International Saimoe League 2012

[Triple_R]

Excellent results!

Lots of close matches, which is always good to see in and of itself, imo.

Then, the girl I voted to win the necklace won the necklace.

And as I suspected, Exhibition 1 came down to Homura vs. Karen, and Homura won by a slim 7-vote margin! Thrilling photo finish for a Homura fan like myself.


The other exhibition matches were a mixed bag for me, but the two matches I cared about the most couldn't have went better for what I wanted, so that's great.

Originally Posted by RegalStar

Yuno is basically on the same boat as Homura/Holo. Menma too. Thus they do well in group matches that don't matter and suck in regular season 1v1s.

It's called high-floor, low-ceiling.

The voters who like one of these particular girls tend to like them more than almost anybody else, so their voters are their voters. But all of them have limited growth potential (Holo due to sheer age and lack of recent anime content, imo; Menma was a bit polarizing from what I can recall of AnoHana and discussions surrounding it; Yuno's a yandere, a character type that's a real love/hate "acquired taste" for a lot of people I find).

[Ithekro]

I find it funny that Taiga almost stole the necklace from Kanade.

[HasuMasu]

So Kanade won, all is we--

--wait, Yuuko-san lost!? What has become of the world...

[Sphire]

Damn, I'm loving Menma's pic. Who do I need to thank for making it?

Can't say I was looking forward to seeing her in regular season. But she made it, so I'll still back her. So that's two nice surprises already. Sad for Mafuyu though, ah what I wouldn't give for SeiZon season 2.

Kanade's pic is a bit more nsfw than I would've expected. But her winning doesn't really surprise me. My vote went to Eu, and even if she didn't win, her strength is really high now. Can't wait for her to battle Kanade. Ah, what I wouldn't give to be able to vote for Tomonori too.

Also loving how 10,000+ voters turned up.

[Rajura]

Originally Posted by wontaek

I ought ta spank you...

Yeah... sorry about that. Fortunately it was not on a Holo day...

But still, I prefer to make my contribution daily.

[Sackett]

Well... one thing to take away is that the Bodacious Space Pirate girls are really weak. Kind of surprising. I wonder how Oka and Urabe will do, I assume they will show up in a later exhibition match.

As for Mikoto repeating as a tiara winner, I think she has a really good chance, just not this year. This year I'm betting it's Kanade vs Shana.

But because Mikoto is likely to get a lot of new material, she probably won't slip much. One year there just won't be a big new name in Nova, and then Mikoto will get her second Tiara.

Also, interesting that Asuka Langley can beat Aoi Yamada. Working really isn't that popular is it.

[KholdStare]

We're glad you guys like the poster. Thanks for participating in Aquamarine! Ahasuerus come on IRC.

[Ahasuerus]

While I would've preferred Taiga or Shana, I can't complain about Tenshi's well-deserved win so congrats to her

That poster is to die for but I won't 'cos dying sucks. Insta-classic

Be by in a bit

[Team Rocket Elite]

For those interested, here are my character rankings from before Aquamarine 1 and after Aquamarine 7:

Before Aquamarine 1:

Spoiler for Character Ranking before Aquamarine 1:

Shana - 62.49
Aisaka Taiga - 60.75
Misaka Mikoto - 59.69
Nakano Azusa - 58.97
Akiyama Mio - 56.67
Nagato Yuki - 55.43
Saber - 53.85
Katsura Hinagiku - 53.62
Suzumiya Haruhi - 53.08
Senjōgahara Hitagi - 52.71
Sengoku Nadeko - 51.12
Oshino Shinobu - 46.78
Illyasviel von Einzbern - 45.78
Sakagami Tomoyo - 45.03
Hirasawa Yui - 44.49
Tōsaka Rin - 44.28
Louise Vallière - 42.48
Ikaros - 42.44
Last Order - 41.52
Holo - 40.43
Asahina Mikuru - 40.34
Fujibayashi Kyō - 40.23
C.C. - 39.72
Furukawa Nagisa - 39.57
Hirasawa Ui - 39.39
Sanzen'in Nagi - 39.22
Hiiragi Kagami - 39.05
Konjiki no Yami - 39.02
Ichinose Kotomi - 38.64
Izumi Konata - 38.63
Kotobuki Tsumugi - 38.42
Nymph - 38.4
Index L. Prohibitorum - 37.22
Hecate - 36.1
Shiina Mafuyu - 35.89
Shirai Kuroko - 34.79

