Vincent’s various superficial traits say a great deal aout him, as with most anime characters.  Regretably, it’s been so long since I researched most of this that I no longer have or remember what sources I collected the following information from for citation purposes, but rest assured that they were websites which contained information regarding the characterization of these traits in a general sense and not to Vincent specifically.  All discussion of how they relate to Vincent is my own thought, and while many other fan sites have said similar things since, they were not there when I originally wrote this page several years ago. The information regarding the Latin roots of Vincent’s name comes from no secondary source other than my own high school education, in which I studied the Latin language for three years (and took an additional course on Roman culture and its influences in medieval times the fourth). [ n a m e   m e a n i n g :   V i n c e n t   V a l e n t i n e ] A typical name-meaning search on Vincent’s first name will come back with results such as warrior, conquerer, etc.—but so will a three-year education in Latin.  “Vincent” comes from the Latin verb vincere, which means “to conquer/defeat.” This may seem ironic, since in the most prominent part of his past he lost more battles than he won, and “vincent ” is associated to “victory”; however, it can also mean “to surpass, prevail, outlast,” which, as an immortal who slept in a coffin for 30 years, he has certainly done and will tragically continue to do. Literally, “Valentine” means “to be strong, vigorous, powerful, or healthy,” but more fittingly has ties to the Catholic saint of the same name, Saint Valentine, and the popular holiday named after him, Valentine’s Day.  Saint Valentine was martyred (on February 14) for performing wedding ceremonies for soldiers even after forbidden by the emperor.  He is further connected to romanticism by the medieval belief that birds choose their mates on the 14th of February, which was the observed holiday for St. Valentine.  It then became a practice for young people to send lovers’ notes and tokens to their own prospective mates on this day, which likely also stems from a rumor that St. Valentine sent a note to his jailer’s daughter on the morning of his execution (February 14) and signed it “from your Valentine.” (Amusingly, www.catholicforum.com has St. Valentine listed as the patron saint of, among other things, greeting card manufacturers...I’m assuming in error! xD ) I like to loosely translate “Vincent Valentine” into “warrior of love.” Vincent’s whole past story revolves around love, so clearly his designers did not choose this name by accident.  He was a warrior in the sense that he never gave up on Lucrecia.  He tried to fight for her against Hojo, but lost.  Which, granted, isn“t conquering...but he did prevail in the end.  Vincent himself was a martyr for love—he put Lucrecia’s (whose name means “bringer of light/hope”) happiness before his own, allowing himself to be miserable in order for her to be happy, and ultimately getting killed in an attempt to fight for her. He is, indisputably, a fighter for his love. [ a s t r o l o g i c a l   s i g n :   l i b r a ] Libras are said to be emotionally distant, as the Libra is the only inanimate sign in the zodiac, and value solitude.  They also are frequently torn between two sides of things, as Libra represents the scales.  (He loves Lucrecia, but he wants her to be happy; he wants Cloud and the others to leave him alone and let him sleep, but he wants to bring justice to Lucrecia with Hojo’s death...) Libras are said to often be good looking.  Rowr. =D They have a strong sense of justice.  Once they reach a decision, they dislike argument against it and it is hard to change their mind about it.  (Vincent displays this with his persistance against the Jenova Project.)  But they are generally balanced and even-tempered (the zodiac sign is the scales of balance), although they can burst into sudden fits of rage.  Clearly, Vincent’s limit breaks come to mind here, and also when he finally expressed his anger to Hojo. The ruling planet of Libra is Venus, the planet repesenting love, and they are at their best in personal relationships.  They are often very kind to their partner.  If they want a long-term relationship then they want a perfect long-term relationship.  Their relationships are often sentimental and romantic, and they would be willing to stiffle their own feelings and settle something to their own disadvantage rather than hurt the other person (such as his letting Lucrecia go), sometimes giving too much away to the other.  Libras can sometimes find themselves beating themselves up over not being able to please another, or having low self-worth.  The sign deals with relationships with others rather than the development of oneself. I also found this.  A little too much info perhaps, but, uh...interesting for the fangirls and hentai authors? ^^; “Lovemaking is [the Libran male’s] favorite recreation.  He enjoys it and is good at it.  But he likes to be told how good he is, and told as often as possible.  The Librian man is very responsive to admiration and flattery and can be a most imaginative lover.  His intimate, intuitive knowledge of female anatomy and his active erotic imagination are a very attractive combination.  If you want love to be a sensuous experience that rescinds the merely physical, Libra man is what you are looking for.  If you’re looking for a caveman, however, look elsewhere. ” However, most shocking at all (and, on the surface, inconsistent) is that Libras are also said to dislike violence.  Either Vincent is an exception, he didn’t enjoy being a Turk one bit, or the Turks were not as violent during his tenure than they are in the compilation’s present time.  Generally speaking, I would say that Vincent doesn’t like violence, but has found it necessary.  It isn’t as though he looks for fights to pick. [ b l o o d   t y p e :   A ] Just as astrology uses one’s birthday to determine somebody’s characteristics, the Japanese culture places some significance on a character’s blood type and the bearing which it has on their personality, which is why a blood type is given for many anime characters or Japanese video game characters.  (Which, incidentally, makes much more sense than my very first, naive explanation for why there were blood types given in the FF7 instruction manual—that the player would need to perform blood transfusions. xD )  With this in mind, I looked at a few anime information websites to see what the characteristics are associated with blood type A. Type A people are said to be prudent, sensitive, realistic, and rational (...?).  They also don’t like to be touched by other people.  (I’d say that’s true in Vincent’s case.  He tends to keep away from the others.)  They are also said to be sympathetic, empathic, SELF-SACRIFICING, polite, willing to compromise, honest, and loyal.  However, they tend to worry a lot, be emotional, indecisive, and anti-social.  (“...” and “...?” aren’t exactly the most social phrases I’ve heard.  Vincent tends to keep away from others. ) A types are also calm, composed, level-headed, serious, reliable, and trustworthy.  They tend to be harsh on themselves and strive to be the ideal of what they think they should be.  They surpress their own emotions, and tend to appear strong because of this—which I think is very true in Vincent’s case.  They also seem rather distant to other people.