International Saimoe League 2008 - The Best of the Best

[minhtam1638]

Heh, all this talk about profiles and stuff, and I almost forgot about this -

Nominations close at 8:00 PM EST

On a side note, I like the intergration of the font. Very nice.

[Psieye]

Oh yeah nominations. Drat, hit the Enter key accidentally - re-submitted my nominations with a full list. +5 to Kiri

Edit: Alright, here's the revised Suiseiseki profile. I've had to adapt the transition sentence that links biography to Saimoe history, to better reflect the different focus of my version compared to the original. Now awaiting feedback:

=============

Suiseiseki:

Spoiler for er, gee that's long:

3rd of the Rozen Maiden dolls and the older twin sister of Souseiseki. Together they are the Gardeners who can communicate not only with the living earth but also with the "soul trees" of humans. Described by her younger sister Shinku as the most "timid and shy of sisters", and even as a "crybaby", it is not surprising to find her hiding behind any of her sisters in the presence of strangers. Though actually, you don't get to see this much at all because most of the screentime is spent with people she knows and the other dolls. And being shy and a pacifist towards the Alice game does not mean Suiseiseki is weak: all Rozen Maidens are 'fated' to kill each other until only one remains as per "Father" Rozen's desires (all the dolls are Rozen's failed attempts to create the perfect girl, Alice). This sick ritual of stealing each others Rosa Mystica (souls) is called the Alice game. Makes a strong stand against the crystal cold and homicidal Barasuishou, while protecting a scared Kanaria as the Alice game begins against her wishes.

With those she is aquainted with, a devious personality appears. "Desu", her trademark sentence ender, is normally reserved for young/small & cute characters. Suiseiseki flips this image on its head, incorporating Desu with a coarse tongue (e.g. insulting Jun with "Chibi chibi Ningen" - tiny tiny human) and mean behaviour. Takes opportunities to grill Hina Ichigo with wild lies, treating it as teasing her. Once though, she got scared into admitting the truth with a counter-lie (Jun: "This is the crocodile of truth! It will bite your hand off if you lie!" - S1 Ep 5). Pride keeps her from apologising to Hina Ichigo though, laughing it off like a villain.

Is a family lover, rejecting "Father's" wish for the Alice game. Her treatment of Hina Ichigo is just her (rather twisted and cruel) way of showing love. Loves all her sisters but especially her twin sister. Has been heartbroken over Souseiseki twice (once per season) because her twin puts loyalty (to her medium/master and to Father) above sororal[] love. The first time, Suiseiseki was willing to put her feelings into her attacks (her tool, a mystic water sprinkling can, is able to rapid-grow huge vines for offense and defence) in an effort to communicate (think "Fist Communication" between martial artists). The second time though, Souseiseki was serious and stated she was going to play the Alice game - meaning she was willing to kill even Suiseiseki for the sake of Father's twisted wish. Watched helplessly as Souseiseki became the first casualty and her Rosa Mystica was stolen.

In the traditional definition of Tsundere, Suiseiseki gradually accepts Jun, especially after accepting him as her Medium (a human who channels power to the dolls - i.e. a living battery for superior firepower). Suiseiseki couldn't have the elderly couple (who had been taking care of the twins) get drained so sought somebody else. Failing to find anyone by randomly phoning people, Jun found her getting drenched in the rain and agreed to be her Medium despite already being Shinku's. That night, Suiseiseki couldn't sleep so pretended to read - holding the book upside down and covering her face with it. Jun then sat down with Suiseiseki on his lap and read out the book for her. It was irrelevant that it was a maths textbook and he was reading random equations.

To Shinku, Suiseiseki may be the most timid and shy of sisters. Maybe true for 2005 but in 2006? She felt acquainted enough to pull out her strong and wicked side.

