Saimoe
Anime Saimoe Japan 2009: Reflections
Last modified on 2009-10-19 23:05:59 GMT. 3 comments. Top.
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.
Year of the Taiga
Anime Saimoe Japan 2009 Final Match – Guitar x Sword
Last modified on 2009-10-18 00:44:58 GMT. 4 comments. Top.
“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
Attendance is free
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.
We’ve finally made it to the championship match of the 2009 Anime Saimoe tournament! Aisaka Taiga of Toradora! versus Hirasawa Yui of K-ON! As expected, we’ve seen the unexpected in this year’s tournament. Favorites falling early (Akiyama Mio), surprise winners (Minami Kana, Sawamura Tomoki, Touyoko Momoko), upsets (Mio, Katsura Hinagiku), ridiculous faction / anti-faction voting, a near takeover of a mahjong anime empire (-Saki-), intriguing back stories… all leading to this one final match to determine this year’s champion.
While none of my favorites ([Takei Hisa, Tsukishima Aoba 
) made it to the final, I'm still as excited about this final as much as I would be had at least one of my favorites were contesting for the title.
Now on to the my thoughts, pick and prediction!
Both characters are strong and the numbers suggest so.
Total Votes
Yui - 5237
Taiga - 5016
The top 2 vote-getters leading into the semis, meeting in the finals? I'm expecting votes in excess of 1300 votes for both girls in a year where voter turnout seems to have been low compared to previous years.
Percentage Votes
Taiga
Round 3 - 53.97% (9)
Round 4 - 53.71% (4)
Quarterfinals - 52.45% (2)
Semifinals - 51.90% (1)
Yui
Round 3 - 50.48% (14)
Round 4 - 52.70% (5)
Quarterfinal - 51.60% (4)
Semifinals - 50.77% (2)
I'm a big believer that percentage of votes a character receives from round to round is an excellent indicator of how that character will do during the next match. From Round 3 on, Taiga has fared a little better in her matches than Yui. Expect that trend to continue!
Head to Head
Yui - 621 (1)
Taiga - 594 (2)
Surprisingly, these two have met in this year's tournament. They were both in group 13 of the 1st Prelims, where Yui and Taiga finished 1-2, respectively. Supporters of both girls will surely have not forgotten this result. This provides an excellent back story to a much anticipated final!
Notable Eliminations
Taiga
Kawashima Ami (Toradora!), Maria (Hayate no Gotoku!!), Nakano Azusa (K-ON!)
Taiga has knocked out her fellow Toradora! representative Ami and a strong HnG!! girl in Maria. She's even taken down one K-ON! girl already - a strong title contender in Azusa. Taiga is not afraid of the K-ON! powers, especially those that play lead guitar.
Yui
Furude Rika (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni), Katsura Hinagiku (Hayate no Gotoku!!), Kushieda Minori (Toradora!), Amae Koromo (-Saki-)
Yui eliminated 2007 champion Furude Rika and perennial favorite Hinagiku. She's already eliminated a Toradora! rep in Minori, and recently took out loli mahjong sensation Koromo. Lolis are not safe from Yui.
My Thoughts
As much as I'd like for a non-loli character to win the championship, there's no denying Taiga's moe factor. Yui is moe in her own regard, but for me Taiga has that extra umph that puts her over the edge. Sure, Yui won the first head-to-head, but Taiga has been stronger in more recent rounds according to the numbers.
I'll be voting for Taiga, and I expect a Taiga win based on her recent performances. It'll be a race to 1300 or more with late surges for the one in second place with a few hours to go. However, it's Taiga who will hang on to her lead and emerge as 2009 Saimoe champion.
The trend of Saimoe loli champions continues, and we must wait yet another year for a chance to have a non-loli winner.
Pick: Aisaka Taiga
Prediction: Aisaka Taiga
Saimoe Japan Group D Preview (August 17 – August 19)
Last modified on 2009-08-16 05:29:04 GMT. 5 comments. Top.
After a week layoff, Saimoe is back in business. Serious business. Let's take a look at group C results.
