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The Shinra Electric Power Company, also known as Shinra Inc. (神羅カンパニー, Shinra Kanpanī?, lit. Shinra Company) and sometimes spelled Shin-Ra, is a multinational industrial enterprise in the world of Final Fantasy VII. It is primarily a power company, supplying Mako energy and making electricity efficient and easily available. Its reach sees its presence as a megacorporation with significant underhanded influence into societal, infrastructural, and political spheres. Shinra also operates in genetic engineering, space exploration, and projects its power through a military that includes the elite group SOLDIER. Their military power, combined with their commercial monopoly on Mako energy, gives Shinra a measure of control over the world populace.
Nearly every central character in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII has been negatively affected by Shinra's tyrannical rule, even many who work under its banner. The main characters of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- and Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- work for the company.
Story
Shinra employees.
Shinra discovers Mako and begins to project its power
Initially founded as Shinra Manufacturing Works, the company specialized in weapon manufacture. They discovered a process to refine the Planet's life energy, the Lifestream, into a form of energy they dubbed "Mako". Capitalizing on this revolutionary energy source, the company installed Mako Reactors all over the globe, and their influence and financial gains grew by leaps and bounds.
Shinra Inc. branched out into many cutting-edge industries, most prominently genetics engineering research. Head executive President Shinra saw the developed world become dependent on the company's Mako energy and various other commodities, and further tightened his grip on the Planet. Through the genetics engineering department, he initiated the SOLDIER program, which created supersoldiers through human experimentation and exposure to raw Mako energy. Now in command of a private army and a covert ops division called the Turks, President Shinra established autocratic rule over Mako-powered territories.
The citizens of Wutai declined Shinra Inc.'s proposal to erect Mako Reactors in their nation; in response, President Shinra launched the nine-year Wutai War. During this time, work progressed in earnest on Midgar, a floating metropolis built overhead several preexisting villages. The city was designed to house Shinra Headquarters and eight large Mako Reactors.
Shinra News logo.
To support the war and its ambitious new construction project, the company created a propaganda news service, "Shinra News", whose main purpose is to declare those considered disloyal to Shinra dead and to distort events to Shinra's favor. In protest to Shinra Inc.'s lies, an anti-Shinra news service called "Shinra Truths" appeared. (Both can be viewed as emails in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.)
As depicted in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII, the Wutai War ended in a decisive victory for Shinra. The company captured the key location of Fort Tamblin, which forced an unconditional surrender from Wutai leader Godo Kisaragi. Soon after, a rogue SOLDIER member leads a retaliation against Shinra in the Genesis War. As depicted in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, the AVALANCHE Insurgency subsequently fights for six years to liberate Wutai from Shinra rule; both conflicts are ultimately quelled by the company.
Neo Midgar Project
Shinra has since completed Midgar, and holds complete control over the city and the lives of its citizens. It has obtained control of much of the world's information and broadcasting services, using their propaganda machine to give false hope to the uninformed masses. The counter-propaganda service "Shinra Truths" has disappeared. The company has introduced a figure-head mayor, Domino, to give Midgar's citizens an illusion of political autonomy.
Shinra pursues the Promised Land, a fertile land of ancient Cetra legend, which Shinra believes to be a land full of exploitable Mako energy. Shinra plans to relocate their center of operations there in a project named Neo Midgar. Shinra goes through great lengths to create a person with Cetra's power who could lead them to the Promised Land, but in the end, Neo Midgar is never built.
Dissent has long been felt among the people under Shinra's rule. As the Mako Reactors destroy wildlife and outcast villages, people begin to despise their work. Many research Mako and realize Shinra is ripping life out of the Planet. Some Shinra employees desert as they discover truths about the company, such as First Class SOLDIER members Zack Fair, Genesis Rhapsodos, Sephiroth, and Angeal Hewley. One of SOLDIER's strongest units, 13th Unit Ragnarok, was reviled upon the discovery of Deepground, a hidden training program underneath Midgar, but was silenced by the program's elite subjects, the Restrictors. Anti-Shinra groups, such as the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, and the Wutai Crescent Unit, spring up to combat the Shinra army. Even the Turks mutiny over their leader's unfair treatment and the human rights abuses the company regularly performs, causing a major fallout of many members at the end of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.