Tachibana Kanade - 72.78
Gokō Ruri (Kuroneko) - 58.22
Eucliwood Hellscythe - 51.09
Yui - 50.23
Nakamura Yuri - 48.82
Hasegawa Kobato - 48.35
Kashiwazaki Sena - 47.5
Kōsaka Kirino - 46.87
Charlotte Dunois - 45.26
Kuroi Mato - 45.26
Victorique de Blois - 43.54
Yuzuriha Inori - 42.5
Makise Kurisu - 42
Akemi Homura - 41.5
Mikazuki Yozora - 40.26
Tōwa Erio - 40
Iwasawa Masami - 39.51
Kanzaki H. Aria - 39.48
Elucia de Lute Ima - 38.5
Haruna - 38.35
Kirishima Shōko - 38
Irisviel von Einzbern - 37.99
Haqua du Lot Herminium - 36.79
Himeji Mizuki - 36.58
Shiomiya Shiori - 36.08
Nakagawa Kanon - 36.03
Aragaki Ayase - 35.84
Suzutsuki Kanade - 35.5
Konoe Subaru - 35
Mine Riko - 34.95
Shimada Minami - 34.58
Fear Kubrick - 34.2
Kasugano Sora - 33.86
Honma Meiko - 33.47
Sakura Kyōko - 30.65
Gasai Yuno - 30.33

After Aquamarine 7:

Spoiler for Character Ranking after Aquamarine 7:

Aisaka Taiga - 62.11
Shana - 60.55
Misaka Mikoto - 57.22
Nakano Azusa - 55.85
Nagato Yuki - 55.74
Suzumiya Haruhi - 55.4
Saber - 54.26
Akiyama Mio - 53.73
Katsura Hinagiku - 49.62
Sengoku Nadeko - 48.62
Senjōgahara Hitagi - 47.79
Oshino Shinobu - 45.63
Hirasawa Yui - 45.38
Illyasviel von Einzbern - 44.97
Sakagami Tomoyo - 44.8
Tōsaka Rin - 43.93
Louise Vallière - 43.39
Last Order - 42.22
Fujibayashi Kyō - 42.04
Asahina Mikuru - 41.81
Konjiki no Yami - 41.8
Izumi Konata - 41.63
Hiiragi Kagami - 41.61
Ikaros - 41.53
Furukawa Nagisa - 41.2
C.C. - 40.59
Sanzen'in Nagi - 40.11
Nymph - 39.89
Kotobuki Tsumugi - 38.79
Index L. Prohibitorum - 38.31
Hirasawa Ui - 38.15
Ichinose Kotomi - 38.05
Holo - 37.37
Shiina Mafuyu - 36.71
Hecate - 35.48
Shirai Kuroko - 35.32

Tachibana Kanade - 70.35
Eucliwood Hellscythe - 61.78
Gokō Ruri (Kuroneko) - 52.22
Yui - 49.57
Nakamura Yuri - 48.56
Kashiwazaki Sena - 47.76
Hasegawa Kobato - 47.72
Kōsaka Kirino - 46.8
Yuzuriha Inori - 44.25
Charlotte Dunois - 42.38
Kanzaki H. Aria - 41.62
Tōwa Erio - 41.49
Kuroi Mato - 41.43
Haruna - 39.54
Victorique de Blois - 39.18
Makise Kurisu - 39.12
Mikazuki Yozora - 39.06
Elucia de Lute Ima - 38.86
Kirishima Shōko - 38.6
Konoe Subaru - 38.32
Haqua du Lot Herminium - 38.26
Aragaki Ayase - 37.1
Akemi Homura - 37.1
Himeji Mizuki - 37.07
Iwasawa Masami - 36.89
Irisviel von Einzbern - 36.47
Fear Kubrick - 35.7
Mine Riko - 35.68
Suzutsuki Kanade - 35.48
Shiomiya Shiori - 35.44
Nakagawa Kanon - 35.36
Shimada Minami - 34.07
Kasugano Sora - 33.55
Honma Meiko - 33.43
Sakura Kyōko - 32.99
Gasai Yuno - 30.39

Aquamarine is probably more about finding out where characters really stand than looking at how they are changing. For characters who turned out a lot stronger than I initially thought they would, Eucliwood is far and away number 1. It really is a shame that the top end of Nova is so sparce that Eucliwood's massive boost only brought her up a single rank and she is still nowhere near beating the character ahead of her. While not as much as Eucliwood, Konoe Subaru really exceeded my expectations as well. She used to be beside Suzutsuki Kanade in my stats but suddenly started looking at lot better. She still has some work to do if she wants to make the Top 16. I've apparently finally set my expectations for Kyouko low enough that she can beat them. She's still almost at the bottom of my stats but it's no longer a a large margin. Considering preliminaries, standing still would have been an improvement over the freefall the Madoka characters were doing so going up in strength in any way is pretty nice. Unlike Nova, Stella didn't have too many characters shooting up in my stats. Konata, Yami and Kagami did look a bit better than their preliminary performances suggested.

