Mahou Sensei Negima! is an ongoing manga series authored by Ken Akamatsu. After finishing Love Hina, a very successful harem comedy manga, he wanted to try his hand at something different. While Negima starts as the same genre as Love Hina, it evolves into a shounen action kind of story without losing the characteristics of a harem comedy. The result is a story which is able to mix those two genres smoothly and create something innovative. It can please both fans of harem comedy and fans of shounen action, yet also please those who aren’t fans of either of those two genres.

Negima started publication on 02/26/2003. As of today, it has 267 chapters and 27 bound volumes released.  It’s released weekly, but with a break week (a week with no chapter being released) between each 4 weeks with releases.

• The Story

The story starts with Negi Springfield, a 10 year old Welsh boy, graduating from his magic school. To continue their training to become a Magister Magi (something like a Master of Mages) each student receives a task after graduation. Negi receives the unreasonable task of being a teacher in Japan. That’s how he ends up being an English teacher for a girls’ middle school, and the homeroom teacher for Mahora Academy’s class 2-A: a second year class with thirty-one 14-year old girls.

Negi and the 2-A girls

Mahou Sensei Negima! starts with lighthearted themes:  a little slice of life, a little harem comedy, a lot of fanservice.  All three are on display as soon as he arrives at Mahora Academy.  He has a really bad start with Asuna, who happens to be not only his student, but also one of the two girls he will have to share a room with. Asuna, who already isn’t fond of children, gets an even worse impression of Negi through a succession of unfortunate events usually triggered by Negi’s naïve personality.  Things only get worse when she discovers he is a mage, something he is supposed to keep as a secret from all his students.

There are a few other students who, for their own reasons, don’t take kindly to Negi. And while most of the class likes him, they can’t take him seriously because of his personality, not to mention the fact that he’s younger than them.  Yet another problem arises as he arrives in the last trimester of the school year; he immediately needs to improve his class’ scores, by far the worst of all the second-year classes, on the end-of-year test if he wants to continue to be a teacher there – and he has to, in order to become a Magister Magi.

With lots of effort Negi is able to slowly gain the trust and respect of his students and conquer his hardships. The story dynamic starts to change when we learn Negi’s reason for wanting to become a Magister Magi:  he wants to follow in the footsteps of his father, Nagi Springfield aka The Thousand Master, famously touted as the strongest mage ever.  Nagi Springfield was supposed to have died a few months before the birth of his son, but in an encounter six years before the story, Negi met someone he still believes to be his father.

It’s in Negi’s search for clues about what happened to his father and his quest to become as strong as him that the story starts to take a different path. While fanservice and harem comedy stay present in the series, they take a bit of a back seat as the story starts to darken a little and shift its focus more toward powerful magic battles. For Negi to mature and reach his objectives he will need to learn that things such as good and evil, or right and wrong, aren’t absolute.  Negi will also learn that most of his students are far from normal as he discovers the relationship amongst them, the world of magic, and what happened with his father.

• The Characters

The main cast is sizable to start, with Negi and the 2-A students. In the beginning they may look similar, but as we are introduced to them and slowly learn more about their backgrounds we can see how unique each character is. The cast grows a lot with time as more and more important characters are added to the mix, but the manga is still able to keep most, if not all, of them interesting and each contributes at least a little to the main plot.

While Negi and Asuna are the central characters, many others take the spotlight during the course of the series. Some seem minor at the beginning but end up suddenly shining later; most get a decent amount of development during the series, which shapes them into becoming even more unique. Romance is also developed nicely, not only in relationships with the girls and Negi, but also between other characters.

• The Setting
  

Most of the story happens in Mahora Academy, a learning institution about the size of a small city with its own residential and shopping district.  It contains, amongst other things, elementary, middle and high schools, each divided by gender, and a university fully equipped with research facilities. It also features many clubs which have members from all grades.

A view of Mahora Academy

Mahora has many mysteries, like the Library Island, a giant library in the middle of a lake with many underground levels, and the majestic World Tree, which stands in a small hill in the middle of the campus.

Library Island and the World Tree

• Art

As the characters mature and the story changes its direction, the art evolves too. A panel in Negima tends to have many details spread through it, and to obtain that level of detail Ken Akamatsu uses CG for drawing many of the manga’s background elements.  Those details can be important, as Mahou Sensei Negima! has a lot of foreshadowing hidden in plain sight.

