Vivian is a major character in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. She originally worked as a member of the villainous Shadow Sirens alongside her sisters, Beldam and Marilyn. Later, Vivian defects from the Shadow Sirens and joins Mario as his fifth party member. She is consistently put down by her oldest sister, Beldam, and has had a poor relationship with both her sisters for quite some time when Mario meets her. Although she suffers from an inferiority complex throughout the events of the game, she learns to respect herself as she travels with Mario. In the original Japanese version of the game and some translations, Vivian is depicted as transgender, identifying as female; however, due to the age rating the localizers were aiming at when translating Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[1], this is lost in the English version, and she is described only with feminine pronouns[2].

History

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Vivian after being defeated

Vivian's first appearance in the game is during the interlude following Chapter 1, during which she and her two sisters are sent by Sir Grodus to ambush Mario in the Boggly Woods. When Mario arrives there, however, he learns that the picture they were to use to identify him was misplaced by Beldam, who is quick to blame Vivian for the loss. Mario is forced to battle the sisters when he comes to claim Flurrie's Necklace, which Vivian had found in the woods. Upon her defeat, she departs with Marilyn and Beldam, leaving the necklace behind.

Vivian with the real Mario (as a shadow) facing against Doopliss

After Mario's name and appearance are stolen by Doopliss, Vivian appears in Twilight Town alongside her sisters, who plan to defeat Mario using a Superbombomb. When the weapon turns up missing, however, Vivian is once again blamed and sent to find it. When Mario finds the bomb and returns it to her, it turns out to be broken, but she gives him a kiss to thank him for his help and, after learning of the theft of his identity, resolves to return the favor by helping him, unaware that he is truly Mario. Using her powers, Mario eventually learns Doopliss's real name, and the duo corners him at the top of Creepy Steeple.

Upon learning Mario's identity, Vivian is reluctant to assist in the ensuing battle, though she returns to his side after two turns, having decided that he treats her better than her sisters and is more deserving of her help. Following Doopliss's defeat, Mario stands up for Vivian when she is questioned by his other partners; she ultimately thanks him by handing him the Ruby Star and thus joins Mario's team.

When Mario prepares to leave Rogueport with Princess Peach after having defeated the Shadow Queen, Vivian is about to tell Mario that she has a crush on him, but decides otherwise, saying that she thinks he and Peach will make a good couple. Later, Goombella's e-mail to Mario reveals that Vivian has returned to Beldam and Marilyn, who both have ended their villainous activities and promise to never mistreat Vivian again.

Super Paper Mario

Super Paper Mario Vivian's unused sprite in

In Super Paper Mario, Vivian appears as a Catch Card won by winning the Duel of 100 in the Sammer's Kingdom. Francis also has a Vivian plush doll, and there is a painting of her along with Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Yoshi, Admiral Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz in Mario's house. Like Mario's other past partners, there is unused sprite data for Vivian, suggesting that they were originally going to appear in Super Paper Mario, but were removed during development.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Vivian appears as a sticker that can be used in The Subspace Emissary by any fighter. The sticker increases the attack power of energy-related attacks by 5 points.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Vivian appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Advanced-class Shield-type primary spirit. Fighters equipped with the spirit have reduced weight during battles. In the spirit battle, the player faces an invisible Mr. Game & Watch on the Battlefield form of the Luigi's Mansion stage.

General information

Gender

In the original Japanese script of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Beldam insults Vivian by calling her ｢オトコ」, "a man". In the English localization of the game, Beldam uses gender-neutral insults instead.

In the Japanese version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Vivian is a transgender girl. Other characters, as well as narrative text, describe Vivian using masculine terms such as otoko "man", and otōto "little brother".[3][4][5][6] However, Vivian initially describes the shadow sirens as san shimai "three sisters",[3] and routinely uses the feminine first person pronoun atai. This continues in Super Paper Mario; Vivian's catch card describes her using the term otoko no ko "boy".[7]

In the English and German localizations of the game, all masculine descriptions of Vivian are removed, and she is referred to with exclusively female pronouns. Consequently, the nature of some of Beldam's insults towards Vivian was altered, as they originally focused on her masculinity. However, all other localized versions of the game explicitly retain the transgender portrayal.[1][8][9][10]

Powers and abilities

Outside of battle, Vivian possesses the same ability Lady Bow has in Paper Mario, but Vivian's works differently, as instead of literally turning invisible, Vivian can pull Mario into her shadow, where they can hide. This allows them to get past objects that move over them and avoid sight from enemies and their attacks. Vivian possesses the strongest magic of any partner in the game.

