This Artwork Perfectly Imagines Final Fantasy VII’s Tifa in Manga Fashion

Final Fantasy VII remains one of the most iconic video games of all time, and its popularity shows no signs of dropping, some 20+ years after its release. Final Fantasy‘s VII‘s anime inspirations have always been clear to fans of the genre – and now one fan is taking that inspiration in the other direction!

Getting a Final Fantasy VII manga series is the stuff of dreams – and as this piece of fan art shows, getting Tifa in manga form is just about the most beautiful kind of dream fans could see realized:

If you’re not familiar, Tifa Lockhart is the childhood friend of Final Fantasy VII‘s hero Cloud Atlas. Tifa was a lead member of the eco-terrorist insurgent group AVALANCHE when the game starts, and it’s she who convinces Cloud (who serves as a mercenary for hire) to join AVALANCHE in the fight to save the planet and eco-system from the Shinra corporation. Tifa is also the first character to help Cloud unlock the crucial memories of his past, and his connection to the game’s villain, Sephiroth. Tifa was a badass bartender and her combat style of hand-to-hand martial arts combat made her a standout in the game; since Final Fantasy VII‘s release she’s been repeatedly voted onto fan-favorite lists for best female video game characters, and has become an icon in her own right.

It’s no coincidence that this manga art of Tifa is striking a chord with fans: E3 2019 revealed the trailer for the Final Fantasy VII remake that’s coming to PS4, and the first look at Tifa was a major draw for that. With the game’s updated graphics (especially in the CGI cut-scene segments), we’re now closer than ever to getting an anime version of Tifa – and fans are definitely here for it. It’s an equally big hope that with the release of the Final Fantasy VII remake, and the current mainstream popularity of anime and manga, we may have all the motivation needed to finally get a full Final Fantasy VII manga and/or anime series. Fingers crossed.

The Final Fantasy VII remake will be released in several “episodes” of content, starting on March 3, 2020, on PS4.