Final Fantasy VII: The Kids Are Alright - A Turks Side Story

by Kazushige Nojima, Sho-u Tajima (Artist), Tetsuya Nomura (Artist)

I thought my place in the world was gone, but the world is so much bigger than I expected.

Evan Townshend is just one of many who lost everything during Meteorfall two years ago, and like the others, he has had to rebuild his life. In his case, this means working for Mireille's Investigative Services, a small company that tracks down missing friends and family. But when a case of mistaken identity drags him into a run-in with the Shinra Company's intimidating Administrative Research Department (better known as the Turks), Evan and his fellow investigator Kyrie Canaan begin a journey to discover the truth—about both the world around them and themselves.

And the truths they uncover may run deeper than they expect...

Experience another side of the world of FINAL FANTASY VII with this prequel to Advent Children!

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Light Novel, Manga, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Video Games

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi, I love Evan Townshend and Kyrie Canaan so much. They are magnificent and share only one brain cell. I would die for these two dumbasses.

Also sharing just one brain cell are the Turks, and omg, I love them. I love them so much. "We kind of want to be your friend, but we're also the Mafia." *shoots a guy in the background* "No hard feelings, right?"

But seriously, I loved seeing further into the Turks' way of doing things. It's already so hot that they're the muscle and undercover mission specialists for the Shinra Electric Power Company, but any time I can see them individually as people. Pachameme.png

Tseng is still as cool-headed and attractive as ever. I did not know how hardcore and ready to kill a man at any time Elena was, but I'm so glad I know that now. Then, there's Reno and Rude, these beautiful idiots, these absolute buffoons. Them: [does everything wrong] Me: You have never done anything wrong in your life ever. I know this, and I love you.

Having these guys be partners is absolute poetic cinema; I could watch their interactions for hours. Would I climb Rude like a tree? Best believe it. And omg, I love Reno so much. I truly didn't think I could love him or be more attracted to him than I already was, but this book proved me absolutely wrong, wow.

"And whose fault is it that we're here?" said Kyrie, and we each pointed at Reno just as he pointed with both hands at us.

See? Who wouldn't fall for this absolute ridiculous disaster of a moron?

Okay, might as well go ahead and put all my cards on the table. Thanks to the Advent Children movie, I've always felt a tingling of something for Rufus Shinra. It never went much of anywhere because here he is, ~mysteriously robed~ for most of the movie, face covered, armed mostly with a hot voice, and there are Reno and Vincent standing right there, then Kadaj happened to me, and then Sephiroth appeared. It's just a lot to measure up to, y'know? Rufus didn't stand a chance.

Well, thanks to this book, now he fucking does, and I hate it. I hate that if Shinra ever got back on its feet, I would be That Bitch applying for Doofus Shinra's secretary position because I, too, am an absolute moron. I could've been free from this basicness, but no. Rufus had to go and be in top form here, with wry dialogue, obvious chemistry between him and the Turks, and an absolutely endearing relationship with Evan. And then, he had to go and be unflappable and manipulative and In Control at all times, like Whomst the Fuck?

And then there's Kadaj.

Okay.

How dare... the film hold back so much of what he could do, ability-wise?

Like okay, I get it. The film came out first and maybe we didn't even know. The book came later, and Kadaj in the film was already cranked up to fucking 100, absolutely batshit crazy, but, look, hear me out. Hear me out.

Why not crank him up to 101 and let him be even more batshit crazy? There's still room! We have plenty of time and space to do this, so let's see it. Let's see him be able to remove and give back people's pain, to absorb their feeling and memories with a touch, to appear as the people you love most, even if they're dead. I just got gut-punched if Kadaj had done this to, say, Cloud and had actually appeared as either Aerith or Zack to mess with him while he was at his lowest point. The nerve. Also, wow, Hot.

I'm also feeling Some Typa Way--and maybe I'm reading this wrong--but I feel Some Typa Way about Kadaj assuming at least the partial identity of an old flame of Kyrie's. It's just Wow. Okay. Cool cool cool cool. It's just good writing. Also, I'm laughing so much at how briefly Kadaj had contact with Sephiroth in the Lifestream and is all, "I didn't care for him." Absolutely perfect.

I also, of course, enjoyed all the cameos of other Final Fantasy VII characters I received. Cloud. Tifa. Nanaki. Even if they weren't there for very long, this translation was so true to who they are as characters. You feel them living on the page. What also tended to help was Evan's unusual narration; there's a lot of character work that went into this, and I absolutely loved the entire thing.

And yeah, if I wasn't already vibrating out of my skin for the Final Fantasy VII remake, I would be after reading this. As it is, I think I've transcended into some other plane where time is meaningless and yet it means everything. Good Lord, is it March 2020 yet?

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my God where do I even begin.

Well, first off, I need to say that I truly cannot believe that I have this book. I own it. It is physically in my hands. I never thought I'd see the day that this book got an official English translation and publication. I scoured the internet for years for even a fan translation of it with no luck.

But now it's here. And Square Enix somehow got it out and published five months before I even knew about it.

It's fine, though. It's fine. All is forgiven now, because I read it and it was everything I wanted and more.

But, anyway, I should talk about the book itself now, shouldn't I?

