Lunatic Antics

“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.