Forum - View topicMost Improved Character Tournament: Participants/Minigame
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6584 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Thanks, Veers.
Today's nomination fits all the requirements of the rules but may cause people to wonder if they should be modified. Nominating Prince Siddhartha, Buddha: the Great Departure Who the character is: In a word: Buddha. The young Prince Siddhartha lives a life of privilege and leisure, other than his strict training to be a warrior and future leader of the perpetually warring kingdom. His father carefully shields him from all human suffering. Despite this, Siddhartha wanders among his people and learns how much suffering there is (and too often because of the decisions and the lifestyle of people like himself). How the character improves: Is there a person in history, myth or religion who more completely embodies the idea of a single person's quest for moral improvement? Or how we may understand suffering and how to live with it? Jesus was good from the get go while Mohammed had improvement thrust upon him (besides, is there an anime version of the life of Mohammed?). Siddhartha / Buddha is the archetype of the improved character and the most enduring symbol of that transformation. You may quibble about the execution of the story (although it's much better than David Cabrera's review would have you believe) but the character himself is without peer. Picture Supporting Daikichi Kawachi, Bunny Drop My aim is to do one nomination per day until Key calls a close or I complete my list. Daikichi was on that list. |
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Kelly
Posts: 868 Location: New York City |
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Voting for:
Shoukei, Twelve Kingdoms Nominating: Aido Hanabusa, Vampire Knight Who He Is: Akatsuki Kain's cousin, Aido is the most blatant of the vampires in the Night Class, causing his cousin half of his life stress due to his volatile temper. In love with Kaname Kuran, he's insanely jealous of Kaname's romantic interest in Yuki Cross, and although their scenes are often comic he also slightly maliciously tries to cause her minor trouble to vent that jealousy. He's occasionally amusing, but not particularly likeable at this stage. How He Improves: But then, something very interesting happens. Aido is a brat, yes, but he also turns out to have honor and empathy - and once you've won him over he's extremely loyal. He starts to see Yuki a bit differently when he realizes that she's a nice girl who doesn't deserve what he's been dishing out to her and they're actually rowing in the same boat together being in love with a guy who doesn't really deserve it and could turn on them at any given time. When things take a turn for the worse for Yuki and her relationships with Kaname and Zero go south - along with a certain life altering event - it's the Brat Prince who is there to hold her up and fiercely defend her at her lowest point when the two guys who are supposed to be in love with her aren't. Their friendship is even further developed in the manga. |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7358 |
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Nominating
Eiji Kanda, Antique Bakery Who he is Eiji is a former boxer, forced to give up his passion for boxing due to detached retinas. But his second love has always been sweets, and upon jogging by the bakery Antique and seeing the "help wanted" sign, he applies within. Refusing to just be a waiter, he demands to be taken under the wing of master pastry chef Yusuke Ono and starts to learn the craft from one of the best. How he improves Eiji improves in two ways. Most obviously, as a baker. He starts from doing mostly prep work to learning what he does wrong and how to improve it, to eventually making desserts that get served to the customers (and go over quite well!) But before he was a pastry chef, he was a boxer. And before he was a boxer, he was a street thug. His boxing coach took him under his wing first and helped reform him into a better person even before he became a better baker. Picture |
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Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3966 Location: New York state. |
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Nominating:
Ken Ichijouji, Digimon Adventure 02 Who He Is: On the surface, Ken is a young prodigy in academics and athletics who is immensely popular for his talents. However, Ken sees society at large as a huge nuisance and escapes into the Digital World to fulfill a more satisfying goal: trying to take it over. Under the guise of the Digimon Emperor, Ken makes use of Dark Rings to take control of Digimon and use them either as either personal entertainment or to have them go after other Digimon not under his control. Ken’s plans lead him to cross paths with the second generation of Digidestined children who seek to stop his evil plans. How He Improves: As the Digimon Emperor, Ken starts off as the first major villain that the Digidestined have to confront. Thinking highly of his abilities and the Digital World as nothing but a game, Ken used his guise as the Digimon Emperor as both an escape from the human world and escaping from the guilt