Negi as in the first chapter and in a later chapter

• Negima’s other media

Many adaptations and spin-offs based upon the Negima! manga have been created. I will give a short summary of each, concentrating on their relation to the manga. I asked Seishi to give a summary for one of the series as he knows more about it.

Mahou Sensei Negima! (Anime)

The first Negima! adaptation with a total of 26 episodes.  It faithfully adapts the first few volumes of the manga, although the art quality isn’t the best and the fanservice is downplayed.  The pace picks up for the last few episodes, cutting some important scenes out of the story, and the final arc is completely original.

Negima!? (Anime)

Summary done by Seishi:

First of all, we must establish the two things Negima!? is not.
1) An adaptation of the manga’s story
2) An actual coherent story of its own

Having said that, Negima!? stands out for its quirky but stylistic take on Ken Akamatsu’s popular manga. The first thing manga fans will notice is the noticable toning down of fanservice, something Akamatsu used quite liberally. In the beginning, the focus of the series goes straight to Evangeline and the problems she causes for Mahora Academy. The first batch of Negima!? episodes features a greater focus on action and pactio forming, the latter of which is very different from its manga counterpart. All wrapped up in this is Studio SHAFT’s (Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Bakemonogatari, Hidamari Sketch) magic touch; director Akiyuki Shinbo manages to entertain his audience with his usual animation tricks.

As the series progresses, it manages to fully separate itself from the manga, which in turn alienates long-time Negima fans.  This is rather disappointing because Negima!? has elements that hardcore fans should be able to latch on to if they can look past the obvious adaptation decay.

Mahou Sensei Negima! Haru OVA and Natsu OVA

Two 1-episode OVAs loosely based on events from the manga. They don’t really fit in any of the timelines from the manga or either of the two animes, so they’re more fanservice for the fans. They were also animated by Shaft.

Negima!? Neo (manga)

A manga adaptation for the Shaft anime. The main plot of the anime is shortened; after it covers all of the anime, it becomes more of a slice of life. It’s like a middle term between the manga and the second anime.

Mahou Sensei Negima! Shiroki Tsubasa Ala Alba (OAD) / Mahou Sensei Negima! Mouhitotsu no Sekai (OAD)

These two Shaft-animated OAD series were supervised by Ken Akamatsu, so the art and story are fairly loyal to the original manga. The first series, Ala Alba, with 3 episodes and one drama CD, animates some of the later chapters of the manga and acts an introduction for the second OAD series. The second series is still ongoing with 1 of 4 episodes released. It follows the events from Ala Alba and will adapt the latest manga arc together with a movie.

Alas, Anime Saimoe Japan 2009 has come to an end. Congrats to Taiga Aisaka for defeating Yui Hirasawa in what will be a memorable finals for many years to come.

From a personal aspect, I couldn’t ask for a better result. Taiga was my clear-cut favourite going into Saimoe preliminaries, and that did not change for the main draw. I’m not going to bother going into a long exposition about how I felt this year was the best Saimoe ever, but I want to take this time to give out some much-needed thank yous to various people.

• My blog team, for putting up with a great deal of my nagging and bitching. I appreciate your patience. I hope we can do the same kind of posts next year.
• My IRC channel, for putting up with constant Saimoe discussion.
• The AnimeSuki community, for providing a fun forum thread to chat in as well as translators for the preliminary matches.
• 2ch and Japan, for hosting yet another exciting event.
• My associated bloggers: Micchi, kevo, and frustra. You provided me with a great deal of inspiration. Without you, I probably would not have came back to the scene after my break during the third round.
• overfunk, NissanNut, Vizard, neutralizer, and raizoo for participating in my final match post and offering various insight to me throughout the season.
• You, the reader, for taking an interest in reading this blog. I hope you stick with us even though the contest has ended.

For further reading, please visit these Saimoe summary posts.

kevo – Desu ex Machina

Micchi – Hau~ Omochikaeri~!

frustra – frustra’s Saimoe Update Blog

Now, a final look at the journey. After seven battles, Taiga stands on top with a fitting victory pose.