The fall of Shinra
As depicted in Final Fantasy VII, President Shinra is killed when Sephiroth enacts his plan to summon Meteor to harm the Planet. Sephiroth takes over Jenova's remains—an extraterrestrial creature once thought to be the body of a Cetra—stored in the Shinra Headquarters, morphs her body into his image and slays the President in his office. Vice President Rufus Shinra takes over and hunts Sephiroth down to North Crater, a site of immense Mako energy the company believes to be the Promised Land they have been looking for.
Meteor looming above the Shinra Headquarters.
Their dreams are cut short as Sephiroth summons Meteor. The Weapons, the Planet's defense mechanism, are awakened, and attack Shinra's sites of power. Shinra fails to destroy the Meteor with the Shinra No. 26 rocket, a relic of its short-lived space exploration program. In an attempt to destroy the energy barrier created by Sephiroth at North Crater, Shinra fires the Sister Ray, a powerful Mako cannon, at it. Its beam also destroys Diamond Weapon that fires a salvo of energy, damaging the Shinra Building.
President Rufus Shinra, thought to have been killed in the explosion at the Shinra Building, survives after a rescue and evacuation process by Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi. With the leader of Shinra thought dead, the other Shinra executives go rogue. Reeve Tuesti, the head of Urban Development, is stripped of his title and imprisoned by Heidegger and Scarlet, the leaders of the Turks and Shinra army and Shinra's weapons development, who are soon killed. The "Great Sephiroth Plan", a planned military operation that would see the entire Shinra army dispatched to North Crater to fight Sephiroth once the barrier is destroyed, is cancelled as the company descends into chaos.
Professor Hojo, the head of Shinra's science department who had helped create Sephiroth, is killed when he tries to use the Sister Ray to help Sephiroth whom he considers his most successful experiment. The final remaining Turks abandon their mission to hunt down AVALANCHE and help evacuate Midgar instead. As the Meteor falls on the city it rips it apart. When the Lifestream ejects from the Planet to stop the Meteor, the people realize how important the Lifestream is, and Shinra can no longer use it popularly as an energy supply.
In a conversation between the Turks Reno and Rude in Healen Lodge in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, it is revealed some Shinra employees remain dedicated to the company, and return to its remnants to help atone for their past sins
Hierarchy
Shinra executives. From left to right: President Shinra, Scarlet, Heidegger, Hojo, Palmer, and Reeve.
Shinra is led by President Shinra (who is later replaced by his son Rufus Shinra) and its multi-affairs are divided into several departments:
Weapons Development Department
Led by Scarlet, the Weapons Development Department develops most of Shinra's weapons of war. They include the Sister Ray, the Proud Clod, and the Gelnika.
Shinra hierarchy.
Science Department
Led by Professor Hojo, the Science Department is the main manufacturer of the army's Materia. It also conducts secret human experiments, heading the Jenova Project and Deepground. Other scientists include Professors Gast Faremis, who led the department before Hojo, Hollander, Lucrecia Crescent, and the late Grimoire Valentine.
Shinra has been involved in many immoral human and animal experiments. It creates monsters for military use, which leads to the increase of monsters roaming the Planet. They experiment on the effects of Mako energy on human subjects; in small doses, it leads to enhanced warriors who enroll in SOLDIER, but prolonged exposure creates Makonoids.
Professors Hojo and Hollander competed in the Jenova Project in creating a human with Cetra's powers and Hojo performed shape-shifting experiments on Vincent Valentine, a former Turk. After the Nibelheim Incident, Hojo injected the Nibelheim survivors with Jenova cells and Mako to test his Jenova Reunion Theory. The results of this experiment were the Sephiroth Clones.
The Deepground underground medical facility transformed into an experimental soldier site after Genesis's birth. In this madhouse experimentation went on without the interference of morality and produced such monstrosities as Azul the Cerulean, Rosso the Crimson, Shelke the Transparent, Nero the Sable, and Weiss the Immaculate.
