Forum - View topicBest First Episode Tournament: Nominations
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18200 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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First episodes typically set the pace and tone for the series. They are the attention-catchers which draw viewers in and get them hooked but can also be quality works in their own right. This newest tournament will be about the first episodes which do the best job at drawing viewers in and setting up their series while also being powerhouses as standalone efforts.
Because there is such a vast pool of potential nominees – virtually every anime series ever made has one – I am expecting people to be extra-thoughtful about what they nominate, so think about this carefully before making a nomination. Be sure that what you're nominating isn't just something that you like but something that could impress others with its quality and effectiveness. Eligibility Standards The first episode of any TV series, OVA/ONA series, or short movie series (such as Broken Blade or Garden of Sinners) other than anthology series may be considered, provided that two or more episodes currently exist and have been made publicly available; yes, that means that candidates from currently-airing series are explicitly being allowed this time. Clarifications are necessary on what does or does not constitute a “first episode” in a few certain cases: *When a series is merely a direct continuation of another, even if it has a different subtitle (e.g., Code Geass R2), only the first series’ first episode can be considered. *When a series is a remake or alternate-world version of another (such as Tenchi Muyo!, FMA, and El Hazard), the first episodes for each version may be considered separately. *OVAs/ONAs which are continuations of TV series may only be considered separately if they have a unified name and intact story. Roberta’s Blood Trail (the Black Lagoon OVA follow-up) is an acceptable example, while Baccano’s follow-up episodes and the stand-alone Urusei Yatsura OVAs are not. *Specific rulings may have to be made in certain cases, such as the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVAs (parts 1 and 2 and the “Mihoshi Special” are considered one series for this purpose), but we'll deal with those on a case-by-case basis at they come up. Nomination Standards/Procedure 1. Any forum member not currently banned may nominate and vote for and/or against any number of candidates. 2. Each nomination or vote in favor scores one point. Each vote against scores -1 point. 3. After a certain amount of time (likely 7-10 days), general nominations will end. At that point the top 32 vote-getters will automatically advance to the tournament. All remaining nominees will go into a closed run-off for the remaining 32 spots in the tournament. (This step may be skipped if a clear cut-off at or around 64 can be made.) 4. High scores may be used to help determine seeds, so there is still a point to voting for candidates that are already assured of making the cut. 5. A list of active candidates and their scores will be updated on this post at least once per day. Candidates with a score of 0 on an update will be moved to the Cut List if their scores have not improved in 24 hours; candidates in this condition will be shown in red. Candidates with a negative score on any update will automatically be moved to the Cut List and won’t return to the active list unless they build to a positive score. 6. A voter/nominator must state “Nominate,” “Vote For” or “Vote Against” (as appropriate) in bold when taking any of these actions or the vote/nomination will not be counted. THIS WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. Using one of these as a heading before listing multiple votes of the same type is acceptable. Any vote change must be done both in the original post and in a new notice indicating that a change has been made or the change may not be counted. 7.Every nomination must be accompanied by a write-up (see below) and a link to a picture which represents the series or that nomination is not considered valid. 8. Votes in favor can be justified but don't have to be. Votes against must be justified or they will not be counted. Write-Up Each first episode nominee must have its own Guide write-up for reference during the game. Doing these in advance is a massive time-saver for me and gives other voters a chance to familiarize themselves with first episodes that they may not know. Each write-up must include the following: 1. The name of the series. (Use the official English name if one is available.) 2. The title of the episode, if there is one. 3. Type of Series – shonen action, harem romantic comedy, mystery/horror, etc. 4. A Synopsis of the episode. 5. A “What Makes It Great” explanation. 6. A link to a .jpg format picture which represents the series, which should be put at the end of the entry. Ideally these pics should be 300-500 pixels in width and 200-500 pixels in height. 7. If the first episode is available on a legal streaming service (even if a subscription is required to view it), provide a link to it. One example of the format expected, which should also be considered an official nomination, is given below. Please adhere as closely as possible to the formatting style shown, including the capitalization standards.
