Forum - View topicMost Improved Character Tournament: Post-Mortem
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18454 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Round 2 Group B is now closed.
With 24 votes in, the results: B-9: Chihiro trounces Yuji Kaido, 20-4. B-10: Megumi "Nodame" Noda outplays Naruto, 15-9. B-11: Kyoko Nogami obliterates Rika Nonaka with a star performance, 22-2. B-12: Mashiro blan de Windbloom defeats Masanosuke, 15-9. B-13: Ringo Oginome plasters Ryouta Sakamoto, 16-8. B-14: Scar mistakes Talho for a State Alchemist, 21-3. B-15: Taiga Aisaka comes from behind to slip by Lain, 13-11. B-16: Shoukei stomps Marlene Angel, 19-5. The biggest twist this round was B-15, where Taiga was down by a lot at one point. She had to take the last five votes and 11 of the last 13 just to pull off a two-vote victory. I'm pretty sure that's the biggest successful reversal of fortune in the tournament to date. B-12 was much closer than that margin for most of the round, but a run where Mashiro took 8 out of 9 votes pulled her ahead for good. Ringo also had an early deficit in B-13 before eventually taking control. The other four matches were never close, with Naruto losing worse than that for much of the week. In the end seeds went 6/8 this round, although one of the top ones only barely advanced. Boy, this round slammed me on the minigame, partly because I actively campaigned against one of my picks and partly because I made a couple of choices that I knew were ill-advised (even brainless!) going into this week. Unless others got hit hard, too, I'm virtually certain to lose my grip on second place and may not even be in the top three anymore. I didn't lose anyone long-term, but I suspect that the late rounds will be tight, so this round is probably crucial for determining who has a chance to win. How badly will this past week sink me? But let's get the pairings for Group C up before delving further into that. |
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getchman
 He started itPosts: 9134 Location: New Hampshire |
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Well, I've already lost half of round 3 with my minigame, but luckily this is the only group that has done horribly, so far
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WhiteHairGirls
 Posts: 4713 Location: New York City |
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Opps I forgot to vote this round, but it wouldn't have really made a difference. I only got B-12 wrong this round. Yeah Madoka is up this week
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Last edited by WhiteHairGirls on Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5528 Location: Mexico |
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My only quip is that I was pretty confident on this round for the minigame (I was hoping for a 7/8) and then BAM 8 people vote Taiga in 24 hours. I wish people who're going to send my minigame on a loop would vote early on, so as to not get my hopes up for most of the week, just to crush them in a couple of hours (not that I have any expectations of getting a good rapport on the minigame, group D will be my ruin and I know many of my choices are more guided by personal preference)
Anyway, losing Lain isn't that much of a problem since, judging by this round, Taiga won't have a long run in this tournament -especially considering her opponent for next round-. Mashiro going through though, might prove a bigger problem, since she's getting a lot more support than I had expected, I really thought Masa would do a lot better. |
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Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3966 Location: New York state. |
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Got six out of eight right for this bracket. One of the match losses will hurt me a little for the next round (had Ryouta going for another round), but it's not too significant of a loss for me.
Guess my earlier argument turned the tide for Lain's loss.
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rosebrook11
 Posts: 1181 |
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I only missed B-12. But I'm not all that surprised by that. I'm just really happy that my two nominations made it through that round.
Group C is going to hurt me big time since I had Luke winning a couple more rounds. Oops. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18454 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Yeah, overestimating Ryouta and underestimating Nodame (and the general disdain for Naruto) were my two bonehead plays for the week; I really should have known better in both cases. They weren't my only misses, either, but Mashiro unexpectedly advancing is a hit that I am happy to take and Taiga needed a nearly epic voting reversal to mess me up.
So yeah, this is your chance to gain ground on me, people. Hope you took advantage of it! And now onto the next Group. Hopefully I can recover some dignity there. EDIT: And rosebrook11, you doubtlessly came through this round with a significant lead at this point (I'm now 10 points behind you, for instance), so I don't think you have too much to worry about yet. |
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getchman
He started it Posts: 9134 Location: New Hampshire |
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yup, I did the exact same thing |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18454 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Round 2 Group C is now closed.
