Post #1876953

#BestVidyaGirlContest 2025 ROUND 2 WRITEUP Round 2 is historically the point where the Best Vidya Girl Contest really gets good, and Season 3 proved no exception – though at first it didn’t actually seem like things would turn out that way: our two first matches were low-vote total blowouts, the WORST type of matches, even if our Zelda VS Malon opener resulted in such a shocking outcome that it almost made up for just how underwhelming the match itself was. The big turning point ended up being Etna VS Leyley: an exciting, fiercely fought bratfight that saw a MAJOR bump to our vote totals, and which marked the start of an unprecedented streak of *5 Quality matches in a row* - INCLUDING the contest’s second-ever perfect tie, as well as a hyped-up Big Name Bout that actually ended up living up to the hype! Hell, counting the Misty-Neru tiebreaker it was actually SIX good matches in a row, because that one was very exciting too for most of the hour that it lasted, until a late surge of Neru votes made that duel look way more lopsided than it really was. But really, even a 5-match streak of excellence would be unprecedented; sure, Season 1 boasted some insane double acts, in the form of round 1’s Shantae VS Monster Girl Quest Tamamo followed by Shanoa VS Tifa, and round 2’s Alice VS Shanoa/Pyra VS Fate/Extra Tamamo duo (whose 48 hours of heartpounding drama even encapsulated the Alice VS Shanoa tiebreaker, ANOTHER banger!). I kinda doubt we’ll EVER see a pair of matches that good again – but it’s worth keeping in mind that the round 1 pair was sandwiched between the Reimu VS Cerberus doubling and a decidedly meh Alice VS Ganyu match, while the round 2 duo (arguably our two greatest contest matches ever) were bookended by two boring blowouts, courtesy of Reimu and 2B (MGQ Tamamo and Marnie got absolutely spanked in those matches). So yeah, 5 great matches in a row is pretty crazy. Some other observations: - The later rounds of this tournament will be full of Firsts: none of the finalists from the previous two seasons remain in the tournament (Samus is retired and Fate/Extra Tamamo was eliminated in round 1, while Zelda just got eliminated in round 2), and looking at the quarterfinals we ended up with we see the following girls: Malon (never made it to the semifinals), Rachel Alucard (Newcomer), Neru (Newcomer), Leyley (Newcomer), Fio Germi (never made it to the semifinals) and Tifa (first-ever quarterfinal appearance). Out of all the remaining girls, only Pyra and Reimu have ever actually made it to the semifinals before, but one of them will for sure NOT make it this time, so we are guaranteed 3 semifinal virgins! - Both of the two most powerful forces in the tournament, Nintendo and Blue Archive, had a very mixed round 2 record: the two top seeds that got eliminated were both Nintendo girls (though Zelda of course fell to fellow Zelda girl Malon), but at the same time, Malon and Pyra are right now looking like the girls to beat, after Reimu kinda dropped the ball against Miyabi. Meanwhile, Blue Archive lost 2 out of its 3 rep, and is now down to only Neru – however, her stunning upset against Misty does elevate the redhead tomboy maid to the position of a tournament favorite. Wakamo also looked quite good against Fio Germi – though Hina of course got absolutely trashed by Pyra. Which brings us to: - Redheads absolutely KILLING IT! It’s now entirely possible that 3 out of 4 semifinalists could be boasting that absolutely Peak hair color. Hell, some people might even try to claim Fio Germi as a redhead, though I’m personally more of a purist. But obviously, Malon, Neru and Pyra ALL performed outstandingly in round 2, and even Etna looked quite good, despite eventually losing out to Sister Fucking. And now, onto the Round 2 Awards: Star of the Round: Malon (Zelda: Ocarina of Time) I mean, could there be anyone else? Defeating the #1 Seed is already crazy enough, but Malon straight up dumpstered the girl who her whole franchise is literally named after, and beat the princess of Hyrule even worse than SAMUS beat her last year. Malon’s round 1 win over Fate/Extra Tamamo was already crazy strong, so unless both Tamamo AND Zelda have randomly turned into trash this year, Malon is looking like the contest frontrunner right now. It keeps shocking me just how overpowered this Milk girl is, and I can’t help but wonder how she’d have fared against Samus in the Season 2 semifinals if she hadn’t let her lead over Pyra slip. Of course, the way she’s currently performing Malon might just get her match with Samus after all.. Flop of the Round: Zelda (Legend of Zelda series) I usually refrain from having the very same match supply both the Star AND the Flop of a round, but I just had to make an exception here: it would be one thing for Zelda to lose, even as the top seed, because Malon IS genuinely formidable. But not even breaking 40% on her!?? Nah Zelda, you ain’t Medli, I can’t let you get away with laying a giant egg like that! Best Match of the Round: Misty (Pokemon) VS Mikamo Neru (Blue Archive) Again – how could I possibly pick any other match? This is only our second-ever perfect tie in contest history, and despite the modest vote totals it was a crazy rollercoaster ride of a match, full of twists and turns, comebacks and chokejobs! Once I eventually get around to doing the individual contest match writeups (though I can’t promise I’ll have them done by this year), I’ll definitely set out to do this white-knuckle thriller justice! Worst Match of the Round: Rachel Alucard (BlazBlue) VS Neptune (Hyperdimension Neptunia) I swear that I’m not out to bully the blonde Vampire Loli – hell, I voted for her in both her matches! It’s just a cold, hard fact that both her matches have been one-sided stomps with some of the worst vote totals in tournament history! Now, I’ll certainly acknowledge that for Rachel Alucard fans these matches would still have been really fun to follow, due to getting to watch this niche newcomer perform beyond all expectations, but if you weren’t already invested in the vampire succeeding, this match really didn’t have much of anything to offer, except for some good cunny pictures. And that’s all he wrote for now, the tournament will resume on Sunday!