[Saimoe]Semi 1/KoreanSaimoe final

Voting days has returned for the semi final, Nagi (Hayate no Gotoku) vs Rena(Higurashi no Naku Koro ni).

Both Rena and Nagi are my only favorites left in the tournament, so I don't mind either of them win. But still, Nagi is my no.1 favorite character, so she got my vote.
Sadly though, unlike Korean Saimoe, those who deserve to be in top 8 of the tournament already been knocked out early (Fate, Suiginto, Kagami, Maria, San etc).

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Korean Saimoe: Finally the battle has ended.

omg omg omg epic battle!!!! only 2 freaking votes separating the final!!!! What a match...Looking at the time graph and the interval, both of them keep exchanging position (though Hinagiku do better in greater proportion of the 48-hour period). Even in the very final hour Shana leads by 22 votes, but was beaten in the end. Nothing harder to accept than losing by a mere 2 points, for someone who vote for Shana. While those who votes for Hinagiku will be joyous that their vote/s means everything for Hinagiku to win this match.

I could say that both of them win, because if someone (including me) grab 2, 3 votes from my friend computer then I can turn around the result. If only I did what I should do :3 Well at least I don't have much thing to be lament, since as I mention earlier, both are not my ultimate moe character. Still congrats Hinagiku for winning 2007 Korean Saimoe.

With this, Katsura Hinagiku of Hayate the Combat Butler is crowned the Champion of Korean Saimoe 2007. Both of them will return with greater force in Korean Saimoe 2008 =)

1. Hinagiku Katsura______Hayate the Combat Butler_____2015 (50%)
2. Shana_______________Shakugan No Shana_________2013 (50%)

[saimoe] Q4 result/next match preview

Quarterfinal 4

1. 1位　1697票　真紅＠ローゼンメイデン オーベルテューレ(Shinku@Rozen Maiden Ouverture)
2. 2位　1639票　柊つかさ＠らき☆すた(Hiiragi Tsukasa@Lucky Star)

uh...the second Zetsubou for me =( Even more heartbreaking is the way the graph looks like:

What a turn around. While Tsukasa had a constant lead in the beginning, everything changed in the final 2-3 hours when Shinku got some insane burst-votes rush which drive her to get to the top. The data mining also shows that Shinku got more supports from the locals compared to Tsukasa (1400+ to 1200+). RM faction really is something this time, considering Shinku is their only remaining contestant. While the fake votes shows little difference for both of them, though it's still a turn around after the fake votes were deducted.

1位→2位　2235票→1639票　Tsukasa
2位→1位　2170票→1697票　Shinku

Character: Foreign/Japan/Total
Shinku: 296/1401/1697
Tsukasa: 437/1202/1639

Shinku really is backed by the power of the true doll, Alice. Now she's back in the semi final, after her loss in 2005 semi final.
So now another one of my favorite has lost. Though it's still a good performance from Tsukasa to advance this far, only to get beaten by last-hour rush votes. Now she follows the path of her sister, and will return in next year Saimoe which will be more fierce than ever, but without the force of RM (unless...you know what). Now my hopes only lies on Rena and Nagi, who met each other in the next match. Well at least I will still have one of my favorite in the final.

Saimoe takes a day break. Then the semi final match will begin:

sF1 (10/31)

• 竜宮レナ＠ひぐらしのなく頃に(Ryuuguu Rena@Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
• 三千院ナギ＠ハヤテのごとく！(Sanzenin Nagi@Hayate the Combat Butler)

sF2 (11/01)

• 古手梨花＠ひぐらしのなく頃に(Furude Rika@Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
• 真紅＠ローゼンメイデン オーベルテューレ(Shinku@Rozen Maiden Ouverture)

Seems like many people want an all-Higurashi final. But I'd prefer Nagi or Rena to beat Shinku at final :3

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Korean Saimoe: The final day of voting for final match between Hinagiku vs Shana! Vote for your favorite moe here!

