ISML 2020: All Set For Aquamarine

ISML 2020: All Set For Aquamarine

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue

August 4, 2020

Match Day 6 of the 2020 International Saimoe League Preliminaries concluded, ending the preliminaries and seeding. Making the cut in the Female Division were Kaede Azusagawa (1156), Ruiko Saten (1228), Kamui Kanna (1224), Mitsuha Miyamizu (1364) and Ai Hayasaka (1565). Over in the Male Division, making the cut were Ryuunosuke Akasaka (911), Shouya Ishida (952), Satoshi Fukube (944), Masamune Izumi (894) and Taihei Doma (870).

The Spring Seasonal field was also set on Preliminaries 6. In the hunt for the Spring Diadem were Yukiha Minato (532), Catarina Claes (866), Maria Campbell (694), odds-on favorite Kei Shirogane (1730), Kyaru (1120), Yurine Hanazono (437), Hikari Yagami (447), Arisa Ichigaya (451), Pecorine (825), Hime Gotou (490), Ruri Ichigyou (420), challenger of record and Spring seasonal second choice Miko Iino (1511), Jashin-chan (474), Kokkoro (1105), Hinata Hyuuga (703) and Haru Nonaka (401).

Match Day 1 of the 2020 International Saimoe League Aquamarine Period is scheduled for August 7, 2020. Match Day 2 will be on August 10 and Match Day 3 will be on August 13. Vote for your favorite character on InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate. And be sure to keep it here on the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue for continuing coverage of the International Saimoe League, the world's premier anime character competition.

ISML 2020: Last Call Begins Now!

ISML 2020: Last Call Begins Now!

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue

August 3, 2020

Match Day 5 of the 2020 International Saimoe League Preliminaries took place. A select few were able to make the cut from the Female and Male Divisions. Making the cut from the Female Division were Nezuko Kamado (11728), Ai Haibara (12430.6), Schwi Dola (13710.3), Eriri Spencer Sawamura (13121.2), and a rising star that could make a significant impact this season, Hina Amano (14997). In the Male Division, making the cut were Haruka Kasugano (8745), Joseph Joestar (8665.6), Kazuma Satou (9415.6), Saitama (9955.1) and Kiritsugu Emiya (9497.2). 

Finally, the Winter Seasonal participants were selected, and taking part in the draw are Kyoko Sakura (616), Kotoko Iwanaga (990), Rin Shima (460), Kazuha Touyama (759), Chocola (576), Asuka Tanaka (665), Mira Kohonata (579), the Winter Seasonal favorite Kaede Honjou (790), Ao Manaka (549), Nene Yashiro (740), Risa Shiramine (554), Koharu Hondomachi (538), Priestess (494), Yukina Himeragi (594), Nami (455) and Iroha Tamaki (509). 

Results from Match Day 6 are coming up on the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue. Vote for your favorite characters at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate.

PSG: I Am What I Am.

#AllezParis #AllezPSG #IciCestParis #ParisEstMagique #PSG50Ans #TousUnis

BoBA ISML 2020 Predictions: Preliminaries Match Day 6

ARENA 1 [[Azusagawa Kaede]] [[Makinohara Shōko]] [[Jibril]] [[Ram]] [[Aqua]] [[Tōru]] [[Hayasaka Ai]] [[Kasugano Sora]] [[Nagato Yuki]] [[Yuzuriha Inori]] [[Illyasviel von Einzbern]] Tobiichi Origami Ereshkigal [[Mikasa Ackerman]] [[Asada Shino]] [[Yatogami Tōka]] [[Matō Sakura]] Doma Umaru [[Kinomoto Sakura]] [[Miyamizu Mitsuha]] [[Kanna Kamui]] Saten Ruiko [[Chtholly Nota Seniorious]] Kirisu Mafuyu

ARENA 2 [[Izumi Masamune]] [[Doma Taihei]] [[Satoshi]] [[Uchiha Itachi]] [[Kanbara Akihito]] Dio Brando [[Hiro]] Nishikata Ishigami Senkū Iwatani Naofumi [[Fukube Satoshi]] Ray [[Ishida Shōya]] Sakakibara Kōichi Norman Morishima Hodaka [[Sakamaki Izayoi]] [[Hyakuya Mikaela]] Giorno Giovanna [[Aki Tomoya]] Uchiha Sasuke Li Syaoran Hashibira Inosuke [[Akasaka Ryūnosuke]]

ARENA 3 Kirishima Romin Nonaka Haru [[Hyūga Hinata]] [[Kokkoro]] [[Jashin-chan]] [[Iino Miko]] [[Ichigyō Ruri]] Arte Gotō Hime Pecorine [[Ichigaya Arisa]] Yagami Hikari [[Minato Yukina]] Catarina Claes Hiramitsu Hinata Maria Campbell [[Shirogane Kei]] Aoki Kurea [[Kyaru]] Aioi Aoi [[Hanazono Yurine]] Endorsi Jahad Takeda Yomi Noelle Silva

Voter Id: 629f7cf2-ddde-5aa2-ae3c-96da7723e08b

PSG: The Magic Week at La Stade

#PSG #Ligue1 #FinaleCDF #FinaleCDL #PSGASSE #PSGOL #AllezPSG

BoBA ISML 2020 Predictions: Preliminaries Match Day 5

ARENA 1 [[Kōsaka Reina]] [[Nakano Azusa]] [[Haibara Ai]] [[Schwi Dola]] [[Aoyama Nanami]] [[Zero Two]] [[Kaname Madoka]] [[Sawamura Spencer Eriri]] [[Amano Hina]] [[Yukinoshita Haruno]] [[Takagi]] [[Koito Yū]] [[Kochō Shinobu]] [[Kuriyama Mirai]] [[Suzumiya Haruhi]] [[Misaki Mei]] [[Miyazono Kaori]] [[Megumin]] [[Kamado Nezuko]] [[Furuhashi Fumino]] [[Tōma Kazusa]] [[Ishtar]] [[Yoshida Yūko]] [[Enterprise]]

