present
she's a pretty hate machine
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's Tama Tama 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" rather than the preservation of the Tenshi-Kai, as Limone suggests it should
be (Salvia actually states "I don't care about that" regarding the fate of her world).
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 actively 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 struggles on, repeatedly extending 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 is beginning to regard 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 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 in her attempts to kill
him). Yousuke/Viento has incredibly strong devil DNA, so 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 able to acknowledge that the love between Momoko and Yousuke is true, decide to join 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, as she offers to be Momoko's brides maid 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 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 kiss 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, her personality however, is the same. The printed Ohara Scarlet arrives not only to save the other love angels, but to deliver a message to 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". 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 so black and white.
Not only is Salvia a bizarre and erratic friend to the angels during conflict, she is incredibly 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 that are dating
angels, 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 properly.
Salvia doesn't play a particularly huge role in the series from this point on, 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.