Anime bracket, Sweet 16

The guilt’s gone, so I thank God for that. Now on to…

Time for the Sweet 16 – or regional semifinals – or third round… anyway, starting out in…

EVA region

#1 Asuka Langley Soryu vs. #4 Sasami
Cuteness can only carry you so far. Sasami’s cruised into this round on her super-cute looks alone, but now it comes down to a match against a girl who has so much depth to her character, one who’s in a powerful Evangelion one moment, and trying to figure out her purpose in another. Sasami gave it a good run, but this one goes to Asuka.
Winner: #1 Asuka
#6 Misato Katsuragi vs. #15 Rei Ayanami
A battle of Eva girls, this one comes down to the wire. Misato’s funny, Rei’s not… but Rei has that mysterious aura about her. I think of all things this one will come down to Rei’s voice, and its awesome monotone sound… it’s so cute, and I think it’s enough to give Rei this victory.
Winner: #15 Rei

HARUHI region

#1 Haruhi Suzumiya vs. #4 Kikyo
This is almost the opposite of the Misato-Rei battle… as much as I like Kikyo’s voice and her mysterious aura, I prefer Haruhi and her humorous personality, not to mention the fact that she’s always up to something that’s going to cause things to be interesting.
Winner: #1 Haruhi
#2 Sango vs. #3 Kagome Higurashi
The HARUHI region turned into the INUYASHA region with 3 InuYasha girls reaching the regionals. In this battle, there’s no question who I like better, the powerful Sango, who is both emotionally stable (unlike Kagome) and physically strong (again, unlike Kagome).
Winner: #2 Sango

NARUTO region

#1 Hinata Hyuga vs #4 Ayeka
Both are shy and cute, but I’m going to favor Hinata just because she’s a little more recent, and she doesn’t suddenly turn super-angry like Ayeka sometimes can when she’s around Ryoko.
Winner: #1 Hinata
#2 Orihime Inoue vs. #3 Soi Fon
A really tough one to call. These two aren’t even close to being like each other. Soi Fon is seemingly always angry, and so cruel. Orihime is seemingly always either happy or trying to be helpful. It’s a real toss-up, and in this case, I think I’m going to trust my original seeding and go with the favorite.
Winner: #2 Orihime

BLEACH region

#1 Yachiru Kusajishi vs. #5 Kenpachi Zaraki
Wow. What a matchup. These two are best buddies, I mean, how could they go up against each other. Both of them automatically make any episode they are in so much better. Which one is more important? Well, we know Kenpachi’s sheer power, but Yachiru also provides more humor… picking against Yachiru is a real no-no for me, at least at this point.
Winner: #1 Yachiru
#2 Rei Hino vs. #3 Rangiku Matsumoto
Rangiku provides more than her looks, she also has a bubbly personality, plus some pretty cool zanpakuto attacks. Rei is pretty powerful in her own right. In this case, I think I’m going to go with the more recent character, Rangiku.
Winner: #3 Rangiku

Only two surprises here: #3 Rangiku (minor) and #15 Rei Ayanami (major). Rei Ayanami wasn’t supposed to make it out of round one, and here she is in the EVA region final. These region finals should be the most interesting round yet.

Guilt

So with only three days to go to Tekko and everything going great, I suddenly get a guilt attack which had gone away for some time, but comes back at the worst possible time. This OCD is always useful for ruining stuff, and it’s threatening to ruin my con. I pray that it goes away in time for the convention, which is the only thing I’ve looked forward to for a long time.

Anime bracket, round two

Okay, so hurrying up things in order to try to get this thing in before Tekkoshocon VII on Friday. Let’s get on with round two!

