The Final Four have fought their battles, and now it’s time to see who will face off in the final battle of Sai Mecha 2012! This is ExecutiveOtaku bringing you the results of these epic fights. Who prevailed? And what will the final look like? Read on and find out!

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Results

Gurren Lagann vs Turn A Gundam (54.46% vs 45.54%)

Gunbuster vs YF/VF-19 Excalibur (56.44% vs 43.56%)

BONUS ROUND: Tachikoma Battle

TachiLuka (20.21%) vs TachiKonata (31.91%) vs Bulbakoma (47.87%)

Commentary

Looks like it will be a super robot showdown in the finals, as the Gurren Lagann and Gunbuster both narrowly beat their opponents in the semifinals. But at this level of competition, a close victory is the only victory, with the YF/VF-19 Excalibur and Turn A Gundam putting up an incredible fight. The final this year will also be a Gainax battle, old vs new in that studio’s tradition of insanely over-the-top super robots. The stage is set, and now all that remains is for the final battle!

It’s time for the Final Four! This is ExecutiveOtaku, live from the Sai Mecha Arena. Tonight we have the semifinals, where the final four contestants from this year’s tournament face off for a spot in the championship. Only one of the Gods of GARhalla remains standing this year, the YF/VF-19 Excalibur. The soul of MidGAR was strong this year, so we have three mecha setting foot for the first time upon the sands of the semifinals. Who will survive the penultimate round and move forward? Only time and votes will tell!

Last round we had a surprise upset as the reigning Evangelion UNIT 01 was toppled by fellow GARhalla veteran, the YF/VF-19 Excalibur. Luck seems to be one of its many skills, as it would have seemed unlucky to go up against the reigning champion. But the VF did have something going for it to pull off the surprise: it never directly fought the UNIT 01 last year. In Sai Mecha 2011 the Zaku II knocked out the YF/VF-19, as they were both from the Colonies Side. The Evangelion was the Earth Side champion, so the two never met in direct competition until last round. It soars on now in the semifinals to challenge the Gunbuster. The Gunbuster has long been a favorite of both the Old School of the East and Gainax fans. The ‘King of Zakus’ won a close fight last round to secure its home lands of the Kingdom of Monoeye, and is now on a roll and ready for the next battle. It has power of galactic proportions, but it faces off against the embodiment of Macross spirit. The Killer of Kings YF/VF-19 now looks to claim another crowned head as it takes on the King of Zakus!

In the second round, the Turn A Gundam and Gurren Lagann face off. The Gurren Lagann made quick work of the VF-25 last round, and it was a strong contender all throughout Sai Mecha 2011 too. It lost last year to the YF/VF-19, so if it wins this round and its rival the other, it’ll get the chance at payback it no doubt is thirsting for. Its challenger also is a veteran VF fighter. The Turn A Gundam fought a much closer battle with the original VF-1 Valkyrie last round and emerged victorious. This is also a tale of revenge, as the VF-1 knocked out the Turn A Gundam in the very first round last year. After having served a cold dish to the Valkyrie, the Turn A now will show what it could have done last year if it hadn’t been eliminated so early. The White Doll now challenges the Spiral Monster for supremacy and a shot at the crown!

Voting

With apologies for the significant delay. In the interest of getting things moving again as quickly as possible, a quick posting of the results, followed by voting for the next round tomorrow with a minimal writeup. Since it’s been my schedule that’s caused the delays, I can’t really ask Ghostlightning to do a writeup by tomorrow, so the next round will have a short one and then things can get back to normal following that vote. Thank you for your patience and enthusiasm during the lull, I really appreciate it. (And in the future, feel free to remind/berate me on Twitter if need be, heh.) So, without further ado, the results for the first round of RaGARok.

