×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Biggest Badass Forum Tournament


Goto page Previous    Next

Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Contests and Games
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:55 pm Reply with quote
I personally am not going to vote for a few days. There are a few I am already on the fence over so I want to see how things play out and see what arguments are brought forward. I definitely can be swayed on a few this round. I do however want to jump right in and promote a particular match as a voter. That match being B9 Hiko Seijuro (Kenshin) vs. B26 Kurau (Kurau Phantom Memory). I think many will overlook Kurau given the age of the series and that it was not a super popular or well known series.

For starters, you should simply go watch Kurau Phantom Memory. If you got a Funi account go watch it in their back catalog. More to the point of this tournament, I hope everyone gives Kurau good consideration in her match up. I'll try not to go on too much just yet. To keep it short basically Kurau is an agent who takes on various contracts that are too dangerous for normal private investigators or the world police in the show. She does not turn down virtually any contract no matter the danger. She dives right into her assignments with a cool and collected attitude. A swagger that does border on being over confidant or cocky. To quote Tony she is a prime example of his "badass aura observation" notion. There are few situations, be it in combat or social settings, where she does not display that sort of swagger.

It belies her hidden desire though to find her partner. She is not exactly entirely human, and she seeks her "pair" to basically complete her. Trying not to give too many spoilers out. She is beyond capable and powerful in her series. Now, powers alone do not make anyone badass. Otherwise Saitama or Goku would be winning this hands down. To me it's HOW a character uses their powers or abilities, or lack of them, that makes them badass or not. Kurau not only IS powerful, but she has the swagger, charm, and mentality to back up her badass claims. Part of her badass charm for me is her pure dedication to her "pair" and the fact she'd do anything, and does do anything and everything, for her. She and her "pair", Christmas (yes that's her pair's name - watch the show to see why) are 100% dedicated to each other. It's why they actually won the Best Duo tournament many years ago. You're not gonna win that tournament without some badassery to back up your dedication to each other. Christmas is the emotional center of the pair, where as Kurau is the badass of the pair, and the muscle so to speak.

I can't find any clips just yet from an actual episode (will keep looking), but here is the original trailer which shows her in action a little bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwOMBCwIREY
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Hikari14



Joined: 30 Oct 2010
Posts: 1040
PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 3:26 am Reply with quote
I am skipping this one, as I only really know Levi and Leone in here.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Calathan
Subscriber



Joined: 27 Aug 2005
Posts: 9112
PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:21 pm Reply with quote
B1 Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) vs. B34 Keiko (Doomed Megalopolis)
I thought I had seen Doomed Megalopolis, but apparently I haven't. Regardless, Levi is definitely a badass, so I'm giving my vote to him.

B2 Hei (Darker Than Black) vs. B33 Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia)
Hei is extremely badass, while Todoroki is initially more unsure of himself. For instance my assumption was that he initially covered his burned face because he was self-conscious about it, and there was also the issue of him initially not wanting to use all of his powers. While Todoroki got over those things, Hei is just a badass all the time, so he gets my vote.

B3 Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) vs. B32 Brandon Heat / Beyond the Grave (Gungrave)
These are both characters that are very badass, but I have to give my vote to Spike. Brandon has the advantage of being undead, but I think that is actually an edge to Spike in this contest since Spike is doing what he does without any special powers.

B4 Revy (Black Lagoon) vs. B31 Kazuki Fuse (Jin-Roh)
Revy is a total badass, so she gets my vote. It's been a while since I watched Jin-Roh, but I'm pretty sure Kazuki Fuse was very emotionally conflicted, which would detract from his badassness.

B5 Roy Mustang (Fulmetal Alchemist) vs. B30 Masamichi Fujisawa (El-Hazard)
I don't think I'd really consider Fujisawa that much of a badass. While he is quite strong in a fight, I think of him as more of a humorous character than a badass one. So Roy gets my vote.

B6 Char Aznable (Gundam) vs. B29 Gon Freaks (Hunter X Hunter)
This is a close one in my mind, but I'm going to give it to Char. A lot of the time Gon seems cheerful and friendly, rather than giving off a badass impression, and some of the time when he is more serious it is because he's had a mental breakdown, which also isn't really badass. Char is more consistently badass in my opinion.

B7 Priss Asagiri (Bubblegum Crisis) vs. B28 Edmond Dantes (Gankutsuou)
Edmond Dantes gets my vote. I watched Bubblegum Crash recently, and didn't find Priss to be that badass in it. She might have been more badass in the original, but it still takes her down a notch in my mind.

B8 Archer (Emiya) (Fate franchise) vs. B27 Nicholas Wolfwood (Trigun)
I watched the original Fate/Stay Night TV series and the Unlimited Blade Works movie years ago, and I don't think I ever really understood Archer as a character. Maybe if I watched the newer Unlimited Blade Works series I'd understand his motivations better, but I haven't seen it yet. He seems to have become disillusioned with himself and strayed from his ideals, which I wouldn't consider badass. Wolfwood is pretty badass, so he gets my votes.