EVA region

#1 Asuka Langley Soryu vs. #9 Toshiro Hitsugaya
If I were a fangirl, Toshiro would easily win. But I’m not a girl, so Toshiro loses that advantage. Asuka is of course a very sympathetic character for all she goes through, and she’s much deeper of a character than Toshiro.
Winner: #1 Asuka
#4 Sasami vs. #5 Kyon The conscience of the SOS Brigade vs. the cuteness of the Tenchi crew. I can just see Kyon putting his hand on his face in frustration as I pick against him in favor of the cutest anime girl of all time.
Winner: #4 Sasami
#6 Misato Katsuragi vs. #14 Tsuruya-san How did LOL Fang-tan get here anyway? Oh yes, that’s right, knocking off Miroku on a gut feeling. Smoked cheese, nyoro~n. Misato’s more than just a internet meme, unfortunately for the green-haired girl, as she’s got that Evangelion depth of character.
Winner: #6 Misato
#10 Ryo-ohki vs. #15 Rei Ayanami Wow, I don’t know how to judge this one. The uber-cute Ryo-ohki against the mysterious Rei Ayanami. I see where this region is going, though… sort of for the same reason I chose Misato over Tsuruya, I’ve got to go with the Evangelion character again.
Winner: #15 Rei

HARUHI region

#1 Haruhi Suzumiya vs. #8 Ryoko (Tenchi) You know, Ryoko should thank her stars she got one win, given the fact that I hated her seven years ago. It’s hard to go against Haruhi, just because… she’s Haruhi. Just like when people say “Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods,” Haruhi Suzumiya is Haruhi Suzumiya. How else can I explain it?
Winner: #1 Haruhi
#4 Kikyo vs. #5 Ichigo Kurosaki Poor Ichigo… he had this one won, because I’m seeing his voice actor and all. But I just so happened to watch an InuYasha episode at 5 in the morning the other night, and I remembered why I like Kikyo so much… her voice. What a voice.
Winner: #4 Kikyo
#3 Kagome Higurashi vs. #6 Yukino Miyazawa I don’t know Yukino well enough to advance her too far, I think that’s the only thing that stops her from pulling off an upset here. Kagome’s definitely vulnerable because of her flaws, but then again, those flaws make her a more balanced character.
Winner: #3 Kagome
#2 Sango vs. #7 Kisuke Urahara Not even close. The HARUHI region is the region of chalk, as there is absolutely no doubt that I’ll take the powerful yet compassionate Sango over Mr. Hat and Clogs.
Winner: #2 Sango

NARUTO region

#1 Hinata Hyuga vs. #9 Shinji Ikari
Both are shy in their own ways, but Hinata’s got a cute shyness about her. Shinji… well, he’s just a scaredy-cat. Sure, I sympathize with him, but I’m sure not picking him over the cute Hinata.
Winner: #1 Hinata
#4 Ayeka vs. #5 Mikuru Asahina You know, I really want to give another Haruhi character a victory, but I’m sorry, I just can’t go against one of my old-time favorites. Ayeka “plays her cards” but doesn’t “lose all her cash.” Maybe she’ll stay around long enough for me to complete the whole “Up-Walk in Galaxy.”
Winner: #4 Ayeka
#3 Soi Fon vs. #6 Sosuke Aizen First single-anime matchup of the tournament. What is the difference in this battle between two of my favorite captains of the Soul Society? Simple. It’s Aizen’s glasses. Since he decided to get rid of them, I’m going to have to favor Soi Fon.
Winner: #3 Soi Fon
#2 Orihime Inoue vs. #10 Pen-Pen Sorry, Pen-Pen, you may cheer on the Penguins, but that’s not enough to get you past the extremely lovable Orihime, especially not with a meeting with Stephanie Sheh lurking over the weekend.
Winner: #2 Orihime