ARENA 2 [[Saitama]] [[Enkidu]] [[Monkey D. Luffy]] [[Akabane Karma]] [[Emiya Kiritsugu]] [[Sakata Gintoki]] [[Willem Kmetsch]] [[Shiota Nagisa]] [[Isaac Foster]] [[Ōma Shū]] [[Satō Kazuma]] [[Merlin]] [[Uzumaki Naruto]] [[Joseph Joestar]] [[Kasugano Haruka]] [[Otonashi Yuzuru]] [[Nakahara Chūya]] [[Ainz Ooal Gown]] [[Araragi Koyomi]] [[Kaneki Ken]] [[Tomioka Giyū]] [[Dazai Osamu]] [[Agatsuma Zen'itsu]] [[Nanase Haruka]]

ARENA 3 [[Tamaki Iroha]] [[Nami]] [[Himeragi Yukina]] Kagamihara Nadeshiko [[Priestess]] Hondomachi Koharu Shiramine Risa(Sally) [[Takigawa Miu]] Yashiro Nene [[Manaka Ao]] Honjō Kaede(Maple) [[Konohata Mira]] [[Tanaka Asuka]] [[Sakura Kyōko]] Ōkami Ranka Karino Shuka [[Nishizumi Miho]] Nanachi Iwanaga Kotoko Nanamine Sakura Shima Rin Tōyama Kazuha Somali [[Chocola]] Akane Aoi

Voter Id: cda887ab-6874-5e3b-a61e-c27e8ca68cbd

ISML 2020: Preliminaries Round 4 Wrap-Up

ISML 2020: Preliminaries Round 4 Wrap-Up

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue

August 1, 2020

Match Day 4 of the 2020 International Saimoe League Preliminaries is in the books. Advancing out of the Female Division were Aqua (13793.5), Chiyo Sakura (12934.8), Tooru (13679.1), Holo (10760.3), Meiko Honma (12042.8), Nino Nakano (11767.7), Yotsuba Nakano (11367.2), Suzune Horikita (11806.3), Ram (14034.9), Kaede Azusagawa (15095), Jibril (14061.9), Tomoyo Sakagami (13517.6), Isuzu Sento (12771.4), Yoshino (13410.8), Kokoa Hoto (10647.1), Shouko Makinohara (14455.4) and Ayase Aragaki (12092.3).

In the Male Division, advancing were Souma Yukihira (8531.9), Karna (7903.9), Rentarou Satomi (6501.1), Ikki Kurogane (7131.8), Shigeo Kageyama (6921.5), Akihito Kanbara (9395), Taihei Doma (10573.6), Fuutarou Uesugi (8457.5), Seiya Ryuuguuin (7123.9), Dio Brando (9245.7), Shuuichi Tsukamoto (8551.9), Itachi Uchiha (9698.5), Sesshoumaru (8171.8), Bell Cranel (8121.7), Yaichi Kuzuryuu (8279.7), Inuyasha (8778.8), Satoshi (10050.9) and Masamune Izumi (10764.7).

Match Day 5 is scheduled for 1 August 2020 and Match Day 6 is scheduled for 2 August 2020. Vote for your favorite candidates at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate.

ISML 2020: The Usual Suspects, and Then Some

ISML 2020: The Usual Suspects, and Then Some

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue

July 30, 2020

The results from Match Day 3 of the 2020 International Saimoe League Preliminaries are in. A mix of proven veterans and promising new faces advanced. In the Female Division, making the cut were Nagisa Furukawa (1391), Yui Yuigahama (1996), Kuruko Shirai (1837), Kei Karuizawa (1502), Homura Akemi (1252), Saber (1569), Taiga Aisaka (1520), Chika Fujiwara (2326), Chino Kafuu (1635), Isla (1251), Shiro (1838), Tamako Kitashirakawa (1404), Shouko Nishimiya (1711), Alice Zuberg (1310), Yui Hirasawa (1593), Utaha Kasumigaoka (1702), Nao Tomori (1671) and Index Prohibitorum (1616).

In the Male Division, advancing were Kousei Arima (1135), Kyon (1122), Ryuuji Takasu (1147), Gilgamesh (1153), Joutarou Kuujou (1197), Kusuo Saiki (1047), Takashi Natsume (1070), Eren Yeager (1000), Lelouch Lamperouge (1184), Kaitou Kuruba (1093), Yato (951), Edward Elric (956), Shidou Itsuka (1154), Mochizou Ouji (984), Saika Totsuka (1482), Taki Tachibana (1758), Yuu Otosaka (1246) and Sorata Kanda (1155).

Match Day 5 is scheduled for August 1 and Match Day 6 is scheduled for August 2. Vote for your favorite characters at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debates.

BoBA ISML 2020 Predictions: Preliminaries Match Day 4

ARENA 1 [[Azusagawa Kaede]] [[Aqua]] [[Jibril]] [[Sakagami Tomoyo]] [[Hoshino Hinata]] [[Sento Isuzu]] [[Aragaki Ayase]] [[Yoshino]] [[Hoto Kokoa]] [[Oshino Shinobu]] [[Makinohara Shōko]] [[Sora Ginko]] [[Ram]] [[Horikita Suzune]] [[Rachel Gardner]] [[Shiina Mayuri]] [[Nakano Yotsuba]] [[Reines El-Melloi Archisorte]] [[Nakano Nino]] [[Honma Meiko]] [[Holo]] [[Nanami Tōko]] [[Yoroizuka Mizore]] [[Tōru]] [[Sakura Chiyo]]

ARENA 2 [[Izumi Masamune]] [[Satoshi]] [[Inuyasha]] [[Kuzuryū Yaichi]] [[Bell Cranel]] [[Sesshōmaru]] [[Uchiha Itachi]] [[Tsukamoto Shūichi]] [[Dio Brando]] [[Ryūgūin Seiya]] [[Kitahara Iori]] [[Hyakkimaru]] [[Yukihira Sōma]] [[Karna]] [[Sawada Tsunayoshi]] [[Tomoe]] [[Satomi Rentarō]] [[Kurogane Ikki]] [[Kageyama Shigeo]] [[Hei]] [[Kanbara Akihito]] [[Doma Taihei]] [[Uesugi Fūtarō]] [[Reigen Arataka]]

Voter Id: 417806ae-1e3e-58f0-bb61-647b00492641

BoBA ISML 2020 Predictions: Preliminaries Match Day 3

ARENA 1 [[Yuigahama Yui]] [[Furukawa Nagisa]] [[Isla]] [[Shiro]] Kitashirakawa Tamako [[Nishimiya Shōko]] [[Alice Zuberg]] [[Hirasawa Yui]] [[Kasumigaoka Utaha]] [[Tomori Nao]] Index L. Prohibitorum [[Fujiwara Chika]] [[Kafū Chino]] [[Aisaka Taiga]] [[Saber]] [[Akemi Homura]] Karuizawa Kei Shirai Kuroko Kamado Nezuko Furuhashi Fumino [[Ishtar]] Tōma Kazusa Yoshida Yūko Enterprise