he had from a tragic event from his past. Once finally defeated by the Digidestined, Ken comes to realize that the Digital World is just as real as the human world and comes to realize that he inflicted genuine suffering onto the Digimon. After spending several days in a deep sleep where he thought over the events that led him to become the Digimon Emperor, Ken reformed and would ally with the Digidestined to take on other evil threats for the remainder of the series. Image Jun Sakurada, Rozen Maiden Who He Is: Jun is a middle school student who lives a sheltered existence in his home due to emotional trauma where he spends much of his time in front of his computer and buying odd items from online. He unwillingly finds himself becoming a “medium” to Shinku, a living doll dressed in Victorian attire who introduces herself as the fifth in the Rozen Maiden series, and dealing with other dolls that make their presence felt at his house to confront Shinku in a competition called the Alice Game. How He Improves: Jun starts off as a boy who cares more for satisfying his own needs and secluding himself in his bedroom to avoid dealing with the issues that caused his emotional trauma. His interactions with Shinku and the other dolls lead Jun to not only become more sociable and caring for others, but to also confront and face the problems causing him to be a recluse. By the end of Rozen Maiden’s first season, Jun is comfortable going out in public again and is willing to resolve any problems that come his way. Image Supporting: Daikichi Kawachi (Bunny Drop) |
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Tris8
 Posts: 2114 Location: Where the rain is. |
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NOMINATING:
Yuuko Kanoe, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia Who She Is: Yuko is the ghost of a girl who haunts the school where she died 60 years ago. Her skeleton lies below the club room for the Paranormal Investigations club, and Teiichi, a member of that club, is one of the only people who can see her. Yuko has no memories of her past or how she died, so Teiichi and Yuko investigate, and as they do they fall in love. But as they dig deeper, they find Yuko's death was no accident, and it seems Yuko is not the only ghost bound to the school. How She Improves: In the beginning, Yuko is 2 dimensional. She is flirty and light-hearted, and never gets mad. But when Yuko and Teiichi develop feelings for each other, she begins acting oddly. Her feelings of jealousy trigger memories of her murder, and not being able to handle the horror and hatred she feels, she literally casts off the memories, forgetting all the pain she has experienced, including all memory of Teiichi. When Teiichi confesses his love to Yuko, she remembers him, but still can't remember many other things, as she is terrified that if she remembers negative emotions, her ugly side will stop Teiichi from loving her. With Teiichi's support, she courageously faces the truth of her murder that she had been running away from for 60 years. Pic 1 Pic 2 VOTING FOR: Vegeta, DBZ Prince Siddhartha, Buddha: the Great Departure |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5528 Location: Mexico |
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Nominating
Waver Velvet Fate/Zero Who he is: A young magician who wants to prove his worth even if his family isn't as ancient as others. He steals a summoning object from his teacher Kayneth and uses it to make a contract with the servant Rider and participate in the 4th Grail War, only to realize it's a lot more fearsome than he expected How he improves: Waver starts off as a scaredy cat. Even though he was initially eager to participate in the war to show his abilities as a magician, he soon comes to realize it's a lot more dangerous and requires a lot more skill than he had imagined. His partner is Rider, the incarnation of the King of Conquerors Iskandar the Great, who is loud, adventurous and straightforward, always thirsting for new battles and conquests, completely opposite to Waver. Throughout the series, and through his relationship with Rider, he learns of courage, loyalty, pride, and companionship, and is able to stand his own against a fearsome enemy with the will to live and tell the story of the war Picture Voting for: Kenshin Himura Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal Yuuko Kanoe Dusk Maiden of Amnesia Fakir Princess Tutu Saber Fate/Stay Night[/url] |
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4750G
 Posts: 546 |
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Voting For
Daikichi, Usagi Drop Chihiro, Spirited Away |
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Mylene
 Posts: 2792 Location: Indiana |
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Voting For:
Waver Velvet from Fate/Zero Daikichi from Bunny Drop |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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While I'm not going to actually vote against him because I can see how he fits here, I have to say I don't think Ken Ichijouji is the greatest nominee because he gets significantly less interesting as the show continues. If the anime ended right after he joined the Digidestined, that would be a different story but, sadly, it does not.
