Sei Satou
From Marimite Wiki
| Sei Satou | |
|---|---|
| |
| Seiyuu | Megumi Toyoguchi |
| Profile | |
| Age | +2 (against Yumi) |
| Rose Family | Gigantea |
| Petite Sœur | Shimako Toudou |
| Grande Sœur | Super Rosa Gigantea |
| Known Relatives | |
| Classmates | |
| Information - Light Novels | |
| First Novel Appearance | Novel 1 |
| Information - Anime | |
| First Anime Appearance | Episode 1, Season 1 |
| Key Episode(s) | |
Satou Sei (佐藤 聖, Satō Sei) is Rosa Gigantea at the start of the anime and novels. She is the grande sœur of Shimako Toudou, and the petite sœur of Super Rosa Gigantea. Konno Oyuki-sama has said numerous times that Sei is her favorite character of the series.
Contents |
[edit] Character Outline
[edit] Biography
A single child, Sei Satou has attended Lillian since kindergarten. At the beginning of the series, Sei appears to be a fun-loving and spontaneous person with no worries in the world; however, Sei's first and second years at Lillian High School contrast with this image sharply. In her initial years Sei was highly skeptical of her fellow classmates and her surroundings in general. After a deeply involved relationship with Shiori Kubo in her second year goes sour, Sei becomes tremendously jaded but recuperates with the help of the Yamayurikai- especially Youko and Super Rosa Gigantea.
[edit] Personality
Sei is an extremely complex person. Outwardly, she appears to always be positive as well as a joker and a lecher. Underneath of Sei's outer shell resides her inner self that can be highly cynical, serious, and supportive all at the same time. Sei usually jokes around the most with Sachiko and Yumi, calling them the "two birds with one stone sisters" because of the reactions she can elicit from the duo by simply being flirtatious with Yumi. Yumi also sees a great deal of Sei's serious side, along with Shimako Toudou. Even though Sei is by far the most relaxed Rosa in the Yamayurikai during her third year, she can still be serious and sage-like at times with her advice. Sei also has an uncanny ability of being highly perceptive, and she is very adept at identifying both the personalities and quirks of people in addition to problematic situations.
[edit] Relationships with other characters
Sei's first lover and best friend was Shiori Kubo. When lost within a sea of her own problems, Sei first meets Shiori before school one morning in the cathedral praying. The two become close, and one day Sei admits her feelings to Shiori, who then confirms them to be mutual. Sei becomes entirely devoted to Shiori, while her school marks get worse and worse, and their relationship even catches the attention of the school's headmaster. One day, however Sei unexpectedly finds out from Youko that Shiori means to join a convent after graduating from Lillian: the girl herself confirms, asking Sei to leave her alone. Sei doesn't back off and finally asks Shiori to run away with her, and while the girl initially accepts, she ultimately chose to follow her wish of becoming a nun over Sei, leaving Sei alone and devastated.
Super Rosa Gigantea is Sei's grande soeur throughout her earlier high school years at Lillian. To not be a burden to her, Super Rosa Gigantea first tells Sei that she has chosen her to be her petite soeur because of her Western-looking face; Sei is contented with the reason Super Rosa Gigantea has given her, and is eventually genuinely surprised to hear that isn't the truth. Sei is much attached to her onee-sama, whom she feels has always known how to handle her, but growing closer to Shiori she even proposes to break their soeur bond. Super Rosa Gigantea, however, strongly refuses, and is there for Sei right after Shiori leaves.
Shimako Toudou is the petite soeur of Sei. Much like when Sei first laid eyes on Shiori Kubo, during her third year she experiences the same sense of initial interest within the first-year Shimako. Because of her curiosity, Sei absent-mindedly mentions Shimako to Youko, making Youko and to an extent Eriko try to familiarize themselves with Shimako. Sei becomes enraged, and demands that her fellow Roses don't interfere, but, led by a comment Youko makes, she notices how similar to herself Shimako is. Since she still doesn't make any move, however, Sachiko attempts to make Shimako her petite soeur in her stead (it is not clear how much of this has been Youko's doing), to which Shimako refuses. After this event Sei finally realizes her own strong need to make Shimako her petite soeur and takes her under her wing. Because of the points in common they share, the two soeurs don't need to communicate much, but understand each other well, and rather tend to grant one another the space they need, forming an unusual pair which often looks odd and hard to understand to others, especially to Yumi.