“Well, shit. How anticlimatic would be a Taiga vs Yui final… I sorta kinda want it now.” - overfunk (before the semi-final matches)

The Numbers

21920 – Total votes since the top 16

3832 – Posts on Animesuki’s Saimoe thread as of writing this post

386 – Contestants in the main draw

101 – Shows respresented in the main draw

73 – Days since the tournament began

8 – Contestant Blocks

6 – Rookies in the quarterfinals

1 – Anime Saimoe Japan 2009 Champion

There is something magical about Saimoe that captivates me more than any major sporting event can: direct participation, friend interest, hype factor, and a chance to support characters in the entertainment medium I love the most. This time, I have gathered information from sources outside the blog team to go along with the usual six of us. So, without further ado, I present the final match. Enjoy. Poster courtesy of frustra.

Seishi, chaosprophet, uis, KholdStare, kevo, Teiran, Guest Writers

The Contestants

Taiga Aisaka – Toradora!

• Semi-finals def Nodoka Haramura (1077 – 998)
• Quarter-finals def Isumi Saginomiya (812 – 736)
• 4th round def Azusa Nakano (825 – 711)
• 3rd round def Maria (850 – 725)

She’s the “little tiger that could”…possibly win three Saimoe tournaments this year. 2009′s super rookie performer looks to take yet another step into multi-national Saimoe lore by taking Japan’s tournament. With Ami, Minori, and Taiga’s performances, Toradora! emerged as a legitimate faction. With the story already completed in just one season of anime, can Taiga bring a title to a fanbase that might never see her in this tournament again?

Yui Hirasawa – K-ON!

• Semi-final def Mihoko Fukuji (1019 – 988)
• Quarter-final def Koromo Amae (873 – 819)
• 4th round def Minori Kushieda (838-752)
• 3rd round def Hinagiku Katsura (953 – 935)

Since the second round, Yui has been running the gauntlet. With a seemingly down-and-out K-ON! faction, Yui began one of the most amazing runs in Saimoe history. Here and now at the stage of her dreams, can she rock Taiga off her game?

The Team

Seishi: Taiga – How fitting it is that these two contestants meet again so many months after their original preliminary battle. Taiga will be looking to avenge Minori’s loss, with Yui carrying Azusa on her back. Unfortunately for Yui, my unconditional love goes out to Taiga as one of the greatest anime characters I’ve ever seen. I think Taiga will take it in one of the closest and best Saimoe matches ever; whatever happens, I believe both are deserving champions and will remember their tournament performances very fondly.

chaosprophet: Yui – After a long period with many moments of bliss and many of despair, the final finally is here, and what a final it will be! On one side we have Taiga, a pretty good character that really deserves to be there. She beat many strong characters on the way, like Nodoka who was one of the favorites to win by many people on the late game; one can see how she had an excellent performance in other saimoe contests too, that she being there isn’t a joke at all.
On the other side we have Yui, who is just as deserving as Taiga for a place in the finals; she defeated many strong contestants, like Hinagiku who was regarded as one of the strongest competitors. I’m really proud of what she did so far, even more considering how K-ON! did in the beginning and how she’s usually overshadowed by Mio for many K-ON! fans.
In the end, it’s an ideal final for me and a win-win situation too, but my vote will go for Yui without a doubt. I like Taiga a lot, but Yui is one of the characters I love the most.
This match is really hard to predict. Yui beat Taiga before when they were part of the same group in prelims, but that was a long time ago when there were much less voters, and prelims dynamics were really different from the main round ones. Considering their opponents and amount of votes, Yui had a better performance overall; but looking at the semifinals results, Taiga seems to be stronger. Taiga may lose votes because people don’t want her to win another major moe contest in the same year, however she may get some votes because people want to see her getting the crown for both Korea and Japan. This is not unprecended, but it may never happen again. Also, both characters have strong factions behind them.
I will go with Yui for prediction, more for bias than anything else. All in all, it should be a very exciting match. May moe prevail!

uis: Yui – I am happy my number one that I support this year is in the final. Only one more before you are the champion, Yui…

KholdStare: Yui – Taiga receives more hate than support. No one really hates K-ON!, Yui isn’t associated with “KyoAni” so much as LS characters, etc…, and she has no backlash at all incredibly, even from SAKI supporters. It’s the finals, and people are likely to vote if they can even if they don’t support one of the two charaters, and especially if it’s hate-voting. Therefore, my prediction is Yui.

