ISML 2016: Madoka Shocks The World, But Comes Up Short

ISML 2016: Madoka Shocks The World, But Comes Up Short

By JR Salazar
The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue
July 23, 2016

When it comes to proving people wrong, no one does it better than Madoka Kaname. A one-time Saimoe Prime Minister of Japan, the concept of hope and the dedicated partner of Homura Akemi delivered a shocking Upset of the Round after Match Day 6 in the 2016 International Saimoe League Aquamarine Period. She defeated Iroha Isshiki 1371-1344, defying the expectations set by the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue and finishing a respectable third. Despite the victory, a huge difference is vote differential means that Isshiki advance to the next round alongside Shirayuki, who defeated Urara Shiraishi 1338-1075.

"I was not sure that I would be able to top the group but to back my way into advancing and finish first after losing is against my precepts," said Isshiki. "I want to move on a winner, not finish first after a loss. Because of this, I am going to head into the next round with a clear conscience and with no set expectations.

"It is not fair that Madoka defeated me and yet she did not advance. I believe there has to be a change to the way this competition is run and return to the format from 2015. This format gave my opponent her first real regular season matches but I felt that she should have gone through in my place.

"At the same time, I also am disappointed with my performance in this match. I see myself as someone that can become consistent and I should have swept my own group. This is a flawed system and I unfortunately benefited from this. I can only hope that I can make up for it by making a deep Tiara run."

In other Female Division results, Shirayuki defeated Urara Shiraishi 1338-1075, Taiga Aisaka roared past Nagisa Furukawa 1445-1153, Kuroko Shirai defeated Kurousagi 1359-1257, Chiyo Sakura routed Kotori Minami 1771-903, Rize Tedeza stormed past Nagi Sanzen'in 1434-1015, Maki Nishikino rolled past Ayase Aragaki 1843-894 and Erina Nakiri delivered a 1586-1005 hammering on Nozomi Toujou.

When asked of Isshiki's remarks, Tedeza took a dim view of it.

"I clearly do not agree with the notion that the system is unfair," said Tedeza. "I am one of a few lucky faces to swept my group and I had never been a prime player in this competition until now. In fact, my party, the Gochiusa Party, has been severely underrespected, and there have been too many veterans that have had a stranglehold on this competition.

"You look at people like Shirayuki, Shinoa (Hiiragi), Mitsuki (Nase) Iroha, Yuudachi...these are opponents I have respect for that have the potential to be longtime veterans in this tournament. There are a number of faces that have been in this circuit that have fallen out of favor because the voters I talk to want change. They want new faces. Ayase has been doing this for years and she lost to Maki. You can't call that an upset because she is the head of the Love Live Party and is their strongest candidate so she has leverage.

"While I understand Iroha's choice of words, the fact is, Madoka has been in this Saimoe circuit too long and her loss to Shirayuki means that her time is nearly up as well. We'll see what happens in the other groups, and I am personally looking forward to seeing how Chino-chan does, but the voters want new people headlining this competition. You look at a number of faces in the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall diadem competitions to come. They are the next ones to follow us and challenge us. Saimoe is changing."

In the Male Division, Saitama defeated Bell Cranel 1088-837, Shintarou Kisaragi whipped past Yashiro Isana 1389-810, Rintarou Okabe prevailed over Ryuunosuke Akasaka 1010-976, Yukine demolished Leonardo Watch 987-669, Tomoya Okazaki leveled Zen Wistalia 1030-784, Ayato Amagiri cruised past Ichimatsu Matsuno 1120-834, Ken Kaneki scored a rare win over Kousei Arima 1504-969 and Iskandar thumped Youji Itami 943-747.

"I feel bad for Nagisa, my wife," said Okazaki, "because she never stood a chance against the newer opposition in this competition. She's one of the older faces and had this Male Division been created years ago, I would have met a similar fate. So, in a massive irony, I may be the only one holding the fort for Clannad. You can make up your mind as to what that means. In the meantime, I want to congratulate everyone that finished top two in their respective groups."

Finally, in Winter Diadem action, Mary defeated Saya Endo 1298-785 and Mai Kawakami, a favorite to win the Winter Diadem for Musaigen no Phantom World, got off to a flier in hammering Chie Satonaka 1579-519.

In this edition of the International Saimoe League, there are no necklace matches after a round-robin period ends. We go straight to the next period. Match Day 1 of the 2016 International Saimoe League Topaz Period is scheduled for Monday, July 25, 2016. Vote for your favorite candidates at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate. And keep it right here oN The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue for ongoing coverage of the 2016 International Saimoe League, the world's premier anime character competition.

Aquamarine Day 6 Standings

Group Female 04

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Victorique de Blois	9.0000	3	0	0	4548	2825	1723	3.93	4
2	Nase Mitsuki	6.8291	2	1	0	4135	2864	1271	3.54	4
3	Louise Vallière	3.6630	1	2	0	2468	4975	-2507	2.15	4
4	Mikasa Ackerman	2.6242	0	3	0	3263	3750	-487	2.81	4

Group Female 05

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Isshiki Iroha	6.9803	2	1	0	4430	2991	1439	3.90	5
2	Shirayuki	6.6591	2	1	0	4128	3461	667	3.63	5
3	Kaname Madoka	6.5063	2	1	0	3524	4329	-805	3.11	5
4	Shiraishi Urara	2.1507	0	3	0	2890	4191	-1301	2.55	5