C1: Takei Hisa (buchou) @ Saki (as expected)
C4: Sonozaki Mion @ Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei (Dang, my predictions are not doing well)
C7: Nogizaka Mika @ Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
C10: Kamigaki Megumi @ Saki (Since Megumi is a very minor character, this shows that the Saki faction is very strong. Watch out)
C2: Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière @ Zero no Tsukaima ~Princess no Rondo~
C5: Tsuruya-san/Churuya-san @ Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuuutsu / Nyoro~n☆Churuya-s (Oh shit, I look real dumb now for putting Kotori in the finals)
C8: Fujibayashi Kyou @ Clannad ~After Story~
C11: Ichinose Kotomi @ Clannad ~After Story~
C3: Sakamoto Mio @ Strike Witches (Strike Witches faction reporting for duty!)
C6: Kyon's sister @ Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuuutsu (Kyon-kun, denwa~)
C9: Konoe Konoka @ Mahou Sensei Negima! ~Shiroki Tsubasa Ala Alba~ (Negima can still win matches? Woah!)
C12: Touyoko Momoko @ Saki (The hate voters are merciless)
I am a terrible 5/10 on my group C round 1 predictions. Oh god. Why am I even writing this column, lol. Hopefully, group D will be more tame. Well, if it's not more tame, it definitely isn't easier. Group D is weak as hell, so expect random upsets that aren't really upsets to happen.
Click image for full size
Overview
Group D is strangely weak yet it doesn’t seem like anything is a pushover. D1 is full of minor characters and is thus very hard to predict. This group has a ton of characters who all have a shot into the singles matches. Overall, I’m penciling in Patricia Martin against Ui Hirasawa in the C1 finals. In D2, Erica, Sakuya and Ranka should advance easily. Mitsuki Shiina and Sanae Furukawa will have a decent battle in round 1.
Notable Pairings
The key is Saki’s Amae Koromo against Segawa Isumi. Miyako also being in that pairing is tricky as she siphons votes from both characters. Regardless, I think Koromo can take this one to the house.
Also notable is the packed house of Komoe, Yuuhi, and Patty. The winner here will probably win D1, so the match is particularly important. Kholdstare says that “Lucky Star is too weak right now and Yuuhi doesn’t seem that strong” and has Komoe. I personally have Patty. Our other predictions in D1 are the same.
Bracket Busters
With what happened to K-ON recently, Hirasawa Ui shouldn’t even be the favorite in her match. Banking on K-ON is risky business now a days, as Amu Hinamori is no slouch. If you can qualify for ISML, you can set off a surprise in Saimoe.
Dark Horse
Erica Hartmann will win her match running away, and is a threat to win the group. Watch out. Ranka could also go farther than just the C2 finals.
Predictions
kevo: Patricia Martin def. Hirasawa Ui // Amae Koromo def Ranka Lee, Koromo Amae wins group.
Kholdstare: Ui Hirasawa def. Misae Sagara // Koromo Amae def. Hanyuu Koromo Amae wins group.
Saimoe 2009 – C is for Crapshoot
Last modified on 2009-08-09 15:46:45 GMT. 4 comments. Top.
Excuse me while I finish scrubbing the fallout from yesterday’s match.
Okay. Due to some outlandish comments about Mio having no chance of losing unfortunate circumstances beyond our control, kevo has relinquished Saimoe writing duties for at least one day. However, I’m not here to talk about the ridiculous result of the last match; I’ll leave that for the experts out there.
It’s back to risky business for Lunatic Antics as block C kicks off early Sunday morning in the Americas. This group is very much a crapshoot, especially with more than one potential first round bust waiting to happen. I’m currently 17-3 with my predictions, so feel free to take this as a credible source.
Analysis
C01: Charlotte? Are you kidding me? I think the Saki faction wants to solidify themselves early after witnessing the possible unravelling of the K-ON faction. I’m going with Hisa by at least a hundred votes.
C02: This is not a weak group. Louise should win, but Luna is famous for her upset victory over Hinagiku Katsura in 2007′s contest. And any Hidamari Sketch character should at least be given a shot against any other mid-tier character.
(Ed. note: I love Sae. Blue hair, meganekko, creative writer? I’m weak to all three of these traits. Sadly, when it comes to Saimoe, I think she’s historically performed the worst out of the main cast.)
C03: With a possible Minami-ke split, the door is open for either Mio or Risa to take this one. Given how Risa squeeked in through prelims despite having a bigger faction, I give the edge to Mio, even though kevo does not believe she is a “strong contender.”
C04: This should come down to the wire between Mion and Yukine with Fumika possibly eating some precious votes away. I’ll agree with kevo and say Yukine for this one.
