OVA
Description
Lobelia Carlini is a central character in the anime Sakura Taisen: Ecole de Paris, an original video animation that expands on the events of the video game Sakura Taisen 3. She is a notorious thief of mixed Romanian and Italian descent, born in Transylvania on November 13, 1903. She inherited powerful pyrokinetic abilities from her mother, a shaman, and was persecuted from a young age due to her occult lineage. After losing her parents, she lived a wandering life and turned to crime, eventually becoming feared across Europe as a pyro-criminal. She is said to be responsible for eighty percent of all criminal incidents in Paris, earning her the title of the greatest villain in the city, and was sentenced to one thousand years of confinement.
Lobelia’s personality is harsh, rude, blunt, aggressive, and extremely competitive. She uses a cold, selfish, and irresponsible demeanor to keep people from getting close to her, and she never misses a chance to insult others. Her motivations are primarily self-serving: she joins the Paris Hanagumi (the Paris Combat Revue) only because Grand Mere, the unit’s commander, offers to reduce her sentence and pay her a huge reward for each mission. If Lobelia refuses, Grand Mere has the authority to kill her. Despite this transactional start, Lobelia gradually changes due to the persistent, sincere kindness of Erica Fontaine. Erica treats her as a normal person worthy of attention, which disarms Lobelia’s defenses. Over time, Lobelia develops genuine care for her teammates, especially Erica, and even bakes a birthday cake for her and searches for her when she goes missing. Key relationships also include a tense dynamic with Glycene Bleumer and a later softening toward the team leader, Ohgami.
In the story, Lobelia is first encountered when the Paris Hanagumi members are sent to recruit her from prison. She takes Erica hostage, but Erica’s comical yet sincere approach confuses Lobelia and allows the team to capture her. After a failed escape attempt, Norimichi Sakomizu shoots a spiritual bullet through her heart, temporarily paralyzing her, and she is finally recruited. She performs a gypsy dance under the stage name Saphir at the theater Chattes Noires, and her dancing is so skilled that she gains a fan in detective Evian. She enjoys gambling and possesses extensive knowledge of whiskey and wine.
Lobelia’s notable abilities include pyrokinetic powers that allow her to conjure flames, which she used in her crimes and on one occasion to burn a famous painting when the enemy tried to use it as a bargaining chip. In combat, she wields a chain whip attached to her right arm and extendable claws. She pilots a Koubu-F in swamp green that originally featured a single huge extendable claw, later upgraded to the Koubu-F2 with claws on both arms. Her spiritual armor is also equipped with a large claw. Throughout her development, she evolves from a lone, anti-heroic criminal into a reluctant but loyal member of the Paris Hanagumi, though she retains her sharp edges and cynical outlook.
Lobelia’s personality is harsh, rude, blunt, aggressive, and extremely competitive. She uses a cold, selfish, and irresponsible demeanor to keep people from getting close to her, and she never misses a chance to insult others. Her motivations are primarily self-serving: she joins the Paris Hanagumi (the Paris Combat Revue) only because Grand Mere, the unit’s commander, offers to reduce her sentence and pay her a huge reward for each mission. If Lobelia refuses, Grand Mere has the authority to kill her. Despite this transactional start, Lobelia gradually changes due to the persistent, sincere kindness of Erica Fontaine. Erica treats her as a normal person worthy of attention, which disarms Lobelia’s defenses. Over time, Lobelia develops genuine care for her teammates, especially Erica, and even bakes a birthday cake for her and searches for her when she goes missing. Key relationships also include a tense dynamic with Glycene Bleumer and a later softening toward the team leader, Ohgami.
In the story, Lobelia is first encountered when the Paris Hanagumi members are sent to recruit her from prison. She takes Erica hostage, but Erica’s comical yet sincere approach confuses Lobelia and allows the team to capture her. After a failed escape attempt, Norimichi Sakomizu shoots a spiritual bullet through her heart, temporarily paralyzing her, and she is finally recruited. She performs a gypsy dance under the stage name Saphir at the theater Chattes Noires, and her dancing is so skilled that she gains a fan in detective Evian. She enjoys gambling and possesses extensive knowledge of whiskey and wine.
Lobelia’s notable abilities include pyrokinetic powers that allow her to conjure flames, which she used in her crimes and on one occasion to burn a famous painting when the enemy tried to use it as a bargaining chip. In combat, she wields a chain whip attached to her right arm and extendable claws. She pilots a Koubu-F in swamp green that originally featured a single huge extendable claw, later upgraded to the Koubu-F2 with claws on both arms. Her spiritual armor is also equipped with a large claw. Throughout her development, she evolves from a lone, anti-heroic criminal into a reluctant but loyal member of the Paris Hanagumi, though she retains her sharp edges and cynical outlook.