Character review: Sergey Wong

[Anime Adoru]

So I thought it is time for a short Sergey Wong character review. There should be a lot of experts from the Sergey x Arika thread, who I'm hoping to learn from. So I'm looking for feedback on my opinon below. In particular, if you think I missed something important or find my comments imbalanced, please let me know. Thanks!

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Sergey Wong is the official representative to Windbloom of the kingdom of Artai. He reports to Nagi, Artai's king, and has done so from his childhood days. More importantly, Sergey Wong has a long history in Windbloom and his life's story is intertwined with some of the leading character's stories as well. He is the only male character that plays both a primary as well as positive role in Mai Otome.

Sergey got part of his education in Windbloom and as a child witnessed the insurgents' raid on the castle that killed the king and queen and sent the princess of Windbloom and future heir of its throne missing. From these days, Sergey holds fond memories of Rena Sayers, the king of Windbloom's late otome. Rena was substantially older than Sergey, so it is safe to assume that Sergey's crush on Rena was more of an adolescent dream than a real experience.

Sergey is smart and has to be so: Sailing the political waters of Artai, Windbloom, and Garderobe, as well as those of the larger world does not seem easy. With so much turmoil and political intrigue in the making he better watch out what he says and does. But he is good at it. He manages to maintain his employers interests and yet is able to support Garderobe, for which he plays an important role as a member of its council. While infrequently in verbal catfights with Natsuki, Garderobe's headmaster, he nevertheless is supportive of her whenever necessary.

Sergey shines through his kindness. It is the little acts of caring in how he supports Nina and Arika, but also everyone else who seems in need of a help, that impress me. For most of the episodes, however, even while helping people, he always maintains a distance. He acts like that of a wise man who has seen it all and cannot be taken hostage by his own feelings any more. Some of this breaks down when confronted with Arika's raw feelings and the challenge of king Nagi's commands, but his conscience pulls through, and he does the right thing.

About the worst thing that can be said about Sergey Wong is that he is a compulsive hugger. There rarely is a situation where people, who need his support, won't get hugged. In particular Nina is a thankful recipient of his physical (and in her case paternal) impulses. While for western countries this may seem to be unsurprising, it is nevertheless an unusal behavior for a country where cars drive on the left side of the road.

This review is dated as of episode 15.

[Tempest35]

I guess info about his 'North Hound' persona will have to wait until future revelations. ^_^ That and his 'After Mai' years as well as his military school.

But I'm curious to why there is nothing on him adopting Nina since this does play a vital role in his life. Not many 19-year old guys go around adopting children that I know of. I have to say that the reason he adopted Nina, not his relationship with Mai, is the biggest mystery about him as a whole. Well, that and the 'North Hound' thing. ^^

Also, just lil tibits on his actual personality - he's pretty easy-going for someone in his position as an ambassador on several levels (with Windbloom and Garderobe), although that may be due to his rather young age (25) for a job of this caliber. His easy-going nature is partnered with very sharp perception in most political/Otome matters, looking for opprotunities to bolster his and Artai's influence on the world field (or at least in the Garderobe Council).
He has a direct way of talking that is refreshing from a political standpoint yet he strategicly words his statements with a skill that is lower only than Nagi's and Shizuru's.
His affection for Otome in general is an interesting point since he's been around many since he was 10-11. This may be rare for most men who may only see Otome from a distance, he got to know them personally (Rena and Mai most noticably). He is not in awe of them for the awesome powers they possess as I feel many of the men in Mai Otome have of them, but rather he has an admiration/affection for them for being incredible women.

I dunno, I find Sergay's and Natsuki's interactions to be rather interesting in that they are pretty similar in some cirumstances. They are both young yet powerful political figures who can stand on their own.
Even in the Council, they do find themselves on the same side (ie the Nina/Arika acceptance case in eps 2-4 and the Otome mess in ep 15) even if for different reasons. Despite everything between them, Sergay is probably Natsuki's strongest ally in that he has a personal, working knowledge of Garderobe's innerworkings without the usual 'fear' that the other men on the council show from time to time. He knows both positions and he's clearly sympathetic towards Garderobe despite his obligations to Artai and he fullfills them both with a style that's clearly his own.

