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Best World-Building Tournament: Minigame.


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abunai
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Joined: 05 Mar 2004
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Location: 露命
PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:14 am Reply with quote
I'm a great fan of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, and I have often gone on record as saying that it is the One True Manga, besides which all others pale. I simply love it to bits.

But what makes the manga (and the two all-too-brief anime adaptations) so great is the interaction between the characters, against a background that is ultimately secondary in importance. The world is fascinating and fully-realised, but it is not the important part of the story -- the characters are.

So much of the world of YKK is {understated / suggested / implied / sketched-in} that it really can't be said to be a story where world-building is of great importance. The mood of the series (the decline and impending extinction of Humanity) is important to the story, and in this sense, the world plays a large part in the story. But it's the characters that make the story, not the backdrop.

But as an example of world-building, I think it is too subtle and understated to satisfy the level of detail that a world-building tournament requires. It pains me to say that. You have no idea how much. But there it is.

- abunai
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4158
PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:48 am Reply with quote
abunai wrote:

But as an example of world-building, I think it is too subtle and understated to satisfy the level of detail that a world-building tournament requires. It pains me to say that. You have no idea how much. But there it is.

- abunai


I'd think just 4 OVA episodes made out of a ten year manga series would be a greater deciding factor.

As a character series, the importance is the interaction between android and human and the rise and fall of each - certainly part of its world building and the centerpiece of the plot {Asimov himself made a career out of it} - and its depth, delicate handling and framing it through one naïve android makes it a work to be admired. However, as an anime adaptation, it stinks.
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farichada



Joined: 04 Feb 2009
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Location: Wisconsin, USA
PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 8:03 am Reply with quote
I'm going to have agree with the great and honorable Abunai on this one. While there definitely is subtle development and great charm associated with particular settings within the world, world development is not even close to being a top priority in YKK. It is also unfortunate that we only have four OVAs to work with combined with the fact that people are going to have a hard time separating the stronger merits of the manga from the anime if they have consumed both.

While ALO also has its own flaws, it is the stronger of the two. And despite not having an entire season devoted to it, ALO actually has more screen time than the YKK world. Ideally, I would like both to stay, but if one has to go, it needs to be YKK.

Lastly, I think this process has been drawn out enough, so I am also placing a vote against YKK for the reasons stated above.

Voting Against


World of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 3:10 pm Reply with quote
The knock against YKK's setting seems firm enough (especially with the extra negative vote) to make a clear decision, then. ALO will be the last qualifier.

I'm not on the computer which has all my tourney stuff right now, so I won't be able to post the final update until later tonight. However, voting is now functionally closed. If there's not a clean break on where the byes should fall then I may briefly reopen voting for candidates around the break point.

Looking at my work load for the next couple of weeks, the earliest that the tournament proper will start is probably the last week of August.
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Key
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:34 pm Reply with quote
Looks like we're going to need a tiebreaker on the bye line.

Right now I have the following nine candidates at a score of 7, which is where the cut-off for byes is going to be. Only seven of these will earn byes. But which seven? Register opinions on which are the most or least deserving of the lot or add a vote to a candidate that you didn't previously vote for. (I have listed who voted for which in case people forget whether or not they supported a particular candidate.)

Aincard, Sword Art Online: Key, farichada, rheiders, Tris8, WhiteHairGrls, rosebrook11, Nayu
Neo-Verona, Romeo x Juliet: Key, MorwenLaicor, marieantoinette, WhiteHairGrls, rosebrook11, Keichitsu0305, One-Eye
Noein Multiverse, Noein: Ghost_Wheel, Aylinn, classicalzawa, Galap, One-Eye, Tris8, willag
Roanapur, Black Lagoon franchise: Key, rosebrook11, Aylinn, farichada, Keichitsu0305, One-Eye, willag
Saiunkoku, The Story of Saiunkoku: st_owly, rheiders, marieantoinette, Key, MORH, Keichitsu0305, willag
Soul Society, Bleach franchise: Key, rheiders, mow123, rosebrook11, Tris8, One-Eye, CrowLia
World of Beast Player Erin, Beast Player Erin: Aylinn, Keichitsu0305, Olliff, Furudanuki, errinundra, Tris8, willag
World of Natsume's BOF, Natsume's Book of Friends: Aylinn, rheiders, MORH, Tris8, Keichitsu0305, SpasticMnnow, CrowLia
World of One Piece, One Piece: Thatguy3331, rosebrook11, Olliff, MORH, Keichitsu0305, SereneChaos, willag
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Tris8



Joined: 30 Oct 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:44 pm Reply with quote
They are all good candidates, but having to pick a least deserving I'd pick Natsume's Book of Friends. One of my only complaints about the series has always been that it passes up most opportunities to really dive into the world.

It's much harder to pick a 2nd least deserving among these candidates. For now I'll vote for Roanapur of Black Lagoon.
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rheiders



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 12:42 am Reply with quote
I didn't realize I hadn't voted for the world of One Piece, so I guess I'll rectify that now.
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Aylinn



Joined: 18 Nov 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:30 am Reply with quote
Soul Society seems to be the weakest of them. Initially the idea of an afterlife with shinigami is interesting, but from little of what I have read and from what I heard, the author has lost control over this world and everything becomes more and more ridicules as it goes on.

