Wednesday 9 April 2014

Results of the unofficial international Sengoku Basara fan survey (part 1)

The results are now in! After three weeks the unofficial international Sengoku Basara fan survey managed to gather 302 unique responses, mainly due to the kindness of fans spreading the word on their local discussion forums. While this is a very small sample set compared to the Japanese polls, the responses were all very detailed and full of enthusiasm. Thank you, everyone!

The survey is now closed and I've spent the last few evenings tidying up the results to find out a little more about the international Sengoku Basara community. I've changed all of the spelling to match my preferred romanisation system, but please be assured that every vote was counted irrespective of spelling or language.

Every wonderful comment was read carefully. One person asked whether I could title this post with Masamune's rowdy catchphrase; I'd rather keep the post title consistent to make it easier to find, so I'll compromise like this.

Are you ready, guys?!

The following post is long. I also have a confession - I'm still sorting out the list of favourite scenes from the series, so that will have to follow in a future post.

I'll start with the question people are probably most worried about.

Favourite Sengoku Basara character

This question was completely open; participants could choose absolutely anyone they liked. I'm going to look at the data in a few different ways, but first of all, here's the traditional ranking of every voter's first choice. In other words, if this had been an official poll, this is how the results would look.

RankNameVotes
1stDate Masamune48
2ndIshida Mitsunari45
3rdSanada Yukimura24
4thKatakura Kojuurou15
5thChousokabe Motochika14
5thMaeda Keiji14
7thMouri Motonari12
7thTakenaka Hanbee12
7thTokugawa Ieyasu12
10thMatsunaga Hisahide9
11thFuuma Kotarou7
11thSarutobi Sasuke7
13thAzai Nagamasa6
13thOichi6
13thOotani Yoshitsugu6
16thAkechi Mitsuhide (Tenkai)5
16thKasuga5
16thUesugi Kenshin5
19thGotou Matabee4
19thOda Nobunaga4
19thSaika Magoichi4
19thToyotomi Hideyoshi4
23rdImagawa Yoshimoto3
23rdKuroda Kanbee3
23rdMatsu3
23rdOotomo Sourin3
23rdTsuruhime3
28thNouhime2
28thShibata Katsuie2
28thShimazu Yoshihiro2
28thXavi2
32ndHoujou Ujimasa1
32ndIi Naotora1
32ndItsuki1
32ndKobayakawa Hideaki1
32ndMaeda Toshiie1
32ndMogami Yoshiaki1
32ndMori Ranmaru1
32ndShima Sakon1
32ndTachibana Muneshige1
32ndTakeda Shingen1
32ndUtsunomiya Hirotsuna1

Miscellaneous statistics:
  • The playable characters who weren't voted as a favourite were Honda Tadakatsu (3), Honganji Kennyo (34), Miyamoto Musashi (4) and Yamanaka Shikanosuke (2). The number in parentheses is each character's highest position when the rest of the votes were tallied.
  • The unplayable characters who failed to make the cut included Ashikaga Yoshiteru (2), Kyougoku Maria (3), Nanbu Harumasa (4) and Naoe Kanetsugu (41). Amago Haruhisa, Anegakouji Yoritsuna and Satake Yoshishige received no individual votes at all.
  • The most individual votes anyone submitted was 41. Consequently the average number of favourite characters listed was 7 (however, the median was 4).
  • 29 people didn't list a second favourite at all.
  • Shima Sakon had the biggest jump in rank once the second place votes were compared, going from 32nd place above to 9th in the list of everyone's second choices.
Notes on the methodology used:
  • I counted Akechi Mitsuhide and Tenkai together as though they are one person; nobody picked 'Tenkai' as their favourite character. 10 of the people who included him in their lists of other favourite characters called him Tenkai, but it wouldn't have made sense to separate them and push him farther down the ranking - especially as 2 people specifically noted that they wanted their votes to go towards Mitsuhide rather than Tenkai. It was easiest to combine them.
  • One person mentioned Takechiyo (young Ieyasu). I've included this in Ieyasu's vote count.
  • One person specifically mentioned that they preferred the Sengoku Basara 2 version of Oichi with her naginata. I've included this in Oichi's vote count.
  • One person voted for Sunday Mouri but with instructions to use a different ranking if I combined him with Mouri Motonari, so I did.
  • One person picked Motonari instead of Mitsunari as their first choice, but noted that they were actually joint first. It doesn't affect the results, fortunately.
  • Another said they liked the core of the Toyotomi army equally and so the order of their votes didn't matter. The second ranking is for you!
  • 24 people commented they liked all of the characters in the series. I guess this means quite a few of us love the entire cast...
The second question on the survey asked people to name their other favourite Sengoku Basara characters, in order. If we assume people only listed characters they love - and that all of that love is equal - here's how the unweighted ranking would look.

RankNameVotes
1stIshida Mitsunari153
2ndDate Masamune148
3rdSanada Yukimura109
4thKatakura Kojuurou104
5thChousokabe Motochika101
6thSarutobi Sasuke95
7thTokugawa Ieyasu84
8thOichi76
9thMaeda Keiji72
10thMouri Motonari68
10thSaika Magoichi68
12thTakenaka Hanbee63
13thKasuga56
14thMatsunaga Hisahide48
14thShima Sakon48
16thAzai Nagamasa45
16thUesugi Kenshin45
16thKuroda Kanbee45
19thShibata Katsuie44
20thFuuma Kotarou42
21stOda Nobunaga39
21stNouhime39
23rdOotani Yoshitsugu37
23rdAkechi Mitsuhide (Tenkai)37
25thMatsu36
26thTsuruhime34
27thToyotomi Hideyoshi30
27thTachibana Muneshige30
29thIi Naotora29
29thTakeda Shingen29
31stGotou Matabee26
32ndItsuki21
33rdMaeda Toshiie20
34thOotomo Sourin19
35thMori Ranmaru18
36thShimazu Yoshihiro15
37thHoujou Ujimasa14
37thMogami Yoshiaki14
39thKobayakawa Hideaki13
39thAshikaga Yoshiteru13
41stHonda Tadakatsu12
41stKyougoku Maria12
43rdXavi10
43rdYamanaka Shikanosuke10
45thImagawa Yoshimoto6
45thMiyamoto Musashi6
47thUtsunomiya Hirotsuna2
47thHonganji Kennyo2
47thYumekichi2
50thNanbu Harumasa1
50thNaoe Kanetsugu1
50thNene1

However, giving every character the same number of points irrespective of their ranking isn't really fair considering that I asked people to rank their lists, so let's try it with a points system. Given the voting patterns I decided to try 5 points for ranking first in someone's list, 3 points for second, 2 for third and 1 point for any other position.