After a 46 point loss to Shinku herself in Japan's Saimoe 2005, Suiseiseki made a huge impression in 2006, going virtually undefeated in both Japan and Korea to sweep both tournaments. Her road to history was not easy. A 420-420 matchup with Shana (Shakugan no Shana) forced Suiseiseki into two Fate/Stay Night matchups with Sakura Matou and Rin Tosaka, both of which resulted in wins of less than 100 points respectively. A win in a rematch with Shana and another easy win over Eri Sawachika (School Rumble) led to the 2006 Korean championship. In Japan, after an easy preliminary round, Suiseiseki had to dodge her older sister Suigintou to make the group finals, i.e. the top 16. After an easy win over Alice Carroll (ARIA), Suiseiseki secured a statement win over heavy favorite (Yuki Nagato) in the highest scoring matchup of Saimoe 2006. A 42 point win over Shana (again) and a 67 point win over Fate Testarossa (Nanoha) secured the victory and a sweep for Suiseiseki.

In 2007, Suiseiseki continued to be explosive, but she was denied by those who were equally as strong, and it seems the strong get stronger. An easy schedule in Japan Saimoe 2007 led to a loss to Tsukasa Hiiragi (Lucky Star) in the round of 16, where Suiseiseki's individual votes received record was also eclipsed by Tsukasa. Korea's Best Moe 2007 was more nostalgic - after a close matchup in the round of 32 again, this time an 84 point victory against Ayu Tsukimia (Kanon), Suiseiseki received the luxury (or not) of facing both Fate and Shana back-to-back once again. In the round of eight, A 7-point victory in a Suiseiseki-Fate matchup marked a sign of things to come, and in the semifinals, Shana handed Suiseiseki her hardest loss to date - a margin of 387 votes. In the 2006-07 Korea Super Best Moe, Suiseiseki lost twice to Hayate no Gotoku representatives, first to 2007 Korea Champion Hinagiku Katsura in a 17-vote difference exhibition match, followed by a 73-point loss to Maria in the quaterfinals.

With the Rozen Maiden series currently inactive, Suiseiseki is currently ineligible for the yearly tournaments and will have to settle for the 2006-2008 Korea Super Best Moe tournament in November. However, the International Moe League will prove to be Suiseiseki's toughest tournament yet, as all contestants Suiseiseki has faced with less than a 200 point margin, with the exception of Ayu, are also participating in this league. Even so, Suiseiseki is determined to prove she still has the moe power to take the international crown.

[minhtam1638]

Originally Posted by Psieye

Oh yeah nominations. Drat, hit the Enter key accidentally - re-submitted my nominations with a full list. +5 to Kiri

Edit: Alright, here's the revised Suiseiseki profile. I've had to adapt the transition sentence that links biography to Saimoe history, to better reflect the different focus of my version compared to the original. Now awaiting feedback:

=============

Suiseiseki:

Spoiler for er, gee that's long:

3rd of the Rozen Maiden dolls and the older twin sister of Souseiseki. Together they are the Gardeners who can communicate not only with the living earth but also with the "soul trees" of humans. Described by her younger sister Shinku as the most "timid and shy of sisters", and even as a "crybaby", it is not surprising to find her hiding behind any of her sisters in the presence of strangers. Though actually, you don't get to see this much at all because most of the screentime is spent with people she knows and the other dolls. And being shy and a pacifist towards the Alice game does not mean Suiseiseki is weak: all Rozen Maidens are 'fated' to kill each other until only one remains as per "Father" Rozen's desires (all the dolls are Rozen's failed attempts to create the perfect girl, Alice). This sick ritual of stealing each others Rosa Mystica (souls) is called the Alice game. Makes a strong stand against the crystal cold and homicidal Barasuishou, while protecting a scared Kanaria as the Alice game begins against her wishes.

