Desu ex Machina

I usually write about Saimoe here, but I thought I’d change it up and throw a quick post up about one of my favorite past-times. The fierce battles, arguments, trolling, complaining on the internet is once again at a fiery maximum as the leaves turn orange. All around the web, the three major saimoe competitions are winding down to their finale. For those of you who don’t follow the most important elections on the internet that closely, or if you just want a quick comprehensive snapshot, here is a rundown of the three biggest contests of moe.

Korea Best Moe: Female Division

Korea’s national moe tournament currently the most progressed of the Big Three. From 1152 characters in the prelims, Korea Best Moe is already down to the top eight, and a packed top eight it is.

Katsura Hinagiku vs. Aisaka Taiga leads off what should be an great year in the always exciting KBM tournament. KBM results are usually extremely close, and I don’t expect this match to be much of an exception. The 2007 champion has to be in top form if she wants to defeat a monster like Taiga. Vote: Hina, Prediction: Hina.

Day two will have Nakano Azusa vs. Hirasawa Ui, a good intra-series matchup. K-ON! has not struggled as dramatically in Korea as it has in Japan, with a pair of girls in the top eight. Intra-series matchups are always hard to predict, as are K-sai matches, so I’ll refrain from a prediction. I’m voting for Azusa, however.

Okazaki Ushio and Horo square off on day three, and you just can’t help but feel for the little Clannad starlet. Defending champions face dramatically less stigma than compared to Saimoe Japan, and as evidenced last year, Horo can bring it. However, this is saimoe, and anything can happen. Prediction: Horo, Vote: Ushio.

Finally, Hiiragi Kagami and Nagato Yuki conclude the round of eight. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya does noticeably better in KBM than the AST, even with the advent of Endless Eight. However, Kagami, the defending Saimoe Japan champion, is saimoe pedigree and has had a great run in the Korean tournament to make up for her early exit in Japan this year. I don’t expect her to go home here. Prediction: Kagami, Vote: Kagami.

International Saimoe League Playoffs

The second annual International Saimoe League has had another productive and fruitful regular season. After a few weeks of rest, the playoffs begin tomorrow. First seed Shana will open against Horo in what should be an easy win for the proven saimoe vet. The 8th vs. 9th seed matchup is Kagami vs. Rin and you might as well flip a coin on this one. Suigintou, seeded 5th and fueled by a powerful Rozen Maiden base, should make quick work out of 12th seeded Asahina Mikuru. Fujibayashi Kyou and Suiseiseki, for the same reason, will be a great matchup. I expect Kyou to take care of business despite the power and explosiveness of desu. Third-seeded Sakagami Tomoyo faces a tough and unpredictable Takamachi Nanoha, and I expect this to be close. Though the tournament is double elimination, it is much more favorable to win your first match. Getting bounced into the losers bracket in the first round is like being told to climb Mount Everest from a ditch. Saimoe Korea contenders Nagato Yuki and Aisaka Taiga should keep that in mind if they want any chance at being a sleeper pick. Finally, I’m calling Shinku over Haruhi in an epic 15th seed, 2nd seed upset. I don’t have a visual bracket for you because minty is the most incompetent person ever and his bracket is full of retarded gayness. It’s some kind of a miracle that ISML is still running with someone like him “in charge”. I’ll make one later and edit it into the post.

Double elimination is a long process with various changing factors. In hindsight, many “picks” for who will win the tournament will seem absolutely ridiculous later on. ISML especially has a different dynamic than the other Saimoe tournaments. Regardless, I believe Tomoyo, Shana, Shinku, and Suigintou have good chances at the ISML crown this year. Don’t overlook those sleeper picks like Kagami and Kyou.

Anime Saimoe Tournament (Saimoe Japan)

The biggest stage, of course, I would save for last. As I type, the final two matches of the third round are being decided. After nailing my first six picks of round three, I proceed to miss every single pick except two. Just when I thought predicting Saimoe matches was straightforward. Setting the stage were two bizarre ties in round two, K-ON!’s Hirasawa Yui and Nakano Azusa getting the franchise back into gear, upsetting Katsura Hinagiku and the ever lovable Furukawa Nagisa. Highlighting round 3 so far is Kataoka Yuuki’s 878-384 domination of Hoshina Utau, Aisaka Taiga convincing win over Maria, and Eruru navigating the split advancing over Suzumiya Haruhi and Nagato Yuki. When Haramura Nodoka burned ef’s Miyamura Miyako 741-308, Saki officially made Saimoe history. It is the first show to send five girls into the top 16 in a single Saimoe Japan tournament. The previous two shows to send 4 girls to the dance were Clannad in 2008 and Rozen Maiden in 2005. Fukuji Mihoko has a chance to make it six if she takes care of business over Ritsu and Ushio, and Saki herself has a chance to make it a ridiculous seven if she can get past a tough Sanzenin Nagi.