Youko Mizuno is perhaps Sei's best friend throughout her third year at Lillian, before which Sei doesn't appreciate Youko's meddling nature at all. After getting an unexpected support from her on the evening Shiori leaves and in the period that immediately follows, however, Sei reconsiders Youko's intentions and accepts to become much more intimate with her: it can rightfully be said that, after Super Rosa Gigantea, Youko is the person who knows how to deal with Sei best, and whom Sei listens to the most.
Yumi Fukuzawa is Sei's favourite target for flirtation and teasing, but also the ordinary girl Sei isn't and whom she sometimes envy. On the other hand, Sei turns out to be a parent-like figure for Yumi, who often comes to her for advice on issues ranging from school rumours to how to deal with her soeur Sachiko, to which Sei caringly and thoughtfully responds. Right before graduating, Sei admits the role Yumi has played in her life in the relatively short period of time they shared in the Yamayurikai: thanks to her, Sei has found the motivations to seriously get her life together and to move on to university.
First meeting in kindergarten, Eriko Torii and Sei started out as "rivals". Eriko asked if Sei was American because of Sei's Western features. Sei retorted with the insult of "dekochin"(large forehead) to Eriko. This small exchange resulted in a small brawl when the two were children. In middle school, the two were still not on talking terms. Once the pair reached high school, Youko helped form a bond between the two.
After she enters university, Sei meets fellow student Kei Katou, whose name she mistakes for her own at welcoming ceremony. Barely knowing her, Sei takes Yumi to Katou's apartment to dry off after her misunderstanding with Sachiko, and the two girls seem to have since formed a sort of friendship, which leads to the both of them travelling to Italy together at the same time as the Lillian high school second-years.
Suguru Kashiwagi is Sei's natural enemy. She absolutely holds nothing but disgust for Suguru after the events of the school festival. Because he was invited to play the prince in the Yamayurikai production of "Cinderella", and because of the confrontation that occurred after a rehearsal for the play amongst the ginkgo (which resulted in Suguru falling down on the smelly seeds) she often calls him the "ginkgo prince". She often refers to them as being "birds of a feather"(implying that they are both homosexual) in order to explain her reasoning behind him to Yumi. Sei's dislike for Suguru is reciprocated, and the two often feud whenever in proximity to one another.
[edit] In-Depth Relationships
[edit] Relationship with Shimako Toudou
The relationship between Shimako and Sei has been highly mysterious and hard to define by fans. When Sei first meets Shimako and mentions her to Youko, Youko tells her that Shimako reminds her of Sei herself. A plan is then made to draft Shimako into the Yamayurikai and use her to help around, to avoid for Sei to develop for the girl the same strong attachment she has felt towards her previous lover Shiori. The plan causes Sei to have a fit of anger, and later to fall apart under the emotional stress of the situation. Thanks to Youko's mediation, Shimako is finally admitted as a help to the Yamayurikai, to which Sei first reacts coldly, but eventually accepts. Over time, the girls grow closer and Sei starts showing feelings for Shimako, namely dropping the honorific suffix while addressing her, but refuses to act on them. Sachiko's sooeur proposal to Shiamko ensues, along with Sei's resolution to "make Shimako hers".
Early along in the Cinderella arc, Yumi asks Shimako how she knew that Sei was the right sœur for her. Shimako vaguely comments that they offered each other the things one needed from the other.
Before the Yamayurikai elections, Sei reminds Shimako that she has left her the freedom to choose, and warns her not to run away from the responsibility in case she is confirmed in the position of Rosa Gigantea. This greatly puzzles both Yumi and Yoshino Shimazu who think it would more appropriate for Sei to offer encouragement or pressure to her sœur.
In a fit of rage, Sachiko asks Sei to stop putting Yumi into sexually suggestive situations and suggests that she do it instead to her own sœur Shimako. Sei refuses.
When Sei reveals her incident with Shiori to Yumi and Yoshino, Shimako leaves. When Yumi and Yoshino ask why Sei does not stop her, Sei replies that Shimako would be a girl who would not leave if she wanted to hear.
After Shimako's Valentine's date with Rosa Canina Shizuka Kanina, Shimako cries and Sei comforts her, like it was the case after the Yamayurikai elections. In the previous occasion, Sachiko had commented that it was one of the rare times that Sei was acting like a grande soeur.
When Sei leaves Lillian, she resolves not to be seen from Shimako again because she realizes how difficult it is for Shimako to have lost her beloved Onee-sama and wants Shimako to gain strength.