I should say right off the bat that if you're super invested in the main Final Fantasy VII crew, this book won't be your cup of tea. Yeah Tifa, Cloud, and a few others make brief appearances—with the Turks taking up most of the known character page time—but they are by no means the main focus of the story. Our main characters are original characters to this book, pretty much just trying to get by in the crazy world that is the Final Fantasy VII universe.

But, as someone who lives for this kind of shit, I was not only completely unbothered, but utterly delighted with this concept.

So, who are these original characters? I shall tell you.

The story follows Evan Townsend, a seventeen year old orphan eeking out a life in a post-Meteorfall world. He and his friends—Kyrie, Leslie, and Fabio—run a Private Investigation firm in the city of Edge, a newly formed city on the edge (get it?) of the remnants of the industrial metropolis of Midgar. The conditions of this basically post-apocalyptic world are as you'd expect. No electricity, little resources, and lots of survivors trying to make a life for themselves in this veritable wasteland.

But poor Evan, after being presumably abandoned by his mother right around the beginning of the events in the main Final Fantasy VII game, winds up getting roped into a whole slew of shenanigans—mostly due to his own lack of self-awareness, but also the Turks. And a friend who decided to steal a special medication for his little brother suffering from the geostigma.

Yeah, poor Evan gets the short end of the stick.

Now, listen, I loved Evan. I adored him. He was all bark and no bite. He lied a bunch to make himself sound tougher to his friends (as they were originally from Midgar's slums, while Evan, though he lived a hard life, was from the Plate—the topside part, and more well-to-do area of Midgar), he suffered from indigestion whenever a stressful situation arose, and was just generally unsure of himself due to being presumably abandoned by his mother who may have run off to be with a lover.

I genuinely loved him. His first person POV sections were fun, and, quite honestly, were I just a random citizen in the Final Fantasy VII universe, I'd probably be Evan. If I weren't already dead.

Evan's interactions with the main Final Fantasy VII characters were an absolute joy. I literally busted out laughing when he described Tifa as having "curves in all the right places." Normally that description would make me roll my eyes hard enough to detach the retina, but it just felt entirely in character for this seventeen year old try hard to say about the confident, pretty, twenty-five year old Tifa, that I accepted it.

And then there were the Turks, the most prominent known characters in the book. The friendship he winds up having with Reno and Rude specifically was wonderful. Not to be your typical female Final Fantasy VII fan, but God I love Reno. Chaotic stupid redhead. An absolute idiot with a sort of thug mentality—but with a heart.

Most of Evan's situation in the book is Reno's fault, honestly. But it came from a good place? I think that helps?

Anyway, Evan's friends were pretty cool, too. I kinda loved that Leslie had a girlfriend that he decided to move in with to take care of because she's pregnant. I don't know why. It was just a nice detail to give this side character. But Kyrie in particular was so much fun, holy hell. A con artist from a family of con artists who is trying her best to go somewhat straight. I found her incredibly endearing, and her relationship with Evan was cute. You'll find no complaints from me on that front.

Fabio and Bits were pretty good, too. But they mostly served as a way to get the plot moving, as they are both key in Evan's comfortable little niche in Edge falling to pieces. Whether that's for better or for worse? That's up for debate.

But I'm beating around the bush. Namely, the entire reason why I literally screamed in utter glee upon discovering that this book was finally officially published in English: Kadaj.

Now, I truly, completely, and unironically love Advent Children, the movie for which this book serves as bridge to the original game. The events of the book mostly take place two years after the events of Final Fantasy VII and about two weeks (I believe?) before Advent Children, leaving plenty of time for the author to have fun in this vast playground.

And the fact that the author was given the ability to set up Kadaj's origins? OOOOooooohhohohohohohoooo boy.

It was the fact that Kadaj serves as basically the main antagonist for the latter half of the book that had me desperate to get my hands on it. I love Kadaj. He is everything I love in a villain. He is completely unhinged, manipulative, unabashedly sadistic, and suffering from probably one of the worst instances of identity crisis in history. What more could I possibly hope for in a villain?

Now, I pretty much had this book's detailed English synopsis memorized by the time I finally got to read this, and it still did not properly prepare me for what Kadaj is capable of. And the fact that Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz's names are actually the names of Kyrie's dead childhood friends? The fact that Kadaj decided to just keep the name of a dead boy Kyrie loved as his own? Jesus Christ, that's cruel. I fucking love it.

This book showcased abilities that Kadaj (and likely the other Remnants) possess that the movie does not. Kadaj can dip into people's minds and read their thoughts and memories, then use that information to shape shift into his target's loved ones—usually people who are already dead. And I just. Hoo buddy. Those are. Certainly things he did.

He also either moves lightning fast or can teleport. I cannot remember if he did the latter in the movie, but I sure do know that he has the reflexes of a jungle cat. But still, the way it is utilized is a lot for my weak constitution having ass.

I just. [clenches fist] This book did not disappoint, and far exceeded my expectations—both in regards to Kadaj content and writing.

The writing! How could I forget to mention. The writing was so surprisingly good. It read like a straight English YA novel, not something that was translated from Japanese into English. Now, I don't know about you, but I've read a lot of translated Japanese content. It can be largely hit or miss. Sometimes the writing comes across as incredibly stiff—which is usually the case with literal translations that haven't gone through a lot of localization, or just haven't been edited to be read with English reading eyes.

But that was not the case with this. Whoever the translator was, I tip my hat to you. They did such an incredibly good job. The prose was good, the dialogue felt natural, and the inner dialogue for each POV felt in tune with the characters.