[saimoe] Q3 result/next match preview

Quarterfinal 3

1. 1位　1473票　古手梨花＠ひぐらしのなく頃に(Furude Rika@Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
2. 2位　1191票　ルイズ・フランソワーズ・ル・ブラン・ド・ラ・ヴァリエール＠ゼロの使い魔((Loui se Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière@Zero no Tsukaima)

eventually Louise was not able to keep herself away from the defeat/Oyashiro sama curse after advancing this far. The power of Oyashiro-sama helps Rika to win this match, something that even Suiginto can't do :3 Whether the cause of her loss is because of revenge voters (most probably) or purely because of Rika' superior popularity, now we have 2 Higurashi girls in the semi final. Be it foreign or japan votes, Rika have more votes than Louise. In fact Louise never seems to be able to give much challenge to Rika in the first place.

Let's see whether the luck will be on their side, or the repeat of 2005 semi final will repeat (2RM dolls in the semi, yet both failed to win the tournament). Nevertheless next year we'll have Hanyu to entertain us

Next Match: Balsamic Vinegar vs Reiner Rubin. Tsukasa vs Shinku.


Both Shinku and Tsukasa are the only remaining survivor from their respective series. Shinku may be backed by a lot of RM faction votes, while Tsukasa who have more disadvantages may be affected by those who want to avenge Suiseiseki' loss, and possibly anti KyoAni faction. But still, Tsukasa is one of my favorite moe, so after the loss of her sister I'd definitely pick her in this match. Not to mention I see Tsukasa more moe than Shinku :3
Let's see how much fake votes can Tsukasa stand this time around. SUiseiseki failed to beat her even with 1400+ fake votes (even more than Nagato Yuki last year!), how about Shinku?

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Korean Saimoe: finally, the final match has arrived tomorrow! Shana vs Hinagiku, , who will be crowned the new Korean Saimoe Queen!

Looking at the picture, we can clearly see that Hinagiku did better than Shana in her previous matches (in term of vote number), while Shana have knocked out more big names than Hinagiku. To tell the truth it's a very hard option for me, both of them are definitely top choices (though they re not really my favorite. I vote for Shana (for obvious reason)
I'm quite surprised to see that this match runs for 2 days, so expect a lot more votes than usual.
pick your choice here

[saimoe] Q2 result/next match preview

Quarterfinal 2

1. 1位　1334票　三千院ナギ＠ハヤテのごとく！(Sanzenin Nagi@Hayate the Combat Butler)
2. 2位　1272票　泉こなた＠らき☆すた(Izumi Konata@Lucky Star)

A good win =) Another one of my favorite moe pass through to the semi. Nagi is indeed better than Konata when it comes to hikki things, though Konata wins her if it comes to house chore :3 The match really never seems easy for both of them, but overall Nagi had a small votes difference for the major portion of the day (178 fakes for Nagi and 262 for Konata). The small number of fake votes also didn't really affect the result of the match, and the data mining shows that Nagi got more supports from the locals.



Next match is going to be interesting. Louise (Zero no Tsukaima) vs Rika (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni). Expect Louise to get a lot of revenge voters especially from RM faction. As for this match, both of them aren't really my favorite, but Louise ranking in my list is higher than Rika, so I vote for her (no other reason, Kugimiya legion). Nevertheless Higurashi already have Rena in the semi, while Nagi already represent Kugimiya tsundere.
Looking at their previous round matches, Rika never hit 1k votes, while Louise did by overcoming Eri and Suiginto. Who knows whether Louise surprising form will end here in this match, or will she mark another win (and perhaps ignite even more hate votes lol)

match posters again, courtesy of Aya Reiko and anon



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Korean Saimoe: As expected, Hinagiku win comfortably against Tamaki and set an ideal final against Shana. A battle of swordwomen with their own capabilities. It's really hard to predict the outcome of this match, seeing how well both of them done in their respective previous matches (Shana overcome Suiseiseki, Hinagiku won against Kagami).