kevo: Yui, Taiga – When the top 16 was announced, I expected Taiga vs. Yui to be the most exciting, closest match possible. Though Saki broke records by sending six girls into the top 16, history repeats itself and the Saki characters are out of the finals. Taiga is fresh off her Korea Best Moe win and took care of Nodoka solidly to get into the finals. Yui has had the stronger schedule and came from behind to overtake Mihoko in the nick of time. Now, the two girls square off for the biggest title of moe. When you compare schedules, Yui has definately had the harder schedule getting here, with wins over Amae Koromo, Furude Rika, and Katsura Hinagiku in her name. Taiga took down a strong Maria and overcame a split vote to beat Kawashima Ami and Asahina Mikuru early in the tournament. Of all the Saimoe finals I’ve seen, this is one of the toughest to call. I believe that Taiga’s Korea Best Moe title might affect her votes, but it should not make or break her. Yui literally has no weakness; she has no point of attack like the Saki characters do, and the anti-Kyoto Animation base seemingly has disappeared. K-ON!’s faction is back and seemingly in good form. I love both characters, but in my heart I am leaning for Taiga just a sliver. I would give Yui the 55-45 advantage, however. Prediction: Yui by 20.

Teiran:  Yui.  I wasn’t just paying lip service with my comment that it seemed almost natural for the would-be guitarist to be left standing at the last, but in saying that I feel like I might have shorted Taiga (no pun intended).  Her fanbase came through admirably in the semifinal match, and her place in this final is equally deserved.  This one’ll be good for sure; both Taiga and Yui have some luminaries on their respective hit lists.  I’ll go with the guitarist here, using much the same reasoning as I did for Mihoko’s victory over Yuuki:  I can’t sense a concerted anti-movement against her.

(It’s interesting for me to read my colleagues’ takes on this, even if their reasoning is divergent from my own.  KS says Yui won’t face any backlash, but I don’t entirely agree with that – despite the “universal appeal” spiel above, everyone in this tournament who survives past a certain stage faces some backlash, and this is the final, so you can bet that stage is long past.  I also don’t believe for a second that whatever happens in Korea’s Best Moe tournament has any bearing at all on Saimoe.  As for factions’ machinations, those are far too convoluted for me to unravel; I might kill more brain cells in trying than in leaving well enough alone.)

Vizard: Yui, Taiga – It’s been a pretty hectic and long 2009 year for the Saimoe tournament of Japan. I don’t really care for Yui as she never really appealed to me. Taiga’s cool though. I can’t vote for her due to chaosprophet voting for Yui. I predict Yui to win mainly because of K-ON! being the latest to air whereas Toradora! started in the fall of 2008 and ended shortly before K-ON! aired. Also, the voters coinciding between Korean Best Moe and Japan Saimoe will conflict as I’m assuming they don’t want a ‘winner in both tournaments’ and whatnot.

raizoo: Yui – If Taiga loses, I’m going to go back to laughing how Kugyuu hasn’t won a saimoe yet. I hope Yui wins because she beat Hina so she better win the whole thing.

Micchi: Taiga, Yui – Both are top tier chars deserving to get this far, although Yui has arguably had the tougher route. While I want Yui to win, it’ll come down to the little things that will push Taiga to victory, such as the possibility of a double crown for Taiga or the reluctance of choosing another KyoAni champion.

overfunk: Yui, Taiga – Yui beat Taiga in the strength match at the start since preliminaries have no real strategy going on. Toradora! truly showed up as a smart faction: Mikuru gambit! Yui beat powerful opponents in a string: Rika, Hina, Minorin, Kodomo, and Kyaputen.  The revenge weight should be on Yui since Taiga beat Ami (whose fans already dislike her), Maria, then Azusa, which was sort of like a rook change with Yui. Then, Isumi and Nodoka. So, both have pissed off the former Hayate no Gotoku! and Saki factions. However, Hayate and Toradora! are both part of J.C. STaff realm, so there shouldn’t be many Hayate fans disgruntled with Taiga; especially Nagi fans, if you catch my drift. So, Taiga has less revenge weight. Now, the X-Factor: any of the two could have controlled the semi-finals from the shadows, since the vote totals rose. I fear it might have been Yui. Based on statistics, it seems like 51-49 in favour of Yui.

neutralizer: Yui – A girl and her guitar. Even though Yui beat out Hinagiku, she’s got my vote for being adorable while airheaded throughout all of K-ON, but inspiring and hilarious to laugh at. The match is too close of a call to predict, I think they’d be separated by very few votes and so I’m might as well predict the one I want to win. No sense in not believing in her win.