ARENA 2 [[Kanda Sorata]] [[Otosaka Yū]] [[Tachibana Taki]] Totsuka Saika Ōji Mochizō Tomioka Giyū Itsuka Shidō Edward Elric [[Yato]] Kuroba Kaito [[Kaneki Ken]] [[Lelouch Lamperouge]] [[Araragi Koyomi]] [[Arima Kōsei]] [[Kyon]] Agatsuma Zen'itsu Nanase Haruka [[Takasu Ryūji]] [[Gilgamesh]] Kūjō Jōtarō [[Saiki Kusuo]] [[Natsume Takashi]] [[Eren Yeager]] [[Dazai Osamu]]

Voter Id: c3879190-d81d-5504-bcfa-dd5e891fa1ed

ISML 2020: Making The Cut

ISML 2020: Making The Cut

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue

July 25, 2020

Match Day 2 of the 2020 International Saimoe League Preliminaries concluded several days ago. In the Female Division, making the cut were Ayase Aragaki (847), Jibril (1022), Aqua (1168), Kaede Azusagawa (1328), Tomoyo Sakagami (968), HInata Hoshino (868) and Isuzu Sento (847). Over in the Male Division, making the cut were Yaichi Kuzuryuu (687), Satoshi (808), Inuyasha (722), Bell Cranel (680), Sesshoumaru (669) and Masamune Izumi (968).

Match Day 3 of the 2020 International Saimoe League Preliminaries is scheduled for July 27, 2020 and Match Day 4 will take place on July 28. Vote for your favorite characters at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate.

ISML 2020: Preliminaries Are Underway!

ISML 2020: Preliminaries Are Underway!

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam On Baltic Avenue

July 24, 2020

A new Saimoe government was called at the start of July, and as a result, the 2020 International Saimoe League is in full swing. Saimoe Prime Minister Violet Evergarden has been tasked with a very difficult book to write: the story of man vs. Coronavirus in the year 2020, a pandemic that has stopped the world. A worthy successor will need to be found to replace her, and a similar champion will be needed to replace Deputy Saimoe Prime Minister Rimuru Tempest.

A number of characters made the first cut in the preliminaries in the Female Division. Those characters include Misaki Shokuhou (26888.4), Rikka Takanashi (34761.9), Iroha Isshiki (34022.2), Kurisu Makise (26063.2), Mio Akiyama (27127.1), Mai Sakurajima (36096.7), Gray (22945.1), Asuna Yuuki (36220.1), Emilia (30547), Yukino Yukinoshita (43422.8), Mikoto Misaka (46487.2), Kaguya Shinomiya (44363.4), Kurumi Tokisaki (33929.3), Miku Nakano (24076.5), Rin Tosaka (32872.9), Mashiro Shiina (37019.1) and Sagiri Izumi (31054.2).

In the Male Division, advancing from the fold were Lancer (18787.7), Conan Edogawa (18262.5), Kiyotaka Ayanokouji (22520.9), Archer (19316.2), Shirou Emiya (18320), Riku Dola (24075.2), Waver Velvet (20503.2), Tanjiro Kamado (22763.3), Levi (27780.6), Yuuta Togashi (24777.2), Tomoya Okazaki (20844.4), Miyuki Shirogane (33522.4), Touma Kamijou (27642.3), Sakura Azusagawa (28942.1), Eugeo (19219), Subaru Natsuki (2227.4), Rintarou Okabe (19641) and Yuu Ishigami (32137.8).

Preliminaries Match Day 3 is scheduled for 27 July 2020 and Match Day 4 is scheduled for 28 July 2020. Vote for your favorite candidates at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate.

BoBA ISML 2020 Predictions: Preliminaries Match Day 2

ARENA 1 Kasaki Nozomi Izumi Konata [[Azusagawa Kaede]] Ryōgi Shiki Itsuwa Sakagami Tomoyo Kirisaki Chitoge Emma Hoshino Hinata [[Tenma Gabriel White]] [[Sento Isuzu]] Tsuyuri Kanao [[Jibril]] [[Aqua]] Mōri Ran [[Sōryū Asuka Langley]] [[Nakano Itsuki]] [[C.C.]] [[Chiyoda Momo]] [[Nero Claudius]] [[Kōsaka Kirino]] [[Aragaki Ayase]] Senjōgahara Hitagi [[Raphtalia]] Eucliwood Hellscythe

ARENA 2 Edogawa Ranpo [[Maō Sadao]] [[Izumi Masamune]] Urushibara Ruka Kiyose Haiji Kiriyama Rei Natsume Kyōsuke Yagami Light Ōsaka Sōgō Shinra Kusakabe [[Usui Takumi]] Itō Makoto Sesshōmaru Roronoa Zoro Kakine Teitoku Hyakuya Yūichirō [[Naegi Makoto]] Sebastian Michaelis Hinata Shōyō Kuzuryū Yaichi [[Satoshi]] [[Inuyasha]] Kakyoin Noriaki [[Tennōji Kotarō]] Kurosaki Ichigo Ginko [[Shiba Tatsuya]] [[Bell Cranel]] [[Ikari Shinji]]

Voter Id: a97a954d-f344-5076-8dde-a9e6cc97b700

BoBA ISML 2020 Predictions: Preliminaries Match Day 1

ARENA 1 [[Yukinoshita Yukino]] [[Misaka Mikoto]] [[Takanashi Rikka]] [[Izumi Sagiri]] [[Tokisaki Kurumi]] [[Yoshida Yūko]] [[Akiyama Mio]] [[Tōma Kazusa]] [[Makise Kurisu]] [[Gray]] [[Furuhashi Fumino]] [[Kamado Nezuko]] [[Tōsaka Rin]] [[Sakurajima Mai]] [[Shinomiya Kaguya]] [[Ōmae Kumiko]] [[Emilia]] [[Nakano Miku]] [[Isshiki Iroha]] [[Ishtar]] [[Enterprise]] [[Shokuhō Misaki]] [[Shiina Mashiro]] [[Yūki Asuna]]

ARENA 2 [[Ayanokōji Kiyotaka]] [[Kamijō Tōma]] [[Kamado Tanjiro]] [[Kūjō Jōtarō]] [[Saiki Kusuo]] [[Eren Yeager]] [[Okabe Rintarō]] [[Edogawa Conan]] [[Lancer]] [[Ishigami Yū]] [[Shirogane Miyuki]] [[Emiya Shirō]] [[Dazai Osamu]] [[Natsume Takashi]] [[Togashi Yūta]] [[Levi]] [[Riku Dola]] [[Eugeo]] [[Gilgamesh]] [[Archer]] [[Waver Velvet]] [[Azusagawa Sakuta]] [[Okazaki Tomoya]] [[Natsuki Subaru]]

Voter Id: 993bd37e-6487-50dc-beee-25f2a794bf08

ISML 2020: Nominations - The Draw.