Group Female 09

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Shiina Mashiro	9.0000	3	0	0	6135	1965	4170	5.26	9
2	Hiiragi Shinoa	6.3076	2	1	0	4410	3749	661	3.77	9
3	Misaki Mei	4.0908	1	2	0	3294	4277	-983	2.86	9
4	Hiiragi Kagami	1.2024	0	3	0	2178	6026	-3848	1.90	9

Group Female 16

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Shirai Kuroko	9.0000	3	0	0	4142	3466	676	3.65	16
2	Kurousagi	6.9249	2	1	0	4528	3197	1331	3.98	16
3	Aisaka Taiga	4.1930	1	2	0	3471	4612	-1141	3.06	16
4	Furukawa Nagisa	2.3666	0	3	0	3174	4040	-866	2.80	16

Group Female 20

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Yūdachi	6.9880	2	1	0	4890	2957	1933	4.19	20
2	Kirisaki Chitoge	6.4194	2	1	0	3618	4307	-689	3.15	20
3	Sawamura Spencer Eriri	4.6558	1	2	0	3600	4095	-495	3.10	20
4	Otosaka Ayumi	4.4193	1	2	0	3496	4245	-749	2.99	20

Group Female 21

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Tedeza Rize	9.0000	3	0	0	4012	3440	572	3.54	21
2	Sakura Chiyo	6.9061	2	1	0	5058	2770	2288	4.45	21
3	Minami Kotori	4.4934	1	2	0	3506	3701	-195	3.09	21
4	Sanzen'in Nagi	1.4580	0	3	0	2234	4899	-2665	1.97	21

Group Female 28

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Sengoku Nadeko	9.0000	3	0	0	4763	2800	1963	4.10	28
2	Miyazono Kaori	6.4099	2	1	0	3685	4400	-715	3.18	28
3	Suzumiya Haruhi	4.2240	1	2	0	3234	4154	-920	2.80	28
4	Tōdō Kirin	2.7507	0	3	0	3519	3847	-328	3.02	28

Group Female 29

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Nishikino Maki	9.0000	3	0	0	4322	3027	1295	3.81	29
2	Aragaki Ayase	6.4851	2	1	0	4542	3399	1143	4.00	29
3	Nakiri Erina	4.2836	1	2	0	3419	4175	-756	3.02	29
4	Tōjō Nozomi	1.9327	0	3	0	2861	4543	-1682	2.52	29

Group Male 04

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Saitama	9.0000	3	0	0	3416	3038	378	3.01	4
2	Kisaragi Shintarō	6.9065	2	1	0	3639	2898	741	3.21	4
3	Bell Cranel	4.5396	1	2	0	2833	3292	-459	2.49	4
4	Isana Yashiro	2.5094	0	3	0	2965	3625	-660	2.61	4

Group Male 05

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Kanbara Akihito	6.9396	2	1	0	3542	2839	703	3.04	5
2	Sakata Gintoki	6.9009	2	1	0	3820	2942	878	3.30	5
3	Natsume Kyōsuke	6.6295	2	1	0	2948	3268	-320	2.53	5
4	Nishinoya Yū	1.9640	0	3	0	2279	3540	-1261	1.95	5

Group Male 09

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Okabe Rintarō	9.0000	3	0	0	3359	2726	633	2.96	9
2	Akasaka Ryūnosuke	6.9663	2	1	0	3259	2877	382	2.87	9
3	Yukine	4.7194	1	2	0	2888	2878	10	2.54	9
4	Leonardo Watch	2.0997	0	3	0	2385	3410	-1025	2.10	9

Group Male 16

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Korosensei	9.0000	3	0	0	3890	2630	1260	3.35	16
2	Doma Taihei	6.6142	2	1	0	3620	2931	689	3.08	16
3	Hijikata Tōshirō	4.6469	1	2	0	2930	3176	-246	2.53	16
4	Monkey D. Luffy	1.8389	0	3	0	2263	3966	-1703	1.96	16

Group Male 19

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Okazaki Tomoya	9.0000	3	0	0	3434	2537	897	3.02	19
2	Zen Wistalia	6.7612	2	1	0	3067	2804	263	2.70	19
3	Amagiri Ayato	4.4864	1	2	0	2851	3199	-348	2.52	19
4	Matsuno Ichimatsu	2.3444	0	3	0	2630	3442	-812	2.32	19

Group Male 22

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Itsuka Shidō	9.0000	3	0	0	4338	2441	1897	3.75	22
2	Ainz Ooal Gown	6.8056	2	1	0	3501	2985	516	2.99	22
3	Kida Masaomi	4.8963	1	2	0	3269	3153	116	2.82	22
4	Kise Ryōta	1.6057	0	3	0	2333	4862	-2529	2.01	22

Group Male 25

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Iskandar	6.8380	2	1	0	3397	3218	179	3.00	25
2	Arima Kōsei	6.6443	2	1	0	3792	3233	559	3.34	25
3	Kaneki Ken	4.3085	1	2	0	3524	4188	-664	3.11	25
4	Itami Yōji	4.2262	1	2	0	3241	3315	-74	2.84	25

Group Male 32

Rank	Name	Points	Wins	Loses	Draws	VF	VA	VD	CVP	Group
1	Heiwajima Shizuo	9.0000	3	0	0	3353	2824	529	2.88	32
2	Genos	6.9023	2	1	0	3273	2949	324	2.81	32
3	Kōsaka Kyōsuke	4.8341	1	2	0	3290	3276	14	2.84	32
4	Kaizuka Inaho	2.2663	0	3	0	2660	3527	-867	2.29	32