Desu ex Machina

by kevo

for Saimoe Illustrated

SEOUL, Korea — the crowd was deafening and excitement could be felt in every molecule of air on midnight Sunday as Aisaka Taiga triumphed with a razor-thin three vote margin. As Taiga raised the trophy in victory, the roars from the crowd echoed into the Korean night. This was Korea Best Moe, where close matches are the norm, the action is intense, and the votes flow from all corners of the globe. Aisaka Taiga, the tsundere loli from last Fall’s wildly successful Toradora!, has left her mark in saimoe history, but the question is: can she achieve saimoe immorality?

There is little argument that Korea Best Moe is a major saimoe title, with a parade of worthy winners and thousands of voters, KBM is the pride of past champions such as Horo and Hinagiku Katsura. However there is even less argument that Korea Best Moe is second only the very tournament that is synonymous with the word saimoe itself. The tournament that started the saimoe movement. Of course, I am talking about the Anime Saimoe Tournament of Japan, or Saimoe Japan, organized in 2002 held on 2ch every year. Ever since Saimoe Japan started blocking foreign ISPs, Korea Best moe has become a popular alternative. Regardless, Saimoe Japan remains the undisputed king of saimoe contests.

The last and only girl to win both Korea Best Moe and Saimoe Japan in the same year was Suiseiseki in 2006 (no one has won in different years). Many have stated that such a feat would be impossible in the future, given the Saimoe community’s disdain for repeat winners. In fact, Saimoe and KBM champions have seldom come remotely close in Saimoe Japan the past few years –with Horo, last year’s KBM winner, excused in the second round and the defending champion Kagami Hiiragi failing to win her first match. The newly crowned Aisaka Taiga, however, is through to the top four after solidly handling Hayate no Gotoku’s Saginomiya Isumi 812-736 in the round of eight. Does Taiga’s clout carry over from Korea onto moe’s biggest stage? Is enough left in the tank for just two more wins? We shall see in the upcoming week.

Taiga will most likely encounter a lot of Saki for the remainder of her Saimoe campaign. Though Kushieda Minori has done well, I don’t put much weight on Toradora’s faction. I consider her riding solo from her series and taking down factions by herself, Shana style. If wins over Maria and Isumi say anything, I’d say she’s doing pretty well. Despite her success, she has not faced a character from Saki as of yet.  Taiga’s Saki-filled road to the title is a double edged sword. On one hand, Saki is strong as hell, with title hunters like Amae Koromo and Kataoka Yuuki in the field, not to mention a surprisingly strong Haramura Nodoka in the immanent match. But on the other hand is history and huburis. Though the franchise stunned the saimoe world and sent a record six girls into this year’s top 16, this has historically not been a formula for success. The previous holders of this record, Clannad in 2008 and Rozen Maiden in 2005 with 4 of the 16, have both failed to win the title. Many have already noted the potential crippling effect Yuuki and Mihoko’s match could have on Amae’s match against K-ON!’s Hirasawa Yui. Amae winning would mean three of the top four being from Saki. Surely the voters would not want that. Every fanbase in the world would be countervoting Saki. I never thought Kyoto Animation would ever benefit from vote hate, but here it is potentially going to happen.

I believe Taiga’s chances at Saimoe are very good. Haramura Nodoka is probably Saki’s weakest character right now, so Taiga must absolutely take care of business on the 14th, and I predict that she will. If she faces another Saki character in the finals, she must feed off the Saki counter votes combined with her own support. If it turns out to be Yui, which is very likely, than all bets are off and we will have an all-out Saimoe brawl. Regardless, Taiga must nullify or minimize the counter-effect of her Korea title. I predict that if somehow she can make her Korea title work for her instead of against her, Saimoe Japan will be hers for the taking. Much is at stake here. Taiga represents the best chance voice actor Kugimiya Rie has for her first Saimoe title. If she can use everything that is going for her, with a little bit of luck and a lot of support, Aisaka Taiga will become stuff of saimoe legends.

Note: Official art used (as edited) as images except the one of Yui. That one is by 茨乃, whose pixiv account can be found here.