Forum - View topicBest Hero/Heroine Tournament: Finished!
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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Group D-1
Voting for: Hitomi Kanzaki, Escaflowne franchise Reasons: Yep, still hate Princess Mononoke, plus I quite like Hitomi and think she definitely deserves to be here for longer. Group D-2 Voting for: Daisuke Aramaki, Ghost in the Shell franchise Reasons: Mostly the case made for him in the Most Intelligent tourney. Group D-3 Voting for: Arika Yumemiya, My-Otome and My-Otome Zwei Reasons: Guide Group D-4 Voting for: Kiba, Wolf’s Rain Reasons: Other guide entry didn't convince me that he's better than Kiba, whom I know. Group D-5 Voting for: Roy Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist Reasons: Haven't seen much of him but I find that Kamui takes way too long to become a hero, which is also why I didn't try to come up with a guide entry for him, since I wouldn't have nominated him in the first place. Group D-6 Voting for: Mahoro Ando, Mahoromatic franchise Reasons: Can't make myself vote for the Goddess of Housewives to be a hero. Group D-7 Voting for: Van Fanel, Escaflowne franchise Reasons: Giving the edge to the one I'm more familiar with though I know Tsuzuki is pretty good too. Group D-8 Voting for: Kamina, Gurren Lagann Reasons: Guide. Group D-9 Voting for: Sorata Arisugawa, X Reasons: Guide doesn't convince me that his competition is better, plus Sorata rocks. Group D-10 Voting for: Misaki Kirihara, Darker Than Black Reasons: Except for the end of his story which was quite good, I always found Tohma to be the definition of generic. He was easily my least favourite character in the series and he took away from the interest parts of the story. Group D-11 Voting for: Honoka, The Third: The Girl With The Blue Eye Reasons: Guide Group D-12 Voting for: Nagi Kirima, Boogiepop Phantom Reasons: Guide Group D-13 Voting for: Jimmy Kudo (aka Conan Edogawa), Case Closed/Detective Conan Reasons: Mostly his reputation and remembering a bit of hesitancy about Spirited Away. Sorry Mizaki, you're 0 for 2 from me in this round (though at least this time I'm not voting specifically against your character like before). Group D-14 Voting for: Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms Reasons: Oh dear, this looks like it could be another hard one. But Youko definitely deserves to get through this. While I have not voted for others because of weak beginnings, I find hers makes total sense and it is part of her journey to work through it. (Sorry Kamui, you were just a whiney brat.) Group D-15 Voting for: Juna Ariyoshi, Arjuna Reasons: No guide for competition, plus I've seen Arjuna and Juna is pretty great. Group D-16 Voting for: Yomiko Readman, Read or Die OVA Reasons: Still bitter about Duos tournament and the first round knock-out of Haruka and Michiru. Also, The Paper is pretty cool. |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7358 |
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guide unless said otherwise:
D-1 Hitomi C-2 reasoning, I guess she was pretty heroic if not slightly annoying to me. Ashitaka will probably win this round anyway, but yes, I do hate Miyazaki this much. D-2 Daisuke Aramaki D-3 Kuwabara Sure, Yusuke got main character dibs, but Kuwabara's loyalty to helping those weaker than himself makes him, to me, one of the most heroic characters in the tourney as a result. I'll be voting for him until hits Kamina personally (as long as he's still in at that point) D-4 Kikuchiyo D-5 Roy Mustang D-6 Mahoro Ando D-7 Van Fanel D-8 Kamina!! Part of this is certainly being a massive TTGL fanboy type, but he totally deserves it too. He's inspirational, a keystone to the events of the entire series spoiler[despite dying 8 episodes in] and he challenges a mech using a katana. He starts the reformation of an entire world and eventually spoiler[galaxy], even with the above spoiler. If it comes down to him an Simon, I will most likely vote to try and cause a tie to happen honestly. D-9 Simon!! Part of this is certainly being a massive TTGL fanboy type, but he totally deserves it too. Runs spoiler[a galaxy sized mecha based purely on his amount of epic awesome] and is hero through and through. I'm going to have a tough time if he and Kamina go head to head, but will cross that bridge when I come to it eh? D-10 Thoma I don't expect him to last long on the basis of his next inevitable opponent, but I must vote for him. I' believe that part of the unspoken goal of these tourneys is to get people to try out new series and I must say that if you only decide to try out one new series from this entire tourney, please make it this one. But it's a must watch in sub show, don't attempt the dub! Seriously though, this show is so overlooked and it is such a must see, do yourself