Hey guys just shedding some light on some of your comments:
i remember when i was a kid every new final fantasy that came out i thought the main character was a woman. all FF characters look girly. I never understood it either, but having studied and lived in japan i get it now. In japan guys are considered cool the prettier they are. now of course there are exceptions. some girls really hate the girly guys etc. but in the media and pop world it's a huge trend. i remember seeing this dude wearing a pink shirt, tight
capris, and white slip on flats waiting at my bus stop. i had to do a triple take because he was so androgynous. its a completely different culture with completely different fads. Japanese people
love 
pretty men.
as for the screens, from what i could read it seems the characters remember their abilities over time. this probably has something to do witht he fact that theyre taken from different universes or something. it seems the level up system is all about remembering who you were. and just throwin it in there: in the kuja pic hes saying "What did you say?" i know, not very informative.