RankNamePoints
1stIshida Mitsunari426
2ndDate Masamune420
3rdSanada Yukimura267
4thKatakura Kojuurou219
5thChousokabe Motochika194
6thSarutobi Sasuke161
7thTokugawa Ieyasu153
8thMaeda Keiji148
9thMouri Motonari146
10thTakenaka Hanbee136
11thOichi131
12thSaika Magoichi107
13thKasuga95
13thMatsunaga Hisahide95
15thUesugi Kenshin89
16thAzai Nagamasa85
17thFuuma Kotarou81
18thShima Sakon77
19thAkechi Mitsuhide (Tenkai)75
20thKuroda Kanbee74
20thOotani Yoshitsugu74
22ndOda Nobunaga66
23rdShibata Katsuie63
24thNouhime60
25thMatsu56
26thTsuruhime54
26thGotou Matabee54
28thToyotomi Hideyoshi53
29thTachibana Muneshige41
29thIi Naotora41
31stTakeda Shingen39
32ndItsuki36
32ndOotomo Sourin36
34thMaeda Toshiie28
35thMori Ranmaru23
35thShimazu Yoshihiro23
35thAshikaga Yoshiteru23
38thMogami Yoshiaki22
39thXavi21
40thKobayakawa Hideaki19
41stHoujou Ujimasa18
41stImagawa Yoshimoto18
43rdHonda Tadakatsu13
43rdKyougoku Maria13
43rdYamanaka Shikanosuke13
46thMiyamoto Musashi6
46thUtsunomiya Hirotsuna6
48thHonganji Kennyo2
48thYumekichi2
50thNanbu Harumasa1
50thNaoe Kanetsugu1
50thNene1

Although I'm partial to Masamune, I think that this way is fairer. Not everyone will agree.

--

The survey didn't ask people to provide reasons for their choice, but some people wrote detailed explanations anyway. Here's a selection to show the variety.

"I like Tsuruhime because she's a lot of fun and she was really cool in the new game! I like that she's turning into a stronger character. Her Basara is beautiful and I like her element. I like too many other characters to talk about them all."

"KASUGA IS THE BEST, THAT'S ALL"

"Kojuurou is the most ideal man that ever semi-historically lived!"

"Masamune was the first character who got my interest and I've loved him ever since. He's fun to play as and just is a cool character in general! :)"

"Hopefully Musashi gets the Ieyasu treatment and matures with a viable moveset."

"I'm sorry I'm so sorry I cannot explain why I like Yoshimoto so much I am garbage."

"When Ranmaru gets reintroduced to the games, I'm killing Tsuruhime non-stop for replacing the best archer ever created in a beat 'em up."

"Keiji's my favourite since he manages to be so upbeat and yet so deep at the same time. He has a positive outlook on life and is always willing to see the best in people, but he has a desire to become strong like Hideyoshi does - only he wants to grow strong while protecting everything and sacrificing nothing. You just can't hate him!"

"Mitsuhide/Tenkai is my favourite old character because of his design (I particularly like his fabulous Tenkai clothes), weapons, gameplay, supernaturalness, voice actor. He's terrible but I can't take him seriously (a good thing)."

"Naotora is hilarious in traditional Takeda style with a fresh twist on the concept that made her surpass even golden age Yukimura. Motonari is an eternal asshole, and I love his predictable betrayals every time. Finally, Shikanosuke is just a really great comedic character, encapsulating the best parts of Xavist humor and just general oddball antics between the two of his routes."

"Date Masamune: The epitome of "Stylish Hero Action." Engrish, flashy six-swords style, cool and battle-crazy, what more could you want?

Chousokabe Motochika: Anchor-tossing (Gekirei) is devastating and surfing on an anchor (Dokyu) is just tops! His stages always have that unique feel to it (maybe it's all the karakuri bosses - I really liked the Ni-Oh statues).

Miyamoto Musashi: The legendary master of two-swords style deserves a spot in a game relating to the Sengoku era. Kid needs to grow up though - rock-tossing and flailing around doesn't do Nitenichi-ryu justice (although his damage output is ridiculous).

Azai Nagamasa: The glorious tokusatsu-style that he utilizes is too good! The super-powered versions of his attack with background writing was the best gimmick to give a character of his style! Absolute Justice ftw!

Ashikaga Yoshiteru: The Emperor needs to be playable! I really hated the fact that Capcom showed him in the debut trailer for SB4 and dangled the words "teki bushou" next to his name. Ashikaga really does have a regal presence in the game (I especially love the mix of traditional samurai o-yoroi and European regal flair in his design), and when he's not a complete bastard like the two characters below in this list (he's kind of likeable, when I'm not fighting him). I personally liked Ashikaga more than the new poster boys Sakon and Katsuie. As such, I expect the Emperor to be the main character for the next instalment!

Matsunaga Hisahide: The perfect villain, he's just one magnificent bastard that steals the show in my opinion! Just loved how his entire story in SB3 Utage was just killing off all the poster boys (Nobunaga included since he's the poster boy for Devil Kings). His explosion-styled moveset is absolutely killer, and I especially love defeating a character with his murder-choke Super Art 1 (Chiritsugomori).

Oda Nobunaga: The Demon King is just too good, although I would love to see the return of his cape Basara-waza from past games - the demon summon explosion isn't glorious or crazy enough. Regardless, his seiyuu Wakamoto Norio is enough to place him in my favorites.""

"Kuroda Kanbee: One of my favorites strictly for his personality and his move set. I hate to sound like a fangirl, but Kanbee is adorable. Gotou Matabee: Like Kanbee, I love his attitude, his story and his move set. I thought it was refreshing to bring in a new psychopath whose attacks matched his shattered psyche."

"Next favourite is Nagamasa, because his moveset is so...uh...flashy and Sentai. Very much Sentai! What I don't like about him is how he gets shot in every game (or anime) he is in! Whyyy?! (Well, it's not really his fault, so...)"

Favourite Sengoku Basara 4 newcomer

A simple question for which everyone had to pick just one answer.

RankNameVotes
1stShima Sakon90
2ndGotou Matabee53
3rdShibata Katsuie45
4thIi Naotora40
5thAshikaga Yoshiteru35
6thKyougoku Maria18
7thYamanaka Shikanosuke11
8thI don't like any of the Sengoku Basara 4 newcomers10

Matabee actually placed much higher than Sakon in the ranking of favourites, but as soon as the older characters were removed from the running Sakon gained a lot of ground. In addition, Yoshiteru seems to have fared relatively poorly with international fans when compared to the recent Weekly Famitsu voting. Perhaps his popularity will increase once he's made playable in a future game?

Which former NPC(s) should be developed into a full playable character one day?

This question allowed voters to pick as many answers as they wanted.

RankNameVotes
1stAmago Haruhisa109
2ndNaoe Kanetsugu97
3rdNone, I want them to stay unplayable70
4thUtsunomiya Hirotsuna64
5thNanbu Harumasa52
6thAnegakouji Yoritsuna28
7thSatake Yoshishige19

Amago Haruhisa dominated this list despite doing so badly in the overall ranking at the start. One person explained that they picked 'None' because they felt the characters aren't that interesting as they are. If they were made playable and given proper stories, their feelings might change. Several people said they wanted all of the NPCs to become full characters one day, whereas others chose their favourites but noted that they didn't have very strong opinions either way.

I also included the option to suggest additional NPCs in case I'd missed anyone important. Three people chose the Miyoshi Sanninshuu (Miyoshi Death Squad) while Oyassan (Shikanosuke's deer) and the Gohonyari each received single nominations.

Which older playable characters should return to the roster next?

In the instructions, I suggested that people only vote for the characters they most wanted to return so that we could see the gaps in popularity most clearly.