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Results

Gurren Lagann vs VF-25 Messiah (70.16% vs 29.84%)

Turn A Gundam vs VF-1 Valkyrie (55.2% vs 44.8%)

Zaku II vs Gunbsuter (45.97% vs 54.03%)

Evangelion UNIT 01 vs YF/VF-19 Excalibur (42.86% vs 57.14%)

BONUS ROUND: Western Mecha Series

ExoSquad (14.16%) vs Megas XLR (31.86%) vs Gobots (7.96%) vs The Iron Giant (46.02%)

Current Bracket

(click for full size)

The final phase of Sai Mecha 2012 begins now with the first RaGARok round. These matchups will set the tone for the remainder of the tournament, as these fan favorites clash in the arena. Here is ghostlightning with your contestants’ writeups. Voting is open until 23:59 eastern time on July 14 (Saturday.)

MATCH NUMBER ONE

Gurren Lagann vs. VF-25 Messiah

Two of the best-in-class examples of their respective traditions. Gurren Lagann is a combining super robot of the Gunbuster tradition; using only 2 units to form. However, the brilliance of this is the near limitless expansion/upgradability as the Lagann is primarily a control/power source unit that becomes the basis of further versions — which respective sizes result in ridiculous ratios. This requires the entire robot to control the larger one by sitting in the cockpit in the lower center torso of the larger unit. Continue this, matroshka doll style until you reach the size of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann who uses spiral galaxies as stepping stones.

The VF-25 Messiah is the ultimate real robot. Now, for some people that means the most realistic real robot, but that’s just silly. The real robot tradition is more fantastic than the super robot tradition because the expectation for real robots is to be realistic. The fair and desirable expectation for real robots are excellent portrayals in military contexts: soldiering and battles as opposed to the super robot tradition of pro-wrestling matches. As such, the VF-25 is the last word in versatility. The base unit has three forms: spacecraft fighter/gunship/infantry. By default it can be deployed in a variety of missions limited only by the abilities of its pilot. Beyond this, the modular mission packs (armor/strike/super) can expand its assault capabilities. Finally, there are actual design variants that allow for specific roles: tactical leader/sniper/reconnaissance. Thus, a single team with all variants can perform the mission catalog of an entire battle group: recon/patrol/search & destroy/skirmish/assault; in all environments except aquatic.

Super vs. Real, who will you kiss?

MATCH NUMBER TWO

VF-1 vs. Turn A Gundam

The VF-1 is the original Variable Fighter. From its core design the concept of versatility plays out incredibly well. It is not as versatile as its 25th design iteration (as expected), but the results and impact of this design is the fact that the VF-25 is such a successful design. It’s the legacy of the VF-1. Thus, it is useful to discuss its history. It mainly saw action in the great Space War against the Zentraedi wherein it routinely had to engage enemies at greater than 3:1 odds. The SDF Macross had a total complement of 300 or so VFs and it routinely engaged Zentraedi battle groups at greater than 3:1 odds wherein each ship carried 1,000 fighter units of various makes (mostly Regulds), piloted by soldiers genetically engineered, cultured, and bred for fighting.

The Turn A Gundam is a notable “tweener” unit straddling the divide between the real and super traditions of robot anime. Being a Gundam it’s milieu is a militarized conflict involving armies deployed to secure strategic and tactical objectives and fighting in battles and/or operations. The Turn A itself however, is a unit with god-like powers that is linked to the technological apocalypse that is part of the history of its narrative. For a Gundam it is also quite large, and would tower over many titular units in other Gundam shows, and has the weapons array reminiscent of ’70s super robots.

Real vs. Unreal, do you like your categories neat or messy?

MATCH NUMBER THREE

Zaku II vs. Gunbuster

The Zaku is the grunt’s grunt mecha. It’s how it’s beloved, but it didn’t actually start out that way. What it was is a groundbreaking piece of technology that allowed Zeon to take over the Earth Sphere at the onset of the One Year War. Relative to the aircraft, tanks, and other mechanized units… it was NOT a grunt. It was the shiny knight unit. The EFSF’s GM is actually gruntier in that it is a less-developed piece of technology. It just overwhelmed the Zeon armies with sheer numbers. Now that’s grunty. The Zaku II gets this grunt-worship because primarily due to the Gundam, who is a super prototype kind of unit that stands in very stark contrast with the Zaku. That, and the eventual development of MS variants that did more special roles, or simply outperformed the Zaku.