B9 Hiko Seijuro (Kenshin) vs. B26 Kurau (Kurau Phantom Memory)
I've not seen Kurau Phantom Memory, but Seijuro is definitely very badass, so he gets my vote.

B10 Vegeta (Dragonball franchise) vs. B25 Jean Jacquemonde (Spriggan)
I don't remember Spriggan that well, but I don't think I liked the characters from it. Since Vegeta is definitely a badass, he gets my vote.

B11 Genos (One Punch Man) vs. B24 Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)
Genos tends to take on fights that are beyond him and then end up losing in part due to his own carelessness or overconfidence. I wouldn't really consider that to be badass, so Motoko gets my vote. Plus she is just very badass anyway.

B12 Tomoe Mami (Madoka Magica) vs. B23 Maka Albarn (Soul Eater)
Something similar to what I said about Genos would apply here too. Mami is best known for spoiler[dying horribly after getting overconfident,] which I wouldn't consider badass at all. Maka gets my vote instead despite only being somewhat badass in my opinion.

B13 Dark Schneider (Bastard) vs. B22 Byakuya Kikuchi (Bleach)
Dark Schneider just oozes badassness in basically everything he does, so he gets my vote.

B14 Shinobu Kocho (Demon Slayer) vs. B21 Escanor (7 Deadly Sins)
The only thing I know about either character is from watching a few clips of Escanor, but he was very badass in those few clips.

B15 Kyouma Mabuchi (Dimension W) vs. B20 Saeko Busujima (High School of the Dead)
I've not seen High School of the Dead. The clips of it I've seen are kind of over-the-top in a way that makes them almost silly, which makes me not really think of the characters as badass. So I'm basically giving Kyouma my vote by default.

B16 Yomiko Readman (The Paper) (R.O.D.) vs. B19 Ryo Saeba (City Hunter)
Yomiko can be badass when she wants to be, but Ryo is basically a badass whenever he's on the job, so he gets my vote.

B17 Father Anderson (Hellsing) vs. B18 Leone (Akame ga Kill)
I find Father Anderson to be kind of ridiculous. While he has all the traits of a badass, it is more like someone wrote down "badass" as the only description of his character. In my mind that actually takes away from him being a badass, since I don't really think of him as a real character. Leone is also badass, but is more of an actual character.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
AkumaChef



Joined: 10 Jan 2019
Posts: 821
PostPosted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:24 pm Reply with quote
B1 Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) vs. B34 Keiko (Doomed Megalopolis)
Levi is certainly a baddass, don't get me wrong. But he doesn't really stand out to me among the rest of the cast of Attack on Titan. There are other characters who kick just as much (if not more) ass. What I find interesting about Keiko is that she is a standout among a variety of characters that honestly ought to be a lot more badass than she. Doomed Megalopolis is an anime adaptation of Teito Monogatari, considered one of the masterpieces of modern Japanese literature. It involves many famous historical figures and several of its other characters are big shots to say the least. All of them put up a heroic fight but fall before the power of Kato Yasunori, the evil onmyouji who is the main antagonist of the series. Enter Keiko, a relatively unassuming character compared to the rest of the cast, yet who completely and utterly destroys Kato where so many others failed. I suspect she may lose this bracket simply because she's from an older show that many people may not be familiar with (and a particularly violent/adult content one at that), but I still think she deserves my vote here.

B2 Hei (Darker Than Black) vs. B33 Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia)
I have agree with Calathan here, Hei is a badass all the time while what I have seen of Shoto makes him seem like he's sometimes badass but sometimes not. Hei has a lot more confidence as well.

B3 Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) vs. B32 Brandon Heat / Beyond the Grave (Gungrave)
Cowboy Bebop didn't make much of an impression on me when it aired nor when I rewatched it multiple times years later. But I have to give the win to Spike because he's got plenty of grit and kicks ass with no special powers. Honestly I see him a lot like Leon McNichol from the previous bracket: no supernatural abilities but a whole lotta style and guts.

B4 Revy (Black Lagoon) vs. B31 Kazuki Fuse (Jin-Roh)
Revy is awesome in combat but she also comes across more like a psycho or a sadist than she does a badass. I recall a scene where she tells a fallen soldier that she's going to take him to the hospital but ends up killing him for fun instead. She also tortures fallen foes and kills bystanders for no apparent reason. That sort of behavior writes her out of the badass category if you ask me. And it's also hard to take Black Lagoon as seriously as Jin-Roh, which makes Fuse's actions all the more badass in my opinion. Calathan raised a good point in that Fuse does have some emotional conflict but lets not forget that Revy has plenty of emotional issues as well and her psychotic tendencies seem to be an outlet for them. Fuse might be conflicted but he overcomes his conflict without taking glee in slaughtering random people.