Let the nominations and voting begin! Candidate List - Final Angel Beats! Aria: The Animation Azumanga Daioh Bakemonogatari* Basilisk Bleach Bunny Drop Claymore Code Geass Coyote Ragtime Show Cross Game Deadman Wonderland Death Note Detroit Metal City Eden of the East Elfen Lied Excel Saga FLCL Fruits Basket Full Moon Fullmetal Alchemist Gankutsuou Ga-Rei Zero GTO Gunslinger Girl Gurren Lagann Haibane Renmei Hanasku Iroha Hayate the Combat Butler Hellsing (TV) High School of the Dead His and Her Circumstances Irresponsible Captain Tylor Kaiba Kimi ni Todoke Koi Kaze Kurau: Phantom Memory Last Exile Le Chevalier d'Eon Level E Macross Frontier Mawaru Penguindrum Melancholy of HS Monster Moribito Neon Genesis Evangelion Nodame Cantible Noein Ouran HS Host Club Paranoia Agent Princess Tutu R.O.D. the TV Read or Die OVA Revolutionary Girl Utena Ruroni Kenshin OVA Samurai Champloo Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Serial Experiment Lain Skip Beat! Slayers Tiger and Bunny Time of Eve Trigun Welcome to the NHK Total Nominees: 64 Cut List: Puella Magi Madoka Magika Higurashi - When They Cry Michiko to Hatchin Arjuna, 4 Black Lagoon, 4 Fukatoi Alternative, 4 Nastume's Book of Friends, 4 Noir, 4 Requiem from the Darkness, 4 School Rumble, 4 Cowboy Bebop, 3.9 Daily Lives of HS Boys, 3 Hikaru no Go, 3 Is This A Zombie?, 3 MoonPhase, 3 Occult Academy, 3 Paradise Kiss, 3 Saikano, 3 Sgt. Frog, 3 The World God Only Knows, 3 Toward the Terra, 3 Shakugan no Shana, 2.9 Tenchi Muyo! Ry-Ohki OVAs, 2.9 Ano Hana, 2 Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro, 2 Cat Planet Cuties, 2 Initial D, 2 Living FT Day After Tomorrow, 2 My Bride is a Mermaid, 2 Pandora Hearts, 2 Ranma 1/2, 2 s-CRY-ed, 2 Squid Girl, 2 Vampire Princess Miyu, 2 Video Girl Ai, 2 Sasameki Koto, 1.9 Arakawa Under The Bridge, 1 Key the Metal Idol, 1 Murder Princess, 1 Real Drive, 1 Red Garden, 1 Tower of Druaga, 1 Urusei Yatsura, 1 Toradora!, 0.9 Rainbow, 0 Recorder and Randsell, -1.1 Last edited by Key on Tue Mar 13, 2012 12:59 am; edited 6 times in total |
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Mesonoxian Eve
Posts: 1858 |
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EDIT: Nominating and voting for:
Aria: The Animation: "That Wonderful Miracle..." Type of Series: Slice-of-life Synopsis: Akari Mizunashi arrives on the planet Aqua, to the city of Neo Venezia, to pursue her dreams to become a Prima Undine gondolier. What Makes It Great: The first episode sets the tone for the entire series with its laid-back approach and antagonist-free story telling. What truly sets the episode apart from others is the stunning artwork given to both foreground and background, where colors were purposely muted to allow neither to stand out against the other and allows the viewer to take in the stunning attention to detail, such as the cracked walls and the moving water. While some of the art is computerized (water, especially), most of the work is hand-drawn, and colored using the time of day as a reference. It truly is a masterpiece such detail was exquisitely presented. The shadows and time of day are just one of the few overlooked details this episode delivers. Image: Aria image Link: That Wonderful Miracle...
I did my part. See you when the contest is over. 
Last edited by Mesonoxian Eve on Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:44 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Saffire
 Posts: 1256 Location: Iowa, USA |
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Vote For Aria. Gorgeous episode and really sets the tone for the rest of the series. (I assume multiple voting posts are ok?)
 You can't see the entire show this way but the first episode is there. Also I think you need to put Nomination at the top of your post.
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st_owly
 Posts: 5234 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland |
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Vote for Aria, for the reasons above.