The character that fell the most relative to my initial expectations is probably not too surprising. Despite success in the preliminaries, Akemi Homura just couldn't hold on to it in the regular season. My initial expectations were definitely way too high for Homura. Even after the other Madoka characters seemed to start falling, I didn't really adjust Homura's standing since she was not personally involved in those matches. In the end, Homura probably didn't drop as much as the other Madoka characters did. Kuroneko and Victorique turned out to be sizable disappointments. Victorique's series has ended so falling can't really be helped. I didn't really expect the drop off to be this bad. It seems Victorique may end narrowly missing the post season again this year. While Kuroneko can't do anything about Eucliwood suddenly being a superstar, if Kuroneko was as strong as she was last year, the match should have been a lot closer. As the reverse scenario to Eucliwood, the sparce top tier is to Kuroneko's advantage. Despite her fall, Eucliwood was the only character that could take advantage of it. Maybe Yuri or Yui might in the future but there's still a sizable gap between them and Kuroneko. After wat seemed to be a strong preliminary performance, Hitagi looks to be back to her usual self in the regular season. Nisemonogatari did end in the mean time which may have led to the loss of her temporary strength boost. Kuroi Mato may also have been a victim of losing her "ongoing series" strength boost and also seems to be weaker than during preliminaries.

My stats should be fairly close to reality in most cases... at least within divisions. Currently I've still got Tenshi as the clear number 1 across all characters with Taiga as number 2 at the top of Stella. In the end it doesn't seem like Shana 3 really helped Shana much at all. It's almost completely downhill for Shana from here on so she needs to win her Tiara some time soon. Although I've got Taiga at the top of Stella, I'm not so confident it's by as large a margin as it seems. The Toradora OVA can't have boosted her by that much, could it?

[Kirito]

I still would've preferred Kuroneko and Charlotte because of two things:

1. They're really cute, cool, and awesome characters.
2. They're voiced by Kana Hanazawa my favourite seiyuu. She's so awesome!

[FlareKnight]

Well Kanade wasn't my pick to win, but can't say it wasn't deserved. Had more than enough support to pull it off.

[RegalStar]

Since TRE posted his model, I'll post mine as well.

Spoiler for Aquamarine stat change:

Tachibana Kanade 99.67 -> 122.23
Eucliwood Hellscythe 65.95 -> 87.75
Gokō Ruri (Kuroneko) 79.35 -> 77.93
Yui 71.21 -> 77.16
Kashiwazaki Sena 64.26 -> 66.98
Nakamura Yuri 58.95 -> 66.72
Hasegawa Kobato 66.18 -> 66.07
Kōsaka Kirino 62.29 -> 64.44
Kanzaki H. Aria 56.36 -> 56.80
Charlotte Dunois 54.63 -> 56.04
Kuroi Mato 63.43 -> 55.87
Tōwa Erio 56.06 -> 55.45
Yuzuriha Inori 54.85 -> 54.96
Mikazuki Yozora 52.11 -> 50.77
Victorique de Blois 55.12 -> 50.21
Makise Kurisu 51.59 -> 48.99
Elucia de Lute Ima 47.14 -> 46.41
Akemi Homura 53.20 -> 46.35
Haqua du Lot Herminium 46.66 -> 46.27
Kirishima Shōko 45.80 -> 45.31
Konoe Subaru 41.64 -> 43.55
Irisviel von Einzbern 46.60 -> 43.50
Haruna 41.81 -> 43.08
Iwasawa Masami 45.19 -> 42.79
Nakagawa Kanon 42.39 -> 41.17
Aragaki Ayase 40.56 -> 40.62
Fear Kubrick 39.48 -> 40.45
Shiomiya Shiori 39.82 -> 40.43
Suzutsuki Kanade 41.17 -> 40.29
Himeji Mizuki 38.65 -> 39.61
Mine Riko 41.67 -> 39.18
Sakura Kyōko 38.65 -> 38.04
Shimada Minami 39.65 -> 37.81
Kasugano Sora 36.71 -> 37.28
Honma Meiko 38.63 -> 36.81
Gasai Yuno 36.84 -> 32.95

