Viola

Origin

Viola is a mysterious enigma, her memories vague and something she would struggle to hold on to. She believes she may have been born in a forest, but that one day her encampment was attacked, leaving her in its ruins with only a crystal ball she would cling to. She possesses the ability to intuitively understand and predict the future of people she meets. Viola would use this ability to make a living as a fortune teller, surviving and making enough money for food and shelter, however the eery accuracy of her precognitive powers would mean she could never stay in one location for too long. The fact that many people do not actually like to know some truths. Viola would often be attacked while she was traveling, by thieves and bandits, however Viola was not an easy victim, she was a trained fighter, welding a metal claw and with the ability to use her crystal ball as a weapon. As odd was Viola’s inability to hold onto her own memories for very long.

Constantly traveling and coldness earned from strangers who were displeased with her predictions, fostered a sense of apathy and coldness within Viola, as she struggled to empathize with others. This was until she met the as equally mysterious Z.W.E.L, who would become her travel companion. Eventually both would meet and be assisted by the legendary knight and warrior Siegfried, leader of the Schwarzwind who would shelter them from angry mobs. Siegfried would also ask them to assist Patroklos, he himself looking for his lost sister Pyrrha.

Creation

Viola is fictional character created for the Soul Calibur franchise, created by publisher Bandai Namco. The very mysterious fighter first appeared in Soul Calibur V released in 2012 and her design is attributed to Tomoko Imura. On the characters creation and design “The approval process for the draft went very smoothly, but for some reason I had a hard time carrying it to final version. This character design passed through quite a few hands before the costume was finalized. I focused on giving Viola and enigmatic facial expression.”

Character Evolution

Viola’s character and design came about from the merging of a few different ideas according to Takuji Kawano, including “an oracle” and an “Eastern European gypsy” as well as being mysterious and enigmatic.

Powers and Abilities

Viola is a skilled fighter and has a few supernatural like abilities. Viola utilizes a magical crystal ball and a metal claw in combat, with the former orbiting around her. She refers to her Crystal Ball as Quattuar Orbis.

Viola also has the supernatural ability to read other individuals futures. Specifically she uses two methods of divination. Western Style Tarot Card reading and Eastern style Moon divination, which uses her magical crystal ball. Some individuals she reads through her magical ball, give off a reddish tinge, reflected as a red moon. These individuals generally are also Malfested, individuals tainted by the Soul Edge weapon.

Physical Characteristics

• Height: 5’2″
• Weight: 108 lbs
• Eyes: Violet
• Hair: White

Other Media

Videogames

Soul Calibur V (2012)

Viola first appeared in the 2012 video game fighting franchise Soul Calibur V. Developed by Namco Bandai, for the Playstation 3 and X-Box 360. Her Japanese voice actress is Hitomi Nabatame and her English voice actress is Heather Hogan.