Forum - View topicMost Improved Character Tournament: Participants/Minigame
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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For those who may not have participated in our forum tournaments before, they are head-to-head single-elimination tournaments which generally use standard tournament brackets. The first step in setting up a new tournament - deciding on the topic - has already been done, and Most Improved Character is the concept that has been voted on. The next step is to choose a suitable field of either 64 or 128 candidates (depending on the number of worthy nominations). That is the purpose of this thread.
Eligibility Standards The focus of this tournament is on characters that improve themselves over the course of their source title/franchise. This should entail one or more of the following cases, although other good concepts may be considered: *The character starts out as unlikable but through character development and proving him/her/itself gradually becomes likable. *The character starts out as weak and/or flawed but gradually overcomes initial deficiencies to become stronger and/or more respectable. *The character starts out as a villain but genuinely "sees the light" and eventually becomes a good guy. *The character starts with basic powers/skills and gradually develops them to an impressive degree. *The character initially has an ill-defined personality but this is remedied as the title/franchise progresses. Please note that progressive, credible improvement is the key guideline here. We are not looking for characters that suddenly change like flipping on a switch or were always respectable/highly-skilled. Any non-hentai movie or OVA that is available outside Japan in some form (fansub, legal stream, official hard copy release, etc.) is eligible to be considered; since we're doing this process at the end of a Japanese TV season, there will be no restriction about completed/not completed series this time, though characters from ongoing two-cour series would be weak choices at this point. If the character appears in multiple titles in the same franchise, progression over the course of the whole franchise may be considered; be sure to differentiate between a singular title and the franchise as a whole in these cases, however. 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 (or 64 if we get enough candidates to justify a field of 128) will automatically advance to the tournament. All remaining nominees will go into a closed run-off for the remaining spots. This step may be skipped if a clear cut-off at or around 64 (or 128) 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 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. 6a. 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 of the character 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. 9. Only three characters from a given franchise may make the final field. If a franchise has more than three nominations, only the top three performers make the cut. (In the case of complicated franchise like Gundam titles, each "universe" will count as a separate franchise.) Write-Up Each nominee must have his/her/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 characters that they may not know. Each write-up must include the following: 1. The character's name in standard English format. 2. The source series or franchise. 3. A basic description of the character and the character's role within the source title. 4. A "How This Character Improves" description. 5. A link to a .jpg format picture which represents the series, which should be put at the end of the entry. These pics should be 300-500 pixels in width and 200-500 pixels in height; clear anything outside of those dimensions with me first via PM. The link should be at the end of the entry. 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 and font standards.
