Mega Megane Moé

SaiAmerica 2008 Finals: Change-tan vs. Maverick Otoko

CCY — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:48:28 +0000

After more than eleven months of turns and twists in the world’s most elaborate contest, it all comes down to this.

Over a dozen people have fought for the heart of America’s people in grueling match after match, slowly being pared down to just two who will fight to take home the crown of SaiAmerica 2008 … er … president.

You may not think they are the best choices, but in the end a choice still has to be made, and this time it’s between:

John McCain
R Bracket Champion
(def. Huckabee and Romney 1575-278-271)

-VS-

Barack Obama
D Bracket Champion
(def. Clinton and Edwards 2201-1896-6)

Perhaps not as close a final as ones we’ve seen in recent memory, but it’s easily one that could flip either way depending on how the crowd votes.

Obama has arguably been the stronger contender over the last few matches, rallying huge fan support to defeat Clinton in a high-stakes, huge-vote-total match. By comparison, McCain has had a relatively quiet time, which could work for or against him.

The McCain fanbase is relatively unified, as the appeal of ‘old white guy’ has been strong as it typically is every SaiAmerica, but it’s quickly being sapped by Obama’s character point of ‘change’, which many detractors are quickly labeling as false and pandering.

Nevertheless, the fanbase is eating up ‘change’ and it has proven to be one of the powerhouses of this tournament, dominating other traits such as ‘mavericky’ or ‘woman’.

However, this popularity comes at a price, though, and Obama has certainly earned many enemies. Aside from the trolls who are quick to call him ‘pandering’ or ‘black’, his stunningly close victory over Clinton in the semi-finals is likely to earn him some hate votes in the finals from the crowd who banked on ‘feminist’ appeal.

Still, the raw numbers are looking good in favor of Obama, whose more mainstream appeal should indicate a victory. However, the strategic and hate votes here will probably come into play quite strongly and leave McCain the door for an upset.

In addition, there are likely to be many votes of no confidence as well, cast for characters not in the running per se, as a sign of disgust with the final two contenders; whether the amount of these will become greater than the difference, anyone can guess.

We’ve seen many upsets so far, for example the SaiAmerica twice removed, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another one in a tournament like this with such a wide, varied fanbase participating.

In any case, I can only hope the vote totals will be higher than that of previous matches, so please, take some time out and vote. It’s a simple process, and while you do have to wait a bit to cast your vote and the process is mildly inconvenient, it’s a very important match.

After all, it’s not a simple matter of moe or death, as my parody-esque coverage may hint. If you live in America, this is one of the most important decisions you’ll make this year, and even the reality-detached (occasionally) otakusphere knows it.

This isn’t a popularity tournament. This is the leader of a powerhouse of the real world (for better or worse, so don’t accuse me of bias, please). So please, vote. I don’t mind if you use your vote for McCain, or Obama, or some third party candidate - all that matters is that you use it. It’s your right - exercise it. Express yourself.

And also, on a sidenote, please, be respectful. Obama and McCain are both people. They are not trying to destroy the world as we know it. Stop arguing like they are such. We’re trying to find the best choice, not the less-worse one.

Also, Kagami won SaiMoe 2008. Not who I would have chosen, but I’m not the mainstream otaku in SaiMoe. Ah well.

-CCY

(Well, at least there’s no fake votes in the real world…)

What I marathoned because I had too much free time #1: Lamune

CCY — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:33:54 +0000

If you’ve been watching the trends in aniblogging recently, the “what I was forced to watch” category of post recently shot up in popularity (sorted by author) by a whopping 100%, going from just one author (JP) in this genre, to two authors (JP and Hinano), overnight (last night, to be exact).

This is obviously a sign that these types of posts, reviewing old anime no one else would normally touch, are the next big thing, a new recession-proof bubble for the otakusphere to post in (helpful for when old, wizened blogs are collapsing left and right)

As such I am promptly pulling all of my money out of the Bank of Editorial and Analytical Writing and investing it all in old sucky anime which I can sarcastically review to great success and profit.

First up was Lamune, one of a great pile of many visual-novel slash eroge conversions, chosen for being the first anime on the Great List of Anime People Have Mentioned Once In Their Life I could find download links for. I promptly grabbed the whole series, stuffed it onto my portable media player of choice, and bought a ticket for the closest 6-hour train ride I could find.

After attempting to execute my brilliant plan, however, I found that Lamune presented me with a bunch of problems.

