modern xenoblade content creator easily