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Most Improved Character Tournament: Post-Mortem


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Crisha
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Joined: 21 Apr 2010
Posts: 4290
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:55 pm Reply with quote
Group D-1
Simon, Gurren Lagann
vs.
Yuu Gotou, Noein – to your other self

This is a tough one, because I really like both characters and I was impressed with both of their improvements. And both of their respective series focuses on their maturation. However, I think I'm going to have to give the edge to Simon because of how much his story touched me.

Group D-2
Yuuko Kanoe, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
vs.
Chagum, Moribito – Guardian of the Spirit

I'm more impressed with Chagum's improvement in becoming a strong, capable leader.

Group D-3
Porco Rosso, Porco Rosso
vs.
Rue, Princess Tutu

Rue

Group D-4
Waver Velvet, Fate/Zero
vs.
Vegeta, Dragonball Z/Kai

Edit: Ah, last minute change to Vegeta.

Group D-5
Tsume, Wolf’s Rain
vs.
Suzu, The Twelve Kingdoms

I remember being impressed with the growth of Youko, Suzu, and Shoukei from The 12 Kingdoms. However, Youko's presence did overshadow the other two, enough that I had to review the material for this competition because I actually didn't remember much of the other two girls. Additionally, Suzu's growth is similar to Youko's in a way (not exactly the same, of course, but similar in that they're weak-willed and lacking in confidence), and I feel that Youko is the stronger contender of the two. Given the arguments for him, I think I'm going to give it this Tsume.

Group D-6
Momo Miyaura, A Letter to Momo
vs.
Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon

The arguments and write-up for Momo have convinced me that she's a worthy candidate to move on.

Group D-7
Saji Crossroad, Mobile Suit Gundam 00
vs.
Saber, Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero

Saber

Group D-8
Masakazu Misaki, Time of Eve
vs.
Tsukimi Kurashita, Princess Jellyfish

Tsukimi
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farichada



Joined: 04 Feb 2009
Posts: 303
Location: Wisconsin, USA
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:59 pm Reply with quote
Group D-1
Simon, Gurren Lagann
vs.
Yuu Gotou, Noein – to your other self

Simon went from a wimp to hero on his journey to being a man.

Group D-2
Yuuko Kanoe, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
vs.
Chagum, Moribito – Guardian of the Spirit

Chagum broadens his horizons and grows wiser. More of a subtle, but consistent series of improvements. It's not hyperbolic, but it does the job just fine.

Group D-3
Porco Rosso, Porco Rosso
vs.
Rue, Princess Tutu

The heart wrenching ending of PT wouldn't be the same without Rue. She demonstrates her force of will in the climatic end, which is quite the departure from what she once was.

Group D-4
Waver Velvet, Fate/Zero
vs.
Vegeta, Dragonball Z/Kai

Waver has huge glaring flaws, selfish and self serving nature being the biggest one. They are slowly overcome.

Group D-5
Tsume, Wolf’s Rain
vs.
Suzu, The Twelve Kingdoms

Tsume seems stronger compared to what I think is the weakest of the 12 Kingdoms entries.


Group D-6
Momo Miyaura, A Letter to Momo
vs.
Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon
OMG, of course this senshi should win here. Usagi actually progressed throughout the series, and huge way in a spoiler way later on . I disagree with the arguments of her cry babiness nature. People must only be watching a sliver of the series and making a snap judgment.

Group D-7
Saji Crossroad, Mobile Suit Gundam 00
vs.
Saber, Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero

Saber Easily. More detailed arguments to come. Running out of time.

Group D-8
Masakazu Misaki, Time of Eve
vs.
Tsukimi Kurashita, Princess Jellyfish

I really loved Time of Eve but Masakazu doesn't make much of an impression and his improvements are not at all central to the show. Tsukimi is far more deserving. Starting out as a completely dysfunctional wallflower, she slowly comes out of her shell in a realistic way that is very satisfying.


Last edited by farichada on Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Crisha
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Joined: 21 Apr 2010
Posts: 4290
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:59 pm Reply with quote
I made the vote change to Vegeta in D-4... like two minutes ago. But I figured I had better post a second post to show the time.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13230
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:01 pm Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
Oh, and Vaisaga, are you even trying with your reasoning? Cuteness? Really?


Hey, it's a very very important thing to consider!

But yeah, in those cases I haven't seen either show and the write ups don't swing me either way so it was something easy to sway me.

dtm42 wrote:
Saji didn't even deserve to be in this tournament in the first place.