[edit] Relationship with Yumi Fukuzawa
Sei first meets Yumi when Yumi comes to ask about Tsutako's picture of Sachiko and Yumi in the very first scenes of the Cinderella Arc. Sei reveals later that at first impression she hated Yumi, who she envied as a normal girl with little difficulties or cares. Sei's relationship with Yumi changes over time and her jealously is replaced by respect and ultimately a strong, interdepentent friendship.
(TODO: Add information about the Sei and Yumi from the Rosa Canina novels.)
Sei constantly picks on Yumi for making her Hyakumensou (百面相, Lit: Life's many phases): faces which candidly reveal what Yumi is thinking about.
As a running gag, Sei would hold Yumi in sexually suggestive positions in front of Sachiko and stroke her hair, pet her, or hug her.
At the end of the Cinderella arc, when the Yamayurikai and Yumi start searching for Sachiko and Kashiwagi, whom they cannot find, Sei tells Yumi that the entire Yamayurikai cares deeply for Sachiko and put up a cold front with her to help her out.
Sei and Yumi talk about Eriko during the the events of the Yellow Rose Revolution.
During the Valentines Day arc, Sei mockingly asks Yumi to make her chocolates. Slightly before the card hunt begins, Yumi makes a Hyakumensou face in front of the first-floor storage room of the Yamayurikai building, leading to think that Shimako's white card was inside. Sei instead finds a cake that Shimako did not have the courage to present to Sei herself.
During the Forest of Thorns Arc, Sei agrees to tell Yumi and Yoshino the story of her past.
At the beginning of the next new year, Sei picks Yumi up in the pretense of a Yamayurikai new years gathering. After picking Yumi up, Sei convinces Yumi that she had been joking all along, and that the affair was simply a date with Sei. In the novels, there is an extended set of scenes where Yumi and Sei tour shrines, follow New Years customs, and buy Yakitori and other street vendor foods. Both the novel and the anime finish this with Sei and Yumi meeting other members of the Yamayurikai at Sachiko's mansion. Sei tells Yumi about the Ogasawara family and their mistresses and Yumi becomes jealous that Sei knows more about Sachiko than she does. Because the other Yamayurikai members have things to do, Sei and Yumi stay the night with Sachiko.
Sei fabricates an event through Yumi at the Yamayurikai third-year farewell party which involves each of the three future en Boutons (Yumi, Shimako, and Yoshino) performing short skits. Yumi collapses through over-exertion partway through the play, and Sei picks her up, takes her home, and gives her a remedial mixture to refresh her. Whether the mixture has a tangible effect or not is unknown.
When graduation time arrives for the third-years, Yumi becomes sad that Sei will be graduating. Yumi decides to give Sei an unexpected kiss for a graduation present, because she believes Sei is going far away. After the kiss, Sei tells Yumi the effect that Yumi has had upon her life. She explains to Yumi that Yumi was the normal girl that Sei felt she could not be, and was initially jealous that Sachiko had picked so normal a girl to be her soeur. But over time, Sei tells Yumi that Yumi encouraged Sei to get her life together and finally apply for college and look forward instead of staying back. Yumi later learns that Sei will be going to Lillian College, and becomes angry and happy at the same time.
During the Rainy Blue arc, when Yumi runs away from Sachiko on a rainy day when she sees Sachiko with Touko, Yumi falls onto the ground and Sachiko drives away with Touko. She sobs on the ground when Sei picks her up. Sachiko tells Sei that she trusts her with Yumi. Sei takes her to the living space of a friend she abruptly meets to comfort Yumi, Katou Kei, whom she remembers from graduation. There she helps calm Yumi down and lets Yumi recollect her thoughts.
Sei meets Yumi the next time when Yumi wants to deal with Kanako. She asks Sei and Kashiwagi to act as her friends and to take her on a bus ride home, which she thinks may perturb Kanako.
[edit] Plot Overview
[edit] Key Quotes
"And if Maria-sama was really that close to God, she was supposed to save these bad sheep. Now, come, save my aimless soul! -Amen!"
"If I have to go through this much pain, I will never let myself be close to anyone again."
"Don't worry. We won't take off our uniforms and start playing."
"If you don't head back, I'm gonna eat you, sweety!"
"If you can learn... to speak your mind to Sachiko, then you will be able to get through anything."
"Meeting and parting come as a set. Wouldn't it be sad if you tried to ignore love, only because you knew one day it would come to an end?"
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