her story

Spanning more than fifteen years of war and peace, Salvia's story uniquely deals with an angel who has lost everything in life save for her determination. Living, learning and loving- Salvia manages it all over the course of her brief appearance in both anime and manga.

the past

Fifteen years before the series "year zero", the ongoing war between two worlds (Akuma-kai and Tenshi-kai) erupted into a full scale battle. The devils, fearing they would be eliminated by the angels and their love waves, invaded the Tenshi-kai. Having no other choice, the angels fought to defend themselves against the violent invaders. Four of the most powerful angels on the battlefield at the time were Lily, Daisy, Salvia and Celeste. It was the unified love wave of all four angels that helped destroy many of the devil invaders- until they met their match in the devil Uragano, that is.

After a particularly strong attack from Uragano killed Lily and Daisy (with a second attack knocking Salvia unconscious), Celeste was forced to fight alone to protect her homeland. Uragano was blown out of the heavens by Celeste's power and Celeste by Uragano's. Both devil and angel lost their memories but over the next two years, found love in the arms of humans- with each eventually producing a child. Uragano came to remember his time as a devil but as he didn't wish to return to a life of hate, he was killed by his devil companions, leaving his son (Fuuma Yousuke) without a father. Celeste lived as Hanasaki Sakura until her memories returned and she felt compelled to return to the Tenshi-kai to help take over its protection (in place of her ailing sister, Aphrodite). When Celeste returned to the heavens, she left her daughter (Hanasaki Momoko) without a mother.

Some twelve years later, the devils once again resume their attacks against love waves, this time concentrating on the human world in the hope that they can capture the holy Saint Something Four. Momoko awakens her angel blood by becoming Wedding Peach and so, a new battle begins.

During the "Wedding Wars" (the battle of fifteen years ago), Salvia was noted to be a brave young warrior. In episode forty-five Celeste states that "The love wave the four of us put forth was powerful, and it was able to repel most of the devils" which would lead one to believe that Salvia, like her companions, was strong and possessing of pure love waves. Although her family aren't mentioned in the series, according to Tomita and Yazawa, Salvia came from a clan of warrior angels with both her father and brother serving as angel soldiers. Oddly enough, Salvia was not passionate about fighting- instead, she only appeared interested in preserving the purity of the angels, with battle serving as a last resort.

The longest sequence focused on Salvia's past is in episode thirty-seven, as Salvia reflects on why she fights devils and remains alone. During the Wedding Wars her best friend, Freesia, came close to killing a devil out of revenge for the life of her younger sister. Salvia disarmed Freesia by exclaiming"... An angel like you, with such a pure love wave, must not kill this cowardly devil who killed your younger sister" but just as Freesia came to smile at her friend, the devil she'd spared ran her through. Salvia then stabbed the devil and clutched Freesia as she died. Salvia notes afterwards, "Since that moment, I decided as soon as I saw a devil, I would kill them". Freesia's death more than likely took place before the battle in which Celeste was blown to Earth, although there is no canon sequence to these events.

After losing everyone she cared about in battle, Salvia was left alone- this we know. Unfortunately there is a sizable gap in canon so it isn't known what Salvia did during the fifteen year period between the Wedding Wars and the appearance of Wedding Peach. She does hint at time spent hunting devils, so assumedly she has spent a considerable portion of these years fighting. This is contrasted by Limone's comment in episode thirty-seven though, about Salvia's apparent "revival". We don't know anything about when or why she came to Earth or how she came into possession of the Saint Something New (which fell to Earth fifteen years ago). We also can't be sure of whether or not Salvia was set in slumber like Celeste or if she was awake the entire fifteen years. Smaller details like how she supports herself financially as Ohara Scarlet too, remain a mystery.

In the manga there is less of a gap- Salvia died during the Wedding Wars alongside Lily and Daisy. She, like the others, was reincarnated as a human girl (Ohara Scarlet). Yuri and Hinagiku awakened their angelic powers as teenagers but Scarlet was different. As a child she not only awakened her powers by mistake- she also restored all of her past memories due to contact with the Saint Something New (in the form of a tiara she borrowed from her mother for use in a school play). manga!Scarlet quickly developed the same loner personality we see her anime counterpart display, likely owing to the brutality of her revived memories and the difficulty of her mission (to unite with the other love angels). As Limone explains to the other angels "Having memories of her past life from before her spirit was awoken, she (Salvia) was raised to feel nothing but hate for devils".