G2: Katsura Hinagiku (Hayate no Gotoku)

[Saimoe] Q1 result/next match preview

Quarterfinal 1

1. 1位　1474票　竜宮レナ＠ひぐらしのなく頃に(Ryuuguu Rena@Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
2. 2位　1436票　高町なのは＠魔法少女リリカルなのはStrikerS(Takamachi Nanoha@Mahou Syoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS)

In the end Nanoha failed in her mission to befriend Rena. Everything that stands in Rena way will be taken home =) Not even Nanoha, who was the sole survivor from StrikerS can resist her. Only just over 30 votes separating both of them. And yet again, it's the fake votes who overturn the result (well they're not as extreme as in Tsukasa-Desu case though);

• 1位→2位　1827票→1436票　高町なのは＠魔法少女リリカルなのはStrikerS[Nanoha]
• 2位→1位　1500票→1474票　竜宮レナ＠ひぐらしのなく頃に [Rena]

Next, we'll see a battle of Otaku! Konata takes on Nagi chalenge! I'm in for Kugimiya, definitely. Nagi is my #1 Kugimiya tsundere, so she definitely get my vote. Many people seems in favor of Konata though, so I hope at least the match will be close one. I don't really mind whoever win this match, since so far both of them doesn't really engaged in "epic match" which can possibly lure revenge votes.

posters are again cortesy from Aya Reiko and anon



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Korean Saimoe: Shana has finally defy her fate and ovecome Suiseiseki, thus ending her reign in Saimoe 2007. Surprisingly she win with a comfortable margin. I guess Suiseiseki really can't afford to go against those who still in despair over the loss of Fate in the previous round. So Koraen Saimoe final would be Shana against either Hinagiku or Tamaki.


G1: Shana (Shakugan no Shana)

Next on Korean Saimoe: The battle betwen Hinagiku and Tamaki. Frankly speaking nobody would expect Tamaki to go this far, let alone win this match, but everything can happen in Saimoe and we might see the loss of Hinagiku. Plus ToHeart2 is surprisingly popular in Korea, so Tamaki may get a lot of supports from the locals. BTW, my vote goes to Tamaki. She simply brings new type of moe into the tournament, whilst Hinagiku doesn't really do well in the anime tbh. After all everybody dreams of an ideal final of Shana vs Hinagiku.

[Saimoe] Q1: Nanoha vs Rena

Quarter final 1 for Saimoe starts today, with Takamachi Nanoha (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS) takes on Ryuugu Rena(Higurashi no Naku Koro ni).

It's a do or die for Nanoha legion, since Nanoha is the only survivor of the series after her comrades fallen one by one. Theoretically Nanoha has more advantages in this match, because as the sole survivor, she may receive more supports from Nanoha legion, while Rena may receive revenge voters especially from those who still in despair over Kagamin loss in her hand in the group phase. As for me, my support goes to Rena, even though I'm still kinda sad that Kagami was beaten with a lot of fake votes (well it seems has nothing to do with Rena), primarily because I'm not a mahou shoujo fan to begin with, so Nanoha characters are already out of my moe category to begin with.

It's a Befriend or Being Taken Home.
match posters, courtesy from Aya Reiko and anon


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at the same time, the semi-final round has also begin on Korean Saimoe, with Shana takes on Suiseiseki challenge. Shana seems having very difficult times on Saimoe this year, escaping with very little percent of advantages while Suiseiseki shows her prowess by beating one of the biggest thread, Fate. However, it's still not easy to predict the outcome for tomorrow match. My votes goes to Shana. A plus for Kugimiya :3

Some data mining for Shana-Desu previous record meeting:

• 2006 Saimoe, semifinals: Suiseiseki (1473) def. Shana (1431)
• 2006 Korean Best Moe, semifinals: Suiseiseki (598) def. Shana (411)
• 2007 Korean Best Moe, semifinals: Suiseiseki vs. Shana

Shana already lost twice to Desu in last year tournament, so let's see if she can change her fate to win this match. Shana is backed by her reappearance in Shakugan no Shana II, while Desu is...well, she is already that popular in Korea, she even beat Fate in the previous round, something that Suiginto failed to do in Korean Saimoe.

Saimoe 2007 [final 8]

part 1
part 2

Saimoe 2007 has finally reach the quarter final stage tomorrow, after a much shocked, surprising and unexpected results occurs in the semi final and final phase group stage. Among them are the fall of 2 Rozen Maiden greatest soldier, Suiseiseki (last year champion) in the hand of Tsukasa (Lucky Star); and the absolutely unexpected win of Louise (Zero no Tsukaima) against Suiginto who many expected to have an easy path to the final after beating Fate (Nanoha StrikerS).
Tsukasa victory is something to remember, because she was raided with 1.3 k fake votes compared to 600+ for Desu, yet Tsukasa still able to emerge victorious. Some speculation states about Tsukasa being backed up by KyoAni faction (especially after the fall of Kagamin to Rena), while others want to see new champions. As for Gin' loss, both Gin and Louise have close number of votes from Japan, but the foreigner votes overturn the result. Now expect Louise to receive a lot of revenge votes (perhaps) in the final 8 match.