Let the nominations begin! Final Participant List First-Round Byes: Chagum, Moribito – Guardian of the Spirit Chihiro, Spirited Away Daikichi Kawachi, Bunny Drop Eva Heinemann, Monster Fakir, Princess Tutu Hikaru Shindo, Hikaru no Go Kenshin Himura, Ruroni Kenshin: Trust/Betrayal Kimihiro Watanuki, xxxHolic franchise Kyoko Mogami, Skip Beat! Madoka Kaname, Puella Magi Madoka Magica Masakazu Misaki, Time of Eve Masanosuke Akitsu, House of Five Leaves Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto franchise Piccolo Jr., Dragonball franchise Ringo Oginome, Mawaru Penguindrum Rue*, Princess Tutu Saber, Fate/stay night Satou Tatsuhiro, Welcome to the NHK Sawako Kuronuma, Kimi ni Todoke Scar, FMA: Brotherhood Shinichi Chiaki, Nodame Cantabile Shizuku Tsukishima, Whisper of the Heart Shoukei, The Twelve Kingdoms Simon, Gurren Lagann Taichi Mashima, Chihayafuru Taiga Aisaka, Toradora! Tomoya Okazaki, Clannad franchise Tsume, Wolf's Rain Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon Waver Velvet, Fate/Zero Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms Yukino Miyazawa, Kare Kano Other Participants: Aido Hanabusa*, Vampire Knight Ami Kawashima, Toradora! Ayaka Steiger, Kurau Phantom Memory Ayato Naoi, Angel Beats! Bart Garsus, Vandread Byakuya Kuchiki, Bleach Chi, Chobits Clare, Claymore Erio Touwa, Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl Eureka, Eureka Gaara, Naruto franchise Gauche, Gauche the Cellist Haruka Suzumiya, Rumbling Hearts Haruko, Air Haruyuki Arita, Accel World Hibiki Tokai, Vandread Hiei, Yu Yu Hakusho Hikaru Hitachiin, Ouran High School Host Club Ichiko Sakura, Binbougami Ga! Inuyasha, Inuyasha Jean Valjean, Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette Julian Mintz, Legend of the Galactic Heroes Jun Sakurada, Rozen Maiden Kenji Ichijouji, Digimon Adventure 02 Kiki, Kiki’s Delivery Service Lain Iwakura, Serial Experiments Lain Leina Vance, Queen’s Blade Luke Fon Fabre, Tales of the Abyss Mari Wakatabe, Blue Drop Marlene Angel, Blue Gender Mashiro blan de Windbloom, My-Otome Megumi “Nodame” Noda, Nodame Cantibile Mima Kirigoe, Perfect Blue Momo, A Letter To Momo Mytho, Princess Tutu Nanami Kiryuu, Revolutionary Girl Utena Naota Nandaba, FLCL Noriko Takaya, Gunbuster Porco Rosso, Porco Rosso Prince Siddhartha, Buddha: The Great Departure Renji Abari, Bleach Renton Thurston, Eureka 7 Rika Nonaka, Digimon Tamers Rikuo Sakisaka, Time of Eve Ryouta Sakamoto, BTOOOM! Ryuki Shi, The Story of Saiunkoku Saji Crossroad, Gundam 00 Seras Victoria, Hellsing Sesshomaru, Inuyasha Suzu, The Twelve Kingdoms Talho Yuki, Eureka 7 Tamaki Kawazoe, Bamboo Blade Tsubasa Shiina, Figure 17 Tsukimi Kurashita, Princess Jellyfish Vegeta, Dragonball Z Waibusuke Jinnouchi, Summer Wars Wakana Sakai, Tari Tari Watashi (unnamed protag), The Tatami Galaxy Yakumo Fuji, 3x3 Eyes Yuji Kaido, Blue Gender Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka, Paradise Kiss Yuu Gotou, Noein Yuuko Kanoe, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia Total Participants: 96 Official Tournament Bracket Cut List: Homura Akemi, PMMM Soichiro Arima, Kare Kano Yuka Sugimoto, The Twelve Kingdoms Reki, Haibane Renmei Dio Brando, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Eiji Kanda, Antique Bakery Hagumi Hanamoto, Honey and Clover Himari Takakura, Mawaru Penguindrum Ippo Makunochi, Fighting Spirit Kanon Memphis/Hazama, Fafner Koshiro Saeki, Koi Kaze Nishi*, Mind Game Ruri Hoshino, Martian Successor Nadesico Tsukasa, .hack//SIGN Yuuya Bridges, Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Ecl Dewey, Nurse Angel Ririka SOS Garrod Ran, After War Gundam X Honoka Sawada, Chibi Devil Kahoko Hino, La Cordo d'Oro Lamia Lovelss, Super Robot Wars OG Mikono Suzushiro, Aquarion EVOL Miyori , Miyori no Mori Setsuna Seiei, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Shuji, Saikano Sojiro, Ruroni Kenshin Takamine Kiyomaru, Zatch Bell Tetsuro Hoshino, Galaxy Express 999 Last edited by Key on Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:26 pm; edited 8 times in total |
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~~EpiC~~
Posts: 243 |
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So I'm just going to go ahead and say the facts here, Youko SHOULD win this tournament. Like, period. Most unlikable person in the world becomes one of the most likable, strongest, and most admirable characters of all time. Oh and did I forget to mention that she goes from this wimpy shell of a thing that can barely speak to being able to give what is quite likely the greatest speech in anime history? Well in case I did, there it is.
