Vayseth's Voyage is an article series written by The Big House Wii U Head TO Vayseth straight from Japan. Every week, he will be bringing you articles on various topics regarding the Japanese Smash Community. Bringing Smash Communities around the world closer and closer together with every article!
Previous Articles:
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Top 3 Wii U Tournament Series
Vayseth's Voyage: KARISUMA 6 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: SUMABATO 9 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: Japanese Game Bars
Vayseth's Voyage: KVOxTSB 2016 Review and Results
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Love of Team Tournaments
Vayseth's Voyage: Vayseth Visits Umebura 23
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Lack of Consistency
Vayseth's Voyage: The Struggling Japanese Melee Community
Vayseth's Voyage: Interview with Double A Battery
Vayseth's Voyage: Komorikiri's Resurgence
Your 2016 IROHA Suma Top 4 from left to right: @Earth (1st), @Lickey (2nd), @Komorikiri (3rd), @HIKARU (4th).
The weekend started off incredibly hype as @Komorikiri and @HIKARU - two of the players who are going to EVO this year thanks to Nario and the Naifu Community - took first and second place and put on an incredible show for everyone at Karisuma. Unfortunately, only those who were there could watch it live, as the entire event was unable to be streamed due to some difficulties with the internet. Japan is frustrating sometimes. While Japan has some of the highest average internet speeds in the world, there are few public areas where internet is readily available. Venues able to host Smash tournaments in Japan are hard to get and there are even fewer of them with reliable internet. If you have the opportunity I highly recommend watching the videos from the tournaments when they are uploaded later.
Here is your Top 8 from Karisuma 8 (Translated bracket thanks to @juddy96):
1st Komorikiri (Kansai; Sonic//Cloud)2nd HIKARU (Kansai; Donkey Kong)
3rd Earth (Chubu; Pit//Corrin)
4th Riima (Kansai; Toon Link)
5th Taiheita (Chubu; Lucas)
5th Omochi (Chubu; Sonic//Bowser Jr.//Diddy Kong)
7th NAI (Chubu; Meta Knight//Cloud//Sheik)
7th Hatsuyuki (Chubu; Ludwig//Mewtwo)
@HIKARU (left) and @Komorikiri (right) finish at the top of Karisuma 8 and now set their sights on EVO 2016.
Komorikiri is officially back on top of the Japanese Smash scene. He took down Sumabato last week and has now taken down Karisuma. HIKARU has only continued to improve and show everyone he is a threat to win any tournament he enters. HIKARU solidified his standing by knocking Komorikiri out of winner's in round four, forcing Komorikiri to fight a long, hard battle to get his chance for revenge in grand finals. This was also the first tournament where HIKARU has made it to grand finals on the winner's side, but unfortunately let the win slip between his fingers. They were all amazing matches to watch and I am so excited to see these two perform at EVO.
As always, the extremely talented @Fuwa designed the name cards for Karisuma. This time Toon Link is featured holding an umbrella. It is quite possibly the most relevant name card I have seen yet as Karisuma regularly features two of the strongest Toon Link players in the world (@Riima and @Sigma) and it is currently the rainy season in Japan. I really hope some tournament organizers are trying out this idea at their tournaments. They are really popular and a good way for a local artist to get some exposure. Again, let me know if you start doing it at your tournaments.
I used to live in Shiga Prefecture, so I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to enter a large Smash 4 tournament very close to the high school I attended when I first came to Japan many, many years ago. The tournament was held at the beautiful Ritsumeikan University Lake Biwa Kusatsu Campus (BKC) hosted by an organization called IROHA. The official name of the tournament was "IROHA Smash Tournament for Cambodia" because all of the entry fees were being donated directly to the IROHA Middle School the organization had built in Cambodia in 2010. After feeling extremely excited and nostalgic walking through Ritsumeikan University BKC for the first time in years I finally arrived at the venue and everything changed.
I was handed a letter and a number and a packet detailing the day's events. The tournament format was two waves of round robin pools where only one player from each pool would move on, followed by a single elimination tournament. I discovered that the numbers and letters we received when we walked in were our first wave pool assignments. There were 24 pools of 4 players each in the first wave and they were entirely randomized. I found myself in a pool with no one I recognized, while the pool behind me had @OCEAN and @Kie and the pool behind them had Earth and Riima. With these odds there was a chance I could make it out of pools while either OCEAN or Kie and either Earth or Riima would drown.
