ISML 2015: It's Way Too Early For The Kongou!



ISML 2015: It's Way Too Early For The Kongou!
Megumi Katou wins Winter Diadem, Utaha Kasumigaoka wins third place


By Jo-Ryan Salazar
The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue
May 15, 2015


Gone are the days where Megumi Katou can consider herself to be boring, ordinary, and unattractive material. Those days are behind her, as she defeated Kongou 2601-2513 to win the 2015 International Saimoe League Winter Diadem. Meanwhile, Utaha Kasumigaoka defeated Yuudachi, 2721-2389 to win third place.

At Blessing Software headquarters in Tokyo, a.k.a. Tomoya Aki's house, there were hugs, tears and sighs of relief.


"This is a great day for us because I knew that we would leave our mark, however, I am disappointed that the ISML organizers were classless enough to not allow us to compete in the preliminaries proper," Aki said. "We feel that a number of faces that are in this tournament do not deserve to be in the regular season. Megumi and Utaha would have picked up a number of victories and both would even make headway in the Stella Division.

"While these two victories satisfy us, we feel that the ISML has done Utaha and especially Megumi a disservice by consigning them and Eriri to this mini-tournament. Neither of them will be eligible until next year and it will be a long and rocky road ahead before they finally get to compete in this tournament for real. We will focus our attention to the 2channel Anime Saimoe Tournament and other tournaments to build the stock in our characters.

"I also feel that I would have been a worthy competitor in the Male Division, although I argue that this part of the tournament is unnecessary and was only made to appease to the female voting public. The women don't vote in this tournament anyway, so there is no need for a Male Division. However, I feel the organizers forgot someone, and that someone is me.

"To sum it up, we are on our way to untold success this year. We hope 2channel's voters follow suit with the ISML and give one of my partners, whether it is Utaha, Megumi or Eriri or even Michiru, to have a shot at succeeding Saki and Nodoka as the Saimoe Prime Minister of Japan. We thank you for your support and please be sure to buy our new visual novel which is out right now."


At the Etajima Naval District, Admiral Kensuke Tanaka ripped apart the 2601 who voted for Megumi and the 2721 who voted for Utaha.

"These voters are not smart people, but I can forgive them a bit because most of them aren't from Japan," Admiral Tanaka said. "Let's be honest, if 2channel will put Madoka and Saki on a pedestal and ISML will not, I cannot have any respect for this competition that purports itself to be the world's premier anime character competition. Our fleet girls are capable of regrouping from this and we have made it a priority to destroy Megumi, Utaha and Eriri in 2channel because we know that voter base thinks differently from ours. It has done so numerous times and it will again this year.

"This is a disappointing day for us but this has galvanized our fleet to work harder, smarter, and win back the trust of the voters. We don't settle for second place here on this fleet. We have never made it a habit of finishing second to anyone, not even ordinary, boring trash that has no business of being relevant in this country.



"You saw how Saki and Nodoka dominated last year's 2channel Anime Saimoe Tournament. We will be their successors. Japan loves to play Kantai Collection and we have a growing army of male and female admirals, myself included, of course, because I made this game. I have no doubt in my mind that the voters who chose Megumi and Utaha are going to be in for a rude awakening when the saimoe tournament that the world should really consider seriously takes place this summer.

"That fledgling visual novel team in Tokyo calls themselves 'Blessing Software.' Well, we will lay a curse on them and consign them to failure in 2channel AST. There are a number of shows that are relevant in ISML but not in the real Saimoe, and Saekano is one of them. This will be our year. This. Will. Be. Our. Year. You will witness the real might of our fleet this summer. We will not be stopped and there will be nothing but tears on the faces of those who dare challenge the might of our KanMusu. We shall prevail. We will win. Because we...are the Kantai Collection!"



ISML 2015 Aquamarine Match Day 1 is scheduled for June 7, 2015. 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 continuing coverage of the world's premier anime character competition...the International Saimoe League.


Seeding

Latifa Fleuranza
(Amagi Brilliant Park)
1485
Tina Sprout
(Black Bullet)
1675
Miyazono Kaori
(Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso)
1692
Yaya
(Machine-Doll wa Kizutsukanai)
1764
Kurousagi
(Mondaiji)
1726
Konno Yūki
(Sword Art Online)
1678

Seeding

Sonoda Umi
(Love Live!)
1637
Minami Kotori
(Love Live!)
1938
Shokuhō Misaki
(Toaru Majutsu no Index)
1719
Tachibana Marika
(Nisekoi)
1933
Azuki Azusa
(Hentai Ōji to Warawanai Neko.)
1887
Akame
(Akame ga Kill!)
1383

Seeding

Yazawa Nico
(Love Live!)
1531
Ayase Eli
(Love Live!)
1611
Shichimiya Satone
(Chūnibyō demo Koi ga Shitai!)
1663
Himeragi Yukina
(Strike the Blood)
1749
Tobiichi Origami
(Date A Live)
1757
Terminus Est
(Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance)
1609

Seeding

Aragaki Ayase
(Ore no Imōto)
2249
Yuzuriha Inori
(Guilty Crown)
1819
Hasegawa Kobato
(Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai)
1533
Konjiki no Yami
(To LOVE-Ru)
1652
Yui-nyan
(Angel Beats!)
1769
Senjōgahara Hitagi
(Monogatari Series)
1802

Seeding

Hirasawa Yui
(K-ON!)
1544
Momo Belia Deviluke
(To LOVE-Ru)
2446
Kōsaka Kirino
(Ore no Imōto)
1262
Kashiwazaki Sena
(Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai)
2051
Sengoku Nadeko
(Monogatari Series)
1378
Nagato Yuki
(Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu)
2057

Seeding

Nyarlathotep
(Haiyore! Nyaruko-san)
1268
Suzumiya Haruhi
(Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu)
1914
Holo
(Spice and Wolf)
1971
C.C.
(Code Geass)
1780
Yūki Mikan
(To LOVE-Ru)
2227
Charlotte Dunois
(IS )
1492

Seeding

Okazaki Tomoya
(CLANNAD)
1533
Heiwajima Shizuo
(Durarara!!)
1361
Sakata Gintoki
(Gintama)
1918
Emiya Kiritsugu
(Fate Series)
1780
Okabe Rintarō
(Steins;Gate)
1592
Kyon
(Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu)
1690

Seeding

Satomi Rentarō
(Black Bullet)
1795
Yato
(Noragami)
1604
Mikoshiba Mikoto
(Gekkan Shōjo Nozaki-kun)
1540
Emiya Shirō
(Fate Series)
1669
Akasaka Ryūnosuke
(Sakura-sō no Pet na Kanojo)
1487
Togashi Yūta
(Chūnibyō demo Koi ga Shitai!)
1661

Seeding

L Lawliet
(Death Note)
1488
Kaneki Ken
(Tokyo Ghoul)
1266
Orihara Izaya
(Durarara!!)
1495
Aikawa Ayumu
(Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?)
1635
Itsuka Shidō
(Date A Live)
1754
Ichijō Raku
(Nisekoi)
1818

Winter Final

Kongō
(Kantai Collection)
2513
Katō Megumi
(Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata)
2601

Winter Third Place

Yūdachi
(Kantai Collection)
2389
Kasumigaoka Utaha
(Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata)
2721