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duelacademynpcs) wrote2016-09-10 01:45 am
duelacademynpcs) wrote2016-09-10 01:45 am
Action Duel World Championship - Round of 16
The first round of the Action Dueling World Championship is concluded! Over the past two days, we saw a variety of duels all across the city and at the end of it, we now have the duelists that are going to make up our round of 16! Here are the duels we're going to see in the second round!
1) "Kammen Shinshi" vs. Dinosaur Ryuzaki
2) "Aguila Del Corazon" vs. Strong Ishijima
3) Juudai Yuuki vs. Clint Richter
4) "Escher" vs. Ryota Kajiki
5) Touki Tsuyoshi vs. Tyranno Kenzan
6) Jeanette Dianne Grave vs. Esper Roba
7) Akae Wakahisa vs. Saotome Rei
8) Isabel Marias vs. Ikkaku Tachibana
Our expert panel analyzed each duel and picked a winner for each, cementing what they believe to be the top 8!
1) Dinosaur Ryuzaki went up against longtime rival Insector Haga in the first round, pulling out an upset victory against the cunning insect duelist with his aggressive dinosaur-type strategy. Meanwhile, "The Masked Gentleman" defeated his first round opponent, Ryusei Gin with a standard Monarch strategy. The biggest question surrounding this duel, of course, is the identity of The Masked Gentleman. A lot of speculation about their true identity has been made, from former Team Heaven and Earth duelist Jinn Shrieves to Duel Academy East alumni Amon Garam, to a few people claiming on social media that they have indisputable proof that it is actually Mizuchi Saiou. At any rate, without knowing their identity, it's tough to gauge how well The Masked Gentleman will do. Meanwhile, Ryuzaki is going through a bonafide career ressurrection at the moment. It's hard to bet against him.
Winner: Dinosaur Ryuzaki
2) A battle of two regional duelists, on one hand, the high-flying young man from South America who's just started to make a name for himself and on the other, the savvy veteran from Maiami City, Strong Ishijima. After an extended hiatus to refine his game, Strong Ishijima's aggressive, multi-faceted Battleguard strategy is as potent as ever. On the other hand, Aguila del Corazon uses a WIND deck. Aguila has quickly made a name for himself with his physical agility, but his dueling style still needs refinement and focus. We think Strong Ishijima is making it at least to the Semi-finals and that's not going to change in this duel.
Winner: Strong Ishijima
3) A dream match in the making, Juudai Yuuki and Clint Richter, two of the best duelists in their respective countries over the course of their careers, they've unfortunately never had the oppourtunity to meet, because when Juudai was just starting making a name for himself on the international circuit, Clint was retired due to health reasons and when Clint had come back, Juudai had retired to run his institute! Now they're finally both active at the same time and a duel that American and Japanese fans have been waiting for a long time to see is just a couple days away. It's hard to pick a concrete winner with two duelists this skilled - you might say Clint's at a disadvantage in an Action Duel due to his health, but at the same time, Juudai hasn't been in a professional dueling ring in several years, will he show some ring rust? We think Juudai is as close to a lock for the finals as you can get in this tournament, but if there's going to be an upset to that, it could very well be here.
Winner: Yuuki Juudai
4) Escher dispatched their first round opponent without too much trouble. Like with Kammen Shinshi and Aguila, this is a duelist who arrived on the scene very recently and who we don't know much about. Ryota Kajiki is a longtime veteran who participated in both Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. This is going to be a huge test for Escher, but there's something about this young lady, something in her attitude. She exudes confidence, she walks into a duel and knows in her heart that she's walking out the winner, and a young duelist with everything to prove, nothing to lose and all the confidence in the world is a hard thing to put down.
Winner: "Escher"
5) The other dinosaur duelist in this tournament, Tyranno Kenzan has been making a name for himself throughout Japan since he graduated from Duel Academy several years ago. This is his first major tournament and he's already proven to understand Action Dueling on a basic level, whipping the crowd into a frenzy with exciting plays and his naturally magnetic personality. Kenzan is a born entertainer. On the other end of the scale, we have Touko Tsuyoshi, who couldn't be more opposite Kenzan if he tried. Big, quiet, physical and mean. Touki duels the same way every time, he shows up, beats his opponent, beats up his opponent and leaves. A very physical duelists who pushes the limits of the physical contact rules, he dominated his first round opponent. What will win out, Kenzan's exuberance and crowd support or Touki's aggression?
