http://www.p4rgaming.com/motomu-tor...-to-dress-up-as-lightning-for-the-third-time/
Motomu Toriyama Frustrated by Girlfriend Refusing to Dress Up as Lightning for the Third Time
BY
JACK · FEBRUARY 11, 2014
In celebration of the Western release of
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, director Motomu Toriyama once again made a request to his girlfriend to dress up as Lightning to which she declined once again.
Even before the
initial announcement of
Lightning Returns, Toriyama was enamored with the idea of having Lightning become the new face of
Final Fantasy. His request has repeatedly been denied, but his love for the character still remains. This is quite evident through the many complaints his girlfriend has made over the years. Toriyama himself seems to be unaffected by these complaints even going as far as repeating them in various interviews.
“Lightning is truly beautiful, not to say my girlfriend is not,” said Toriyama during a press conference about
Final Fantasy XIII-2 in 2010. Many in the press were surprised to hear that Toriyama managed to get a girlfriend especially after the fiasco in 2008 when Toriyama was arrested for soliciting prostitutes. He still maintains that he was not paying them for sex but just wanted them to dress up as Lightning.
“But my girlfriend does not like Lightning,” continued Toriyama, “She keeps asking me when I am going to give up on Lightning and make a real video game. Little does she know I am making a real video game called
Final Fantasy XIII-2. I just do not understand why she has to call me such mean names because of my request for her to dress up as Lightning. I only asked her twice and I think that there are many men out there who ask their girlfriends to dress up as her. This is not a weird request.”
Members of the press in Japan today were surprised to hear that Toriyama has managed to maintain this same girlfriend even after hearing all of the complaints she made about him in the years before. Toriyama revealed his growing impatience with his girlfriend when talking about the Western review scores for
Lightning Returns.
“Seven out of ten is a wonderful score for this game because seven is Lightning’s favorite number,” explained Toriyama today, “I am glad that so many people in the United States and beyond can appreciate what Lightning has done for the video game world. If only my girlfriend understood. She locked me out of our apartment the other day when I asked her to dress up as Lightning to celebrate the release of
Lightning Returns in the west. I thought the third time would work and it has been over three years since the last time I asked.”
“But to be honest, I am this close to breaking up with her,” said a frustrated Toriyama, “There is blame on both sides however. She refuses to dress up as Lightning, I accidentally called her Lightning a few times. We both have made mistakes. The most important thing is that my work does not suffer and looking at the review scores for
Lightning Returns, I can truly say that I have made my magnum opus.”
After the interviews, Toriyama left the press area but came back a short while later to take away a large cardboard cutout of Lightning to presumably bring home.
