Saimoe Japan 2012 – MetaMoe Update and Predictions

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Predictions on the upcoming rounds, as well as a small update for MetaMoe.

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With preliminaries and second preliminaries at a close we’ll finally be jumping into the main tournament, where all the fun happens. (NOTE: The first round of the main tournament starts on the 14th, a full schedule/bracket can be found here.) Before that I’d like to talk a little about some of the series and characters that managed to perform amazingly in the preliminaries, as well as about some series and characters that completely bombed. Obviously I don’t have time to touch on EVERY series, so this isn’t a complete list. Also I should mention this is simply my own personal speculation about the different threat levels in the main tournament. Overall the preliminaries didn’t have too many surprises. Most of the series I thought would do well followed through and there were only a few casualties along the way. (See, AKB0048.) If you want to skip right to it, the MetaMoe update is below this section. So, let’s begin!~

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Entrants: 43 // Threat: High // First Appearance: 2009
Notable Players:Nodoka, Koromo, Toki, Kuro, Yuu, Ako
 
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Entrants: 7 // Threat: Tossup // First Appearance: 2009
Notable Players:Azu-nyan, Yui, Mio, Mugi
 
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Entrants: 9 // Threat: High // First Appearance: NEW
Notable Players:Akarin, Kyouko, Ayano, Sakurako
 
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Entrants: 14 // Threat: Mid // First Appearance: 2007
Notable Players: Iori, Yayoi, Hibiki, Chihaya, Miki
 
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Entrants: 8 // Threat: Mid // First Appearance: 2010
Notable Players:Karen, Tsukihi, Mayoi, Senjougahara
 
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Entrants: 7 // Threat: High // First Appearance: 2007
Notable Players:Nagi, Hinagiku
 
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Entrants: 5 // Threat: Low // First Appearance: 2011
Notable Players:Charlotte, Cecilia, Houki
 
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Entrants: 5 // Threat: Low // First Appearance: NEW
Notable Players:Yayoi, Akane, Nao, Reika, Miyuki
 
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FULL CHART HERE.

My predictions will cover all of groups A and B for a total of 24 matches over a span of 8 days. The next post in the series will be on August the 22nd during the one day break before groups C and D. Meaning the first set of results and updates for MetaMoe won’t be until then!

GROUP A1
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GROUP A2
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8/14: Himari Takakura // Saki Miyanaga // Maho Misawa // Nanako Dojima
8/15: Illyasviel Von Einzbern // Moko Tsuiki // Yoshinoya (Hidamari Sketch)
8/16: Nako Oshimizu // Mero Furuya // Maria Takayama
8/17: Remon Yamano // Miyuki Tsubakino // Masamune Usami
8/14: Lingyin Huang // Mahiru Inami // Miya Tachibana
8/15: Kiyomi Sakura // Kobato Hasegawa // Riko Yasufuku
8/16: Tiffania Westwood // Yuuki Kataoka // Rika Shiguma
8/17: Asia Argento // Ghutatan // Tsukasa Ayatsuji
8/14: Reika Aoki // Raika Oda // Cecilia Alcott
8/15: Crea Dolosera // Saki Mizukoshi // Yuno Gasai
8/16: Koromo Amae // Charlotte E Yeager // Lynette Bishop
8/17: Aoi Ogiyama // Miki Hoshii // Tomoka Minato
GROUP B1
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GROUP B2
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8/18: Yuka Hanaki // Tomo Asama // Shino Amakusa
8/19: Komaki Jindai // Iori Minase // Mio Naganohara
8/20: Shinobu Oshino // Ayame Shaga // Shirayuki Hotogi
8/21: Nori (Hidamari Sketch) // Chris Yukine // Sae (Hidamari Sketch)
8/18: Hanyuu // Kanade Suzutsuki // Isumi Saginomiya
8/19: Toki Onjouji // Tsumiki Miniwa // Airi Sena
8/20: Yuno (Hidamari Sketch) // Sakurako Oomuro // Azusa Nakano
8/21: Run (A-Channel) // Ritsu Tainaka // Ami Kawashima
8/18: Izumi Segawa // Akari Akaza // Taeko Hiramatsu
8/19: Mei Misaki // Rias Gremory // Ayano Sugiura
8/20: Yozora Mikazuki // Chihaya Ayase // Nazuna (Hidamari Sketch)
8/21: Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke // Mako Someya // Ichika Takatsuki