The Gunbuster… this is no Zaku boy, this is no Zaku.

[Affectionately regarded as the "God" of Zakus due to its being a ginormous super robot that's firmly grounded in real robot sensibilities and aesthetics, but precisely because of its mono-eye sensor that characterizes not only the Zaku, but most of the Zeon robot designs.]

MATCH NUMBER FOUR

Evangelion Unit 01 vs. YF/VF-19

It’s a giant god-like machine, whose silhouette is more reminiscent of a powered suit in the tradition of Ultraman than it is of chunky super robots. However, for most of its run defending Tokyo-3, it was governed with far stricter limitations compared to most real robots, most notably the requirement to be hooked up to a power supply and having such a limited power storage capacity. In many ways, its highlight moments are characterized by it turning into something more monstrous than the monsters it fought. In terms of the humanoid fighting style it’s far more closer to wrestling than the more karate-based styles of 70′s super robots.

The YF-19 is the missing link between the VF-1 and the VF-25 units. Much of the current technological features and capabilities of the VF-25 were first featured in the YF-19 prototype: capablity of carrying a standalone superdimensinal fold device, pin-point barrier, and the departure from the battloid silhouette that exposes the fighter cockpit in front of the lower center torso of the robot. What is notable in the design itself its its swept-forward wings in Valkyrie mode. It is a powerful machine that won the contract for the next generation of mass-produced VFs in Macross. [It also formed the basis for Basara's custom concert mecha...take that as you will. -EO]

Voting

BONUS ROUND

Trailers and intros to jog your memories or introduce you to the shows

ExoSquad

Megas XLR

Gobots

The Iron Giant

It is time. Since long ago (at the beginning of this year’s tourney) it has been prophesied that the four Champions of MidGAR and the four Gods of GARhalla would meet, and chaos would decent upon the land. Mecha would know not Champion or God, only enemies to be left broken and destroyed along the path to godhood. Those born of MidGAR will fight Gods and brothers, Gods will turn on one another and fend off challengers both. Today, the tolling of the Sai Mecha bell signaled the start. The start of RaGARok…

Below is the bracket that the RaGARok phase will follow. As per the new rules I set out at the beginning of this year’s tournament, a new bracket was drawn up with the four new challengers against the final four from last year’s tournament. The bracket was randomly determined using a random number generator, just like the full tournament bracket before it. Also as previously stated, if a contestant wins two tournaments in a row, they will have proven their worth for all time and be retired from future tournaments to make room for fresh blood. So in this case, if the Evangelion UNIT 01 wins again, it will be cast up into the night sky like the heroes of antiquity, to ascend to the heavens and reign over mechadom forever. Rule review out of the way, I present to you, your RaGARok bracket. Voting will begin mid to late-week.

Click for full size.

Your votes have selected the four Champions of MidGAR, and here’s the results! ExecutiveOtaku here to reveal the winners of the MidGAR phase of the tournament. These four exemplify the best in mecha as chosen by you, the voters. They’ve fought to make it to RaGARok, where they and the four who ascended to GARhalla last year will mix it up. Here they are, the four that have earned the right to fight for a spot in GARhalla.

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Results

Gurren Lagann vs Zeta Gundam BY ONE VOTE! (50.47% vs 49.53%)

Nirvash vs VF-25 Messiah (41.35% vs 58.65%)

Turn A Gundam vs Gouf Custom (51.49% vs 48.61%)

Gunbuster vs Kshatriya (64.76% vs 35.24%)

BONUS ROUND: Classic Battletech Favorites

Timber Wolf/Mad Cat (44.57%) vs Axman (25%) vs Dire Wolf/Daishi (16.3%) vs Atlas (14.13%)

Commentary

A couple of close ones in this round, as to be expected of the matches between these popular and iconic mecha. The Gurren Lagann bested the Zeta Gundam by just one vote, with Spiral Power only just able to overcome the souls of the dead-powered monstrosity of a Gundam. The match was nearly set to enter the time-honored (since last week) DotWar sudden death round until some last minute votes the night the polls closed changed it at the last minute. The Gurren Lagann moves on to RaGARok having overcome one tenacious opponent here today!