With those she is aquainted with, a devious personality appears. "Desu", her trademark sentence ender, is normally reserved for young/small & cute characters. Suiseiseki flips this image on its head, incorporating Desu with a coarse tongue (e.g. insulting Jun with "Chibi chibi Ningen" - tiny tiny human) and mean behaviour. Takes opportunities to grill Hina Ichigo with wild lies, treating it as teasing her. Once though, she got scared into admitting the truth with a counter-lie (Jun: "This is the crocodile of truth! It will bite your hand off if you lie!" - S1 Ep 5). Pride keeps her from apologising to Hina Ichigo though, laughing it off like a villain.

Is a family lover, rejecting "Father's" wish for the Alice game. Her treatment of Hina Ichigo is just her (rather twisted and cruel) way of showing love. Loves all her sisters but especially her twin sister. Has been heartbroken over Souseiseki twice (once per season) because her twin puts loyalty (to her medium/master and to Father) above sororal[] love. The first time, Suiseiseki was willing to put her feelings into her attacks (her tool, a mystic water sprinkling can, is able to rapid-grow huge vines for offense and defence) in an effort to communicate (think "Fist Communication" between martial artists). The second time though, Souseiseki was serious and stated she was going to play the Alice game - meaning she was willing to kill even Suiseiseki for the sake of Father's twisted wish. Watched helplessly as Souseiseki became the first casualty and her Rosa Mystica was stolen.

In the traditional definition of Tsundere, Suiseiseki gradually accepts Jun, especially after accepting him as her Medium (a human who channels power to the dolls - i.e. a living battery for superior firepower). Suiseiseki couldn't have the elderly couple (who had been taking care of the twins) get drained so sought somebody else. Failing to find anyone by randomly phoning people, Jun found her getting drenched in the rain and agreed to be her Medium despite already being Shinku's. That night, Suiseiseki couldn't sleep so pretended to read - holding the book upside down and covering her face with it. Jun then sat down with Suiseiseki on his lap and read out the book for her. It was irrelevant that it was a maths textbook and he was reading random equations.

To Shinku, Suiseiseki may be the most timid and shy of sisters. Maybe true for 2005 but in 2006? She felt acquainted enough to pull out her strong and wicked side.

After a 46 point loss to Shinku herself in Japan's Saimoe 2005, Suiseiseki made a huge impression in 2006, going virtually undefeated in both Japan and Korea to sweep both tournaments. Her road to history was not easy. A 420-420 matchup with Shana (Shakugan no Shana) forced Suiseiseki into two Fate/Stay Night matchups with Sakura Matou and Rin Tosaka, both of which resulted in wins of less than 100 points respectively. A win in a rematch with Shana and another easy win over Eri Sawachika (School Rumble) led to the 2006 Korean championship. In Japan, after an easy preliminary round, Suiseiseki had to dodge her older sister Suigintou to make the group finals, i.e. the top 16. After an easy win over Alice Carroll (ARIA), Suiseiseki secured a statement win over heavy favorite (Yuki Nagato) in the highest scoring matchup of Saimoe 2006. A 42 point win over Shana (again) and a 67 point win over Fate Testarossa (Nanoha) secured the victory and a sweep for Suiseiseki.

In 2007, Suiseiseki continued to be explosive, but she was denied by those who were equally as strong, and it seems the strong get stronger. An easy schedule in Japan Saimoe 2007 led to a loss to Tsukasa Hiiragi (Lucky Star) in the round of 16, where Suiseiseki's individual votes received record was also eclipsed by Tsukasa. Korea's Best Moe 2007 was more nostalgic - after a close matchup in the round of 32 again, this time an 84 point victory against Ayu Tsukimia (Kanon), Suiseiseki received the luxury (or not) of facing both Fate and Shana back-to-back once again. In the round of eight, A 7-point victory in a Suiseiseki-Fate matchup marked a sign of things to come, and in the semifinals, Shana handed Suiseiseki her hardest loss to date - a margin of 387 votes. In the 2006-07 Korea Super Best Moe, Suiseiseki lost twice to Hayate no Gotoku representatives, first to 2007 Korea Champion Hinagiku Katsura in a 17-vote difference exhibition match, followed by a 73-point loss to Maria in the quaterfinals.