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Nomination
Futakoi Alternative: "Croquettes, Helicopters, Underground Boxing, and Me" Type of Series: Harem Action/Comedy/Drama Synopsis: The town of Futagotamagawa is filled with twins due to some unexplained phenomenon. Rentarou Futaba runs a detective agency in town and has the twin assistants Sara and Souju to aid him in completing the cases. Unfortunately after one seemingly simple case goes awry, Rentarou has the local yakuza group trying to kill him. What Makes it Great: The frantic pace and over-the-top exhilaration of the first episode of Futakoi Alternative is something that I don't think can ever be topped. It doesn't matter what the characters are actually doing on the screen, from trying to coax a potential client into following one of Sara's crazy plans to Souju's seemingly innocuous cooking that ends up with the entire town lining up to get a slice of (Yakitate Japan parodying) croquette heaven. That's not to say that the viewer isn't able to follow what is going on. Through brilliant directing and cinematography, even though scenes are constantly flipping from one character to another, by the end of the episode the viewer will be able to see how each character's side-story eventually converges at the finale. This was one of ufotable's first productions, but even with that, one can tell that they poured a lot of effort into the animation of this show. Futakoi Alternative seemed to be a harsh criticism of other harem games/anime (namely Futakoi). It succeeds in showing just how entertaining harem anime can be by not following all the tropes and pitfalls that nearly all harem-oriented works seem to suffer from. Image: Futakoi Alternative pic Last edited by Megiddo on Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3883 Location: New York state. |
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Aw to hell with it. Guess I'll take part. Start off my first offering with...
Nominating: Saikano, "We're Going to Fall in Love" Type of Series: Tragic romantic sci-fi/war drama Synopsis: High school students Shuji and Chise start off an awkward relationship with one another where Shuji discovers a shocking secret about his shy girlfriend during an enemy air bombing in Sapporo. What Makes it Great: Starting off seemingly like a typical high school romance title, Saikano hits hard with its war element during the second half of its first episode by showing the harshness of this reality with the destruction of parts of the city and the death of one of Shuji's classmates during the air bombing. It also delivers a shocking twist to Chise and Shuji's relationship when the truth of Chise's connection to the war helps begin the complicated developments that the two go through throughout the rest of the series. While the quality of character designs to the episode are a bit below par for a work from Gonzo (notably with characters seeming to be blushing in every scene they appear in), the subdued color tones used for characters and scenery help set up the tense mood that is to come with the show and the animation is used to full effect in the second half of the first episode with the damage and destruction of buildings from the enemy air raid and the destruction of said planes from Chise. Image: Saikano Image Last edited by Ggultra2764 on Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:17 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Aylinn
 Posts: 1684 |
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Nominating:
Mawaru Penguindrum: "The Bell of Fate Rings" Type of Series: Psychological, Drama, Comedy Synopsis: The Takakura siblings - Kanba, Shoma, and Himari - live together in small house enjoying their lives. One day they decide to go on a trip to the aquarium during which terminally ill Himari collapses. What Makes It Great: As could be expected form Ikuhara, the creator of Utena, the show has its own distinct style and excels at writing, characterization, and comedy, to cut a long story short, at everything. Despite having very little time to make the audience care for the characters, it pulls off a powerfully emotional scene. Not only that, it also manages to subvert it and do it in such a way that doesn't seem contrived. As a result of this and other bizarre events the level of weirdness is unmatched and the degree of unpredictability is very high. Have I mentioned that SEIZON SENRYAKUUUUUUUUUUU is absolutely and unarguably fabulous? All things considered the first episode of MP shows great promise as it's quite exceptional in every possible way. Image: Mawaru Penguindrum Last edited by Aylinn on Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:06 am; edited 7 times in total |
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Tris8
 Posts: 2114 Location: Where the rain is. |
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NOMINATION:
Kurau: Phantom Memory: “1st Reaction: Into the Wide World” Type of Series: Futuristic/Action/Superpowers Synopsis: Dr. Amami is a scientist researching "Next Generation" energy. He and his daughter Kurau live on the moon together, and when he allows Kurau to accompany him to the lab and witness their newest experiment it gets out of control and two lights break out of the testing area. One of them possesses Kurau, and glowing gold she flies off the viewing area and absorbs the second, weaker light. Dr Amami is horrified at what he has just witnessed, and worse when he goes to Kurau she informs him that she is Rynax, a being from another world. Dr Amami begs the Rynax to leave her daughter's body, but she is unwilling to leave until her pair (the fainter light) has recovered. She explains her pair is her other half, and in her weakened state her pair will not survive if they leave Kurau's body. The Rynax promises to leave Kurau when her pair is recovered, but doesn't know how to leave, so Dr Amami swears he will find a way, if only the Rynax will take good care of Kurau's body in the meantime. 10 years later, the Rynax (now going by Kurau's name) has become an agent, someone who does any job from being a bodyguard to recovering stolen items. After using her Rynax powers to complete an information recovery task, Kurau is fighting despair of her pair ever awakening, but at her loneliest her pair finally is recovered enough to emerge. What Makes It Great: This first episode is amazing. It has enough going on and enough information in it that an entire series could be based on just what occurs in this first episode, yet nothing is rushed or confusing. Instead it is exciting and touching. When the Rynax possesses Kurau's body, she also gets Kurau's memories and starts calling Dr Amami "Dad" as Kurau did. This tears Dr Amami apart, because he starts questioning whether this indeed is his daughter or whether the being has just become adept at imitating her mannerisms. This episode has a perfect balance of action, mystery, and emotion, with a very unique character design for Kurau. This episode is not just great, it is the best first episode. Image: Kurau: Phantom Memory pic Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVEfIwI-meM |
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The Naked Beast
 Posts: 1028 Location: A Blue Planet |
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@Mesonoxian Eve
You can consider that justice has been served. Here is Nozomi Entertainment's official YouTube channel. They have Aria, Season 1, Episode 1, That Wonderful Miracle..., streaming at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSF8lsB2jpw |
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Aylinn
Posts: 1684 |
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Nominating:
Toward the Terra: "The Day of Awakening" Type of Series: Psychological, Drama, Science fiction Synopsis: Jomy Mark Shin is about to take his adult examination. Not knowing that it has grim consequences - it deletes childhood memories. However, Jomy turns out to be a powerful Mu, a person with extraordinary powers, who is able to stop the process and Soldier Blue, the leader of the Mu race, whom Jomy saw earlier in his dream, helps him to get out of that place. What Makes It Great: This is a well done episode of a good series that establishes a dystopia like setting. The plot is well paced and the music supports and enhances the experience. All the elements are nicely balanced and while it isn't exactly a unique beginning, the execution is flawless, thus the story about conflict between the Mu race and humans, most of whom are afraid of the Mu race, as AI, which controls their world, has led them to believe that the Mu are dangerous, is gripping and leaves the audience wanting more. Like the remaining parts of the story in the first episode the characters are no less interesting and while not unique, they are solid and even though their screen-time is limited, they are given enough personality that they are no vapid stereotypes. Image: Toward the Terra |
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dirkusbirkus
 Posts: 699 Location: Manchester, UK |
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Nominating:
Michiko to Hatchin: “Goodbye Heartless Paradise!” Type of Series: Action/Drama/Comedy/Girls with guns Synopsis:Hatchin is a girl raised by strict foster parents who has long given up her dreams of freedom. Michiko is a sexy criminal who escapes from a supposedly inescapable prison. When she suddenly enters Hana's life, these two very different women set off on a journey across a lawless land in search of a missing man from both their pasts. (ANN Summary) What Makes It Great: The saying "Start as you mean to go on" could have been invented for episode one of Michiko to Hatchin. First episodes should, in my humble opinion, act to set the tone and pace of a series, as well as providing introductions to the main players and touching on their backstory/motivations. MtH does all this in spades. From the very first second we're introduced to Michiko, she's escaping from jail in a frantic 2 minute sequence set to equally frantic samba drum rhythms where she manages to take down a chopper with a machine gun. Then the ultra-cool OP kicks in, and you know Shinichiro Watanabe has a hand in this production. The tone then shifts whilst Hatchin is introduced, with a detailed exploration of the abuse she faces on a daily basis under her current guardians. It's handled very well and you genuinely feel the helplessness of her situation. Good job, then, that help is on the way. A masterstroke of the episode is the changing between the two leads. It portrays action and drama with equal aplomb. Michiko's sequences are very much like the girl herself... Impulsive, brash, aggressive. Hatchin's scenes are also an encapsulation of her personality... Withdrawn, subdued, considering. Their worlds collide at the climax of the episode, and the entrance Michiko makes into Hatchin's life is quite, quite unique and is a wonderful