God. I just. Pacha.jpg. That's all I can possibly say.

Anyway, there was a lot I didn't touch on here, mostly because I desperately want you guys to actually read the book for yourselves. Namely the select few friends who may be reading this review right now. Go buy this. I promise it's worth it. Especially if you're a fan of Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children, the Turks, or, my beacon of dark light, Kadaj.

Please. It's lonely in this little corner. Read it. I beg.

[Matisse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is something of a well-kept, well-earned secret.

To understand it, you need to have played all of Final Fantasy VII--a 20-year-old RPG--and then watched Advent Children, the film sequel from 2005. And yes, this book was brought to the US in this, our year 2019. So, it's not what you'd call 'accessible' to everyone.

But if you're familiar with the material, this book is a must-read.

This story is an interquel between FFVII and Advent Children, and the blurb will tell you that it focuses on the Turks--the FFVII world's equivalent of Team Rocket--but that's not entirely true. We focus on a band of new college-age kids with attitude, and while their tale begins as a simple mission to swindle some people for chump change, it ends as....well, it's still a Final Fantasy story. They tend to get weird and philosophical toward the end. = ) The Turks weave in and out of the narrative, as do the heroes of FFVII, but the focus remains on the new kids. It's a bit like Kingdom Hearts in that way.

I haven't read 'On the Way to a Smile' yet, but I'm thinking this will be my favorite piece of FFVII media for a while. We as an audience are familiar with Cloud and his AVALANCHE buddies, so while seeing them in their own interquel will be nice, it's sort of...expected. I loved the Turks when I played through FFVII, and their development in Advent Children is fantastic. This book goes so far as to make them heroes in their own bizarre, bureaucratic way.

A note about the translation: this is one of the best-translated light novels I've come across. It reads more like someone set out to write a novel and use Anime-esque tropes and dialogue, rather than someone badly translated something in another language.

[Nyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

re-read: this was even better than when I read it the first time. I need more Turks stories 💞
—————————————————
"Nothing you need to worry about, okay? It's gonna be about two more hours. You guys should get some shut-eye. Not you, Rude."

My levels of joy are spiking every time I see RenoRude and in this book they fuckin' skyrocketed. I. NEED. MORE. TURKS. STORIES!!!!
(No promises but I'll try to make this review about everyone and not only those idiots :p)
*psa - i'm gonna be biased asf when i write this cause i just love their duo so much*

ᯓ𓆝 "And whose fault is it that we're here?" said Kyrie, and we each pointed at Reno as he pointed with both hands at us.

Evan was a really interesting main character. They way he was analyzing everything in the book was, interesting, to say the least.
I was so surprised when I read he's friends with Kyrie and Leslie cause wth, they were the last characters I expected to see here. I loved their little group, glad to see Lesie and Marle reunited and are leaving their happy life together <3
Kyrie my love - she's so silly. Especially with her instinct to bolt whenever she sees the Turks haha.
The whole Lifestream reading bullshit made me wanna laugh cause there's no way people actually believed it *sob*.
Both of them had such a great character development throughout this book I swear.
Ngl I was lowkey skeptical around the first 50 pages, but after that I absolutely loved them. Evan's subplot and his ties to Shinra were also really interesting, although one could suspect it from the start. I am not gonna spoil much here, don't worry. I just wish he was more honest with Kyrie cause I was screaming at him every 10 or so pages to just tell her the damn truth and cut the lies already. *props to you, Canaan, for not giving up on your mans.*
My only complaint about Evan is that I wish the storyline with his mother got some more pages than what I got with the ending. Aaaand maybe I'd have stretch out the ending little more *did they really fuckin cut the Shinra meetup @ Seventh Heaven from me >:(*

TIFA BEST BIG SIS EVER!!!
I loved her and Evan's little interaction before his journey to Nibelheim. It's the little things about the main storyline and characters', well, characters, that make the books so good in my opinion. Also the way she was surprised that Cloud actually spoke to him - lol.


ᯓ𓆝 "Hey, Rude. You pissed at me?" Reno called, an unabashed whine. "C'mon, man. You can't just cold-zone me now. Tseng and Elena aren't answering my calls, and the boss just tells me to finish the monument. I know they're starting something awesome without us. We're outcasts! Me and you, you and me. If we don't stick together then what?"

R&R my idiotssss <3333 I enjoyed every little mention of them and I'm so happy they finally got to shine in the books (compared to the AC one and the movie)
They're just so unserious I love them. And the banter - the banter is top tier. Reno's friendship attempts with Kyrie and Evan was so sweet. I love how at the start he was just yapping away while Rude was wiping the floor with Evan, fast forward to them not wanting to shoot cuz "omg what if we hit the kids :((( rude staph dOnT sHoOt plz"
Basically their every exchange was like "Evan, Kyrie, long time no see! Oh ignore Elena beating the shit out of some guy in the background :)" *lol*
Live laugh love Turks, they're just big ol' goofballs.