a favor and go watch it right now if you haven't already. Of all the overlooked series showcased here, please please please watch this one at the very least. But Thoma totally deserves to be here too, he really didn't have to have anything to do with the adventure, but he wanted to help the Children of Befort and Helga and helped them out anyway. D-11 Honoka Key was being pretty supportive of her during nominations, I'll go based on his word for now. D-12 Nagi Kirima D-13 Jimmy Kudo C-2 reasoning for one and two, I just don't see what Chihiro did heroic. I thought she was about as heroic as Sophie, except even less so. Unlike Sophie who I might include in a margin, I wouldn't have let Chihiro in at all. D-14 Youko Nakajima D-15 Sakata Gintoki D-16 Eclair |
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Aylinn
 Posts: 1684 |
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Group D-1 Ashitaka
Group D-2 Daisuke Aramaki Group D-3 Kazuma Kuwabara Group D-4 Kiba Group D-5 Roy Mustang Group D-6 Mahoro Ando Group D-7 Van Fanel Group D-8 Kamina Group D-9 Simon Group D-10 Tohma Group D-11 Honoka Group D-12 Ashram Group D-13 Jimmy Kudo Group D-14 Youko Nakajima I don't like Gundam  but seriously Youko's growth into a capable Queen that can take care of her country was impressive.
Group D-15 Juna Ariyoshi Group D-16 Yomiko Readman |
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arachneia
 Posts: 415 Location: On the wings of Bob Lennon |
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Huh? Roy is one of the strongest contenders. Every feature of heroism you can name - courage, dedication, determination, self-sacrifice, etc. - he's got in spades. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18248 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Um, no. There are a dozen contenders in this group alone that I'd choose over Roy, maybe more. He just had the fortune to be paired against the group's weakest contender, which is the main reason he's the only clean-sweep at the moment. Also, Sakata Gintoki now has a semi-proper Guide entry up (though he wasn't doing too badly without it!) thanks to info provided by Kouga13. If you voted against him in D-15, take a look at the new entry and see if it changes your mind. |
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arachneia
Posts: 415 Location: On the wings of Bob Lennon |
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"Um, no" doesn't really tell me much about why Roy Mustang is an inadequate contender. All his actions - even those infelicitous ones from the Ishbalan war - are driven by a desire to better the world in whatever way he can. He has an enormous amount of courage and prowess, with several good people ready to kill and die for his sake. Oh yeah, and he didn't choose the easy way out. Everything about him just screams hero.
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JacobC
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
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I have to disagree, but I guess I shouldn't say why until I have to vote against him later. Right now he has crap competition, apparently. (Not that I knew, I put Kamui as victor in my bracket solely as a vote against Roy.) But briefly: (First of all, Mustang joined the army and the Ishbal campaign as a young pup to serve his country and better his alchemic skill. That's patriotism, not heroicism.) After the war changed him so badly, Mustang is trying to atone for his guilt, not make the world better. Originally, if you recall, he thought the only way to atone was to kill himself. He tried several times, but couldn't do it because, like most normal people, he was scared to die. So he decided that if he lived, he'd have to put himself in a position where other soldiers would not have to do what he did and kill the innocent: the only position like that is Fuhrer! I'll admit that is noble. Not crazy heroic in its egotism, but kinda noble. Now his methods: Lie about absolutely everything. Lick boots of scummy superiors, manipulate men who trust him. Agree to crap assignments of dubious moral intent in order to gain rank. Support the spoiler[suspension of the investigation of his murdered best friend] in order to keep his rear safe for a relocation to Central and a gain in rank. It's all about dropping most standards you once held for the greater good, barely holding onto your humanity to become a god and save the peons who are suffering like yourself. These actions are understandable, they're more interesting, I think they're more "human," but they're not the selflessly heroic "wow" actions we've associated with top contenders like Vash, Duck, Shu, Nausicaa, etc., who would die before compromising any standard they held one iota...even basic things like Shu's "I will not beat a defenseless man." The "defenseless man" was a boy who had tried to kill him, and his punishment for not retaliating is being smacked around by the drill sergeant as well. This is foolish of them, but it's more heroic. Mustang is a smart man, and he's also just a little wicked...in a cool way. At his heart, he's definitely a good person and would never let the dirt he slogs through change him into, say, something like Archer. But he still slogs through dirt out of guilt. I certainly don't think he's a top contender. