in-depth

HER STORY: THE ANIME

According to information never discussed in the anime but revealed by the creators, Salvia was born into a family of pure love angels. Her father (Butler), was a commander in the Tenshi-kai's forces while her mother (Vivian) was a fortune teller. The youngest member of the family (Lee, a brother) was a solider in the Tenshi-Kai's army who died in battle. We know nothing more of her family, she never discusses them and it is likely they perished during the ongoing angel/devil conflict or were separated from her in some way. Coming from such a barren background it is easy to see how Salvia became so adept at working alone and accepting of isolation.

As an angel, Salvia was incredibly powerful and noble. An astute student, she mastered the art of combat with a sword and was given a very high position in the Tenshi-kai due to her efforts. Salvia was assigned to protect Celeste (the sister of Aphrodite, the Queen of the Tenshi-Kai) as one of her holy bodyguards. A serious girl but one with a kind heart she befriended her fellow partners in protection (Angels Lily, Daisy, & Freesia) with great ease. In particular Salvia became close to Freesia who had an intensity in battle that was unrivaled amongst the other angels. The pair of them became very good friends, both training and fighting together in order to protect the Tenshi-kai and their mistress.

Before the Wedding Wars broke out, Salvia was open, expressive, and dedicated to her duty as a bodyguard. However after the Wedding Wars her personality changed greatly and she became the Salvia we are more familiar with: cold, calculated and ruthless. What happened to make her change so dramatically?

The events of the Wedding Wars tore the angel and devil worlds to pieces- not one member of either race was not influenced by it in some way. Salvia was no exception and her life changed very much during this period of war. As devil forces attacked the heavens in search of the Saint Something Four, Celeste's bodyguards had to step up their duty and protect their mistress no matter what the cost. Despite fighting valiantly Angels Lily and Daisy lost their lives protecting Celeste, with Salvia and Freesia having to fight on in spite of this- uniting their power against countless devils. But as Salvia fought she found herself increasingly disgusted with what she was doing. Her desire was to achieve peace for the Tenshi-kai and to protect her mistress, violently murdering cowering devils gradually brought her to question her actions during battle.

Awakened to how pointless and unfair the war was, Salvia chased down Freesia who had a devil beaten into submission before her. Salvia explained that they shouldn't fight, that nothing good would come of killing other creatures. Freesia didn't agree at first but Salvia's words began to sink in and ultimately she threw down her sword, beaming with newfound understanding. Unfortunately the devil that Freesia had subdued took this opportunity to stab her right through the chest.

Freesia uttered no last words she just looked terrified as she died quickly in the arms of her beloved companion. Salvia, overcome with rage and guilt threw down her friend's body, picked up her sword and ran the devil through. It was on that day that Angel Salvia lost both her fledgling pacifism and her best friend. It was on that day she swore to have her revenge no matter the cost.

At around the same time this happened, Celeste and Uragano (her equal from the Akuma-kai) blew each other up and fell to Earth. Salvia was not only left without a mistress to protect she was also without companions (they'd all fallen in the bloodshed). She was alone. Because she'd sworn to seek revenge for Freesia's death, Salvia decided to hunt down every devil she could and destroy them by her own hand wherever they appeared. We can assume this is what she did with herself in the blank between the war & her TV series introduction.

When Salvia first appears in the anime she beats Potomos' summoned demon into pulp and seems to be the love angel's knight in shining armour - ready to rescue them when they need help. However she makes it very clear that she doesn't wish to work with them in the slightest and that she hates ALL devils, including Jama-pii (a reformed pet demon, mascot and friend to Peach, Lily & Daisy). At this stage, her passion for vengeance against the devils still burns violently in her veins and she isn't interested in sparing any devils her sword.

Salvia appears briefly in several episodes after her original introduction, quickly saving the other angels before telling them off for not fighting the way she does and vanishing until the next episode. It isn't until she can't beat a snow-demon by herself and she is forced to remember the events that took place during the Wedding Wars by Wedding Peach, that she begins to realise that she can't continue fighting alone. She only trusts herself because of her tragic past but through Peach's words she starts to see that her self-induced isolation will only bring her more pain. When she is fully aware that she can't live alone her tiara reacts to her love waves and so the Saint Something Four are united by Salvia's love waves combining with those of the other angels. With Salvia finally joining the "team", so begins a new era in the battle against the Akuma-kai.

