Saimoe 2011: Quarterfinals
In the only quarterfinal match not involving a Puella Magi, Lotte (Astarotte's Toy) faced off against the dark horse of this tournament, Erica Hartmann (Strike Witches). It was pantsu-flashing loli against pantsu-flashing loli! And, in an unbelievable result, Hartmann actually won! I'm really surprised that Rie Kugimiya fans would let Lotte lose, but regardless, never would I have imagined that ANY of the Strike Witches would have made it to the Final Four this year. They would've killed for this kind of success two years ago.
Kuroneko (Oreimo) had one of the best shots of taking down the "Madoka Magica" girls, but even she couldn't pull it off in the end. In fact towards the end of the day, Kuroneko was actually winning, but a final rush pushed Kyouko to victory. With this "Madoka Magica" has received 17 straight victories in a row this year. The only big loss they received was way back on day 1 where Homura was surprisingly taken down. It's been pretty smooth sailing since then. Of course, one of the main Puella Magi were guaranteed to lose the next day....
It was "Madoka Magica" vs "Madoka Magica," featuring Madoka herself, even. The titular star was pretty much guaranteed to win here, but despite that Sayaka's supporters really hung in there to the bitter end & made it a close one. But in the end, Madoka was crowned the victor.
Since before Saimoe 2011 even began, speculation suggested that Squid Girl had the best chance of being the only non-Madoka girl to win this year. In order to accomplish this, she'd have to power her way through three Puella Magi in the final rounds. But in the end she couldn't pull it off, as Mami took the final Final Four spot. It was a close match, especially at the end, but not even Squid Girl could pull it off. These magical girls are seemingly unstoppable. Ironically, the only thing left in their way to victory is, of all things, a witch.
& with this win, "Madoka Magica" becomes the first series in Saimoe history to have three characters in the final four. They've truly outdone "Saki" from two years ago. Today's the first match of the semi-finals, with Hartmann facing off against Kyouko. As much as I like having a darkhorse in this tournament & supporting the underdog, Kyouko is my favorite remaining character this year, so I'll be rooting for her to go all the way.
Source: http://www.animesaimoe.org