Female Division

Rank Name Series Ballots

- Tōsaka Rin Fate Series Auto

- Furuhashi Fumino Bokutachi wa Benkyō ga Dekinai Auto

- Enterprise Azur Lane Auto

- Ishtar Fate Series Auto

- Yoshida Yūko Machikado Mazoku Auto

- Gray Fate Series Auto

- Kamado Nezuko Kimetsu no Yaiba Auto

- Yukinoshita Yukino OreGairu Auto

- Nakano Miku 5-tōbun no Hanayome Auto

- Shinomiya Kaguya Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai Auto

- Makise Kurisu Steins;Gate Auto

- Sakurajima Mai AoButa Auto

- Tokisaki Kurumi Date A Live Auto

- Izumi Sagiri Eromanga Sensei Auto

1 Misaka Mikoto Toaru Series 428

2 Shiina Mashiro Sakura-sō no Pet na Kanojo 291

3 Takanashi Rikka Chūnibyō demo Koi ga Shitai! 248

4 Yūki Asuna Sword Art Online 228

5 Emilia Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 218

6 Isshiki Iroha OreGairu 162

7 Ōmae Kumiko Hibike! Euphonium 143

8 Tōma Kazusa WHITE ALBUM 2 141

9 Akiyama Mio K-ON! 140

10 Shokuhō Misaki Toaru Series 140

11 Kasumigaoka Utaha Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 137

12 Fujiwara Chika Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai 137

13 Shiro No Game No Life 132

14 Yuigahama Yui OreGairu 130

15 Hirasawa Yui K-ON! 127

16 Aisaka Taiga Toradora! 126

17 Shirai Kuroko Toaru Series 126

18 Tomori Nao Charlotte 125

19 Karuizawa Kei Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e 125

20 Index L. Prohibitorum Toaru Series 124

21 Saber Fate Series 118

22 Akemi Homura Puella Magi Madoka ☆ Magica 115

23 Furukawa Nagisa CLANNAD 110

24 Alice Zuberg Sword Art Online 109

25 Isla Plastic Memories 109

26 Nishimiya Shōko Koe no Katachi 107

27 Kitashirakawa Tamako Tamako Market 105

28 Kafū Chino Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? 100

29 Sawamura Spencer Eriri Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 100

30 Kaname Madoka Puella Magi Madoka ☆ Magica 99

31 Haibara Ai Detective Conan 98

32 Koito Yū Yagate Kimi ni Naru 95

33 Suzumiya Haruhi Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu 93

34 Nakano Azusa K-ON! 93

35 Kuriyama Mirai Kyōkai no Kanata 91

36 Miyazono Kaori Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso 90

37 Yukinoshita Haruno OreGairu 87

38 Amano Hina Tenki no Ko 86

39 Kochō Shinobu Kimetsu no Yaiba 83

40 Schwi Dola No Game No Life 83

41 Megumin KonoSuba 82

42 Kōsaka Reina Hibike! Euphonium 82

43 Takagi Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san 80

44 Zero Two Darling in the FranXX 79

45 Misaki Mei Another 78

46 Aoyama Nanami Sakura-sō no Pet na Kanojo 77

47 Hayasaka Ai Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai 76

48 Yatogami Tōka Date A Live 74

49 Matō Sakura Fate Series 74

50 Kirisu Mafuyu Bokutachi wa Benkyō ga Dekinai 73

51 Kasugano Sora Yosuga no Sora 72

52 Miyamizu Mitsuha Kimi no Na wa 72

53 Mikasa Ackerman Shingeki no Kyojin 72

54 Illyasviel von Einzbern Fate Series 70

55 Ereshkigal Fate Series 70

56 Doma Umaru Himōto! Umaru-chan 66

57 Saten Ruiko Toaru Series 66

58 Kinomoto Sakura Cardcaptor Sakura 65

59 Asada Shino Sword Art Online 64

60 Nagato Yuki Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu 63

61 Kanna Kamui Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon 62

62 Chtholly Nota Seniorious SukaSuka 61

63 Yuzuriha Inori Guilty Crown 57

64 Tobiichi Origami Date A Live 56

65 Horikita Suzune Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e 55

66 Nanami Tōko Yagate Kimi ni Naru 54

67 Makinohara Shōko AoButa 53

68 Holo Spice and Wolf 51

69 Honma Meiko AnoHana 51

70 Sora Ginko Ryuō no Oshigoto! 51

71 Reines El-Melloi Archisorte Fate Series 47

72 Rachel Gardner Satsuriku no Tenshi 46

73 Nakano Yotsuba 5-tōbun no Hanayome 46

74 Yoshino Date A Live 45

75 Shiina Mayuri Steins;Gate 44

76 Sakura Chiyo Gekkan Shōjo Nozaki-kun 44

77 Hoto Kokoa Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? 44

78 Oshino Shinobu Monogatari Series 40

79 Nakano Nino 5-tōbun no Hanayome 40

80 Yoroizuka Mizore Hibike! Euphonium 40

81 Tōru Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon 39

82 Ram Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 39

83 Raphtalia Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari 38

84 Sakagami Tomoyo CLANNAD 37

85 Nakano Itsuki 5-tōbun no Hanayome 37

86 Tsuyuri Kanao Kimetsu no Yaiba 37

87 Kasaki Nozomi Hibike! Euphonium 35

88 C.C. Code Geass 34

89 Izumi Konata Lucky ☆ Star 34

90 Emma Yakusoku no Neverland 33

91 Nero Claudius Fate Series 33

92 Kōsaka Kirino Ore no Imōto 32

93 Aragaki Ayase Ore no Imōto 32

94 Aqua KonoSuba 31

95 Ryōgi Shiki Kara no Kyōkai 31

96 Mōri Ran Detective Conan 31

97 Eucliwood Hellscythe Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? 30

98 Hoshino Hinata Watashi ni Tenshi ga Maiorita! 30

99 Azusagawa Kaede AoButa 29

100 Tenma Gabriel White Gabriel Dropout 28

101 Sōryū Asuka Langley Neon Genesis Evangelion 28

102 Senjōgahara Hitagi Monogatari Series 28

103 Kirisaki Chitoge Nisekoi 27

104 Jibril No Game No Life 26

105 Sento Isuzu Amagi Brilliant Park 26

106 Chiyoda Momo Machikado Mazoku 26

107 Itsuwa Toaru Series 26

Male Division

Rank Name Series Ballots

- Togashi Yūta Chūnibyō demo Koi ga Shitai! Auto

- Kamijō Tōma Toaru Series Auto

- Azusagawa Sakuta AoButa Auto