RankCharacterVotes
1stKasuga172
2ndUesugi Kenshin152
3rdNouhime143
4thMatsu129
5thTakeda Shingen114
6thMaeda Toshiie102
7thMori Ranmaru92
8thItsuki90
9thMiyamoto Musashi67
10thHoujou Ujimasa63
11thXavi (Zabii)60
12thImagawa Yoshimoto21
13thHonganji Kennyo17
I picked my favourites but I really want everyone to return101
I want them to spend their time making new characters, not bringing back old ones19

Since so many people said they wanted everyone to return, here's how the results would have looked if they'd voted for every character instead of their very favourites.

RankCharacterVotes
1stKasuga210
2ndUesugi Kenshin195
3rdNouhime188
4thMatsu183
5thTakeda Shingen178
6thMaeda Toshiie169
7thItsuki153
8thMori Ranmaru152
9thMiyamoto Musashi142
10thHoujou Ujimasa134
11thXavi (Zabii)133
12thImagawa Yoshimoto115
13thHonganji Kennyo109

The order is almost exactly the same, but the gaps between each character have started to shrink. It's clear that most of the missing characters would be welcomed back if they returned to the roster.
  • 29 people voted for all of the female characters in the list. Six of them only voted for the females and didn't want the other characters to come back.
  • Four fans couldn't hold back and voted for every single character in the list, even though there was an option to select their favourites too.
  • Over 80% of Takeda Shingen fans also wanted Kenshin back, but just 64% of Kasuga fans want Kenshin too.
  • The most loyal were the fans of the Maeda couple: 92% of Toshiie's supporters want Matsu back at his side.
There weren't many additional comments on this question, though I certainly see where these two fans are coming from:

"If they were playable in the last game and there are no major changes to the game engine they should be playable in the next game."

"I think they should bring some of the old Sengoku Basara characters back and make new ones at the same time."

It's heartening to see that so many people want everyone back. Hopefully Capcom can keep everyone happy and keep moving forwards without forgetting the old favourites people want to see again.

Which historical figure(s) would you most like to see appearing in the series in future?

I asked people to nominate some newcomers, whether or not they had appeared as NPC bodyguards in the past. Some people skipped the question - it's a tough one to answer if you don't know many Sengoku-era heroes - while others unleashed their imagination with detailed lists (including some guests from foreign countries and different periods in history). A few underdeveloped existing characters and a certain pop star snuck in as well.

I'll treat every single nomination equally since so much thought went into the responses. Where someone nominated a group (e.g. the Sanada Ten Braves) I've counted the vote for the group as a whole and also for the individual members who received nominations from other people.

NameVotes
Hattori Hanzou59
Tachibana Ginchiyo51
Sanada Nobuyuki31
Date Shigezane19
Sasaki Kojirou19
Inahime (Komatsuhime)16
Saitou Dousan16
Hosokawa Garasha (Gracia)13
Ii Naomasa12
Megohime10
Ayahime (Aya-Gozen)9
Katou Kiyomasa9
Toudou Takatora8
Yoshihime8
Kaihime7
Kirigakure Saizou7
Nene (as a full character)7
Uesugi Kagekatsu7
Ishikawa Goemon6
Izumo No Okuni6
Akihime5
Fukushima Masanori5
Yagyuu Munenori5
Chacha (Yodo)4
Luís Fróis4
Miyamoto Musashi (as a full character)4
Sanada Masayuki4
Ukita Hideie4
Yagyuu Juubee4
Asakura Yoshikage3
Date Terumune3
Honda Masanobu3
Miyoshi Nagayoshi (Choukei)3
Nanahime (Nana)3
Oniniwa Tsunamoto3
Saigou No Tsubone (Lady Saigo)3
Yagyuu Munetoshi3
Yamamoto Kansuke3
Ankokuji Ekei2
Ashikaga Yoshiaki2
Chousokabe Nobuchika2
Hosokawa Tadaoki2
Iisaka No Tsubone (Neko-Gozen)2
Ishida Masazumi2
Kakei Juuzou2
Katou Danzou2
Keiginni (Ryuuzouji faction)2
Kuroda Nagamasa2
Mochizuki Chiyome2
Nyoshunni (Honganji faction)2
Ryuuzouji Takanobu2
Saika Magoichi II (the previous leader)2
Shimazu Toyohisa2
Shimazu Yoshihisa2
Takeda Katsuyori2
The Sanada Ten Braves2
Toyotomi Hidetsugu2
Toyotomi Hideyori2
A member of the Oouchi clan1
A member of the Oyama clan1
Akechi Hidemitsu1
Alessandro Valignano1
Amago Tsunehisa1
Amakusa Shirou1
Azai Hisamasa1
Baba Nobufusa1
Ban Danemon1
Furuta Shigenari1
Gamou Ujisato1
Gou (Oeyo)1
Gouhime (Maeda faction)1
Hino Tomiko1
Honjou Shigenaga1
Hosokawa Fujitaka1
Houjou Ujiyasu1
Irohahime1
Isono Kazumasa1
Kakizaki Kageie1
Kasuga No Tsubone1
Keijuin (Ashikaga faction)1
King Ferdinand II of Aragon1
Kyougoku Tatsuko1
Minamoto No Yoshitsune1
Miyoshi Sanninshuu (as full characters)1
Mori Nagayoshi1
Nishikawa Takanori (T.M. Revolution)1
Nishio Nizaemon1
Niwa Nagahide1
Oda Hidenobu1
Oda Nobutada1
Ohatsu1
Queen Elizabeth I1
Queen Isabella I of Castile1
Saika Magoichi I (the original leader)1
Saitou Toshimitsu1
Sakai Tadatsugu1
Sassa Narimasa1
Satake Yoshishige (as a full character)1
Sen No Rikyuu1
Shimazu Iehisa1
Shimozuma Rairen1
Shimozuma Rairyuu1
Takenaka Shigekado1
Takuan Souhou1
The Shinsengumi1
Tokugawa Hidetada1
Torii Mototada1
Uesugi Kagetora1
Utsunomiya Hirotsuna (as a full character)1
Wokou pirates1
Yamagata Masakage1
Yasuke1
Yuuki Hideyasu1

Some people added reasons for their choices!

"Toyotomi Hidetsugu. Though Toyotomi is already the biggest crew, I just want to see him. The interaction between him and his uncle/Kingo/Mitsunari should be very fun."

"Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Hilarity ensues in Xavi's flashbacks. Isabella would be a 15th century Lady Gaga..."

"Ryuuzouji Takanobu, but only as a bear. A clan-leading bear."

"Since Miyamoto Musashi has been in a game, I think Sasaki Kojirou, his greatest rival, should get a playable spot as well. The fact that no one is even sure if he really existed can make for some interesting plot points."

"Saitou Toshimitsu. Psychotic retainer, maybe even more psycho than Mitsuhide?"

"Hattori Hanzou. Cyber ninja."

"Oda Nobutada. Demon Prince."

"Shimozuma Rairyuu could have lots of tea skills."

"I would really like to see Akihime or Megohime (the wives of Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune respectively) as characters although none of them fought historically (but neither did Nouhime, did she?) Otherwise I think Tachibana Ginchiyo might be a great character considering she had a title! And perhaps even Nene."

"Hattori Hanzou: Ieyasu and his 'power of bonds' need some new friends...Plus, a new ninja character is definitely welcome. To differentiate from Koei's version, he probably wouldn't use a kusari-gama as a weapon, although a chained weapon could work since there's barely any in this series.