First off, I still like to watch new anime (mostly to suck and/or lick the genitalia of popular animation studios), and I still like to write long eloquent fanboy-rave-filled editorials.
Secondly, my train ride was only 3 hours long, so I had to split it into 2 halves - one for the trip down to my weekend getaway spot, and one half for the way back.
Thirdly, I never really have time to marathon shows, so I can’t make this into a feature.

And fourthly, Lamune didn’t suck.

So this is probably going to end up being a rather ordinary review of a rather old show with no cool pretenses or anything, and probably lacking in sarcasm and attitude as well.

This is mostly because of the type of harem-alike anime Lamune is, for better or for worse. I’m beginning to imagine a sort of categorization among the vast, vast field of visual-novel-conversion anime, into one of four separate groups:

1) Dramatic. The harem aspects of the show are played off mostly for tension or drama. Conflict between two or more characters is common, if not required, in these types of shows. Logic and sensibility is frequently thrown out in favor of shock and an intense feeling. Examples include School Days, Higurashi, KimiNozo, and H2O.

2) Emotional. Could also be termed a ‘crying anime’ most of the time, these anime are meant to induce a large emotional response from the viewer, by presenting many different stories about many different cute girls, and the often-depressing things that happen to them. Usually the conflict here is internal, or not between main heroines. Examples are any Key work, and parts of Tsukihime or Da Capo.

3) Healing. A gentle story that is meant to warm a viewer’s heart, often through liberal applications of moe and a general upbeat mood. Conflict is minimal here, with a typically straightforward storyline where the core group of characters gets along well. Examples here would be Nanatsuiro Drops, Tokimeki Memorial, and - a non-VN example, but harem-like - Haruka’s Secret.

4) Perverted. The easiest category to explain - it’s a mostly lighthearted genre with the emphasis on shoving a lot of improbably beautiful women in various stages of undress into your face. Any hentai OVA will fall into this category, as well as some of the dirtier adaptations with little in terms of plot.

And while there’s often a lot of overlap between said categories, in the case of works like ef (emotional-dramatic), sometimes it’s quite easy to see where an anime is coming from, and that case today is Lamune.

Lamune couldn’t be any more healing-type if you set it on an aquatic city in Mars and made the lead girl, Nanami, a naive, shy but self-confident ojou-sama otaku, and actually, those two statements are kind of true.

A small, rural town by the oceanside is the setting for Lamune, which gives it a very peaceful atmosphere, and a close-knit cast with a strong bond between them all. And Nanami herself isn’t too far off from a certain Haruka Nogizaka, being very spacey and naive, having a kind heart, and generally being very adorable in nature.

And this is quite a good point to start from for Lamune. After the first episode I was already getting the vibes of another Haruka’s Secret, except plus true harem aspects. It had a fairly obvious ‘end girl’ with a pleasant relationship, and a fairly strong supporting cast.

I figured that if it stayed on a peaceful path, instead of devolving into pointless waffling and drama, that it could perhaps knock Haruka’s Secret off the spot of “best romance-type healing show in recent memory”. Not particularly a hard feat considering how Haruka crashed hard in its latter half.

Unfortunately, as the show progressed it was easy to see Lamune’s roots in a multiple-route game, as we devolved into To Heart 2 / Da Capo II territory, spending needless time developing side characters for a single episode.

My problem with this is not the spread of attention amongst characters, which seems justifiable enough. I know I wouldn’t be happy if a series I loved as a visual novel (or manga, etc) totally blew over characters, and in Lamune, the main relationship between Kenji and Nanami was kept in the frame at all times.

The larger issue is the standalone nature of all the episodes, how none of them really feel tied to each other. In a sense, although it doesn’t lose sight of the end pairing, it doesn’t do anything in that regard, nor does it advance much between Kenji and the side heroines as well. In all senses it is basically a zero-sum episode, and this is something that I find hard to swallow for a good half of the show, composing much of the middle half.

This is something that I frequently find myself butting heads with in ‘healing’ shows like this, their frequent nature to have very little happen. They’re not quite amusing enough to be good as stand-alones, and not continuous enough to bring interest from one episode to the next. I have a feeling that episodes like this are meant to be the defining point of ‘healing’ shows, and so my issue here is less an issue with Lamune and more an issue with the genre as a whole.

Still, it goes to show that Lamune is perhaps not that conducive to a drawn-out, marathon sitting, and my point still stands that there could have been at least some acknowledgment of previous events.