This year is a great chance for Kugimiya Rie to win her first Saimoe title, as Yuuki looks primed to go deep into the bracket. I expect Nagi to beat Saki and go very far into the races (dare I say win it?). Aisaka Taiga, given a good draw, also has an outside chance into the top four. Now that K-ON! has seemingly recovered from its slumber, Yui and Azu-nyan are dangerous contenders, as is Ritsu if she wins her match. Amae Koromo has shown her ability to overpower Hayate no Gotoku characters with sparkling wins over Izumi and Sakuya in earlier rounds. I expect many Saki matchups in the top eight, and what should be a very interesting tournament this year.

(no pictures this time because kevo is feeling extremely lazy and the final episode of Saki is out)

For all of you who don’t read Coke’s blog, you’re not getting out of this.

Speaking of which, it’s about time for me to get around to Needless…

People also die if they are killed

Also reminded me of this, but it’s probably just a coincidence. Or is it?

Anyways, Hayate no Gotoku’s second season is now over and episode-by-episode, I would say it’s this season’s most solid show. Ever since the Hina arc concluded every single episode has been an enjoyable treat. Hinagiku is great and I love her, but it’s such a shame her character arc and character relationships are so damn cheesy. Anyway, Nagi is sick and Hayate tries to entertain her by reading Alice in Wonderland to her. Nagi is so cute when she is sick because she is constantly blushing. Aww….

Gundam 00 detected

After that torrent of inexplicable Gundam 00 references, Nagi, for the elusive sake of “shits and giggles” secretly attaches a hidden camera on Hayate’s tie and sends him to go buy Pocky. I’m tired of summing the episode up because most of you have seen it anyways so I’m just going to throw pictures at you but it was a good episode, ok? This show basically rules and I hope we get another season soon.

This show needed more Sonia, dammit. She was a cool character.

Oh and look who has a cameo in the last cut.

Hello, everyone. Before I begin I would like to address something that regular readers would probably have noticed by now. I have widened the blog! Yep, now I have 160 extra pixels to write. It feels good to be so liberated and know I have so much room to express myself before word wrap crushes my dreams. Man, I have so much room I just feel like stretching out a bit.

So after much anticipation, the tenth episode of Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei was released today. This show continues to impress me greatly with solid episodes one after another. Long ago, people should have noticed that SHAFT has basically been following the manga to the letter this season. Each episode’s structure has basically been three parts each, the first two parts being exact adaptions from two chapters of manga and the third part being a continued story from the previous episode. This formula works, especially for people like me who has not read much of the manga, because the manga is plain awesome. I’m sure you can complain about how SHAFT is cutting corners and how Shinbou is not expressing his talents or putting them to use, but the end result for me is a great adaptation of a great manga. Nothing to complain about.

The first part of the episode explores the paradox of the chicken or the egg. Itoshiki and the gang go around posing their own paradoxes, which some which are quite insightful, other bizarre, and many both.

Kafuka-chan then shows up and the scale tip far in favor of bizarre. But she does pose the interesting question: what came first, hope or despair? I enjoyed the title card disclaiming the possibility of Hello, Hope Sensei (including kanji wordplay メ布望 -> 希望 and everything) quite a lot.

The second segment had me laughing so hard it was hard to breathe at times. Here, the characters blame daily inconveniences such as slow people in line and people in movie theaters who have large heads on spies deployed by the People’s Republic of China in order to destroy Japanese society.

After a slew of “examples”, Itoshiki-sensei notices Kaga struggling to write with a pen, causing her much trouble and obviously leading to the downfall of Japan. Taking the pen, he dramatically reveals the tiny label on it reading “Made in China”. I KNEW IT!

