La Folia Rihavein (ラ・フォリア・リハヴァイン Ra Foria Rihavuain) is one of the main female characters from the Strike the Blood series.
She is the crown princess of Aldegia Kingdom. She is the daughter of Lucas Rihavein and Polyphonia Rihavein and the niece of Kanon Kanase. La Folia was pursued by Magus Craft because they wanted the blood of a person from the Aldegian royal family for their experiments.
She becomes Kojou Akatsuki's third blood partner in order to activate his third familiar and save Kanon from Magus Craft.
Appearance
La Folia is an exceptionally beautiful young woman to the point she is considered the Second Coming of Freya.
She has a striking, elegant, and formal appearance with features often associated with European aesthetics. She has long, smooth silver hair that flows past her shoulders, styled with a natural and slightly voluminous look. Her eyes are large, almond-shaped, and vividly blue, giving her an intense and captivating gaze. Her complexion is fair, with a smooth and clear skin tone, adding to her refined and noble appearance.
La Folia is a very beautiful pale-skinned girl with hip-length silver hair that has bangs hanging over her face where it mostly hangs over on the right side and clear sky-blue eyes.
She carries a medium-sized spell gun with a knife attachment, similar to a bayonet and appears to be a very skilled shooter with it. She wears a jacket-like trench coat, with a white button-up shirt and black skirt. She is seen wearing a blue pendant gemstone with red ribbons, possibly indicating her royalty status. She also has golden chains looped around her left shoulder.
She was a little taller than Kanon and her facial features more adult. She possessed a majesty reinforced with absolute confidence, enveloping her in an overpowering aura, even while playing in the water without a stitch of clothing.[1]
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La Folia on the farthest left
At a party hosted by the royal family of the Aldegyr Kingdom, La Folia, a member of the royal family, was dressed in an elegant and formal white gown with a strapless design. The bodice of the dress is fitted, accentuating her figure, and features a unique detail at the center—a gold diamond-shaped ornament bordered by dark brown accents, adding a touch of intricate decoration. The waistline is gently emphasized by this design element.
Her gown flows gracefully down into a floor-length skirt with a smooth and simple silhouette, giving her an air of refinement. She is accessorized with a delicate necklace that has two turquoise gemstones hanging from a fine chain, which matches the teal accents on her bodice. On top of her silver hair is a delicate, golden tiara. The tiara features an intricate design with a central teardrop-shaped motif, flanked by curved ornamental patterns. It appears lightweight and elegant, complementing her regal appearance while enhancing her overall graceful and noble aura.[2]
Gallery
- See more images here.
Personality
La Folia seems to be quite a cheerful young woman who is also quite friendly. Even though she just met Kojou Akatsuki, she seems to care for him as much as Yukina Himeragi does for him. She also willingly desired to help Kojou when he was injured, and such was giving him her blood, to which he would drink later on in order to awaken the Third Familiar with the help of Yukina's blood as well.
Princess La Folia had many virtues: She was wise and possessed great knowledge, and she was sly as well as bold. However, the other side of that coin was that she was intensely driven to feed her voracious curiosity.[3]
She possesses the strength, character, and sense of responsibility befitting a princess of a nation. However, she also has a playful and mischievous side, often seen skillfully stirring up situations and enjoying herself, manipulating those around her with her words (even going so far as to toy with enemies who are seriously trying to kill her, not just her allies). While this often results in things working out in the end, from the perspective of those caught up in it, they are often thrown into situations that feel like sudden, harsh jokes, leading to mental struggles and difficulties.
La Folia Rihavein was the crown princess of the kingdom of Aldegia. She had passionate fans not just in her own nation of Aldegia in northern Europe, but all around the world. She breathed elegance, and she was widely praised for her deep prudence and benevolence in matters of policy. Only a tiny fraction of her political opponents knew the deeper truth: She was a shrewd, iron-willed businesswoman.[4]
She was a hard, logical realist, the type that was not picky about choosing the means by which to achieve her ends.[4]
History
La Folia is the first princess of the Aldegia Kingdom. Although not much is revealed about her past in the story, several aspects of her character and her role within the kingdom give hints to her background and the circumstances that shaped her.
As a royal princess, La Folia carries the weight of her responsibilities with grace and authority, often embodying the qualities expected of someone in her position, such as leadership, wisdom, and a deep sense of duty toward her people. Her lineage is notable not only for its noble status but also for the high spiritual power that runs through the royal bloodline, especially among the women, which is a significant part of her identity and influence.
Her upbringing would have been one of privilege, but it also likely came with the pressures and expectations placed on someone destined for such an important role. This is evident in the way she handles difficult situations with a combination of political savvy and personal strength. Her intelligence and combat prowess, particularly with her weapon, the cursed firearm "Alard," speak to her exceptional training and the responsibility she bears as a member of the royal family.
Despite the serious nature of her position, La Folia is known for her complexity as a character. While she is a figure of strength and poise, she also exhibits a playful and mischievous side, sometimes toying with others, including her enemies, which adds a layer of unpredictability to her persona.