One Piece is a series about which I have heard a lot of good things, so I will vote for it.
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Galap
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:42 am Reply with quote
I obviously think that Noein is the strongest since I voted for it Razz

Also, though I haven't seen it, I'll vote for Beast Player Erin since on face it seems more interesting to me than the others.

As for the weakest, I'd say it's probably One Piece, because like other series I've laid claims against, It's a little too much random crap to be a cohesive thing.

On another note, though the discussion and its specific relevance to the shows' nomination ended a little while ago, I'd like to say that Now and Then, Here and There is one of my favorite series, definitely in my top 5, but In my opinion the weakest aspect of the show was that the setting wasn't extremely interesting. I still voted for it because it was more interesting than the other entries, and is pretty cool in its own right (Hellywood was pretty interesting).

Also, with Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, having not read the manga and only seen the OVAs, I'd actually venture to say that I think that in the context of the anime alone, the setting is much more important than the characters. I don't remember extremely well what happened in terms of the characters in that story (though they were decently well developed and interesting in their own way), but I'll never forget the imagery of the half submerged streetlights turning themselves on over the night sea, and the biocamera with an eyeball lens that interfaced with alpha through the mouth and stored its images on a 'memory card' made out of some kind of resin. I already voted for it, so I can't support it more, but that's the reasoning behind it.
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abunai
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:59 am Reply with quote
Since I have already jumped in on this, I guess I'll add my two cents.

As a tie-breaker, I would like to see one of the following:

Roanapur, Black Lagoon franchise

Roanapur is basically the modern-day updated version of a storytelling classic: the pirate sanctuary, the den of thieves, the robbers' haven. In many ways, it is a cardboard cutout version of a SE Asian port city, but what makes it unique is the way that civil authority has entirely disappeared, to be replaced by the influence of the various armed-and-dangerous cliques in the city. This is what gives the city depth, and makes it an interesting exercise in world-building.

Soul Society, Bleach franchise

The Bleach series and its spinoffs has some serious issues with storytelling coherence and quality, but the world-building can't be faulted. Soul Society is a remarkably detailed and fascinating view of the Afterlife, and serves as a perfect backdrop for the otherwise-boring three-episodes-per-duel shounen action.

World of Beast Player Erin, Beast Player Erin

Another story which is really all about the characters, but this time set against a remarkably well-realised and internally consistent world, presented with charm and insight.

World of One Piece, One Piece

The world of One Piece is wacky and insane, and a freakish blend of drama and comedy -- but it works. The world, convoluted as it is, is coherent and makes sense on its own terms.

Anyway... if you're going to tie-break, make it one of these.

- abunai
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Tris8



Joined: 30 Oct 2009
Posts: 2114
Location: Where the rain is.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 11:55 pm Reply with quote
I will vote for the World of One Piece and Neo-Verona, and withdraw my previous vote for the World of Natsume's Book of Friends (but not vote against).

So 4 spots out of 7 are accounted for (Roanapur, One Piece, Neo-Verona, and Beast Player Erin). We just need 3 more vote-ups or 1 more vote down.
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Tris8



Joined: 30 Oct 2009
Posts: 2114
Location: Where the rain is.
PostPosted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:27 pm Reply with quote
I was going to wait for someone else to break the tie, but I'd like to get this party rolling so I'll withdraw my previous vote for The Soul Society of Bleach, as I think it is the weakest remaining.
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Key
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 12:06 am Reply with quote
The final list of tournament qualifiers, including which ones get byes, is now on the OP. When I get to the point of posting the pairings for the minigame then I'll either annotate that list with links to the write-ups or provide an Excel file which has those links.

However, the earliest that could possibly happen is Sunday evening EST. Between a new job, a new college course (teachers in my state have to periodically take courses to renew their licenses), and a 'con coming to town this weekend, I simply won't have any free time to work on it before then.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13240
PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 12:11 am Reply with quote
Heh, I totally neglected this.

Just wanted to point out that the land in Scrapped Princess is actually Dustvin.
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Dorcas_Aurelia



Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 5344
Location: Philly
PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:28 pm Reply with quote
Rules for ANN's Best World-Building Tournament Mini-game
Submissions:
To enter the mini-game, fill out and send me a completed bracket. Brackets can be emailed to me at Sean_A_Rooney [at] yahoo [dot] com. Entries may be submitted up until the tournament starts.

Detailed Instructions
1. Download the bracket spreadsheet file that Key provides.
2. Copy the names of the characters you expect to win into the respective fields.
3. Rename and save the spreadsheet with your username in the file name.
4. Email the completed spreadsheet as an attachment to me, preferably including "minigame" in the email topic.


Scoring:
First round - each correct guess is worth 2 point.
Second round - each correct guess is worth 2 points.
Third round - each correct guess is worth 3 points.
Fourth round - each correct guess is worth 4 points.
Fifth round - each correct guess is worth 6 points.
Semifinal round - each correct guess is worth 8 points.
Final round - a correct guess is worth 10 points.

Prizes:
First place will receive $150 worth of anime, manga, and/or related products of their choice.
Second place will receive $100 worth of anime, manga, and/or related products of their choice.
Third place will receive $50 worth of anime, manga, and/or related products of their choice.
In the event of a tie, the prizes will be split evenly (e.g. if the results produce a first place winner and a tie for second, first place receives $150, the two in second receive $75 each).

Eligibility:
Anyone may enter. In order to receive the full prize, you must be able to provide a mailing address to which the prize can be delivered. Limit one entry per person.
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