The third segment is the continuation of the closest I’ve ever seen of my dream of a golf anime. The segment casually resumes the cliffhanger of the last episode, where Rin asks Kiri how far she would go to buy Jump. As she leaves, the school collapses. A gag from one of the first chapters of the manga! I’m impressed.

After a new ED, the show goes into fourth wall mode (as if it hasn’t been for the past 20 minutes) and shows some fan mail of complains and complements some fans have written, I presume they are real. The hosts Jun and Chiri then casually disregards them with the straightest look on their faces you can imagine. Brilliant.

As this absolutely miraculous season of anime winds down, I am left rather sad to think that it is all over. So many shows, from Saki to Bakemonogatari are headed for an end. After a weak winter season and an uneventful spring 2009, the summer season could not have come at a better time. In fact, I don’t think I ever remember a season as solid as this season. I was originally planning to preview Fall 2009 but fuck Fall 2009. Does it have epic schoolgirl lightning mahjong? No. Everything looks like shit, but I recommend checking out Kampfer, the “look we have the budget for a loaded voice actor cast” anime of the season. Plus it has traps, so sign me up. Also, Romance of the Three Kingdoms had better not suck. I recommend picking that one up because the source material is the manliest most awesome thing ever. Finally, I will probably watch Seitokai no Ichizon because I hate myself. Oh yeah, Railgun looks cool because it looks like Index without the shit. There, fall preview complete.

Click for full size, but this image is about as hard to find as a rickroll

What makes this season great? Let me count the ways. Regardless of how it ends (I believe there are two episodes left), Saki fucking rules. And the critical thing is that the half that is good aired in the summer! The first half of the season is good two but the actual tournament and truly epic mahjong occurred when the days are long. Besides creative animation, a solid soundtrack (the original score is usually overlooked but it’s very functional), and a well executed albeit simplistic plot, Saki shines because of the great storytelling that endears so many different characters to the audience. I might be writing a full review later (so expect me to do some self plagiarism ) but I just want to take this chance to applaud the fact that GONZO seems to still be capable of making good anime, even if they are no longer 100% in charge of the project. If you have not picked it up this summer, I definite recommend at least giving it a try. It doesn’t matter if you play mahjong or not. In fact, watching Saki inspired me to pick up Japanese mahjong and now it’s my favorite type to play (though countless others have picked up Japanese mahjong from complete scratch, as evidenced by Tenhou’s spike in activity in recent months).

Bakemonogatari is another addition to half insane, complete genius director Akiyuki Shinbou’s portfolio. Bakemonogatari is sharp, well paced, intelligent, and contains enough action to keep the audience paying attention. Shinbou’s crazy abstract art induced animation antics are put into full use bringing Nisio Isin’s novel to life both visually and spiritually. Bakemonogatari hits the ground running, immersing the viewer into its plot right from the beginning of the first episode. Like Saki, Bakemonogatari shines with its characters. Hitagi and Koyomi foil each other and their relationship is beautifully construed, serving as the crux of much of the story. I find the phase the anime is in currently I’m on episode 10) an interesting departure from my personal vision of how the show was going to progress, but I’ll obviously ride this out and see how it ends. Very, very good show.

As if Shinbou wasn’t done, Zan Sayonora Zetsubou Sensei, the third season of the world’s most depressed teacher (and personally my favorite comedy franchise ever) is having a great season; perhaps the best of the three. the art style has been slightly tweaked, with lighting effects more apparent and less usage of patterned textures. The gags are as sharp as ever, and each episode is basically a by the book adaptation of the manga, though there is really not much wrong with that, as they are picking good chapters to animate. The Zetsubou Sensei anime differentiates itself from the other medium by delivering perfectly fitted animation, nice art, and crisp voice acting led by a strong cast including Kamiya Hiroshi, Nonaka Ai, and Inoue Marina (like always).

Is that all, kevo? No way, I’m just getting started. The new season of the Hayate no Gotoku franchise, Hayate no Gotoku!! is another addition to this season’s roster. Like Saki, even though the show began in the spring the good episodes are in the summer. Hina, as much as I love her, has a terrible arc and her dialogue throughout the entire show I found really really cheesy. I guess turning Hayate no Gotoku into Love Hina was one of the changes J.C. Staff wanted to try with the second season. Another thing J.C. Staff tried out was changing the art; and while there was nothing wrong with the art in season 1, I find everyone even more fun to look at with seasons 2’s sharper, more brightly colored color palette. Nagi’s crisp, jade green eyes contrast beautifully with her bright golden hair. I’ll stop now before I start sounding more creepy. Despite what I said about Hina in the storyline (she’s still uber moe, however), overall I like the approach of giving this anime kind of a backstory to connect the episodes. The writing also feels more disciplined and the jokes and gags flow much better. And as I stated before, the second half of the show (right after Hina’s arc) is absolutely hilarious.