Not me forgetting about Kadaj *whoops* anywayyy.... he was there. And I was sitting there like; ???? ain't u supposed to be dead or sum???(i could be just mixing the timeline here but nvm) also why tf did Kyrie knew Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz??? the fuck?
Bro's being overpowered as per usual, even more than in the movie. Lowkey wish he appeared some more *this is just my excuse to bitch about the book being so short - i think that's my only complaint about it* cause I still need some details and explanations PLEASE.
Poor Evan though, I think Kadaj lowkey hates the poor guy. I mean, it's lowkey your fault that you just don't listen to people Kad :((. Also fuck this once Doc that lied to Evan's mother - get him Tseng 3
Lastly let me talk about my gurl Elena - she's being a kinda rash and stupid diva once again. I love how she just kicks ass wherever she goes, also her half-assed apologies had me rolling. You will impress Tseng one day, girl, I believe in you.
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In conclusion - the book was great. I think I liked it even more than the short stories (except the Rufus one, cause obv, renorude) and it was a great addition to the series :>

Once again my reviews make no sense, but, well, you should be used to it by now haha *laughs nervously as i try to not just make this review a mindless bunch of "i loved it" "best shit i read" "10/10 cause renorude"*

[Z Hyun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for Final Fantasy 7 and I have been a fan for years. I will give a spoiler warning because I have HEAVY feelings about this book in relation to the overall Final Fantasy Canon so please ignore if you don't want to be spoiled.


I had such an issue with the advertisement of this book. If you expected the novel to revolve around the Turks you are highly mistaken. Tifa and Cloud are only ever in the book for a millisecond (not even full scenes just random scenes which feel really out of place). I enjoyed learning about Kadaj and his origins but this book felt like such a random place to do it. Kyrie and Evan's relationship also feels extremely forced. I feel as though they could have remained as friends but the book had to keep reminding us that Evan was deeply in love with Kyrie. I did enjoy seeing a more human side to the TURK's but they do not get enough time to be fully dynamic. If you are already familiar with them then you will understand that they may have not needed to be fully fleshed out but at the same time this could have been the place to expand on their characters more. I liked Evan to a point. I loved Leslie, I learned so much about him which made his presence in the remake not too random for me. I also think that the fact that President Shinra has so many illegitimate children is way too overplayed. I mean we already have Lazard who plays a pivotal role in Crisis Core so we did not need another one. I think if Evan was a character separate from the main cast and not just shoved in our face to be another Shinra kid, I would have liked him more than I did. Kyrie was cool and Fabio went completely under the radar. I did not enjoy his character but he was honestly just there for filler in the Detective Agency, he had zero reason to be there other than the fact his little brother has geo stigma and that is what prompts the TURKS to be involved. The search for Evan's mother was really shocking, I was really baffled by it at the end. While I could go on and on about the faults in this book I think the writing was great, the author really put some heart into the words which made it digestible. I think unless you really want more context for advent children I would just overlook this novel in comparison to the On the Way to a smile one. I think it's a good read but definitely not necessary to the plot. The TURK's really need a better stand alone novel where its really about them, there is so many of them so it's really not too much to ask, their involvement in this one is kind of unnecessary. This book is actually really funny in spite of my criticism, I was laughing at some of the moments so really funny but not the TURK filled novel I was looking for.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly? I didn’t really see the point of it. There’s passing mentions and a couple appearances of party members from FFVII and that’s really it. The title suggests the main characters would be the Turks, but that’s not the case either. Instead we get a whole book about new characters I don’t give a flying fuck about. I get the vague connections they have with the main cast as well as events that happen in the video game as well as Advent Children, but by the time I got to that part I didn’t even care. Maybe I’m just too cynical about it though.

[Zoey Conway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome side story!!! If you are a Final Fantasy 7 Fan I definitely recommend this read.
(Especially if you love the Turks🤭) and also you get to learn more lore about these amazing side characters and it’s a perfect read before watching or rewatching Advent Children 🗡️🥹🩶

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snoozefest. I from the time I started this to the time I finished it I read four other books because I could ALWAYS find an excuse not to read this. So how did I finish it? Well, just because I could FIND an excuse doesn't mean I took it. I needed to get it back to the library and hate to quit books in the middle. They have to be truly atrocious to do so. This is not atrocious, it is just dull, meandering, boring, pointless, uninteresting, lacking in characters to care about. In all honesty I'd been putting it over for over 18 months when our library got it because I didn't think I'd care much for a story featuring the Turks. I kind of wish I'd listened to myself and left it totally unread. Alas, I started and so I eventually finished. Sadly, it just didn't appeal to me.

[Dieter Maggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the book is interesting by having a perspective of the events of Final Fantasy VII from a guy not involved at all, a completely ordinary person and those around him. While he does get involved in a somewhat larger picture leading up to the events of Advent Children the story goes both nowhere and everywhere leading you to ask 'why?' constantly.

Towards the end it was somewhat interesting but added in too many references that it began to feel more like some kind of fanfiction written in a hurry.

All in all it's worth a read if you like exploring the world of FFVII and characters in the Remake are introduced in this.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad. It felt a bit meandering and there's a lot of characters to keep track of, but overall the two leads are pretty great and it did have a satisfying ending.

[Lis · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's alright, but the nearer you get to the end the more it looks like some weird fanfic.
There's good parts, there's bad parts.

[Dustin (dragonarmybooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a BookTube channel where I review books, give reading suggestions, and more! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/dragonarmybooks

---

This is the most fan fictiony official fan service I've ever read before.

Finally translated to English and published by Square Enix in 2019, The Kids Are Alright is a Final Fantasy VII side story. Content that is clearly for hardcore fans of the the game who have also watched the animated movie, Advent Children.