Nah, he definitely deserved a nomination at least. He does go from a wimpy kid cowering in the face of his girlfriend's mom to a man who doesn't hesitate to go out and help during an alien invasion. Definitely shouldn't go farther than this, though.


Last edited by Vaisaga on Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:02 pm; edited 1 time in total
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farichada



Joined: 04 Feb 2009
Posts: 303
Location: Wisconsin, USA
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:01 pm Reply with quote
willag wrote:
I made the vote change to Vegeta in D-4... like two minutes ago. But I figured I had better post a second post to show the time.


Curses, on this comment. Now I can't pretty up my votes with ultra fancy formatting and editing without people thinking I finished my votes late. Drats, foiled again. I suppose this is what I get for waiting for the last minute and telling my whole life story in the rationale.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18200
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:20 pm Reply with quote
Round 2 Group D is now closed.

Boy, willag, do you deliberately try to always leave only 5 minutes or less left? Anyway, with a mere 21 votes in, the results:

D-9: Simon drilled through the heavens against Yuu, 17-5.
D-10: Chagum's spirit dominated Yuuko Kanoe's, 17-5.
D-11: Rue outdanced Porco Rosso, 17-5.
D-12: Waver Velvet held his ground against Vegeta, 12-10.
D-13: Tsume wolfed up Suzu, 14-8.
D-14: Usagi Tsukino inflicted her love and justice on Momo, 15-7.
D-15: Saber struck down Saji Crossroad, 19-3.
D-16: Tsukimi Kurashita eliminates Masakazu, 17-5.

The final scores on several of these matches are deceptive, as Simon (in D-9), Rue (in D-11), and Saber (in D-15) were the only ones who were consistently and incontrovertibly way ahead. D-12 was tight the whole week (but really, that should have been the tightest one), and most of the others were much tighter until a strong late vote surge; Tsume even went from slightly behind to jump well ahead by taking the last seven votes, and Tsukimi took the last 10 plus got a vote change.

In the end seeds went 7/8, with Masakazu being the only one to fall. That means that seeds went 28/32 for the round. Of the four non-seeds that slipped through, only one (Mashiro blan de Windbloom) had a final score less than 6 in the Nominations phase, which I guess makes her the "dark horse" so far this tournament. Next, though, we'll have plentiful seeds-vs.-seeds battles, so the competition will be ramping up. And that should start in a few minutes.
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getchman
Space Cowboy



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9120
Location: Bedford, NH
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:22 pm Reply with quote
oh man this hurts. I had Vegeta making it to the semifinals.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18200
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:23 pm Reply with quote
Round 3 Group A is now closed.

Results can be found here.

Seven seeds and one near-miss – looks like a recipe for strong competition! Actually, I expect at least one or two of these will be blow-outs, but we shall see about that.

Oh, and remember that since we’re down to four matches, from this point out I’ll expect all match-ups to have some kind of justification, however thin.

Group A-17
Fakir, Princess Tutu
vs.
Piccolo Jr.,, Dragonball franchise

Group A-18
Sawako Kuronuma, Kimi ni Todoke – From Me to You
vs.
Eva Heinemann, Monster

Group A-19
Yukino Miyazawa, His and Her Circumstances
vs.
Taichi Mashima, Chihiyafuru

Group A-20
Daikichi Kawachi, Bunny Drop
vs.
Clare, Claymore


Last edited by Key on Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:29 pm; edited 3 times in total
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rosebrook11



Joined: 20 Mar 2011
Posts: 1181
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:25 pm Reply with quote
I think this is the first round that I got a perfect score.
I'm really happy that Usagi pulled through since her growth means a lot to me personally.


Also Key you misspelled Taichi's last name so the link isn't working. It's Mashima not Mishima.

[EDIT: Fixed. - Key]
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:33 pm Reply with quote
Yay, Tsume made it! This makes me very happy and not just because losing him would have hurt my minigame, though that is a nice bonus. I only missed one, since I had thought Vegeta might be another upset, but still 7/8 is pretty good.

And hey, since I stayed up to see the official results, I might as well get my votes in now.

Group A-17
Fakir, Princess Tutu

Of the DBZ nominees, Vegeta was the one that made a bigger impression on me. But even if he were the one in this match-up, it would take more than that to take my vote away from Fakir at this point of the game, since his turnabout is so complete as he goes from being a character who, quite frankly, I was very uncomfortable with to being one of the best in the show.

Group A-18
Eva Heinemann, Monster

I've seen a bit of Kimi ni Todoke and none of Monster but I'm going with the unknown here because the arguments made for her in the first round were very compelling and Sawako never really wowed me.