Results can be found here. Bye-winners so far are a combined 13/16. Will any go down this time? I’m especially looking forward to seeing how people argue C-11, as I think that one could be the round’s tightest. (But I often seem to be wrong about such predictions, so. . .) Oh, and I'm really not a fan of the pic for Kenshin in his Guide entry. If someone comes up with a better one, I'll definitely consider changing it. Group C-9 Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms vs. Sesshomaru, Inuyasha franchise Group C-10 Rikuo Sakisaka, Time of Eve vs. Shizuku Tsukishima, Whisper of the Hear Group C-11 Yukari “Caroline” Hayasaka, Paradise Kiss vs. Tomoya Okazaki, Clannad Group C-12 Kimihiro Watanuki, xxxHolic franchise vs. Tsubasa Shiina, Figure 17 Group C-13 Hikaru Shindou, Hikaru no Go vs. Ami Kawashima, Toradora! Group C-14 Madoka Kaname, Puella Magi Madoka Magika vs. Watashi (unnamed protagonist), The Tatami Galaxy Group C-15 Kenshin Himura, Ruroni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal vs. Kiki, Kiki’s Delivery Service Group C-16 Seras Victoria, Hellsing Ultimate vs. Shinichi Chiaki, Nodame Cantibile Last edited by Key on Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:15 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber Posts: 3966 Location: New York state. |
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Let's start:
Group C-9: Youko Nakajima (Twelve Kingdoms) Because the Youko Nakajima steamroller waits for no one. 
Group C-10: Shizuku Tsukishima (Whisper of the Heart) The improvements with both don't seem too big here. But considering Shizuku's interest in writing is an inspirational struggle for me considering my own personal interest in writing, I'll give her a vote this round. Group C-11: Tomoya Okazaki (Clannad) While Yukari learning to decide her own future is an interesting story in Paradise Kiss, Tomoya overcoming his personal baggage is a more significant improvement here, despite me not being a Clannad fan). Group C-12: Tsubasa Shiina (Figure 17) Group C-13: Hikaru Shindo (Hikaru no Go) Group C-14: Guess I'll get the witty line I wanted for this bout outta the way: "Vote for Madoka! She died for your sins!" Just kidding! To be honest, I think I find Madoka to be the most overrated of the seeds involved in this tournament. The major moment that contributes to what folks see as improvement from her didn't really get much in the way of development throughout Madoka Magica. For the most part, Madoka is observer to the pitfalls of being a magical girl throughout the series and shows fear over the realities of obtaining such power, never really showing any gradual change in her character throughout much of the show. It isn't until she learns of Homura's origins in the second-to-last episode that she committed to being a magical girl in the first place. I'm not too thrilled at voting for Tatami Galaxy's Watashi, but I really can't find myself voting for Madoka here. Group C-15: Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal) Match C-16: Seras Victoria (Hellsing Ultimate) I'm still miffed with Julian's loss from last round, but have no hard feelings for it (despite it putting a major dent in my bracket for the minigame  ). I've yet to see Hellsing Ultimate, but I do recall that she grew to be a powerful ally for the Hellsing Organization once she came to terms with her new status as a vampire. Adjusting to such predicaments seem more significant to me than Chiaki learning to be less uptight with being an orchestra conductor.
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Group C-9
Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms vs. Sesshomaru, Inuyasha franchise Voting For: Youko Reason: I know it is cliched to vote for her, but I didn't find Sesshomaru to be that great last time so I won't be voting for him to her. Group C-10 Rikuo Sakisaka, Time of Eve vs. Shizuku Tsukishima, Whispers of the Heart Voting For: Shizuku Reason: Rikuo does change quite well, but so does Shizuku. And while he just figures out to be more tolerant, she gains direction in life. There's not much in it but I think Shizuku does enough to stand out to earn my vote. Group C-11 Yukari “Caroline” Hayasaka, Paradise Kiss vs. Tomoya Okazaki, Clannad Voting For: Caroline Reason: Anti-Tomoya vote. I don't want to get into spoilers, but I really didn't like how badly manipulative the later episodes of Clannad After Story were. I do think his development