My friend makes trips to Japan frequently and is very into the VF scene. Follows it like a hawk. This is her most recent take on the Otenami Haiken 4 tourny in Japan that just finished about a day ago.
So Otenami Haiken 4 is over and done with, and as expected, it completely and totally rocked. As you may well know, JIN THE NINJYA WINS. Let's skip the blabber for now and get into the highlights!
ULTIMATE OWNAGE MOMENT: Chibita upholds his esteemed tradition of fucking up in major tournaments. (yes, I know he did well in SBO, but I'm thinking the Sega-sponsored ones, here.) Soutaisho went into his grudge match with the world's most famous professional VF player with a little surprise... See, VF.net lets you assign an opening quote to be displayed as the match begins. Chibita has used the same quote, "Makenaiyo!" (I don't lose!) almost since the service's inception. So knowing he's up against Chibita, what does Soutaisho do? He changes to the exact same quote to appear as his match with Chibita starts up. I saw that and had a "OMFG WHAT THE SHIT AHAHAHAHA" moment - as did everyone else in the room, who all went absolutely nuts. And, of course, Chibita was apparently thrown off by it too, as he totally nerfed the match on the last round. One of the single most awesome VF battles I have ever, ever seen in my life and the defining moment of the tourney for me. Chibita spent the rest of his time there looking noticably depressed, yet putting on a
face whenever somebody passed him by. I kinda feel sad for the kid.
SADNESS MOMENT: Taru, the sole Vanessa player there, won a match against a really good Lau by using incredibly lame and boring play. He then proceeded to lose the next match in the final round against Senningiri (another ninja omg), even though he using some really, REALLY awesome techniques and playing absolutely top-notch, both style and effectiveness-wise. My Vanessa soulbond is sad now, so I need to write angsty fan poetry to relieve our suffering.
"THEY'D BETTER HAVE THIS ON THE DVD" MOMENT: In the semifinals to determine the last few open slots on the Final Tournament roster, Homestay Akira absolutely went to town on our poor, dear Mukki. First round excellent with about 2 or 3 SPoDs done consecutively, and the rest of the match followed a similar pattern. It was both awe-inspiring and somewhat depressing at the same time.
OOPSIES: Heruru had predicted a Lion (particularly Fuudo) to win. All of them got knocked out in the first round. Whoops. He said his second pick for a winning character was Kage, though, and at least that one came to fruition. Although, given the sheer volume of ninjas that entered, there was a good chance of that happening anyway.
WTF MOMENT: Jesus christ, what happened to Soutaisho in the finals? He was playing an awesome game up to that point, and then he just completely cracked under pressure. He didn't just get beat, he got owned. Sad, I had him pegged for the win by that point.
All in all, I would have preferred an Aoi/Pai matchup in the finals over ninjya/ninjya, but at least it wasn't another Akira or Jacky, right?
Also, am I the only person wondering where Segahru suddenly vanished to? He just dropped off the face of the earth after FT, it seems. I haven't seen him around anywhere. Same goes for Napoleon and Hakushon Lau. I saw supreme Vanessa extraordinaire Tokyo Megane briefly at Otenami, but I didn't see him actually play any... and supposedly he hasn't been able to because his work has been busy. Sadness.
...I wonder if these guys just got lives all of a sudden or something?
So Otenami Haiken 4 is over and done with, and as expected, it completely and totally rocked. As you may well know, JIN THE NINJYA WINS. Let's skip the blabber for now and get into the highlights!
ULTIMATE OWNAGE MOMENT: Chibita upholds his esteemed tradition of fucking up in major tournaments. (yes, I know he did well in SBO, but I'm thinking the Sega-sponsored ones, here.) Soutaisho went into his grudge match with the world's most famous professional VF player with a little surprise... See, VF.net lets you assign an opening quote to be displayed as the match begins. Chibita has used the same quote, "Makenaiyo!" (I don't lose!) almost since the service's inception. So knowing he's up against Chibita, what does Soutaisho do? He changes to the exact same quote to appear as his match with Chibita starts up. I saw that and had a "OMFG WHAT THE SHIT AHAHAHAHA" moment - as did everyone else in the room, who all went absolutely nuts. And, of course, Chibita was apparently thrown off by it too, as he totally nerfed the match on the last round. One of the single most awesome VF battles I have ever, ever seen in my life and the defining moment of the tourney for me. Chibita spent the rest of his time there looking noticably depressed, yet putting on a
face whenever somebody passed him by. I kinda feel sad for the kid.SADNESS MOMENT: Taru, the sole Vanessa player there, won a match against a really good Lau by using incredibly lame and boring play. He then proceeded to lose the next match in the final round against Senningiri (another ninja omg), even though he using some really, REALLY awesome techniques and playing absolutely top-notch, both style and effectiveness-wise. My Vanessa soulbond is sad now, so I need to write angsty fan poetry to relieve our suffering.
"THEY'D BETTER HAVE THIS ON THE DVD" MOMENT: In the semifinals to determine the last few open slots on the Final Tournament roster, Homestay Akira absolutely went to town on our poor, dear Mukki. First round excellent with about 2 or 3 SPoDs done consecutively, and the rest of the match followed a similar pattern. It was both awe-inspiring and somewhat depressing at the same time.
OOPSIES: Heruru had predicted a Lion (particularly Fuudo) to win. All of them got knocked out in the first round. Whoops. He said his second pick for a winning character was Kage, though, and at least that one came to fruition. Although, given the sheer volume of ninjas that entered, there was a good chance of that happening anyway.
WTF MOMENT: Jesus christ, what happened to Soutaisho in the finals? He was playing an awesome game up to that point, and then he just completely cracked under pressure. He didn't just get beat, he got owned. Sad, I had him pegged for the win by that point.
All in all, I would have preferred an Aoi/Pai matchup in the finals over ninjya/ninjya, but at least it wasn't another Akira or Jacky, right?
Also, am I the only person wondering where Segahru suddenly vanished to? He just dropped off the face of the earth after FT, it seems. I haven't seen him around anywhere. Same goes for Napoleon and Hakushon Lau. I saw supreme Vanessa extraordinaire Tokyo Megane briefly at Otenami, but I didn't see him actually play any... and supposedly he hasn't been able to because his work has been busy. Sadness.
...I wonder if these guys just got lives all of a sudden or something?