Winner: Tyranno Kenzan
6) Jeanette Dianne Grave returns to the pro circuit after an extended hiatus to face Esper Roba, a fellow "psychic" duelist. We've been told by a SAI representative that there's no proof that Esper Roba is a psychic duelist and he has no association with SAI, which is strange, because we actually never asked. Esper Roba goes into this duel with his Psychoshocker deck, while Jeanette has changed up her pure Psychic deck for a more focused Metalfoes deck. In addition to, let's be honest, a much more impressive resume, Jeanette seems to be taking much more naturally to Action Dueling. In her first duel, Action Cards just seemed to find their way to her, no matter what. It speaks to an intrinsic understanding of the dueling style that gives her a key advantage.
Winner: Jeanette Dianne Grave
7) Two young prodigy duelists, Akae Wakahisa and Rei Saotome, these two are very evenly matched and of any second round duel, this one may be the biggest toss-up. Akae has been dominating every opponent put in front of her lately with what her fans are coining as an Undead Nobility deck. Rei's Egg deck and its ability to quickly produce high level monsters may be what puts her impressive winning streak to an end. We give a slight edge to Akae on experience (she was already dueling professionally when Rei was still in school), but this one's about as close as it gets.
Winner: Akae Wakahisa
8) The final duel of the second round, North Academy alumni Ikkaku Tachibana takes on returning veteran duelist and former European Champion Isabel Marias. The developing storyline in this duel is related to Isabel Marias. Formerly a duelist somewhat similar to Touki Tsuyoshi, an aggressive, physical duelist who used mind games, trash talk and physical and psychic attacks to unsettle her opponents. She was known as a very passionate, aggressive duelist whose fire for the game often made her reckless, for better or worse. Much the opposite now, in her first duel, she played a very quiet, methodical lockdown duel with her Naturia deck that now has a Traptrix aspect added for extra interference. She locked out her opponent's options one by one and when she won, she was very professional, shaking her opponent's hand and sticking around at the venue for several hours after to greet fans. We hope she doesn't take this the wrong way, but it's the nicest we've seen Isabel act in her entire career. Her deck seems to be a good deal more potent in locking her opponent's down now and wherever she was during her hiatus, she's come back in peak physical condition. She could go far in this tournament, but up against a duelist like Ikkaku Tachibana, there's no such thing as a sure thing. This man has made a career out of instantly ending a duel. Whether its by milling tactics, careful searching or just plain luck, he's just consistently found a way to get his Slash Draw combo off when he needs to most. Some say it's just a gimmick, but he's here to prove that he's more than that. Our prediction is that Isabel will win, but if Ikkaku finds even a glimpse of an oppourtunity, this one could end in an instant.
Winner: Isabel Marias
And that's our predictions for the second round! Several great duels are scheduled, so be sure not to miss a single one as we move closer and closer to the crowning of the first Action Duel World Champion!
1) "Kammen Shinshi" vs. Dinosaur Ryuzaki
2) "Aguila Del Corazon" vs. Strong Ishijima
3) Juudai Yuuki vs. Clint Richter
4) "Escher" vs. Ryota Kajiki
5) Touki Tsuyoshi vs. Tyranno Kenzan
6) Jeanette Dianne Grave vs. Esper Roba
7) Akae Wakahisa vs. Saotome Rei
8) Isabel Marias vs. Ikkaku Tachibana
Our expert panel analyzed each duel and picked a winner for each, cementing what they believe to be the top 8!
1) Dinosaur Ryuzaki went up against longtime rival Insector Haga in the first round, pulling out an upset victory against the cunning insect duelist with his aggressive dinosaur-type strategy. Meanwhile, "The Masked Gentleman" defeated his first round opponent, Ryusei Gin with a standard Monarch strategy. The biggest question surrounding this duel, of course, is the identity of The Masked Gentleman. A lot of speculation about their true identity has been made, from former Team Heaven and Earth duelist Jinn Shrieves to Duel Academy East alumni Amon Garam, to a few people claiming on social media that they have indisputable proof that it is actually Mizuchi Saiou. At any rate, without knowing their identity, it's tough to gauge how well The Masked Gentleman will do. Meanwhile, Ryuzaki is going through a bonafide career ressurrection at the moment. It's hard to bet against him.
Winner: Dinosaur Ryuzaki
2) A battle of two regional duelists, on one hand, the high-flying young man from South America who's just started to make a name for himself and on the other, the savvy veteran from Maiami City, Strong Ishijima. After an extended hiatus to refine his game, Strong Ishijima's aggressive, multi-faceted Battleguard strategy is as potent as ever. On the other hand, Aguila del Corazon uses a WIND deck. Aguila has quickly made a name for himself with his physical agility, but his dueling style still needs refinement and focus. We think Strong Ishijima is making it at least to the Semi-finals and that's not going to change in this duel.