With the Rozen Maiden series currently inactive, Suiseiseki is currently ineligible for the yearly tournaments and will have to settle for the 2006-2008 Korea Super Best Moe tournament in November. However, the International Moe League will prove to be Suiseiseki's toughest tournament yet, as all contestants Suiseiseki has faced with less than a 200 point margin, with the exception of Ayu, are also participating in this league. Even so, Suiseiseki is determined to prove she still has the moe power to take the international crown.

Thank you for reminding me that I have to look over the Saimoe histories again. It looks like Ayu's getting her way in as well. And a certain source in the Rozen Maiden forum is saying that the Rozen Maiden manga may return soon. I may have to start over (not really, just make tidbit edits) from Suiseiseki and go down to FANVOTE #17.

And uh, you didn't have to copy the histories.

[minhtam1638]

45 minutes until nominations close. There is now a special message on the news page (some of you will cry). It's a thank you for all, especially you guys here, who have participated in helping me make this league the way it is. My parents are also included, who are supporting me even though they don't like the idea, and other things are mentioned as well.

The contestants page pretty much is in your control now, since for those of you that have decided to help out, you have all done a wonderful job, and we haven't even gotten 10% done yet. I'm sure that your work on this league will help not only gain reputation for ISML but also for the Japan and Korea tournaments as well, as they too play a part in this league.

This Saturday, my family is heading to Massachusetts for the anniversary of my uncle's death. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend that anniversary due to a make-up class this Saturday (professor's pneumonia). As a special reminder of his memory, Saturday's exhibition match will be dedicated in loving memory to Marcello Long Nguyen. (It's unfortunate that the theme for that exhibition is a particular someone irritated at Suiseiseki for stealing her melon bread).

I'm going to go ahead and count the current nominations in advance. I want to announce them as early as possible so that our plans will go into affect. I'll inform alphastickmania of the avatars that he is not required to do, and we'll go from there.

EDIT: Nominations are closed. Suiseiseki's Melon-pan Invitational is now open.

[KaneDragon]

I went in expecting two matches, was surprised to see a great deal more... Cheers.

[minhtam1638]

Originally Posted by KaneDragon

I went in expecting two matches, was surprised to see a great deal more... Cheers.

I'm going to use the same format for the rest of the season - 3 marquee matchups in the front page, maybe a paragraph concerning some storyline for each. They will be featured on the home page. Usually, it will be an inclusion of top 16 matchups, but some will also be inclusive-series battles as well.

Oh, and uh, top 17 have been announced on the home page. I'll release the full standings shortly, as soon as I get the excel file updated with participating countries. (I never knew there was a country called "Reunion".)

[Ithekro]

Reunion = Small French island territory in the Indian Ocean if I recall correctly.

The final standings will be interesting.

[Mushi]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

The final standings will be interesting.

Yep... anxiously awaiting that. Still hoping that Misuzu at least gets to make a showing in the tournament.

[Ahasuerus]

Still hoping that Misuzu at least gets to make a showing in the tournament.

It looks like neither Misuzu, Chii, or Osaka made it in *cries*

Oh well, at least all the other girls I knew and wanted to get in did

[KholdStare]

I really liked Misuzu also, but there's like 10 KyoAni girls I like, and I have to vote for Sakura-chan at least once, so...

[minhtam1638]

Originally Posted by Ahasuerus

It looks like neither Misuzu, Chii, or Osaka made it in *cries*

Oh well, at least all the other girls I knew and wanted to get in did

Misuzu was off by only 11.

Hold on, I still got to get the file finished. Just got off an important call.

[Mushi]

Originally Posted by minhtam2448

Misuzu was off by only 11.

Awww... so close. Lots of other KyoAni girls, it's true, but Misuzu was one of the first ones I ever realized I actually had a "moe moment" with.