Vote For Youko Nakajima The Twelve Kingdoms Actually, quite a few Twelve Kingdoms characters qualify for this. |
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Vaisaga
Posts: 13240 |
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Nomination:
Noriko Takaya, Aim for the Top! Gunbuster. Who she is: The daughter of a famous late Admiral, Noriko goes to a special school with the goal of following her father into space. While she has good physical abilities, she's terrible at piloting giant robots and is generally seen as some one only there due to her family ties. When she is one of only two chosen to go into space, she faces bullying from her peers but over comes it with hard work and guts. She heads into space where she must train further in order to fight off the apocalyptic threat of the Space Monsters. How she improves: Noriko starts off as something of a lost cause. She's not very talented and is prone to tears. When chosen to go into space she tried to get out of that responsibility, but her mentor taught her the value of hard work and guts. But even then, Noriko still relied on others to validate her worth. After her beloved onee-sama ends their partnership, Noriko takes it very hard. Immediately afterwards she has her first fight against the Space Monsters and can do little else but cower in her cockpit. Again she tries to better herself but when the next battle comes along she's left on the ship, helpless to do anything. As things look hopeless you can pin point the exact second when Noriko grows a spine and heads out in the incomplete Gunbuster to save the day. After that she becomes some one who hot bloods with the best of them and even brings her onee-sama back to her senses. Her deeds are so great that they know of her even 12,000 years into the future. Picture |
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504NOSON2
Subscriber
Posts: 647 Location: Body:Santa Barbara, CA ~ Heart:New Orleans, LA |
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Satou Tatsuhiro, Welcome to the NHK
Who he is: Satou is a single, unemployed 22 year old man in Japanese society, who is also an otaku, with a particular affinity for moe. He, also, happens to be an hikikomori, which is a phenomenon in Japan characterized by acute social withdrawal. He suspects that a secret organization has conspired to produce a world teeming with hikikomori. This is just how delusional he is. He desperately wants to free himself from psychological shackles. Problem is: he is virtually allergic to fresh air and sunlight. How he improved: Eventually, Satou begins to gradually leave his home to immerse himself back into society. (With the assistance of Misaki, of course). By the end of the series, he's destroyed his delusions, conquered his social disorder, started attending college, and formed a precious bond with someone who (indirectly) made that all possible. Picture |
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marie-antoinette
Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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Nominations
Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon Who she is: The reborn Princess of the Moon Kingdom, who was re-incarnated in order to defend this solar system from all threats and there are quite a few of them (at least one each season, sometimes two!). In the name of the moon, she will punish you! How she improved: Usagi is fairly well-known for being one of the worst crybabies/complainers in anime, as well as being not the brightest of lightbulbs. However, this aspect of her is mainly from the earlier seasons of the show, particularly the first one. By the end of Sailor Stars, Usagi has grown not only in years, moving from middle school to high school, but also in maturity as well, as she becomes a strong and caring leader and maternal figure to more than just her actual future daughter. Picture Tsume, Wolf's Rain Who he is: A literal lone wolf, Tsume leads a ragtag gang of humans who steal food and supplies in order to survive. When initially approached by the other wolves, he is hostile, particular towards Kiba, and he is dismissive of the idea of Paradise, though he does come along, saying it is because he was ready to move on from the city anyway. How he improved: Tsume can be a very grating character at the very beginning of the show and the constant hostility between him and Kiba as both of them battle it out to be the alpha wolf gets old really fast. However, when Tsume eventually backs down and takes up the position in the pack of beta wolf, he becomes a much more interesting character and slowly becomes not only a productive pack member and friend to the others but the character who probably evokes the most emotional reaction from the audience in his infamous speech near the end, words he would never have dreamed of saying as he was in the beginning. Picture Voting for: Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms Youko was on my to-nominate list, though I expected that someone would beat me too it. I'm going to have to watch the end of Welcome to the NHK to know if I can get behind Satou being here. |
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Aylinn
Posts: 1684 |
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Nomination:
Eva Heinemann, Monster Who She Is: Doctor Tenma's fiancée and the spoiled daughter of the Director of Eisler Memorial Hospital who initially is interested in Tenma, only because he is a promising and gifted doctor. When Tenma's decision to save a little boy seems to irrevocably damage his career prospects, Eva has no qualms about leaving him. After the murder of her father she tries to make up with Tenma, who, however, rejects her. This experience makes her extremely bitter and although she does not believe that Tenma has murdered her father, she turns over evidence against him in order to see his suffering. Later on, after the things that she considered important are ripped away from her, she sinks into a deep depression and puts all her energy into bringing down Tenma, who she unreasonably blames for her misery. Only after forging a relationship with a man who is order to kill her, but refuses to do it does she begin to reflect on her life. Once she realizes what a vulture she has become, she slowly starts to change into a better person. How She Improves: Being an extremely spoiled and selfish person with views that decent people would take issue with, Eva is one of the most unsympathetic characters for the most part of the series. She is a hateful character, yet so well-designed is she that there is something delicious about her, which makes it very difficult to feel indifferent about her. People either find her utterly loathsome or are impressed by her characterization. Her initial characterization, albeit unlikeable, is very good and enables viewers to understand why she is the way she is and why she needed to get through all the hard time before she begins to be introspective, realise her shortcomings, and change into a better and likeable person. Moreover, her improvement is essential to the underlying and uplifting message about humans which the series conveys. Picture Vote For: Youko Nakajima The Twelve Kingdoms Last edited by Aylinn on Sun Jan 06, 2013 7:19 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber
Posts: 3966 Location: New York state. |
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Kind of dread running this tournament since the winner seems quite obvious from the get-go from Key's nomination. But I guess I'll take part in it, though this is an unusual time to start on it.