Yagyuu Munenori: Another Tokugawa add. However, with two characters already using Iai-style movesets and other sword-styles pretty much occupied by existing characters, this may be an impossibility. Maybe Munenori could have some interaction with Musashi if he gets added in again...

Akechi Hidemitsu: I liked Samanosuke from Onimusha, but if he ever gets chosen as a playable character in Basara, I'd expect him to be completely different. In past Honnoji stages, it would be Mitsuhide vs Nobunaga, Nohime, and Ranmaru, which seems a bit one-sided. Mitsuhide needs a buddy, and Kobayakawa doesn't count (he's with Tenkai...). Hidemitsu should be somebody that's not a complete psycho like his uncle, but a dark background would work. Hopefully not as dull as Katsuie though.

Toudou Takatora: The man with seven masters. This in itself should provide a nice background story for him. I would see him like a mercenary-like character, kind of like Kotaro's role in SB2 Heroes. He's known for castle design, so maybe his weapons could be a selection of building tools? Or even a power tool? (we already have dual chainsaws)."

"Tachibana Ginchiyo. It would be fun to see the interaction between Muneshige and Ginchiyo."

"Hattori Hanzou and Tachibana Ginchiyo. It would be great if Ieyasu had someone who was probably the most dangerous ninja in that period as one of the men at his command. As for Ginchiyo, we need to see the woman who Muneshige is so scared of!"

There were also some more general suggestions which I'll list separately:
  • Several people wanted to see the cast's children take the stage, whether alongside the regulars or in a future setting.
  • One person wanted to see 'older, weirder' females to match the old, weird male characters.
  • Another suggested a proper female Xavist, lamenting that Maria was a missed opportunity.
  • A few of you want to see more famous historical figures in the Tokugawa forces - it was suggested four times on its own. Some of the popular nominations would certainly satisfy this request.
  • Other voters just wanted to see all of the smaller factions getting more love, with additional warriors joining the more neglected armies.
  • Three people said they didn't want any more characters adding to the series. It's true that there are still some old favourites who are sorely missed...
While their portrayals in other series certainly seemed to affect the popularity of some individual historical figures, a lot of people thought about how they'd relate to the existing cast and story and looked at more obscure warriors for inspiration. I was impressed by the number of suggestions!

Favourite move in the series

This section took a while to sort out since I had to figure out some of the moves from amusing descriptions, but I think I managed to identify them all successfully! I don't know all of the official English move names, so I've done my best based on the information people wrote.

NameEnglish name or descriptionCharacterVotes
WAR DANCESix ClawsDate Masamune18
ZanshuDecapitationIshida Mitsunari14
JUMPING JACK BREAKER(Anime-only special move)Date Masamune8
KyoukouReverenceIshida Mitsunari8
Mugetsu GokusatsuMoonless Slaughter modeKatakura Kojuurou8
GurenkyakuBlaze KickSanada Yukimura7
HELL DRAGONDragon's EyeDate Masamune7
ZankaiRegretIshida Mitsunari7
DokyuuSurfs UpChousokabe Motochika6
PHANTOM DIVE(Hold square attack)Date Masamune5
UkkutsuDepressionIshida Mitsunari5
Kudakehi No YumePainful DreamOichi4
Sekuna HokoboshiComet RacesOotani Yoshitsugu4
Anagura OtoshiCriminal SmasherKuroda Kanbee3
Rekka/DairekkaFlare StormSanada Yukimura3
Taishin BanjakuHard HeadTokugawa Ieyasu3
TESTAMENTZero PointDate Masamune3
ZanmetsuExecutionIshida Mitsunari3
Chousouzetsu Fukkatsu Fushichou Nari(His second R2 skill)Mogami Yoshiaki2
DEATH FANGDragon SlashDate Masamune2
GekireiClap Of ThunderChousokabe Motochika2
Gora(Hold square attack)Chousokabe Motochika2
Jigenryuu: DanganLightning SwordShimazu Yoshihiro2
Kaguya(His third R2 skill)Katakura Kojuurou2
Kizuna IchiganAllegianceTokugawa Ieyasu2
Koga GentenFang FistTokugawa Ieyasu2
Koi No KakehikiDiplomacy Of LoveMaeda Keiji2
MAGNUM STEPRevolver BlitzDate Masamune2
Mitsugi: Murehotaru(Her R2 skill)Kasuga2
Narukami(His first R2 skill)Katakura Kojuurou2
Shinsoku(His R2 skill)Uesugi Kenshin2
Suikakusuru RokumaSlumbering DemonOda Nobunaga2
Tenchi Sousou(His L1 + triangle skill)Toyotomi Hideyoshi2
Aoi No KiwamiTokugawa MightTokugawa Ieyasu1
Arashi(His L1 + triangle skill)Shima Sakon1
Chimi Naraku(His third R2 skill)Toyotomi Hideyoshi1
Chiritsugomori(His first R2 skill)Matsunaga Hisahide1
Chou/Han(His R1 skill)Shima Sakon1
Douse Kono Yo Ha Ittenchiroku(His third R2 skill)Shima Sakon1
Enbu Gouraku(Hold square attack)Toyotomi Hideyoshi1
Gouka(His triangle skill)Matsunaga Hisahide1
GoukokuLamentationIshida Mitsunari1
Guru Guru Kingo(His R1 skill)Kobayakawa Hideaki1
Haja Shouten(A pre-Sengoku Basara 4 move)Toyotomi Hideyoshi1
Hametsu No ShoudoScorched EarthOda Nobunaga1
HibashiriFlint SprintSanada Yukimura1
Hibikemu No UtaLifeless SongOichi1
Ifuu Banjou(His R1 skill)Toyotomi Hideyoshi1
Ii-ryuu Konshin: Kuchinashi(Her third R2 skill)Ii Naotora1
Ikare, Goroumaru!(Her R2 skill)Matsu1
JET-XX-StrikeDate Masamune1
Jigenryuu: Raijin(A pre-Sengoku Basara 4 move)Shimazu Yoshihiro1
Kaenguruma(A pre-Sengoku Basara 4 move)Sanada Yukimura1
Kagemoguri No Jutsu(His triangle skill)Sarutobi Sasuke1
Kageoi No Jutsu(His direction + triangle skill)Sarutobi Sasuke1
Kinjite: BakuTrapMouri Motonari1
KoenTiger CannonSanada Yukimura1
Yumegokochi(His first R2 skill; the old version)Maeda Keiji1
Konshin Ichigeki(Hold square attack)Tokugawa Ieyasu1
Mitsugi: Byakuya(Her hold square)Kasuga1
Mitsugi: Mikagami(Her L1 + triangle skill)Kasuga1
Mitsugi: Yamikeshi(Her R1 skill)Kasuga1
Mugon: Sokusatsu(His first R2 skill)Azai Nagamasa1
Muryoku No Soutai(His R1 skill)Shibata Katsuie1
Nanairo Harebutai(Dancing at the enemy with the fan)Imagawa Yoshimoto1
Nekketsu DaifunkaFired UpSanada Yukimura1
Nozokene No UmiOcean WispsOichi1
Odore Shikabane No UdeDancing DeadOichi1
Oo, Todoke Kono Yorokobi(His second R2 skill)Ootomo Sourin1
Orochi No Kou(Her gatling gun move)Nouhime1
Rendan SankouchouMachine GunSaika Magoichi1
Saa, Saitan No Toki(His triangle skill)Ootomo Sourin1
Seigi: Sanshou(His third R2 skill)Azai Nagamasa1
SenShurikenFuuma Kotarou1
Shiden(His bouncing arrow attack)Mori Ranmaru1
Shouheki Shinku(His cape attack)Oda Nobunaga1
TendouzukiProvidence PunchTokugawa Ieyasu1
TobiRigging SwingingChousokabe Motochika1
TsuiIzunaFuuma Kotarou1
Tsui No Te: ShouRayMouri Motonari1
Tsukameko No TsukiHollow MoonOichi1
Utsusemi No Jutsu(His second R2 skill)Sarutobi Sasuke1
Wazawai TenjiteRolling AttackKuroda Kanbee1
Yaku Ha MichizureBad BombKuroda Kanbee1
Zannen Munen Koukaisaki Ni Tatsu No Kei(His first R2 skill)Gotou Matabee1
Zetsubou No Chouten(His second R2 skill)Shibata Katsuie1