Meanwhile, the VF-25 Messiah’s win over the Nirvash means that THREE variable fighters will be mixing it up in RaGARok, making the Macross block the best represented group of fans in the final rounds. The VF-25 had an early exit last year, facing the eventual champion Eva UNIT 01 in the very first round. But this year it’s shown what it can do, scoring a comfortable win over the Nirvash.

Next, the Turn A Gundam overcame the survivor of the first ever tied-match, the Gouf Custom. The culmination of all Tomino Gundams was up against the final evolution of the One Year War ground combat units, a fitting clash of mecha that embody the spirits of Gundam. The Gouf Custom has shown a lot of guts in this tournament, earning every one of its wins. You’ve got to respect that, but in the end, the Turn A had so many series and universes to draw from in its fight, and the End of Gundam mobile suit won the day.

The final match saw the biggest margin this round, as the Gunbuster handily defeated the Kshatriya. There are a lot of Kshatriya fans, but I think it’s just too new to go all the way in Sai Mecha. It’s certainly innovative and destructive in its battles against the Federation, but I just don’t think it’s become as iconic as other Zeonic mecha just yet. Still, an impressive showing this year for the Kshatriya, ensuring it will be a contender for some time.

In the bonus round, we got to see a fight the likes of which we haven’t since Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries as four classic mechs did battle in the Sai Mecha Arena. My personal favorite, the Mad Cat took the trophy, having the long-range punch to take down the Axman before it could close, and the mobility to run circles around the Daishi and Atlas while pummeling them with ER lasers. I spent tough missions in a Mad Cat in my days as a mercenary, and it never let me down. Back when I was with an independent company during the Clan Invasion I was fortunate enough to salvage one on Wolcott after its pilot ejected. Which was fortunate, because it had beaten up my Flashman so badly the thing would never run again after that day! It turned out to be an A-variant, the one with those twin PPCs, and let me tell you, I never looked back. That thing was with me all the way through the FedCom Civil War, and you’ll never find a sweeter mech than that. I hope that young hotshot I sold it to when I retired is still racking up the kills with the old gal.

So there you have it, mecha fans! RaGARok is about to begin, and the bracket will be up soon once the randomized bracket is generated. Get ready, it’s going to be a wild ride! That’s it for now. This is ExecutiveOtaku, signing off.

This is it, mecha fans! ExecutiveOtaku here at the Sai Mecha Arena for the final round of MidGAR matches. From this round will come the four champions of MidGAR that will mix it up with the gods of GARhalla in the chaos of the RaGARok round. Just a reminder, RaGARok will feature a new bracket, randomly determined and comprised of whoever wins this round plus last year’s Final Four: the Evangelion UNIT 01, MS-06 Zaku II, YF/VF-19 Excalibur, and the VF-1 Valkyrie. This round, the eight mecha that have come forth from the Earth and Colonies Sides will compete for the right to enter into the final cataclysm. So lets get to it, mecha fans! Here’s Ghostlightning with the pre-game coverage.

It comes down on what you value in a robot:

1st Battle:

Ancient super robot technology left by aliens, combining and escalating versions, mysterious and limitless power; vs. near future real-robot technology capable transforming, and of using mysterious powers. It’s spiral energy vs. the will of dead people. It’s drills and sunglasses vs. beam sabers and big lasers. It’s Gurren Lagann vs. Z Gundam.