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18248 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I didn't say "inadequate," just that he isn't one of the top contenders. To consider him one of the strongest in this tournament (or even this Group, which I think is the toughest of the four) is to oversell his merits. JesuOtaku explained what could be counted against him quite well, so I won't reiterate that here, and having all that against him balances out the more heroics sides of his persona. In short, he has negatives that the true top contenders don't have. He deserves to win this round, I'll grant you, and might have a shot next round vs. the Mahoro/Belldandy winner (though I won't be voting for him then regardless of who wins C-6!), but he'll get obliterated by Kamina in Round 3 if he gets that far. |
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guet
 Posts: 492 Location: Sparta |
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Group D-1
Ashitaka, Princess Mononoke vs. Hitomi Kanzaki, Escaflowne franchise Voting for: Ashitaka Reason: More a vote against Hitomi. She has a good heart, but I sure don't remember much in the way of heroics from her. I do remember Ashitaka bringing the heroics however, so I don't feel bad tossing a vote his way. Group D-2 Daisuke Aramaki, Ghost in the Shell franchise vs. Goh Sawutari, Godannar Voting for: Goh Sawutari Reason: Hate to say this, but again, more a vote against Aramaki. The man is very smart, and probably the best example of a well rounded leader in anime, but as far as heroics go, I'd actually rank most of section 9 above him. Group D-3 Arika Yumemiya, My-Otome and My-Otome Zwei vs. Kazuma Kuwabara, Yu Yu Hakusho Voting for: Kazuma Kuwabara Reason: This one could actually go either way for me. Arika is heroic, but later on, Kuwabara really steps up his game. His dedication to his friends, and also living by his "code" gives him an edge here. Group D-4 Kikuchiyo, Samurai 7 vs. Kiba, Wolf’s Rain Voting for: Kiba Reason: Tough choice here as well. Kikuchiyo has the soul of a samurai and the heart of a commoner, a rare trait in his series. But Kiba's determination is second to none in his series. He fights on to the very end. Group D-5 Kamui, X vs. Roy Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist Voting for: Kamui Reason: More a vote against Mustang. He's a great character, but I wouldn't actually call him a hero. His past hides a lot of questionable acts, and his number one driving force is pure ambition. Group D-6 Mahoro Ando, Mahoromatic franchise vs. Belldandy, Ah! My Goddess/Oh My Goddess! franchise Voting for:Belldandy Group D-7 Asato Tsuzuki, Descendants of Darkness vs. Van Fanel, Escaflowne franchise Voting for: Van Fanel Group D-8 Kamina, Gurren Lagann vs. Daisaku Kusama, Giant Robo OVA Voting for: Kamina Reason: I've seen Gurren Lagann. If you have seen the series, you can't help but vote for two of the best heroes in anime history. Simple as that. Group D-9 Simon, Gurren Lagann vs. Sorata Arisugawa, X Voting for: Simon Reason: See above. Group D-10 Tohma , Fantastic Children vs. Misaki Kirihara, Darker Than Black Voting for: Misaki Kirihara Group D-11 Honoka, The Third: The Girl With The Blue Eye vs. Abe no Masahiro, Shonen Onmyoji Voting for: Honoka Group D-12 Nagi Kirima, Boogiepop Phantom vs. Ashram, Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight Voting for: Nagi Kirima Reason: It's been a while since I've seen Lodoss, but wasn't Ashram the villian? Group D-13 Jimmy Kudo (aka Conan Edogawa), Case Closed/Detective Conan vs. Chihiro, Spirited Away Voting for: Jimmy Kudo Reason: I'll probably catch some flack for this, but I just don't "get" Spirited Away. I see this movie get such praise, but other than the fact that it's well-animated, I didn't find all that much impressive about it. The same can be said for Chihiro. Group D-14 Amuro Ray , Mobile Suit Gundam and Char’s Counterattack vs. Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms Voting for: Youko Nakajima Group D-15 Sakata Gintoki, Gintama vs. Juna Ariyoshi, Arjuna Voting for:Sakata Gintoki Group D-16 Éclair, Kiddy Grade vs. Yomiko Readman, Read or Die OVA Voting for: Éclair |
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~~EpiC~~
 Posts: 243 |
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Group D-1