- Okazaki Tomoya CLANNAD Auto

- Ayanokōji Kiyotaka Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e Auto

- Riku Dola No Game No Life Auto

1 Shirogane Miyuki Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai 203

2 Ishigami Yū Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai 151

3 Okabe Rintarō Steins;Gate 112

4 Waver Velvet Fate Series 110

5 Kamado Tanjiro Kimetsu no Yaiba 105

6 Levi Shingeki no Kyojin 104

7 Natsuki Subaru Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 89

8 Edogawa Conan Detective Conan 83

9 Emiya Shirō Fate Series 79

10 Kūjō Jōtarō JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 72

11 Natsume Takashi Natsume Yūjinchō 71

12 Archer Fate Series 70

13 Eren Yeager Shingeki no Kyojin 69

14 Dazai Osamu Bungō Stray Dogs 69

15 Lancer Fate Series 67

16 Gilgamesh Fate Series 65

17 Saiki Kusuo Saiki Kusuo no Ψ Nan 61

18 Eugeo Sword Art Online 61

19 Tachibana Taki Kimi no Na wa 56

20 Takasu Ryūji Toradora! 55

21 Itsuka Shidō Date A Live 55

22 Ōji Mochizō Tamako Market 53

23 Lelouch Lamperouge Code Geass 53

24 Yato Noragami 52

25 Kyon Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu 52

26 Kaneki Ken Tokyo Ghoul 46

27 Kanda Sorata Sakura-sō no Pet na Kanojo 45

28 Otosaka Yū Charlotte 45

29 Kuroba Kaito Detective Conan 45

30 Nanase Haruka Free! 45

31 Agatsuma Zen'itsu Kimetsu no Yaiba 41

32 Tomioka Giyū Kimetsu no Yaiba 39

33 Edward Elric Fullmetal Alchemist 39

34 Arima Kōsei Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso 38

35 Totsuka Saika OreGairu 38

36 Araragi Koyomi Monogatari Series 37

37 Enkidu Fate Series 37

38 Otonashi Yuzuru Angel Beats! 36

39 Satō Kazuma KonoSuba 36

40 Joseph Joestar JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 34

41 Merlin Fate Series 34

42 Saitama One-Punch Man 32

43 Monkey D. Luffy ONE PIECE 31

44 Isaac Foster Satsuriku no Tenshi 29

45 Sakata Gintoki Gintama 28

46 Kasugano Haruka Yosuga no Sora 28

47 Nakahara Chūya Bungō Stray Dogs 27

48 Willem Kmetsch SukaSuka 27

49 Ainz Ooal Gown Overlord 27

50 Akabane Karma Ansatsu Kyōshitsu 27

51 Shiota Nagisa Ansatsu Kyōshitsu 27

52 Emiya Kiritsugu Fate Series 26

53 Uzumaki Naruto NARUTO 26

54 Ōma Shū Guilty Crown 25

55 Ishigami Senkū Dr.STONE 25

56 Sakamaki Izayoi Mondaiji 24

57 Akasaka Ryūnosuke Sakura-sō no Pet na Kanojo 23

58 Hyakuya Mikaela Owari no Seraph 23

59 Norman Yakusoku no Neverland 23

60 Ishida Shōya Koe no Katachi 22

61 Morishima Hodaka Tenki no Ko 22

62 Sakakibara Kōichi Another 22

63 Giorno Giovanna JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 21

64 Hiro Darling in the FranXX 21

65 Ray Yakusoku no Neverland 20

66 Li Syaoran Cardcaptor Sakura 20

67 Nishikata Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san 20

68 Iwatani Naofumi Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari 20

69 Aki Tomoya Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 19

70 Fukube Satoshi Hyōka 19

71 Uchiha Sasuke NARUTO 18

72 Hashibira Inosuke Kimetsu no Yaiba 18

73 Dio Brando JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 18

74 Hyakkimaru Dororo 17

75 Karna Fate Series 17

76 Ryūgūin Seiya Shinchō Yūsha: Kono Yūsha ga Ore TUEEE Kuse ni Shinchō Sugiru 17

77 Kanbara Akihito Kyōkai no Kanata 16

78 Uchiha Itachi NARUTO 16

79 Kageyama Shigeo Mob Psycho 100 16

80 Reigen Arataka Mob Psycho 100 16

81 Tsukamoto Shūichi Hibike! Euphonium 16

82 Kitahara Iori Grand Blue 15

83 Uesugi Fūtarō 5-tōbun no Hanayome 15

84 Yukihira Sōma Shokugeki no Sōma 15

85 Sawada Tsunayoshi Katekyō Hitman Reborn! 15

86 Satomi Rentarō Black Bullet 14

87 Doma Taihei Himōto! Umaru-chan 14

88 Hei DARKER THAN BLACK 14

89 Kurogane Ikki Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry 14

90 Tomoe Kamisama Hajimemashita 14

91 Ōsaka Sōgō Idolish7 14

92 Ikari Shinji Neon Genesis Evangelion 13

93 Sesshōmaru InuYasha 13

94 Roronoa Zoro ONE PIECE 13

95 Hinata Shōyō Haikyū!! 13

96 Hyakuya Yūichirō Owari no Seraph 13

97 Edogawa Ranpo Bungō Stray Dogs 13

98 Maō Sadao Hataraku Maō-sama! 13

99 Kiriyama Rei 3-gatsu no Lion 12

100 Urushibara Ruka Steins;Gate 12

101 Shinra Kusakabe Enen no Shōbōtai 12

102 Sebastian Michaelis Kuroshitsuji 12

103 Kiyose Haiji Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru 12

104 Bell Cranel DanMachi 12

105 Itō Makoto School Days 12

106 Natsume Kyōsuke Little Busters! 12

107 Naegi Makoto Danganronpa 12

108 Shiba Tatsuya Mahōka Kōkō no Rettōsei 12

109 Ginko Mushishi 12

110 Usui Takumi Kaichō wa Maid-sama! 11

111 Kakyoin Noriaki JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 11

112 Kakine Teitoku Toaru Series 11

113 Tennōji Kotarō Rewrite 11

114 Kuzuryū Yaichi Ryuō no Oshigoto! 11

115 Kurosaki Ichigo BLEACH 11

116 Satoshi Pokémon 11

117 Yagami Light Death Note 11

118 Izumi Masamune Eromanga Sensei 11

119 Inuyasha InuYasha 11

FFXIV: Uninstall

#FFXIV #FourthOfJuly #AnimeExpoLite

ISML 2020 Nominations: The List.

Kaname Madoka (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Akemi Homura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Tomoe Mami (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Archer (Fate/Stay Night)

Lancer (Fate/Stay Night)

Yuigahama Yui (Yahari ore no seishun lovecome wa machigatteiru.)

