Illustrated Guide to the world of Spira (FFX and FFX-2)/Magical/Anima

Anima is a summon, or Aeon, from Final Fantasy X.

Anima powering up her Pain attack.

Anima causes an immense amount of damage with all attacks. "Pain", her special attack, is an instant kill attack, which deals colossal damage to the few enemies immune to death spells. It also ignores defence and is actually more effective than Oblivion versus some stronger enemies like Dark Bahamut. It is a special type attack, neither physical nor magical. Her devastating overdrive, "Oblivion", does 16 hits in PAL version and thus can cause up to 1599984 damage (16x99999).

In order to obtain Anima, a player must have unlocked all of the treasures using the destruct spheres in the Cloister of Trials, including Zanarkand. At Baaj, the player must fight a boss named "Geosgaeno" (the first boss Tidus faces when he comes to Spira) in order to gain entrance to a sealed room. Afterwards, the player views a cut scene and Yuna harnesses the incredible power of Anima. Anima's Fayth form, a beautiful woman, was voiced by Hedy Burress, who also provided the voice of Yuna.

History of Anima

Anima is known as "The Dark Aeon" and is the only optional Aeon players can truly control. Like all Aeons, Anima is the embodiment of a powerful force - in this case, pain and suffering. Her special attack, Pain, is likely a wave of energy that sends its target into the worst kind of pain imaginable.

Her real name remains unknown. She was the wife to Lord Jyscal Guado and mother to Seymour Guado before being exiled with her son to Baaj Island, where she grew mortally ill. Fearing that her son would be left entirely alone with no means to protect himself, she brought Seymour to Zanarkand when he was around 7 or 8 years old and sacrificed her still living body to become his powerful aeon, Anima. However, this caused Seymour to lose his mind and go on his self-righteous mass-killing campaign years later. The Fayth of Anima was transported to Baaj Temple before an event (Sin-related?) ravaged the island after Seymour returned to Guadosalam in his teens during Braska's Pilgrimage.

When Yuna comes to claim Anima in the game, Anima tells the story of her son's tragic past and offers her services to Yuna so that she may destroy Sin and her son's "obsession with it". She holds no ill will towards her son, even after he murdered his own father. In fact, she blamed herself for how he grew up; saying that it was her sacrifice that began his demented philosophy. When possessed by Yu Yevon, the information at the top of her scan: "Thus I atone".

Dark Anima

Dark Anima is fightable after the Highbridge event near the end of game. To make Dark Anima appear player must return to the Mt. Gagazet Cave and complete the trial where Wakka must throw his ball at a target. Once it is done Dark Anima will appear at the base of Mt. Gagazet. Her "Pain" is an instant kill attack that works even on characters with Deathproof. Her most powerful attack is "Mega Graviton" which tears off 7/16 of all characters' maximum HP.

Anima in Final Fantasy X-2

Anima's fayth tried to stop Shuyin's apocalyptic plan, but she, like the others, ended up possessed by his hatred. She was the final Aeon the heroines faced on their way to the Farplane.

Name origin

Anima is a feminine Latin noun for "spirit, soul, breath". Ancient Romans believed that one's anima was in the chest - it was a one's feelings, the breath et cetera. Therefore, when a person died, the breath (soul) escaped. Aforementioned, anima was related to feelings and heart; the counter part (masculine) animus was the logic and brain.

Obviously, the relationship between Seymour Guado and his mother was emotionally powerful, and her loss triggered a turn of events for all of Spira in how it affected Seymour.