Ashitaka, Princess Mononoke vs. Hitomi Kanzaki, Escaflowne franchise Ashitaka. Nothing needs to be said. Group D-2 Daisuke Aramaki, Ghost in the Shell franchise vs. Goh Sawutari, Godannar Goh Sawutari. Seen GitS and so the guide won this one for him. Group D-3 Arika Yumemiya, My-Otome and My-Otome Zwei vs. Kazuma Kuwabara, Yu Yu Hakusho Arika. She does some heroic things that make my vote definitely go for her over Kazuma. Group D-4 Kikuchiyo, Samurai 7 vs. Kiba, Wolf’s Rain Kikuchiyo. Tough choice here, but decided to go with Kikuchiyo. Group D-5 Kamui, X vs. Roy Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist Mustang. He's a good guy and his contender apparently sucks so badly he doesn't even want me to vote for him. Group D-6 Mahoro Ando, Mahoromatic franchise vs. Belldandy, Ah! My Goddess/Oh My Goddess! franchise Mahoro. Her pic was more epic. Group D-7 Asato Tsuzuki, Descendants of Darkness vs. Van Fanel, Escaflowne franchise Van Fanel. Group D-8 Kamina, Gurren Lagann vs. Daisaku Kusama, Giant Robo OVA Kamina. What a guy. Group D-9 Simon, Gurren Lagann vs. Sorata Arisugawa, X Simon. He's kind of a chump at first, he's just a kid. Then look what happens. Deserves to go far. Group D-10 Tohma , Fantastic Children vs. Misaki Kirihara, Darker Than Black Tohma. Group D-11 Honoka, The Third: The Girl With The Blue Eye vs. Abe no Masahiro, Shonen Onmyoji Honoka. What was said and the guide really just forced me to vote for her. Group D-12 Nagi Kirima, Boogiepop Phantom vs. Ashram, Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight Ashram. He's a king and he has a commanding presence. Can't seem to want to vote for Nagi over Ashram. Group D-13 Jimmy Kudo (aka Conan Edogawa), Case Closed/Detective Conan vs. Chihiro, Spirited Away Chihiro. Group D-14 Amuro Ray , Mobile Suit Gundam and Char’s Counterattack vs. Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms Youko. Youko, Youko, Youko, Youko. Youko for empress. The fact that she develops from being a brat that tries to appease everyone to a stronger willed woman after being dragged to the world randomly would probably had been enough. spoiler[But, the fact that she decides to leave her family in order to become the empress (and therefore effect the world and save her entire kingdom and people. And her kirin.) to me.] Oh and she does pull a good few heroic stunts on top of all that, to me takes more courage and will than almost anyone in the entire group. The fact that she had to totally change herself to do this amazes me to no end. We can't forget the speech of epicness either. Group D-15 Sakata Gintoki, Gintama vs. Juna Ariyoshi, Arjuna Arjuna. Mostly because I'm not familiar with Gintama enough to make me want to vote against her. Group D-16 Éclair, Kiddy Grade vs. Yomiko Readman, Read or Die OVA Yomiko. From what I've seen in the OVA and what I've heard of her in the series, she deserves this vote. This group is shaping up to be brutal. I have no idea who to vote for in the quarterfinals. It looks ridiculous already. I wonder how the arguments for those 4 are going to work out and who will edge over who. |
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arachneia
Posts: 415 Location: On the wings of Bob Lennon |
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As far as the whole death wish thing, I believe that there is more to his decision than simple cowardice. If his only drive was a will to live, he could have kept living... as he was. A guy in the military, an alchemist, doing his thing. Instead, he made the choice to actually and actively atone for what he had done, not just by punishing himself, but by helping others. I'm not going to argue for the heroism of his actions as a soldier protecting his country, because that's a can of worms that really doesn't need opening, but I think you're mistaken when you write his goal off simply because it happens to be egotistical and ambitious. If he truly believes that he is the only person incorruptible enough to bear the title of Fuhrer and actually help the people he'd thereby rule over, that's a problem with his perception of humanity, not his heroism. What he truly wants, beyond punishing himself or ridding himself of his guilt, is (as emetic as this is going to sound) for the world to be a better place, and the fact that he will swallow his [considerable] pride, forgo his personal sense of satisfaction and justice, and go against his nature to achieve a greater good is just about the most admirable thing a person can do. You mention heroism being about holding true to your standards no matter what, but Roy is not in a realistic position to do that. He cannot be overt and honest and pacifistic and innocent because that will get him nowhere; and because he chooses to bear the emotional and ethical brunt of his 'morally dubious' actions, I respect him far more than if he were a brash, glued-to-his-principles type who refuses to compromise just for the sake of not compromising. |