At this point I was nearing the three-quarters mark of Lamune, watching it go back and forth between the upper bound of Haruka’s Secret and the lower bound of To Heart 2, and really not forming much of an opinion on it, beyond “Nanami is modestly moe,” with modestly defined as “not as world-melting as other renowned moeblobs, but otherwise worth noting.” On par with the middle-tier Clannad girls, approximately.

Luckily, something very good happened in the form of Sakura’s arc.

Sakura seemed to be another stereotype in a crowd of mostly stereotypical - therefore, cute, yet forgettable - characters, from the tomboy-slash-tsundere, to the kind sister (actually blood-related, for once, I think), to the gentle onee-san.

Being the shy girl, she had a sort of natural appeal to me that I couldn’t deny, as overdone as that type is, but I didn’t expect her to amount to much more than the other characters.

Of course, I underestimated the power of a longshot confession, the shy character’s specialty, a sort of emotional bomb strapped to their chest (to be particularly incorrect, political-wise) meant to turn the world upside-down.

And while I was initially worried that her arc would cause a lot of unnecessary drama, it actually turned out quite pleasantly, and so I found her part the most touching and memorable part of Lamune, even more than the finishing arc.

On the finishing arc, while we are there, it drew to a satisfactory conclusion, but not an outstanding one. I was left rather nonplussed by it all, and found myself more affected by Sakura’s crying and emotion than Nanami’s outburst, which bordered too much on that overdone line of “can’t live without you” that the feeling of moe is all about.

Maybe it was something about Sakura’s maturity that surprised me. Desperation drives people to do many things, but Sakura composed herself through a tough time quite well, for such a shy, weak-looking person on the outside.

Perhaps during the second episode of her arc she did too much hiding and running away from herself, but watching Kenji - and most importantly, Nanami - understand her true feelings that she couldn’t convey, culminating in a final conversation on the train tracks at the end, really meant something.

It’s probably because, if anything, it led to one of those brilliantly quotable lines, “You can’t always think ‘that’s fine’,” which deserves to be quoted in the Romance Motivation Lines Hall-of-Fame, and poignant scenes with a strong finisher line are always extremely memorable for me.

And ‘memories’ are something that I find to be in shortage when it comes to ‘healing’ shows, distressingly so. I’ve found very little reason to think about this genre of shows when it comes to looking back and reminiscing; perhaps this is because since they lack conflict, they often don’t grab my attention in a way that leaves a mark. Rather, they tend to do the opposite, acting as a sort of visual drug to clear the mind for a short period of time.

As such, ‘healing’ shows work reasonably well for rewatching, during stressful times to relax and soothe the soul, but when you’re as behind on anime on as constant a basis as I am…it really never happens.

There are a lot of anime like this out there, that just don’t stick to the mind or the heart for long, and as natural a process that it is, I still feel a tinge of sadness every time I let go of one forever.

Especially for shows like Lamune, which make a grand leap from the large pile of mediocre anime towards the promised land of the greats and the eternal, only to fall short into that purgatory, too weak to be loved, but too strong to be forgotten.

I suppose my posts like this are a countermeasure to that, Chihiro’s diary of sorts, so that I can flip back one day when I’ve lost hope and remember something about a show I would have otherwise forgotten.

One day, I will remember the charm of a simple, modest show set by the sea, with a lovable lead couple and a strong secondary cast, and I will look back on it fondly, and I will remember the sweet taste of Lamune.

That’s my wish.

-CCY

Blood on the battlegrounds of bishoujo; looking to the Saimoe ‘08 Quarterfinals

CCY — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 02:08:04 +0000

“Gambling: the sure way of getting nothing from something.”

I think I’ve finally found the perfect analogy for SaiMoe [2008] and that is that of a casino, featuring lots of gambling, not of the ear-cutting variety, but of the conventional monetary kind.

The fact is, gambling is logistically dumb. If you go to a casino more likely than not you’re going to be slowly but surely robbed blind; you chase after that chance of beating the odds, but in the end it’s not in your favor, and you’ve wasted a lot of your time just to lose a lot of your money.

Similarly, many fans will probably find themselves, emotionally and moe-wise, quite bankrupt as we near the exciting conclusion of SaiMoe. As we’ve rolled the dice and doubled down again and again on the Hayate and Nanoha votes, the votes seemed to just be rolling in like water in the first few rounds.

But eventually the luck runs out, you get a bit too cocky, and disaster strikes. You play a little clumsily with your Higurashi cards and get overturned by Minami-ke pulling an ace on the river. You go all in on Noe, a strong but not powerful girl, and get wiped by pocket Hinagiku.

