2008 Anime Championships.....The Championship Post-Game Show

[Plaid Wolf]

Welcome back to the Saitama Super Arena where tonight, a new champion of anime was crowned….Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, the first unlicensed anime to make it this far, and Sailor Moon, whose license expired some time ago, but still hoping to score a championship…..

The Kaitous started by taking a bit of a lead, then the Senshi fought their way back, took their own lead and the game was on! The first half was a see-saw affair with neither team able to hold any advantage for long…the Senshi relied upon the inside game of Jupiter and Uranus, whereas the Kaitous depended upon the slashing attacks of Miyako for their points as the Senshi were able to put the defensive clamps on Maron. Suddenly trouble for the Kaitous as Chiaki started to get into foul trouble. While he had to sit much of the rest of the half, the Kaitous were able to end the half trailing by three….

The first five minutes of the second half started much the same, but thanks to the hard work of Miyako, the Kaitous were able to keep close….then suddenly, Maron got hot and started to play like everyone knew she could…the Kaitous doubled up the score and suddenly 6-points down became 7 points up! The teams continued to battle back and forth with neither side able to gain a decisive edge until late in the contest. With the Kaitous holding a several-point edge late in the game when to the dismay of the Kaitous, Chiaki picked up his final foul! Forlornly, he had to watch the rest of the game from the bench as the Kaitous suddenly came unglued….the Senshi, behind the scoring of Mars and a quick steal and score by Venus, came roaring back and the Kaitous couldn’t make pressure free throws! Even through all this, they still could have won the game if Maron could have nailed her free throws with seconds left….she missed one but hit the second, leaving the Senshi one last gasp…..hurrying the ball upcourt, Uranus avoided a foul attempt and tossed the ball to Sailor Mercury who threw up a 3-point prayer that was answered! A heave from midcourt by Maron as time expired was not answered, and the game was headed to overtime! The Senshi are running to their bench in excitement as the Kaitous are slowly dragging to their sideline….only seconds from a championship that slipped out from their grasp

Moon, Uranus and Jupiter scored first in the overtime, and the worn-out Kaitous finally had no answers…they were able to close within three once, but had clearly run out of gas…Mercury is dribbling out the remaining seconds, then tosses the ball in the air …

*on air broadcast: “On behalf of the Moon, we have a new champion in Anime…the Sailor Senshi finally claim the championship!!”

The Senshi all gather excitedly, but also share congratulations and condolences with the vanquished Kaitous…who only minutes earlier thought they had the championship in hand only to see it slip away….the Senshi become more excited when it is announced that based upon her clutch shot at the end of regulation, Sailor Mercury was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four! The trophy is presented and we hear Usagi say “I hope Naoko-sama lets us come back to see our American friends soon…it has been too long!”


Well, that wraps up the seventh annual Anime March Madness Tournament, and the sixth year AOD has carried the tourney in its entirety. This year, we have seen many heartwarming stories, and heartbreaks as well…this emotional roller-coaster of highs and lows is described as one of the greatest times in sports, and after this year, we have to agree. This mad March, with 65 animes in 64 games gave us plenty of drama, and we can only hope the 2009 Championships are just as exciting. For many of the animes, just being part of the Big Dance was their One Shining Moment, for others, they had higher expectations. While there could be only one winner, there were no losers…many animes popped up out of relative obscurity for their moment on center stage...and for some of them, they won’t be forgotten anytime soon….teams like Gatchaman, Mermaid Melody, Weiss Kreuz and Fullmetal Alchemist who captured our imaginations with their upsets, near-upsets and desire to show they could play with the big boys. But, it was fitting that all four Number Ones made it to Saitama Super Arena, and in the end, it was Sailor Moon, who put together the kind of performance in the clutch that was needed in winning their first championship. Applause as well to Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, who overcame a second half deficit, and while they were unable to win, accomplished a fantastic year to finally get here.…no doubt, they showed the heart of a champion to get this far…

As we close out our broadcast, we would like to thank everyone for watching…

Thanks as always to Ape2020, our off-color commentator…….we hope you continue to tune into AOD Sports for the Anime Draft 08 which is ongoing elsewhere on this fine Forum…..

So, until next year when, for the seventh year, AOD Sports will bring you the 2009 Anime Championships…we want to say: Good night, and see you next year!


*fade out as we watch the Senshi, still celebrating as the Inners are holding the trophy high for all to see.......*