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Olliff
 Posts: 550 |
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Group D-1
Ashitaka, Princess Mononoke vs. Hitomi Kanzaki, Escaflowne franchise Voting for: Ashitaka Reason: Very easy decision. I haven't seen this character in action, but from what I heard this character deserves to go far. Group D-2 Daisuke Aramaki, Ghost in the Shell franchise vs. Goh Sawutari, Godannar Voting for: Aramaki Reason: Aramaki doesn't display active heroism, but heroism is commonly found in his decisions and leading style. Group D-3 Arika Yumemiya, My-Otome and My-Otome Zwei vs. Kazuma Kuwabara, Yu Yu Hakusho Voting for: Kazuma Kuwabara Reason: One of the more heroic characters from the series, but not a particularly strong contender. Group D-4 Kikuchiyo, Samurai 7 vs. Kiba, Wolf’s Rain Voting for: Kichuchiyo Reason: I feel that Kichuchiyo is far more balanced as a hero in regards to both actions and personality than Kiba. Group D-5 Kamui, X vs. Roy Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist Voting for: Kamui Reason: Mustang probably deserves to edge Kamui out, but I am voting for Kamui because I feel that Mustang is a fairly weak contender and is being oversold in this competition. Too many of Mustang's motives and past actions have dubious origins. He is a great character, but mediocre in the heroic sense. Group D-6 Mahoro Ando, Mahoromatic franchise vs. Belldandy, Ah! My Goddess/Oh My Goddess! franchise Voting for:Belldandy Reason:I don't know about her opponent but Belldandy is more than deserving of the win. Her personality buds with unending compassion and kindness. In terms of purity, her character is second to none; selflessness defines her character. Unlike some harem characters, Belldandy does stick up for herself and stands against things that she things she knows are wrong. Though seemingly weak in appearance, she is also fairly strong boasting some powerful magical powers thanks to her status as a Goddess 1st class. Group D-7 Asato Tsuzuki, Descendants of Darkness vs. Van Fanel, Escaflowne franchise Voting for: Van Fanel Group D-8 Kamina, Gurren Lagann vs. Daisaku Kusama, Giant Robo OVA Voting for: Kamina Reason: Kamina is the heart and soul of the show. His manly passion burns deep and inspires both heroic actions in himself and in others. His character may be incredibly reckless, but his intentions and his actions are also incredibly heroic. Group D-9 Simon, Gurren Lagann vs. Sorata Arisugawa, X Voting for: Simon Reason: Initially heroism doesn't come easy for Simon. However, after some inspiration from his brother and some self-reflection, Simon manages to even surpass Kamina in terms of raw heroicness. Simon's character is a testament to one of the most inspiring coming of age stories in anime. I expect him to go very far. Group D-10 Tohma , Fantastic Children vs. Misaki Kirihara, Darker Than Black Voting for: Tohma Group D-11 Honoka, The Third: The Girl With The Blue Eye vs. Abe no Masahiro, Shonen Onmyoji Voting for: Honoka Reason: A vote against Masahiro. A bit too generic and shallow for my tastes. It also seems that Honoka has one of the best guides thus far. Group D-12 Nagi Kirima, Boogiepop Phantom vs. Ashram, Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight Voting for: Nagi Kirima Reason: Neither choice seems strong. Group D-13 Jimmy Kudo (aka Conan Edogawa), Case Closed/Detective Conan vs. Chihiro, Spirited Away Voting for: Jimmy Kudo Reason: Chihiro is a wonderful character, but I don't consider her a true heroine. Her character seemed more defined by discovery than heroism. Group D-14 Amuro Ray , Mobile Suit Gundam and Char’s Counterattack vs. Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms Voting for: Youko Nakajima Reason: Her guide entry seems very impressive and I also liked the support that she had during the nominations. Group D-15 Sakata Gintoki, Gintama vs. Juna Ariyoshi, Arjuna Voting for:Sakata Gintoki Group D-16 Éclair, Kiddy Grade vs. Yomiko Readman, Read or Die OVA Voting for: Yomiko Readman |
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blazingeyes
 Posts: 15 |
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D-1
Ashitaka D-2 Daisuke Aramaki D-3 Arika Yumemiya D-4 Kiba D-5 Roy Mustang D-6 Mahoro Ando D-7 Van Fanel (thanks for pointing that out) D-8 Kamina D-9 Simon D-10 Misaki Kirihara D-11 Honoka D-12 Nagi Kirima D-13 Jimmy Kudo D-14 Youko Nakajima D-15 Sakata Gintoki D-16 Yomiko Readman Last edited by blazingeyes on Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:30 am; edited 3 times in total |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I think you forgot D-7, blazingeyes.