Well, she did her best.

[qtipbrit]

Ah, and I think I'd given 7 points to Misuzu (3, 2, 2).

Well, since we can no longer post our nominations for others to flame:
1 - Nagi: Maria's great, but loli tsunderekkos are just win.
2 - Suigintou: Rie Tanaka still gets her rep, though.
3 - Fate:
4 - Haruhi: She's not a tsunderekko, though.
5 - Kagami: This one was difficult, but Konata's epic line of "Bipolar girls have to have pigtails!" where Tsundere and Twin Tails were translated as such was win.
6 - Souseiseki: Obvious for me.
7 - Refrain: Haven't seen Utawarerumono.
8 - Refrain: Or Negima!.
9 - Rin Tohsaka: Tsundere win.
10 - Rena: Omuchikaeri!
11 - Tsuruya: Eh, my brother is the silent loli fan.
12 - Hinagiku: Ayumu is actually my second favourite Hayate girl, though.
13 - Tamao: She has the Nagisa-power.
14 - Mai: The bunny ears in the wheat field won it for me.
15 - Refrain: Haven't seen ToHeart.
16 - Refrain: See #8.

The profile pictures are coming along well, though I'm not very good at making decisions for pictures. I've narrowed Hinagiku down to three, with Nagi and Yuki at two each.

Spoiler for Hinagiku:

I like all three, though the maid is probably my favourite, followed by the third, and then the middle.

Spoiler for Nagi:

One is tsuntsun, and one I believe is from some promotional poster for Hayate.

Spoiler for Yuki:

I personally like the second more, but my brother (who is actually a fan of Yuki) liked the head shot more.

I also tried out the Lithograph (size 22) font, but it has its inconsistencies with letter sizing and such. I still like size 25 Arial Rounded MT Bold more.

Spoiler for Lithograph:

[w00tness]

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

6 - Souseiseki: Obvious for me.

Boku is not tsudereko. Suiseiseki is (well, not in the traditional start out tsun tsun turn out dere dere over time but rather always tsun tsun in front of jun but shes not fooling anyone!)

of course, your choice is your choice, but im curious as to why Boku is your "obvious" choice considering you like tsunderekos.

plus, suiseiseki has twin tails.... of sorts xD

[DragoonKain3]

For me...

Hina- tough pick between meido and casual. I think I'll go with the casual as the background looks nicer
Nagi - I'd take the second one personally, as it looks cleaner
Yuki - first one for sure, as the 'H' in the background is distracting to me

For votes:
Maria vs Nagi - not hard, being Maria is the one Hayate is most likely romantically interested in...
Suigintou vs Shinku - psycho-moe ftw!
Fate vs Nanoha - adult Nanoha is hot + childhood friends with Yuuno
Haruhi vs Mikuru - Must prevent closed space from expanding!
[b]Kagami[b] vs Konata - If Konata was the bait, Kagami was the hook for me in LS
Sou vs Sui - Considering Suiseiseki is my favourite RM doll, though that really ain't saying much
Eruruu vs Aruruu - Loli < almost everything. Besides, I will probably never forget the tail grab
Konoka vs Eva - Eva, considering she's not really a loli lol
Sakura vs Rin - Tohsaka was really the only reason why I stuck through F/Sn despite it being littered by plot holes
Mion vs Rena - psycho-moe ftw
Yuki vs Tsuruya - lolfang-tan > robot
Ayumu vs Hinagiku - Very few would beat Hina-chan in my moe meter
Abstain - yuri ain't my thing
Nayuki vs Mai - Faito dayo!
Konomi vs Tamaki - Absolutely no contest for me, despite both being childhood friends
Abstain - Apart from Eva and Asuna, I don't remember any of the girls from Negima

[minhtam1638]

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

I also tried out the Lithograph (size 22) font, but it has its inconsistencies with letter sizing and such. I still like size 25 Arial Rounded MT Bold more.

