ISML 2011 Preliminary Period, Phase I, Day 1 - My Votes and Results!

The first preliminary round is over, this is how I voted:

I had to skip Arena 24 because I don't really know the three of them.

And these are the results!

I am generally happy with them and there are a few surprises (for me at least) and some close matches. Notable things:

• (Group 1) Mio has the stronger position as expected. Merry is struggling and Elfi is a good confirmation!
• (Group 2) Misaka has the lead and Ikaros seems to be also a strong one. Ritsu won her Arena but it was a close one.
• (Group 3) Shana still has a strong fanbase. Ayase won her battle but Saten-san was so close!! Shinonono confirms the good trend of IS characters. If france-tan wasn't against Azunian...
• (Group4) To me the biggest surprise of the preliminaries is Nymph defeating Nanoha. I was totally expecting Azunian to dominate this group and she is the single character taking the most votes in this phase. Charlotte is also quite strong!
• (Group 5) Heavenly Tiara holder Katsura Hinagiku takes the lead. Shiori does well, but not enough and Kiriya Nozomi wins in her Arena. Another suprise here: Ika Musume is struggling against Sakurano Kurimu!
• (Group 6) The first Arena of this group was the most balanced with Lingyin winning only by a small margin. Taiga leads the group. On the third Arena it was a very close one between Ui and Kuroko separated by only 69 votes!
• (Group 7) Nagato Yuki is the strongest character here, as expected. As for the others, I don't really know them well so I didn't have much ideas of how they could do.
• (Group 8) Haruhi and Yurippe, it will be a tough battle! Maria also wins by a good margine in the third Arena.

K-ON and IS are dominating this first round of preliminaries. All their characters won the respective Arenas.
Index has the most characters and placed several second places (some of them close to first) with Mikoto leading them.
Also, Sora no Otoshimono fared well with both Nymph and Ikaros wins.

Oreimo favourites will enter in Round 2 together with Victorica, Tachibana, Kagami, Yui, Hellscyte, Haruna and many others!

Happy voting!

International Saimoe League 2011 - Part 2

Follow up to this post. I will cover the remaining groups just in time before the start of the preliminaries!

The official page shows also the images now: groups.

Of course I cannot comment on the series I haven't watched (yet). So the following considerations are based on the characters I know.

Group 10
I think Nagi could be in a good position here. I am just judging by the looks and by the fact she is in a popular series. Rose might be rising in popularity and both Astraea and Mikan are support roles (yet very good!).
Nagi first and Rose second.

Group 11
Sakura is in this group and she is widely known although not recent. Eucliwood is a rising star. I don't know about Clannad, but Yui, Komoe and C.C. don't seem to be a big threath.
Eucliwood Helscyihte-dono first and Sakura second.

Group 12
This one is crowded by many characters I know (and like!). Saber is still very popular while Horo might have been so during the anime airing but I think is not very strong now. Both Haruna and Seraphin from Kore wa Zombie desu ka are good but quite new and Yui from Angel Beats (ahh the sadness!!) was also very nice. Homura in my opinion will suffer from being from a dark anime with shocking moments.
I will try with Saber first and Yui second.

Group 13
Kirino is here, I think there are little doubts on who will come first :) Although she is in a apparently different position since Fate is in the same group, Fate won the saimoe three years ago and her series is old. Kanzaki might suffer from short screentime. Hecate had quite some time during Shana Second (through her "copy") but is a strange character. Madoka could be in a good position though.
Kirino first and Fate second.

Group 14
Hiiragi is in a good position, I don't see many strong contenders in this group. Sure there are popular characters like Asuka, Zero no Luise and even Suiseiseki. I also found Shiina good but she didn't have enough time in Angel Beats.
Hiiragi first and Luise second (wishlisting here...)

Group 15
Kuroneko will probably dominate this group. Senjogahara and Okami are both good (the first one i think has a wider following, based solely on anime popularity). Yuki is also good, but with a supporting role. Then there is Ayanami Rei.
Kuroneko first and Rei second.

Group 16
Another character from Oreimo is here, the childhood friend Manami, although she is not nearly as popular as the two favourites. Cecilia sadly is not getting much attention in IS and will probably not have many chances. I think the big hitters in this group are Rin and of course Kanade. I am not really sure about Nadeko's popularity but I don't think she represents a threat for them. Also Kanon from Kaminomi is one of the characters taking more episodes.
Kanade first and Mio second (total guess!)