That almost happened. I went into my last round robin match undefeated, but I flubbed an edge guard and self-destructed, costing me the match. When the scores were calculated I was tied in number of wins and number of total stocks remaining with a player I defeated earlier. As per the rules we had to rock, paper, scissors to determine the winner of the pool. I lost and that player moved on. I was extremely frustrated.
One of the staff members from IROHA thank all of the players for participating in the tournament.
After getting some lunch and returning to the venue to spectate I was given the opportunity to speak with Hiroki Nakajima, the representative from the IROHA organization. Mr. Nakajima explained in great detail everything the IROHA organization does around the world. IROHA is primarily staffed by college students in the Kansai region and they run all kinds of charity events throughout the year. In addition to doing charity Smash tournaments for seven years, they also do charity soccer tournaments, live concerts, various collaboration events, and parties where college students can enjoy themselves and interact with a diverse group of people.
However, of all the different games to choose from, why Super Smash Brothers? Mr. Nakajima said that they considered Call of Duty or Street Fighter, but they had to choose a game that resonates with the widest variety of people. They have done events with Melee, Brawl, Smash 4, and occasionally events featuring multiple Smash games at once. "Unlike any other game that I know of, the Smash Brothers series appeals to everyone," Mr. Nakajima explained. "You can enjoy the game even if you're just watching it be played. It is the only title that both casual and competitive players alike can enjoy playing together. Our goal with these tournaments is to spread the word about our organization and what we are doing for the children in Cambodia. Smash Brothers is the game that appeals to almost every demographic so there was no better choice for us."
Once he said that, everything that happened that day no longer mattered. The rules did not matter. The results did not matter. The only thing that matters at IROHA Suma is that Smashers get together, play Smash Brothers, and make a difference. I immediately remembered EVO 2013 where we all came together and raised $225,744 for breast cancer research. I immediately remembered Share Stock, an organization made up of tournament organizers in the US, Canada, and UK that supports the Child's Play charity. The Smash Community has shown time and time again that we have the power to make this world a better place, and I have never been more proud to be a part of this community.
Sayonara until next week, and keep up the good work.
Previous Articles:
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Top 3 Wii U Tournament Series
Vayseth's Voyage: KARISUMA 6 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: SUMABATO 9 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: Japanese Game Bars
Vayseth's Voyage: KVOxTSB 2016 Review and Results
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Love of Team Tournaments
Vayseth's Voyage: Vayseth Visits Umebura 23
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Lack of Consistency
Vayseth's Voyage: The Struggling Japanese Melee Community
Vayseth's Voyage: Interview with Double A Battery
Vayseth's Voyage: Komorikiri's Resurgence
Your 2016 IROHA Suma Top 4 from left to right: @Earth (1st), @Lickey (2nd), @Komorikiri (3rd), @HIKARU (4th).
The top players from the Kansai region of Japan were busy with more than constantly checking Twitter to learn about the latest developments from @CEOGaming this past weekend. Unfortunately, none of the big names from western Japan were able to make the journey to APEX or CEO. Instead, we had an incredibly rare double tournament weekend. I traveled with the @Sumabato regulars to @Karisuma's 8th installment on the 25th and back to Kansai for the once-a-year charity tournament called @IROHA Suma in Shiga Prefecture on the 26th. Karisuma has always been an amazing tournament to attend, but IROHA's event is one I will remember for the rest of my life.
Karisuma 8
The weekend started off incredibly hype as @Komorikiri and @HIKARU - two of the players who are going to EVO this year thanks to Nario and the Naifu Community - took first and second place and put on an incredible show for everyone at Karisuma. Unfortunately, only those who were there could watch it live, as the entire event was unable to be streamed due to some difficulties with the internet. Japan is frustrating sometimes. While Japan has some of the highest average internet speeds in the world, there are few public areas where internet is readily available. Venues able to host Smash tournaments in Japan are hard to get and there are even fewer of them with reliable internet. If you have the opportunity I highly recommend watching the videos from the tournaments when they are uploaded later.