Isshiki Iroha (Yahari ore no seishun lovecome wa machigatteiru.)

Azami (Tsugumono)

Himeragi Yukina (Strike The Blood)

Shokuhou Misaki (To Aru Majutsu No Index)

Ange (Princess Principal)

Princess (Princess Principal)

Tomioka Giyuu (Kimetsu No Yaiba)

Agatsuma Zenitsu (Kimetsu No Yaiba)

Chocola (Nekopara)

Maple (Bofuri)

Sally (Bofuri)

Kirigaya Suguha (Sword Art Online)

Yuuki Asuna (Sword Art Online)

Ayano Keiko (Sword Art Online)

Last Order (To Aru No Majutsu No Index)

Chiyoda Momo (Machikado Mazoku)

Hinatsuki Mikan (Machikado Mazoku)

Yukishiro Nanako (Senryuu Shoujo)

Voter Id: 7ae7965f-0b68-5f92-a493-e4e254123d32

Liverpool: 2019-20 Premier League Champions

30 years of hope: my life as an ardent Liverpool fan

After three decades of near misses, slips and tears, the Merseyside team’s wait for another league title is nearly over. So what does it mean to a scouser and lifelong fan?

by Hannah Jane Parkinson

I am three years old in the photograph, hugging a plastic, flyaway football. I am seven, arriving tentatively for my first training session at a local girls’ club. I am bounding back to my mother’s car, blowing hot breath on cold hands, beaming, the salt from the artificial turf embedded in the soles of my trainers.

I am eight and glued to the television, watching teen wunderkind and my Liverpool hero, Michael Owen, score the perfect goal against Argentina in World Cup 98.

I am nine. I give up one of the few days I have to visit my father to attend my first ever match at Anfield, Liverpool FC’s famous stadium. A week later, my father dies. These two events are inextricably linked in my mind, and the guilt continues to whichever day you are reading this.

I am 10 and make my first appearance in print in a feature for the local paper, the Liverpool Echo, about girls getting into football. I am quoted as saying that all my sister cares about is boys and fashion.

Twelve years old and the fuzzy letters of “Parkinson” on the back of my shirt arch down my shoulder blades.

I am 13. Our team, known as Liverpool Feds, are approached by Liverpool FC to become their official girls’ outfit. We visit Melwood, the first team’s training ground. The full-size goals loom like scaffolding.

I am 14. My hero, Owen, makes the same move to Real Madrid that Steve McManaman made five years before him. This breaks my heart. Suddenly, all I care about is boys and fashion. Without really making a decision, I give up football. Cold winter nights are spent inside on the sofa watching Sex and the City. I discover live music and MySpace.

I am 15. I own the entire range of Clearasil products. A group of my schoolfriends and I take a night off GCSE revision to watch the 2005 European Champions League final in Istanbul; the first the club has reached since the mid-80s, and so it is forbidden not to watch. Liverpool are losing by three goals at half time. A lost cause. Minds wander to the second biology paper… But wait. Liverpool pull back to 3-3. And win on penalties. Pandemonium. We join the throng in the streets; the blaring car horns; the beer jumping, like salmon, from pint glasses; the embrace of strangers; the straining vocal cords.

I am 18 and living in Russia, watching games on my first-generation smartphone via a 2G internet connection. Each time a player goes through on goal the signal drops to endless buffering. Liverpool finish second in the league, four points behind bitter rivals Manchester United.

I am 26, we are bearing down on the title. Steven Gerrard in an impromptu on-pitch team talk, after a crucial win against the newly flush Manchester City, shouts hoarsely at his players: “This does not fucking slip now!” The next home game, Gerrard – one of the best players the club has ever seen, captain, scouser, Liverpool FC lifer – literally slips on the turf against Chelsea to concede a goal. We lose. Manchester City finish top of the league by two points.

I am 29. I am in Cuba, where the internet is heavily censored. But I manage to watch the last game of the season, which will be decisive. Liverpool finish the league with 97 points; the highest points tally ever for a team that doesn’t win the title. City win again. With 98 points. Liverpool do, however, win the Champions League – for the sixth time – after scoring four goals in a sublime semi-final comeback against Barcelona. The injured Mohamed Salah, watching on the bench, wears a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Never Give Up”. The T-shirt sells out.

I am 30. I have never witnessed my beloved Liverpool FC lift the title. Two months from now, this is going to change. As I write Liverpool have a 22-point lead at the top of the table. Of 84 points available this season, they have taken 79. Next Monday is the derby against Everton.

I want to untangle what this will mean to me – the fan who met Steven Gerrard a couple of years ago, grinning like a child; the fan who, two weeks ago, was unbelievably touched when current star Trent Alexander-Arnold recorded a video message to cheer her up during a bad time. What it means to other fans: those who witnessed the dominance of the 1980s, and the younger ones who have known only disappointment. And what it means, too, for the future of the area of Anfield itself.