C05: This match will not be a test of how strong Kotori is, but how many votes Tsuruya loses, much like Ryoko did. I’ll take Kotori.
C06: If anyone comes within a hundred votes of Kyon’s sister, I- never mind. It shouldn’t be hard, anyway.
C07: Four newcomers highlight this round, led by…an imouto. Take Mika plus the 100 votes; you can thank me in a few days.
C08: This match is a joke. Kyou will make them eat dictionaries. In their sleep.
C09: I must admit, this is my favourite match of the first round, if only because of how EVERYONE will overlook it. Kevo doesn’t seem to want to give Haruka the credit she deserves, so I’m going to stick with her.
C10: All four contestants had to grind through the second preliminary round, and I honestly have no other gauge to use for any of them. When in doubt, I’ll side with the bigger faction: Megumi it is.
C11: In a battle of blue vs green, blue always prevails. Take blue- err, Kotomi over CC.
C12: Okay, this was originally my favourite match of the entire block, but after BOSS’s victory I can’t feel special for predicting Momoko to stealth bomb Tsumugi out of this tournament. In fact, it won’t be stealthy anymore…dammit. I’m still taking Momo, though.
Round 2
Hisa Takei vs Louise Valliere vs Mio Sakamoto: There is no Zero no Tsukaima faction, and Mio isn’t exactly high up the witch rankings. Hisa will not even have to sit on a bad wait.
Yukine Miyazawa vs Kotori Shirakawa vs Kyon’s Sister: I don’t really know. Honestly. Actually, predicting the degradation of the Haruhi fanbase I can successfully rule out Kyon’s sister. I really want to believe kevo, but I’ll default to Yukine.
Mika Nogizaka vs Kyou Fujibayashi vs Haruka Nogizaka: The sisters Nogizaka face off to win resident bisexual Kyou Fujibayashi’s affection. Too bad Kyou will leave them behind in order to move onto bigger and better targets.
Megumi Kamigaki vs Kotomi Ichinose vs Momoko Touyoko: Momoko will earn the title of this year’s “Giant Killer”. As kevo would say (even if he doesn’t believe any of my BS): you heard it here first.
Round 3
C1 Finals – Hisa Takei vs Yukine Miyazawa: Brains vs books…or is that brains vs brains? Yukine would gladly treat Hisa to some tea after her defeat.
C2 Finals – Kyou Fujibayashi vs Momoko Touyoko: My entire Saimoe future is hanging on Momoko’s performance in C2.
C-Block Finals
Hisa Takei vs Momoko Touyoko: Normally I wouldn’t do this, but what the heck. MOMO WILL WIN C-BLOCK! See kevo, even I can pull off some crazy shiz once in a while.
P.S.
If the skies part and Kotori manages to face off against Tsumugi in the finals and actually win, kevo will take absolute full credit and I will worship him as a deity for the rest of my life the year.
Saimoe Japan Group B Preview (August 7 – August 9)
Last modified on 2009-08-06 04:04:10 GMT. 4 comments. Top.
Who correctly predicted Ayame Ikaruga winning her first match? Yeah, that’s right. Saimoe is serious business.
Click image for full size
Overview
Tournament favorite Mio Akiyama draws a tricky opening match with lots of Saimoe experience and more danger down the road in a packed B2 group including Hayate no Gotoku’s ever popular Isumi Saginomiya and Strike Witch Perinne Clostermann. Nagi should win her match barring an upset from Mashiro Mito. Konata Izumi has a walk in her opening match, but she has been pretty disappointing in Saimoe in her career. That trend will continue. Nagi and Mio in the B2 finals.
In contrast to a packed house in B2, B1 is almost vacant of power. Holo and Tsukasa Hiiragi should advance down the left side easily, with Tsugumi Aoba and Haruna Sairenji down the right. Fuuko Ibuki looks like she should have a paved road to the round 3 finals, but I don’t think the road will be as smooth. Yuuko Amamiya could hand KyoAni its biggest upset of the tournament so far. Seishi thinks I’m crazy, but I’m feeling it. Fuuko is popular but not lights out, and Yuuko is well liked. Manaka Komaki‘s presence in the group also adds split-vote uncertainty. Kyouka Midarezaki and Kana Ikeda should fight a good match in the first round on the 9th, but Saki’s fanbase has seemed strong and will most likely push Kana for the win. For the sake of credibility, I’m putting Fuuko and Tsukasa in the group finals, but Mio should take care of business no matter who comes out of B1.
