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Most Improved Character Tournament: Participants/Minigame


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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 7:18 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Ryouta Sakamoto, BTOOOM! - Despite the series only being half-finished, there's enough established in the first half to warrant this.


"Half-finished"? The series is over, episode twelve was the finale. And with it absolutely bombing (pun unintended) in Japan, it's unlikely we'll get another season.

If you mean the story, well yeah, it is definitely unfinished, but the adaptation covers virtually all of the Manga that has been released to date. Which means that even if there was a second season, we wouldn't get any more Anime for another two or three years.

All that said, the development and improvement that Ryouta undergoes in the Anime is quite significant. His character essentially does a 180 in just twelve episodes, and so I thought he deserved to be nominated.

Anyway, thank you for the vote (and to Ggultra2764 too).
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Key
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:13 pm Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
"Half-finished"? The series is over, episode twelve was the finale. And with it absolutely bombing (pun unintended) in Japan, it's unlikely we'll get another season.

Hunh. I must be getting confused which shows that I was watching are and are not being continued, then. (Blast of Tempest and From The New World must be the ones that are.) Too bad about it being unlikely to continue soon - if at all! - as I rather liked the way that it was playing out.

Anyway, updated summary list is on the OP. Hardly any movement at the top, and at the bottom Souichiro Arima is now on the Cut List. That leaves us with 88 so far. If I were to end it now, I'd have a perfect Top 64 cut at a score of 3 (and 64 seems like the likely field size unless we get a huge surge of nominations in the next couple of days), but I still think there are some legit candidates we have yet to see and some low-scorers that just haven't had time to get deserving votes yet. Thus we'll keep this going for two more days or until the votes stop trickling in, whichever comes first. Do be taking a careful look at those with 1-3 votes to see if there's anyone you're forgetting about supporting.


Last edited by Key on Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:22 pm; edited 1 time in total
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:55 pm Reply with quote
Okay, with cut-off time approaching, time for some last minute cheerleading!

So, obviously I think all the characters I have nominated deserve to be here. But looking at the ones who right now are below 3, I would say the most egregious is Nodame. And so I would ask the 8 people who voted for Chiaki to be included why they haven't voted for Nodame as well (well, one of them may have already and if so, thank you!). I really can't see including one of them and not the other, since they both have amazing arcs.
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2261
PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:08 pm Reply with quote
Voting for/Supporting:

Ayaka Steiger, Kurau Phantom Memory
Chihiro, Spirited Away
Daikichi Kawachi, Bunny Drop
Eureka, Eureka 7
Leina Vance, Queen’s Blade
Sawako Kuronuma, Kimi ni Todoke
Scar, FMA: Brotherhood
Yuuko Kanoe, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13230
PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:26 pm Reply with quote
Was waiting for nominations to pile up before I voted again.

Voting For:

Aido (Vampire Knight)
Byakuya (Bleach)
Haruka (Rumbling Hearts)
Ichiko (Binbougami Ga!)
Mashiro (My Otome)
Piccolo Jr (DBZ)
Renji (Bleach)
Saji (Gundam 00)
Scar (FMA)
Sesshomaru (Inuyasha)
Vegeta (DBZ)
Waver (Fate/Zero)

And some more nominations:

Nominating:

Jean Valjean, Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette

Who he is: Jailed for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread for his sick nephew, Valjean gets out on parole as a man with a dead heart. But the people he'll meet and the decisions he makes will change his life forever...

How he improves: Valjean does not have an easy life after getting out of prison. The years in prison had not been kind to him and people don't treat ex-con's very nicely either. He had hit rock bottom and resorted to stealing silver from the bishop who had been kind enough to give him food and shelter. Valjean was caught again but the bishop lied to the police and said that he had given Valjean the silver. The bishop made Valjean promise to use the silver to turn his life around and Valjean takes the words to heart. He breaks parole and reinvents himself into a mayor and factory owner. Despite his status as a fugitive, Valjean will risk exposing himself to serve the greater good. Then he takes in Cosette and fatherhood changes his life even more. I think I've gone on enough Laughing To sum it up, Valjean embodies the idea that a man can change.

