Nebs, your previous blog isn't showing my comment again.
I agree with linka13. While I can see you being pissed that Azusa lost in the first round, I don't see any reason to take it out on Haqua. If anything's it's just a telling sign of how far K-ON! has fallen. You gotta admit, K-ON!! was just ending around the time of the previous tournament, so quite a bit of time has passed since then. Also, and I'm not sure if these are the right words to be using, but in that time, we've been getting some widely-recognized moe series that aren't so much "moeblobs"... in other words, shows that use moe elements but remind us that anime is capable of very high-quality storytelling rather than falling for a bunch of cliches (or even subverting and satirizing said cliches) or just trying to be cute (admittedly, one of KyoAni's current flaws is that they've done almost nothing but slice-of-life 4koma comedies... which is now getting to be an over-saturated genre in itself... ever since Lucky Star, which is probably why Nichijou went by barely being noticed). Shows like OreImo, Ano Hana, and especially MadoMagi seem to fall under this (and World God Only Knows, for that matter). And even if everything I just said is nothing more than a ton of bullshit, then you also have to factor in the notion that most people are probably just disinterested in having a repeat champion (especially with this year being very unkind to veterans, which was evident even before Azusa lost). Basically, there was a lot going against Azusa regardless of her position as former champ.
I may be preaching to the choir, though, as I'm extremely pissed at Erica after her win against Tenshi... but then again, the circumstances are quite different in a lot of ways. For one, Azusa already had her glory by winning the entire tournament, whereas Tenshi had her well-deserved Best 8 position suddenly swiped from her for the second year in a row (after which, she's probably not gonna get any other chances). It's further insulting on Tenshi's part when you consider the kind of opponent she lost against: out of an ensemble cast of ELEVEN different characters, I don't think Erica particularly stood out in terms of popularity. She only seems to have gotten as far as she did because her opposition has been kinda weak (and even then, she was lucky to get past them alive, having beaten them by literally 2-3 votes).
Though what I'd really like to know is where the fuck Tenshi's 500+ voters suddenly disappeared to... and Misaka's for that matter. Though, I kinda had mixed feelings on the Biribiri vs. Rotte fight. On one hand, Rotte was one of the better Kugyuu characters I've come across (especially after enduring the crap that was Aria; I swear, Rotte can actually say "Urusai!" and manage to come off as her own character instead of a blatant shout-out... the lack of JC Staff might've been a factor), and frankly, I was pissed at the Biribiri fans for their hypocrisy (so many voters proclaiming their support "the tsundere" when going against Homura, a tsundere). On the other hand, while I'm not so much in an anti-Kugimiya mood now that Aria is out, the fandom (with no offense to Nebs) still pisses me off, and really, going into the tournament finals WITHOUT a character voiced by her would make for a change of pace, considering her characters have been getting this far for several years now. But mostly, I was just expecting a slight bit better from the character who sniped Homura in the opening match (plus, I'd still consider Misaka better as a character, even if she did hit a slump in season 2)... as I said, mixed feelings.
BTW Nebs, are you particularly opposed to the MadoMagi dominance? Thus far, you've expressed hope towards characters that are capable of taking them down, but I don't believe you've expressed any strong likes or dislikes towards the mahou shoujo themselves. Of course, it's probably no surprise that I'm completely in favor of their dominance. Maybe in some people's eyes, it's over-hyped, but so far as I care, it's totally deserving of all its attention. It just really, really tickled my fancy while managing to do so many things right, moreso than most anime I've seen in years (if not ever), and I'm only too proud of the fact that the series will not only win the championship at this rate (I highly doubt Erica can get in the way now), but will manage to do so while reaching an outright legendary status in Saimoe history.
For the Azusa/K-ON stuff, it's basically just me venting. Former champs rarely do well in follow-up years, & I knew since the end of last year that neither Azunyan nor her series had much hope this year. Still, a complete Round 1 wipeout is a pretty harsh thing to deal with. But yeah, I didn't expect anyone from there to get very far. But my genuine love for the series causes me to let some steam out.
