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Eiko Carol Should Be The Focus Of Final Fantasy 9’s Cartoon Series

Years prior to the events of Final Fantasy 9, a storm ravages a tiny village in the northernmost region of the Outer Continent. The vast majority of people from Madain Sari, the village of the summoners, do not make it. Before the people of the town ultimately parish, there’s one more little girl born, and her grandfather cares for her just for a few years before he too is gone. Eiko Carol is just six years old when she begins raising herself, living with only the company of Madain Sari’s Moogles.

Related: Here's Why Final Fantasy 9 Is Perfect For An Animated Series

At such a tender age, Eiko is far more wise, capable, and street smart than most adults I know. Her outside is a tough, bratty little girl with a smart mouth and quick temper. It’s all a big facade, obviously, as Eiko is falling apart on the inside – a little girl who never got to be a little girl. It’s because of Eiko that I’m most interested in the news around a Final Fantasy 9 series, and it’s because of Eiko that I’ll be there on day one to see how a new series portrays her.

With such a beloved cast, I reckon it’s hard to pick and choose who will take up space in each precious second, but Eiko feels like the logical choice here. The show intends to portray a Final Fantasy 9 that’s suitable for younger audiences, and as someone who was only eight years old when discovering Eiko for the first time, I think she’s perfect to lead the way.

Eiko is complex enough for older audiences, but maintains a charm and relatability some of us needed in our youth. As just a little thing who had already experienced far more than a child should have myself, Eiko had a warmth and spunk to her that immediately drew me in. She is not the flat, mindless caricature you find unfairly portraying younger roles, but a complicated little lady who is desperately trying to navigate a world that demanded far too much of her early on.

But it’s not just these moments where you see the tiny summoner cope with her trauma, her loneliness, and her insecurities that make me interested in a more Eiko-focused Final Fantasy 9. I want to see those moments where we lose sight of Eiko, too. I want to know what happened to her on the way to save Princess Garnet as Alexander burned. I want to know more of what went on in her head when she learned about her relation to the princess or the warmth she felt from Regent Cid and his wife, Hilda.

A Final Fantasy 9 animated series means we get to see versions of these characters that are more fleshed out and brought up to modern standards. We can spend episodes in moments that felt like in-game seconds and explore backstories that are forgotten pieces of lore in game manuals and books. I’m eager to see a vision of Final Fantasy 9 that more fairly centers its entire cast, not just Garnet and Zidane.

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