BLEACH region

#1 Yachiru Kusajishi vs. #9 Makoto Kino This is an absolute rout. Yachiru pretty much brightens the screen every time she appears on it, making every episode better just by being in it. Makoto doesn’t bring nearly that much to the table.
Winner: #1 Yachiru
#4 Ryoko Asakura vs. #5 Kenpachi Zaraki Best matchup of the round. Kenpachi makes every episode he’s in better, but then again Asakura is just so awesome. Now I’ve got to have a male in the Sweet Sixteen, don’t I? Yet I still want to pick Asakura, just seeing her cutely hold that knife of hers… oh, how am I going to choose? Coming into this tournament, I foresaw Asakura potentially winning this region, but now… sorry, Kenpachi’s in more episodes, and that’s going to have to be the tiebreaker.
Winner: #5 Kenpachi
#3 Rangiku Matsumoto vs. #11 Jet Black Let’s make this a true “Bleach” region with a third Bleach character making it to the Sweet Sixteen. Jet is a pretty cool guy and all, but Rangiku is just so… attractive.
Winner: #3 Rangiku
#2 Rei Hino vs. #7 InuYasha Another close one, closer than I once expected. InuYasha wasn’t even supposed to make it out of Round 1, but now I’m seriously considering him to win. Yet I’ve liked Rei longer, and I’m just going to have to give her a slight nod in this one.
Winner: #2 Rei

The bracket through two rounds:

Quick stats after two rounds:

* Only 3 “unexpected” seeds in Sweet Sixteen: #6 Misato, #15 Rei Ayanami and #5 Kenpachi.
* 5 Bleach characters, 3 from Eva, 3 from InuYasha, 2 from Tenchi.
* Kenpachi: only male remaining.

Round 1, part 2

After Villanova’s amazing win over Pitt reenergized my interest in the NCAA Tournament, this isn’t the only bracket I care about. My sister’s got a pretty good one going. But will we see a buzzer-beater by a lower-seeded character in a big match again? #14 Tsuruya-san and #15 Rei Ayanami were the big upset winners yesterday. Who will it be today? Let’s start off with the…

NARUTO region

#1 Hinata Hyuga vs. #16 Toji Suzuhara
Toji’s a cool guy, he really is. But, uh, he’s going up against Hinata Hyuga, one of my all-time favorites thanks to the fact that her personality mirrors mine. Add to the fact that I’m meeting Hinata’s VA next weekend and it’s a no-brainer.
Winner: #1 Hinata
#8 Kiyone vs. #9 Shinji Ikari Kiyone always got a raw deal in Tenchi Universe, getting stuck with Mihoshi and never getting her way. Shinji… okay, he’s been through worse. Many people hate Shinji. I happen to like him, because I know exactly how he feels. Score one for Shinji.
Winner: #9 Shinji
#5 Mikuru Asahina vs. #12 Kon Poor Mikuru… poor Kon. Both of these characters take a lot of abuse from the main character of their respective series. However, Kon is a modsoul, and if you know how I feel about his colleagues, you’d know why that’s not a good thing to be. That gives Mikuru the edge.
Winner: #5 Mikuru
#4 Ayeka vs. #13 Renji Abarai Renji’s pretty much the biggest loser of all time, he is something like 0-167 in sword battles in his career. I bet Ayeka could beat him given the opportunity. Speaking of Ayeka… “when (she) goes fishing, (she) catch(es) a boot, or some other trash” but she wins this one.
Winner: #4 Ayeka
#6 Sosuke Aizen vs. #11 Meilin Both of my other cosplays have lost in the first round, but Aizen’s got a chance to break that. Meilin is annoying enough to be lovable, and if that doesn’t make sense, then you’ve never seen Cardcaptor Sakura. Nevertheless, Aizen was the original “finger man” who stopped Ichigo’s zanpakuto with his finger.
Winner: #6 Aizen
#3 Soi Fon vs. #14 Ryoji Kaji How cruel. Soi Fon is pretty much the cruelest non-villain in the history of anime, and one of the cruelest women. That makes her so beautiful… and Kaji? He’s very likable, and probably deserved a higher seed. Nevertheless, he’s no match for Soi Fon.
Winner: #3 Soi Fon
#7 Yoruichi Shihouin vs. #10 Pen-Pen Pen-Pen was the unofficial mascot of the 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff run, and I think I may pull him out of retirement for this year’s run. That might be just enough to push him past the lovely Yoruichi, who makes this one an absolute toss-up. I really ought to allow the cat-woman win, but…
Winner: #10 Pen-Pen
#2 Orihime Inoue vs. #15 Misty Misty got in because she was the only major Pokemon character I could stand enough to put in the field of 64. That’s pretty much all I can give her in a match against the extremely lovable Orihime.
Winner: #2 Orihime