Plot
The Amphisbaena
Abilities
In addition to her beauty that has earned her the nickname "The Second Coming of Freya" and her high spiritual power inherited from the royal family, she also has abilities that surpass those of an average attack mage, such as activating the pseudo-holy sword "Völundr System" on her own, which would normally require a large Spiritual reactor. In battle, she uses the cursed gun "Allard".
Genius Intellect: La Folia has extraordinary intelligence, insight and wisdom despite her young age.
| Name | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|
| The Artificial Holy Sword | La Folia has the ability to recreate the Artificial Holy Sword of the Völundr System seen in the prelude of Episode 9 (and fully in Episode 12 and 15) with her bayonet by temporarily converting herself into a spirit. When activating this ability she says the following chant: |
Enhanced Agility: La Folia is shown to be extremely agile in combat, allowing her to be able to jump several feet into the air.
- Chant: She can temporally turn into a spirit.
Daughter of the gods that is within me... Protector of armies, age of the sword, bringer of victory and deliverer of death!
我が身に宿れ、神々の娘。軍勢の守り手。剣の時代。勝利をもたらし、死を運ぶ者よ!
Wagami ni yadore, kamigami no musume. Gunzei no mamori-te. Ken no jidai. Shōri o motarashi, shi o hakobu mono yo!
Second chat: Wagami ni yadore, kamigami no musume. Tate no hakkaisha. Kyō to Arashi. ¡Shōri o motarashi, shi o hakobu mono yo!
Anime Appearance
| Season 2 | |
|---|---|
| Episode 1: Swords-Shaman of Shadow I | Flashback |
| Episode 2: Swords-Shaman of Shadow II | Absent |
| Episode 3: Swords-Shaman of Shadow III | Absent |
| Episode 4: The 4th Primogenitor on the run I | Absent |
| Episode 5: The 4th Primogenitor on the run II | Absent |
| Episode 6: Knight of Sinful God I | Absent |
| Episode 7: Knight of Sinful God II | Absent |
| Episode 8: Knight of Sinful God III | Appears |
| Season 3 | |
|---|---|
| Episode 1: Tartaros-Roses I | Absent |
| Episode 2: Tartaros-Roses II | Absent |
| Episode 3: Tartaros-Roses III | Absent |
| Episode 4: The Time Of My Life I | Absent |
| Episode 5: The Time Of My Life II | Absent |
| Episode 6: The Time Of My Life III | Absent |
| Episode 7: The War Of Original Vampires I | Absent |
| Episode 8: The War Of Original Vampires II | Appears |
| Episode 9: The War Of Original Vampires III | Appears |
| Episode 10: The War Of Original Vampires IV | Appears |
| Season 4 | |
|---|---|
| Episode 1: Paladiness of Mirage I | Absent |
| Episode 2: Paladiness of Mirage II | Absent |
| Episode 3: Paladiness of Mirage III | Absent |
| Episode 4: Tournament In The Nightmare Night I | Absent |
| Episode 5: Tournament in the Nightmare Night II | Absent |
| Episode 6: Tournament in the Nightmare Night III | Screen |
| Episode 7: Reunion of Vampire Princess I | Absent |
| Episode 8: Reunion of Vampire Princess II | Absent |
| Episode 9: Reunion of Vampire Princess III | Absent |
| Episode 10: Seize The Twelve Beast Vassals I | Absent |
| Episode 11: Seize The Twelve Beast Vassals II | Absent |
| Episode 12: Seize The Twelve Beast Vassals III | Appears |
| Season 5 | |
|---|---|
| Episode 1: Dawn Triumphant I | Appears |
| Episode 2: Dawn Triumphant II | Appears |
| Episode 3: Dawn Triumphant III | Appears |
| Episode 4: Dawn Triumphant IV | Appears |
| Season 5 | |
|---|---|
| Episode 1: Dawn Triumphant I | Appears |
| Episode 2: Dawn Triumphant II | Appears |
| OVA | |
|---|---|
| Episode 1: Kingdom Of The Valkyria I | Appears |
| Episode 2: Kingdom Of The Valkyria II | Appears |
Quotes
Etymology
"La Folia" is a common term in Western classical music, referring to a specific baroque musical theme. The phrase comes from the Spanish "la follía", meaning "the madness" or "the madness dance." It is often associated with a lively, repetitive musical structure. The term "folia" itself comes from Latin "follis", meaning "bellows" or "wind instrument," and was later connected with the concept of madness or wildness.
Trivia
- La Folia wants Kojou to take responsibility of her and Kanon.
- As a foreign princess, she doesn’t appear often, but when she does, she leaves a strong impression with her outstanding figure and her bold personality
- In a discussion with Taneda, Mikumo explained that La Folia is a multifaceted character, and as a princess, she holds Machiavellian views, which results in a different sense of ethics compared to the other characters. Additionally, Mikumo mentioned that while fans have requested more appearances of La Folia, if she were to appear in every event, it would easily resolve the plot's issues, which would create problems for the story, so it's not feasible to include her in every situation.[5]