Group F Predictions and Results

Predictions for Group F:
9/7: Mikan, Hakase, Shana
9/8: Milhi, Miyafuji, Anaru
9/9: Mami, Nano, Nako
9/10: Hiro, Avril, Cecilia

9/07 Coverage:
Mikan and Shana shouldn't have any trouble. The remaining match is up in the air. I'm going with Professor Shinonome. K-ON should be exhausted and unable to push a side character through, but 2ch's masochism fetishists might be out for MM again, so this could be close.

Results: In a match that featured enormous numbers of fake votes, the winners were Mikan, Arashiko Yuuno, and... Yuuko. Yes, 2ch has forsaken Shana. This shocking development isn't purely an assassination either: Shana's 316 votes is far below her usual level, and less than she got in the preliminaries. The interim graphs made it clear to her supporters that she needed help. Given the limited number of votes being cast, it's very unlikely that the remaining voters are naive enough to give up without voting due to fake intimidation. Many of her former supporters have dispersed. Tactical voting, which has been out of control, just sealed the deal.

Yuuno took Ui down while the professor was orphaned. Once again, I underestimated the masochists. These disgusting perverts are responsible for all the badly done tsunderes, crazy androphobes, and painfully cliched girl-hitting-guy-after-misunderstanding scenes in anime, and worst of all, they probably like it when I insult them like this.

Prediction Record: 1/3, 42/63 Total

9/08:
Milhi vs Nymph looks like a tossup. I'll go with Milhi, since I have to pick one of them. She was a preliminary winner and is a first time contestant in a contest that just threw out its traditional Shana. More importantly, she's pink. Miyafuji and Anaru have clear advantages.

Results: Nymph squeezes past Milhi by a mere 4 votes. Miyafuji wins as expected, but Hinata of Jewelpet comes out of nowhere to beat Anaru by 5 votes after trailing by dozens late in the match. Miria, also of Jewelpet, got a similar final rush, but it wasn't enough. Japan is full of surprises.

Prediction Record: 1/3, 43/66 Total


9/09 Coverage:

Mami heads out into battle against a pair of minor characters. This isn't the third round, so her opponents are biting off more than they can chew. Nano is a 2nd place first preliminary entrant against a pair of second preliminary fodder. Nako is a preliminary winner and one of the top characters from Hanasaku Iroha, which is supposed to be a very strong faction.


However, as of this writing, Shirayuki is off to a commanding lead. HanaIro has been dropping the ball lately, and Shirayuki got 3rd in her preliminary round, so the conditions are ripe for assassination. Anybody trying to assassinate Mami except HanaIro fans will also attack Nako, and Mami's voters don't have much of an incentive to help Nako, so HanaIro fans are on their own and will need to do better than the "slower than Mii's second place pace" rate they're going at now. We all know that Mami and Shirayuki are getting padded by fakes, but HanaIro will have to show up in force to take advantage of that.

Results: Look at these fake votes. Just look at them.

With the fakes removed, we see that Mami, much like Sayaka, unleashed heavy firepower in a one-sided match. Nano stayed in control the whole time. However, Nako performed terribly, only getting 258 votes and suffering an assassination at the hands of Shirayuki. It might be unfair to call this an assassination, since HanaIro's supporters just didn't show up to a winnable match, but Mami voters (the majority today) and Infinite Stratos fans both have obvious incentives not to vote for Nako.

Prediction Record: 2/3, 45/69 Total

9/10 Coverage:
Lots of weak characters today. Hiro is a first preliminary entrant against second preliminaries. I'll hedge my bets on Hidamari by going with Avril over Nori in pretty even-looking match, and Cecilia is an obvious winner.

Results: Cecilia won uncontested. Hiro won with a steady lead. Although Avril lead for most of the day, Nori mounted a late comeback to score another win for Hidamari, which has turned out to be one of the most reliable veteran shows.

Prediction Record: 2/3, 47/72 Total