Abadango 
needs no introduction, as he is coming in hot off his first supermajor win at Pound 2016. Though he's previously won several other tournaments (including an Umebura and the NicoNico Tokaigi 2016 invitational), none of those accomplishments quite compare to the devastation he unleashed just earlier this month. Even with such strong momentum, he faces a lot of tough competition, and it is quite common to see Japan's revolving ensemble of top players dethrone each other in quick succession. So Abadango must be in top form to continue his annihilation streak.
9B has been steadily improving with Bayonetta, reaching the point where he is clearly Japan's best representative of the character. He cleaned up the competition at Sumabato 9, hardly struggling at all along the way. He also put in work at Karisuma 6, making him the reigning champion of two regular tournament series. While he has a few recent losses to players beneath his level, he always manages to make it far regardless and the rematches are never pretty. He is perhaps the greatest threat to Abadango and the second favorite to win the entire event.
Rain should be familiar to anyone who follows the Umebura series. He's won half of their regular singles events for Smash Wii U, and to date is the only player to win consecutive events! Though he did have a rough few months in late 2015, he bounced back during the first quarter of this year. He managed to win both the Umebura Genesis Cup and Umebura 21 in succession, dropping no sets at either event. He also devastated the doubles bracket at Genesis 3 with his powerful Cloud secondary, sending FOW and MJG to losers early on and ultimately finishing in 4th place. His teams partner there was none other than:
DNG|Nietono , another long-standing veteran of the Japanese Smash scene. Nietono is no character loyalist; he's changed his main from Sheik to Fox to Brawler to Diddy over the course of the game. He was most recently sighted using Sheik
again, but that was before the 1.1.5 patch. He seems to have returned to Diddy once more. He is certainly Japan's strongest representative of the character at this point. You can never quite be sure which characters he'll break out in tournament, or even if his odd character choices will end up working out in his favor.
Earth is a name that most of you will recognize, whether from his top 16 placing at Genesis 3 or his frequent top 8 appearances in tournaments all over Japan. He is best known for his Pit, but has recently been investing a lot of time into Corrin as well. It seems like he prefers to use mostly one or the other at any given event, so there's no way to be sure what you'll see from him this time. Regardless, you can expect him to make it far in bracket, as his one unusually poor performance seems to have been a fluke.
Choco has been receiving less attention now that Marss has arguably claimed the spot as the world's 2nd best ZSS player. But this is unfortunate, because he is still a tremendous threat to virtually any player. Besides Cloud and Diddy, the other characters he's struggled with have been heavily nerfed. His most recent appearance was at the eSR Cup, which he won after a drawn-out set with Songn in Grand Finals. Less well-known to foreigners is his lethal Peach secondary, which he has been using more often in difficult matchups. You may see him fall back on her if ZSS isn't working out.
Not only do
Kamemushi and
Daiki both main the same uncommon character, but they also frequently team together in doubles to devastating (and hilarious) effect. Their incredible synergy proves that their strategy is no gimmick; it even carried them to victory at Umebura's recent team tournament. Kamemushi also uses Cloud seriously in singles, which has proved useful for patching up bad matchups and secured him a positive record vs. Choco. He in particular has been terrorizing the Kanto scene for the past few months, with several impressive top 8 finishes.
Atelier has risen to stardom fairly quickly. In the past few months, he's had good showings at Sumabato events, finishing 4th at #7 and 3rd at #9. On top of this, he also placed 3rd at Karisuma 6. Though he struggles with unusual characters (Wario, D3, and
especially Lucas), he's very well-versed in more common matchups. This shows through his wins against Aki (Sheik/Ryu) and ikep (Bayo). It worth noting that even Japan's best players catch a tough break sometimes, and it appears like Atelier is still learning quickly. He's got a decent chance of adding another top 8 to his expanding resume.
Motsunabe is most known for winning Umebura 20 back in December. After dropping Winners Finals, he managed to defeat both Rain and KEN to claim his first offline victory. He also performed adirmably at the SHIG Tournament, finishing 3rd with wins over Kie, KEN, and Kamemushi. He seems to struggle against Choco's ZSS, and given his choice of main, would probably like to avoid Cloud players as well. But between Lucario's comeback factor and the added flexibility of a Ryu secondary, it's difficult to count Motsunabe out in any player or character matchup.
KEN is Japan's #2 Sonic. Living in Komorikiri's shadow can be difficult, but KEN has proven he can keep up with the pressure by appearing in several recent top 8s. He has a positive record vs. Rain, something which even some overall-stronger players can't boast. His bracket runs are often cut short by Motsunabe or Shu, and he would probably like to avoid a rough character matchup against Choco's ZSS as well. All things considered, he is a consistent threat, and it will be very surprising if he doesn't make it far at Umebura 22.
Shu and
Nyanko are former top-level Sheik mains who have both been bewitched. Though they are certainly talented enough to succeed with a nerfed character, their attitude seems to be "Why bother?" Nyanko has already proven that his Bayo is lethal; he is notably 2-2 in recent sets vs. Abadango. Shu has only recently made the switch, so this will be his Bayo debut. It's also worth noting that both have dabbled with grapplers; Shu also uses Bowser from time-to-time and Nyanko had (and perhaps still has?) a competent DK.