In any event, I'll start up with this nominee: Saber, Fate/ Stay Night Who She Is: Saber is a Servant, a spirit summoned by the Holy Grail to participate in the Holy Grail War to make a wish by fighting against six other Servants and is paired with a Master, a human magus who supplies her the magic she needs to fight and maintain her body throughout the war. Being a gender swapped take on the legendary ruler of Camelot, King Arthur, Saber wishes to use the Grail's power to undo her rule of Camelot as she holds feelings of inferiority and guilt over her rule of the kingdom leading to Camelot's downfall. For the Grail War, Saber is paired with a young man named Shiro Emiya whose inexperience as a magus and limited supply of magic limit Saber's fighting potential in the war. How She Improves: While well-mannered and loyal to Shiro's orders throughout the series, Saber starts off as an emotionally reserved and seemingly cold character as she views herself as a tool for her Master to use so she can fulfill her wish. Despite this, she does internally feel frustrated at her abilities being weak thanks to Shiro's lack of experience as a magus and sees his actions of protecting her from enemy threats as reckless and threatening her chances of winning the Holy Grail War. As the series progresses, Saber comes to understand that Shiro views her as a human companion instead of a tool and that her time as King Arthur had taken away her emotions as a human. Her experiences with Shiro lead Saber to become more open in expressing herself to those she trusts and she develops feelings of love for the young man as the series progresses. Image Last edited by Ggultra2764 on Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:19 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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January 7th is when my workload goes mega-heavy again (and it will likely stay that way for the rest of that month), so I want to get everything set up before then. And while I do expect that Youko will be one of the (if not the) favorite, initial favorites often don't win these tournaments. That's where the fun factor is. Oh, and I'll vote for on Noriko, Usagi, and Saber - all worthy inclusions. |
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Da Games Elite
Posts: 124 |
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This sounds like fun!
Nomination: Simon, Gurren Lagann Who is he? A digger from an underground village, Simon starts out as a timid little boy who feels powerless to resist the inevitability that he will one day die when the roof of his village collapses. After being forced to confront a group of tyrannical beast-men who rule the surface world, Simon and his bro Kamina are forced to fight the enemy in a giant robot. Simon is far overshadowed by his crazy awesome friend. Over time, and after the death of his good friend, Simon becomes the world's savior, and arguably more bad-ass than any anime character ever to exist. How he improves? Simon starts out as a frail little digger. He feels insecure in himself, everything is out of his reach, and his main sense of value comes from his best friend. He is at first forced to fight, even though he is afraid. Then, after getting over his fears, his friend dies, forcing him to determine his self-worth on his own. Once he saves the world once, he's forced to do it a second time--though this time, instead of fighting a terrestrial power, he chooses to battle a cosmic entity that even the guy he beat in the first arc couldn't fight. Now, Simon helps add value to other people's lives, AND ends up doing some crazy-awesome stuff on screen! He goes from a little digger to brawling a God! Also, if possible, i'd like to vote for Noriko and Usagi. They need to be in this tourney. |
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marie-antoinette
Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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The heavy favourites have quite frequently not run, so I'm not too worried about having one. And even when they have won, it often hasn't been by all that much (at least, IIRC, Balsa did come close to besting Spike in the Cool/Badass tourney).
I have a decent list of contenders to add to nomination, though I'm going to try and not spend my entire Christmas Day writing them up |
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber
Posts: 3966 Location: New York state. |
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My biggest fear with this tourney is a scenario similar to the Best Team/ Organization tourney when a character(s) most unanimous with the category (Section 9 of GITS: Stand Alone Complex) dominates throughout the whole thing and kills much of the fun out of the tournament. But we will see how things go, I suppose. Anyway, here is my next nominee: Rika Nonaka/ Makino, Digimon Tamers Who She Is: Rika is a 10-year old (12 years in the American dub) girl involved in what she believes to be a game as she gains her Digimon partner, Renamon, and fights other Digimon to make Renamon stronger. Strongly committed to the game and fiercely independent for her age, Rika does not trust others and views Renamon as a tool more than a companion like Takuto and Henry do for their Digimon partners. However as Rika becomes more involved with Digimon, her outlook on them and her life changes significantly as she comes to realize the true workings of what she thought was a mere game. How She Improves: Rika starts off as a cold, aloof character who prefers to work alone and commits herself strongly to battling other Digimon with her partner, Renamon, and even views the Digimon partners of Takuto and Henry as her enemies. This strong commitment to what she thinks is a game led to a strained relationship with her mother and grandmother, and she views Renamon as her tool instead of a companion. However when Rika comes to learn that Digimon exist no differently from living beings and close bonds are necessary to make Renamon evolve into her stronger forms, the details make Rika disillusioned over her personal beliefs and this leads to a temporary rift in her bond with Renamon when she further isolates herself. Once Rika comes to grips with these new details, she comes to increasingly trust in others as Tamers progresses, showing great concern for Impmon and Jeri compared to earlier episodes, and comes to accept Renamon as a close companion to her. Image Supporting: Yoko Nakajima (Twelve Kingdoms) Simon (Gurren Lagann) Last edited by Ggultra2764 on Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:19 am; edited 1 time in total |
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rosebrook11
Posts: 1181 |
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I'm not the best writer (I'm a science student) so my descriptions might not be as well-composed as others.