in a critical part of his arc was seriously undermined. Group C-12 Kimihiro Watanuke, xxxHolic franchise vs. Tsubasa Shiina, Figure 17 Voting For: Tsubasa Reason: May change my mind depending on what arguments people put up, but Tsubasa is a very good candidate. Group C-13 Hikaru Shindou, Hikaru no Go vs. Ami Kawashima, Toradora! Voting For: Hikaru Reason: Not often that you see a Shounen protagonist turn from a boy to a man, and of those who did so, Hikaru did it better than most. It would take some very strong, very persuasive arguments for Ami to make me change my mind. Group C-14 Madoka Kaname, Puella Magi Madoka Magika vs. Watashi (unnamed protagonist), The Tatami Galaxy Voting For: Madoka Reason: No contest. Watashi is good, but he's nothing compared to Madoka. He just realises a fundamental truth about happiness and finally sees what had been dangling in front of his eyes. Madoka overcomes incredible pain and grief and despair, matures emotionally, finds a purpose for her wish and then has the gumption to carry it out. Then it only gets more epic from there. Group C-15 Kenshin Himura, Ruroni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal vs. Kiki, Kiki’s Delivery Service Voting For: Kiki Reason: It's a toss-up. I did like how she gained spunk. But this vote is definitely open to change. Group C-16 Seras Victoria, Hellsing Ultimate vs. Shinichi Chiaki, Nodame Cantibile Voting For: Shinichi Reason: I voted against Nodame, but Chiaki is better. He was such a prick but Nodame tamed him, kind of. If new information about Seras surfaces I might considering changing my mind. Last edited by dtm42 on Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:01 am; edited 1 time in total |
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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Group C-9
Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms Heh, sorry, Sesshoumaru; at least you tried hard.  The write-up sums her up pretty well, but I would like to point out just how incredibly unlikeable she is at first, and how likeable she is after her improvement, eventually becoming one of my favorite anime heroines of all time. This is not only a well-written and multifaceted character arc, but it's also one of the biggest improvements in the tournament.
Group C-10 Shizuku Tsukishima, Whisper of the Heart This is one of my favorite character arcs in the Ghibli canon. I think I must have watched the movie at exactly the right time in my life, because it really hit home with the issues I was struggling with at the time. Maybe if you only see this film as an adult, after you've long since gone through what Shizuku goes through, it won't seem like that much (just a "natural part of growing up" as some people have complained about with other characters--something I would argue does not at all lessen the quality of the improvement), but she really struggles with some tough questions about what she wants to do with her life. It's a sweet and realistic coming-of-age story, but it's unique in that it really only details one rather large step in Shizuku's coming-of-age. She realizes how aimless her life has been, starts to find a direction she wants to take her life, and takes the first steps towards accomplishing those goals. The parallel with the story she writes, as well as the fact that her first story isn't some grand masterpiece like any lesser movie might make it, are really quite subtle and beautiful. There's a reason this is my second-favorite Ghibli film. Group C-11 Yukari “Caroline” Hayasaka, Paradise Kiss Refer to my earlier argument for Yukari for my reasoning. Group C-12 Kimihiro Watanuke, xxxHolic franchise Though his development is more impressive in the manga, I still think he is a strong enough contestant to at least continue to the next round. He matures a lot over the course of the series. Group C-13 Hikaru Shindou, Hikaru no Go dtm42 summed it up pretty well. Group C-14 Edit: Madoka Group C-15 Kenshin Himura, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal Group C-16 Shinichi Chiaki, Nodame Cantabile Haven't seen either, but Chiaki's write-up sounds more interesting and more unique. Last edited by rheiders on Sat Mar 16, 2013 1:59 am; edited 1 time in total |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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My minigame for last round was okay, I only missed two ... but until the end, I was only going to miss one.
