Saturday, July 21, 2012

National Championship Live Broadcast and Fighter's Interviews

Two hours ago Bushiroad aired a broadcast on NicoNico Douga, live from Japan's 2012 national championship events in Akiba Square, Tokyo. Meant to provide coverage before the actual events got underway, the show was hosted by celebrated TV persona, Doctor O and a guest commentator.


Opening the broadcast by discussing the entered decks, Doctor O highlighted Kanamaru Makoto's much-anticipated Bermuda Triangle deck. Kanamaru's deck has been singled out as the most watched deck of the Fighter's Road events, standing out amidst a flood of Kagerou, RoPala and GoPala competitors. Bermuda's inclusion in the tournament is seen as surprising due to the influx of Dragonic Overlord The End and Majesty Lord Blaster decks, now regarded as the two most popular decks in competitive cardfight. Doctor O also made special mention of Gotou Kiyomi's Alfred deck, which has garnered much attention for being a modern take on an extremely old deck type--the King of Knights does not see common play as a main unit, instead generally acting as a backup for Soul Saver Dragon or Majesty Lord Blaster.


The broadcast was followed up by a fighter's interview section, in which Doctor O interviewed Itoyama Shintaro (pictured) and Takenaka Shun'ichi, the junior championship fighters representing Hakata and Tokyo, respectively. Itoyama is a Royal Paladin cardfighter, while Takenaka cardfights with a Gold Paladin deck. Itoyama explained in his interview that he has a twelve-year-old younger brother, who usually wins when they fight; his brother uses a Kagerou deck. Itoyama's favorite character is Suzugamori Ren.

Takenaka meanwhile, is a sixth grader who cardfights with his father. Unlike him, his father uses a Narukami deck. His favorite card is Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel, and his favorite character is Aichi. In addition to Gold Paladin, he likes the Angel Feather clan because of the units' beauty.


Doctor O later tweeted live from the ongoing events, showcasing the standing fight tables being used in the competition's Free Area fights. Just two hours remain until Japan's 2012 senior and junior national champions are decided. This crowning will decide the two strongest fighters in Japan; and which decks will top the rest? Kanamaru is championed as a strong underdog candidate in the seniors division, and many hopes are riding on his shoulders. Shibata however, continues to remain the most popular name for the senior title, and besides him there are two other Kagerou cardfighters ready to seize his place should he falter. Things are heating up in Japanese waters as 40 fighters from two age brackets and one unified team competition fight it out for the throne of Japan.