Though the title of "best Peach" is contentious,
Umeki and
Kie inarguably take up 2 of the top 3 spots. Umeki in particular is known internationally for travelling to Genesis and performing the (now-removed) Peach infinite with great precision. It's tough to be consistent as a Peach player, but thanks to these two, the last Umebura and Sumabato events had one each in top 8. Since Kie lives in Kansai, it's not all that often that you see these two in the same place. And considering Choco may
also break out the princess, this event is looking Peachy-keen.
HIKARU is Japan's strongest representative of both DK and Bowser, though he mostly relies on the former. He's coming in off of 5th place finishes at Sumabato and Karisuma. This meant powering through Kie, Sigma, and ikep (the last of whom is an
especially impressive win, given DK's susceptibility to ladder combos). His expansion hasn't shown any signs of slowing yet, but he must ensure that people don't grow wise to his tricks. Several players he's beaten will be looking for revenge at this event.
Songn might just be the best active G&W player full stop. He is startlingly consistent for someone who mains a mid-tier character; in fact, he finished top 8 twice in March alone. There he fought nail-biting sets with Choco and Abadango, though sadly, neither series ultimately went in his favor. His only true kryptonite seems to be the Rosalina matchup, so if he can avoid Atelier in bracket, it would be greatly to his advantage. He has deployed a pocket Sheik in the past, but now seems to rely on her infrequently.
Shuton is a resident of Kyushu, which means we don't get to see him on Japan's main island that often. In fact, this is his first appearance in East Japan! In his home region, he is the #1 tournament threat. In fact, he was previously undefeated at the Shulla-bra series, only recently having his streak broken by Bayonetta. According to his Olimar matchup chart, that matchup is "unwinnable." So perhaps it is good that he is also a competent Corrin user. She is his preferred character in online tournaments, and he is frequently ranked high on Japan's Wi-Fi leaderboard.
Paseriman is a talented and flexible player known mostly for his impressive Pit play. But really, he can play a lot of characters at a high level. Unlike Japan's other angelic archer, he also has a slick Sheik to handle Pit's annoying matchups. Then there's his Fox, Dark Pit, and Cloud as well. The latter two characters brought him to second place at Umebura 21.5, a doubles-only event, with Eim as his partner. He often finishes just outside of top 8 in singles, so with a little extra push, he might make it this time.
Brood could still be Japan's top Dog. A perennial fan favorite at Umebura events, he has several top 8 finishes and impressive player wins. Sadly, things haven't been going as well for him lately. He narrowly missed top 8 at Umebura 21, and then was eliminated fairly early at a Tokyo University tournament. Fortunately, I strongly doubt any of this will discourage a player as doggedly determined as Brood, who has stuck with his main through many rough losses before.
Ri-ma is Kyushu's premier Toon Link player. In the wake of breakout performances by Sigma and Hayato., he's been travelling all over Japan, seemingly in the hope of taking his own game to the same level. It seems to be working out for him, else he wouldn't be pulling out wins vs. players like Kie and 9B. Both he and his character are trending up, so don't be surprised if even more people discover how annoying TL can be.
taranito is an accomplished Ness player with a strong peak performance level. His highest finish in the Umebura series to date is 3rd place, though that was many months ago. He's had some poor performances since then (no thanks to the Rosalina matchup), but he did recently eliminate Motsunabe at a Tokyo University tournament. So it's not exactly like you can claim that he's lost his touch. Also, don't let the name fool you; he did
not direct Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.
Eim is less known than Japan's other top Sheiks, so it would be unfair to leave him off of this list. He has always performed fairly well, but lately he's
really stepped it up. He tore through Paseriman, Tsu-, Shu, and Umeki at Umebura 21, earning 5th place with a challenging bracket. Showing no signs of slowing down, he followed that up with a 2nd place finish in doubles at Umebura 21.5. At his current improvement rate, he poses a significant threat to the established order of top players.
Shimitake is one of Japan's strongest Pikachu mains, and certainly the most mobile. He's willing to travel as far as Kyushu for local tournaments, and he flew to America Genesis 3. Though his past performances have been middling, he shocked everyone by placing 5th at Sumabato 8. There, he defeated Earth, HIKARU, and Kie on his path through winners bracket. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to recreate that breakout success, even losing the ditto to a less-known player. Shimitake is as unpredictable as they come, but with the amount of work he puts in, things can only get better for him.
Shogun can no longer play Solid Snake, but he does have a solid Fox. His win over Komorikiri puts him in a small group of players able to take out the multi-character prodigy. Additionally, he's beaten Tea and Nasubi, both of whom have done very well in his absence. He almost won his first tournament at Kyoto University, but Atelier came back on him after a bracket reset Grand Finals. A win at Umebura (or even just a top 8 finish) would cement his status as a top player in the minds of many.