2nd Battle:

Ancient alien first of its kind sentient transforming surfer robot with mystical powers and sentience but may not be initially intended as a combat unit vs. near future bleeding edge paramilitary grade transforming variable robot built only for versatility in combat missions. It’s robot surfer that turns into car and then into aircraft vs. robot special infantry that turns into a fighter/bomber and then into a VTOL Gunship. It’s the Nirvash Type Zero vs. the VF-25 Messiah.

3rd Battle:

Ancient archaeological find doomsday robot that fights awkwardly due to primitive context, and yet caused prior apocalypse due to near limitless power (also lobs nukes like grenades) vs. Urban combat optimized ground-based mobile suit that also uses archaic weaponry but never awkwardly due to cutting edge context of warfare it fought in. It’s Gundam vs. Zeon MS all over again. It’s the Turn A Gundam vs. the Gouf Custom.

4th Battle:

Cutting edge united humanity ultimate project designed anti-alien swarm super robot vs. adapted technology best-in-class remote beam weapon package one vs. many real robot. It’s the combining giant savior of humanity vs. the Space Terrible Monster Crowd vs. the Devil of Funnels scourge of grunt units. It’s the Gunbuster vs. the Kshatriya.

Voting

BONUS ROUND: Classic Battletech

The results are in, and for the first time ever in Sai Mecha history, we had a tie result! This is ExecutiveOtaku, bringing you the results of Colonies Side, round 2 voting. We had four BIG FIGHTS this time around, and you’ll want to see how that tie got broken! Read on, mecha fans!

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Results

Turn A Gundam vs Black Getter (66.67% vs 33.33%)

TIE: Gouf Custom vs GP-03 Dendrobium (50% vs 50%) Sudden death results below.

Gunbuster vs Gao Gai Gar (58.59% vs 41.41%)

Escaflowne vs Kshatriya (43.93% vs 56.07%)

BONUS ROUND: Would’ve been better with mecha…

THREE WAY TIE! FUND THEM ALL!

 K-ON: K-00n Gitah Memories (25.51%) Kimi ni Todoke: Kisama ni Todoke (6.12%) vs Prince of Tennis: Aim for the Ball! PuriTeni! (25.51%) vs Hidamari Sketch: Super Dimensional Fortress Hidamarisou (17.35%) vs Maria-sama ga Miteru: Mecha-sama Watches Over Us (25.51%)

Commentary

We’ll get to the dramatic tie vote and sudden death in a moment, but first, the other matches. The Getter Clan started out strong this year, securing two new entrants into Sai Mecha where before they had none. No fight is ever easy in Sai Mecha, not with these fan favorites, but the Getter fans put in a good showing for being a relatively small faction compared to the major franchises. But that run came to an end when the Black Getter went up against The Mustachioed Menace, The White Doll of Destruction, the Turn A Gundam. The culmination of the Tomino Gundam scored a strong victory over the last of the Getters, taking home three-quarters of the vote and moving itself one step closer to RaGARok. Elsewhere the Gunbuster continued to show why it’s the King of the Zakus by defeating another super robot competitor, arguably the greatest of the combining mecha, the Gao Gai Gar. And in the third round, the Escaflowne’s last minute boost in the polls was not quite enough to put the dragon-mecha past the Kshatriya, whose funnels and quad-wings carried the day.

In the bonus competition, fan enthusiasm was overwhelming but neatly split between the favorite three. All three sound good to me, and I’d watch them, but for my money I’d really want to see Mecha-sama Watches Over Us. Yuri, mecha, tea parties? It doesn’t get any better than that, folks!

Sudden Death Round! Gouf Custom vs GP-03

Now, the Gouf Custom vs GP-03 fight, well that was something! The two duked it out over the entire course of the voting period, neither contestant getting more than 4 votes ahead of the other at any point in the competition. But when the final bell rang, the two mecha stood broken and battered in the Sai Mecha Arena, exhausted but unable to subdue the other. In a first for Sai Mecha, it was decided that a neutral way was needed to break the tie. Something that involved fighting, but wasn’t down to player skill. So it was resolved that the two mecha should enter into a best-of-three duel in DotWar, the avatar fighting game. Each contestant was given three different icons to face off against the other with, and whoever won the most would be the victor. The Gouf Custom, a classic with little variation, had three different illustrations in its stable. Meanwhile the way the GP-03′s unique and unconventional design brought it many fan variations and parodies, and a classic diagram image teamed up with Azumanga Daioh‘s Osaka and Madoka Magica‘s Homura for the final fight. Here’s how it went down!