B5 Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. B30 Masamichi Fujisawa (El-Hazard)
I nominated Fujisawa but I'm voting against him here. He certainly has a moment here and there where he's cranked up to 11 but throughout most of the show he's not really a badass at all. Roy is more consistently badass, and has a more badass attitude in general.
Note: After getting clarification from Psycho about what show(s) to consider for each character I very nearly changed my vote to Fujisawa, taking into account his actions in The Wanderers and The Alternative World, but I'm still leaning towards Roy as I take FMA a bit more seriously than I do the often-silly Wanderers.

B6 Char Aznable (Gundam) vs. B29 Gon Freaks (Hunter X Hunter)
Gon has his badass moments (like when he sacrifices his hands to hit Genthru) but generally speaking he's a cheerful, silly, little kid and it's hard to take him seriously in a matchup against a strong opponent from a much more serious franchise. Char is a legend in both combat and leadership.

B7 Priss Asagiri (Bubblegum Crisis) vs. B28 Edmond Dantes (Gankutsuou)
Priss is pretty awesome: she's a literal rock star being the lead singer of Priss and the Replicants (nice Blade Runner reference there), and her concert performance is ripped straight out of the movie Streets of Fire, which is no slouch in the badass department either. She's got plenty of guts getting in fights way over her head on a regular basis but never giving up. And she's got a lot of the same sort of badass biker aura that Leon has, perhaps even moreso as Priss is the only one capable of riding the Highway Star, the super-modified bike built by Mackie Stingray. And on top of all that she's fiercely protective of the people who live in the slums of Megatokyo, for example acting like a big sister to the little boy Sho. Edmond Dantes is certainly powerful in many ways but his image of an at-times-naive and at-times-manipulative aristocrat isn't nearly as badass in my opinion. He's more of a manipulative sociopath than a badass, and his attitude comes from supernatural powers, not pure grit like Priss.

Also, regarding Calathan's comment about Priss not being all that Badass in Bubblegum Crash. First off, I agree. But second, I don't believe that is relevant. To quote Psycho 101 from the earlier topic regarding nominations:
Quote:
However, only ONE version of a character can be nominated. So no nominating Major Motoko from the movies, and from the tv series, and then the OVAs as well. If a character has been used in multiple series or formats they only get 1 nomination

So if I am understanding that correctly, given that the nomination was for Priss from Bubblegum Crisis, her character in Crash! is not only irrelevant, but specifically excluded from the tournament.

B8 Archer (Emiya) (Fate franchise) vs. B27 Nicholas Wolfwood (Trigun)
Archer is a badass in combat but he doesn't really seem to have a clear motivation for his actions. Wolfwood can be silly at times but his dedication to his orphanage and to protect the innocent is unwavering. He is certainly no slouch in combat either. Also while he originally has no qualms about killing (so long as his victims are not innocent) he ends up adopting Vash's desire to avoid taking lives unless there is no alternative. That speaks to his character given the abuse he suffered as a child and the fact that he was raised to be a killer.

B9 Hiko Seijuro (Kenshin) vs. B26 Kurau (Kurau Phantom Memory)
I found this to be a really hard one that I really had to think on. Psycho raised a lot of great points about Kurau which I am not going to repeat as this post is long enough as it is. But in the end I'm voting for Seijuro as he is an almost perfect shoe-in for the concept of an anime badass. His sword fighting skills are off the charts and he has some fantastic lines that aren't just badass in a cool-and-impressive sense, they really speak to his wisdom as well.
Quote:
A sword is nothing but a weapon, and Kenjitsu is nothing but a means to kill. This truth cannot be changed by beautiful words or false pretenses. To slay one to protect another, to kill one so another may live, this is the reality of Kenjitsu.

Quote:
Cherry blossoms in Spring. The starry sky in Summer. The full moon shining in Autumn, and the snow blanketing the ground in Winter... All these things make sake taste good. If it tastes bad it's because there is something wrong in you.

He is perhaps the epitome of the badass anime swordsman. Kurau is badass as well, though her character seems more generic Sci-fi to me than an anime character if that makes any sense.

B10 Vegeta (Dragonball franchise) vs. B25 Jean Jacquemonde (Spriggan)
Jean is awesome for sure, but he doesn't get much screen time. He comes across like any of a number of powered-up soldier characters which frankly are a dime a dozen in anime. Vegeta takes this one.

B11 Genos (One Punch Man) vs. B24 Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)
Wow, what a great matchup. And a hard one too. Both are very serious characters, both are top-level advanced cyborgs, both are too heavy to swim without assistance of some kind, and both are extremely powerful in a fight. If we do a straight-up comparison Genos is more powerful than Motoko, but then again Ghost in the Shell takes itself a lot more seriously than One Punch Man. Genos gets over his head and gets beaten down, but then again so does Motoko so they both have that kind of determination which puts their goals ahead of their own safety at times. I have to give this to Motoko by a sliver, my reason being that Motoko isn't just skillful at combat with her cybernetic prowess, she also has leadership qualities, exhibits a higher degree of intelligence, and a bit of wisdom as well.