In both anime and manga, fifteen years after the Wedding Wars we see Salvia re-appear beside her angelic companions. No longer a noble angel interested in preservation, she has become an instrument of vengeance.

the present

Salvia first surfaces in the second half of the Wedding Peach series, although she isn't formerly introduced in her civilian form until several episodes later. In episode thirty-five she makes her first true appearance, saving the other three angels from Potamos' TamaTama minion. When Peach excitedly proposes a toast to their new found union, Salvia's first words to her are "Stop acting so childish". It is clear from this meeting that the fourth love angel is not interested in working as part of a team. Nor is she interested in saving the Tenshi-kai, which becomes apparent in subsequent episodes. As Salvia declares in thirty-six "My goal is the destruction of every last devil" not the preservation of the Tenshi-Kai as Limone suggests it should be (Salvia actually states "I don't care about that" regarding the world she came from.)

Salvia is on a mission when she first appears in the series, a mission of vengeance and destruction. After seeing her world torn apart during the Wedding Wars and witnessing her friend's murder, Salvia has become an enemy of all devil kind. She declares openly "I won't let a single devil remain living" and she resists pleads from the other love angels to change her methods to devil purification. She continues to isolate herself and to reject friendship from others because she fears losing those she cares about again. By Salvia's own admission, she can't continue on this way but she hasn't had the motivation to change up until now. Through Peach's kindness and insistence that "Fighting only begets hatred", Salvia lets her heart melt briefly. Her tiara reacts and the Saint Something Four are united finally, by Salvia's love waves. When Salvia says she will fight beside the other love angels, a new era begins in the battle against the Akuma-kai.

Salvia does not however, suddenly reject her old ways or reform overnight- for the most part she remains relatively isolated and finds adapting to a team quite stressful. As Scarlet she has little to do with Momoko, Yuri and Hinagiku- only meeting them when she has to and generally ignoring their personal problems. When in her love angel form, Salvia constantly states that she only fights alongside the others because she has to, not because she likes it. Lily and Daisy continue to be dismayed by Salvia's attitude but Peach weathers it and repeatedly extends the hand of friendship. Because her pure origin makes her more receptive to love and hate waves, Salvia comes to discover that Momoko's beloved Yousuke is actually half-devil. After this terrible revelation Salvia decides that in order to save Peach (a girl she almost regards as a friend) from certain heartbreak and the Saint Something Four from destruction (due to said heartbreak) she will have to kill Yousuke.

This does not sit well with the other love angels due to obvious reasons- and even though Salvia is motivated by her friendship with Peach, the thought of killing a friend is too much for the girls. Salvia wants to keep the Saint Something Four active because the only way they will work in the fight against Reine Devila is if all four of their hearts are as one and filled with love waves. If Peach is watching the man she loves fight his devil side her heart will cease to emit love waves (the forces that are necessary for angels to access their powers).It is for the good of the Tenshi-kai and the human world then, that Salvia decides she wants Yousuke dead.

For quite a few episodes Salvia stalks Yousuke and tries activating his devil side through various methods. She is unsuccessful in all of her attempts to probe his devil side and also in her attempts to kill him. Yousuke/Viento has incredibly strong devil DNA and as much as Salvia loathes to admit it, she is unable to battle him alone. Lily and Daisy (who were firmly opposed to Salvia's actions) manage to convince the fourth love angel that killing Yousuke would not relieve Peach's suffering. They do however, agree with another of Salvia's suggestions; that Momoko dump Yousuke in order to salvage her heart. Momoko obviously cannot oblige with such a request and the other three angels, now fully understanding that the love between Momoko and Yousuke is true, decide to unite with the pair in a united front against Reine Devila and the encroaching devil forces.

It is worth noting that Salvia's opinion of Viento changes almost instantaneously in episode forty-nine when he protects her from a devil attack during battle- "It can't be...For a devil... For a devil to save an angel". Up until this point, Salvia hasn't believed in "reformed" devils or devils capable of kindness, even though she's grudgingly accepted purification as a means to devil defeat. Despite the fact that Jama-Pii has been Peach's constant companion since his purification, Salvia has remained utterly unconvinced by his apparent reformation. When Viento defends her, as well as the woman he loves, Salvia realises that even with devil DNA, a person can remain true to their feelings.

After Viento learns that his father was murdered by Reine Devila, his resolve to defeat her strengthens. A world that rejects love is not a world anyone can live in, on this point all companions agree. Before the final battle Yuri, Hinagiku and Scarlet decide to have a wedding ceremony for Momoko and Yousuke. Each donates their Saint Something Four item for Momoko to wear in the hope that they will ensure her happiness. Scarlet has truly changed at this point, she offers to be Momoko's bridesmaid and even lets her wear the Saint Something New. Before the ceremony she tells Momoko "The Something New is testimony to the courage that surpasses hardships and reaches new things" - which is rather poignant. Salvia has now overcome so many of her personal obstacles that she offers up the item that symbolises her achievements to the friend who helped her change.

