also addressed simply as Vanille, is a character from the Final Fantasy video game series made by Square Enix. She first appeared as a playable character and central character in the 2009 role-playing video game Final Fantasy XIII. A resident of the world of Gran Pulse who was once involved in a war with the artificial world of Cocoon, 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. Vanille appears in smaller roles in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, and novellas related to the Final Fantasy XIII series.
Vanille was created for Final Fantasy XIII by director Motomu Toriyama, who made her the game's narrator, and writer Daisuke Watanabe. Her design, created by artist Tetsuya Nomura, changed little over the Final Fantasy XIII games. She is voiced by Yukari Fukui in Japanese, and by Georgia van Cuylenburg in English. The character has seen mixed reactions from journalists, focusing on her appearance and initially-girlish personality, with particularly harsh criticism being levied towards the character's voice in the English localization. Additional commentary has focused on her overall story arc and relationship with fellow character Oerba Yun Fang, praising it as one of the best aspects of the game.
Concept and creation
Vanille, as with the rest of the cast of Final Fantasy XIII, was created by director Motomu Toriyama and scenario writer Daisuke Watanabe, with the overarching theme being "characters at the mercy of a predetermined, unjust fate". Her appearance was designed by recurring Final Fantasy artist Tetsuya Nomura. Due to the story progression, Toriyama wanted a unified point of view, and added Vanille's narration to this end. An element of the character's portrayal in the 2013 sequel Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII was guilt at her actions in the backstory of XIII, leading her to be easily manipulated by antagonistic factions. Her story arc also shared a common thread of emotional burdens with the rest of the cast. Her motion capture actress was Asami Katsura, who "played each and every movement carefully" in the original game.
Standing 161 cm (5' 3") tall, Vanille was given twin pigtails by Nomura to emphasize her "girlish" personality. When asked to make her outfit different from the people of Cocoon, he decided to go with an ethnic costume design and examined tribal cultures around the world. Specifically taking inspiration from the Himba people of Namibia, he implemented elements such as fine ornaments and a fur around the waist into her design. During development, one of the developers insisted on the concept of Vanille using a yo-yo as her weapon, but Nomura felt the idea was uninteresting and a hindrance. After discussion the developer clarified he wanted a weapon with a string that pulled the enemy, and Nomura gave her a fishing rod as a result. Vanille is a "l'Cie": humans cursed with magical powers and a task to complete. Her crystalline form, the fate of l'Cie who have fulfilled their purpose, was the first to be designed and used as a basis for those of the other characters. Vanille's design changed little in Lightning Returns, with the only addition being a pink-coloured headdress with ornate horns intended to give an impression of divinity.
Voice casting
Vanille is voiced by Yukari Fukui in Japanese. Fukui, who had previously worked with Square Enix to voice the character Terra in Dissidia: Final Fantasy, stated in an interview in the book Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega that she was offered the role "out of the blue", and went to the audition without even knowing the name of the game until Dissidia staff told her it would be a Final Fantasy title after her performance. When portraying the character she aimed "not to forget to always smile and be energetic and have a positive attitude". She stated the role was a bit challenging, due to Vanille's characterization of secrecy and concern for fellow XIII character Fang. She related these aspects to herself and aimed to portray the character with a positive mindset due to her own experiences. She was told to ad-lib in between lines or during movement to help express the character's innocence, however she was nervous about going off-script and at most ad-libbed onomatopoeias. As the character's narration grew "darker", she deepened her voice gradually to match the tone.