Hojo experimented on Red XIII, planning to cross-breed his species with the Cetra to increase their life-span for study.
Urban Development Department
Led by Reeve Tuesti who designed the city of Midgar, the Urban Development Department runs the city's day-to-day affairs.
Space Exploration Department
Headed up by Palmer, the Space Exploration Department plans on using rockets to launch men into space, their first being the ever-willing Cid Highwind. After the failed launch of Shinra No. 26, funding for the department was pulled, but it remains a part of Shinra.
Public Safety Maintenance Department
Led by Heidegger, Public Safety Maintenance Department is the Shinra army and police force and consists of a few different sub-branches:
The Investigative Division of General Affairs
The Turks with Rufus.
Also known as the Turks, this department was first headed by Veld. Officially the Turks' purpose is to seek out potential SOLDIER recruits, but in reality they are skilled special agents used for gathering intelligence, providing additional security, and protecting the company's secrets. Membership is exclusive, having just over ten members towards the end of the conflict with the original AVALANCHE.
As a result of various factors, such as the Veld's desertion, the Turks go rogue and several members desert Shinra at the end of the conflict with AVALANCHE. Thus the Turks' numbers dwindle to three members who are kept on a tight leash by Heidegger. Tseng takes over leadership, and after Reno is injured, Shinra allows for an additional member to join, Elena.
SOLDIER
First led by Lazard Deusericus, this department deals with Shinra's elite branch of warriors, SOLDIER, and their battle strategies. After a rash of defections and betrayals Heidegger assumes control. SOLDIER operatives are divided into three classes, depending upon skill and success in the field.
Security Department
No explicit details are given on this Shinra department, which is in charge of Shinra's non-Mako infused infantrymen. Although not having as much of a reputation as SOLDIER, the Security Department's infantry make up the majority of Shinra's military force, and is deployed far more often than SOLDIER. This department has a rivalry with SOLDIER and extends challenges in the form of training sessions.
The Security Department serves as a fallback for SOLDIER hopefuls deemed unfit to go through the Mako infusion procedure that SOLDIER members are required to pass. The leader of this department has not been identified, although it may simply be run by Heidegger.
Shinra soldiers are shown in a blue uniform, although during battles in Final Fantasy VII captains and elite members are shown in orange, and some working in the Junon underwater reactor in khaki. These uniforms do not appear to have any meaning and are just used for the sake of variety in battle. In the field there are also soldiers, often appearing as guards or a squad leaders. In Crisis Core, soldiers all wear a blue uniform and are distinguished by the color of their neckerchief, green or red. In Final Fantasy VII, Zack is killed by two blue-uniformed soldiers led by a soldier in a red uniform, which in Crisis Core is instead two soldiers with blue neckerchiefs and one with red.
Soldier mentioning the green uniform
During the Raid on Junon, green soldiers appear in an FMV firing missiles. Soldiers in green never otherwise appear, but after watching the cutscene, a soldier in the Upper Junon Barracks will talk about the coveted green officer's uniform
, with the Japanese stating it is for elite officers (上級仕官, jōkyū shikan?).
The Roboguard
While only referred to occasionally, the Roboguard consists of Shinra's automated combatants, including machines like Sweepers and Guard Scorpions, as well as more humanoid automatons like the Special Combatants and Mighty Grunts. These machines are often encountered in less-hospitable environments, such as the Lower Plate and Mako Reactors.
Development
Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega[1] sheds light in what Shinra's history was like in the game's early drafts. Old Midgar (before the plate was built) was intended as the company's capital, where Shinra would have developed and constructed weapons, monopolizing the defense industry. The Ultimania states that Shinra would have profited from a long-lasting war with an unnamed nation where they secretly exported weapons to the enemy country as well. The traces of the secret trade were meant to be visible in various towns and cities, and characters such as Barret Wallace would have noticed.
Further, the Ultimania tells that at the start of the previously mentioned war, the company would have already begun using Mako energy, and towards the end of the war, Shinra would have created the SOLDIER. Due to SOLDIER, the country on Shinra's side would have won the war and afterward, due to the company's monopoly on Mako energy, Shinra would have gained economic control of said country.