Edit: No problem. |
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JacobC
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
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Group D-1
Ashitaka, Princess Mononoke vs. Hitomi Kanzaki, Escaflowne franchise Voting for: Ashitaka Reason: Hitomi barely deserves to be in the tourney, and I do think people are underestimating Ashitaka. Dude, he spoiler[breaks up a fight between two femme fatale warriors, gets shot through the heart, and carries one out on his back after that, in the process shoving open a gate it takes ten men to open, all while struggling not to just rip everyone apart in a rage from the curse of vengeance raging through his body.] That bumps up the wow factor for me. Group D-2 Daisuke Aramaki, Ghost in the Shell franchise vs. Goh Sawutari, Godannar Voting for: Aramaki Reason: The same reasoning here as I used for Soichiro Yagami, pretty much. He makes difficult decisions under pressure constantly, and has to deal with some upstarts telling him he doesn't know what he's doing and should be in retirement. Gotta hand him that one, but I'll admit he's not exactly a top contender. His Gourry-esque sillyhead competition kind of aids him here. Group D-3 Arika Yumemiya, My-Otome and My-Otome Zwei vs. Kazuma Kuwabara, Yu Yu Hakusho Voting for: Kazuma Kuwabara Reason: If Kuwabara was the protagonist of his show, he'd be a seed. He is willing to sacrifice his life multiple times to save everyone else, and while that may sound cliche, it really stands out in a series where all the "good guys" are pretty evil except for him. He rescues people who try to kill him...multiple times, even when this means he has to drag said villain home with him, along with his three friends, on his back after suffering nasty injuries. Kind of an overlooked one: He agrees not to fight in a deal to let his friend keep his job during school, gets set up into several forced streetfights, and gets the tar beat out of him so he can keep his promise. His friend gets to keep the job and support his younger siblings, but Kuwabara's grades suffer after all those injuries...or they would if he gave up that easily. Despite being a bloody pulp, the adversity pushes him to study harder and he gets even better grades than he used to, effectively saving him from getting thrown out of school. (He has the lowest average in his class.) And he loves animals and respects women, which is adorable. He can't help it that his face looks like a roadkilled squirrel. Group D-4 Kikuchiyo, Samurai 7 vs. Kiba, Wolf’s Rain Voting for: Kiba Reason: Sheer chutzpah. Protects his own, even those he doesn't like, (Tsume), at the expense of his own safety. He could be bleeding from every pore, have a broken leg, and struggling with his own despair, and his first concern would be the members of his pack and Cheza above all else, even if he were pushing himself to death. spoiler[Oh wait, that does happen.] He's also courageous in his willingness to venture into the unknown on faith alone for something he believes in. All the other wolves only join him because they're inspired by his gusto, not because they believe Paradise could really exist. (Except Toboe, but that's because he's a child and believes most everything people tell him, at first.) He would also be a seed...if he were at all human. He's not, and that negatively effects him. The fact that he's apathetic toward human beings is reasonable considering what he is, but doesn't discount his heroicism toward his people, really. Group D-5 Kamui, X vs. Roy Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist Voting for: Kamui Reason: Well...both options kinda suck, huh? So this is a vote against Mustang, as Kamui, tortured and reluctant or not, has a VERY definitive hero moment or three once he accepts his mantle of responsibility. I find Mustang fascinating, but not heroic, not until the very last episode or so of the series...and then the movie comes along, and he proves his complexity and frailty again. So one, maybe two episodes of heroicism vs. six or seven? I'll take Kamui, then. Group D-6 Mahoro Ando, Mahoromatic franchise vs. Belldandy, Ah! My Goddess/Oh My Goddess! franchise Voting for:Mahoro Reason: A vote against