The fact is, although you may be a Clannad fan and breaking the bank, the odds are that during SaiMoe, at one point or another you’re going to get cleaned out and end up begging for fare to catch the bus back to Neo-Venezia.

You can play the innocent games, just you vs. the numbers, or you can go against each other in a fierce person vs. person duel. But you, will probably lose, whether that loss is physical or emotional.

So, why gamble? Why SaiMoe?

It’s one of those enigmas of the human - or rather here, the otaku - mind, which you just can’t explain. There’s something about the aura that draws you in. The energy as everyone funnels their spirit towards the same goal, and here, only one person’s striking it rich.

You know you’re probably going to lose and you don’t care, because you’re finally living. You’re putting yourself on the line for what you love and the world can be damned if you get struck down.

And there’s always that hope. For every hundred losers, there’s got to be a winner. There’s always that chance - that little shot of overturning the odds - that you can grasp at, that little miracle you can make happen.

It’s stupid. But it’s worth it.

And so, all I can say for the SaiMoe quarterfinals is … place your bets. It may not be the brightest nor the most intellectually sound competition, and it can certainly get sleazy at times, but there’s something about putting your heart out there that makes it worthwhile.

So as I pray, Unlimited Moe Works:

Quarter-Final Matchups:
Kagami Hiiragi (Lucky Star)
vs. Tomoyo Sakagami (Clannad)
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Nagisa Furukawa (Clannad)
vs. Tamaki Kawazoe (Bamboo Blade)
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Fuuko Ibuki (Clannad)
vs. Tsukasa Hiiragi (Lucky Star)
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Hinagiku Katsura (Hayate the Combat Butler)
vs. Kirino Chiba (Bamboo Blade)
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Odds to Win:
Kagami - 4 to 1
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Fuuko - 6 to 1
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Hinagiku - 7 to 1
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Nagisa - 8 to 1
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Tamaki - 8 to 1
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Kirino - 12 to 1
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Tsukasa - 12 to 1
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Tomoyo - 16 to 1
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The odds may seem spread, but the chances are limitless in the tournament of dreams. Certainly, although the odds seemed stacked, a revolution can still occur. And only by your participation, can you make it happen. Let’s keep the spirit of Saimoe going strong in these twilight hours of the 2008 tournament…

-CCY

(Do you feel lucky … punk?)

T-That’s Impossible: A Retrospect on Saimoe 2008, Round 3

CCY — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:21:25 +0000

Analysis\ up when I get the chance, but since I’ll be away from the computer for a bit, I’ve got to push this post out the door:

G3-2 Results:
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H3-1 Results:
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Round 3 Summary:
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More Stats from the Frontline:
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Round 4 Match-ups:
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Round 4 Storylines:
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-CCY

Clash of the Ideals: Saimoe ‘08 [3GH-1] results and [3GH-2] preview

CCY — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:34:49 +0000

Nagi vs. Tsukasa.

Nagi vs. Tsukasa.

Nagi vs. Tsukasa.

The last match in Round 3 is the first major challenge for two beacons of moe for two shows that have shown exceptional support for their top characters. Who will emerge victor, and how hard will the world shake with the battle of these two and their fanbase!?

But coming back to that in a bit, we’ve got to check in on a pile of pink-and-purple-toned girls…

G3-1 Results:
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H3-2 Results:
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Next:
G3-2: Nagi (Hayate) vs. Tsukasa (Lucky Star)
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H3-1: Noe (true tears) vs. Suzu (Nagasarete Airantou)
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-CCY

(Note: Help me make some entertaining images for SaiMoe Round 4! I’m looking for some close-up profile shots of all the 16 finalists, in addition to some short descriptions of their unique traits or events (i.e. For Fuuko, “Starfish Girl”, “Juicebox Inhaler”, “Who?”, etc). Please post them in the comments or whatever. Thanks!)

Enough of That Already: Saimoe ‘08 [3EF-2] results and [3GH-1] preview

CCY — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:18:04 +0000

Can I still dramatize Minami-ke? I can still dramatize Minami-ke.

The third round has been a rough mix of incredible blowouts and intense battles; we’ve seen all four Clannad girls annihilate the competition in varying amounts. We’ve seen Nanoha and Shana go toe-to-toe for 23 hours in one of the most consistently close matches of the tournament. And, we’ve seen the near-entire collapse of the Minami-ke juggernaut.

But hope is not lost - there were those in similar despair in similar odds. Hidamari Sketch fans, already ambushed in the second round, got wiped in their first match in the third round, and it was left to Miyako to stand strong against Rena, one of the most powerful Higurashi forces.