And now, some further analysis by a dear friend from AnimeSuki, NissanNut. Be sure to give him props wherever needed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Spoiler Rating: This is a Series Analysis, which attempts to analyze the series and present the author’s likes and dislikes of the series. On a scale of 1 to 10, ten being very high spoilers, the spoiler level is 5. Short episode summaries are presented for several episodes as well as thoughts about the ending. However, nothing in this post would be considered a major spoiler that would lower the enjoyment of the reader.

Summary and Personal Thoughts

When I first watched Sora no Manimani, it was really just an okay anime. At first, it was really cheesy. Two childhood friends meet in high school after being away for so long and now they will probably fall in love or something. I was seriously rolling my eyes at this point because I do not want another Love Hina, Tonagura!, Princess Lover, or Yotsunoha. It comes off as a bit shallow that is almost slapstick but not quite, since Mihoshi, the female lead, does tackle Saku, the male lead, whenever possible. But there were some good things. First of all, it was pretty funny and enjoyable. Secondly, Mihoshi is really cute.

But most importantly, the selling point of Sora no Manimani, was Mihoshi telling Saku that her dream is to show everyone the beauty of the night sky. Just in the first episode, we get a glimpse of Mihoshi’s character: She is hyper and fun, determinedly seeking out her childhood friend without caring about anything else. She cares about the memories of their past, becoming way more angry than I expected when Saku feigns amnesia, which is the last thing I would expect from her. And finally, she shows herself as not just some random girl who likes astronomy and wants to make trouble. She really loves it, and despite her ruining the astronomy club’s reputation by runnning around looking for Saku, she really wants it to be successful.

“Mii-chan’s always smiling. What exactly can I do for her right now?”

In epsisodes 2-5, we are treated to more romance cliche. Hime, someone who likes Saku, decides to randomly join the club just so she could get closer to him. Wow, amazing. But the key difference here is that Hime is not annoying like others of her type in romantic comedies, and Saku is definitely not perverted. We got to see more of the astronomy, which was absolutely stunning. I feel that, up until this point, the main selling point of the anime is comedy and “slice of life” in lack of a better term. The astronomy holds the story together, and it does so very well. Every activity or event is centered around astronomy somehow so that the comedy and fun are not random and have substance. Read the rest of this entry »

So we’re a few weeks into the Fall season now. Everyone bitched from the outset that there was nothing much interesting coming up, not to mention the overload of sequels. Me? I was pretty excited. Sure, there was nothing that stood out as on-the-edge-of-your-seat, I-am-staying-up-till-7am-to-watch-the-raws-god-damn-it (oh Umineko, how you abuse the fuck out of me again and again), but there was a small handfull of titles that appealed to me.

So now, dear readers, you get to experience my completely biased opinions on what few series I am bothering to keep up with this season! Hurray!

Sasameki Koto (Eps. 1-2)

I’ll get this one out of the road first, because as everyone on IRC should know by now, it’s the one I was–and am–gushing like a rabid fangirl about.

Sasameki Koto is yuri through and through, and it’s wonderful. The plot is simple: Sumika loves Ushio. Ushio loves cute girls. Sumika is not a cute girl. Sumika is, however, an awesome best friend, and consoles herself with by trying to make Ushio happy… even if it’s not together with her. Really, it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before. But the characterisation and Takashi Ikeda’s kinda quirky writing style really make it work for me.