Group A-19
Taichi Mishima, Chihiyafuru

Voting for the one I'm familiar with because I know he improves a fair amount, plus there were arguments against the competition in previous rounds that make this choice seem the right one at this point.

Group A-20
Clare, Claymore

And I'm going to vote for the unknown again now. I absolutely love Daikichi but what I've heard about Clare makes him sound significantly outclassed.


Last edited by marie-antoinette on Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7358
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:47 pm Reply with quote
A-17: Fakir Kinda what marie-antoinette said, Fakir starts off a thoroughly unlikeable jerk. In fact, I (and perhaps many others) had pegged him as villain material. My one friend, who likes to have things spoiled for her (drives me nuts), practically demanded that I confirm her assumption that he would become a villain. By the halfway point, I was starting to warm up to him (partially due to scenes of how sweet he is to innocent little ducks), and by the end, I wanted to marry him. It's not just becoming a more likable character though, he goes from being a selfish jerk to a selfless hero gradually and believably, he's certainly top tier here. Of course, his change is what leads to the increase in his likability as a character in this case, I can't deny that. Also, did somebody drink the last Hetap?
A-18: Eva Heinemann As much as I hate her as a character, she definitely goes from spoiled rich girl to actually helpful and willing to stick her neck out for others. Sawako didn't sound impressive enough to beat her based on previous rounds
A-19: Taichi Mashima More a vote against Yukino, going based on the manga, she makes her decision to be less artificial in like chapter 1 and has pretty well completely changed by the end of volume 3. Her beau would certainly be a stronger competitor had his arc ever actually been animated.
A-20: Clare What others have said and the guide
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13230
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:52 pm Reply with quote
Key: Eva's link goes to Gauche.

[EDIT: Ugh. Fixed. - Key]

Group A-17

Piccolo - While this is likely a hopeless battle, Piccolo's change is more impressive because he was born of pure evil. King Piccolo was the evil side of Kami, and Piccolo Jr is King Piccolo reborn. Yet despite being evil by his very nature, Piccolo overcame that to become a hero.

Group A-18

Sawako - Don't know much about Eva, but Sawako definitely comes out of her shell and makes her life better.

Group A-19

Taichi - His improvement sounds more complete than what I remember of Yukino's.

Group A-20

Clare - Eh, this could go either way... I'll pick Claire because her character arc had a definitive resolution.
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rheiders



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 1137
Location: Colorful Colorado :)
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:46 am Reply with quote
Yay, Tsume got through! Very Happy Super happy about that.

Group A-17
Fakir, Princess Tutu
I already mentioned my somewhat unfair bias against DBZ, but even without factoring that in, Fakir is a fantastic candidate and IMO one of the best in the entire tournament. I hated him at first and his treatment of the other characters made me very uncomfortable. By the end of the series he is far and away my favorite character. His progression from jerk to hero is both believable and deeply meaningful and he should have no problem winning this round.

Group A-18
Eva Heinemann, Monster
Sawako's improvement is sweet, but nowhere near as substantial as Eva's. Sawako is unbelievably selfless and likeable from the start--she just has to talk to people a little to make them realize that. Eva is a selfish bitch. She is shallow, petty, and mean, depending entirely on her daddy's money and her beau's pedigree. Over the course of the series she becomes much less selfish and more independent. I also find it quite meaningful because one of the main themes of the series is that people can change, and because of this, every human deserves a second chance.

Group A-19
Taichi Mashima, Chihiyafuru
Not hearing a ton of convincing support for Yukino, so I'm going with the one I know. Taichi does change a lot from the self-centered brat obsessed with winning that he used to be. He learns to follow his own goals instead of his mother's and comes to love karuta almost as much as Chihaya (no one loves karuta as much as Chihaya xD), becoming the captain of the Mizusawa karuta club.

Group A-20
Daikichi Kawachi, Bunny Drop
I will vote for him for the same reasons I voted for him last time--I like how unique his arc is, and I think his improvement, though somewhat different from other contestants, is substantial. At the beginning of the series he is an irresponsible bachelor. He's nice and all, but he's the last person one would expect to be able to take care of another human being. He's a workaholic and enjoys living alone. His reckless decision to take Rin in may seem noble, but I see it as a representation of his irresponsibility. It is only after learning the many joys and pains of parenthood, even giving up smoking and requesting a demotion so he can have enough time to take care of Rin, that he becomes a true father. Perhaps I have no right to talk since I am not a mother, but I think people are undervaluing the difficulty of sacrificing your entire lifestyle to become a parent.
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Ggultra2764
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Joined: 21 Jan 2004
Posts: 3883
Location: New York state.
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 2:26 am Reply with quote
Fun, Suzu and Vegeta's losses put a dent in my bracket for the next couple rounds. Starting to think I'm not gonna hit the Top 3 at this point, as I had been the last couple mini-games. -_-*

While I fail to see why folks would vote for someone who became less timid compared to DBZ's major Heel-Face Turn, I guess life goes on...

