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Zell Dincht is a main character from Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VIII. Like Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy, Zell is a student at Balamb Garden. Passionate, energetic and impulsive, Zell can be either annoying or endearing, depending on your point of view.
He measures 5'6" tall and is 17 years old. Zell is a martial artist (or a "monk" in terms of traditional Final Fantasy character classes), and his weapons are gloves. Zell grew up in the town of Balamb, where his mother still lives. His motivation in joining the mercenary organization SeeD is to live up to the memory of his grandfather, who was a famous soldier.
Zell has certain noteworthy similarities with Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart, two major characters from Final Fantasy VII. Tifa is another "monk" who fights using gloves, and Zell shares three of her limit breaks - Dolphin Blow, Meteor Strike, and Final Heaven. Zell's unruly blond hair also looks distinctly reminiscent of Cloud's iconic spiky hairstyle. Some fans have hypothesized that Zell is a descendant of Cloud and Tifa and that Cloud may even be the grandfather who was a "famous soldier", although the fact that all other evidence points to Final Fantasy VIII taking place in an entirely different world from Final Fantasy VII makes this extremely unlikely.
In the game, Zell is often used as comedy relief, and has the misfortune of constantly being gay-baited by both friends and enemies. Some examples: Seifer calls him a "chickenwuss;" his teacher, Quistis Trepe, makes comments about his neatness and unusual shows of affection towards Squall; female librarians at Balamb Garden form a committtee to try and get him interested in a girl; and he regularly visits his mother, who lives in Balamb. It isn't until near the end of the game - and after completing a side quest - that the other characters are finally convinced that he's not homosexual.
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