It’s clear that everyone involved in this show knows the yuri tropes, but they work with them–and… well, at times they just walk right through them. They’ve picked a typical desaturated palette, with a frequent recurring sunset overlay. It’s nice to see the predominance of blacks and browns in the characters’ hair, too; this series doesn’t try to portray itself as anything amazing, just the type of drama you would expect in any average school, with any average people. That’s something I’ve found interesting about this series, really. Ushio comes right out and says she’s only interested in girls. Sumika never really questions that Ushio is female, or even her tastes in general. Sumika doesn’t even question why Akemiya-kun does what he does (you’ll see in episode 2.) All of it is just… accepted. There is, of course, drama from outside sources that find the lesbian tendencies disgusting, etc. But it’s all treated in a very… normal way. It’s nice to see that yuri drama that isn’t filled to the brim with OH NO ONEESAMA IS TALKING TO ANOTHER GIRL!!! Read the rest of this entry »

“Well, shit. How anticlimatic would be a Taiga vs Yui final… I sorta kinda want it now.” - overfunk

After a strenuous quarterfinal, the Saimoe contestants take a break today in preparation for the penultimate leg of the Saimoe race tomorrow. Once again, the hard-working Lunatics will attempt to break-down both matches.

Seishi, chaosprophet, uis, KholdStare, kevo, Teiran

Semi-final 1 – Tiger Direct

Taiga Aisaka:

• Quarter-finals def Isumi Saginomiya (812 – 736)
• 4th round def Azusa Nakano (825 – 711)
• 3rd round def Maria (850 – 725)

Nodoka Haramura:

• Quarter-finals def Louise Valliere (910 – 716)
• 4th round def Nagi Sanzenin (890 – 874)
• 3rd round def Miyako Miyamura (741 – 380)

With her dazzling performance this year, Taiga has become a worldwide Saimoe phenomenon. Now, she looks to take this to the next level by making her second major Saimoe tournament final this year. Standing in her way is a peculiar girl who wishes to make some history of her own as the first “non-loli” winner of this tournament. Can Nodoka secure the first half of a possible all-Saki final, or will the tiger remain untamed?

The Team

Seishi: Taiga – This heavily depends on how much Japan still wants to troll. My undying loyalty remains with Taiga, and I think Japan will make me proud once more.

chaosprophet: Taiga – This will be a difficult match with so many possible factions, hate voting, and other stuff on both sides. I don’t really know what will come from this mess. My vote goes to Taiga, as I like her quite a bit, and Nodoka is on the black end of my moe spectrum.

uis: Nodoka, Taiga – I have a bad feeling that Nodoka will win this match…

KholdStare: Taiga, abstain – Taiga seems a lot more powerful right now with more convincing wins.

kevo: Taiga – Hot off her Korea Best Moe win, Taiga is looking for the slam and the well endowed Haramura Nodoka stands in her way. If Amae’s loss to Yui in quarterfinal four indicated anything, it’s that the populus is tired of Saki. Taiga must feed off this hate to advance, and I predict that she does.

Teiran:  Nodoka, as much as it pains me to say so.  Like uis, I have a funny feeling about this, and that’s all there is to it.  There are a million signs that point to Taiga, many of them having to do with Saimoe tournaments past; however, very little that I thought I knew is applicable this year.

Semi-final 2 – Captain Oblivious

Mihoko Fukuji:

• Quarter-final def Yuuki Kataoka (660 – 613)
• 4th round def Eruruu (770 – 441)
• 3rd round def Ritsu Tainaka and Ushio Okazaki (787 -445 – 345)

Yui Hirasawa:

• Quarter-final def Koromo Amae (873 – 819)
• 4th round def Minori Kushieda (838-752)
• 3rd round def Hinagiku Katsura (953 – 935)

Mahjong and music meet again for the second consecutive time in this bottom half. While Mihoko’s performance in the tournament is fairly unremarkable, characters don’t just fluke it this far. On the other hand, Yui has basically run the gauntlet thus far; arguably, she’s had the toughest schedule in the history of Saimoe. Only time will tell whose melody of truth plays first.

The Team

Seishi: Yui – A tougher schedule just gets tougher for one of Saimoe’s gutsiest performers ever. I think there’s still enough anti-Saki out there to propel Yui, Kyoto Animation’s last hope, to the finals. Rock on, girl.

chaosprophet: Yui – I don’t think Captain has the power to beat Yui. Yui is one of my favourite characters in this tournament; Captain is nice, but not quite at that level.

uis: Yui -Yui is much stronger than Mihoko in stats, and Mihoko has never tasted a harsh battle. I believe Yui can win this.