conclusion to what is, for me, the perfect example of what a first episode should be about. The latin american setting is on glorious display throughout, and the story doesn't let up for one second. It hits the ground running and doesn't stop to look back. The production values are superb, and the soundtrack so very apt. It packs such a punch in these first 20 minutes, I defy anyone watching to not immediately want to see the next episode! I hear so little about this series and that, for me, is a great injustice. I don't expect it to do so well in the tournament but I feel that it needs more exposure. It's a crying shame there's no link to a legal first episode since it really is fantastic. Image: Michiko to Hatchin Last edited by dirkusbirkus on Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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DarkRoseFairy
Posts: 271 Location: Alberta, Canada |
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Vote For
Cross Game: “Four-Leafed Clover” Aria: "That Wonderful Miracle" Mawaru Penguindrum: "The Bell of Fate Rings" |
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Gewürtztraminer
 Posts: 1028 Location: Texas - Its like whole other country. |
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Nominating
Series: Bleach Title: "The Day I Became a Shinigami" Type: Shonen Action Synopsis: Meet Ichigo Kurosaki, age 15. He's a high-school student who possesses the uncanny ability to see ghosts. But when he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper from the Soul Society who helps lost souls find peace, his not-so-normal life becomes even more abnormal. In order to save his family from the grips of a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans, Rukia lends some of her powers to Ichigo. Much to her surprise, he absorbs most of her powers and in turn, he too becomes a Soul Reaper. What makes it great: The episode does the job of introducing the main character, what makes him special, and the awakening of his powers, as well as the basics of Soul Reapers actions in an easy to understand manner with plenty of humor. The level of information imparted to the viewer in an entertaining manner makes this one of the better Shonen Action 1st Episodes. The concluding fight ends in a crescendo and a declaration of Ichigo's occupation of High School Student and Soul Reaper makes it tough not to start the next episode immediately. Bleach Logo ANN's Bleach Hulu Stream |
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HaruhiToy
 Posts: 4118 |
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Nomination: R.O.D The TV, aka "Read or Die."
Episode Title: The first episode is "The Papers Have Landed." Type of Series: Action. Synopsis: The story centers on four women (one is a 7th grader). Nenene is a Japanese author who is famous but hasn't written anything for years. She travels to China for a book-signing gig and there finds her publisher has hired the The Paper Sisters, the other three women of the story, as her bodyguard and escort. She is annoyed with them but they prove quite useful when they save her from a mad bomber who wants to take Nenene's life. As it turns out the Paper Sisters are all Paper Masters, who have the super-power ability to telekinetically control paper for all kinds of uses, particularly fighting. What Makes It Great: It will be hard to sum all the great things about this episode and the series but what makes this episode so great is how it sets up the characters and the story. The first real action scene (there is one explosion and escape prior to this) is wonderful and unforgettable. The Paper Sisters are Michelle, Maggie and Anita. What makes what happens so effective is their personality types are so different from each other and so seemingly unsuited for their roles. Michelle is truly a blonde ditz, Maggie an awkward tall girl, and Anita is a feisty brat. They are working their bodyguard assignment, sitting quietly to the side watching Nenene sign books. The event is covered by a small army of armed police guards, so it initially seems like they are kind of superfluous. Yet the bomber sneaks past and manages to grab Nenene, and he has the drop on everyone with a deadman switch that defies any retaliation. Without any chance to plan, the three sisters don't need to. With just a shared glance between them they all know what to do, and set about it. What follows is a surge of coordinated action in animation that is as great as anything ever produced by Ghibli, Disney, or anyone else. Anita attacks, Maggie defends, and Michelle, her hair and skirts blowing in the sudden wind storm created by her sisters forms a bow and arrow from flying paper and cooly, with an odd half smile on her face, makes a life-and-death shot. And the sound track (overused in the following episodes) fits it perfectly enough to raise goose-bumps if you have a good song system. An incredible scene I have watched frame-by-frame several times. Picture: The foreground character is Anita. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Read_or_die_the_tv.jpg Link: animenewsnetwork.com/video/anime?p=R#series449 Last edited by HaruhiToy on Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:34 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Mesonoxian Eve
Posts: 1858 |
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Thanks, all. I've updated my post accordingly.
Now vote for it. 
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