To summarise the previous match;
http://fc.jpn.org/saimoe/
Graphs of final matches of group phase, from A-H
A: Sanzenin Nagi vs Shana
B: Konoe Konoka vs Konata Izumi
C: Takamachi Nanoha vs Vita
D: Ryuugu Rena vs Yunocchi
E: Nishizawa Ayumu vs Shinku
F: Tsukasa Hiiragi vs Suiseiseki
G: Furude Rika vs Sayuri
H: Louise Valiere vs Suigintou




And immediately after that the drawing has been made, and the quarter finals line up:

• QF1 (10/26)

(Ryuuguu Rena@Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
(Takamachi Nanoha@Mahou Syoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS)

• QF2 (10/27)

(Izumi Konata@Lucky Star)
(Sanzenin Nagi@Hayate the Combat Butler)

• QF3 (10/28)

(Furude Rika@Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
(Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere@Zero no Tsukaima)

• QF4 (10/29)

(Shinku@Rozen Maiden Ouverture)
(Hiiragi Tsukasa@Lucky Star)

It's pretty interesting to see that actually the draw turn out to be Winner of group A vs B, C vs D, E vs F and G vs H. So it's 2 Higurashi, a doll, 2 Kugimiya tsundere, 1 Nanoha and 2 Lucky Star. lol a load of lolis :3 We're expecting some great match in the quarter-finals.
The AMV of final 8 contestants

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Meanwhile, Korean Saimoe has reach the semi-final stage, with only Suiseiseki (last year champion), Shana (Shakugan no Shana), Tamaki (ToHeart2) and Hinagiku (Hayate no Gotoku) remain. A very hard-fought match in the previous round seems Suiseiseki overcome Fate, yet again; and Kagami lost to Hinagiku.

Euphoric Field (official)

finally the official lyric of Euphoric Field has been released. I can't wait for the full version releases =)

Fly high, make it
Get to the new world that I seek
Someday, with my little wings

Don't look back to the sorrow I left behind
Here's my real intention I hide
I wish you were here, and so just by my side
Need to be strong enough to swallow my pride

I have been looking for my own style
Don't give it up, here comes the life

Be alive, take it
Promise to find, yes I will
Shining wings filled with wishes
Fly high, make it
Get to the new world that I seek
Someday, so I believe

[DotA] Tinker

Tinker, Boush

Boush has been educated in the most advanced goblin technology. These mechanical systems allow him to damage his enemies from a distance, while keeping himself relatively safe. He can also upgrade his systems to allow his weapons to fire quickly. A true demonstration of the power of knowledge.

Tinker is one of the very few DotA hero I first mastered. Master here means, get to know how to utilise his full potential, not just from being a heavy nuker with Rocket-Laser combo (plus sometimes dagon). When I first randomly picked Tinker a few years ago, I was so noob that I didn't even know what to do with his skill (especialy March), and his Rearm. It was when I read a magnificent guide by virot2 on how to play Tinker with Manta Style, that I realise that Tinker is not only just a heavy nuker, but also an extreme pusher and map controller when the game last long enough.

Basically his guide focus on the effective use of Manta Style to turn the tide of the game, which when all appropriate item were bought, enable Tinker to solo even up to 1v3 (depending on level of game). Basically his guide outline the final item build like this:

• Boot of Travel: with Rearm, Tinker can easily go back and forth from the fountain to any friendly unit on the map, granting great mobility especially when short of mana due to Manta-March turbo charge.
• Guinsoo Scythe of Vyse: Self-explanatory. Tinker don't have any disable, and with Rearm Tinker can perma-hex an enemy for the teammate to kill. Very important to get one of the component, Euls Scepter of Divinity early (sometimes I get it before BoT)
• Manta Style: The core item in virot2 build. This item, together with Rearm enable Tinker to simultaneously push 3 lanes, switching from lane to lane, casting March, Manta and then Rearm and proceed to the next wave of creep.
• Eye of Skadi: This item provide everything Tinker need for his Manta images: hp, damage etc. Yes it's frost attack overrides with Manta feedback, but the orb effect is not the main point of getting both of these items.
• Linken Sphere: Rearm will also refresh Linken, so Tinker can save his ass of some nasty targeted spells frequently.
• Radiance: the immolation damage even help further while pushing.