Salvia does not suddenly reject her old ways or reform overnight, she remains relatively isolated and finds adapting to a team quite stressful. Because her pure origin makes her more receptive to love & hate waves she soon discovers that Momoko's beloved Yousuke is actually half-devil. After this terrible revelation she decides that in order to save Peach and the Saint Something Four she will have to kill Yousuke (aka Viento).

This does not sit well with the others for obvious reasons, though Salvia is motivated by her friendship with Peach, more so than her hate for devils. She wants to keep the Saint Something Four active because the only way they will work in the fight against Devila is if Peach's heart is filled with love waves. If Peach is watching the man she loves fight his demon side her heart will cease to emit love waves (the forces that are necessary for her to access her powers). For the good of the Tenshi-kai and for the world, Salvia decides she wants Yousuke/Viento dead.

As one can probably guess she doesn't get to kill Yousuke/Viento (although she does get a couple of shots at it). His devil DNA is very strong and as much as Salvia loathes to admit it, she is unable to battle him alone. The other love angels, who were firmly opposed to Salvia's actions manage to convince her that Yousuke is partially human and that killing him would not relieve Peach's suffering. Salvia concedes to this and for the very first time she decides to side with the other angels and fight as part of a team, not just as a "tag-along" with other intentions.

For most people this wouldn't have been much of an achievement but for Salvia, a woman so traumatised by the events of the past, taking these shaky first steps forward were something undoubtedly unique. The angels needed to resolve all their internal issues for the Saint Something Four to work (their hearts needed to be as one and filled with love waves for the magical items to react) and before they could defeat Reine Devila .

The loss of her best friend in the past managed to consume Salvia until she found vindication amongst present-day companions. After seeing Yousuke/Viento's true nature and kindness, she began to question her own resolve- were all devils really worthy of death? During the final battle in the television series (in which the kiss between Viento and Wedding Peach, united with the Saint Something Four, both saved the world and cured Reine Devila of her darkness) Salvia finds herself unable to continue with her old ways. Although still hurt from the events of the Wedding Wars, Salvia finds hope in the the relationship between Peach and her devil lover- aspirations for a peaceful future. With the curing of her hate in progress, Salvia decides to have her memory wiped along with the other angels so as she can come to understand her life as Ohara Scarlet. Her maturity and resolve once again displayed as she looks towards a new beginning, finally freed from the shackles of her past.

HER STORY: THE OAV

Wedding Peach DX, a four-part OAV explains what happens to the love angels after the events of the television series. With the Akuma-kai & Tenshi-kai striking a peace agreement and their mission over, the love angels opt to have their memories (and the memories of their loved ones) wiped so that they can return to living normal civilian lives. In the DX the angels have their powers and memories re-awakened after some devils decide to rebel against the peace accord. After being given new powers by Aphrodite herself, the girls decide that they will continue fighting to protect the world from any creature seeking to bring harm to it.

Individually Salvia has changed very little from the way she was at the end of the television series. Still relatively aloof, she spends a lot of time socially with the other love angels, but rarely brings herself to say something that is not curt or sarcastic. Though still head-strong and difficult to get along with, Salvia truly has a connection with her new friends and will defend them against any kind of harm.

Picking up from where the television series left off, Salvia also seems to have struck up a decent companionship with Jama-pii, and the pair of them often investigate things together (when the other love angels would rather be on dates, for example). Still not exactly the best at human relationships, Salvia is trying her best to learn and can truly be seen as a member of the love angel group in the DX.

The episode in which we get the greatest focus on Salvia is episode two ("Salvia's Love: We Even Fight on Gorgeous Cruise Liners!") when the girls attend a cruise boat party thrown by debonair businessman, Clark Oasis. Though initially coy about the issue, Salvia comes to admit that she and Clark have been involved with each other since she risked her life to save him from an assassination attempt.

Salvia's relationship with Clark is her first love affair in the anime series, and one that she handles with a bold maturity occasionally sprinkled with the odd teenage jitter. When Momoko first confronts Salvia about Clark she tells her friend- "Scarlet you're different from us. You're a pure angel who has been fighting against devils for a very long time. So from this point on I think you have the right to find your own happiness.." In a perfect world Salvia would have ridden off into the sunset with Clark but Salvia's life is nothing short of a trial. This relationship concludes in tears.