Shana 75.67 -> 87.79
Aisaka Taiga 79.23 -> 85.95
Misaka Mikoto 74.35 -> 81.71
Nakano Azusa 77.26 -> 79.08
Akiyama Mio 71.84 -> 77.07
Suzumiya Haruhi 65.70 -> 75.40
Nagato Yuki 70.16 -> 73.11
Saber 65.76 -> 70.84
Katsura Hinagiku 61.44 -> 62.61
Sengoku Nadeko 58.89 -> 58.63
Senjōgahara Hitagi 57.84 -> 56.50
Hirasawa Yui 54.92 -> 55.18
Oshino Shinobu 52.95 -> 52.91
Tōsaka Rin 52.22 -> 50.56
Sakagami Tomoyo 51.35 -> 50.18
Illyasviel von Einzbern 53.27 -> 49.41
Louise Vallière 48.92 -> 48.16
Last Order 49.47 -> 47.09
Fujibayashi Kyō 45.60 -> 44.75
Ikaros 47.43 -> 44.33
Furukawa Nagisa 42.36 -> 43.66
C.C. 43.66 -> 43.49
Izumi Konata 42.32 -> 43.45
Hiiragi Kagami 41.92 -> 43.35
Konjiki no Yami 40.08 -> 41.98
Asahina Mikuru 41.65 -> 41.40
Nymph 40.76 -> 41.03
Holo 43.18 -> 40.45
Sanzen'in Nagi 42.40 -> 40.00
Index L. Prohibitorum 37.97 -> 37.66
Kotobuki Tsumugi 38.46 -> 37.28
Ichinose Kotomi 37.87 -> 36.99
Shiina Mafuyu 35.32 -> 35.06
Hirasawa Ui 40.34 -> 34.62
Shirai Kuroko 36.91 -> 33.90
Hecate 35.86 -> 32.94

[andyjay729]

I only just started following now, stupid me. I'm a bit surprised at how poorly the Madoka characters are doing, even though this is only their first year in ISML. Is this hype backlash at work or something?

Also surprised to see Konata and Kagami still in after all this time.

[wontaek]

Originally Posted by andyjay729

I only just started following now, stupid me. I'm a bit surprised at how poorly the Madoka characters are doing, even though this is only their first year in ISML. Is this hype backlash at work or something?

Also surprised to see Konata and Kagami still in after all this time.

I believe this has more to do with which fanbase took interest in ISML and which did not. If someone reignite the passion in the Madoka fans and gets just 200 more votes from them for the next 3 matches, Homura and Kyouko may build upon that boost to start winning as hyped.

[Xellos-_^]

Anyone doing the Saimoe thread this year?

[broken270]

I enjoy the "sister" theme for the first exhibition match. For the second, maybe Barni and Kurata have a better chance than Ririchiyio and Soushi, but they are up against strong opponents as well. If they get close, I'll say we may see them next year.

[Akito Kinomoto]

I'm just getting back into the ISML scene and somehow I'm not surprised Madoka and Sayaka haven't made it to the tournament. Or maybe it is surprising because last I checked PMMM's sales figures were second only to Bakemonogatari.

Then there's our usual suspects returning such as the Kugimiya tsunderes (isn't that redundant?), some Key girls, ect. Nothing unexpected there.

What I am wondering is how characters like C.C. and Holo keep making it despite nothing from their series for who knows how long. Oh well. I guess we need someone to serve as a punching bag for the heavy hitters.

[RegalStar]

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

What I am wondering is how characters like C.C. and Holo keep making it despite nothing from their series for who knows how long. Oh well. I guess we need someone to serve as a punching bag for the heavy hitters.

You don't want to talk badly about Holo here. There's an ardent Holo fan here, and he'll own you for insulting his favourite girl.

Seriously though, Rajura's a cool person. Be nice to Holo.

[RegalStar]

I'm surprised that nobody's making a big deal out of Homura vs Sora.

