International Saimoe League 2012

[Ledgem]

I was really surprised by the results. I haven't watched Kore wa Zombie Desuka but I was under the impression that it wasn't a massively popular series. Eucliwood's character designs don't strike me as standing out, either, so the people voting for her must have been fans. Was it a really popular series, or does it just have a devoted following?

I was surprised at how poorly Yuzuriha Inori and Nakamura Yuri did. Both seemed to be doing fairly well in their individual matches, yet both received the lowest number of votes.

[Ithekro]

Well Eucliwood did win the Diamond necklace last year.

[KholdStare]

Even though Eucliwood won the Diamond Necklace last year, the series wasn't...very impressive. Season 1 was enjoyable, but it can be a drag to watch when it follows a somewhat bad plot that seems poorly planned.

On the other hand, I really love season 2. It began sort of "slice of life"-ish with mostly character interactions without any serious plot. This developed the characters and allowed me to like them more. Eucliwood doesn't talk much, and most of the time she talked in S1 was more of the serious kind. She doesn't talk much in S2 either, but I enjoyed her showing her personality more and not forced plot conversations. That's at least the reason why I come to like Eucliwood much better in S2, like that scene where she bullied Haruna. Others might have the same experience as me or might not, but as a whole, S2 was an improvement over the plot-laden S1 (which wasn't very good).

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

I was really surprised by the results. I haven't watched Kore wa Zombie Desuka but I was under the impression that it wasn't a massively popular series. Eucliwood's character designs don't strike me as standing out, either, so the people voting for her must have been fans. Was it a really popular series, or does it just have a devoted following?

I've followed ISML for over a year now, and I still don't get Eucliwood's popularity in ISML. Granted I only watched a couple episodes of Kore wa Zombie Desuka, but Eucliwood didn't leave much impression on me there.

The best I can figure is that Eucliwood is popular because she's a Rei Ayanami Expy. That character type seems to be pretty popular in ISML, as we see with Kanade, Yuki Nagato, and Eucliwood herself.

[ion475]

I've followed ISML for over a year now, and I still don't get Eucliwood's popularity in ISML. Granted I only watched a couple episodes of Kore wa Zombie Desuka, but Eucliwood didn't leave much impression on me there.

The best I can figure is that Eucliwood is popular because she's a Rei Ayanami Expy. That character type seems to be pretty popular in ISML, as we see with Kanade, Yuki Nagato, and Eucliwood herself.

It's hard to compare Kanade & Nagato to Eu. Kanade and Nagato are both from ultra-popular series, but Kore wa Zombie is not even that popular.

And no, I personally don't get what's so moe about Eu either. Does she has moe trait? Yes. But enough moe trait to put her above a bunch of girls here? I personally don't think so. She's just not #2 material to me. Okay, the competition is really weak (I mean, Kirino only gets 5 loss so far, that pretty much sums it up), but it's not like Eu is just destroying girls in Nova, she's also doing pretty good in necklace matches...

[wontaek]

I would really wish if I can find a large Eucliwood fan club that is actively campaigning for ISML votes. Kore Zombie fans are not easy to find, and that can't be due to language problem according to the map of result above.

[Ithekro]

It was probably from the secodn season ending that have her voiced by multiple people doing cute things.

[Konakaga]

Originally Posted by wontaek

I would really wish if I can find a large Eucliwood fan club that is actively campaigning for ISML votes. Kore Zombie fans are not easy to find, and that can't be due to language problem according to the map of result above.

Well it makes it clear America and Europe are largely at fault for her winning, though I am rather surprised some many areas threw their vote away on Haruhi when she had no chance due to the point gap...

[Ithekro]

Loyalty to the god empress is acceptible.

[Konakaga]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Loyalty to the god empress is acceptible.

I like Haruhi and Shana, but I can't understand the thought process to vote for a character almost no chance due to the point values for necklace...

[Team Rocket Elite]

Originally Posted by Konakaga

I like Haruhi and Shana, but I can't understand the thought process to vote for a character almost no chance due to the point values for necklace...

Some people aren't interested in gaming the system and just vote for who they like. Others don't like any of the characters actually in the running so they don't bother gaming the system.

[Sphire]

I always thought Eu was popular because she can't talk, which seems to have roused the 'Protect My Waifu' syndrome in otakus everywhere!

Like Kholdstare, I didn't really like S1 of Zombie, especially the more plot-heavy drama moments. But they did at least make Eu's problems noteworthy. S2 was more laid back and fun, so she grew on me. Although she's not close to being a favourite.