But kevo, all you’ve listed so far are comedy shows! True. This season is definitely very heavy leaning towards comedy (Bakemonogatari isn’t really a comedy but oh well) but for someone who watched comedy anime like me I guess this season would seem like a goldmine. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing. The heavy hitters of summer is backed up by very good, solid shows of all genres. CANAAN isn’t a genre-defining, ground breaking show that will forever be etched into our memory, but it’s a very solid show with nice fast paced action. It’s unfairly overshadowed this season, but it’s still good regardless. The plot is rather complex, and the pacing isn’t very good, causing the story to get rather convoluted. CANAAN can get rather confusing or completely incomprehensible at times, but overall it functions on a basic level and delivers entertainment. Type-Moon did a great job with character design, art, and animation. great voice work by Tanaka Rie.

Considering how good it is, Sora no Manimani is the most overlooked show of the season. I think like 4 blogs in the internet have ever mentioned it. I even admit I’m like 3 episodes behind. Sora no Manimani is about a fledgling high school astronomy club, a rather reclusive boy and his long lost, super outgoing childhood girlfriend, and the binding relationship that surrounds friends. It’s a beautifully construed tale of the coming of age and the feelings that surrounds us all, set before a deep night sky filled with spectacular stars. Oh god I’m saving that sentence for a review in the future. Ok, maybe I’m making the show sounds like the best thing since sliced bread but it is actually very enjoyable. Mihoshi is a great character: lively, helpful, smart, and cheerful to a fault. Most importantly, there is great depth to her character, enriching the plot by a great extent. She’s also really cute. Saimoe 2010 yeah!

Besides that, all of these shows are backed up by a plethora of solid series (of which I plan to pick up later in the future as a batch). Taishou Yakyuu Musume is pretty good, from what I’ve watched and heard about. I’ll finish it later when I have time. Basquash!, Spice and Wolf II, and Aoi Hana round out the season. Hell, I’ve even seen people defending Fight Ippatsu Juuden-chan, saying it’s at least worth a watch. I’ll bite and watch it later but hey, it’s at least generating good interest and discussion. I’ve probably overlooked some stuff that I can’t remember for now but oh well, you get the point. (Oh right, Full Metal Alchemist, yeah I hate FMA bye) So the main question? Best season of anime ever? Dare I say it? Dare I stand up to the people who are going to flame me, bringing up spring 2007, winter 2005, or even better, summer 1992 (if the 90’s was your favorite era of anime you are too hardcore for me)?

Yes. Yes I am. Bring it on. Comments section is right down the page. You don’t even have to type that word out to assure you’re not a bot. I’m sure if free cialis likes fall 2008 that much he will comment accordingly. I’ll even give you a handicap: your favorite season didn’t have Endless Eight.

Image Credits:

http://www.pixiv.net/index.php?mode=medium&illust_id=6132142
http://www.pixiv.net/index.php?mode=medium&illust_id=5428180
http://www.pixiv.net/index.php?mode=medium&illust_id=6027344

It’s September 11th today so that means it’s my birthday. It’s quite uneventful. My friends and I are going out to dinner tonight but besides that I don’t have anything slated. So ronrey…

But whatever. It’s not like this is a cool birthday like 18 or 21 where I can do something cool and new. I guess the best thing about today is that I’m going out to eat. Oh yeah! No ramen tonight!

But I’d like to take this time and reflect upon this blog and how it’s been doing. I started this blog at the beginning of summer as something for me to do. A pet project, of sorts. I like to write and by no means do I claim to be good at it, but it’s fun to do and I like anime as well. Let’s put two and two together and not spend the summer just watching anime and fapping but writing about it as well. Desu ex Machina has exceeded my expectations. Though I am but an embryo in the wonderful world of anime blogging, you, my wonderful readers with your awesome comments and feedback, have given me the privilege of experiencing how fun it can be. Thank you, all my loyal readers. All three of you.