And she did … so maybe there was hope for Chiaki after all, against Bamboo Blade’s legendary Tamaki.

E3-2 Results:
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F3-1 Results:
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Next:
G3-1: Akari (Aria) vs. Chihiro (ef)
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H3-2: Hinagiku (Hayate) vs. Eika (Sky Girls)
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-CCY

Duel of the Dark Horses: Saimoe ‘08 [3EF-1] results and [3EF-2] preview

CCY — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:48:59 +0000

Things are looking bad for the Minami-ke ticket that could seemingly do no wrong one round ago. Now, faced with hate votes, strategic votes, and worst of all, Key characters (and I only use worst in the ‘garners ridiculous amount of votes’ sense), two of their girls got crushed pretty roughly, and it’s down to their last girl, Chiaki, to turn the tables.

But enough about them, things may not seem right in heaven after two other heated battles yesterday.

OK, one heated battle, and one Nanoha rampage with sola fans crying in the corner. (’Scuse me, got some dust in my eye).

But as for that heated battle, it doesn’t get much bigger-name (KeyAni, this tournament’s driving force, excluded) than Nanoha versus Shana, not just the anime but the characters themself. At least one of them is getting driven out this time around and either way it’s not going to be pretty…

E3-1 Results:
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Although, speaking of outnumbering…

F3-2 Results:
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Next:
E3-2: Tamaki (Bamboo Blade) vs. Chiaki (Minami-ke)
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F3-1: Nagisa (Clannad) vs. Yousei (First Grade Challenge)
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-CCY

Name Brand Battle: Saimoe ‘08 [3CD-2] results and [3EF-1] preview

CCY — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:30:49 +0000

Have you had enough KyoAni yet? Even the most hardened of fanboys might admit that yesterday’s match was a bit overwhelming in Overly Popular Characters, and only one girl was unlucky enough to stand up to them…

The unexpected popularity of Minami-ke gave their core trio strong showings in the first two rounds, with numerous upsets, but with stiff competition in the third round, it looks like it might be time to start falling apart at the seams. Haruka already got trashed by Fuuko; did Kyou cause a repeat, or is Kana truely the most bossy boss of all?

And what of the clash of ideals, between Tomoyo and Konata, two fan-favorites from two different genres?

C3-2 Results:
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D3-1 Results:
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And now, for something completely different…

Next:
E3-1: Nanoha (Nanoha StrikerS) vs. Shana (Shakugan no Shana)
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F3-2: Hayate (Nanoha StrikerS) vs. Aono (sola)
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-CCY

When Touhou meets Golgo 13: Cirno 9 - a tale of boredom …

CCY — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:54:50 +0000

After playing one too many rounds of the 1999 arcade game Golgo 13, the idea was simply irresistable to me, especially since I was looking for a quick and easy game idea to code into existence.

(Download Cirno 9 - The Strongest - Vista-compatible version here)

As usual, said idea was neither quick nor easy but it was still amusing to think about.

Basically, it’s what you get when you crossover random Touhou fandom memes, and a precision-based sniper game. (sans lightgun, unfortunately)

It’s just a one-level demo at this point, and by the time I got to programming the level, my head hurt so it’s kind of simplistic, but I thought it would be interesting to see the reaction to something random like this.

Also, thanks to KirbyM of Walfas for all the art I stole off his create.swf, but no thanks for him for not having any way to put overly bushy eyebrows on Cirno. It’s just not Golgo without the eyebrows.

-CCY

Kana vs. KyoAni: Saimoe ‘08 [3CD-1] results and [3CD-2] preview

CCY — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:18:22 +0000

And yet another climactic round comes to pass. SaiMoe is very much a tournament of dreams, not because to outsiders it seems like a bunch of people verbally fapping to imaginary characters, but because it really is an example where sometimes, anything seems possible.

We’ve seen the legendary upturned. The close fights that send a bracket on its head. And we’ve also seen the utter annihilation that a popular character can bring to the table, the 1000-200 no-contest matches.

But which was it yesterday? Shugo Chara and Hidamari Sketch were standing at the edge of the cliff, with two absurdly powerful beasts facing them. Were they able to fight back in time and stun the world?

Or did they fall to join the growing pile of the could-nots in SaiMoe?

C3-1 Results:
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And as for Hidamari Sketch’s fate, Higurashi fans have two words for you…

D3-2 Results:
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Next:
C3-2: Kyou (Clannad) vs. Kana (Minami-ke)
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D3-1: Tomoyo (Clannad) vs. Konata (Lucky Star)
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-CCY