Some people tried to be cheeky and suggested more than one move. I only counted the first, but here are some bonus tidbits:
  • Two people voted for the game's taunts, rather than moves in the traditional sense. Another fan specifically voted for Kojuurou's taunt during Mugetsu Gokusatsu mode.
  • Three people couldn't decide, and wanted to vote for Mitsunari's entire moveset.
  • Matabee, Muneshige and Magoichi also received votes for their entire movesets. Mitsuhide had one for any move involving hitting people with scythes.
  • Two people voted for the new Giga Basara attacks.
  • Tsuruhime, Yukimura, Nobunaga and Mitsunari each received individual votes for their Basara techniques.
  • I excluded them on a technicality (and to reduce the size of the list), but Kenshin's Shin-Iki/God Region, Kotarou's double-jump and Mitsunari's Setsuna mechanics also received individual votes.
  • All of the moves which ranked in the last poll in Sengoku Basara Magazine were nominated here as well.
  • Less than half of the voters chose a move which belonged to their favourite character.
As a bonus, here's a summary of which characters' moves were most popular when they were all combined.

RankCharacterVotes
1stDate Masamune46
2ndIshida Mitsunari38
3rdSanada Yukimura14
4thKatakura Kojuurou12
5thChousokabe Motochika11
6thTokugawa Ieyasu10
7thOichi8
8thToyotomi Hideyoshi6
9thKasuga5
9thKuroda Kanbee5
11thOda Nobunaga4
11thOotani Yoshitsugu4
13thMaeda Keiji3
13thSarutobi Sasuke3
13thShima Sakon3
13thShimazu Yoshihiro3
17thAzai Nagamasa2
17thFuuma Kotarou2
17thMatsunaga Hisahide2
17thMogami Yoshiaki2
17thMouri Motonari2
17thOotomo Sourin2
17thShibata Katsuie2
17thUesugi Kenshin2
25thGotou Matabee1
25thIi Naotora1
25thImagawa Yoshimoto1
25thKobayakawa Hideaki1
25thMatsu1
25thMori Ranmaru1
25thNouhime1
25thSaika Magoichi1

I was certain that Mitsunari would triumph from the number of times I saw his moves coming up when I was tidying the list...

Favourite song in the series

A difficult question for a series with so many fantastic theme songs and BGM tracks.

RankSongVotes
1stNaked arms18
1stUTAGE18
3rdJAP11
4thNemure Hi No Hana (Sleep, Scarlet Flower)10
4thShibata Katsuie's theme10
6thTokugawa Ieyasu's theme8
7thBLAZE ~Crimson Lotus~6
7thDate Masamune's theme6
7thFLAGS6
10thAzai Nagamasa's theme5
10thIshida Mitsunari's theme5
10thKizuna (Bonds)5
13thGotou Matabee's theme4
13thMatsunaga Hisahide's theme4
13thNaked arms -English ver.-4
13thSWORD SUMMIT4
13thTakenaka Hanbee's theme4
13thThe party must go on4
13thTsuruhime's theme4
20thBattle of Sekigahara: Intrusion3
20thBLAZE [ZERO-TWO Ver.]3
20thCount ZERO3
20thGyakkou3
20thOosaka: Fuyu No Jin (Winter Campaign Of Osaka)3
20thOosaka: Natsu No Jin (Summer Campaign Of Osaka)3
20thRunners high3
20thShima Sakon's theme3
20thTenka Touitsu (Unification Of The Land)3
29thAshikaga Yoshiteru's theme2
29thBrave2
29thChoubi No Yuu (The Last Hero)2
29thcrosswise2
29thder Traum deines Lebens2
29thFuuma Kotarou's theme2
29thIi Naotora's theme2
29thKakitsubata No Yukigesshou (Snow Blanketing The Rabbitear Iris)2
29thKanegasaki Suimusen (Kanegasaki Dream Battle)2
29thKasuga's theme2
29thKyougoku Maria's theme2
29thSarutobi Sasuke's theme2
29thTen Yori Furu Ma (Oichi's theme)2
29thTentei2
29thThe Abyss2
29thUesugi Kenshin's theme2
45thBattle of Itsukushima1
45thBattle of Sekigahara: Eastern Sun1
45thBLADE CHORD1
45thBreak & Peace1
45thChousokabe Motochika's theme1
45thDairokuten Maou1
45thDairokuten Maou Fukkatsu (The Sixth Demon King Revives)1
45thDead Heat1
45thDIVE into YOURSELF1
45thGekishin (Megathrust)1
45thHeaven's Door1
45thHoujou Ujimasa's theme1
45thImagawa Yoshimoto's theme1
45thKaga: Maeda Kabuki-Matsuri - Dance1
45thKaga: Maeda Kabuki-Matsuri - War1
45thKobayakawa Hideaki's theme1
45thKochou No Yume1
45thKoutekishu (Worthy Opponent)1
45thKyou No Miyako, Makaritooru ('The Way Out')1
45thMaeda Keiji's theme1
45thMaoh <Final Ver.>1
45thMigime No Chikai (Oath Of The Right Eye)1
45thMigime No Ketsui (Determination Of The Right Eye)1
45thMirai Wo Toshite (Bet The Future)1
45thOotani Yoshitsugu's theme1
45thOushuu Souryuusen (Dragon Race At Oushuu)1
45thOuttake II-041
45thRakurui1
45thRemains Of Ounin1
45thSanada Yukimura's theme1
45thSengoku BASARA ver.41
45thSengoku Dream Chance!1
45thSouku: Juurinsen (Azure-Crimson Suppressing Battle)1
45thSousha Rengeki (Nouhime/Ranmaru's theme)1
45thTakeda Otoko Doujou1
45thTango: Sengenji1
45thTenha Zessou1
45thTenka Touitsu (piano version)1
45thThe Dawn1
45thThunderBolt1
45thToyotomi Hideyoshi's theme1
45thUnmei No Senban (Lathe Of Fate)1
45thWE aRE1
45thWild War Dance1
45thYamanaka Shikanosuke's theme1
45thYamazaki Tsuitousen (Yamazaki Punitive Battle)1
45thYuujou Fukkatsu (Friendship Revives)1
45thZipangU1

I've only ranked the first answers as I assumed people wanted to see this results post sooner rather than later; several people refused to pick just one song with five saying they liked all of the music, three wanting to vote for every T.M.Revolution theme song in the series and one person wanting to vote for all of the opening songs.