Winner: Strong Ishijima
3) A dream match in the making, Juudai Yuuki and Clint Richter, two of the best duelists in their respective countries over the course of their careers, they've unfortunately never had the oppourtunity to meet, because when Juudai was just starting making a name for himself on the international circuit, Clint was retired due to health reasons and when Clint had come back, Juudai had retired to run his institute! Now they're finally both active at the same time and a duel that American and Japanese fans have been waiting for a long time to see is just a couple days away. It's hard to pick a concrete winner with two duelists this skilled - you might say Clint's at a disadvantage in an Action Duel due to his health, but at the same time, Juudai hasn't been in a professional dueling ring in several years, will he show some ring rust? We think Juudai is as close to a lock for the finals as you can get in this tournament, but if there's going to be an upset to that, it could very well be here.
Winner: Yuuki Juudai
4) Escher dispatched their first round opponent without too much trouble. Like with Kammen Shinshi and Aguila, this is a duelist who arrived on the scene very recently and who we don't know much about. Ryota Kajiki is a longtime veteran who participated in both Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. This is going to be a huge test for Escher, but there's something about this young lady, something in her attitude. She exudes confidence, she walks into a duel and knows in her heart that she's walking out the winner, and a young duelist with everything to prove, nothing to lose and all the confidence in the world is a hard thing to put down.
Winner: "Escher"
5) The other dinosaur duelist in this tournament, Tyranno Kenzan has been making a name for himself throughout Japan since he graduated from Duel Academy several years ago. This is his first major tournament and he's already proven to understand Action Dueling on a basic level, whipping the crowd into a frenzy with exciting plays and his naturally magnetic personality. Kenzan is a born entertainer. On the other end of the scale, we have Touko Tsuyoshi, who couldn't be more opposite Kenzan if he tried. Big, quiet, physical and mean. Touki duels the same way every time, he shows up, beats his opponent, beats up his opponent and leaves. A very physical duelists who pushes the limits of the physical contact rules, he dominated his first round opponent. What will win out, Kenzan's exuberance and crowd support or Touki's aggression?
Winner: Tyranno Kenzan
6) Jeanette Dianne Grave returns to the pro circuit after an extended hiatus to face Esper Roba, a fellow "psychic" duelist. We've been told by a SAI representative that there's no proof that Esper Roba is a psychic duelist and he has no association with SAI, which is strange, because we actually never asked. Esper Roba goes into this duel with his Psychoshocker deck, while Jeanette has changed up her pure Psychic deck for a more focused Metalfoes deck. In addition to, let's be honest, a much more impressive resume, Jeanette seems to be taking much more naturally to Action Dueling. In her first duel, Action Cards just seemed to find their way to her, no matter what. It speaks to an intrinsic understanding of the dueling style that gives her a key advantage.
Winner: Jeanette Dianne Grave
7) Two young prodigy duelists, Akae Wakahisa and Rei Saotome, these two are very evenly matched and of any second round duel, this one may be the biggest toss-up. Akae has been dominating every opponent put in front of her lately with what her fans are coining as an Undead Nobility deck. Rei's Egg deck and its ability to quickly produce high level monsters may be what puts her impressive winning streak to an end. We give a slight edge to Akae on experience (she was already dueling professionally when Rei was still in school), but this one's about as close as it gets.
Winner: Akae Wakahisa
8) The final duel of the second round, North Academy alumni Ikkaku Tachibana takes on returning veteran duelist and former European Champion Isabel Marias. The developing storyline in this duel is related to Isabel Marias. Formerly a duelist somewhat similar to Touki Tsuyoshi, an aggressive, physical duelist who used mind games, trash talk and physical and psychic attacks to unsettle her opponents. She was known as a very passionate, aggressive duelist whose fire for the game often made her reckless, for better or worse. Much the opposite now, in her first duel, she played a very quiet, methodical lockdown duel with her Naturia deck that now has a Traptrix aspect added for extra interference. She locked out her opponent's options one by one and when she won, she was very professional, shaking her opponent's hand and sticking around at the venue for several hours after to greet fans. We hope she doesn't take this the wrong way, but it's the nicest we've seen Isabel act in her entire career. Her deck seems to be a good deal more potent in locking her opponent's down now and wherever she was during her hiatus, she's come back in peak physical condition. She could go far in this tournament, but up against a duelist like Ikkaku Tachibana, there's no such thing as a sure thing. This man has made a career out of instantly ending a duel. Whether its by milling tactics, careful searching or just plain luck, he's just consistently found a way to get his Slash Draw combo off when he needs to most. Some say it's just a gimmick, but he's here to prove that he's more than that. Our prediction is that Isabel will win, but if Ikkaku finds even a glimpse of an oppourtunity, this one could end in an instant.
Winner: Isabel Marias
And that's our predictions for the second round! Several great duels are scheduled, so be sure not to miss a single one as we move closer and closer to the crowning of the first Action Duel World Champion!