It is Yousuke's intention to go to the Akuma-kai and defeat Devila himself, without getting Momoko involved in the dangers he will face. But before this can occur, Reine Devila uproots herself and decides to attack the wedding ceremony between the star-crossed lovers. During the final battle, Salvia makes a strong stand against Devila alongside her fellow love angels but their powers alone aren't enough to defeat her. It isn't until Momoko and Yousuke unite in a lover's kiss, amplified by their opposing origins, that Reine Devila is finally purified by love waves. As the anime comes to a close, the three main couples stand together while Scarlet sits beside Jama-pii and remarks "A wonderful love, huh? I'd like to try that too".

Salvia's role in the manga storyline is slightly different, although her general characterisation is the same. The printed Ohara Scarlet arrives not only to save the other love angels, but to deliverr Lily and Daisy a message; "You two are different, with memories of the Tenshi-kai. The three of us, together with Celeste-sama, were soliders who protected the Tenshi-kai from devils that tried to break Aprhodite-sama's shield" . Having awakened memories of her previous life as a child, Scarlet is consumed by hate for the devils. Although old habits are hard to break, Limone believes that if the other angels work hard enough, they might be able to help Scarlet see that not everything is black and white in their battle.

Not only is Salvia a bizarre and erratic friend to the angels during conflict, she is even more confusing when in human form. Ohara Scarlet is a returnee student at Saint Hanazono and in her first comic panel she tells Momoko, "Wedding Peach! Break up with Fuuma Yousuke". Yanagiba Kazuya (Limone) admits that Scarlet is easily misunderstood because she really has no tact or formality in the way she speaks. Scarlet says she senses hate waves emanating from Yousuke, therefore something demonic is probably lurking around him. Momoko blames the bracelet he wears but Scarlet isn't so sure, "Prove it".

The solution is to test the bracelet in order to discern whether the item is truly demonic. Because Kazuya (as Limone) originally told Scarlet to watch over Yousuke and ensure he wasn't demonically influenced, she becomes very confused when Kazuya asks her not to be hasty or to harm the boy. After all, in her eyes every devil- even ones who are dating an angel, are to be exterminated. When Salvia attempts to assault Yousuke while he is wearing the bracelet it repels her attack and Uragano is summoned. Yousuke then transforms into his devil form, Viento. It is in the aftermath of this battle (in which Limone is badly injured) that Scarlet manages to come to grips with some of her issues. After seeing Yuri finally remember her past relationship with Limone, Scarlet's approach softens slightly. She is still desperate to protect what she sees as just but realises that she may have to compromise her ideals a little in order to perform her duty.

Salvia doesn't play a particularly huge role in the series from this point aside from fighting in the final battle against Reine Devila. The Saint Something New unites with the other Saint Somethings when Peach and Viento kiss, showering the battlefield in love waves. With Devila defeated, Celeste reappears and Salvia is overjoyed to see that her old friend hasn't come to any harm. When everyone returns home to their loved ones after the battle, Scarlet decides to walk the streets alone instead, contemplating the star-crossed love that managed to save the world.

the future

After the events of the television series, the love angels return in the four episode OAV Wedding Peach DX. Set after the battle against Reine Devila, the angels are living their lives as normal girls. During a flashback we see that they approached Aphrodite and asked for their memories to be altered so that they, and their loved ones, would have no recollection of the war. Salvia takes the bold step of joining in with her companions "You're weak- is what I would have said before, but life as a human isn't bad. That's how I feel now". But unfortunately, peace is only a fleeting thing. There was a treaty signed between the angels and devils after the war with Reine Devila came to an end however, some lone devils have decided not to abide by the treaty and are still causing havoc in the human world. Aphrodite reawakens the love angels and asks that they resume their duties.

In the OAV episodes we see the girls remember their pasts during a beach trip, Salvia falling for a business man (for more information on that ill-fated affair, see love), Hiromi resurfacing over the Christmas period and pure love tested by a devilish Valentine's Day scheme. These episodes are stand-alone stories that do little more than treat us to further love angel exploits. The most important thing they establish is that in the anime timeline, there is no end to the battle for our teen heroines. "Your battles will continue. From here on, please combine your powers and continue to protect this world from the devils" (Aphrodite, episode four). The reply is a resounding "Yes" and all four girls resolve to continue fighting to protect peace well into the future.

The manga conclusion is rather different, with the war finishing once and for all after the battle with Reine Devila. Although the girls retain their memories and the Saint Something Four, they no longer need to continue fighting and are free to live ordinary human lives. Scarlet finds her own love after the conclusion of the main storyline in the extra chapter "Scarlet Love" (you can read more about that here) and, ten years later, all the love angels marry their respective beaus. At the conclusion of the joint ceremony, Momoko breaks the fourth wall as she throws her bouquet "You'll be the happiest bride of all" .

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