Match A-17: Fakir (Princess Tutu)
Piccolo's heel-face Turn in DBZ was solid, but nowhere as memorable as Vegeta's. Not that it matters much since Fakir's developments from an unlikeable jerk overprotective of Mytho to a hero becoming one of Duck's major allies is of more impressive improvement here for me.

Match A-18: Eva Heineman (Monster)
From my limited exposure to Kimi ni Todoke before I dropped it years ago, I recall Sawako having a pleasant personality who only needed to learn to open herself up to others. Eva, on the other hand, is a selfish, shallow and very unlikeable character at the start of Monster who only loved Dr. Tenma because of his wealthy career and dropped him like a bad habit when his career fell apart. Even better, she tried making his life a living hell when he was on the run after being framed by Johan. However as she becomes dragged into the conflict with Johan, Eva's character does change for the better as she comes to care for people for more than petty reasons and aids Tenma in trying to clear his name.

Match A-19: Taichi Mashima (Chihiyafuru)
Mostly a vote against Yukino, as the significant bits of her growth are complete within the early episodes of Kare Kano, while her boyfriend still has quite a bit of growth to go (well beyond the anime's storyline).

Match A-20: Daikichi Kawachi (Bunny Drop)
Because understanding the challenges of parenthood and having to make changes to one's lifestyle to accommodate time for the kid you adopted make for a more relateable improvement than regaining one's humanity and getting over revenge (the latter improvement being ambiguous since the anime didn't properly conclude this development).
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mow123



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 339
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:37 am Reply with quote
Just wanted to let people know that me not voting is not a sign of disinterest, but a matter of time, especially since I am somewhat long winded, sometimes. My activity should shoot up once other things get less insane.

Group A-17
Fakir, Princess Tutu
vs.
Piccolo Jr.,, Dragonball franchise


Fakir's personality improvement is quite large. From an unlikable jerk and suffocating to commendable and sympathetic. Lastly, has he shook his initial creepiness and feeling of unsettling is also a big plus in my book.

Group A-18
Sawako Kuronuma, Kimi ni Todoke – From Me to You
vs.
Eva Heinemann, Monster

I loved Monster, but Eva's transformation just came off as a little force. Sure, she does take some risks to help the ones she screwed over in the past. I think a large minus here is that Eva's improvement and her overall importance to the series just isn't there compared to some of the other characters. Sawako doesn't just come out of her shell, she overcomes personality characteristics that practically ostracized herself from her peers. It is important to note that this improvement is just not some shy girl becoming more confident and personable, but also slowly shaking the very negative perception some of her classmates had about her.

Group A-19
Yukino Miyazawa, His and Her Circumstances
vs.
Taichi Mashima, Chihiyafuru

Chihayafuru is an amazing series that everyone should try out, and it's freely available on Crunchyroll. Despite my lover for the series, while I do think Taichi does improvement a lot from his child state and season 1, his improvement does stagnate quite hard. He is quite stuck in a rut, and he has many times where he just completely loses his confidence. While overconfidence and brashness was definitely a fault he had earlier this is too far the other direction. Lastly, while skill, karuta in this instance, shouldn't be the focus of this tournament the fact that his skill also flatlines later in the series while many of the other characters are making large improvements should also count against him. Also many of Taichi's improvements stem from him growing up/maturing. Lastly, his inability to reach some of his goals in karuta and his overall season 2 character development stagnation are also quite large minuses.

Yukino also has many of her own merits. She starts off also has a cold calculating, insular, perfectionist, and she ends as a much more balanced character that still holds onto her initial strengths. I also strongly disagree that Yukino's improvements are confined to only the first few episodes.

Group A-20
Daikichi Kawachi, Bunny Drop
vs.
Clare, Claymore

Both seem quite strong. I'll vote for Daikichi for being the more novel of the two since I believe the degree they improved is quite similar despite being very incomparable in other regards. I also think the fact that Daikichi's improvements are more realistic make his improvements more credible and easier to relate to as a viewer.
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