Looking at the list I realized there are so many series I haven't watched yet. This was a good source to update the "plan to watch list"!

I am really curious to know what will come out of the preliminaries!

Infinite Stratos - 08 - Laura Bodewig gets a Waifu

Of course, Laura was bound to enter Ichika's harem sooner or later. I didn't expect it to happen so fast and in this way though!

Anyway: Ichika is my waifu!?! 嫁 (yome, wife) O_O

How on earth did she come up with that :D

The deredere moment was short, I doubt it will affect too much her ranking in Saimoe. Probably the next episode will have some time to develop this new side of her. Poor Charlotte, now that she came out as a woman she is last in the ending song :(
At least she was the most intimate with Ichika! And daring, yes Laura you are not the most daring here. What is a kiss when you compare with taking a bath together!!

International Saimoe League 2011

The time has come for the fourth edition of ISML!
http://www.internationalsaimoe.com/

Unfortunately I was not aware of the previous three editions so I didn't contribute, but this year is different. I am very motivated and I will support my favourite characters!
Last year the winner was Mio from K-ON and Misaka was second. Ooooh too bad I could not support her :-(

But those who got many votes in the previous edition enter automatically the next year so they are both in.
This year the favourites seem to be Kuroneko and Kirino from Oreimo who came first and second in the preliminary selections.

A short list of characters I want to support is:
Mikoto Misaka,
Ika Musume,
Victorica,
Haruna (Kore wa Zombie desu ka),
Last Order

But there are many others... :-)

I did like Oreimo, but it's not my favourite. Of course, in case of a character I don't know vs a character I know I will probably support the second one, unless I really dislike it (but I can't find a character I dislike in the partecipants).

I think I will give preference to characters with more episodes rather than the newest ones. The latter have still some time to go ;-)
The first rounds of preliminaries will start on February 27, give it your best!


Update!
The groups are defined, thanks to animeraku:
http://www.animeraku.com/2011/02/isml-2011-preliminary-groups-revealed.html 

I refer to the link for the actual group composition and I will also attempt my first and second guesses for each group:

Group 1
definitely favourite Myo. Elsie could take some votes and Merry too, although she is quite new.
I don't know Yamamoto Nanako (Hanamaru Youchien) so I cannot comment on her. Is Busujima Saeko really moe?!? She cuts zombies enjoying the slaughter! I guess there are many different kinds of moe...
They are all quite good, but they are mostly not support characters. So I will go for the obvious:
Myo first and Merry second.

Group 2
there are more then one I don't know here, but anyway: Misaka is here and I soooo hope she will come out first! Why did they put Last Order in the same group as Misaka?!? I think they should have separated characters from the same anime.
Misaka first and Ritsu second.

Group 3
probably shana as she is the most well estabilished. The others (that I know) are either relatively new or support roles. Saten for example is only the Railgun and Shinonono from IS just is very new. If there is an Ayase route before the votations start she could have much more support.
Shana first and Ayase second (if she gets a route).

Group 4
Azunian, there is little space for doubts. On the other hand Charlotte is coming out quite strongly as she is getting lots of attention in IS! Personally I also like a lot Shinku, but it's been a while since the last episode of Rozen Maiden aired...
Azunian first and Charlote second (if she gets more strong episodes she might even fight with Azunian !!)

Group 5
The winner of the second edition vs Ika Musume! I haven't watched Hayate and I start to think I really should :). Also Shiori is nice and is the last girl in Kaminomi, so the most recent.
Ika Musume first and Hinagiku second (just because she is bound to be popular).

Group 6
I wonder how much Taiga is popular. Yami is kuudere and I like her a lot! Lingyin didn't get much attention in IS (and everyone is currently shadowed by france-tan). Poor Kuroko is not in the same group as onee-sama :D
I will try Taiga first and Ui second (almost random here)

Group 7
I don't see much competition for Yuki here. Maybe because most of the other characters are from anime I haven't watched (yet).
Yuki first and Sora second.

Group 8
This is difficult... I will try this:
Harui first and Yuri second.