It’s late February in the Flat Iron pub, one of the many dotted around Anfield. Steve Dodd, who is 49, is with his friends Dan Wynn, 26, and Gerrard Noble, 47. All from Somerset, they are having a pre-match drink before the home game against West Ham. Steve talks of the current Jürgen Klopp-assembled side as the best Liverpool side he thinks he’s ever seen.

The friends have been scouring the internet for places to stay in the city for the last home fixture of the season, but to no avail. “Rooms are going for £400 a night,” Gerrard says, his eyes widening. He and Steve are allowing themselves to get excited, but Dan, who like me has yet to experience a league title win, looks anxious and rubs his thighs. “No,” he says, “I don’t want to jinx it. Though I’ve been kicked out of various WhatsApp groups for being smug about all the results.” Steve tells me they weren’t prepared for it, this three-decade-long wait: “I just thought we’d go on winning.”

We talk about how important it is that Klopp’s politics match the club: Liverpool is a leftwing city; Liverpool is a leftwing club. At the last election, Labour retained all of its 14 MPs on Merseyside. The city has never forgiven the Tories for former chancellor Geoffrey Howe’s strategy of “managed decline”. Thatcher is a hated figure. But so is Derek Hatton, the former city council deputy leader and member of the Marxist group Militant. Last month, Italy’s rightwing politician Matteo Salvini was forced to deny that he had pulled out of a visit to Liverpool after the metropolitan region’s mayor called him a “fascist”. During several games last year, chants rang out for Jeremy Corbyn. The current prime minister conspicuously avoids visiting. As Gareth Robertson, who is a part of the immensely popular The Anfield Wrap podcast, with more than 200,000 weekly downloads in 200 countries, puts it to me: “Not only do we want a good football coach, we expect almost a political leader, someone who gets us, and our city, its values.” Humorously, there have been petitions for Liverpool to become a self-determined scouse state, and “Scouse not English” is a frequent terrace chant.

The club has a mantra: “This means more.” It pisses off other teams and is, understandably, dismissed as marketing speak. But isn’t it true? Isn’t the 127-year-old club what people think of when anyone, anywhere in the world, mentions “Liverpool”? The famous football team that plays in red – allowing for the Beatles, of course.

The city has another team, the blue of Everton. I have nothing against Everton. I consider Everton fellow scousers and too little a threat to focus animosity towards. In a way, the clubs are unruly siblings; we love and scrap in equal measure. Totally different personalities, but born of the same streets.

Four years ago, a man named Jürgen Klopp arrived on these streets. Or more accurately, he arrived in the suburb of Formby, renting the house from his managerial predecessor, Brendan Rodgers. Klopp is the football manager that even non-football fans like. He’s Ludovico Einaudi, seducing those previously uninterested in classical music. He is a man of principle; a baseball cap permanently affixed to his head, as though at any point he might be required to step up to the plate on a blindingly sunny day. Perhaps for the Boston Red Sox, owned by Liverpool FC’s American proprietor, John W Henry.

Klopp is erudite. He is proudly anti-Brexit in a city that voted 58% Remain. “For me, Brexit makes no sense at all,” he has said. He is a socialist: “I am on the left … I believe in the welfare state. I’m not privately insured. I would never vote for a party because they promised to lower the top tax rate. If there’s something I will never do in my life it is vote for the right.” He grew up in a humble village in Germany’s Black Forest, and it shows. There’s a saying in the region: “the hair in the soup”. It means focusing on even the tiniest things that can be improved.

He has the good looks of one of my favourite 1960s Russian film stars, Aleksandr Demyanenko. He hugs his players as though they were the loves of his life and he might never see them again. Journalists like him for his press-conference banter as well as his eloquence. He visits children in hospitals. He is funny. When Mario Götze, one of his star players at former club Borussia Dortmund, left for Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, his explanation was: “He’s leaving because he’s Guardiola’s favourite. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I can’t make myself shorter and learn Spanish.”

Liverpool have had many famous managers, of course. Bill Shankly (there’s a statue of him outside the ground); Bob Paisley (ditto); Kenny Dalglish. But Klopp is already being talked of as one of the best ever.

Liverpool the city has evolved from its shamefully prominent role in the slave trade – in common with other major British ports – to a place with a diverse population and a well-won reputation for being friendly and welcoming. But the tragedy and scandal of Hillsborough, in which 96 fans were crushed to death in 1989 at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground, is etched into the nation’s sporting history, and its social justice record. After a 27-year-long battle to clear the names of the Liverpool fans whose reputations were smeared, after inquests that lasted two years – the longest case heard by a jury in British legal history – a verdict of unlawful killing was returned. But, as Margaret Aspinall of the indefatigable Hillsborough Family Support Group pointed out, after David Duckenfield, police commander at the ground, was cleared of manslaughter last year, no one has yet been found accountable for those killings.

The Sun, which categorically did not report “The Truth”, as the infamous headline went, but was found to have published untruths that blamed Liverpool fans for the disaster, is a red-top pariah here. The paper is the bestselling national in print, but shifts a measly 12,000 or so copies on Merseyside. A branch of Sainsbury’s was once found to be selling copies under the counter, as though they were counterfeit cigarettes. It’s a boycott that has lasted longer than many marriages.

The socially progressive values of the club extend to it supporting an end to period poverty – free sanitary products are available in every women’s loo at Anfield. Last month, the Reds Going Green initiative saw the installation of organic machines to break down food waste into water. The club even has its own allotment, which grows food to serve to fans in the main stand. It was the first Premier League club to be officially involved with an LGBT Pride event in 2012, at the invitation of Paul Amann. Amann tells me how he set up the LGBT supporters group, Kop Outs, because: “It’s essential that our voices are heard, our presence is welcomed and respected.” The group works alongside the Spirit of Shankly supporters’ group and the Fans Supporting Foodbanks initiative and has regular meet-ups. These things mean something to me: a football fan as a girl, and now as a woman. A woman who dates other women. A woman who doesn’t want to hear homophobic chants on the terraces. Or, it goes without saying, racist ones. Jamie Carragher, ex-player and pundit, has apologised on behalf of the club for its backing of striker Luis Suárez, who was banned from playing for eight matches in 2011 for making racist comments. “We made a massive mistake,” Carragher said. “What message do you send to the world? Supporting someone being banned because he used some racist words.”