Also not sure about Aido Hanabusa; it's another case where I would have to watch the anime again to see how much he actually grows, since manga-only material is excluded. Also, his nomination needs a picture to be officially included. I have a few more characters on my list to nominate as well, but right now I'm visiting family for the holidays and so am not able to continue. Also, I don't think there are any other characters who I am 100% decided on, so if anyone else has thoughts, please let me know (and if you want to nominate them yourself, I promise you have at least one vote in favour). The characters I can remember who are on my list are: Nodame from Nodame Cantabile; the twins from Ouran High School Host Club (Hikaru if I just nominate one though I think they both have great arcs); Ryuuki from Story of Saiunkoku; Hagu-chan from Honey and Clover |
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rosebrook11
 Posts: 1181 |
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Supporting
Chihiro (Spirited Away) Nanami (Revolutionary Girl Utena) I had wanted to nominate another person from this series, but then realized I was biased towards that character... But Nanami needs more votes. Waver (Fate/Zero) |
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber Posts: 3966 Location: New York state. |
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Nominating:
Reki, Haibane Renmei Who She Is: Reki is among the oldest living at Old Home as a Haibane, girls with wings that grow from their back and given a halo above their head. She serves as a mother figure to the Haibane at Old Home, particularly the newest addition to the group named Rakka. How She Improves: Despite her seemingly friendly personality, Reki’s persona is a front to cover up her feelings of guilt and fear for her past acts of trouble she performed in her early years as a Haibane and being “born” under unique circumstances that made her an outcast. Reki thought of helping Rakka as a way to atone for these problems, especially when the latter undergoes similar problems as Reki during the middle of the series. However, failing at helping Rakka with her dilemma made Reki increasingly distant from the Haibane of Old Home and she resigned herself to a harsh fate late in the show’s run. However with Rakka’s help, Reki is able to come to terms with her problems and finds that the bond she developed with the new Haibane had become a genuine one. Image Supporting: Chihiro (Spirited Away) |
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HaruhiToy
 Posts: 4118 |
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I would like to second these votes: Voting For: Daikichi, Usagi Drop. My reasons are in my nomination above. Chihiro, Spirited Away. Rarely has a tiresome little brat been so convincingly redeemed. She had a lot of help, but I still admire how she managed to convert herself from being (quite justifiably) scared of everything in the spirit world to being a dominant actor in that same world. The care with which they wrote this made it believable. Voting against: Nanami, Revolutionary Girl Utena. Sorry, but willfully drowning a kitten without remorse -- then or later -- in a little fit of jealousy is more than a deal breaker for me. |
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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Vote For:
Rue (Princess Tutu) Chihiro (Spirited Away) Shoukei (Twelve Kingdoms) Daikichi (Bunny Drop) Can't believe I didn't think of Chihiro! xD Now that I have been reminded of them and once I have time, I may have to nominate one or two other Ghibli characters. |
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A Mystery
 Posts: 1888 Location: Netherlands |
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Voting for:
Taiga Aisaka, Toradora Taichi Mashima, Chihayafuru Yukino Miyazawa, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijo / His and her Circumstances Kenshin Himura, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal Scar, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka, Paradise Kiss Uzumaki Naruto, Naruto / Naruto Shippuuden Fakir, Princess Tutu Kyoko Mogami, Skip Beat! Shinichi Chiaki, Nodame Cantabile Piccolo Jr., Dragonball Z Vegeta, Dragon Ball Z Maybe I'll think of a nomination tomorrow. Hey, Kawashima Ami of Toradora would be a good one... |
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber Posts: 3966 Location: New York state. |
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Nominating:
Shizuku Tsukishima, Whisper of the Heart Who She Is: Shizuku is a junior high school student with an interest in reading and writing. Going through the checkout cards of books she got from a library, she discovers they have all been signed by the same person named Seiji Amasawa. Over the next few days, she comes across a tall boy who annoys her and upon going to an antique shop, she discovers that the boy is Seiji. The two come to bond and Shizuku comes to discover that Seiji wants to become a master luthier (maker of stringed instruments) and will be taking a two month leave to Italy for an apprenticeship with a violin maker. How She Improves: Shizuku starts off unsure of what kind of future she wants for herself until she meets with Seiji. With Seiji, the girl sees a young man who has a future goal in mind for himself and is already planning it out. Seeing this, Shizuku decides to commit herself to writing a story for the two months that Seiji is away on his apprenticeship to challenge herself. During those two months, she comes to understand the challenges involved with planning out and writing a story, realizing that she still has much to learn if she wants to have a future as a writer. Her two-month experience with the story writing leads Shizuku to have a better understanding of her present limitations with writing and that it is okay for her to continue learning more to improve her skills. Image |
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