Raijin (Final Fantasy VIII)


 * For the ability in Final Fantasy IV, see: List of Final Fantasy IV Spells



Raijin (雷神) is a character from Final Fantasy VIII. He plays the role of Seifer's lackey and is fought against as a boss. He, Fujin, and their leader Seifer, make up the Balamb Garden Disciplinary Committee. Raijin has dark skin, wears a purple vest, and says "ya know?" at the end of his sentences. Fujin tends to kick him when he talks out of line or does something stupid, which is often. He also seems to have a fondness for insects, as he has checked out several books on insects from the Balamb Garden library. Raijin is 18 years old during Final Fantasy VIII.

Story
Not much is known of Raijin's past. He was enrolled at Balamb Garden and he, Fujin and Seifer Almasy met and formed the Balamb Garden Disciplinary Committee. Rarely seen apart, the three usually bully their fellow students through punishment and detention. Their friendship is such that, when Seifer breaks out of the disciplinary room and goes rogue, Fujin and Raijin embark to find him despite the Garden already sending Quistis to do just that. Headmaster Cid gives Fujin and Raijin instructions to deliver new orders for Squall's party to Galbadia Garden's Headmaster.

At Galbadia Garden, they do as they were asked and run across Squall Leonhart who informs the pair that Seifer has been executed for actions against the Galbadian president, but the two don't believe Seifer would go down so easily. The two are next seen back in Balamb Garden and help Squall evacuate the students because of the missile threat. After that, the pair go missing and it is unknown when exactly they reunite with Seifer but, as Seifer has become Sorceress Edea's Knight, Fujin and Raijin became generals of the Galbadian army to support him. Assisting in the search for Ellone the two encounter Squall again in Balamb Town during a Galbadian-induced lock-down whereupon Squall defeats them, but lets them leave peacefully.

Fujin and Raijin are once again encountered in Galbadia Garden during the Battle of the Gardens, but choose not to fight Squall and his friends. Some time afterward, after Sorceress Edea's defeat, the two once again assist Seifer as he embarks on resurrecting the Lunatic Pandora. However, even as they do, the two begin to admit that Seifer is no longer the friend they once knew, and when Squall once again arrives to stop the three, they allow Squall to confront Seifer where Fujin makes an emotional plea for him to stop what he is doing. In response, Seifer claims it is too late to go back, and wishes them a good life, before he fights Squall one last time.

After Squall and his party go into the future to defeat Ultimecia, Fujin and Raijin are seen fishing together with Seifer; having returned to being the friend they remember him being.

Battle
Raijin is fought three times in the game. The first and second battle, however, use the same stats, albeit he uses only one attack in the first battle, which is Pole.

Pocket Station Memorycard Icons
An icon sprite of Raijin appears in the Pocket Station memorycard file manager.

Kingdom Hearts II
Raijin makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts II, along with Seifer, Fujin and Final Fantasy IX's Vivi Orunitia. The four together make up "Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee", and are antagonistic towards Roxas and later Sora, although once he saves them from the Nobodies they show more respect towards him. He is referred to as "Rai". He still keeps his speech patterns, saying "ya know" after every sentence.

In the Japanese version Raijin is voiced by Kazuya Nakai. He is voiced by Brandon Adams in the English version.

Etymology
is the Japanese thunder god, which fits, because Raijin uses thunder-based attacks, and is healed by any thunder based attacks directed towards him.

In Chinese Buddhism, a legend states that Fujin and Raijin were both originally evil demons who opposed Buddha. They were captured in battle with Buddha's army of heaven, and have worked as gods since then.

Trivia

 * Goodbye, Pupurun tells the story of the small sprite Pupurun rendered into the language of humans. Originally it was part of the Balamb Garden Library's collection of books, however, Raijin borrowed it and never returned it, as can be seen on the Balamb Garden Study Panel. Its sequel, We Meet Again, Pupurun, was not as successful as the first work, being an obligatory production with poor content.
 * Raijin, along with Fujin, was initially designed to appear in Final Fantasy VII, however, the inclusion of the Turks saw their presence unnecessary and they were shelved until Final Fantasy VIII.
 * In game, the insignia on Raijin's shoulder guard is the kanji for thunder, but in CGs, it reads the self-invented kanji for Raijin's name.
 * Claiming "I don't hit girls, ya know?", Raijin will refuse to attack if there is only a single female character left standing in the player's party during battle. However, he will hit her if he is alone against her.