To show my appreciation (actually this idea came up on IRC and I made it because I have way too much time on my hands), I have spent the last two days toiling in my underground laboratory. Then, during a thunderstorm I let it get hit by lightning and now IT”S ALIVE. Behold, my greatest creation, and a present from me to you.

Click for full size. Oh you BETTER click for full size.

I used various popularity polls and my own opinion to place the seiyuus from most the least valuable. I know start is “スタート”, but it wouldn’t fit. You just have to say start really fast, ok? Besides that, every effort has been put into making this resemble a Monopoly board as closely as possible (the fonts and stuff). I hope you all enjoy my seemingly completely inane labor. Well, that’s it I guess. I wonder what the pieces should be…

ASR finally released subs of the final episode of the Higurashi OVA earlier today. I grabbed it before they released a properly encoded release so my copy was 700+ MB big. If it’s not there already, an episode of a sane filesize will be out within 24 hours.

The English speaking Higurashi fanbase have been robbed, I tell you. robbed from watching this episode for almost a solid month. In simple words, this episode, probably the last episode of the Higurashi franchise, was absolutely incredible. With the Higurashi OVA, I was not a huge fan of the “serious” part. I just found the arc uninspiring and filled with talking. It was much removed from the dramatic action and suspense of the second season and even further from the psychological mystique of the first season. Now that the arc was done, we are awarded with a filler “fun” episode and fun it was. (Spoilers follow)

Basically the episode starts off in the Furude shrine when Hanyuu and Rika find out that a magical item has escaped. This magical item is a pair of stones that make the holders consumed by love. I am suddenly reminded of Lost Technology in Galaxy Angel, but I digress. The item falls from the sky into Rena’s mouth while she was hanging out with Keiichi in the junkyard. Rika and Hanyuu look for the other stone and can’t seem to find it. The next day, the find out that Rena has digested the stone. All right!

Predictably, some random person has the stone and it turns out to be Jirou-san. The gang teams up to fix Rena up and catch her hitting on Jirou, much to Miyo’s chagrin.

The gang then blows them up with fireworks (err, I think it would be more easy to understand if you’ve seen it), which leads to this awesome shot of Satoko.

Afterward, it seems that Miyo has picked up the other stone and now Rena goes chase after her. This sequence of the incredibly wrong Rena x Miyo pairing is hilarious and quite possibly the high point of the whole episode. I don’t think I’ve ever come as close to laughing tears at anime.

"Miyo: I don't swing that way... Rena: USO DA!" lmfao

Satoko asks Miyo to return the stone, but Mion unknowingly blurbs out that it’s a treasure of the shrine, causing Miyo to not want to return it. As the group tries to approach Miyo, Rena stops them and goes fucking Bruce Lee on the gang.

It seems that Miyo dropped the stone and it was picked up by Ooishi. So the group comes to Ooishi’s mahjong parlor only to find Rena… hitting on Ooishi. Did it ever come to Miyo, Jirou, or Ooishi that Rena is like 13 years old? Wait, this is anime. Of course not.

So finally, the group challenges Ooishi and Rena to mahjong. Keiichi and Akasaka are the opposing team. It seems the Saki fever has caught on and DEEN realized that throwing mahjong into any random episode makes it awesome. This is true to some extent. Though there were no lightning effects or epic fire, the game resulted in the most epic draw ever, giving Keiichi and Akasaka the point lead and winning the stone back, only for the stone to fly into Keiichi’s mouth and be swallowed. *sigh*

So Rika takes them both to the shrine to end the curse. Rena and Keiichi exchange really sappy words and all is solved. The curse is over and everyone can go back to their happy, cleaver cutting lives.
Oh wait, Jirou and Miyo seem to remember yesterday’s exchange with Rena, much to Rena’s trouble.

And this shot of Satoko’s reaction is priceless.

Hello, everyone. Thank you for tuning into ESPN Classic for the world premier of kevo’s new groundbreaking series Profiles in Moe. Here we will look back through the years at the careers of the greatest legends and biggest stars of Saimoe fame. Today, in 2009, the ninth iteration of the prestigious Anime Saimoe Tournament of Japan is underway. It hardly seems so long ago when Kinomoto Sakura because the first character crowned with anime’s most prestigious title of moe. So much has changed since then, as the tournament’s popularity has spiraled into epic proportions. Regardless of the changes, Saimoe is and shall always remain the most serious business. Join me this week as we look back at Furude Rika’s career in Saimoe Japan from her debut in 2006 to present day.