B12 Tomoe Mami (Madoka Magica) vs. B23 Maka Albarn (Soul Eater)
It's not lost on me that one of Mami's most well-known scenes involves her head getting bitten off due to her being too overconfident and cocky in a fight but I still think she easily wins this contest. She's incredibly powerful in combat, kind and caring to her friends, and acts as a mentor to the other girls when she instead could easily manipulate them to acquire more soul gems for herself. She's powerful, selfless, and has honest concern for innocent people. And on top of all that she has her own form of swagger with her Tiro Finale finishing move and little flourishes in combat with her teacup, etc.
Plus this particular fight scene is easily up there in the top 10 of all anime:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVi_fs2oz3E
Maka is pretty cool I must say, and in a way she's a lot like Mami: skilled in combat, kind to others, but I have to give Mami the edge here.

B13 Dark Schneider (Bastard) vs. B22 Byakuya Kikuchi (Bleach)
Not only would Schneider wipe the floor with Kikuchi in a fight but his badass aura is so powerful that very few characters in this tournament even come close.

B14 Shinobu Kocho (Demon Slayer) vs. B21 Escanor (7 Deadly Sins)
I was on the fence for this one all week, but I have to say I agree with Psycho on this one. Escanor has a degree of confidence which Shinobu doesn't have. Sin of Pride indeed.

B15 Kyouma Mabuchi (Dimension W) vs. B20 Saeko Busujima (High School of the Dead)
Saeko is hot and she certainly kicks ass in a fight but her attitude is not consistently badass which I think has a lot to do with the fanservicey elements of HSOTD. Kyouma has a much more consistently badass aura in my opinion.

B16 Yomiko Readman (The Paper) (R.O.D.) vs. B19 Ryo Saeba (City Hunter)
This is an easy win for Ryo. I love Yomiko Readman, and she certainly has awesome powers which she can use to great effect in a fight if she has to, but she has absolutely zero attitude or swagger. None whatsoever. Ryo oozes cocky swagger a lot of the time. When he's not doing that he's joking around...which you soon realize is deliberate cover for just how much of a badass he really is.

B17 Father Anderson (Hellsing) vs. B18 Leone (Akame ga Kill)
Leone is my favorite character from Akame ga Kill and I think she really has her moments, especially when she takes out Honest. But Anderson is 100% badass 100% of the time.

Edit: added a couple missing votes.
Edit 2: added the final remaining votes.


Last edited by AkumaChef on Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:50 am; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Calathan
Subscriber



Joined: 27 Aug 2005
Posts: 9112
PostPosted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:30 pm Reply with quote
AkumaChef wrote:
Also, regarding Calathan's comment about Priss not being all that Badass in Bubblegum Crash. First off, I agree. But second, I don't believe that is relevant. To quote Psycho 101 from the earlier topic regarding nominations:
Quote:
However, only ONE version of a character can be nominated. So no nominating Major Motoko from the movies, and from the tv series, and then the OVAs as well. If a character has been used in multiple series or formats they only get 1 nomination

So if I am understanding that correctly, given that the nomination was for Priss from Bubblegum Crisis, her character in Crash! is not only irrelevant, but specifically excluded from the tournament.


I think that just means each character only appears once in the tournament, so as to avoid multiple entries for the same character. I don't think it means we should ignore sequels when deciding on who to vote for.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
AkumaChef



Joined: 10 Jan 2019
Posts: 821
PostPosted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:56 pm Reply with quote
Calathan wrote:

I think that just means each character only appears once in the tournament, so as to avoid multiple entries for the same character. I don't think it means we should ignore sequels when deciding on who to vote for.


You may be correct though it was not what I had in mind when I was making my nominations and votes. I.e. I was careful to nominate Leon from Bubblegum Crisis rather than Leon from AD Police Files as the characters are rather different. And likewise I was careful to nominate Fuji Yakumo from the 2nd 3x3 Eyes series (Legend of the Divine Demon) rather than the first, while I intended the opposite nomination for Ayanokoji Pai, etc. Psycho, can we get some clarification on this? It certainly matters for some of the characters we're expected to vote for.
For example, when I'm thinking about voting in this bracket for Jean Jacquemond from Spriggan, am I limited to his apperance in the anime movie or do his manga exploits count as well? When consider Masamichi Fujisawa does only the original El-Hazard the Magnificent World count (as I assumed) or do his appearances in The Wanderers TV and The Alternative World OVAs count too? (as I did not assume).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:49 pm Reply with quote
Just a slight update regarding the minigame. With Blood leaving it left 5 people participating. Unicorn_Blade did not vote in the last round, and they previously said their participation might be derailed due to kids. Understandable. I'll still count their votes when they do have the time to actually vote. That leaves 4 people. However Sentire and myself do not count towards the end prize. So in essence it was just 2 people, Hikari, and Beltane, competing. Honestly that's not much of a minigame and almost not worth doing it as opposed to just giving both a prize at the end. So I asked other round 1 participants if they might be interested. I only asked those who did participate to keep it fair, and if they want to join I will need to know before the end of this round. So far Tony and Calathan have said they would join in. Waiting to hear back from Key.