KholdStare: Yui – I don’t think Yui can lose anymore. Ever since Mio lost, it was predicted that the other K-ON characters would come far.

kevo: Yui – A seemingly revitalized K-ON! series has made a suprise comeback, offering Yui deep into the tournamant here in the top four. Mihoko’s match with Yuuki deeply hurt the Saki voting base, leaving the faction unstable compared to the powers plowing Yui through the bracket. Yui should take this match standing up, leading us to an exciting, no-hands-barred finals in Saimoe 2009.

Teiran:  Yui.  I feel like Mihoko’s chances would increase if Nodoka were to lose, but even if that does happen… the discrepancy between these two characters’ strengths is too difficult to ignore.  Somehow it feels almost natural for Yui to be left standing at the very end.

Just over two months after the main tournament started, we find ourselves at a new beginning. Whether we like the outcome or not, it’s hard to argue against the excitement value of this year’s tournament. Now, eight remain. Check your allegiances at the door.

Each match comment will contain personal thoughts of multiple LA staff members colour-coded for your convenience along with my own general analysis. Predictions in bold with votes in italics.

Seishi, chaosprophet, uis, KholdStare, kevo, Teiran

Quarter-final 1 – Crouching Tiger, Lost Girl

Taiga Aisaka: Small body, big passion

• 4th round def Azusa Nakano (825 – 711)
• 3rd round def Maria (850 – 725)

Isumi Saginomiya: Freelance exorcist, proven performer

• 4th round def Kana Ikeda (759 – 737)
• 3rd round def Nagi (475 – 415)

If there’s a clear-as-day match in the quarters to predict it would be this one, much to the chagrin of Isumi’s supporters. Taiga has already survived a same-series split, a super-skilled meido, and another cat-like girl. However, Isumi’s performance against fellow blue-haired contestant IKEDA is nothing to slouch about. Still, I’m not giving her much of a chance against the ferocious feline.

The Team

Seishi: Taiga – It’s no secret Taiga is my #1 for this tournament. I think she will do fine in this match.

chaosprophet: Taiga, Isumi – Taiga did way better than I expected beating some strong contestants. I think she will beat Isumi without much difficulty.

uis: Taiga, Isumi – 2009 is kown as the Year of the Tiger, so I will vote for Isumi even if she did beat Kana.

KholdStare: Taiga, Isumi. I believe that Isumi won because of anti-Saki votes. Taiga is the much stronger contestant.

kevo: Taiga – Taiga vs. Isumi is the most important match in these quarterfinals, as the winner will probably advance into the finals. The other quarterfinal in this half is pretty weak. I’m voting for Isumi, but Taiga looks pretty strong in this match after defeating a revitalized Azunyan in the round of 16.

Teiran: Taiga.  If these eight had power rankings, I can’t help thinking that seven of them would be more or less interchangeable.  Unfortunately for Isumi, she’d be the other one.  Taiga should go through by a comfortable margin.

Quarter-final 2 – Pretty and Pink

Nodoka Haramura: Methodically skilled, huge assets

• 4th round def Nagi Sanzenin (890 – 874)
• 3rd round def Miyako Miyamura (741 – 380)

Louise Valliere: Real magic, zero relent

• 4th round def Momoko Touyoko (846 – 837)
• 3rd round def Mion Sonozaki (784 – 559)

Saimoe veteran Louise returns to the top 8 in somewhat less controversial fashion to face an (un)expected opponent. Can Louise add boobbuster to her title of ghostbuster, or will Nodoka void another chance for Louise to make it to the semifinals. One thing for certain is this match will have all pink, all the time.

The Team

Seishi: Nodoka, Louise – Too bad too sad again for Louise. I’d love to see her meet up with Taiga in the next round but it ain’t happening.

chaosprophet: Nodoka, Louise – Nodoka is the only character of top 8 I really hope that won’t win, but I guess Nodoka will win since she beat Nagi in a very difficult match after all. Louise may have a chance, as she’s shown her guts many times.

uis: Nodoka – I don’t want either to win.

KholdStare: Nodoka, Louise. This is arguably Louise’s best shot, against another character with pink hair, because she would have trouble with most recent characters. But it’s still not enough, and Nodoka will win.

kevo: Louise – Nodoka upset Nagi to get here and it probably the weakest character in the top 8. She is up against Louise, who magically managed to get this far, despite the fact that she is 2 years  past her prime. I’m abstaining.