Image.

***

Yuuya Bridges, Muv Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse

Who he is: An American robot pilot, Yuuya is half japanese and not happy about it. He's sent to Alaska to become the test pilot of the Shiranui Second and the people he meets there will influence him greatly.

How he improves: Due to the racism he faced as a child, Yuuya hates anything to do with Japan. He refuses to adapt to the Japanese way of piloting and insists that the Shiranui is a piece of crap. He has a history of fighting with fellow squadmates and was generally a dick. But he learns to lighten up when he meets his new teammates that don't care about his race, and once he gets the hang of the Shiranui he becomes a lot more attached to it and works to make it the best it can be. It eventually reaches the point where Yuuya won't hesitate to identify himself as a Japanese-American.

Image.

***

Garrod Ran, After War Gundam X

Who he is: The protagonist of Gundam X, Garrod is a 15 year old kid who grew up on a post apocalyptic Earth. Resourceful and street smart, he accepts a jop 'rescuing' a girl from a bunch of scavengers. That meeting would turn his whole world upside down.

How he improves: Garrod is very much used to being on his own so when he joins the Vultures he doesn't really know how to work with the others. He's impulsive and sometimes doesn't think, which often causes more trouble. Not to mention how awkward he is around Tiffa, the aforementioned girl. But over the series Garrod matures and finds his place among the crew. Him and Tiffa get closer and his abilities as a pilot increase as well, most notably being able to shoot down a Newtype's remote weapons with skill alone.

Image.

***

Mikono Suzushiro, Aquarion Evol

Who she is: Born into the prestegious Suzushiro family, Mikono grew up thinking she was useless due to her lack of super powers. That is, of course, until she meets Amata and gets involved with the Mechanical Angel Aquarion.

How she improves: Mikono starts off with no self esteem. She always lived in the shadow of her brother and her father never expected anything out of her. When she's brought to the school for those with special powers, Mikono feels out of place and doesn't open up to anyone. Her brother wants her to leave for her own protection, but eventually she decides to fight along side her brother and Amata. She learns that she does indeed have a special power, and it embodies her role of the rest of the series: connection. Mikono becomes the person who ties the others together, bringing them back from the depths of despair when they're at their lowest moment. Her bond with Amata becomes particularly strong and while she's not the greatest asset when piloting Aquarion, she decides to do what she can and goes searching for their errant commander. Her brother even tells her that he can't wait to go see their father so he can see how much she's changed.

Image.
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MorwenLaicoriel



Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1617
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:36 pm Reply with quote
Voting For:
Fakir, Princess Tutu
Ken Ichijouji, Digimon Adventure 02 (I definitely think Ken deserves to be in the tournament--not just because of his switch from villain to hero, but because of his character development in learning to forgive himself AFTER he switches sides.)
Madoka Kaname, Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Mytho, Princess Tutu
Rue, Princess Tutu
Satou Tatsuhiro, Welcome to the NHK
Taichi Mashima, Chihayafuru
Taiga Aisaka, Toradora!
Tomoya Okazaki, Clannad franchise
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rosebrook11



Joined: 20 Mar 2011
Posts: 1181
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 12:03 am Reply with quote
Supporting

Haruka (Rumbling Hearts)
Tsukimi (Princess Jellyfish)
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
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Location: Melbourne, Oz
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:06 am Reply with quote
Nominating

Clare, Claymore

Who the character is: In the Claymore world humans are the natural prey of demons called Yoma. The only effective way to combat the Yoma is with the Claymore - part human woman, part Yoma - who have extinguished their humanity and who, armed with giant swords, hunt the Yoma relentlessly. Clare is one such Claymore. Tagging along with her is a homeless boy, Raki, who stirs within her the human qualities that were suppressed when she was altered from human to Claymore.