The plot centers around Evan Townshend, a young private detective living amongst the remains of Midgar post-Metoerfall. While the majority of the story is told through Evan's POV, we do have a few other contributing POVs, including a few from some notable Turks. Evan gets wrapped up with Reno and Rude as he searches for his mother after they were seperated during the climactic events of the titular video game.

There is plenty of fan service in this book. You get shoutouts to every single party member from the original game, except for poor Cait Sith. Tifa, Cloud, and Nanaki all get some screen time. Even some characters (Leslie, Kyrie, Mireille) featured in the Remake show up. While it was nice to see some of these characters, I didn't particularly like our protagonist. Evan was fairly annoying and often made nonsensical decisions. Furthermore, the plot kind of just happened. A number of occurrences weren't built up properly, making the payoff nonexistent.

I'm definitely glad I read it. It's Final Fantasy, so I could read many more like it. I just wish a better story was told and written.

[Lynn Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored reading this novella.

It actually read like a video game (I could totally see this working), and I felt a connection to Evan from the very first page. I loved his character growth throughout the story; he really matured near the end, letting go of insecurities and grudges, while still remaining his somewhat clumsy self. I actually thought he was quite adorable at times~ And I loved reading about his feelings for Kyrie.

What I especially loved were the appearances of several key-characters from the games, such as Cloud and Tifa, Denzel, Marlene, Red XIII/Nanaki, but also Reno and Rude. Ah yes, those two. They often pull shitty stunts, but they've certainly got heart and thanks to Evan and Kyrie they truly began listening to their conscience. I really appreciated how the author made the characters appear just as they do in the games and movie, staying true to their personalities (though I guess it makes sense, since the author is also the script writer for the games). As I read the dialogues, I could literally hear their voices!

Last but not least, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the ending of Advent Children was implemented in the ending of this book; it was so lovely to find out what actually happened later that day, that Cloud and the others went to Seventh Heaven (to drink all night, according to Barret). It just paints a nice picture ;)

The Kids Are Alright is a must-read for any (hardcore) Final Fantasy VII fan out there! I will certainly read this one again!

[Grace B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this as it filled in some gaps in the ffvii universe and expanded on some lesser focused on characters. As someone who loves reno and rude so much with their singular brain cell, I loved seeing more of them in this. Also loved rufus’ portrayal in this it honestly cracked me up. The connection and explanation of the main antagonists of Advent Children was amazinggg I was so excited to see Kadaj show up. Cause I love that creepy mf. My only complaints are that I did find it a bit confusing at times. And I can see how someone who hasn’t obsessively hyperfixated on this game/movie/lore find it super confusing. And, as much as sometimes I liked him, often Evan got on my nerves a bit mostly due to the semi awkward feeling romantic subplot.

[Adam 01 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ein nettes Buch, was als Bindeglied zwischen dem Spiel, dem Buch "Der Blick nach vorne" und dem Film "Advent Children" fungiert. Dabei geht es hauptsächlich um Charaktere, die weder im Spiel noch im Film vorkommen. Zieht sich gegen Ende etwas, aber ein durchaus spannendes Buch. Weiterzuempfehlen wenn man das Originalspiel spielte und noch ein wenig in der FF7 Lore baden möchte.

**SPOILER**

Die neuen Charaktere sind alle leider etwas langweilig. Vor allem der Protagonist, der Halbbruder von Rufus Shinra, zeigt erst so gegen Ende richtige Charakterzüge.

[Nea Poulain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ay, si me gusto. Fue muy bonito ver que pasa con Kyrie (y me hace si la trilogía de los nuevos juegos va a tener algún guiño al origen de ejem otros tres personajes) y con Leslie porque quiero mucho a Leslie.
Y Evaaaaaaan, jajaja, lo quiero.

[Aiden Keene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A normal guy completely out of his league in the universe of ff7 is absolutely hilarious.

[Jared Delcamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy, it’s great and 5 stars. If you’re not then 3 stars and I’d suggest going for Dawn of the Future or Traces of Two Pasts first.

[Unknown Lifeform · Rating 5 out of 5]

The real beauty of this book is that it lets us see our favorite Final Fantasy VII characters through the lenses of a very normal, kind of uncool guy, which really puts into perspective how insane the cast of the game is. Evan's small dog syndrome truly is what carries the whole story

[Jorge Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro pertenece a esa serie de complementos que expandieron el universo de FFVII, cronológicamente se ubica entre el final del juego original y el inicio de la película FFVII: advent children. El protagonista es Evan Townshend un hombre joven que trabaja en una agencia de investigación privada con Kyrie Canaan, Leslie Kyle, entre otros. El atractivo de esta agencia que se ha vuelto popular después de la caída de meteoro es que Kyrie parece ser que puede comunicarse con el planeta, ¿cómo es eso posible? Son cosas que deberán descubrir al leer el libro al menos de que quieran spoilers.