How did you first get interested in the Sengoku Basara series?

Another mandatory question because I thought this might be quite eye-opening. For simplicity I've combined all of the recommendations into 'Through a friend', which wasn't an option on the original survey. So if you said that a friend or partner introduced you to the series, that's where your vote went.

RankReasonVotes
1stI watched the anime adaptation95
2ndI played Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes77
3rdI played Devil Kings41
4thI was interested since the very first game22
5thI played one of the later Japanese games20
6thOther18
7thDoujinshi, fan art, cosplay or other fan works15
8thThrough a friend9
9thI read an official manga adaptation or novel3
10thI heard about the Butai Sengoku Basara stage plays2

The 'Other' option ranks quite highly this time. Several people said they had an interest in samurai or Sengoku-era history and that ended up attracting them to the series - one person was specifically curious about depictions of Tokugawa Ieyasu (how interesting!). I've combined trailers with the figures for their respective games, but several voters mentioned that watching a trailer was a turning point for them.

Completely unique answers included getting into the series through a seiyuu connection (Nakai Kazuya), a music connection (anime composer Sawano Hiroyuki), getting interested after a parody scene in Gintama, watching Miku Miku Dance videos, watching a Game Grumps demonstration video and joining a Sengoku Basara cosplay group through a friend. Two people were attracted by Date Masamune's design, one was fascinated by Oichi's dark powers/gameplay and two more became curious after seeing the character designs in general.

Other games had an effect as well...

"I thought it was a Samurai Warriors rip-off, LOL!"

"I got interested in the series because a friend told me about 'this awesome game where you play as Japanese warlords'. I looked for info on the net and found Sengoku Basara. I was intrigued by the stylish character designs and to this day, the excellent character design is one of the reasons I like this series so much. Funnily enough, it turned out that my friend was actually talking about Sengoku Musou and not Basara!"

"Pokemon Conquest...wrong company, but yeah."

A few bonus comments:

"Backpacking in Japan... then museums and souvenir shops just did their jobs..."

"I read the game information from a video game magazine and the Koei Warriors site."

"I saw the intro to Sengoku Basara: Battle Heroes and after I stopped laughing, I knew I had to find out more about the series."

The official translated games really had a big impact, as did the anime series. It's sad that the recent games haven't had any kind of localisation.
  • One person said they played Devil Kings first and chose that for the answer, but because the localisation was so poor it wasn't until the anime came out that they became a fan.
  • Another person said the same thing; it took Sengoku Basara 3 to get them interested after Devil Kings turned them off.
  • Another person said they were familiar with Devil Kings from their older brother but picked a later game as that's when they personally got into it. The siblings still both share a love for the series.
  • 95% of the voters who started out with the anime picked one of the characters from the anime adaptation as their favourite. 51% of the Devil Kings fans and 68% of those who started with the first Sengoku Basara chose someone from the original roster.
Which aspects of the Sengoku Basara universe interest you most?

Participants could pick as many of the options as they wanted for this question.

InterestVotes
Games275
Anime216
Music146
Fan art142
Merchandise112
Manga based on the original series (includes anthologies)110
Manga spin-offs (e.g. Gakuen Basara)109
Cosplay85
Doujinshi or doujin games83
Fan fiction74
Butai Sengoku Basara stage plays46
Live action television series36
Audio dramas31
Events30
Novels29
Radio shows23
Takarazuka musical17

And the usual bonus statistics...
  • Voters had an average of five interests each (the median was four).
  • Five people skipped the question entirely.
  • Ten people selected every interest in the list.
  • The 47 fans who only listed one interest chose the Butai Sengoku Basara stage plays (1), cosplay (1), the anime series (7) and the game series (38).
Not many people chose 'Other', but those who did said they liked the super-deformed anime shorts (rather than the anime series itself), the historical content and the various promotional campaigns the series runs.

Which country are you from?

An optional question, but one which interested me as I already know from my blog's visitor stats that this community extends right across the globe. Since the survey was written in English it's natural that many of the participants were English-speakers, so there's always going to be a bias in the results. I wish I had the connections and language skills to write a truly international survey.

CountryVotes
USA97
Russia 22
UK 21
Canada 17
Germany 15
Finland 10
Australia 8
Indonesia 8
Malaysia 8
Spain 7
France 5
Italy 5
Ukraine 5
Poland 4
Mexico 3
Saudi Arabia 3
Thailand 3
Argentina 2
Brazil 2
Costa Rica 2
Kuwait 2
Philippines 2
Portugal 2
Serbia 2
Singapore 2
Sweden 2
Bulgaria 1
Chile 1
Hong Kong 1
Iceland 1
Kazakhstan 1
Netherlands 1
New Zealand 1
Paraguay 1
Puerto Rico 1
United Arab Emirates 1
Unknown33

The most surprising part of this was that there wasn't a single vote from Japanese fans (unless there are some in the Unknown category) since I know several visit my blog. I wasn't planning on excluding Japanese votes since many of us still vote in Japanese polls from overseas and there are a number of foreign fans living over there.

How old are you?

This was just a simple question to satisfy my curiosity about the breakdown of the community outside Japan. Though it was optional as some people aren't comfortable sharing personal information online, most people answered anyway.

RangeVotesPercentage
12-20 years old11538.08%
21-30 years old15450.99%
31-40 years old165.30%
41 or older10.33%
Unknown165.30%

With this being an older series approaching its tenth anniversary - and being relatively difficult to get into overseas - it's probably not surprising that a number of us are on the older side (there was an option for even younger people too which nobody picked).

I hope that I'll still love Sengoku Basara when I join that solitary fan in the highest bracket. It's getting closer every day...

Other comments

Wow, there were some very long messages left in this part of the form!