How the character improves: Clare volunteers to become a Claymore to avenge the death of Teresa, a Claymore who had cared for Clare when she was a homeless child, at the hands of the feral Claymore, Priscilla. So, at the start of the tale Clare is a woman who has forsaken her humanity for the sake of revenge. Raki awakens the memory of her life as a child with Teresa and triggers the process back to being human. In her personal quest to hunt down Priscilla, Clare saves another Claymore, Jean, from certain death. When she finally confronts the far more powerful Priscilla, Clare faces her own annihilation but the self-sacrifice of Jean and the unstinting loyalty and love from Raki finally convince Clare to reject revenge as choice, thereby regaining the humanity she had lost.

Picture

Supporting

Megumi Noda, Nodame Cantabile (putting her name in western order kind of spoils the point of her name). marie-antoinette, the reason I hadn't voted for her to this point is that she starts off awesome and ends up more awesome, while Chiaki starts of lousy and ends up reasonably good, ie his improvement is far greater than hers even if he never manages to be as good. Because my high opinion of the early Nodame is mostly subjective I will concede that she does achieve significant personal improvement.


Last edited by Errinundra on Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:18 pm; edited 5 times in total
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:33 am Reply with quote
That I didn't think to nominate Clare myself is another "duh" moment for me. A Vote For on her, although I'll probably partly rewrite errinundra's entry. (It contains a factual inaccuracy, for one: the anime never establishes or even implies that Clare was unusual in being a volunteer.)

Also a Vote For on Yuuya Bridges. The series may have been trashy, but his attitude showed tremendous improvement as the series went on. (Maybe that's why he ended up with a harem-level collection of love interests, heh.)
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13230
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:48 am Reply with quote
I'll vote for Claire, even though I think she's better in the manga. It should also be noted how she improves as a fighter.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
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Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:56 am Reply with quote
Hey Key, have you thought about nominating Chagum from Seirei no Moribito? I thought he would have been a shoo-in.
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Key
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:57 am Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
I'll vote for Claire, even though I think she's better in the manga. It should also be noted how she improves as a fighter.

I would actually argue the reverse case. In the manga she basically doesn't advance as a character past the point where the anime ends (in fact, in my most recent review of a Claymore tankoubon, I argued that the story was actually better for Clare not having a presence in it), and I thought the anime version, despite some other flaws in the last couple of episodes, did a much better job of driving home the lessons and humanization that Raki and Jean were trying to impress on her.

dtm42 wrote:
Hey Key, have you thought about nominating Chagum from Seirei no Moribito? I thought he would have been a shoo-in.

I have considered it, and would definitely do it if I was convinced that we will make it to a field of 128. However, for a field of 64 I think he's a marginal choice, as his improvement is not as pronounced as it is for many of the other candidates. That's also why I haven't gotten around to writing up a few of the characters that I originally said that I would support, like Yakumo from 3x3 Eyes. (I may still do TTT's Arthur, though.)
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:39 am Reply with quote
errinundra wrote:
marie-antoinette, the reason I hadn't voted for her to this point is that she starts off awesome and ends up more awesome, while Chiaki starts of lousy and ends up reasonably good, ie his improvement is far greater than hers even if he never manages to be as good. Because my high opinion of the early Nodame is mostly subjective I will concede that she does achieve significant personal improvement.


Fair enough, I was actually guessing that this was the case: Chiaki does the unlikeable to likeable change, while Nodame is always likeable. Glad you agreed that she does have improvements too though, I generally consider Nodame Cantabile to have some of the best character development of any story, in any medium (which is why I was pretty horrified to realize I hadn't thought of these two right off the bat, though since I don't/can't have the show on my shelf it did hurt its chances of coming to mind early).

And yes, the western name order does sort of take away from her a bit, sadly.
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Key
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:09 am Reply with quote
errinundra wrote:
Noda Megumi, Nodame Cantabile (putting her name in western order kind of spoils the point of her name).

I run into that same problem when talking about Sankarea and its main character. However, I am not going to make exceptions on the "Western order" standard. Listing her name in that order (or any other character in traditional Japanese order, for that matter) just complicates matters for me when counting votes.
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Maidenoftheredhand



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2633
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:23 am Reply with quote
Last minute Votes

Shoukei- Twelve Kingdoms
Suzu- Tweleve Kingdoms
Noda, Megumi- Nodame Cantabile
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