El libro se divide en 2 partes y tiene dos estilos narrativos desde la perspectiva de Evan y desde tercera persona, en los momentos protagonisados por el resto de personajes. Hablando de personajes, la historia de una u otra forma conecta a los personajes del juego original, todo el equipo original tiene una participación dentro de la historia (demasiadas casualidades) algunos con más peso que otros, narrando su vida después de vencer a sephiroth y antes de advent children. Por mencionar un ejemplo, Cloud y su servicio de mensajería tienen una participación casual durante la historia.
Además del equipo protagonico, la historia se centra en los Turks y Rufus; Rude y Reno tienen muchas apariciones en la primer parte y una relación muy interesante con Evan, dando la primer conexión directa con el juego original y como Evan tiene conexión con Shinra. Tseng y Elena también aparecen en menor medida y durante la segunda parte se revela como los turks logran dar con la ubicación de las partes de Jenova siendo uno de los detalles más interesantes e importantes de la trama.
El libro también presenta otros personajes secundarios del juego y del contenido adicional, así que al leerlo notarán muchos guiños de la franquicia y en más de una ocasión los dejara sorprendidos.
La historia conecta lugares y personajes desde perspectiva diferente a las que ya hemos conocido con el juego, pero su punto más fuerte son Evan y Kyrie, sus personalidades ajustan bien en el universo de FF, Evan es un personaje noble que pretende ser rudo y distante, siempre autocuestiona sus propias decisiones y tiene esos pequeños momentos de reflexión en sus acciones, por otro ladoKyrie es una chica que no tiene miedo de decir las cosas, es extrovertida y es la que tiene más conexión con la historia original de FFVII (incluso aparece en el último trailer).
Pero siendo sincero, aunque la historia me gustó tuvo ciertos detalles que debilitan la experiencia narrativa y como lector puede ser o muy confuso o muy predecible, la primera que mencionaré son las casualidades, claro que como fan me encanta saber que fue de cloud, tifa, red XIII, entre otros pero aunque unos entran a escena adecuadamente otros son una casualidad demasiado fortuita, ¿cuanta es la probabilidad de que te topes específicamente a cada uno en un lapso tan corto?, el otro punto es que en toda la historia siempre había una advertencia constantemente y es "cuidate de los monstruos", si esperan oír de alguna bestia de FFVII, esta historia no es la adecuada, fue algo muy decepcionante.
Si tuviera que enumerar las razones por las que deben conocer este libro son por la resolución de los misterios principales que estuvo excelente, mostrando el preámbulo para una nueva amenaza al mundo, y el misterio que involucra 3 cosas: la madre de evan, Shinra y la reunión. Y la otra es que Kyrie y Leslie aparecerán en el remake, Lesli es un personaje secundario pero en el libro se da a entender su relación con Don Corneo, es algo imperdible.

Final fantasy VII: the kids are alright: a turks side story es una lectura amena, interesante y altamente recomendable para aquellos que jugaron el juego y vieron la película, dale una oportunidad a expandir el mundo de FFVII y que sus personajes y acontecimientos sean parte de tus recuerdos.
Es importante aclarar que el libro solo es recomendable si se conoce el juego, porque no se tomará molestias en explicar quiénes son los personajes presentados.

[Valentina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5/5

I am not giving this book a more specific rating because it works perfectly as what it is: A spin-off and supplementary story to the wide wide world of Final Fantasy VII. There is no point reading this book without being VERY familiar with the original game as well as the film Advent Children.

First of all, I LOVE Final Fantasy VII and I am not even going to try to be objective in this review because I know I can‘t.

That being said, this book is once again, an absolute hidden gem. It might not tie as directly into the story as Nojima‘s other book (On the Way to aA Smile) yet it is so neatly interwoven with the main story. It's clear that it's the same universe, yet it never feels forced. There is so much to discover about this world and the characters and so many explanations to be found that I didn‘t even know I needed.

We follow a young man named Evan Townshend looking for his mother and trying to figure out what she was involved in and he himself really is. This book gives a lot of new perspective on some well-loved characters from the original series while introducing it's own to show aspects of Midgar and Edge that I never knew were even a thing. We cross paths with many characters we know but most notably the Turks.

The Turks always had their massive fanbase (especially Reno) yet I always felt that they deserved more depth and this book really offers a lot of insight into their jobs, their attitudes towards their work and generally their characters, which I welcomed a lot. We also meet Lesli and Kyrie and get to know them VERY well, two characters that have been very neatly worked into the Remake. It was very nice to see that, especially Lesli, didn‘t just come out of nowhere.

Nojima uses this novel to answer some questions one might be having about the main story while simultaneously showing us that the event of the original story was visible and has affected so many people.

What surprised me and blew me away the most was Kadaj‘s appearance. Wow. I am not going to say much but I wish they would have characterised him in the film the way Nojima did in the book. That would have made the film so much better. He felt so much more intimidating, stronger and scarier, in fact, he felt a lot more like Sephiroth, than he did in the film and I liked that a lot.

And to everyone who has read the book, that scene at the end made me sob. How did the ending of this book, that didn‘t even revolve around Cloud, give Cloud a more satisfying ending than the film did?

If you are a fan of Final Fantasy VII I would say this book is an absolute must!

[Hello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent writing! If there's more of this for the world of FF I'd love to read it. Keep em coming!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re considering reading this book, it’s probably because you’re already a fan of Final Fantasy VII. And that’s really who it’s for.

On its own merits, this isn’t a great book. The protagonist, Evan Townshend, doesn’t have a lot of agency throughout, and the book bounces around a fair bit and makes a narrative leap or two to make some plot threads work. However, as someone who simply loves this world and just wants to hang out in it, this book added texture to the world of FFVII and gave me more information about the Turks and the regular people who were affected by meteor fall at the end of the game’s story.