Taiga Aisaka Toradora Who she is: A high-school junior with a no-nonsense attitude and a mean temper. She received the nickname of “Palmtop Tiger” because of her small stature and her impulsive behavior. She begins a unlikely friendship with Ryuji because of a misunderstanding and the two of them decide to mutually help one another with their crushes on their respective best friends. How she improves: Taiga improves in multiple facets. The audience learns more about her past and her family situation that puts her current behavior in a new light. However, at the same time through her relationship and friendship with Ryuji, Taiga gradually begins to warm up to those around her and spark new friendships with her classmates. She learns to be more open to those around her without having to resort to snapping at them. At the start of the series, she treats Ryuji as a dog/manservant, but as the series progresses she treats him better as their friendship and her feelings develop. http://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/characters/10/46644.jpg Supporting Rika (Dijimon Tamers) Saber (Fate/Stay Night) Usagi (Sailor Moon) Tsume (Wolf's Rain) |
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CrowLia
Posts: 5528 Location: Mexico |
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It's the first tournament since I joined the forums and it sounds very fun so I'll give it a shot
Nominate: Ichiko Sakura Binbougami Ga! Who she is: Ichiko is a girl with an immense amount of good fortune, she's beautiful, intelligent, athletic and rich, very-well liked by guys and envied by girls. But she is distrusting of people and un-empathic towards others' situations. When she is confronted by a goddess of misfortune who tells her that she's seeping away all the good fortune around her, making everyone in her surroundings miserable and unlucky, she doesn't care, and refuses to give up her good fortune for the sake of others. How she improves: With the indirect guidance of Momiji (the goddess of Misfortune) she begins caring for other people and learns to be empathic towards their feelings. Gradually she becomes less self-centered and distrustful, she opens herself to more people and is able to make friends for whom she is willing to sacrifice her good fortune http://i45.tinypic.com/2dhvd49.jpg Voting for: Simon (Gurren Lagann) Tsume (Wolf's Rain) Last edited by CrowLia on Tue Dec 25, 2012 5:59 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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WhiteHairGirls
Posts: 4713 Location: New York City |
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Question, Can I include major spoilers under spoilers when I say how she improved or should I just say the basic spoilerless stuff in how she improved? Because I really do not want to ruin the end for people who didn't watch it. I will do the basic version now and edit it later if necessary.
Nomination: Madoka Kaname, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Who She Is: She is your average 14 year old with a loving family and a best friend. Her life takes a turn when she is introduced to the magical girl life by Homura and a strange creature, Kyubey. Kyubey keeps on insisting that Madoka become a magical girl to fight the witches. Eventually another magical girl, Mami, convinces Madoka to become a magical girl. But after Mami's incident, Madoka realizes the horrors of becoming a magical girl and thus begins her inner struggles of contemplating if becoming a magical girl is the right or wrong thing to do. How She Improves: Throughout the series, Madoka is portrayed as a scared, average protagonist who can't seem to find the courage to try and fix the problems of the magical girl and witches. Even though Kyubey insists that she would be the most powerful magical girl, Madoka has her doubts in trusting him. Eventually she musters enough courage and decides to become a magical girl. Her wish was a selfless wish, as she basically saved every previous magical girl from facing the terrible fate that was placed upon them. She went from an average protagonist to an omniscient savior that exists for all time. http://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/characters/10/135701.jpg Supporting: Taiga from Toradora Last edited by WhiteHairGirls on Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:12 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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rheiders
Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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Some great nominations already.
Voting for: Youko Nakajima (The Twelve Kingdoms) Tsume (Wolf's Rain) Simon (Gurren Lagann) Eva Heinemann (Monster) |
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