Profiles and statistics

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Enemy Stats

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Enemy Vivian Max HP 10 Attack 1 Defense 0 Location(s) Boggly Woods Sleep? 70% Dizzy? 70% Confuse? 70% Tiny? 80% Stop? 80% Soft? 95% Burn? 100% Freeze? 50% Fright? 0% Gale Force? 0% KO? 0% Moves Shade Fist (1), Fiery Jinx (1 HP to both characters, Piercing) Level 26 Exp. points 0 Coins N/A Items None Bestiary

123 Log One of the Shadow Sirens and Beldam's youngest sister. She's so cute, she's able to infatuate anyone. Tattle That's Vivian. She's the youngest of the three Shadow Sirens. Max HP is 10, Attack is 1, and Defense is 0. She doesn't seem all that noteworthy. Uh... She is kinda cute, I guess... She might even be cuter than I am... I guess... ...Uh... What am I thinking?

Field Tattle

Outside of battle, Goombella can use Tattle on Vivian only when Mario first comes across the Shadow Sirens in Boggly Woods.

"This is the youngest sister of the three. The oldest one REALLY picks on her, huh? I don't know whose picture they're talking about, but you think she really lost it?"

Attacks and Stats

HP

Initial: 15 HP

Super Rank: 20 HP

Ultra Rank: 30 HP

Attacks

Name FP Needed Effect Action Command Attack Power Move Rank Shade Fist 0 Sets enemies on fire with a burning punch. After three lights flash, player presses the mystery button shown ( Initial: 3

Super: 4

Ultra: 5 Initial Veil 1 Hides Mario in the shadows to avoid enemy attacks. Player presses the 5-button N/A Initial Fiery Jinx 6 Deals fire damage to all enemies, piercing defense. It also burns them. Player presses the 5-button combo of Super: 5

Ultra: 5 Super Rank Infatuate 4 Blows a kiss to all enemies to confuse them if effective When a heart appears above an enemy, player presses N/A Ultra Rank

Super Paper Mario Catch Card

Vivian's Catch Card

Card Type: Rare

Rare Card Description: It's Vivian from the last Paper Mario adventure. She was a great friend once she split from her sisters.

It's Vivian from the last Paper Mario adventure. She was a great friend once she split from her sisters. How to Obtain the Card: The Duel of 100 in Sammer's Kingdom needs to be completed in order to obtain all Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door partner cards from King Sammer.

Player's Guide information

"Vivian is one of the Shadow Sirens that work for Sir Grodus, but she joins Mario when he shows her an act of kindness. Though she suffers from an inferiority complex, she's perhaps the best partner in the game. Press the X Button to pull Mario into the shadows, where nobody can find him".

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. Brawl sticker

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit

Name Image Series / game Type Class Strength / effect(s) How to obtain Spirit battle Opponent(s) Battle conditions Stage Song Vivian Paper Mario Series Primary (1) Advanced Shield

Weight ↓ Spirit Board Clear Mr. Game & Watch The enemy is invisible Luigi's Mansion (Battlefield) Paper Mario Medley

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Japanese ビビアン[2]

Bibian Vivian Spanish Bibiana[9] Vivian French Viviane[8] Vivian German Barbara A given name Italian Ombretta[10] A given name, but also a pun of ombra, which means "shadow". Russian Вивиан

Vivian Vivian Korean 불비안

Bulbian Her name in Super Paper Mario's Korean version. Also, the first han character "bul" (불) means "fire".

Trivia

During the battle with Vivian, she can use Fiery Jinx when her HP is low, but when Vivian joins Mario's party, she has to be Super Ranked to learn that ability. Additionally, her Fiery Jinx cannot be Superguarded.

Vivian is the second of four characters in the Paper Mario series (with Lakilester being the first, Bowser being the third, and Luigi/Mr. L being the fourth) to battle Mario before joining his party. For this reason, Vivian is the only party member in Mario's Tattle Log. If the player looks through Professor Frankly's trash can after fighting the Shadow Sirens, Vivian's Tattle is found, while Marilyn's and Beldam's are absent. This foreshadows that Vivian joins the party while Marilyn and Beldam are fought later, since only Tattles of one-time enemies are found in the trash.

series (with Lakilester being the first, Bowser being the third, and Luigi/Mr. L being the fourth) to battle Mario before joining his party. If the player performs Veil's stylish command after all enemies are defeated, no Star Power is awarded.