Teiran: Nodoka.  I’ve been surprised, if not outright confounded, at Nodoka’s performance every step of the way.  Since she’s proven formidable enough to defeat Nagi, I think I have to finally come around and pick her to win this time–even if I’d prefer Louise.

Quarter-final 3 – Any Way the Wind Blows

Yuuki Kataoka: Beast of the East, legend of the west

• 4th round def Chiaki Minami (734 – 545)
• 3rd round def Utau Hoshina (878 – 384)

Mihoko Fukuji: Captain amazing, motherly figure

• 4th round def Eruruu (770 – 441)
• 3rd round def Ritsu Tainaka and Ushio Okazaki (787 -445 – 345)

Yuuki and Mihoko deliver more mahjong mayhem in the third match. Yuuki will need more than a few tacos to power her way to victory over Kyaputen Kazekoshi, who plans on taking Yuuki home to cook her own special dinner after the match.

The Team

Seishi: Mihoko, Yuuki – Mihoko is more popular where it counts. Yuuki should keep it somewhat close.

chaosprophet: Mihoko – Mihoko is my favourite Saki character by a bit, and Yuuki is on the group of Saki characters I  like but not quite so much. I think that on faction split most votes will go for Mihoko, but it could possibly go the other way.

uis: Yuuki, Mihoko – I actually don’t care who will win this one because both are OK to me, but I’ll go for the underdog.

KholdStare: Yuuki. Yuuki embarrassed her opponents all by more than 100 points to get here. But she won’t beat Mihoko because of popularity backlash. Then again, because I think that, she will win, so I go with Yuuki.

kevo: Yuuki – Kataoka Yuuki is one of the favorites to take the tournament this year. She has to overcome her co-star Fukuji Mihoko first. Intra-series matches are always unpredictable and Captain is no easy opponent. I’m voting and predicting Yuuki to take this, however. This year looks like the best shot for voice actor Kugumiya Rie to win her first Saimoe.

Teiran: Mihoko, I guess.  I’m pretty conflicted about this and might as well flip a coin to handicap it:  these two have very little overlap, and I have no idea which set of traits this year’s voters will prefer head-to-head.  I’m picking Mihoko because I think she might be slightly stronger in the grand scheme of things–i.e. she’d defeat more of the other characters than Yuuki would–and thus I think she has the broader appeal, but that’s not a lot to go on.

Quarter-final 4 – Yui and the Kid

Yui Hirasawa: Prodigal daughter, riff master

• 4th round def Minori Kushieda (838-752)
• 3rd round def Hinagiku Katsura (953 – 935)

Koromo Amae: Tile driver, heart stealer

• 4th round def Amu Hinamori (700 – 440)
• 3rd round def Hanyuu (792 – 566)

K-ON!’s resident genius ditz made it here on her own merits, knocking off two three legitimate top-tier contenders including the 2007 champion. On the other hand, Koromo managed to handily defeat some upper middle tier opponents; fittingly, she will have the final stage of the round. Like mahjong tiles, the voters should make this one wildly unpredictable and fun.

The Team

Seishi: Yui – Yui has shown more power, and should continue to do so. I never really liked Koromo as much as everyone else.

chaosprophet: Yui – For remaining contestants, she’s clearly my favourite and near the very top of my moe list too. I think Yui will win against Koromo as she beat the Hinagiku powerhouse.

uis: Yui – Sorry Koromo, Yui is my number one that I support in Saimoe 2009.

KholdStare: Yui. This match is borderline. Koromo has almost no backlash whatsoever, while Yui might get some hate from Hinagiku fans. But Mio and Azusa’s losses will unite K-ON fans, enough for me to think Yui will win.

kevo: Yui – Hirasawa Yui and Amae Koromo end off the match with a great matchup. K-ON is absolutely revitalized by this point and I’m curious to see how it matches up with the super-dangerous Amae Koromo. Will Yui, armed with gitah, be able to get past Koromo’s devestating haitei raoyue?

Teiran: Yui.  Koromo has the same problem here that Saki (;_;) did in round three:  she’s in the last match of the round, facing a main character from a strong faction who’s going to have maximum support, while she herself faces the backlash from what’s likely to be two castmates already advancing before her.  Besides, Yui has proven more than powerful enough on her own.

The full chart for your convenience