There is a pseudo-romance between Evan and his friend Kyrie that isn’t super interesting, but it’s there just enough to keep you rooting for it, and there are enough cameos from famous characters to keep fans happy. Tifa in particular gets a decent amount of screen time from behind the counter of 7th Heaven, and the Turks themselves are fairly prevalent. The key locations of the book are also nice to visit. Nibelheim will always have a special place in my heart for how eerie it feels every time I think about it, and it’s in this book.

There is chatter about Jenova, finding a cure for geostigma, Shinra, Cloud’s delivery service, and other aspects of this unique world. There’s really not much to say except this: If you’re someone who truly loves Final Fantasy VII, its characters, its world, and its story, this is a must, as it adds layers to an already-rich tapestry. Hang out at the Icicle Lodge, chat with Tifa at the bar, and make the trek all the way to Nibelheim while searching for your lost mother and uncovering other mysteries along the way. What’s not to like?

You’re already knee-deep in this stuff anyway, aren’t you? If you’re not, this book isn’t for you. If you are, the lifestream’s fine, so why not take a dip?

[szara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5
This was an overall bittersweet read - on one hand getting new canon Turks content was great, on the other I found the main character irritating and didn't come to like him until the very end. I'm used to Final Fantasy VII stories to be a bit ridiculous at times so that didn't deter me from giving this book a higher rating even though the ending felt a bit rushed - the closure of some plot points deserved more attention and exposure, especially considering how much of useless messing around Edge we get at the beginning. And then there's Evan - our main hero and the only character to get first person narration. I wanted him to grow on me but unfortunately his internal monologue repeatedly prevented me from getting to cheer him on. I also wished to like Kyrie more but I think Evan's narration was to blame why I didn't after all. I don't recommend to read it if your main motivation is the presence Cloud and Tifa - they're listed among main characters at the beginning of the book but there's not nearly enough content with them to be worth getting through all of Evan's adventures. My fuel to get through this was Turks content and it was given regularly but I still wish it was more of it - but that's a given considering I didn't like Evan. Well, at least it was some new FF VII content.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm genuinely shocked by how well written this book was...until the ending that is.

Most video game related books are written (it feels) by someone who just read a wiki summary of the plot and didn't actually play the game. So it's kind of refreshing to read a book from someone who actually worked on the games, it's obvious he loved the world and was excited to expand on it and the characters.

The ending though...it was weak. After how well written the rest of the book was, it was pretty disappointing to get to that level of an ending. It felt too rushed, like he realized he was running out of pages and was tried to put an anime level fight scene in 300 words or less, that or it just didn't translate well.

I got the books out of order (not that it really matters all that much) but this does make me excited to read On the Way to a Smile.

[Anna Alley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good side story that gives a bit more insight to the world of the Turks.
Was cool reading about what went down between the game end and where the movie picks up. Would recommend to any FFVII fan interested in continuing the story

[James Trenchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story that introduces a bunch of the cameo characters in FF VII Remake. It was weird in the way only FF VII is. A fun diversion for fans, but I can't recommend for anyone else.

[Vishanth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

I have a LOT to talk about. For a pretty short book that doesn't necessarily say much there is a surprising amount i wanna talk about.

First off i much prefer an actual narrative based side story highlighting the wider cast of Final Fantasy VII outside the main party as well as introducing new character too. I enjoyed this much more than 'On the way to a smile' simply because i feel like there's an actual story trying to be told here and for the most part is actually a more vital read than the aforementioned is. It actually ties very heavily into Advent Children and there are original characters introduced that actually make an appearance in the Remake trilogy.

TKAA is about Evan Townshend a 19 year old survivor of meteorfall with a complex past that ties to Shinra and a brooming conflict on the Horizon. First off I'm quite impressed with Nojima's plotting here. Rather than doing a typical fetch quest checklist just to tie to AC the object of the story being about a boy trying to find his mother and uncover her secret's on the way is actually emotionally compelling and I'm glad that is taking centre stage over an expository cameo bait narrative. Kyrie is also a prominent character and the implied friendship and subtle romance between her and Evan is pretty decent, it's distinct from the other VII romances and particularly stands out because most of the book is about them two alone on this journey. I will say i was at times put off by how pixie dream girl Kyrie is written at times here, it seems to be a weird defect in a lot of stories originating from Japan (don't mean to sound derogatory) however at times she has great moments where she actually feels like the conniving slippery con artist that we see in the Remake games, i do wish they leaned into that characterisation more in this book as that sounds more interesting. What we do get is pretty decent though. Another big compliment is how well fleshed out Evan's voice is in this book. I don't look down on the authorship of writers who don't particularly often work in this medium especially in books that are tie ins to other external media and its especially for aspects such as the first person perspective of this book. There are some authors who've worked in the medium that could learn a lesson from Nojima because his first person writing is miles better than his third, I'm genuinely impressed. I can thoroughly describe to you the character of Evan Townshend just from his internal voice, He's softspoken and somewhat recluse but not opposed to being standoffish when called for, a lot of what he does is to cover up the fact that he is deeply cowardly and he hates that about himself, a big part of his characterization is him trying hard to be the hero despite the fact that it's against his nature. It makes for a really compelling and honestly really refreshing protagonist. I wish more authors were willing to make their protagonists a little bit pathetic and cowardly without outwardly making them a caricature, just a little subtly is all i ask. However unfortunately this leads me to an issue i do have with the authorial intent of the book.