The Gouf Custom displayed the maneuverability for which it earned its reputation, flanking the GP03′s force and dealing massive damage behind the enemy’s line. Feels a bit like that fight with the Guntanks, doesn’t it?

This round secured the Gouf Custom’s win, but not before it lost most of its forces. The battle came down to who had what left after the initial, massive clash, and once again, the Gouf Custom was tougher, even with the special Osaka weapons pack.

This is Sai Mecha, and here, we fight it out to the bitter end! Even though the Gouf Custom had locked down the win, Homura Dendrobium would not be denied her battle! Homura annihilated the Gouf Custom’s initial wave and withstood its flanking attacks. The Gouf Custom took heavy damage in that last round, but in the end it was just tough enough to hold out and deal the final blow. Truly a match worthy of these two outstanding contestants!

That’s all for now, mecha fans! Join us next time (this weekend if all goes well) for the final round of MidGAR, a combined final round of Earth and Colonies Sides to determine who will stand to face the gods of GARhalla! See you then!

The Current Bracket

It’s time, mecha fans! This is ExecutiveOtaku, here at the opening of the Colonies Side, Round 2 matches. The tournament is moving on, and the Colonies Side is up next. Four more matches await below. Voting is open until 23:59 eastern time on the 18th (Monday.) Take it away, Ghostlightning… [EDIT: There was a mix-up in the writeup and I had to quickly try and edit it into something that works. Apologies for it being less elegant than usual -EO]

Turn A Gundam vs. Black Getter

The Turn A Gundam is notable for being designed by Syd Mead known primarily for his work in Bladerunner. It doesn’t look like any Gundam, and while it loosely behaves like a real-robot, it’s a “god machine” that has apocalyptic powers. The Black Getter is a modification/iteration of the Getter Robo, the forerunner of combining and transforming robots. It’s color is black.

Gouf Custom vs. GP-03 Dendrobium

The Gouf Custom is a modification of the Gouf Ground and Flight types that gives Zeon pilots the best option for urban warfare (Zakus are for forests, and Doms are for plains). It is the pinnacle of the OYW “infantry” MS designs from the Zeon (notwithstanding the special forces Kampfer unit). The GP03-Dendrobium is a machine for extermination — as one could design a Gundam. It is a mobile suit that “rides” a mobile armor/weapons platform. Within the context of Gundam, it’s a machine that one sends by itself to take on entire attack groups (which could mean a small fleet).

Gunbuster vs. Gao Gai Gar

The Gunbuster is an interesting exercise of concept and design in that it took what would be “hard” science fiction elements in a real-robot context and executed it in the most super robot of ways, not the least notable is its immense size. It is less a robot for fighting, but for extermination. Gao Gai Gar follows a long tradition of combining robots and escalates the hyperbole involved as only a successor should. It’s combining sequence represents the highest standard of its kind and as such was a tough act to follow, that none in fact did.

Escaflowne vs Kshatriya

The transforming dragon fantasy medieval robot Escaflowne stands very unique in the world of robot anime. It seemed a tough act to follow and it wasn’t. It’s the kind of machine that one would expect apocalyptic or god-like powers but instead remains rather grounded in real-robot aesthetics despite its fantasy core. The Kshatriya, also known as the Quad-wing represents the latest and perhaps last design featuring funnels (remote psycommu beam weapons) and perhaps represents the upper limits of fantasy while remaining the most grounded in the real-robot ideal initially inspired by the Gundam franchise itself.

Voting

BONUS ROUND