Most of the information was intended to elaborate on the previous answers, so I've already incorporated it in the explanations above. Here are some other thoughts which people contributed.
  • 23 people said that Sengoku Basara was their very favourite game series. Many more said that they were huge fans.
  • Several people were worried about the level of their addiction (I can relate to that...).
  • Three people suggested that there should be an official otome game/dating sim to cater for the female fanbase.
  • Three others want to see more attention given to the women of the Sengoku Basara series.
  • Two people wanted Capcom to try commissioning another fighting game, perhaps with a different developer such as 8ing or as an enhancement to the in-game duel modes.
  • I didn't mention the dub or voice actors anywhere in the survey, but four people specifically praised the English dub in their comments.
  • Three people confessed to never having played the original games, even though they hope to soon.
  • 24 people said they were disappointed that so little of the series is available in English or in their home country.
  • Most of them said they had imported Sengoku Basara products anyway, in spite of the language barrier.
  • Three people said they were skipping Sengoku Basara 4 and waiting for an expansion...then someone else said they were waiting for an expansion because they'd loved Sengoku Basara 4 so much!
  • Hopes for the expansion include more storylines for the supporting characters, longer story modes and the return of some of the classic Sengoku Basara 2 costumes, whether as part of the game or as DLC.
  • One fan said that artist Tsuchibayashi Makoto needs to return as the series' character designer.
  • Someone suggested that Capcom should commission scaled PVC models for the characters (they nominated Magoichi).
  • Various people confessed to having strong biases for Hisahide, Keiji, Masamune, Yukimura and Masamune/Yukimura.
  • Several people can't stand Katsuie and Hideaki. Aww, I like them both...
  • Magoichi's effect on Keiji's characterisation upset some of his fans.
  • Two people don't like Tsuruhime because she makes Kotarou seem less cool.
  • Several of the Sengoku Basara 3 storylines really polarised opinions, it seems! The changes to the established character dynamics from Sengoku Basara 2 weren't always well received.
  • Some people dislike Ieyasu and Mitsunari as lead characters, but other people said they like the two of them and want to see more stories about their doomed relationship.
  • Hisahide and Mitsuhide were both separately accused of being good villains. They cause so much misery that people love to hate them.
  • Four of you think that the distinctive characters are the biggest charm of the series. I agree!
  • Countless people accused me of cruelty for making them rank their favourite characters, songs or moves.
  • Three people are really looking forward to the new Sengoku Basara: Judge End anime!
  • One respondent wanted to give any other Scandinavian fans taking the survey a high five.
  • Number of moving comments which brought a tear to this blogger's eye: 5
  • Funniest comment: "THIS POLL WAS HARDER THAN MY LAW EXAMS".
  • Number of people who confessed to being Xavists: 3
  • Number of people who used the 'Other comments' box as an excuse to shout one of their favourite character's battle cries: 12
There were also some general comments about the survey itself; four people were interested to find out how other non-Japanese fans would vote. One person rightly noted that the 'favourite' rankings don't indicate a character's true popularity since some are underrated, some don't appear in the most well-known series and often people can have more than one favourite.

--

I hope this post was interesting. If you didn't manage to participate in the survey you can still share your thoughts with other fans in the comments (or elsewhere). Since I'm going to post a follow-up about the scenes people liked, if there are any weird statistics you'd like to know from the data I have, please let me know and I'll do my best.

Thank you for reading!

29 comments:

  1. I thought I was the only one who voted for Yoshimoto. Bless the remaining Oja-sama's voter wherever they are. :')

    By the way, I'm having a blast reading this. Thanks for creating this fan survey.

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    1. Your responses made me laugh several times; I'm deeply impressed by your loyalty. Since 1/3 of us want to see Yoshimoto back in the series, hopefully it won't be long before he reappears. I had high hopes after his dazzling debut in the stage play series...

      Delete
  2. Awesome read! :)

    Reading all the comments people gave to the poll (along with all the freedom that was given to those participating) I'm deeply ashamed I took it lightly for the sake of simplicity of processing the statistics and didn't put much effort into commenting my choices T_T.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. You'll just have to leave your comments here in the comments section instead :)

      (I have a feeling that you helped promote the survey from the impressive number of your fellow countrymen who participated - so thank you!)

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Unfortunately I don't remember exactly everything I voted for, haha. I like lots of things about the series so it's hard to keep particular things in mind all the time))
      Not to mention Yukimura was playing Lazy Tiger of Kai on me at that very moment - http://content.foto.my.mail.ru/mail/vegaman/PicturesofMe/i-172.jpg.

      (Promoted - no. Pointed at - well, yeah, kinda ^_^. There was no discussion so I don't really know how many people were actually interested or know basic english enough to participate. Hope some of their answers wasn't dull like mine. Anyway don't pin it on me, lol.)

      P.S.
      I promise I'll try to comment on everything in details once you post your opinion on the game (SB4) itself. It seems more appropriate to me to do so in opinion section :).
      Don't mind the deleted comment. I do lots of mistakes sometimes.

      Delete
    4. You have a cat...called Yukimura. I am so jealous (even if it's easier to type without him lying across the keyboard) :D

      I've started writing the opinion post about the game itself, so at this rate I might finish it by summer!

      Delete
    5. Yep. Not a big fan of Sanada as you might notice but it was such an obvious and unavoidable name for this particular individual I just could not resist - http://content.foto.my.mail.ru/mail/vegaman/_myphoto/i-146.jpg.

      Delete
  3. Four people from Poland (well, three, because I'm one of them XD) and I don't know them??? *goes and asks roommates if they know something about it*

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    1. Cześć! Thank you for contributing to the survey, and good luck in your hunt for those other Polish fans lurking somewhere out there :)

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  4. Replies
    1. Part two will just be the 'favourite scenes' list, as I wouldn't have been able to finish checking it until Sunday at the earliest (too busy!) and I didn't want to delay the rest an entire week :)

      If anyone wants to know any weird statistics I can include them in part two, so if you've ever been curious whether older fans tend to vote for Ujimasa (or anything strange like that) please let me know and I'll take a look!

      Delete
  5. The question about historical characters was most interesting to me; popularity rank of canon charas was obvious. I joined the fandom because I was interested in depictions of a certain Sengoku warlord too, though I didn't mention it in the comments.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. The list of historical characters was amazing. I can't believe everyone contributed such a rich variety.

      I've always been interested in historical figures from my own country too, but the fervent passion that people (including me, it seems) feel for the heroes of the Sengoku era is incredible. For some reason it really gets me fired up seeing other people who love both the real history and the crazy parts of the series.

      Delete
  6. Thank for your afford here indeed raindrop, this summation is really impressive. ><

    For the popularity poll at first, I almost mistaked the result for BSR48, the outcome is quite same. But to see Masamune & Mitsunaris' rank as the first/second, while their points are about 2 times more than the third/Yukimura. I know well that they are the most popular here, but I just hope that Capcom will not put them as the main poster boy again. Though Capcom decided to placed them together as the main character for BSR4's promote campaign or Op movie, they actually not essentially related or intertwined in the story at all. In fact, I don't mind to see Mitsunari's place a little dimmer but being in his proper place with Ieyasu or the Toyotomis.
    And I'm glad that the result pretty much justified my opinion about Sakon. He is popular but heavily disadventaged from being introduce within Toyotomis-pack. His cheerful, idiotic and devoted character just endears to me a lot, but I just cannot vote him as the first, sorry!

    The most fun part here is about nomination of historical figure, Queen Isabella as 15th century Lady Gaga definitely would be a gem.

    Ps. At least 3 participant from Thailand! (included me)
    C'mon, where are you xD !? I always feel like I am a poor lonesome one as basara fan here... /sob

    Ps2. By the way, did you know the name of the song I voted? That ED instrument song from BSR3 western version ? (Yes, that Toyotomis freak whose life was ruined by Basara while backpacking in Japan is me...)

    /momotsu

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you for your comments! It's funny how the same names kept turning up high in the list overseas as well as in Japan. The gaps between the characters aren't all that big since people voted for so many different ones, but Mitsunari's recent popularity is pretty impressive to watch. If the tone shifts away from the Toyotomi forces in 5 (assuming they make a fifth numbered game at all...) I wonder whether he'll stay as high as he is?

      Hmm, I think I'd quite like to see the Oda and Takeda/Uesugi forces return to the centre of the main story in a new game if possible to balance the great things that happened to the Toyotomi army this time. Then we might see a tight battle for the top rankings.

      I believe the song you chose is 掉尾の勇 or Choubi No Yuu (The Last Hero). It's on the Utage soundtrack and on the Tougun Best CD but not on the 3 soundtrack itself. Let me know if I'm wrong and I can adjust the results!