And now, time for the…

BLEACH region #1 Yachiru Kusajishi vs. #16 Kensuke Aida
Not fair for Kensuke, a good character in his own right. Yachiru is not just cute; she absolutely loves Kenpachi’s hunger for violence, which makes her flat-out hilarious. Don’t tell anyone she’s a minor character, because she’s much more than that to me.
Winner: #1 Yachiru
#8 Tenchi Masaki vs. #9 Makoto Kino Very notable for being a pairing I made in a fanfic of mine. Actually it was very one-sided, Tenchi eventually rejected Makoto. If Tenchi could only make up his mind for once in his life, maybe I’d give him the nod, but note I say Makoto, and not Lita. The awful voice for Lita would cost her this match, but I trust Makoto’s Japanese voice is much better to listen to.
Winner: #9 Makoto
#5 Kenpachi Zaraki vs. #12 Faye Valentine One of the original femme fatales, Faye is certainly one that you’d really like if you’re a huge Cowboy Bebop fan. Unfortunately for her, she’s up against one of my favorite Bleach characters, who pretty much makes every episode he appears in better. Look out for Kenpachi, who wins in a romp.
Winner: #5 Kenpachi
#4 Ryoko Asakura vs. #13 Kirara Kirara may be cute and fierce, but so is Asakura. In fact Asakura’s “you don’t want to die?”, delivered perfectly in the dub, has to be one of the all-time great anime lines, at least from the Haruhi series. She is surely AA+ as rated by Taniguchi, her classmate.
Winner: #4 Asakura
#6 Roy Mustang vs. #11 Jet Black How many matches so far have matched up two males? Not too many, with my incredible female bias. Here fanfics of mine ends up swaying the match; I turned Jet Black into Jeff Probst in my Survivor fics, and of course Probst is all sorts of levels of awesome. I even got the real-life Probst to get mad at me on his blog, true story (sometime I’ll have to tell that). I imagine Jet being the same way.
Winner: #11 Jet
#3 Rangiku Matsumoto vs. #14 Alphonse Elric Rangiku… *swoons* Sorry, Al, you’re just no match for the most beautiful woman in Bleach. It’ll take more than whining in an armor suit to beat her.
Winner: #3 Rangiku
#7 InuYasha vs. #10 Sajin Komamura Komamura had this one won until last night, when I happened to watch an InuYasha episode for the first time in months and remembered why exactly I love the series so much. Komamura’s a pretty cool guy and all, but InuYasha’s attitude gives him this win.
Winner: #7 InuYasha
#2 Rei Hino vs. #15 Yuki Nagato Interesting that I put Nagato and Ayanami both as #15 seeds, given that they are so similar in character. However, Nagato doesn’t have the back story of Ayanami, plus she’s up against my original favorite anime character. It’s going to be hard to knock off Sailor Mars.
Winner: #2 Rei

So that’s all for round one, with 3 true upsets (the winner being at least 5 seeds lower than the loser): #14 Tsuruya over #3 Miroku, #15 Ayanami over #2 Shippo and #11 Jet over #6 Roy. Here’s the second half of the bracket:

Round 2 coming soon!