Part One: Baptism by Fire

On August 16th, 2006 Furude Rika made her Saimoe debut. In their first year of competition, the Higurashi girls were in high hopes and had expectations to meet. At this point, the first season of Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni was still airing and entering its late stages.  Sonozaki Mion and Ryuuguu Rena was already through after winning their first matches, and now here in group C Rika’s turn came. Soundly defeating her opponents Mishima Touko and Skuld, she moved on to a date against Minamoto Chiharu in the next round.

“It was in no way an easy draw, even for the girl that was supposed to be “the powerhouse” of the Higurashi franchise. Chiharu was a favorite to take the whole tournament, no one really thought it was going to even be close. She sure surprised all of us, but in the end, it Oyashiro-sama was just a few votes short.” -Bob Ley, ESPN.

Minamoto Chiharu would end up going deep into the tournament, winning group C. Losing just 684-645, it was a crushing disappointment for Higurashi’s brand new fanbase. But a new day will dawn for Rika, and soon she will be the one with the last laugh.

Part Two: All the World’s a Stage

“The pieces were there. The Higurashi franchise matured beautifully since the 2006 contest, with a memorable conclusion and another season already airing when the contest started. Higurashi became the anime that everyone was talking about, that everyone knew, even if you didn’t watch it you at least knew about the characters. That’s what makes Saimoe dynasties.” -Keith Olbermann, NBC Sports

“We didn’t really know what to expect after seeing Rika’s first round draw. Nia was fresh from the hottest show of the season, and Hiiragi Miki was a Lucky Star girl. Yeah Rika was the favorite but she had to prove herself, she had to prove that she was a contender.” -Chiharu, Saimoe Illustrated

Furude Rika started her 2007 campaign by winning her first match running away, amassing 786 votes over Nia, who was more than 300 votes shy. She got over 700 votes again in the second round, with none of her opponents within 400 votes of her. Finally Rika has proven that she has the form and the power to win on moe’s biggest stage. The first 1v1 opponent of her career was none other than Higurashi co-star Sonozaki Mion, the most successful Higurashi girl from last year, showing up all her compatriots by breaking through to the top 16. The intimidation factor was there, but Rika did not waver. That was then, this is now. 932-571. Rika would then meet Kanon starlet Kurata Sayuri in the Group G Finals, winning handily 939-789, vaulting her into the top eight.

“Louise was pure Kugumiya Rie tsundere loli moeblob, bred from the same proud genealogy as Shana. Sanzenin Nagi was also tearing through the tournament with ease, and a Kugumiya Rie voice actor showdown was on everyone’s minds. Until now, Rika has put up flashy wins, but not against characters like Louise’s pedigree. We were expecting a third round KO, But I didn’t expect it to be in Rika’s favor.” -Juice, International Saimoe League

“If you said Rika by 200 people woulda thought you was crazy. By the end of that night, there were a lot confused normal folks and a few crazy rich mofuckers” -Evander Holyfield, Former World Heavyweight Champion

Rika was not merely defeating opponents, she was dominating them. But she would show her ability in the clutch with a close 1372-1367 win over Shinku, setting up the stage for the most anticipated Saimoe match of the year. Sanzenin Nagi slaughtered Rika’s fellow Higurashi girl Ryuuguu Rena in the semifinals, and now she was looking for title of Higurashi killer. Furude Rika has already proven her ability to counter the power of Kugyuu tsunderes. One more win was all Rika needed to wipe away the bitter memories of the second round loss a year ago. One more win was all Rika needed to make Yukari Tamura the only voice actor with two Saimoe titles. One more win was all Rika needed to achieve moe immortality.

Part Three: Twenty Two

“It was the dream match. On par with Ali vs. Frazier, Arnie vs. Jack, Federer vs. Nadal, USA vs. Russia. Every little bit of mystique, every little difference and similarity added to the excitement of the match. It was more than Rika vs. Nagi, it was Hayate vs. Higurashi, Kugiyima Rie vs. Tamura Yukari, blonde hair vs. blue hair. It was a pure showdown.” -Kholdstare88, Saimoe Illustrated

On the night of November 3rd, 2007, Sanzenin Nagi and Furude Rika battled for the Anime Saimoe Tournament title. 2ch was livid, with traffic coming in from all around the globe. At 5AM Japan Time, Rika held a slim 20 vote advantage over Nagi, who would close the game in the next two hours.