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As I mentioned there are no changes to the MetaMoe banners or anything related as of now since we’ve yet to enter the main tournament. Next update will be on August the 22nd! Instead, here are some fun facts about the character choices made by all of you! (Staff choices are also included in these trivia.)

Total Number of Unique Characters: 60
Most Popular Character (By # of Times Chosen):
Karuta Roromiya (5), Kuroyukihime (4), Ai Nanasaki (3), Elsea De Lute Erma (3), Eucliwood Hellscythe (3), Kurisu Makise (3), Oshino Shinobu (3), Rin Tohsaka (3), Rise Kujikawa (3)
Most Popular Character (By # of First Choices):
Eru Chitanda (2) and Ririchiyo Shirakiin (2)
Most Popular Series (By Unique Characters):
Nisemonogatari (5), K-On! (4), Ano Natsu de Matteru (3), Smile Precure (3)
Most Popular Series (By # of Choices):
Nisemonogatari (10), Inu x Boku SS (7), K-On! (6), Fate/Zero (5), Steins;Gate (5)

METAMOE BANNERS EXPLAINED!

Below the following paragraph (in the spoiler) is the collection of ALL banners made for MetaMoe including the smaller rendition of the Staff pics. Over the course of Saimoe, as characters are eliminated, the pictures on these banners will be greyed out and crossed off until all five of your characters are gone. When that happen your banner will be completely greyed out and put at the bottom of the list with a ranking number. This is how we’ll keep track of who gets first, second, third, and so on. There are 20 players total, so good luck! Oh, and don’t worry about bookmarking this post or anything, I’ll be putting these in every post from now on. (Which will be every 2 rounds or so.)

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28 Responses to “Saimoe Japan 2012 – MetaMoe Update and Predictions”

  1. Foshizzel says:

    Impressive job Hawt! Yeah I have a feeling new characters are going to go all the way like Eru/smile precure characters xD

    • Hawthorne says:

      Thanks Fosh! I’m keeping an eye on those newbies, they have a lot of potential to go far, especially with the current match-ups. Eru is in for quite the challenge after round 1 though. The precure seem to have mixed chances.

      Beauty will probably be taken out by the blonde tsundere from IS, Peace is in a good position to go far, March is up against Idolmaster’s Yayoi which will be tough, Sunny has no chances with the prospect of Ika Musume in Round 2, and lastly Happy is a tossup! I really want to see them do well!

      /ranting because I’m excited.

  2. akagami says:

    Really appreciate you doing this Hawthorne, this looks like a lot of fun (kind of reminds me of when I used to be really active in anime forums).

    I noticed you didn’t mention Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, though I have a feeling they won’t make it to the quater-finals.

    Based on the preliminaries, I’m surprised with Amagami SS’s and Mashiroiro Symphony’s results – the former I expected to do better, and the latter I was surprised by the number of characters making a presence in the rankings as I was under the impression Mashiro slipped under the radar for most people – a shame since I found it to be a very enjoyable gem that actually goes down a route (aI can respect his choice, even if it wasn’t the one I would have preferred in the end).

    I just realized I combined several sentences into one, haha.

    • Hawthorne says:

      It’s a lot of fun to write up! Saimoe has always been really exciting to follow, and I’m just happy I get to spread some of the love to readers here at Metanorn.

      Like I said, it would take me FOREVER to write about every series, but I don’t mind adding my thoughts in the comments! Kobato is in a weirdly strong position bracket-wise. I think her biggest competition will be the Saki faction, who in all possibility could snipe her this round against Riko Yasufuku (a very minor character in the series).

