Olivia, la princesse origami de The Origami King, personnage entièrement en papier plié doré

Olivia: The Origami King's Origami Princess

1490 words | Reading time : 7 minute(s)

CharacterPaper MarioKing Olly

Folded by the very tyrant she will help Mario overthrow. The deuteragonist of Paper Mario: The Origami King, released on Switch on July 17, 2020, Olivia is King Olly's little origami sister. This portrait covers her birth under the sign of betrayal, her powers — Vellumentals, 1,000-Fold Arms and folding magic — and her endearing duo with Mario.

In Paper Mario: The Origami King (Nintendo Switch, July 17, 2020), Mario does not face the tyrannical King Olly alone: from start to finish he is backed up by Olivia, a little folded-paper princess with an enormous heart. The game's deuteragonist, guide, battle ally and emotional soul of the adventure, she also happens to be... the big villain's own sister.

Naive, cheerful and deeply kind, Olivia nonetheless carries one of the most heartbreaking arcs in the whole Paper Mario series. Here is her full portrait: origin, powers, personality and that final sacrifice fans never forget.

Contents

Who is Olivia in The Origami King?

Olivia is a being made of origami, shaped from a single folded sheet of paper. In the game, she introduces herself as the little sister of King Olly, the main antagonist who wrapped Peach's castle in streamers and turned the Mushroom Kingdom into a folded-paper threat.

Mario finds her trapped inside a wall, in the dungeons of Peach's castle. Once freed, she becomes his permanent companion: she is the one who explains the game's mechanics, leads the way through the dungeons and follows the plumber across every land of the kingdom. Unlike King Olly, Olivia is a clearly distinct character, with her own voice and her own fate.

A birth marked by betrayal

Olivia's story begins long before the game. A master folder (the Origami Craftsman) had designed an origami castle for a festival. He first gave life to Olly... who turned against his creator and imprisoned him inside the wall of his workshop.

Olly then folded Olivia so that she would reign at his side, like a queen on her throne. But the little princess refused that role: she is convinced that origami folk and flat paper folk can be friends, and she cannot understand her brother's hatred of “ordinary” paper characters. That conviction makes her Mario's natural ally, against her own family.

Her powers: Vellumentals, 1,000-Fold Arms and folding magic

Behind her childlike look, Olivia wields some formidable folding abilities:

  • The 1,000-Fold Arms (Mario's giant paper hands): on certain magic circles, she lets Mario deploy immense origami arms to pull, tear away or reposition entire sections of the scenery.
  • The Vellumentals (elemental paper spirits): these elemental spirits — Earth, Water, Fire and Ice — let themselves be captured inside spellbooks. Olivia can then transform into one of them to wield their powers. The name “Vellumental” blends “vellum” and “elemental”.
  • Levitation: she can float, even if she admits it takes a great deal of effort.
  • The giant hammer: during the final battle, she turns into a colossal hammer to land the decisive blow.
Olivia transforming to unleash a Vellumental power
Vellumentals, 1,000-Fold Arms: her powers unlock the battles as much as the scenery.

An endearing duo with Mario (and a Bob-omb)

What makes Olivia memorable is her personality. Curious and amazed by everything, she befriends just about anyone: Toads, an amnesiac Bob-omb she takes under her wing, and even some of Bowser's minions. She gets emotional, she gets excited, she sometimes gets distracted — a real counterpoint to Mario's silent calm.

But the adventure also confronts her with grief. Losing her Bob-omb companion, who sacrifices himself for the group, plunges her into genuine sorrow. Even so, Olivia never gives up hope that her brother can change: she loves him to the very end, even while fighting him.

Olivia freezing a stretch of water alongside Mario
The duo works because she acts where Mario can do nothing.

The final sacrifice: the Thousand Cranes technique

The fight against King Olly is the game's emotional peak. Once her brother is defeated, Olivia reads him the kind message the craftsman had once written on him — the message Olly had spent his whole life taking for an insult, and which explains his hatred of “scribbled-on” paper.

Repentant, Olly asks Olivia to fold his own remains to complete the Thousand Cranes technique, meant to undo all the harm he has caused. Olivia then makes her wish: that every origami folded by her brother be unfolded. The kingdom is restored... but since Olly had folded her himself, the wish erases her as well. Olivia sacrifices herself to save the Mushroom Kingdom, leaving Mario and Peach watching fireworks and thinking of her.

A glimmer of hope remains: by finishing the game at 100 %, a post-credits scene shows Olly and Olivia, miniature and at peace, settled on the thrones the craftsman had meant for them — reunited at last, just as they should have existed.

Olivia in the line of Paper Mario companions

Olivia belongs to the tradition of companion guides who support Mario in every entry of the Paper Mario series. She follows in the footsteps of Kersti (from Sticker Star) and Huey (from Color Splash), while being widely regarded as the best written of that recent trio.

Where her predecessors remained simple mentors, Olivia carries a genuine personal tragedy: she is at once the ally, the villain's sister and the willing victim of the ending. A rare blend that explains why so many players list her among their favourite Paper Mario characters.

Profile: Olivia

Name Olivia (the same name in French and English; Jap. オリビア, a nod to “origami”)
Type Origami character, deuteragonist
First appearance Paper Mario: The Origami King (July 17, 2020)
Console Nintendo Switch
Origin Folded by King Olly, presented as his little sister
Powers 1,000-Fold Arms, Vellumentals, levitation, giant hammer
Fate Sacrifices herself through the Thousand Cranes technique

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FAQ

  • Is Olivia really King Olly's sister?
    She is introduced as his little sister, but the story reveals that Olly actually folded her himself, having been created first. They are “brother and sister” in the sense that both are origami born from the master folder, with Olivia being Olly's own handiwork.
  • What becomes of Olivia at the end of The Origami King?
    To undo her brother's misdeeds, she wishes that every origami folded by Olly be unfolded. Since he had folded her too, the wish erases her: Olivia sacrifices herself to save the Mushroom Kingdom.
  • Is there a secret ending with Olivia?
    Yes. By completing the game 100 %, a short post-credits scene shows Olly and Olivia, in miniature and at peace, sitting on the thrones their creator had built for them.
  • What are Olivia's powers?
    She activates Mario's 1,000-Fold Arms on the magic circles, transforms into the Vellumentals (elemental spirits of Earth, Water, Fire and Ice), can levitate with some effort, and becomes a giant hammer during the final battle.
  • Does Olivia have a different name in French?
    No. Unlike many Mario characters, Olivia keeps exactly the same name in French, English, Italian, German and Spanish. Only the Japanese オリビア plays on the word “origami”.
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