Back on the pitch, some of this season’s performances have been, quite simply, balletic. Others as powerful and muscular as a weightlifting competition. Formations as beautiful as constellations. Forward surges as though our fullbacks were plugged into the mains. Possibly the best fullbacks playing today: 21-year-old local lad Trent Alexander-Arnold (known just as Trent) and the fiery Scot Andy Robertson (Robbo) are spoken about by pundits as innovators. Gary Lineker and I text, rapturously, about the two of them.

For a football team to be consistent, for a team to win the league, it must be capable of winning in many different ways. The aesthetically pleasing playing out from the back. Lightning counter-attacks. Scraping 1-0 wins in the final minutes (and, particularly at the start of this season, we have done a lot of that. It’s something Manchester United used to do in their 90s pomp, and naturally, I hated them for it). Mindful of the trauma of The Slip, the agreed club line is “one game at a time”, said again and again, as another scouse son, Pete Burns, once sang: “like a record baby, right round, round, round… ” And my God, how many of those we’ve smashed. The current side is the first in England to hold an international treble (the Champions League; Uefa Super Cup; Fifa Club World Cup). We have not lost a home game for almost two calendar years. Shortly, we’ll no doubt break the record for the earliest title win during a season; the most points across Europe’s top five leagues.

It is, even to the neutral, extraordinary stuff. It is, even to the haters, albeit grudgingly, extraordinary stuff. In 2016, one of the greatest stories of modern football was the previously mediocre Leicester City winning a surprise title. Liverpool’s dominance this season surpasses that for drama. It is watching history in the present.

Being at a game at Anfield is like being high while ingesting nothing. The stands seem to have lungs. Though You’ll Never Walk Alone has become supremely emotional, an anthem for strength and perseverance post-Hillsborough (“walk on through the wind / walk on through the rain”) it’s a song originally from the musical Carousel. It was a standout 1963 cover version by Liverpudlian band Gerry and the Pacemakers that kicked off its adoption at Anfield. “It’s got a lot of lovely major-to-minor changes at often unexpected moments that have the effect of emotionally blindsiding you,” music journalist Pete Paphides says (although he’s a United fan, so feel free to discount everything he tells me). “But it’s also obviously very hymnal, with a chorus which invites that religious ambiguity. It was Aretha Franklin’s version that John Peel played after Hillsborough and rendered himself incapable of carrying on by virtue of doing so.”

Anfield has always been something special; players from countless teams often talk of it being the greatest ground they have ever played at. Or the most intimidating. Or the most electric. But of late, there’s an extra buoyancy. The crowd salivates.

Watching the game against West Ham, we take the lead within 10 minutes, but they quickly equalise, before going ahead. We score twice more. It is our 21st consecutive home win, setting a Premier League-era record. At the end of the game, Klopp and his players applaud the Kop end, fans’ eyes glistening with both emotion and wind chill (“walk on, through the wind… ”)

Adjacent to the stadium at the redbrick Albert pub, Clara, Tom, John – all in their 20s, students, and local – and John’s dad, David, who is 53, are cheering the last-ditch win. I repeat what I asked Steve and his friends: just how excited should we all be?

“Very fucking excited,” says John. “Very fucking excited,” Tom concurs. (Scousers use swear words as ellipses. And the speed of Liverpudlian patter matches the rat-a-tat-tat of freestyle rappers.) The Albert is floor-to-ceiling in flags; unassuming from the outside, iconic inside. Across the road at the Park – the “Established 1888” sign above its door – it is Where’s Wally? levels of rammed, entirely usual for a match day. But the mood is as disbelieving as triumphant. It hasn’t happened yet, but it already feels as though people are waiting to be shaken awake from a dream. Around the corner, posters at another fan favourite, the Sandon, advertise a huge end-of-season victory party. I grab a burger at the Kop of the Range, a kebab joint not far from a scarf stall that has seen its business rocket over the past three years.

My Uber driver, Mohamed, 35, moved to the city from Sri Lanka. A massive Salah fan, he tells me his own revenue booms when the club win a game – happier fans means higher fares. “People don’t want to spend money on a loss,” he says. “If we win, the whole mood lifts. You can feel it in the car. Though when you start driving with Uber, they tell you not to mention what football team you support. Because football means a lot to people. There are many feelings involved with football.”

It’s unsurprising to me that even back in Sri Lanka, Mohamed was a fan. Liverpool is a global behemoth. The richest club in the UK outside Manchester.

A £1.7bn valuation; £533m turnover; pre-tax profits of £42m. Matchday ticket revenues increased (thanks to a regenerated £110m main stand). Visiting the club shop, there is LFC-branded gin; babygros; even a Hello Kitty tie-in range. As Richard Haigh at consultants Brand Finance tells me, next season’s kit deal with Nike is “expected to represent the largest in history. Brands will be willing to pay to have some magic dust of LFC.” There are official stores as far afield as Dubai and Bangkok.

John W Henry has won the support of the fans for his positive handling of the club. And yet, despite this huge wealth, Anfield is the 10th most deprived neighbourhood in the country. Boarded-up houses surround the stadium. The club has not covered itself in glory in the past, accused of buying up properties in unscrupulous ways. But it is hoped that local enterprises, such as the community-run Homebaked cake shop and new housing association properties, will make the neighbourhood better.

Last week, we were knocked out of the FA Cup in a match against Chelsea. Or, as I call that fixture, Kensington versus Kensington. (In Liverpool’s “Kenny”, 98% of residents are among the most deprived 5% nationally. In London’s, residents earn three times the national average.)

In the league, there has been a blip. Last weekend we finally lost. And we lost 3-0 to, with the greatest respect, Watford; not a bad side, but a side ensconced in a relegation battle. Arsenal, who once went a whole season unbeaten (“the Invincibles”), and are keen to keep that record, tweeted from the official club account: “Phew!”

But I am not panicking. It’s possible Dan from the Flat Iron is panicking. But Klopp isn’t panicking. In typical fashion, he said the fact we played an absolutely awful game of football was “rather positive… ”

“A couple of years ago,” our hero reminds us, “I said we wanted to write our own stories and create our own history, and obviously the boys took what I said really seriously. It is so special. The numbers are incredible.” In a nod to Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous line that his greatest challenge was “knocking Liverpool right off their fucking perch”, Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore says now: “We are back on our perch.” As The Anfield Wrap’s Gareth says: “In a dream scenario, a period of dominance follows. Not so long ago that dream was just that. Now, it’s a reality that is much easier to imagine.”

Four more games. Eyes on the prize. For me, at last, 30 years in the making, eyes on the prize.