      As for Sena, I think she’ll do well up until round two, where she’ll run into trouble with some similarly popular characters. Yozora is in a surprisingly easy bracket, her biggest competition will be the Yuru Yuri-s and dark horse Mei, or even K-On if it lives up to its preliminary results. The rest of the cast looks to be in possible fodder positions. Rika against Yuuki (from Saki), Maria against Nako, and Yukimura against Minori/Marika.

      Honestly, like you said, I can’t really see them going that far as a series, but I get the feeling Kobato will be their biggest strength!

      I was surprised by Mashiroiro as well! I had no idea that series was even popular. (and I also kind of want to watch it now … XD) I don’t think they have as much strength going in as some other series, but definitely potential to take some important matches.

      • Highway says:

        Mashiroiro Symphony was not a bad show, although it takes some focus turns that leave you wondering about the direction (more specific commentary in the spoiler, but will also spoil the show if you don’t want to know what happens):

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        I was kind of surprised to see the girls from Mashiroiro Symphony in this tournament as well, as well as from Hoshizora e Kakeru Hashi, which I thought was great (others do disagree, but mostly about shipping choices).

        • Hawthorne says:

          I’m actually downloading it as I write this, so as much as I want to click that spoiler … I’ll resist! XD

          There were a few Hoshizora characters last year who, much like Symphony, surprised me. A handful made it through to the main tournament, and a couple even went on to win their first round matches. It’s too bad they just didn’t have the same level of popularity this year.

          • akagami says:

            I struggled with Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi, because Ui’s voice drove me up the wall. I managed to sit through it all, but I think if they had swapped out the VA I would have enjoyed it 100% more.

  3. skylion says:

    I’m new to this, and I’m old, so I guess I’m not quite following the purpose of this whole shebang. Anyone care to speak slowly and loudly so wizened Gandalf can understand….

    • Highway says:

      I’m guessing it’s like the anime version of March Madness. 🙂 Only instead of competing on how many one-and-done junior college players your team picked up, they’re competing on pretty much straight popularity.

    • Hawthorne says:

      I haven’t done such a great job explaining, so apologies! Saimoe, like Highway said, is a popularity content for female characters in Japan. It’s been running since 2002 and even though the tournament’s popularity among voters has fallen in recent years, it’s still a lot of fun to follow. It’s single elimination and only allows characters appearing from shows within the last year. ´▽`

      For more information you can check out the English site that compiles all the results from this year and years past: here.

  4. D-LaN says:

    Should’ve include Chitanda and K-Y-H Nah. Yuka needs some loves.

    Nice one Hawt.

    • Hawthorne says:

      I’m rooting for Yuka as well! Actually, I’m rooting for all of the Natsuiro Kiseki characters, they deserve some love. <3

  5. BlackBriar says:

    Nice job, Hawthorne. So many contestants here that it feels like a war. Prepare for mass casualties. They are inevitable. I must be a sadist to be expecting that. I’m hoping Yuuko Kanoe, Eucliwood Hellscythe and Shinobu Oshino last long here.

    To make sure I understand the rules of the game, once all the characters in the banner are grayed out and crossed off for the first round, you have to choose a list of people completely different from the first set in the second round, right?

    By the way, didn’t Kyokai’s banner have Seraphim? I remember seeing her in the last post.

    • Hawthorne says:

      The war for the holy moe grail has started! fufufu.

      Ah sorry, my explaining is bad. -_-‘ Your choices are for the ENTIRE tournament! Meaning, once all five are knocked out, you’re knocked out, too. Much like Saimoe, it’s a single elimination type deal.

      Kyokai ended up switching her banner around just a little before the deadline! XD (which was probably a good thing since all of her choices were second prelim characters)

      Are you worried about your choices? I wouldn’t be, if you are! Shinobu and Eucliwood and two potentially strong competitors. Shinobu has a nice first round match-up with some less popular second prelim characters. Eucliwood has a bit of harder first match against a popular Saki character, cat-eared Kana. But she’s not out of it just yet!

      Ranka isn’t looking as fortunate up against Tsukihi. Yuuko is up against Takane from Imas, but could pull through with an upset, especially if she has support from people trying to knock Imas out of the tournament.