But again, I didn't lose anyone I expected to make it past the next round so all my loses have been fairly minor. Though I get the feeling I may have overestimated Chihiro's chances here, after seeing the arguments made for/against here, which could really spell disaster for me in Group B later on. Anyway, on to voting! Group C-9 Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms I'm not sure we really need to start campaigning for Youko yet. She starts out pretty terrible and becomes pretty awesome and is definitely the one to beat in this tournament. Group C-10 Shizuku Tsukishima, Whispers of the Heart I haven't seen this one but again, this is more a vote against any character from Time of Eve because I didn't think any of the characterization in that series was that good/compelling. Group C-11 Yukari “Caroline” Hayasaka, Paradise Kiss I haven't seen Clannad and Tomoya's entry makes it look like he does improve a lot. But Yukari does as well and so I'll be going with her for now. Group C-12 Kimihiro Watanuki, xxxHolic franchise (his name is mispelled in Key's post, btw) The best argument I think I can make for Watanuki's improvement is that if he was up against Youko, which he very well may be at one point, I would have to think long and hard about who to vote for. Like Youko, Watanuki started out pretty terrible and annoying but grows so much over the course of the series that he is pretty much unrecognizable. Plus, he ends up spoiler[making a better Yuuko than Yuuko, though I must admit that for me, this does not take much]. After hearing what was said about Tsubasa in the last round, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Watanuki not only deserves to win this match-up but he should win it by a lot. Group C-13 Ami Kawashima, Toradora! What I've heard about Ami makes her sound like the more compelling character here. Group C-14 Madoka Kaname, Puella Magi Madoka Magika While I do think Madoka's chances were being vastly overrated in nominations (I really don't think she has a chance in hell of winning this thing), she is a strong enough contender to get my vote for this round. Group C-15 Kenshin Himura, Ruroni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal Group C-16 Shinichi Chiaki, Nodame Cantibile Reading Seras' guide entry last round make me cringe and remember why I never got far in Hellsing. I didn't vote for her then and I'm certainly not going to vote for her against Chiaki, who is another one of the characters I consider to be the strongest in the competition (perhaps not to Youko or Watanuki's level but definitely close). |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18454 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Have some dead time at work, so I might as well vote now.
Group C-9 Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms vs. Sesshomaru, Inuyasha franchise Although Sesshomaru deserved to win the first round (and I like how his relationship with Rin is at the end of The Final Act, which I just finished last week), I probably wouldn't have supported him this round even against lesser competition. And Youko is a top contender. Group C-10 Rikuo Sakisaka, Time of Eve vs. Shizuku Tsukishima, Whispers of the Hear Support for Shizuku has been stronger and more convincing so far. I am open to being swayed here, however. Group C-11 Yukari “Caroline” Hayasaka, Paradise Kiss vs. Tomoya Okazaki, Clannad Tomoya's improvement is being underrated here so far, I think. His growth comes in two stages; the first time around he grows from being a delinquent into someone actively involved in helping others and having a serious enough relationship to eventually get married. After he has a big fall, he eventually recovers to become a responsible father, and in the process learns to accept his father and appreciate why his father acted the way he did. The stunt the franchise pulls at its end, which I've always felt cheapens the second series as a whole, doesn't bite into this development enough to hurt his chances here. Group C-12 Kimihiro Watanuke, xxxHolic franchise vs. Tsubasa Shiina, Figure 17 Boy, this one is a toss-up for me. So far I'm finding Kimihiro's supporting arguments more convincing, but again, I'm open to being convinced otherwise here. Group C-13 Hikaru Shindou, Hikaru no Go vs. Ami Kawashima, Toradora! I like Ami and definitely feel that she improved enough to make it this far, but Hikaru sounds like he has a more compelling case. Group C-14 Madoka Kaname, Puella Magi Madoka Magika vs. Watashi (unnamed protagonist), The Tatami Galaxy Madoka stand behind only Taiga as the most overrated character in the Nominations phase (and keep in mind that I designated PMMM as my #1 anime release for 2012, so it's not like I have anything against the series), but I'll still give her an edge here because the other contestant doesn't impress me much, either. Granted, most of Madoka's true improvement comes in one late spurt, but the rest of the series meticulously laid the foundation for that step up. I also think it's easy to underrate the extent to which developing the conviction to act on her feelings (transforming her from a wishy-washy crybaby into spoiler[someone capable of making a wish that allows her to transcend time and space]) changes her for the better. Group C-15 Kenshin Himura, Ruroni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal vs. Kiki, Kiki’s Delivery Service I've only seen one episode of T&B, but that's enough to convince me that Kenshin is worthy to advance here. Group C-16 Seras Victoria, Hellsing Ultimate vs. Shinichi Chiaki, Nodame Cantabile Seras was a pretty pathetic vampire at first, but she has progressed well beyond that by the later stages of Ultimate. I feel that matches Shinichi's reformation (of sorts). |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Madoka starts the series being so indecisive that she needs help picking out accesories for her before going to school. By the end, she's acheived a degree of determination and self-confidence that she not only refuses to obey her the explicit orders of her mother - the person she idolizes and respects most in the world - not to go out into the catastrophic event striking their town, and even manages to convince her that it's the right thing to do.
This isn't a sudden change, either; every few episodes, Madoka becomes ready to make her wish, but is stopped before she can, and new facts are revealed that cause her to reconsider. No one so far is actually voting for Watashi, they're just voting against Madoka because they believe she's overrated here. |
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