I'm sorry but making this a multi perspective book where the protagonist is written in third person and the other perspectives are written in third person omniscient is so stupid and there's a reason you don't see some of the most seasoned of authors attempt this. It completely disrupts the flow and feels like a tonal whiplash. Stick to one or the other. Making the entire thing third person would be easier however Nojima's first person is so strong i think he could genuinely pull off writing Reno, Rude, Elena and Tseng in first, in fact i think it would have been great to read and made the dry moments a little more fun to read. This leads me to my next criticism. I love the turks, i think they are some of the best recurring villains in all of Final Fantasy next to gilgamesh so i was excited to read a book with them as prominent characters. However they feel more like plot devices to push the narrative forward rather than the fun and cool characters we see in the game. I wanted more banter between Reno and Rude, i wanted Elena to be more eager to prove herself and end up causing more harm than good. I actually liked Tseng the best, he felt the most like himself, he's cold and willing to make the hard choices but deep down there is a softie who cares for his comrades. I just wish they had something more exciting to do.

The book starts strong with good characterisation for our protagonist but kinda drops the ball for the side characters like Leslie and Fabio. I think Remake did a good job of already making me care for Leslie otherwise this book would not have done the job on its own. There is a big chunk in the first half where it kinda slows down and feels like a slice of life. Now i actually didn't mind this as i love just hanging out with characters, i need slow moments like this in my stories however in hindsight seeing how chaotic and rushed the finale was maybe we didn't need to dedicate this much time to side questing. That being said the ending is rushed. I loved individual scenes in this final act such as Evan finding his mother and why it was so important for him and the wider implications and the final confrontation with the villain.

So im gonna dedicate a whole section just to talk about Kadaj. This is complete bias because Kadaj is my all time faviroute VII villain but i LOVED his presence in this narrative and annoyed he didn't enter the story earlier. I feel like the presence of Kadaj keeping up with them would have added so much more despite the fact that the structure would be a little to similar to the original VII game with Sephiroth haunting Cloud and Co whilst they reach close to the northern crater. The birth of Kadaj in the pool could have been made a little clearer however once he makes his first appearance it is absolute gold from there. I love how he retains his characterisation from the movie, he's more parasite than human, young and brash, childish and vengeful. Overall a great villain made more compelling.

I enjoyed the meats of this story but with stronger bones it could have been amazing. For now I'll settle with fun.

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The English teacher in me is really irked at the title. All right: two words! Perhaps it's a lost cause, maybe alright is now acceptable.....or in fact, all right.
Moving on from my complaint, this was a terrific book! Once again, if you are not familiar with the Final Fantasy and Advent Children stories, this book won't mean much. But if you do know the stories, this is a wonderful bridge between the two. I thought it would be similar to On the Way to a Smile, which was a collection of short stories; but this is in fact a short novel and it tells a good story. The main character Evan has no father and was abandoned by his mother shortly before Meteorfall. After the disaster he tries to find her as he picks his way through the debris. As his hope fades, he makes friends in the remains of the slum and tries to build a new life in a hardscrabble world. He works with Kyrie, a former con artist who has started an investigation agency specializing in looking for missing people. A mysterious quest, a mysterious photograph...soon Evan and Kyrie become entangled with the Turks and travel from Midgar to some familiar landmarks.
There are wonderful details: the main characters we know are there at the peripheries; some of the new characters appear in the FFVII remake; we see a lot more of the Turks and appreciate their rather indeterminate status: are they bad guys who sometimes do good, or are they good guys who sometimes do bad? We also see a bit of fleshing out of some of the main story details, bits of background which clarify points from the original story, and there are direct ties with the story and characters of Advent Children.
Needless to say, the story of a man searching for his mother has a very deep resonance for the broader tale.

[Esther Vázquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Hola!
Feliz año nuevo 🙂
Estrenamos el 2024 con un libro bastante peculiar que solo puede gustarle a una friki del FF7 como yo 😄 Final Fantasy VII: The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story, de Kazushige Nojima.
Esta historia transcurre dos años después del final del OG y narra las aventuras de Evan, un chico con un parentesco de lo más peculiar que lucha por sobrevivir en Edge, la nueva ciudad que sustituye a Midgard. Es una historia un poco loca, con una trama que acaba siendo una montaña rusa, pero que te aporta mucha información sobre el juego y el universo en si. Parece mentira que después del FFVII OG, el Remake, Crisis Core, la película, libros y largas conversaciones con gente tan friki o más que yo, este libro haya logrado al fin hacerme entender qué hacía Jenova! XDDD Ya solo por eso, vale la pena.
Libro muy entretenido que te lleva de regreso a mi universo favorito. Revival de localizaciones y de los personajes. Ah, y te introduce la película a la perfección. La primera vez que la vi no me gustó demasiado, más que nada porque me costó entenderla. Después de leer el libro, la cosa cambia mucho.
¿Lo recomiendo? Si eres un seguidor de la saga (pero seguidor de verdad), sí, te lo recomiendo. De lo contrario, pues pasa de largo 🙂
Por cierto, en esta historia salen personajes secundarios del Remake y los Turcos. ME ENCANTAN LOS TURCOS.