      … and Briar, I think you made a mistake in your picks! >< Shiemi isn't in the tournament! I'll allow you to make a re-pick since the tournament hasn't officially begun, but to be fair to the others it will have to be someone who placed 5th or below on this list.

      • BlackBriar says:

        I was a bit worried because I like them so much. My hopes go in this order:
        1) Shinobu (a lot of hoping on her)
        2) Yuuko
        3) Eucliwood

        Really? Shiemi is not part of it? Then I’ll exchange her for Kore wa Zombie’s Mael Strom (Yuki Yoshida). She’s a good replacement.

        • Hawthorne says:

          Again, sorry, I should have made sure that she was in a long time ago! Your new banner will be up in a second.

    • Highway says:

      Heh, I’m pretty sure most of my characters are second prelim, and not even that great in that. But I picked mostly for personal liking, not to win. Seriously, who would pick Urabe Mikoto to win?

      • Hawthorne says:

        I was hoping people would pick mainly on who they liked! 😀 Like I said though, it wouldn’t be unheard of for a second prelim. character to do well!

        • Highway says:

          Yeah, my biggest hopes are on Saki from Natsuiro Kiseki, who actually won her 2nd round prelim group. I wanted someone from that show, but couldn’t decide who. But the others are pure “I like these characters”, especially Ai-chan and Urabe.

        • akagami says:

          I picked my characters on who I thought was the most moe. There were a couple of charas I liked more, but I wouldn’t classify them moe.

          I’m pretty sure my latter three choices won’t go very far though.

  6. Highway says:

    The one whose popularity seems to surprise me (if I’m reading it right) is Yamano Remon from AnoNatsu. I’m also surprised if Cecilia Alcott is that strong (for that matter anyone from IS besides Charlotte).

    • Hawthorne says:

      Remon topped her second prelim. match, which was good, but also means she didn’t have enough votes originally to even place in her first prelim. match. So, while she is popular to some extent, the first prelim. results tell us that Kanna and Mio are in another league, sort of. (The results can sometimes be misleading though!)

      Even so, I want that troll to do well. ;_;

      Do you think Reika or Raika will top Cecilia in that match? I was at a loss making a prediction for that one! I gave her the benefit of the doubt though because she’s from IS, which seems to still have some popularity behind it. Ah! It’s so hard to call sometimes!

      • Highway says:

        I have no idea how that match will go, cause I don’t even know who the others are (I’m still working off a huge backlog, and a lot of that doesn’t intersect characters that would be in this tournament). I just know that out of every character in IS, I personally disliked Cecilia the most (the only characters I liked were Charlotte and Houki). And being disliked more than Ichika is a feat that takes some doing (seriously, he’s terrible).

        • Hawthorne says:

          I only made it half-way through the show but Cecilia was at the bottom of my list in terms of likability as well. Charlotte was adorable though!<3

  7. Samantha Zan says:

    Woop that battles are now up! XD Wow looking through them it really does have some fierce competition in their! Though I didn’t really realize how popular Saki is 0-0, I guess it’s because all the characters are very moe looking >.>. I’m really just rooting for the characters I really like the most honestly, though there are some match-ups I cringed at when I saw it DX

    Tsukihi vs. Rea???? WHATTT I LOVE THEM BOTH AHH DX

    • Hawthorne says:

      I think Saki gets a lot more attention in Japan than it does in other countries because it’s based on richi mahjong, which is difficult enough to understand without even taking the language barrier into consideration! XD It’s a great show with lovable characters once you get into it though.

      The match-ups can really easily kill any hopes for a character to go far! Sometimes it’s tough to look at. ;_;

      Same! Ahhh! But in the end I’m personally rooting for Tsukihi on that one. Go, go fire sisters<3

      • Kai says:

        Ahh I guess. The mainstream popularity of anime seems to rely more on Japanese locals instead of others. For me, even though Saki had cute and adorable characters, the anime itself is hard to understand, as richi mahjong aside, I don’t even play regular mahjong, lol.

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