This is not exactly how I wanted to operate the minigame, but there needs to be enough doing it for it to have a purpose and actually be fun. Not just wait and hand out a prize at the end to the only possible person or 2 available. So pardon the tournament admin decision. I also sent the messages out BEFORE I counted the votes from the first round to keep it as fair as possible also. Once I hear back from Key (probably tomorrow) I'll post Minigame results. Thank you.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:25 pm Reply with quote
I'm going to use this post as a place holder. I have some votes set in my mind, but I'm still debating on a handful of others. I'll update this post as I go with more reasonings.


B1 Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) vs. B34 Keiko (Doomed Megalopolis)
So I went back and re-watched some of Doomed Megalopolis. Talk about flash from the past. Has that 80's/early 90's animation, music, and blood effects to a T. I certainly think Keikom deserves to be here, and even to go on depending on her match up. To me she and Levi both sort of represent that more quiet and determined badass aura if you will. Until you piss them off. For me in this competition I have 2 big questions I ask myself. Is the character badass just at certain moments, or is it more of their actual personality and all around aura? The other question is if I have 2 candidates that are equal in regards to my first question (both equally badass all the time, or in moments) who does it more often or better? I think both Levi and Mikasa are not badasses 24/7. I think there are other candidates who are more badass in general, where as these 2 turn up the badass meter. When they do, they really do don't get me wrong. So with that being said I think they are more equal in terms of their badass aura. So to me the quesiton then becomes who turns it on more? That is why I am keeping my vote for Levi. I think they are equally badass, but he lets it out more. So if the quality is the same, than the quantity wins it for me.

B2 Hei (Darker Than Black) vs. B33 Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia)
I think this matchup is pretty much a carbon copy for me of the matchup between Levi and Keiko. I think they are both pretty even in the badass quotient, but Hei lets it out more often. They also are both more controlled characters until they are pushed. I didn't design the matchup with that in mind, but it is serendipitous how it happened.

B3 Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) vs. B32 Brandon Heat / Beyond the Grave (Gungrave)
This one is easy for me. Spike and Brandon Heat share many similarities with how they are badasses. Spike simply is just much better at it than Brandon Heat. It's like comparing super saiyan 1 or to super saiyan 3. Yea they're both great, but one is just simply better.

B4 Revy (Black Lagoon) vs. B31 Kazuki Fuse (Jin-Roh)
Revy is like the female equivalent of badass. She walks and talks badass as if it was a state of being. Plus she has the gun skills to back her attitude up. That's not to say she's a great person, and she knows she's not. But she does things on her terms for good or bad and is beholden onto no one.

B5 Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. B30 Masamichi Fujisawa (El-Hazard)
I actually really like El Hazard and remember it fondly. I was waiting to see if anyone had a convincing argument as to why Roy shouldn't win. That hasn't happened, so I'll go with my original gut feeling and give Roy the vote.

B6 Char Aznable (Gundam) vs. B29 Gon Freaks (Hunter X Hunter)
I waiting on this much for the same reason as the above matchup. I honestly don't think Char is THAT badass. He has badass moments for sure, but I don't think he IS badass. More like calculating, cold, and a bit of a sociopath IMO. That doesn't mean badass. Gon however is even less of a badass. He has badass moments in fights, but that's about the extent of them. He is like many shonen MC's, their badass moments happen in the fights after the build up. During that whole buildup though most of the other cast are collecting the badass points. So Char gets this one narrowly. Now if Gon had been up against Netero the old man would've schooled Gon and moved on to represent HunterxHunter in round 2.

B7 Priss Asagiri (Bubblegum Crisis) vs. B28 Edmond Dantes (Gankutsuou)
Priss just tops Edmond in pretty much every category. He does it well, she just does it better.

B8 Archer (Emiya) (Fate franchise) vs. B27 Nicholas Wolfwood (Trigun)
This was the toughest for me. On one hand in terms of combat Archer beats Wolfwood with the badassery. Archer's fights are some of the most badass and epic in the Fate series. However, that does not mean he is more badass in swagger and mentality. Outside of combat Wolfwood exudes more of the badass swagger and attitude you'd expect when calling someone a badass. Archer, this one anyways, does not. He's more cold, pessimistic, and moody. So while in combat he gets the edge overall Wolfwood just has more swagger. This btw where I think Lancer is a much better example of a badass from Fate franchice. He has the battle swagger, and swagger outside of it.

B9 Hiko Seijuro (Kenshin) vs. B26 Kurau (Kurau Phantom Memory)
I already made a nice long post on the merits of Kurau, so no need to copy/paste them here.