Personally, after newcomer Ayana Taketatsu landed two big tsundere roles last year (Kirino & Mio), I kinda thought RieKugi's days typecasted as tsunderes were over. But then on comes 2011 with Aria & Astarotte (& Shana III, of course), & she's right back on the horse. =b
As for my personal feelings for Madoka Magica, I really enjoyed the series. But we all went into this tournament knowing that it was THE series to beat. You can't help but root for the underdog, sometimes.
I agree with linka13. While I can see you being pissed that Azusa lost in the first round, I don't see any reason to take it out on Haqua. If anything's it's just a telling sign of how far K-ON! has fallen. You gotta admit, K-ON!! was just ending around the time of the previous tournament, so quite a bit of time has passed since then. Also, and I'm not sure if these are the right words to be using, but in that time, we've been getting some widely-recognized moe series that aren't so much "moeblobs"... in other words, shows that use moe elements but remind us that anime is capable of very high-quality storytelling rather than falling for a bunch of cliches (or even subverting and satirizing said cliches) or just trying to be cute (admittedly, one of KyoAni's current flaws is that they've done almost nothing but slice-of-life 4koma comedies... which is now getting to be an over-saturated genre in itself... ever since Lucky Star, which is probably why Nichijou went by barely being noticed). Shows like OreImo, Ano Hana, and especially MadoMagi seem to fall under this (and World God Only Knows, for that matter). And even if everything I just said is nothing more than a ton of bullshit, then you also have to factor in the notion that most people are probably just disinterested in having a repeat champion (especially with this year being very unkind to veterans, which was evident even before Azusa lost). Basically, there was a lot going against Azusa regardless of her position as former champ.
I may be preaching to the choir, though, as I'm extremely pissed at Erica after her win against Tenshi... but then again, the circumstances are quite different in a lot of ways. For one, Azusa already had her glory by winning the entire tournament, whereas Tenshi had her well-deserved Best 8 position suddenly swiped from her for the second year in a row (after which, she's probably not gonna get any other chances). It's further insulting on Tenshi's part when you consider the kind of opponent she lost against: out of an ensemble cast of ELEVEN different characters, I don't think Erica particularly stood out in terms of popularity. She only seems to have gotten as far as she did because her opposition has been kinda weak (and even then, she was lucky to get past them alive, having beaten them by literally 2-3 votes).
Though what I'd really like to know is where the fuck Tenshi's 500+ voters suddenly disappeared to... and Misaka's for that matter. Though, I kinda had mixed feelings on the Biribiri vs. Rotte fight. On one hand, Rotte was one of the better Kugyuu characters I've come across (especially after enduring the crap that was Aria; I swear, Rotte can actually say "Urusai!" and manage to come off as her own character instead of a blatant shout-out... the lack of JC Staff might've been a factor), and frankly, I was pissed at the Biribiri fans for their hypocrisy (so many voters proclaiming their support "the tsundere" when going against Homura, a tsundere). On the other hand, while I'm not so much in an anti-Kugimiya mood now that Aria is out, the fandom (with no offense to Nebs) still pisses me off, and really, going into the tournament finals WITHOUT a character voiced by her would make for a change of pace, considering her characters have been getting this far for several years now. But mostly, I was just expecting a slight bit better from the character who sniped Homura in the opening match (plus, I'd still consider Misaka better as a character, even if she did hit a slump in season 2)... as I said, mixed feelings.
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Personally, after newcomer Ayana Taketatsu landed two big tsundere roles last year (Kirino & Mio), I kinda thought RieKugi's days typecasted as tsunderes were over. But then on comes 2011 with Aria & Astarotte (& Shana III, of course), & she's right back on the horse. =b
As for my personal feelings for Madoka Magica, I really enjoyed the series. But we all went into this tournament knowing that it was THE series to beat. You can't help but root for the underdog, sometimes.
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