"
So what if I'm a puppet? Once upon a time, you were too!"
—Kadaj to Cloud
Although Tetsuya Nomura wanted Sephiroth to appear in the film from
early in production, a secondary villain just as evil and cruel was
needed, if not a villain more evil due to the film's limited timeframe.
It is for this role that Kadaj was made.
Kadaj
Kadaj embodies Sephiroth's cruelty and insanity, and as such is very
similar to him in some aspects. Nomura has stated that Kadaj wasn't
given an exact age, but was given a young appearance and made the
leader of the Remnants to give the sense of a psychotic, unstoppable
child. Kadaj's voice actor Shotaro Morikubo in the original Japanese
version of the film, helped shape his character as a lost and dazed
youth with an insanity streak - Nomura describes him as "talking
quickly, then speaking slowly or breaking into laughter for no apparent
reason". Morikubo joked that Kadaj's lines were thus difficult to get
right, and it was only after failing to get them right and "losing his
cool" that the desired effects would be achieved.
Several of Kadaj's scenes, including his death with the
involvement of Aerith and his conversations with Rufus, were
last-minute additions originally cut and added back in to expand on the
plot and his character, and the death scene was meant to give a sense
that he had found some sense of relief. As well, the staff invisioned
him as a reminder of what Cloud once was - a puppet to Sephiroth's will
- which led to the inclusion of the line in which Kadaj reminds Cloud
of this. This line in particular endeared Kadaj to the staff, which led
to the development of more scenes featuring him.
edit StoryKadaj initially appears to summon
Shadow Creepers to attack
Cloud Strife while he is out riding
his motorcycle. After speaking to one of the
Turks over the phone, he recalls his monsters and sets off to find
Rufus Shinra. Arriving shortly after Cloud leaves Rufus, Kadaj reveals that the plague
Geostigma is caused by the remnants of Jenova in the
Lifestream,
and that those infected are part of a plan for a second Jenova Reunion
that will recreate Sephiroth. However, Geostigma alone isn't enough,
Jenova's remains are needed, and Kadaj believes Rufus knows where they
are.
With a group of infected children brought to the
Forgotten Capital,
Kadaj proceeds to tell them that Geostigma is caused by their bodies
rejecting Jenova's influence (which ironically, is correct), and that
her presence makes them brethren. Kadaj has the children drink from a
pool of dark water, activating the latent "reunion instinict" in their
Jenova cells. Cloud arrives afterwards and battles Kadaj and his
brothers. Outnumbered and weakened by his own Geostigma infection,
Cloud is defeated but is saved by
Vincent Valentine.
It is at this time that Vincent reveals to Cloud what Geostigma is, and
the impending rebirth of Sephiroth it could mean, although he doesn't
yet reveal Kadaj's connection to Sephiroth.
Kadaj's CG render for the 10th Anniversary of
Final Fantasy VII' Kadaj weilding
Souba.
With the reunion instincts of the children to guide them, the Remnants go to
Edge, where
Loz and
Yazoo battle the
Turks and Kadaj summons
Bahamut SINto attack the city. During the attack, Kadaj confronts Rufus again, and
confirms that Sephiroth is about to be reborn. After Cloud and his
friends defeat Bahamut SIN, Rufus reveals Jenova's head in a box
concealed under his cloak. Casting the box off the building where
they're standing, Kadaj leaps after it and catches it. The ensuing
chase between the Remnants and Cloud along the highways into Midgar
apparently kills Yazoo and Loz. Kadaj gains the lead and stops at the
Sector 5 Churchto inspect Jenova; he is promptly horrified at what is left of her and
cries. Cloud bursts in, and an enraged Kadaj attacks him. However,
Aerithcalls a geyser of healing water to erupt from the flowerbed, wounding
Kadaj and causing him to flee. The water also cures Cloud of his
Geostigma.
Cloud confronts Kadaj outside the ruins of
Shinra Headquarters.
Kadaj is unaware of what to do with Jenova's remains now that he
finally has them; when Cloud points this out, he attacks. Now that he
is cured and back to his full strength, the battle ends with Cloud as
the victor and Kadaj hanging from the edge of a tower. With no other
option, he leaps into the air and absorbs Jenova's cell into his body,
leading to the recreation of
Sephirothmoments later. After Sephiroth is defeated, Kadaj is reformed from his
dissolving remains, and he attempts a half-hearted attack on Cloud but
collapses into his arms, mortally wounded. Weakly calling him
"brother", Cloud holds him while Aerith speaks to Kadaj from the
Lifestream. Believing her to be Jenova, Kadaj calls her "Mother" and
happily dissolves into the Lifestream with her guidance.
Spoilers end here.edit Strength Kadaj performing a Limit Break?
Kadaj is a highly skilled swordsman and is able to battle Cloud
competently one-on-one, although he is defeated. When Cloud is weakened
due to Geostigma, Kadaj is able to match and defeat him, and he is
evidently strong enough to defeat both
Reno and
Rude by himself, as they are incapacitated when he confronts Rufus without his brothers. Kadaj also has access to
Materia in the film, and uses it both to summon Bahamut SIN and to cast
Matra Magic. Even without the aid of Materia, Kadaj is able to summon
Shadow Creepers at will. In
Advent Children Complete, Kadaj is able to infiltrate Healin Lodge by transforming into a black mist.
Upon walking into the water at the Forgotten Capital, it turns
dark and the Jenova cells within the children become active when they
drink it. One might assume this is another power accessed by Materia,
but this is incorrect; the Materia orb in Kadaj's gauntlet does not
glow when he uses this power, as it does whenever he otherwise uses
Matra Magic. It has been speculated that this may be some form of
Limit Break due to the way Kadaj glows when activating this power.