B10 Vegeta (Dragonball franchise) vs. B25 Jean Jacquemonde (Spriggan)
I love Spriggan. I love Jacque. I love his quips during the movie. He's also very badass in a fight and he has that stereotypical in fiction/media French "I'm better than you attitude" to a degree. I think he's more badass that Yu actually. He however is not more badass than Vegeta. I just used a super saiyan analogy earlier, but here it's even more apt. Jean is running around at super saiyan 1 while Vegeta is god mode with his badassery.

B11 Genos (One Punch Man) vs. B24 Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)
The only reason the Major is winning this match is because I am considering ALL versions of her. I think in SAC and the movies she has badass moments, is quite capable, and just amazing. I don't think she's that much of a badass though. Her iteration in Arise though is much different. I know lots of people pan those OVA's but they do give a much more badass and tempermental Motoko then in other versions. I think Genos is basically on par with the major for badass swagger and moments excluding the Arise version of the Major. However, thanks to that Arise version the Major eeks out a point from me here.

B12 Tomoe Mami (Madoka Magica) vs. B23 Maka Albarn (Soul Eater)
Shit, shit shit. I love them both. They're both amazing. I am kicking myself for this matchup lol. I think at this point for me it comes down to who gets to be a badass more. I think they are equally deserving to win based on fighting prowess, swagger, mentality, and all the components of what being a badass is. I think the fact we get to see more of it from Maka pushes her over the top for me. Plus that last punch of hers in the series....yea she went beast mode.

B13 Dark Schneider (Bastard) vs. B22 Byakuya Kikuchi (Bleach)
I think in this one Byakuya is simply outclassed in every way. As it pertains to being a badass anyways. He definitely has the calm collected badass aura in spades. Schneider just simply overpowers him with his badass aura.

B14 Shinobu Kocho (Demon Slayer) vs. B21 Escanor (7 Deadly Sins)
Another serendipitous matchup right out the gate. Both exude much more calm and relaxing demeanors most of the time. Both are much more powerful than you think on first glance. The difference to me is confidence. Shinobu may have her badass moments and that aura hiding under the surface, but she's not confidant about it. Her mask is there to emulate her sister. With Escanor the mask is there because he's just that damn confidant in his powers. He's so badass and sure of himself he doesn't need to be cocky most of the time. When he does fight that cockiness and swagger really shine. He is the sin of Pride afterall.

B15 Kyouma Mabuchi (Dimension W) vs. B20 Saeko Busujima (High School of the Dead)
I think everyone is under estimating Saeko. Yes she is eye candy. Yes the series is a mix of action, zombies, and lots and LOTS jiggling tiddies. The female cast is very type cast into their roles in this show. Which benefits Saeko in terms of this tournament. She is the typecast baddass of the group. She is their Michonne. She jumps into battle against zombies with her bokken. She's fighting zombies with a wooden sword and martial arts. She's cocky and self assured as well. So she deserves more credit. That being said, Mabuchi outclasses her in those very same categories. He has that same quiter more self assured badass belief in his abilities. He took it so far as to take pride in being fully human despite serving with soldiers who were enhanced. It's a point of pride for him and part of who he is. Plus what he does with those wires....and common his car?! Given him some sunglasses and Leon would have to take a seat in the back.

B16 Yomiko Readman (The Paper) (R.O.D.) vs. B19 Ryo Saeba (City Hunter)
Sure he might represent some outdated male machismo ideas from the 80's and 90's, but when we're talking about being a badass in terms of swagger this man has it in spades. He's like badass swagger distilled and given form. I love Yomiko and I think the series is truly underrated and forgotten at this point. But she just can't hold a candle to Ryo in terms of badassery.

B17 Father Anderson (Hellsing) vs. B18 Leone (Akame ga Kill)
My initial gut said to give the edge to Anderson. Akumachef brings up a decent point though. Anderson is truly badass all of the time. However it's almost as if he's a caricature of being a badass. Beyond that aspect....what personality does he have? It's almost as if he has no choice in it. He's simply a badass period. Leone makes the choice to be. She has an actual personality to go with being an absolute badass. She jumps into any situation head first like Anderson. They both won't give up. They both fight for their ideals. They both fight until the very end. But which one truly exudes that swagger more? I think in this matchup Leone gets the edge because she's not basically a robot with the program switch set to badass mode. It's a choice if that makes any sense. Then again, regardless of that if Anderson is badass all of the time, and this is the badass tournament, shouldn't he win the matchup? I'm on the fence but I am picking Leone for the moment unless some arguments push me back over the fence to Anderson.


Last edited by Redbeard 101 on Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:22 pm; edited 4 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:51 pm Reply with quote
Here are the mini-game results for the first opening round of the tournament.

Psycho 101 - 14
Sentire - 14
Beltane70 - 14
Tony K - 14
Key - 14
Calathan - 13
Hikari14 - 11
Unicorn_Blade - 0

Seems 14 was the magic number, though everyone was pretty close and did well. Everyone missed a few but it was even and offset each other's votes. Plus the tie helped everyone and stopped half of those 14's from being 13's.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:57 pm Reply with quote
Calathan wrote:

I think that just means each character only appears once in the tournament, so as to avoid multiple entries for the same character. I don't think it means we should ignore sequels when deciding on who to vote for.