Group 9
Lots of good ones here. Yui is the favourite in my opinion but I hope for Victorica to stand out. Laura Bodewig hasn't entered Ichika's harem yet. If she will go dere-dere before the votations she might stand a chance. I don't think Uiharu has much possibilities hera but I wish her good.
Yui first and Victorica second.

In the next update the remaining groups!

Kore wa Zombie desu ka - 6

More insane action :-D

If the crazy multilife girl wasn't enough, Yuu masou shojo!!

We get a taste of the power of her words. She starts killing her enemy multiple times just by saying "shinde"!
And what is the solution to this? Don't listen?!? o_O
I thought her words can warp reality! Well, it's not really important, after all this leads to Yuu loosing all but her amour =-n

In the end the evil girl is defeated, we get to see Haruna's sensei and a new enemy (probably the final boss) is introduced.

Ah, also Yuu smile at the end!

This is clearly a fanservice oriented show, yet the story is so unpredictable and the way things happen is so over the head that I find it really enjoyable!

Madoka Magica - 7

Why Kyubei, why don't you tell them the truth from the start?
Well, even now he didn't tell them all the truth... Is it possible that the witches come from puella magi? Maybe not as they are born from familiars, but maybe they come from normal people or have some connection that when revealed will be shocking.

Is Kyubei naive? No, he is cunning.
When asked "why didn't you tell the truth about the transformation" the first answer he gave was "because you didn't ask". But when pressed on he told "because it's easier if you don't know".
Sure.
Maybe because it is unlikely that someone would accept the following conditions:

• you will give up your humanity, your sould will be extracted from your body and put in a greef seed
• you will then fight witches with your magic
• ah, by the way, when you use magic your soul gets corrupted. You have to use seeds from killed witches to cleanse it

So basically you are selling your soul and you are corrupting it to fight witches and feed Kyubey. For one wish.

One can understand Mami who really didn't have much choice, she would have died anyway. But for the others... They were fooled by Kyubei who took advantage of their innocence and enslaved them to his will.

I wonder what would happen if one of them refused to fight the witches. Would Kyubei end the contract and claim their soul?

I bet he is enjoying it...

The way he tortured Sayaka at the beginning of the episode showed his nature once more.
It really is a striking contrast with the way he looks... creepy Kyubey... But that's also something I really like about this show. We are usually wary of things looking "scary", not of things looking cute. A good way to get accepted by young girls without scaring them away: take the look of a small inoffensive cute animal.

This episode was less of a shock and more of a confirmation. We got to know how Kyouko became a puella magi and why she decided to fight only for herself. Sayaka also showed her resolve and a touch of nichilism at the end. Looks like the weight of having her wish come true but not having the possibility to take any joy from it is too much for her...

Anyway we are now in the second half of the season and Madoka is not yet a puella magi. Looks like the story of this anime is about how she becomes one and she will do so only in the last few episodes.

This is the anime I look forward for new episode every week the most!

Gosick - 6

Kujo-kun how could you!?! >:-[ rrrrrrrraaaaageeeee

Poor Victorica doesn't really tolerate pain does she? This adds even more to her moesome level!

The story is going into a new arc which should give some more infomation on her past. The outcome seems pretty clear, let's see if they have some surprise for us.

To Aru Majutsu no Index 2 - 17

After the conclusion of the "Queen of the Adriatic" arc Touma and Index are back to Academy City and all the usual cast gets some screentime.

Accelerator is also back! I am hoping he gets some more focus in the next episodes!

But this was fundamentally a light episode (which is not a bad thing at all in this series) with Touma facing the batsu gamu from Misaka.
And there is plenty of BiriBiri show :)

Oooh, that's a very nice move!

Finally someone realized!!

Uiharu you know how dangerous that is 

An evil presence approaches 

Judgemento desu no!

Here starts Misaka tsundere mode!

You cannot stop Misaka's Gekota passion!

More tsundere moments!

Awesome faces :D

You went too far Touma!

Super bonus moment: Last Order!

Time for revolution!

Gosick - 5

The mistery this time was not blatantly obvious like in the first episodes and was quite enjoyable.