Anime bracket, round one

All right, let’s start off the first round of the 2009 favorite anime character tournament, starting with…

EVA region

#1 Asuka Langley Soryu vs. #16 Ranma Saotome
Sorry, no contest here. Asuka is both hilarious and tragic… Ranma is both boy and girl. I haven’t seen enough of Ranma, to be fair, but Asuka’s a gripping character who you actually feel for.
Winner: #1 Asuka

#8 Keel Lorenz vs. #9 Toshiro Hitsugaya
A cyborg vs. every fangirl’s favorite Soul Reaper. I’m no fangirl, and I’m cosplaying as Keel a week from today. But Toshiro can be quite funny, and he’s got some pretty cool ice powers. I’m going to favor Toshiro here.
Winner: #9 Toshiro

#5 Kyon vs. #12 Rukia Kuchiki
I am an anti-Ichigo x Rukia shipper, which gets Rukia off on the wrong foot. Plus she can be quite annoying when she’s always frowning and always complaining. I don’t hate her, but she provides little resistance to the lovable loser Kyon.
Winner: #5 Kyon

#4 Sasami vs. #13 Byakuya Kuchiki
The cutest anime character of all time vs. one of the most emotionless. Byakuya has been the hero on several occasions, but Sasami is so lovable, so adorable, pretty much the very symbol of cuteness.
Winner: #4 Sasami

#6 Misato Katsuragi vs. #11 Madison I used to *heart* Madison before I found out that she wasn’t exactly who I thought she was. Misato, on the other hand, is another tragic character like Asuka who can be funny while also causing you to feel for her. Sorry, Madison, you’re seven years too late.
Winner: #6 Misato

#3 Miroku vs. #14 Tsuruya-san Poor Tsuruya. As awesome as she is, and as lovable, and as hilarious, and as… you know what? That’s it. I’m going with the huge upset, even over a character whom I cosplay.
Winner: #14 Tsuruya-san

#7 Kaname Tosen vs. #10 Ryo-ohki Did I say Sasami was the cutest anime character of all time? Well, Ryo-ohki’s the cutest anime mascot of all time. And boy, is she cute. Plus she can turn into a spaceship. As great as Tosen’s bankai is, it can’t beat that.
Winner: #10 Ryo-ohki

#2 Shippo vs. #15 Rei Ayanami
Rei Ayanami is the most underrated character in the tournament. I totally forgot about her, due to her silence. Yet she, yet again, brings the tragedy of Evangelion plus her beauty of purity. Shippo… well, he’s cute, but Rei’s so much deeper. Upset of the first round.
Winner: #15 Rei Ayanami

And now we move on to…

HARUHI region

#1 Haruhi Suzumiya vs. #16 Hikari Horaki
If this were an Eva forum, this would be close. Hikari has a following among Eva fans. But she’s up against the most enigmatic, energetic, enjoyable anime character perhaps ever. This is another #1-#16 rout.
Winner: #1 Haruhi Suzumiya

#8 Ryoko (Tenchi) vs. #9 Ami Mizuno
One of those matchups that pretty much comes down to a coin toss. Ami is like me in high school, quiet, studious and intelligent (note I said high school, not now). Ryoko is pretty much the opposite of me. Again, seven years ago this would have gone the other way, but times have changed… Ryoko by an eyelash.
Winner: #8 Ryoko

#5 Ichigo Kurosaki vs. #12 Sayu Yagami If I weren’t meeting Ichigo’s voice actor in a week, then this may be one of those #12 over #5 upsets that happen so often. However, I have to apologize to Sayu, whose tragedy in Death Note granted her the only spot in the field for a character from that anime. Ichigo’s VA wins it.
Winner: #5 Ichigo

#4 Kikyo vs. #13 Temari Temari is definitely an attractive character to me, especially because of her attitude. She’s a strong woman. But when it comes to strong women, how can you top Kikyo? She’s gone through pretty much every tragic, heartbreaking thing imaginable, and it took three deaths to kill her.
Winner: #4 Kikyo

#6 Yukino Miyazawa vs. #11 Spike Spiegel It took a grand total of 1 episode for me to fall in love with Yukino. Her first episode of Kare Kano was that special. Spike? I don’t know if I can quite feel for a character who doesn’t really care about life all that much.
Winner: #6 Yukino

#3 Kagome Higurashi vs. #14 Edward Elric Kagome’s sometimes incredibly whiny and mean, and that could cause an upset to the right character. But she’s also one who you can definitely sympathize with, one who really loves InuYasha. Ed’s cool and all, but Kagome definitely is the pick here.
Winner: #3 Kagome