[KholdStare]

Well Sphire, you had the same feel as I did, that the plot in S1 sucked and S2 was better and more fun to watch (until ep 11 which was wtf?). She's not a favorite of mine, but I like her much more in S2. I actually remember rooting for her to fail last year!

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Konakaga

I like Haruhi and Shana, but I can't understand the thought process to vote for a character almost no chance due to the point values for necklace...

I don't know how it is for others, but I don't really understand the score-keeping process and I don't vote according to how I think it works. I vote for the characters that I like, and if they happen to be the least popular, so be it - I take interest in seeing how the popularity trends play out. In this case there's no such thing as "throwing your vote away." Knowing that some people vote based purely on who they think has the best chance of winning sort of screws up the voting data, though. I don't really care to see how people are second-guessing what character is popular; I'd rather see what character is popular based on people voting for their preferences.

Now, if you're placing monetary bets on particular characters winning, that becomes a different story...

[Ithekro]

Remember this is a moe contest (or a popularity contest some would say). It isn't about picking the winner (not a horse race).

[Konakaga]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

I don't know how it is for others, but I don't really understand the score-keeping process and I don't vote according to how I think it works. I vote for the characters that I like, and if they happen to be the least popular, so be it - I take interest in seeing how the popularity trends play out. In this case there's no such thing as "throwing your vote away." Knowing that some people vote based purely on who they think has the best chance of winning sort of screws up the voting data, though. I don't really care to see how people are second-guessing what character is popular; I'd rather see what character is popular based on people voting for their preferences.

Now, if you're placing monetary bets on particular characters winning, that becomes a different story...

popularity is most important part overall, but the necklaces are slightly different since they are popularity and performance during that round(Haruhi, Yuri, Inori, and Shana lost a match in Emerald so to win they required an extremely large vote margin over Mio/Azusa/Eucliwood did). So I vote for one the one I like most who has a good chance, otherwise might have been close between Shana and Azusa.

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Remember this is a moe contest (or a popularity contest some would say). It isn't about picking the winner (not a horse race).

Still no1 has one over a massive gap for a necklace yet, so I vote for who I like with a chance .

[Ledgem]

I don't really understand why you would factor in who "has a chance" though. I understand the pleasure derived from seeing that others share your preferences (that your favorite characters get a lot of votes), but why alter your preferences over it? What do you get if you vote for the character who ultimately wins?

(Side note: I'm not stating this as criticism; just wondering to the forum.)

[Sphire]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

I don't really understand why you would factor in who "has a chance" though. I understand the pleasure derived from seeing that others share your preferences (that your favorite characters get a lot of votes), but why alter your preferences over it? What do you get if you vote for the character who ultimately wins?

(Side note: I'm not stating this as criticism; just wondering to the forum.)

I don't think anyone alters their preferences. It's just a personal ranking of characters. If a character I like 5th best has a way way better/clear chance of winning a necklace over a character I like 3rd best, I'd go with the 5th placed character so that at least a character I like wins. It's not like I vote for characters I don't like in the first place. That's where the percentage game comes in (ie. who is more likely to win).

Some people don't care, and that's fine. As you saw, the pure Shana and Haruhi fans cared nothing for Eucliwood and/or the K-On! girls. Their votes could've altered the end result, but they don't care about those characters.

At least that's how I see it. Though I'm not one to really talk, I don't have a pure favourite in either top 5 of Nova or Stella.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Sphire

If a character I like 5th best has a way way better/clear chance of winning a necklace over a character I like 3rd best, I'd go with the 5th placed character so that at least a character I like wins.

That's what I don't really understand: "so that at least a character I like wins." What does it matter whether they "win" or "lose"? If there were something that would happen - say, the winning character would be featured in a new series, or the series artist would create some special artwork for the winning character - then I could understand it. There would be something tied to who won.

As of now, all that happens is the character is featured in a little graphic that is featured each year. It's not that I don't like the tournament's Photoshops of the winning characters, but I don't really see that as being the appeal that everyone is going for.

So what is gained by hedging votes to make a particular character "win"?

[KholdStare]

If you look at ISML History, the necklace award has little to no importance. It doesn't automatically qualify you for post-season or give you an advantage next year. (Although in truth, if you are strong enough to win a necklace, then you don't need extra help.) Yet, the necklace match is the match where people vote the most. Think of it like this - what use is the tiara? Sure it's the grand prize, but it's just...personal joy that a character you like wins.

The necklaces are more like "silver medals" - the poster itself makes it so. If you place second in post-season, you don't get a poster. But you do if you win a necklace. So that is my conclusion; the posters are the physical awards that represent success, which makes necklaces a prize that voters will covet for their favorite characters.