It was nice how in the end they played a bit on the "Victorique is a product of your imagination since you are a ronery transfer student" thing.
I actually found myself thinking: "that's not possible, people on the boat where interacting with her" and such to reassure myself :-)

We also got some development of the relationship between the air headed protagonist and our golden fairy which was very nice and heartwarming.

Of course, who needs a story when you have Victorique :-D

Shingeki no Kyojin

This new manga is topping the sales charts in Japan and I think for a good reason.

I just started reading it (I am just into the second chapter) and I am already hooked.
First let me spend a few words on the drawings. The backgrounds are quite nice and polished, but the characters, although nice, could be less "noisy".
I think this kind of style is instead very appropriate with the giants (or titans). They are strange, distorted human forms with the skin of their faces revealing all their theeth in a wicked grin. Their body proportions are usually off enough to give them even a more monstrous appearence.

The faces of the characters are nevertheless pretty good at conveing emotions. I felt immediately immersed and shared their fear and their helpless rage.

The story is about a world 100 years after the titans appeared starting to devour humans and bringing them on the brink of extinction. The few survivors closed themselves in a walled city. The walls so high and strong the titans cannot break in.

The people of this city managed to live well (let's not think about how a small closed environment can sustain itself...) and going out is a taboo. Only men joining the scouting squad go out trying to figure out where the titans come from or any possible information about them. They usually get massacred and only a few come back.

The main protagonists are a boy and his sister. The boy hates the way mankind is living. Closed in a cage like cattle. He wants to see the outside and plans to join the scout squad someday.
The tragic event starting the story is a huge titan, so big that his head is seen above the 50 meters tall wall, suddenly appearing and smashing a hole in it. The titan then disappears and a swarm of "normal" titans (about 15 meters tall) invades the city devouring everyone they can grab.
The protagonists house is hit by the rubble caused by the huge titan and their mother trapped with her legs broken. The two kids try to save her, but she manages to get them saved by a member of the wall guards before a titan devours her.
As I said the mangaka is very good at conveing strong emotions.

Their father left the day before after telling Eric (the protagonist) he would show him his locked room in the basement when he would come back.

After the tragic event the boy swears he will kill all the titans. He will have no peace until their have diappeared from the face of earth.

Not all is lost fot the humans, the city is revealed to have three sets of walls and the titans only got through the external one.

There is a time shift and we are shown 10 years later. The two protagonists both coming out among the top 10 recruits in the army.

This manga looks very promising.
It plays on our instinctive fears of predators. It's true that today humans are at the top of the food chain, but it hasn't always been like that.
Probably if lions would evolve an intelligence they wouldn't know this kind of fear as they have no natural predators (normally), but for us the fear of being preys, of being helpless in front of a strong predator is something we can understand well.

I don't remember another manga with such a strong enphasis on this aspect and this certainly is a good thing!

I also like very much how the drawings are able to convey strong emotions.

The only small complaint could be that the drawings quality is not always the best, but seeing how the series has just started I think the author has plenty of time to improve!

I definitely recommend this series!

Level E - 4

I am amazed at how this series can have such a change and still remain so good.

This episode was significantly darker then the previous ones. The story revolving around a group of boys witnessing a terrible murder: a boy killing and eating a girl. They are of coures scared and seeing that the murderer was wearing their same school uniform they started to investigate to figure out who he might be.

After asking the help of a strange doctor they will discover the culprit is an alien and they will come to know his very sad story. They don't have anything to fear for themselves as the aliens only feel the urge to eat girls. It's a reproductive instinct... the bad thing is that they also feel terrible guilt of this.
At the end the protagonists simpatize with the aliens, who in the meantime left the earth, understanding the difficulty to resist the instinctive needs.

Looking back at this part of the episode I really liked it. The story was very nice and the noisy image style was suited to the mood.

Of course, the protagonist is still prince Baka and all this story is revealed to be his attempt to disclose the presence of aliens to humanity :-D
Unfortunately the producer he speaks with rejects the movie! He doesn't loose spirit though and immediately starts working on a new movie: elementary school boys will turn in a sort of gaki rangers ;-) and fight their teacher who is an evil alien!

It looks like next week the mood will change again :-D

This show continues to surprise me and is definitely one of the best of this season for me. At the moment it's in the first two positions together with Madoka. I cannot decide which one I am liking more :-)