Spoiler for Lithograph:

Arial is boring and everyday-ish. Why not something new?

The thing about Lithograph is that it does have inconsistencies with letter sizing, the most notable is that there's no difference between Capital letters and lowercase letters. I think it's more consistent if italicized, like the letterings on the avatars.

EDIT 2: You can also try Century Gothic or Comic Sans MS, italicized. Maybe those will look better?

If you can, follow qtipbrit92's model and use both first and last names (not the whole name, but the name I used on the schedules).

I'll start accepting the profile pictures from this post on, presuming the previous ones are drafts?

EDIT: The nomination standings and file is up. Also, the scheduling program is up for download, so if you don't want to wait for it to show on the website, you can download it and see it for yourself.

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by w00tness

Boku is not tsudereko. Suiseiseki is (well, not in the traditional start out tsun tsun turn out dere dere over time but rather always tsun tsun in front of jun but shes not fooling anyone!)

of course, your choice is your choice, but im curious as to why Boku is your "obvious" choice considering you like tsunderekos.

plus, suiseiseki has twin tails.... of sorts xD

Twin Tails aren't really a personal moe favourite of mine, though they are a plus. I'm aware that Souseiseki has neither a tsundere personality nor twintails (both of which Suiseiseki has to some extent.) I've already made it clear that I would be hate-voting against Suiseiseki (even though she's my second favourite doll) throughout the tournament for beating both Fate and Shana in Saimoe 2006.

Even though this one didn't count, I'm practicing my hate-voting skillz.

[Fynal_Fyre]

I don't know, I like Lithograph.

Anyways, I'm still working on a few myself, gotta try out the Clannad Girls.

[minhtam1638]

Originally Posted by Fynal_Fyre

I don't know, I like Lithograph.

Anyways, I'm still working on a few myself, gotta try out the Clannad Girls.

I agree a lot. Heck, if Psieye finishes Shana's biography, we may use her page as a test. Although I'm still debating whether to use the episode 22 pic or the maid pic...

And as for voting - I'm voting Suiseiseki in favor of Shana. Just so that the final rivalry would be a high-profile matchup.

[qtipbrit]

EDIT:

Originally Posted by minhtam2448

EDIT 2: You can also try Century Gothic or Comic Sans MS, italicized. Maybe those will look better?

I'm liking a size 25 Bold Comic Sans MS faux italic with Crisp anti-aliasing.

I'll stick with that, then,

EDIT2: I've found out that the reason I disliked the grey background Yuki was that her head was too large, so I edited and now it's nicer. Yay.

Originally Posted by Fynal_Fyre

I don't know, I like Lithograph.

Anyways, I'm still working on a few myself, gotta try out the Clannad Girls.

Eh.
There's also some stuff I haven't see, too, so you and cicido should do the ones for those characters.
Beforehand, I call Matsuri and any Yui Horie characters.
We should have system in which we can decide who does which characters so we don't have to do excess work.
To the extent of my knowledge, cicido and I have worked on Teletha Testarossa, Eri Sawachika, Shana, Hinagiku Katsura, Yuki Nagato, and Nagi Sanzenin.
Cicido's might have done more, though.

I still can't decide what to do with the Shana one, though. We could either go casual/seifuku clothing, Flame Haze, or melonpan waitress.
I've also recently found some Noizi Ito's artwork with Shana eating taiyaki (yes, she doesn't only eat melonpan.)
EDIT: It's not very high resolution, though, but she's too cute to pass up.
EDIT2: Here's the picture with size 25 Bold Comic Sans MS Faux Italic and crisp anti-aliasing.
I like it, but as I said, the resolution was quite low.

EDIT3: She's also missing her ahoge, but that was just an original addition by J.C. Staff.

EDIT4: You know, I'm actually surprised neither Kotonoha nor Sekai of School Days are in this. I'm quite sure they had the Yandere-loving world in an uproar.