Here is your Top 8 from Karisuma 8 (Translated bracket thanks to @juddy96):
1st Komorikiri (Kansai; Sonic//Cloud)
3rd Earth (Chubu; Pit//Corrin)
4th Riima (Kansai; Toon Link)
5th Taiheita (Chubu; Lucas)
5th Omochi (Chubu; Sonic//Bowser Jr.//Diddy Kong)
7th NAI (Chubu; Meta Knight//Cloud//Sheik)
7th Hatsuyuki (Chubu; Ludwig//Mewtwo)
@HIKARU (left) and @Komorikiri (right) finish at the top of Karisuma 8 and now set their sights on EVO 2016.
Komorikiri is officially back on top of the Japanese Smash scene. He took down Sumabato last week and has now taken down Karisuma. HIKARU has only continued to improve and show everyone he is a threat to win any tournament he enters. HIKARU solidified his standing by knocking Komorikiri out of winner's in round four, forcing Komorikiri to fight a long, hard battle to get his chance for revenge in grand finals. This was also the first tournament where HIKARU has made it to grand finals on the winner's side, but unfortunately let the win slip between his fingers. They were all amazing matches to watch and I am so excited to see these two perform at EVO.
As always, the extremely talented @Fuwa designed the name cards for Karisuma. This time Toon Link is featured holding an umbrella. It is quite possibly the most relevant name card I have seen yet as Karisuma regularly features two of the strongest Toon Link players in the world (@Riima and @Sigma) and it is currently the rainy season in Japan. I really hope some tournament organizers are trying out this idea at their tournaments. They are really popular and a good way for a local artist to get some exposure. Again, let me know if you start doing it at your tournaments.
IROHA Suma 7
I used to live in Shiga Prefecture, so I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to enter a large Smash 4 tournament very close to the high school I attended when I first came to Japan many, many years ago. The tournament was held at the beautiful Ritsumeikan University Lake Biwa Kusatsu Campus (BKC) hosted by an organization called IROHA. The official name of the tournament was "IROHA Smash Tournament for Cambodia" because all of the entry fees were being donated directly to the IROHA Middle School the organization had built in Cambodia in 2010. After feeling extremely excited and nostalgic walking through Ritsumeikan University BKC for the first time in years I finally arrived at the venue and everything changed.
I was handed a letter and a number and a packet detailing the day's events. The tournament format was two waves of round robin pools where only one player from each pool would move on, followed by a single elimination tournament. I discovered that the numbers and letters we received when we walked in were our first wave pool assignments. There were 24 pools of 4 players each in the first wave and they were entirely randomized. I found myself in a pool with no one I recognized, while the pool behind me had @OCEAN and @Kie and the pool behind them had Earth and Riima. With these odds there was a chance I could make it out of pools while either OCEAN or Kie and either Earth or Riima would drown.
That almost happened. I went into my last round robin match undefeated, but I flubbed an edge guard and self-destructed, costing me the match. When the scores were calculated I was tied in number of wins and number of total stocks remaining with a player I defeated earlier. As per the rules we had to rock, paper, scissors to determine the winner of the pool. I lost and that player moved on. I was extremely frustrated.
One of the staff members from IROHA thank all of the players for participating in the tournament.
However, of all the different games to choose from, why Super Smash Brothers? Mr. Nakajima said that they considered Call of Duty or Street Fighter, but they had to choose a game that resonates with the widest variety of people. They have done events with Melee, Brawl, Smash 4, and occasionally events featuring multiple Smash games at once. "Unlike any other game that I know of, the Smash Brothers series appeals to everyone," Mr. Nakajima explained. "You can enjoy the game even if you're just watching it be played. It is the only title that both casual and competitive players alike can enjoy playing together. Our goal with these tournaments is to spread the word about our organization and what we are doing for the children in Cambodia. Smash Brothers is the game that appeals to almost every demographic so there was no better choice for us."
Once he said that, everything that happened that day no longer mattered. The rules did not matter. The results did not matter. The only thing that matters at IROHA Suma is that Smashers get together, play Smash Brothers, and make a difference. I immediately remembered EVO 2013 where we all came together and raised $225,744 for breast cancer research. I immediately remembered Share Stock, an organization made up of tournament organizers in the US, Canada, and UK that supports the Child's Play charity. The Smash Community has shown time and time again that we have the power to make this world a better place, and I have never been more proud to be a part of this community.
Sayonara until next week, and keep up the good work.