Belldandy for being cute and sweet, but largely inactive. Anyone created to be a fetish character (the most sympathetic fetish character ever, maybe, but still...) is not what I call heroic...sorry. Although this might count out Mahoro too, now that I think about it, but I have to pick ONE of them, and according to the "board members," (lulz) Mahoro is a more active character. Group D-7 Asato Tsuzuki, Descendants of Darkness vs. Van Fanel, Escaflowne franchise Voting for: Van Fanel Reason: Ha HA, Descendants of Darkness was pretty bad. Er-hrm, uh, besides that, Asato is a big ten-year-old with shinigami powers. He's not very heroic at all...friendly and persistent, maybe. Van can be childish, but that's about the only thing he has going against him. I think he's a very interesting contender, probably third-round worthy, but, heh heh, no one can beat the upcoming juggernaut... Group D-8 Kamina, Gurren Lagann vs. Daisaku Kusama, Giant Robo OVA Voting for: Kamina Reason: The series spoiler[stagnates without him until a little over halfway through.] He is the catalyst to it and the only reason I even watched. Ballsy, takes no crap from anyone, accepts nothing but the best from his team...just can't even think of a more masculine character...not that masculine equals heroic, but it contributes, if you're a fighter, and Kamina exemplifies heroic to the core anyway. Group D-9 Simon, Gurren Lagann vs. Sorata Arisugawa, X Voting for: Simon Reason: It takes him a very long time, but Simon eventually surpasses Kamina in heroicism because he possesses one quality his bro did not: temperance. That makes him a better leader and fun to watch...after a certain point. After all the Shinji-ness wears off. Anyway, who's Sorata? Group D-10 Tohma , Fantastic Children vs. Misaki Kirihara, Darker Than Black Voting for: Tohma Reason: Top contender in my mind, and Misaki, while marginally interesting, isn't strong competition. Group D-11 Honoka, The Third: The Girl With The Blue Eye vs. Abe no Masahiro, Shonen Onmyoji Voting for: Honoka Reason: Read the guide, heck yes. THEN watch the trailer on ANN. COOL. That's all I needed. Automatic pass to maybe even further rounds. Group D-12 Nagi Kirima, Boogiepop Phantom vs. Ashram, Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight Voting for: Ashram Reason: A big "meh" all around. But Nagi makes me laugh, (not in a good way,) and I've seen Ashram in action well enough to know that he makes up for a brief, misguided start in spades. He's a strong guy. Nagi looks kinda... 
Both are pretty "meh," though. Group D-13 Jimmy Kudo (aka Conan Edogawa), Case Closed/Detective Conan vs. Chihiro, Spirited Away Voting for: Jimmy Kudo Reason: Chihiro's coming-of-age fable reminds me a lot of Alice in Wonderland. She's a good girl and all, but I think Jimmy has a LOT more at stake and throws himself onto too many ticking bombs and thrusting knives to be counted out by little Ms. I Believe in You Guys just yet... Group D-14 Amuro Ray , Mobile Suit Gundam and Char’s Counterattack vs. Youko Nakajima, The Twelve Kingdoms Voting for: Amuro Ray Reason: He's probably going to lose anyway, but I wanted to throw the guy a bone. From what I saw of Twelve Kingdoms, Youko never even struck me as heroic, and it may just be that I watched the wrong episodes. Both seem to be stronger contenders, so it's a shame they're not facing some of these weaker ones. -.-' Ray is from, believe me, there was a time, the days of Gundam when not all the pilots were hyperviolent angst machines...Ray wasn't a total douche, which is nice. And I like his hair. Very 70s. Group D-15 Sakata Gintoki, Gintama vs. Juna Ariyoshi, Arjuna Voting for:Juna Reason: Regardless of the guide, I looked up these characters before the tourney started and STILL remember being impressed by what I found on Juna. Wikipedia it. Group D-16 Éclair, Kiddy Grade vs. Yomiko Readman, Read or Die OVA Voting for: Yomiko Readman Reason: Eclair has deep-seated issues that drive her a little nutso, and a lot of her buttkicking is part of her detail with Lumiere. Yomiko is much more independent, and I like the idea of a bookworm being a problem for the badguys any day of the week. |
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