Basically this. If a character has appeared over a few version of a show then their "character" in the tournament should be considered a mix of all versions. Like how The Major has been in thr GITS movies, tv show, and Arisa OVA's. All versions being slightly different. So you basically consider that character as a whole and can use any series they were in for arguments to make a case for them. You simply could only nominate each person once regardless of how many shows they were in. Just as regardless of how many series there might be in the franchise as a whole, like with Gundam, the entire franchise was seen as one entity. Therefore only the top 3 from the franchise as a whole got in. As opposed to 3 from Gundamn Wing, 3 from Thunderbolt, etc.

At this point when it comes to voting for a character you can consider every iteration of their franchise when making your vote or argument.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
AkumaChef



Joined: 10 Jan 2019
Posts: 821
PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 11:28 am Reply with quote
Psycho 101 wrote:

At this point when it comes to voting for a character you can consider every iteration of their franchise when making your vote or argument.


Thank you for the clarification.
I edited my earlier post to include a few of the missing votes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Beltane70



Joined: 07 May 2007
Posts: 3868
PostPosted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:11 pm Reply with quote
My picks for the second round:

B1 Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) vs. B34 Keiko (Doomed Megalopolis)

B2 Hei (Darker Than Black) vs. B33 Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia)

B3 Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) vs. B32 Brandon Heat / Beyond the Grave (Gungrave)

B4 Revy (Black Lagoon) vs. B31 Kazuki Fuse (Jin-Roh)

B5 Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. B30 Masamichi Fujisawa (El-Hazard)

B6 Char Aznable (Gundam) vs. B29 Gon Freaks (Hunter X Hunter)

B7 Priss Asagiri (Bubblegum Crisis) vs. B28 Edmond Dantes (Gankutsuou)

B8 Archer (Emiya) (Fate franchise) vs. B27 Nicholas Wolfwood (Trigun)

B9 Hiko Seijuro (Kenshin) vs. B26 Kurau (Kurau Phantom Memory)

B10 Vegeta (Dragonball franchise) vs. B25 Jean Jacquemonde (Spriggan)

B11 Genos (One Punch Man) vs. B24 Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)

B12 Tomoe Mami (Madoka Magica) vs. B23 Maka Albarn (Soul Eater)

B13 Dark Schneider (Bastard) vs. B22 Byakuya Kikuchi (Bleach)

B14 Shinobu Kocho
(Demon Slayer) vs. B21 Escanor (7 Deadly Sins)

B15 Kyouma Mabuchi (Dimension W) vs. B20 Saeko Busujima (High School of the Dead)

B16 Yomiko Readman (The Paper) (R.O.D.) vs. B19 Ryo Saeba (City Hunter)

B17 Father Anderson (Hellsing) vs. B18 Leone (Akame ga Kill)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Sentire



Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Posts: 981
PostPosted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:20 pm Reply with quote
Hi all -

So, here are my votes. I haven't commented on all of them, but I maybe will add additional comments later.

B1 Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) vs. B34 Keiko (Doomed Megalopolis)
I was a little wishy-washy about Levi. AkumaChef’s write-up on this one convinced me to vote for Keiko Mikata.

B2 Hei (Darker Than Black) vs. B33 Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia)
Hmmm, I would say Hei is one of the more resourceful bad-asses in the tournament. The man has got skills. An assassin with the art of electrical manipulation… that’s just awesome.

B3 Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) vs. B32 Brandon Heat / Beyond the Grave (Gungrave)
Spike, definitely, Spike. It’s just his overall level of cool.

B4 Revy (Black Lagoon) vs. B31 Kazuki Fuse (Jin-Roh)
AkumaChef is correct about Revy’s actions not always being good or altruistic, but I don’t think that rules her out in my mind. I see bad-ass when I think of Revy - grit, determination, fearlessness - so she gets my vote.

B5 Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. B30 Masamichi Fujisawa (El-Hazard)
I am not familiar with Masamichi Fujisawa, but based on what I know of Roy Mustang and what I read of Masamichi, I vote for Roy. He has a strength of character and leadership that I think makes him a bad-ass.

B6 Char Aznable (Gundam) vs. B29 Gon Freaks (Hunter X Hunter)

B7 Priss Asagiri (Bubblegum Crisis) vs. B28 Edmond Dantes (Gankutsuou)

B8 Archer (Emiya) (Fate franchise) vs. B27 Nicholas Wolfwood (Trigun)

B9 Hiko Seijuro (Kenshin) vs. B26 Kurau (Kurau Phantom Memory)
Kurau has my vote, even though I haven’t seen the series in quite some time. I think sometimes we (myself included) can pick a character and say they have the “swagger” of a bad-ass. In Kurau’s case, it is more of her sheer determination to protect those she loves and the challenges she has had to overcome.