“I wasn’t too worried at that point. There are 24 hours in a day, not 5. I had it all planned out, it was going to be close down to the wire, and one character will explode in the last two hours.” -Seishi, Nagi supporter

They would duel for next ten hours, as a light rain fell over the Kansai region. At around 3:30 PM local time, Rika began to pull away from Nagi, resulting in a 46 vote margin just under two hours later.

“46 votes is not a big deal at all with so much time left, but we knew it was going into the late stages. We were banding together and trying to get the AnimeSuki community to start a push for Nagi. Nagi didn’t let Rika out of her sights all night long, it was pressure and keeping up with the pace.” -frustra, Nagi supporter

As the two contestants entered the final hour, down 60 votes, Nagi mounted a charge that brought her as close to 10 votes of Rika. With tons of momentum and newly found hope, Nagi has turned the match into a whole new contest. Nagi fans around the world were looking forward to a storybook comeback victory. But Rika didn’t see it that way, picking up the pace and reestablishing control as Nagi stagnated for a split second. As Nagi chased Rika to the finish, the world looked on as neither girl relented.

“After Nagi’s charge at the start of the final hour I was able to push my lead back to around 30 and control it for about fifty minutes. This was no blowout, and I don’t think either of us expected a blowout. I knew the entire contest will come down to the last moment, and if I could keep my ground, I was going to win.” -Furude Rika

In the dying minutes of the match, Nagi supporters and Saimoe fans around the world rejoiced as Nagi mounted an inspirational final banzai charge, unbelievably taking the lead with mere minutes remaining. But with the ace up her own sleeve, Rika countered with her own charge, exploding across the 1500 vote barrier and sprinting across the finish to cap off an unbelievable 1521-1499 victory. It was finally over, and on her second attempt, Rika captures the Anime Saimoe Tournament of Japan.

“1521-1499. I tell you, anyone who follows Saimoe to an extent can recite that result. It was the ultimate match to the greatest Saimoe iteration of all time. The 2007 tournament will be remembered in the annals of history, and by no means will Nagi be a mere footnote.” -Chris Mortensen, ESPN

Nagi outvoted Rika 1208-1086 among Japanese voters, but Rika beat Nagi 435-291 among overseas voters. The decisive role of foreign votes, much at the cause of Anime Suki, was a factor inciting tournament administrators to restrict access from overseas IPs in future tournaments. But for now, it was finally Rika’s day in the sun, as the 2007 Anime Saimoe Tournament of Japan Champion.

And there was much rejoicing

Part Four: Later Years

Rika began her title defending campaign in the 2008 contest with a solid win over a relentless Minami Touma. However, in the second round she would fall by a single vote to Touma’s sister Minami Haruka. It is one of the few matches in Saimoe history to ever be decided by one vote. The seemingly invincible Rika was mortal in fact.

The Higurashi no Naku Kori Ni franchise is a rare franchise that allows its characters to participate in four Saimoe tournaments. With the conclusion of the OVA, and the airing of Umineko, it is unlikely the Higurashi girls will ever see the tournament again. Her “spiritual successor” Bernkastel, however, is qualified for Saimoe 2010 due to Umineko. Regardless of the future and her impending 2nd round match in this year’s tournament, Rika’s career stats are still something to behold. With a sparkling 10-2 win-loss record as of today, she is in elite company as one of the few characters to amass ten wins in the Saimoe tournament. Her saimoe career outside Saimoe Japan has been successful as well, placing 8th in Korea Best Moe in 2008. In the 2008 and 2009 regular seasons of the International Saimoe League, Rika has never finished outside the top 20, with her performance this year earning her a ticket to the 2010 season. This little girl from Hinamizawa with a big destiny has both lived the dream and felt the losses. Her solid, successful career in and out of Japan so much defines the modern saimoe scene of the day. Regardless of her performance in the future and beyond, one this is for certain: Rika will always be remembered for her legendary performance in 2007 and her long career of both success and failure.