ARENA 01: [Gokō Ruri (Kuroneko)] Shimada Minami
ARENA 02: Honma Meiko [Eucliwood Hellscythe]
ARENA 03: Sakura Kyōko [Nakamura Yuri]
ARENA 04: Hasegawa Kobato [Haqua du Lot Herminium]
ARENA 05: [Charlotte Dunois] Gasai Yuno
ARENA 06: Mikazuki Yozora [Kuroi Mato]
ARENA 07: [Tachibana Kanade] Suzutsuki Kanade
ARENA 08: Akemi Homura [Kasugano Sora]
ARENA 09: [Victorique de Blois] Kirishima Shōko
ARENA 10: [Iwasawa Masami] Konoe Subaru
ARENA 11: [Yui] Himeji Mizuki
ARENA 12: Kanzaki H. Aria [Haruna]
ARENA 13: Nakagawa Kanon [Tōwa Erio]
ARENA 14: Aragaki Ayase [Elucia de Lute Ima]
ARENA 15: Yuzuriha Inori [Fear Kubrick]
ARENA 16: [Makise Kurisu] Mine Riko
ARENA 17: Irisviel von Einzbern [Kōsaka Kirino]
ARENA 18: Kashiwazaki Sena [Shiomiya Shiori]
ARENA 19: Shinku, Suigintō [Tōsaka Rin, Matō Sakura]
ARENA 20: Misaka Mikoto [Shiina Mafuyu]
ARENA 21: Ichinose Kotomi [Nakano Azusa]
ARENA 22: Asahina Mikuru [Tōsaka Rin]
ARENA 23: [Nagato Yuki] Fujibayashi Kyō
ARENA 24: [Akiyama Mio] Shirai Kuroko
ARENA 25: Sakagami Tomoyo [Katsura Hinagiku]
ARENA 26: Shana [Kotobuki Tsumugi]
ARENA 27: [Aisaka Taiga] Hecate
ARENA 28: Saber [Abstained] C.C.
ARENA 29: [Izumi Konata] Sanzen'in Nagi
ARENA 30: Suzumiya Haruhi [Last Order]
ARENA 31: [Hirasawa Yui] Konjiki no Yami
ARENA 32: [Hirasawa Ui] Louise Vallière
ARENA 33: [Furukawa Nagisa] Hiiragi Kagami
ARENA 34: Oshino Shinobu [Index L. Prohibitorum]
ARENA 35: [Illyasviel von Einzbern] Nymph
ARENA 36: [Holo] Sengoku Nadeko
ARENA 37: [Senjōgahara Hitagi] Ikaros
ARENA 38: Watanuki Banri, Roromiya Karuta [Kujō Kazuya, Victorique de Blois]

[Ichuki]

ARENA 01: Gokō Ruri (Kuroneko) [Shimada Minami]
ARENA 02: Honma Meiko [Abstained] Eucliwood Hellscythe
ARENA 03: [Sakura Kyōko] Nakamura Yuri
ARENA 04: Hasegawa Kobato [Haqua du Lot Herminium]
ARENA 05: Charlotte Dunois [Abstained] Gasai Yuno
ARENA 06: Mikazuki Yozora [Kuroi Mato]
ARENA 07: [Tachibana Kanade] Suzutsuki Kanade
ARENA 08: Akemi Homura [Abstained] Kasugano Sora
ARENA 09: [Victorique de Blois] Kirishima Shōko
ARENA 10: [Iwasawa Masami] Konoe Subaru
ARENA 11: [Yui] Himeji Mizuki
ARENA 12: Kanzaki H. Aria [Abstained] Haruna
ARENA 13: Nakagawa Kanon [Tōwa Erio]
ARENA 14: Aragaki Ayase [Elucia de Lute Ima]
ARENA 15: [Yuzuriha Inori] Fear Kubrick
ARENA 16: Makise Kurisu [Abstained] Mine Riko
ARENA 17: [Irisviel von Einzbern] Kōsaka Kirino
ARENA 18: Kashiwazaki Sena [Shiomiya Shiori]
ARENA 19: [Shinku, Suigintō] Tōsaka Rin, Matō Sakura
ARENA 20: Misaka Mikoto [Shiina Mafuyu]
ARENA 21: [Ichinose Kotomi] Nakano Azusa
ARENA 22: Asahina Mikuru [Tōsaka Rin]
ARENA 23: [Nagato Yuki] Fujibayashi Kyō
ARENA 24: Akiyama Mio [Shirai Kuroko]
ARENA 25: Sakagami Tomoyo [Katsura Hinagiku]
ARENA 26: [Shana] Kotobuki Tsumugi
ARENA 27: Aisaka Taiga [Hecate]
ARENA 28: Saber [C.C.]
ARENA 29: [Izumi Konata] Sanzen'in Nagi
ARENA 30: [Suzumiya Haruhi] Last Order
ARENA 31: Hirasawa Yui [Abstained] Konjiki no Yami
ARENA 32: Hirasawa Ui [Abstained] Louise Vallière
ARENA 33: Furukawa Nagisa [Hiiragi Kagami]
ARENA 34: Oshino Shinobu [Abstained] Index L. Prohibitorum
ARENA 35: [Illyasviel von Einzbern] Nymph
ARENA 36: [Holo] Sengoku Nadeko
ARENA 37: Senjōgahara Hitagi [Abstained] Ikaros
ARENA 38: [Watanuki Banri, Roromiya Karuta] Kujō Kazuya, Victorique de Blois