      Delete
  7. Wowee, that's a lot of work! Thank you so much for doing this, it was really really interesting! I'm glad my fellow fans seem to have good taste... :3c So many female historical figures suggested as newcomers! I had to google all the names, I learned a lot. : D Ah, I am overwhelmed by the Basara loving happening here!

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    Replies
    1. Haha, I feel overwhelmed too - every time I saw a new comment I got really excited and wanted to play the game more. It was actually hard to focus on tidying up the results because I kept yearning to play more to check out all of the cool things people were suggesting. This fan community is amazing!

      Delete
  8. Lol I got quoted a couple of times. OK confess, who is the other Swede? One gotta be passionate when living up here in nowhere. (Nowhere close to us/uk/jp)

    This was so interesting to read! Seems like the top favourite characters are kind of similar in popularity to the Japanese surveys? With Oichi surprisingly high here.
    It must have been really hard to summarize the answers, there were large and tempting spaces to write a lot of things. (I did my best to hold back otherwise I would have gone on forever)

    Ps) I’m glad someone likes Tsuruhime I really like her in SB4 too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Summarising everything took absolutely ages (lol) but it was great fun. Feel free to go on forever in the comments section now that I've already posted the results :D

      I hope you manage to find the mystery Swede one day...

      Delete
  9. Polish fans unite! *brofists Garcinda*

    I'm actually surprised that my favourite, the Demon King, actually made it so high - sure, I would've liked it better if he was above 20th, but he still topped some characters I thought would beat him (Hideyoshi and at least a few newcomers at least).
    I actually forgot to write my reasons why I chose him in the first place, so I'll fix that mistake here: I just think that, in the pool of badassery that is this series, he tops everyone. He's also a character that seems to have a hidden layer beneath the obvious one - something that every Oda faction character shares; despite him being so rough and aggressive, he actually is... Not a nice guy, but not how he's seen by the most characters. At least in SB2 and SB4 (never played SB1). And he's an extreme tsundere, the biggest one in the series maybe: just look at his treatment of Nohime and Maru - harsh, but between the lines he cares about them. Just like with Katsuie and Mitsuhide most likely, though they didn't repay him well. His SB3 personality doesn't count (even the creators took a jab at it in SB4), I call him 'Zombienaga'; a different person (even the characters in that game say so).

    tl;dr Nobunaga is an softie and the biggest tsundere in the games, but hides it really well.

    I wrote that I'd like to deduct points from Katsuie (lol) but... I actually wanted to vote for him as my fourth choice, but I figured that he's likely an unfinished character - the creators seem to have taken a few different approaches: some which make him a great character (his drama, Masamune's drama) some make him a good antagonist (his anime) and some make him unbearable (Nagamasa's drama, Ichi's drama). Or maybe it was intentional... In the end, I decided on the latter and figured he deserves deducted points.

    I could write huge paragraphs about a ton of characters, but I foresee this comment being massive - plus, it's not really a place for it. I guess that I really like a lot of the cast. Not everyone maybe, but a ton.
    A lot of quoted reasons in the post are what I think, too.

    "The most individual votes anyone submitted was 41." - WHOA
    There actually was another person who separated Mitsuhide from Tenkai, my goodness. I still managed to be original to differentiate Sunday from Motonari.

    lol@Kanbe and Gyoubu having the same amount of points. The top is actually suprising to me in how well it emulates the official polls: Masamune and Mitsunari, then a looong gap, a few characters with big gaps in-between and a bunch really close ones.

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    1. Kanetsugu playable master race! Only Basara difficulty! One HP! Ridiculously low stats! Worthless moves!
      (Jokes aside, I really would like Team Basara to keep his current characteristic while making him into a character. Wonder how that would work out.)

      I want to slap myself for forgetting about one character I wanted added to the roster from those that didn't appear in the series. Even more because I forgot which one was it. >.< I voted Ginchiyo and Hanzo, my reasons are in 100% covered by the quotes.
      [Whenever I see 'Yoshiaki Ashikaga', I can't stop myself from imagining the horrific fusion of the splendid gentleman and the forever alone king-shogun-emperor.]

      I'm really suprised my fav newcomer, Yoshiteru, is so low, especially after he OBLITERATED every newcomer the Famitsu poll. Maybe it's the language barrier... Dunno.

      Kotaro favourite theme represent! *brofists the other person who voted for this* I still believe this question was the hardest.

      OMG, this comment is LONG. And it would actually go on and on! I hope I didn't scare you off with it. You've done an excellent job, I really applaud and thank you.
      Are you going to tell KobaP about this? I bet it'll make him extremely happy.

      PS I just realised that you saw my comment as the funniest. For some reason I can't stop smiling. (I still stand by my word though!)

      PPS This comment was longer than allowed by a fair margin of over a thousand signs. Well.

      PPPS I actually had to split this comment because I couldn't send it ever after shortening it below the 4096 threshold.

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    2. Thank you for that amazing double comment! I had a lot of fun reading your thoughts :D

      Apparently one fan has tweeted the link to KobaP, so I hope he takes a look and sees how devoted we foreign fans can be.

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  10. "Over 80% of Takeda Shingen fans also wanted Kenshin back, but just 64% of Kasuga fans want Kenshin too."

    This really makes me sad/mad. Not the Shingen-Kenshin part, but the fact that so few Kasuga fans also don't want Kenshin. I mean... why? The Matsu and Toshiie fans want both of them back for the most part... ;_; Is Kenshin really that unappealing as a partner for Kasuga for them...? u_u

    I'm also a bit disappointed by how poorly Xavi and especially Itsuki did. I guess the anime really factored into these choices since those two played cameo roles only. It's a shame too since they're great, and Itsuki's one of my favorites (not my very very favorites, that goes to the Uesugi couple, Oichi, and Naotora-chan), but ah, oh well.

    I also forget what my text responses were, but I want to say kudos to the person suggesting Takanobu should just be a literal bear. Best idea. Also not shocked I'm the only one who suggested Shirou, but glad others hopped on the Ginchiyo and Komatsuhime train.

    Overall very interesting results. I'm especially surprised that the top ten are all mostly the same, save Gyoubu's been swapped for Ieyasu.

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    1. Ah, I mean, that so few Kasuga fans ALSO want Kenshin, my bad!

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    2. Mm, I think Xavi and Itsuki have suffered a lot in their extended breaks from the series. They're rarely in any of the spin-off material, too, so people don't get much chance to see how fun they are. On the same note, poor Kenshin seemed to have a much smaller role than Kasuga in the anime so that might be a factor there as well. I'm not sure what Kasuga would do in a series without Kenshin there too; it would probably end up pretty depressing ^^;;

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  11. The only one from Paraguay is here =)
    Great work with the survey, and with the blog by the way, the news, the translations guide of SB4, really awesome job
    Sorry I wanted to comment more in the survey, but I felt ashamed of my bad english.
    Anyway I glad of participated in the poll, and the results were a great reading.
    Hope that sengoku basara community continues to grow around the world so Capcom can bring the new game and the future anime season to the west.

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    1. Thank you for the kind comment! Your English seems fine to me (and it's much, much better than my Spanish!).

      I hope that the community keeps growing too!

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    2. Shout out to Masamune/Yukimura ship bias.

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