Notable Pairings
Mio has to take care of Kana Minami, Hiro, and Tarou before even thinking about anyone down the road. While this might be a tall order for any other character, this is moe moe kyun we are talking about here.
Spoilers
Perinne and Isumi will most likely be the next fence Mio has to jump. Isumi has been ganked in the past, and who knows how strong the Strike Witches faction will be.
Dark Horse
Tsukasa was the runner-up last year, and for good reason. It’s not likely that she can pull a fast one on Mio, but I’m just saying anything can happen if the Kyoto Animation characters fight among themselves.
Prediction
kevo: Tsukasa Hiiragi def. Tsugumi Aoba (you heard it here first), Mio Akiyama def. Nagi, Mio wins group
Seishi: Fuuko Ibuki def. Kana Ikeda, Mio Akiyama def. Konata Izumi, Mio wins group
Konata, Seishi? Konata? Boy you must be crazy (it’s actually going to be close, so I might end up looking really bad come September 6th).
Saimoe Japan Group A Preview (August 4 – August 6)
Last modified on 2009-08-03 03:46:55 GMT. 4 comments. Top.
Voting for the 8th Annual Anime Saimoe Tounament will officially commence in around 24 hours. Have you been sleeping under a rock all this time? Maybe you are just curious to see what this serious business is about. It doesn’t matter if you want to read some extra opinions on what is going to happen, or just wanna check the prognosis on how your favorite characters will do, or even just sound knowledgeable at cocktail parties, for the next few weeks, Lunatic Antics will be your destination for all your Saimoe Japan needs.
I’m kevo, and I’ll be teaming up with Seishi to bring you group by group coverage of the elimination rounds of Saimoe Japan. We will have predictions, analysis, and overall serious business and probably disagree and call each other wrong on the Internet more that a few times. Before we get started, here are some resources including translations, more discussion, and instructions on how you can get involved. So let’s dispense with the background stories and jump straight in!
Click image for full size
(This image is not filled in the way traditional Saimoe brackets are filled in. A shaded box next to the character means the character is predicted to win the match. The corresponding rectangle shaded means the character is predicted to win the successive match.)
Overview
A1 is pretty weak and pretty hard to predict. The Minami-ke faction should be successful and give Chiaki Minami the left hand side. The Strike Witches are new to Saimoe Japan, but the airing time of the anime (this time last year) was unfortunate in proximity and might dilute the fanbase. Regardless, Minna should win group A1 in a pretty close one. Seishi thinks otherwise, he’s calling A1 for Chiaki. Whoever wins A1 will probably meet Yuuki Kataoka, a tournament favorite, in the group finals. Interestingly enough, much to the joy of Saki fans, Yuuki is the first girl in the mahjong club to go. May she be the harbinger of success for that anime this year. In the right hand side of A2, Seishi promises to eat cardboard if Utau does not make the A2 finals, so I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen.
Notable Pairings
The the left hand side of A2 features Lucky Star’s Misao Kusakabe, MISAKA #10032, and Mei Sunohara, three solid mid-tier characters, two of them with tournament experience. The match winner will give Yuuki a tricky run.
Dark Horse
Last Order could possibly make a run make life difficult for Chiaki, and maybe more characters down the road. She was strong in prelims, finishing 4th in her group, and never underestimate the power of loli. Chiri Kitsu is marooned in the right side of A2, and with the popularity of the third season of Zetsubou Sensei, she stands an outside chance of winning two matches.
Spoiler
Minato Nagase drew a starting position in a very crowded left hand side of A2. With the winner of the August 5th match unclear, she might stand a chance at upsetting Yuuki early on the the contest, who is expected to go deep. The draw of the left half of A2 sets up the possibility of a Yukari Tamura, Aya Hirano, Rie Kugumiya voice actor showdown in round two. Now wouldn’t that be exciting.
Predictions
kevo: Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke def. Chiaki Minami, Yuuki Kataoka def. Utau Hoshina.
Seishi: Chiaki Minami def. Minna-Deitlinde Wilcke, Yuuki Kataoka def. Utau Hoshina.
Yuuki Kataoka wins group (agreed)