B10 Vegeta (Dragonball franchise) vs. B25 Jean Jacquemonde (Spriggan)

B11 Genos (One Punch Man) vs. B24 Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)
I have to give this one to the Major. She’s highly respected, strong, intelligent, determined, fearless, and a great leader. I’d love to be like her.

B12 Tomoe Mami (Madoka Magica) vs. B23 Maka Albarn (Soul Eater)
I have thought about this one quite a bit. Even though we spoiler[may not have the pleasure of seeing Mami the entire series], she still gets my vote. She’s tough, confident, and I love what she does with the ribbons.

B13 Dark Schneider (Bastard) vs. B22 Byakuya Kikuchi (Bleach)
His calm demeanor and strength lends my vote to Byakuya. He’s definitely more on the aristocratic-side of bad-ass, I still wouldn’t want to mess with him. Now, if he was up against Kenpachi Zaraki, I would have a much harder time making a decision here.

B14 Shinobu Kocho (Demon Slayer) vs. B21 Escanor (7 Deadly Sins)
Definitely struggled with this one because I am not very familiar with either one. Shinobu is quite deadly with superhuman speed. She may not have strength of others in swinging the sword, but it seems piercing is another story. Add to that her poisonous body. That definitely take determination. Problem is, she’s motivated by hate and rage, which seems quite different than Escanor… and for some reason I struggle with. Even though Escanor becomes weaker at night time, maybe in a way he is more bad-ass because of internal strength. For now, my vote is for Escanor…. but I may change my vote before the time is up.

B15 Kyouma Mabuchi (Dimension W) vs. B20 Saeko Busujima (High School of the Dead)
Kyouma has a fierce determination and a general, overall coolness - who wouldn’t want to hang with this bad-ass?

B16 Yomiko Readman (The Paper) (R.O.D.) vs. B19 Ryo Saeba (City Hunter)
I like Yomiko - I really do. But, Ryo seems more bad-ass to me. Maybe I am making a mistake and blurring the lines of machismo and bad-assery, but so it is.

B17 Father Anderson (Hellsing) vs. B18 Leone (Akame ga Kill)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:30 pm Reply with quote
I went back and edited my original post with my votes for this round. There's still 2 days to vote and I know we're missing a few people. It will be interesting to see where their votes lay. There are a lot of run away matchups this round, but a handful of close ones that could turn with some votes and good arguments. As a reminder if you're participating in the mini-game skipping rounds means you are skipping points. Just reminding everyone.

Here are the votes thus far (with 2 matchups missing a vote by akumachef who has them as TBD for the moment). I'll double check everything this weekend and add in new votes as they come in.

B1 Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) 4 vs. B34 Keiko (Doomed Megalopolis) 2

B2 Hei (Darker Than Black) 6 vs. B33 Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia) 0

B3 Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) 6 vs. B32 Brandon Heat / Beyond the Grave (Gungrave) 0

B4 Revy (Black Lagoon) 5 vs. B31 Kazuki Fuse (Jin-Roh) 1

B5 Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist) 6 vs. B30 Masamichi Fujisawa (El-Hazard) 0

B6 Char Aznable (Gundam) 6 vs. B29 Gon Freaks (Hunter X Hunter) 0

B7 Priss Asagiri (Bubblegum Crisis) 4 vs. B28 Edmond Dantes (Gankutsuou) 2

B8 Archer (Emiya) (Fate franchise) 0 vs. B27 Nicholas Wolfwood (Trigun) 6

B9 Hiko Seijuro (Kenshin) 4 vs. B26 Kurau (Kurau Phantom Memory) 2

B10 Vegeta (Dragonball franchise) 6 vs. B25 Jean Jacquemonde (Spriggan) 0

B11 Genos (One Punch Man) 0 vs. B24 Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell) 6

B12 Tomoe Mami (Madoka Magica) 2 vs. B23 Maka Albarn (Soul Eater) 4

B13 Dark Schneider (Bastard) 4 vs. B22 Byakuya Kikuchi (Bleach) 2

B14 Shinobu Kocho (Demon Slayer) 2 vs. B21 Escanor (7 Deadly Sins) 4

B15 Kyouma Mabuchi (Dimension W) 6 vs. B20 Saeko Busujima (High School of the Dead) 0

B16 Yomiko Readman (The Paper) (R.O.D.)0 vs. B19 Ryo Saeba (City Hunter) 6

B17 Father Anderson (Hellsing) 4 vs. B18 Leone (Akame ga Kill) 2


Last edited by Redbeard 101 on Sun Jan 17, 2021 6:05 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
AkumaChef



Joined: 10 Jan 2019
Posts: 821
PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:52 am Reply with quote
I've updated my post with my final outstanding votes.

This was a great bracket, a lot of challenging choices in this one!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Contests and Games All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous    Next
Page 5 of 21

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group