#7 Kisuke Urahara vs. #10 Minako Aino It’s been all chalk so far in the HARUHI region, but Sailor Venus wishes to change that. Love, beauty, that’s all nice. Can it beat Mr. Hat & Clogs, who I can’t ever figure out yet I still am a big fan of? Oh, what a choice. I have to go with my current gut feeling, and that’s Hat & Clogs.
Winner: #7 Kisuke Urahara

#2 Sango vs. #15 Uryu Ishida
The Quincy Uryu’s gotten his chance to shine in the subpar Bount arc. All that time, and it still wasn’t enough to elevate him from this low seed. I am meeting his VA next week… is that enough to propel him over the unbelievably awesome Sango? … no.
Winner: #2 Sango

So, after half of round one, we have this…

Who will advance in the second half of round two?

Anime bracket

This is my personal anime character tournament, where I’ll choose one of these 64 as my favorite character for 2009:

Rules:
Characters must have been in at least four episodes (hence no Cynthia, Sabrina or Giselle)
“Automatic bid” for top-rated character from each anime I’ve seen
Automatic bids:
Asuka Langley Soryu – Neon Genesis Evangelion
Hinata Hyuga – Naruto
Yachiru Kusajishi – Bleach
Haruhi Suzumiya – The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Sango – InuYasha
Rei Hino – Sailor Moon
Ayeka – Tenchi Muyo!
Yukino Miyazawa – Kare Kano
Roy Mustang – Fullmetal Alchemist
Madison – Cardcaptor Sakura
Jet Black – Cowboy Bebop
Misty – Pokemon
Ranma – Ranma 1/2

So, who’s gonna win it all?

…

Unfortunately, I failed to reach the finals of the Tekko AMV contest. There was maybe a 1/3 chance, maybe less, depending on how many videos exactly were entered into our category. At least I can avoid the embarrassment that would have ensued had there been over half the entries accepted and mine still not making it. Really, it’s not a surprise… it was the first AMV I ever made, and the people who got in probably have all kinds of experience. It was at least pretty fun to make the video, although I get the feeling now that there won’t be too many people who actually get to see it. (It’s too big of a file to post on YouTube.)

Stupid Pitt won again, my least favorite college basketball team. As long as they lose their next game, it won’t matter too much. Of course, that means it’ll be a really nervous Thursday for me, hoping that they get knocked out of the tournament.

Only 12 days to go until (hopefully) the best three days of the year…

March Madness

Trying to stay awake… trying to make it through another 16 games…

Oh, and there’s definitely some madness in the latest chapter of my fanfic… or perhaps some sadness.

Crushed dreams

In 2007, I met a girl who I got along with perfectly – we shared interests, we talked on the phone together – I mean, it was as if we were meant to be together. The girl then tells me she has no time for boys, and our relationship slowly dies… after I graduate, I find out that she did indeed have time for a boyfriend, just someone else.

In 2008, I suffered through one of the worst periods of my life, unable to find a job, constant depression every minute of every day for three months, and then minor depression the rest of the year. Instead of getting a job and getting my post-college life started, my life just fell into a pit that I’m still only now slowly climbing out of.

In 2009, with an anime convention only three weeks away, I get into a fight with my family, which leads to great guilt that might not go away in time for the convention, or at least for March Madness, another thing I greatly enjoy. Then my dream of going to meet a friend overseas is crushed as well by circumstances beyond my control.

Sometimes it makes me wonder… is there a curse on my life?

More CRAP

Awful night last night. Just awful. And now the guilt is back. What I hoped avoiding before the convention, I was unable to avoid, and now I feel terrible again. Everything almost crashed down on me, yet by the grace of God things stayed together, by a thread. It’s hard to explain without giving details, but to say the least, it was one of the worst family fights ever. I can only pray that I’m able to get rid of this guilt by April.