And the third round of SaiMoe 2008 is go – with the field of 288 girls pared down to 36, a character has to be either very moe, very popular, or very lucky to get this far, with the action only increasing in intensity from here.
It’s a bit too early to declare it all-out war, despite my allusion to such in the previous post summarizing SaiMoe through Round 2; it is definitely time to start shuffling around PVC figures on a miniature battlefield, planning your fights, but open fire at this point will just hurt a character’s reputation. If there’s one thing that will kill any series, it’s hate / revenge votes.
Therefore, although the situation is clearly escalating, as the powerhouses and underdogs become more clear with every round, it’s important to continue moving with caution. There’s no need in a senseless, 1000-300 bloodbath yet … or is there?
Prevew and analysis, in spoilers to save space:
A3-1: Haruka (Minami-ke) vs. Fuuko (Clannad)
Show ▼
Backstory:
Haruka, Minami’s mighty banchou, knows the benefit of the doubt; such an underestimation of power in the last round, against Higurashi’s Rika, led to a stunning single-vote upset for Minami-ke. It was, quite simply, a coup that nearly no one expected, a combination of Haruka’s moe votes and strategic votes that was to be duplicated again by her younger sister Kana.
However, it’s now clear that, with all three Minami sisters advancing, each and every one of them is a threat, with both types of votes unifying to make them the cloaked assassins of SaiMoe. Although, with the last round in mind, they won’t be cloaked much longer.
Odds are that the Clannad / KeyAni fandom will come out with all guns firing as a result; they’ve earned more than enough ire as is, just for being KeyAni, and with Haruka an identified threat, all measures should be taken to stop her.
Which shouldn’t be a problem, as, despite the ambivalence of English fans to Fuuko, she has proven to be one of the top vote gainers of Saimoe, especially when the chips are stacked, such as against Fate in last round, when Fuuko was one of two people to garner 1100+ votes.
Such force should be more than enough to push Fuuko through into the bracket finals, even with Haruka’s combined moe and strategic votes (certainly, Fuuko losing would make Higurashi’s comeback that much easier). Maybe if these two had faced off in the second round, but now, it’s about to get a lot tougher for Minami-ke.
Judgment:
Fuuko, by a comfortable margin.
B3-2: Mikan (To-Love-Ru) vs. Hiro (Hidamari Sketch)
Show ▼
Backstory:
Mikan, one of the few survivors from the crowded but weak field of shonen comedy-romance characters, has proven to be at least survivable if nothing else. Beating an Aria character and a Clannad girl, albeit lesser ones, takes some skill.
This kind of mediocre fire is matched by Hiro, who beat Vivio of Nanoha in a decently contested battle. And with Hidamari’s leader also assassinated by Minami-ke, they’re likely to come back stronger.
Prediction:
Hidamari fans will have to band together for this one, but with effort, Hiro should win with a narrow margin.
-CCY