References:

http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=1236335&postcount=11804

http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=1236315&postcount=11785

http://synchroom.wikispaces.com/SaiMoe2007

http://www.internationalsaimoe.com/contestants/biography.php?name=furude_rika

kevo’s ultra high quality episode synopsis

SPOILERS
So Canaan and the gang go into the factory. Canaan’s synesthesia seems to have come back thank goodness. Canaan being completely useless was starting to get on my nerves. After stumbling across a room full of people infected with the Ua virus who are essentially zombies, Hakko basically freaks out and runs away. Santana goes off to look for her but Hakko runs into an empty room and confronts Liang Qi in a teleconference. Liang Qi taunts her, and eventually Hakko is pissed off and wants to wreck Liang Qi’s zettai ryouikied shit. She tracks down the room she saw Liang Qi in the video conference and unleashes her secret weapon: talking. She discovers too late, however, that the person sitting in the chair was Santana, who is now about to die.

Ippen, shinde miru?

Afterward, we get a hilariously cheesy love scene in which Santana wishes for Hakko to basically “I love you” to death. Hakko then goes kinda insane and drags Santana’s corpse around the facility and shoots shit up while whispering “I love you” but Liang Qi activates this magic anti-sound thingy, but because of her synesthesia Canaan is still vulnerable to Hakko’s voice. Oh and Maria and YunYun do useless shit and get fucked over.

It’s good to see the plot moving right along. The slowdown after the last few episodes got kind of annoying. Liang Qi remains as the most interesting character in the show for me. Her character is consumed by passion and rage but she’s still able to pull off tricks and traps on her enemies. I found the scene of Minoru and Hakko’s interaction from Canaan’s synesthesia particularly riveting, because of how the writers use the synesthesia as a visual device to explore emotion. Again, I look forward to the next episode, hoping to see more Liang Qi, and maybe now we will find out more about Alphard.

Here’s some pics from the next episode preview

Alright, folks, schools is almost back in session. Have your brains turned into mush? No worries, kevo’s awesome Anime Aptitude Test (AAT) will get you back into academic shape! How sharp are you at the numerical arts? We shall see.

The following problems are arranged in no real particular order (though the good ones are at the back). There’s a little bit of everything on here, so give everything a shot. It took me a while to come up with some of these. I have all the answers so if you want to respond just comment. That probably means the comments are spoilers! I would definitely have a calculator on hand for just about all of these. Ok, good luck, have fun!

Sanzenin Nagi lends money to Tachibaba Wataru at a yearly intrest rate of 6.6 percent compounded monthly. After 24 months, Nagi has accumulated 318,000 Yen in intrest (Wataru has yet to make a payment). How much did Nagi lend Wataru?

Hayate has yet to make a payment on his loan from Nagi either. If Nagi has already made a 17% profit on intrest from her loan to Hayate after two years of continuous compounding, what is the intrest rate Nagi charged Hayate?

Okazaki Ushio is blowing a bubble. Write the equation for the surface area of the bubble as a function of how much air is inside (the volume).

Akashiya Moka is standing up in a pantyshot scene. A pantyshot results when the camera’s line of sight is focused on the inner side of the skirt farther away from the viewer, as seen in the diagram below. The camera is 41.36 cm away from Moka’s skirt and 30 cm under Moka’s waist, from a perspective looking up her skirt at an angle of 15 degrees. Given that Moka’s skirt flares from her waist at an angle of 105 degrees, and that the skirt is an isosceles trapezoid, what is the length of the outseam of Moka’s skirt, x? Round to the nearest centimeter.

Aika and Akari have a gondola race over a 10km course in Neo Venezia. Aika sets off from Aria Company at noon and finishes the course in 7692.3 seconds in fair conditions. Akari forgot when the race started and sets off from Aria Company at 12:30PM and rows for 30 minutes, covering only 1800 meters. She then rows backwards the rest of the way and finishes 812.3 seconds before Aika. At what time and point in the course does Akari pass Aika?

Alice wants to try, too. The next day, she sets off from Aria Company at noon with a 0.3 m/s counter current along the entire length of the course. Two minutes in, she realizes she forgot something and doubles back to Aria Company to get it, immediately setting off again upon arrival. She then completes the 10km course without incident and still beats Akari’s time by 7.63 seconds. How fast is Alice? Round to the nearest tenth.