Though he appears to be human, Clark Oasis is actually a fallen angel who was thrown from the Tenshi-kai because of his radical beliefs and actions. He managed to establish himself in the human world after this and it can be assumed that he sensed the pure angelic origins of Salvia (as Scarlet) when she saved his life. Consumed by his own insane lust for power against the heavens, fallen angel!Clark begs Salvia to join him as a heavenly outcast to rule the world in their own way- because she understands him. Salvia solemnly refuses and before he is consumed wholly by his mutated demonic side, Clark begs her to kill him. She reluctantly obliges.

Once again she is left emotionally battered from loss, but this time Salvia remains optimistic about the future. In the past she was forced to deal with her loss alone, now she has the support and companionship of her friends. Salvia picks herself up and deals with the other demonic threats in latter episodes with her usual bold attitude and strength, the sorrow of lost love becoming yet another human issue she learns to cope with. When Salvia asked to have her memories erased at the end of the television series, she basically accepts humanity and the trials that it will offer to her. So suffering, along with joy, is part of that. Her outlook at the end of the DX is good; she is learning to deal with human life, as well as continuing her fight against those who would oppose peace between the Tenshi-kai & Akuma-kai.

HER STORY: THE MANGA

Scarlet appears in the second-last volume of the Wedding Peach manga, making her a relatively late addition to the team. While she has a similar introduction in the manga > the anime (showing up, saving the other angels from Potomos), her eventual role in the manga is somewhat different to the one we see in the anime.

The printed Ohara Scarlet arrives with her usual stern demeanor but also a message for Lily and Daisy; "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." Salvia explains one of the more mysterious elements of the series' plot (why Yuri and Hinagiku are angels) within her first scene- they are the reincarnations of the original Lily/Daisy who fought during the Wedding Wars. Salvia too, is a reborn version of her previous incarnation.

Unlike Lily and Daisy who both managed to awaken their powers without recalling the traumatic experiences of their past lives, Scarlet became aware of her past-life memories long before she accessed her angel powers. Limone believes this is the reason for her incredibly stubborn and unfeeling personality; "Having memories of her past life from before her spirit was awoken, she was raised to feel nothing but hate for devils." Though old habits are hard to break, Limone believes that if the other angels work hard enough, they might be able to help Salvia see sense; not everything is black and white in their battle.

Not only is Salvia a bizarre and erratic friend to the angels during conflicts with devils, she is even more confusing when in human form.

Ohara Scarlet is an exchange student at Saint Chapel Academy and the very first moment we see her she tells Momoko "Wedding Peach! Break up with Fuuma Yousuke!" Probably not the best way to formally introduce oneself. Yanagiba Kazuya (Limone) admits that Scarlet is 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!".

Of course the solution is to test whether or not the bracelet contains the emanation of an evil being or whether it is Yousuke himself who is the vessel. Because Kazuya (as Limone) originally told Scarlet to watch over Yousuke and to make sure he wasn't demonically influenced, she becomes very confused when Kazuya asks her not to be hasty or to bring the boy into harm's way. All devils, even ones who are dating her leader, 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 in turn transforms into his devil form; Viento. It is in the aftermath of this battle (in which Limone is badly injured by the double-attack from the devils) that Scarlet manages to come to grips with some of her issues. After seeing Yuri finally remember her past and her 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 incredible close-mindedness a little in order to perform her duty.

Salvia doesn't play a particularly huge role in the series from this point, she fights in the "final battle" against Reine Devila and even has her own side story (in which we see her manga love-interest, Dean Butler, appear), but generally she takes a back-seat to the tragic Romeo > Juliet / Yousuke > Momoko saga. At the end of the manga (in the future) she marries Dean, the boy who chased her half-way across the world in order to declare his love.

Just as in the anime, manga!Scarlet doesn't have an emotionally conclusive ending, she simply begins on a path towards healing years of unbridled hatred. In the manga it is not only through her newly forged companionship with the other love angels that she starts growing as a person, but also through her coming to terms with Dean's affections. Scarlet is a scarred girl who finds communication with others and the resolution of her mission difficult, but she is a girl with an optimistic future and friends who will support her no matter what the the coming years hold.

xx INDEX