Overall Tinker is a decent hero to pick, but he need decent micro to be used effectively. So far this item build has helped me to win many games when I pick Tinker, but it still poses some problems: This build won't be very effective in high level play (IHCS etc) because of the frequent teamgank, which many will take advantage of Tinker low HP/lack of disable earlygame. Not to mention this item build cost a lot of gold, so unless the team Tinker in can hold long enough for Tinker to buy at least Guinsoo, Manta and BoT, it'll be hard for Tinker to carry the team to victory. Playing style also need to be adjusted depending on the opponent. I've tried several ways of playing Tinker, and seems for me that getting Euls first is much more effective than going for BoT first.
About item modification, sometimes I'd swap Radiance over Assault Cuirass if I'm on the winning side, or sometimes Blink Dagger if the opponent is more decent players. Well usually the game is already at end stage when Tinker buys BoT, Guinsoo and Manta.

And one replay to show how amazing a buffed up Tinker, an impossible comeback:
Impossible Comeback-Tinker
the description by virot2:
"-It's 80 min into the game, 4v4
-The game score is 21-50, and every hero on the Sentinel team has a negative record
-The Scourge have lost 5 towers, the Sentinel 8 (including two base towers)
-The entire Scourge team has godly items:
--- Drow has Burize, Butterfly, and Stygian
--- Stealth Assassin has MKB, Sange & Yasha, and Heart
--- Axe has Heart, Aegis, and a Reaver
--- Zeus has BoT, Refresher, and Aghanim's
-The best hero the Sentinel have is a Tinker with 2-6.

See if you can guess who wins the game, then watch the replay and be amazed."

This item build is no longer viable (to some extent) in the current "metagame" of dota which focused more on push/antipush and late game carry. The more recent, improved Tinker build can be read in this post [here]

IRB World Cup 2007: Closed

Finally after about 2 month, IRB Rugby Union World Cup had reach it's closing stages with a pretty interesting final and third-fourth place matches: A rematch of their respective group stages. England, who overcome Aussie and France en route to the final met South Africa, whom they lost 36-0 against South Africa in pool A; while Argentina who beat the host France in the opening match in pool D, yet again met the host in the third-fourth place match.

Argentina-France match was held on Friday (Saturday morning GMT+9), a pretty interesting match to watch. France has already lost to Argentina in the group stage, so they're full of spirit to avenge the loss. France looks to be the better side in the first 15 minutes, scoring the first penalty, though it takes just several minutes for the Argentine to level 3-3. However, sloppy play saw their play was overhauled by their opponent, costing them the match. Argentina lead 17-3 at half time thanks to some fine play that lead to 2 tries. France still struggle at half time but they're unable to overcome Argentina' best ever performance who eventually win 34-10. Full report here
Then the next day is the final, the repeat of pool A match between England and South Africa. This is the 2nd successive WC final for England, should they win it'll be another sweet memories for them for bringing the cup yet again to the north atmosphere. However against South Africa whom they lost without reply in the group stage, it'll be a difficult task for them. And it's indeed a difficult task, as the match was dominated by South Africa most of the time. There is no try in the match, only penalties that determine the winner and loser. Both team had a pretty solid defence to denies the opponent' try (both side almost have a try in the first half, just a few inches away from the try line). But Montgomery, the Springboks fullback proves to be the better kicker at the night as he lead his team 9-3 at half time. The game continue, yet England still can't find a way to penetrate into RSA defence and eventually lost 15-6. Wilkinson, who reveals pain when kicking the ball, missed several kicks to give any hope to England. This, South Africa is the World Champion for the 2nd time, bringing the cup back to southern hemisphere. Full report here