Musical themes
The theme most commonly associated with Shinra in Final Fantasy VII is titled "Shinra Company", a slow piece featuring ominous piano (and, later, choir and digital effects) against a sinister, heavy beat. This track may have inspired "Immoral Melody" from Final Fantasy IX, as the two share strikingly similar beats. A slightly more upbeat remix, called "Mako Monopoly", plays in Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII -. Another version of the theme in Crisis Core is called "The Organization That Controls Mako (from FFVII "Shinra Company")".
The "Shinra Company" melody is also heard in "Infiltrating Shinra" that plays in Shinra Headquarters; "Shinra's Full-Scale Assault" that plays during the scene where Barret shows Tifa the Meteor, and when Cloud is going through various obstacles when trying to reach the upper plate to get to Shinra Headquarters; and also during "Mako Cannon - The Destruction of Shinra" that plays during the scene when Sister Ray destroys the barrier around North Crater.
Merchandise
Various Shinra merchandise have been released by Square.
Other appearances
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
The Shinra Electric Power Company is mentioned in the daily Mognet. The mail is sent by DJ Mog, and the player may receive it anytime soon after a few days of playing.
- Win! Win! Win!
The Mognet program is brought to you by the Shinra Company! And today is Celebrate Your Sponsor Day, KUPO! Answer the quiz and you might win a trip to Wutai, KUPO! Woo!
Fill in the blanks: S_______ C_______
Gallery
Etymology
In a March 4, 2020 interview, Yoshinori Kitase explained that the word "SHINRA" derives from the word "myth" in Japanese (神話, shinwa?) because SHINRA was about becoming god and controlling everything. This refers to the Shinra Company's status as global superpower, monopolizing industry and governing most of the Planet.
Trivia
Pancakes with Shinra logo.
- Square Enix's cloud gaming subsidiary, Shinra Technologies, is named after the company.
- Square Enix's cafe Artnia serves pancakes with the Shinra logo.
- Square Enix has registered "Shinra Company" as a trademark to be used in videogames in Japan.[2]
- In Final Fantasy X-2, Square Enix dropped hints of a connection between Gaia and Spira, as Shinra and Rin discuss the potential of the Farplane as an energy source, though Shinra states the technology to safely and successfully refine energy from the Farplane would not be developed for generations. This connection is confirmed in the Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania guide, where scenario writer Kazushige Nojima states that Rin would fund Shinra's efforts to refine energy from the Farplane using Vegnagun's remains, but failed. His descendants, a thousand years later when space travel would be developed, would travel to Gaia and found the Shinra Electric Power Company.[3]
- Director of Final Fantasy VII, Yoshinori Kitase, has commented on this, saying Shinra in Final Fantasy X-2 was created by Kazushige Nojima who thought it might be good if people would imagine that Shinra would grow up and start the Shinra company. He declined to confirm the games take place in the same world, however.[4]
- In The Simpsons Game the "Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game" level there is an evil corporation known as the Rin-Sha company.
- Shinra Electric Power Company makes a cameo appearance in Matthew Shezmen's FUN 'N' FANTASY XV (Final Fantasy XV Cartoon Parody) as a series of building with its logo on it.
References
- ↑ Ultimania translations at Lifestream.net
- ↑ Square Enix Registers Trademark For Final Fantasy VII's Shinra Company — Siliconera
- ↑ "Kazushige Nojima: '...After quitting the Gullwings, Shinra received enormous financial support from Rin, and began trying to use Vegnagun to siphon Mako Energy from the Farplane. But, he is unable to complete the system for utilizing this energy in his generation, and in the future, when traveling to distant planets becomes possible, the Shinra Company is founded on another world, or something like that....... That would happen about 1000 years after this story, I think.'"Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Interview with FFX-2 creators, Page 723. Final Fantasy Forums
- ↑ Is Squall Really Dead? Final Fantasy Producer Addresses The Series' Biggest Fan Theories (Accessed: UnknownError: See this for how to archive.) at Kotaku