I like the tone of your review. I'll be honest and say that I never thought of the 'compulsive hugger' as something to be brought up but it works. Geez, I kinda wrote my own min-review as well :heh: Sorry bout that. Feel free to include/incorporate anything you might find noteworthy into your own revisions if you do so. ^_^ b

[Anime Adoru]

Excellent Tempest35, thanks a lot!

Your review gave me a lot of ideas/insights.

His adoption of Nina. I had just booked this as his general kindness: He sees a kid in need and decides to help. But there may be a larger issue lurking. Why isn't he married? Someone in his position should easily find someone. Certainly if he long wanted to be a father. In the first episode he makes a remark towards an (unknown?) woman that suggests he is looking. So, what did the death of Rena mean to him, and, in the meantime, has he only been fooling around with women without ever feeling like getting serious. (This harks back to him being a big seducer of women, as his reputation seems to be.)

I agree on his political skills, being easy going, etc.

I didn't notice a general affection for otomes; but I can see how you can conclude this from him being around them all the time. Comes with the job, maybe :)

Do you have scene/episode pointers about the other Garderobe council members being fearful about Garderobe? I didn't really observe that yet.

The 'compulsive hugger' comment---well, I was desperately looking for a darker side of him, and that was about the only thing I could come up with. But thanks for the comment on my humor, I'm glad I'm not the only who's enjoying it :) I'm not sure though how far the comment really carries. I'm making it mostly a cultural point, i.e. in Japan I believe hugging like this would be very unusual, while in Spain it wouldn't. But it really isn't clear what kind of country Windbloom or Artai really are. They are not Zipang, but are they Western? Dunno.

[Tempest35]

Excellent Tempest35, thanks a lot!

Your review gave me a lot of ideas/insights.

His adoption of Nina. I had just booked this as his general kindness: He sees a kid in need and decides to help. But there may be a larger issue lurking. Why isn't he married? Someone in his position should easily find someone. Certainly if he long wanted to be a father. In the first episode he makes a remark towards an (unknown?) woman that suggests he is looking. So, what did the death of Rena mean to him, and, in the meantime, has he only been fooling around with women without ever feeling like getting serious. (This harks back to him being a big seducer of women, as his reputation seems to be.)

I feel that it's more of a combination between what happened to Rena and Mai that leads him to still be single. That and he might still have 'unfinished' buisness. Besides, he's done this well with Nina on his own - it's not like he needs to marry to have a wife. Maybe that's another reason - he didn't want to force a 'mother' figure on Nina (who clearly needed one if for anything than from developing any more affection for him ^^; Too late).


I agree on his political skills, being easy going, etc.

I didn't notice a general affection for otomes; but I can see how you can conclude this from him being around them all the time. Comes with the job, maybe :)

Do you have scene/episode pointers about the other Garderobe council members being fearful about Garderobe? I didn't really observe that yet.

Not exactly 'fearful' in the classic sense of the word. I suppose it's more like trepidation in their views on Otome, which probably amount to, more or less, WMDs. I got that from the opening argument of ep 15 with the two from Romulus and Remelus going at it. They were threatening each other with the use of their Otome, as if threatening to launch air strikes or something to that effect.


The 'compulsive hugger' comment---well, I was desperately looking for a darker side of him, and that was about the only thing I could come up with. But thanks for the comment on my humor, I'm glad I'm not the only who's enjoying it :) I'm not sure though how far the comment really carries. I'm making it mostly a cultural point, i.e. in Japan I believe hugging like this would be very unusual, while in Spain it wouldn't. But it really isn't clear what kind of country Windbloom or Artai really are. They are not Zipang, but are they Western? Dunno.

