the original release of the game, rumors have circulated that Aerith can be resurrected in or that the original plan was to have her come back, but this was scrapped in development. Nomura has categorically stated that neither of these rumors were ever true; "the world was expecting us to bring her back to life, as this is the classic convention." A lengthy petition asking for Aerith's revival by Japanese players was sent to Kitase, but he dismissed it, pointing out that "there are many meanings in Aerith's death and [her revival] could never happen." Mena Suvari explained that for Advent Children Aerith was given a mothering feel with an ephemeral presence. She was expressed joy for her role. With regards to the Remake, Square wanted to avoid showing too much favoritism to either girl in their love triangle with the main character Cloud. Briana White studied Sakamoto's acting in order to appeal to fans. Musical theme A leitmotif associated with Aerith is played several times throughout Final Fantasy VII; it is first heard during the flashback scenes with Aerith's mother at her house, and is repeated as she is killed by Sephiroth. It was composed by Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. The piece "Flowers Blooming in the Church" is based on it. "Aerith's Theme" is very popular among Final Fantasy fans, and has inspired an orchestral version, a piano version, and a vocal version performed by the artist Rikki (who also performed "Suteki Da Ne" for Final Fantasy X). A piano arrangement of the theme appears twice in Advent Children, and the track "Water" echoes shades of the theme: the opening phrase of "Aerith's Theme" appears just prior to the climax of the track "Divinity II", which shortly thereafter includes as its final line the Latin phrase "Sola Dea fatum novit" ("Only the goddess knows fate"), and is also featured during the end credits of the film. It has been reinterpreted on the OverClocked ReMix Final Fantasy VII compilation Voices of the Lifestream. In 2013, "Aerith's Theme" achieved the third place in the Classic FM Hall of Fame. Appearances Final Fantasy VII Aerith Gainsborough is first introduced as a flower seller, when she briefly converses with Cloud Strife, a mercenary working for the anti-government group AVALANCHE, who are fleeing from the bombing of a Mako reactor. The two later meet in Aerith's church in the Sector 5 slums, where