I think they CAN be considered Western - but more Old EuroWestern - Victorian almost. And well, Sergay is Sergay. :D b He's playing the 'doting father' to Nina so naturally, a father will in most cases spoil his daugther rotten if they could. ^^; It's just that Nina's so serious...
Another thing I can think of as being 'negative' is that his 'female radar' works only on those 18 and over it seems. ^^; He doesn't miss much at all when reading someone but when it comes to a girl's affection towards himself, he's woefully oblivious - either that or he just doesn't want to think about it. :heh: Whatever clues Nina sends his way, he probably just brushes it off as part of her personality since she's been this way since day one with him. As for Arinko...time will tell on that one, I'm not really sure now, especially with what has transpired in ep 15.

I guess later I can factor in his coming betrayal of Nagi and Artai. ^^ He's not above doing dirty things for Nagi - military training - but winning Arika over to their side has him backpedalling like crazy. His morals are conflicting with his orders and I have faith that his morals will win out - with severe consequences of course - he IS dealing with Nagi. :heh:

[phaerax]

interesting thread... its the first time i see someone support Sergey. i like your reviews. i think he is one of the most misunderstood characters in otome, mainly because of the arika x sergey situation.


edit: i had INSERT pressed so i messed most of my text... ^^'

he is frequently branded as a r0r1k0n for not brutally rejecting arikas feelings but i dont think that is true.
for some mysterious reason he adopted nina (i d never tought of this before) and now he supported arika in secret, so as not to make her feel obliged, and up to now (ep 15) has done a decent job of protecting her from her own purity and the orders of nagi.
why he supports arika? probably because she reminds him of nina and rena and he just cant leave her dream die.

there was that near-kiss scene in 15, but keep in mind that sergey is fighting against his lord's will. refusing to seduce arika, whom nagi claims to be the real queen, may even result in sergey being trialed for treason (yea, far-stretched).

a r0r1k0n? more like a guardian angel in a tough situation.


i could go on for hours about arika x sergey but thats not the point of this thread, ne? :P

anyway, he seems to have calmed down a lot since the days of the North Hound (when where those days, he's just 25!). i dont really expect a sergey-is-ebil plot-twist.
he ll probably betray nagi and side with... midori? natsuki? MAI? (the latter is my guess)
some future mai x sergey scenes should not be completely ruled out yet. mai-hime relationships seem to carry on to the otome alter-egos as well. though (there arent so many eps left anymore)

[Timeless Enigma]

This isn't really contributing to the discussion of Sergay Wáng but regarding which countries Artai can be analogous to, I would say a mix of Eastern Bloc/Russia and China. It has been described as (and poor) cold country in some episodes and names such as Sergay (Sergei), Nina stem from that area.

[Tempest35]

he ll probably betray nagi and side with... midori? natsuki? MAI? (the latter is my guess)
some future mai x sergey scenes should not be completely ruled out yet. mai-hime relationships seem to carry on to the otome alter-egos as well. though (there arent so many eps left anymore)

Well, if and when Mai comes back, it's obvious that both she and Sergay already HAVE something between them so they don't need a lot of screentime to sum up what happened back then and what direction they are going to take in the future (either 7-12 minutes tops).

Mai will probably come back on Garderobe's side, if not for anything that she will side with Natsuki again (after they work out whatever differences might be left over from 8 years ago).

[Anime Adoru]

This isn't really contributing to the discussion of Sergay Wáng but regarding which countries Artai can be analogous to, I would say a mix of Eastern Bloc/Russia and China. It has been described as (and poor) cold country in some episodes and names such as Sergay (Sergei), Nina stem from that area.


Good points. The names ("Sergey", "Nagi") and the hammer symbols behind Nagi's throne suggest that.

Regarding Nina, however, do you remember whether she was found on the streets of Windbloom or Artai?

[Eclipze]

Good points. The names ("Sergey", "Nagi") and the hammer symbols behind Nagi's throne suggest that.

Regarding Nina, however, do you remember whether she was found on the streets of Windbloom or Artai?
I would believe it was Artai's streets. Plus, it was snowing during the flash back.