2016 APCT First Round Discussion Thread: There Can Be Only One!

[Deviant_Mugen]

Welcome, Arlong Park, to this year's AP Character Tournament: No Foolin' Edition. You fine folks have nominated your favorites, and the dedicated people behind the scenes have added and merged some characters to properly fill out the list. As with 2014's tourney, all of the characters have been tossed into a randomizer to set up the matches, so powerhouses can either be there to threaten the newbies/your less popular favorites, or be completely absent, granting them an easier round. Much like Doc Q's basket of apples, whether or not your picks get lucky is all up to fate.

Of course, in the interest of spicing things up (BAM!), this year's tournament will be different from those of the past. Perhaps the title will clue you in as to how… Don't worry, four characters will still advance after every round, but you'll only have a single vote to cast! That's right, this year there will be no multi-vote, so make sure to think your decision over carefully before you commit to it. Will you pick an old favorite? A new favorite? Or will you hop on a campaign's bandwagon? You decide! And remember that ties will be broken by the tournament staff, so don't shoot for them.

Without further ado, here are the match-ups:

[hide]Match 1 Galdino (AKA, Mr. 3)
Going Merry
Portgas D. Ace
Makino
Alvida
Trafalgar Law
Django and Fullbody
Otohime and Neptune
Basil Hawkins
Eustass Kid and Killer
Donquixote Rosinante
Marshall D. Teach
Vergo(-san)
Bariete
Jora
Donquixote Doflamingo

Match 2

Margaret, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra
Nami
Gan Fall and Pierre
Saruyama Alliance (Cricket, Masira, and Shojo)
Clark Dell
Kuzan
Jabra
Lola
Rika
Kaku
Vista
Camel
Minatomo-san
Arlong, Kuroobi, and Chuu
Hogback and Hildon
Absalom and Don Krieg

Match 3

Vivi and Carue
Cobra and Igaram
Dorry and Broggy
Hina
Jewelry Bonney
Zeff, Patty, and Carne
Gekko Moriah
Miyagi
Nekomamushi
Charlotte Pudding
Level 6 Blackbeard Pirates (Shiryuu, Avalo Pizarro, San Juan Wolf, Catarina Devon, and Vasco Shot)
Shiki
Yonji Vinsmoke
Chessmarimo
Jesus Burgess
Gambia's Granny

Match 4

Tashigi
Tony Tony Chopper
Smoker
Silvers Rayleigh
Camie and Pappug
Laki and Aisa
Richie, Mohji, and Cabaji
Surume
Dracule Mihawk
T-Bone
Bushon and Stevie
Whitey Bay
Gatz
Zunisha
Trafalgar Lamy
Hattori

Match 5

Buggy
Shushu
Kung-Fu Dugongs
Duval and Motobaro
Fisher Tiger
Daz Bones
Carrot
Pedro
Violet
Kyros
Mr. Motzel
Abdullah and Jeet
Baron Tamago
Machvise 2016's ZerOu
Caesar Clown
Bellemere

Match 6

Tom
Doctor Hiruluk
Monkey D. Garp
Bartholomew Kuma
Iceberg and Tyrannosaurus
Paulie, Tilestone, and Lulu
Yorki
Wanda
Urouge
Kizaru
CP9 (Blueno, Kumadori, Fukurou, Kalifa, and Nero)
Lao G
Doc Q and Stronger
Van Augur
Satori
Doflamingo Family Executives (Pica, Diamante, and Trebol)

Match 7

Emporio Ivankov
Laboon and Crocus
Eyelashes and Scissors
Shakky
Rebecca
Fujitora
The Straw Hat Grand Fleet (Sai, Hajrudin, Ideo, Leo, and Orlumbus)
Monkey D. Dragon
Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin
Inuarashi
Tristan
Kaidou
Zeo
Shin Detamaruka
Bellamy
Enel

Match 8

Sabo
Gol D. Roger and Portgas D. Rouge
Perona
Wizards of Weatheria
Tonjit and Shelly
Ryuuma
Roronoa Zoro
Wicca
Tsuru
Scopper Gyaban
Sicilian, and the unnamed Three Musketeers
Sora
Marumieta
Jerry
Sugar
Baby 5

Match 9

Dadan, Magra, and Dogra
Shirahoshi
Chimney, Gonbe, and Kokoro
Dalton
Foxy, Porche, and Hamburg
Sengoku
Fred, the Awesome Octopus Fishman Standing Next To Jinbe on page 17 of chapter 624
Kinemon
Pekoms
Sanji Vinsmoke
Wadatsumi
Capone Bege
Brownbeard
Momonosuke
Hodi Jones
Saint Charloss

Match 10

Brook
Vice Warden Magellan
Wiper
Hack
Buster Call Vice Admirals (Strawberry, Momonga, Doberman, Onigumo, and Yamakaji)
Benn Beckman, Lucky Roo, and Yasopp
Holiday Chinn
Master of the Near Sea
Yomo
King Elizabello II
Scratchmen Apoo
X Drake
Vito
Monet
Buffalo
Dellinger

Match 11

Boa Hancock
Doctor Kureha
Koala
Kaya
Warden Hannyabal
Gedatsu
Ryuunosuke
Raizou
Cavendish and Farul
Smiley
Vegapunk's Dragon
Fleet Admiral Sakazuki
Designated Tournament Whipping Boy, Rob Lucci
Gin
Evil Black Drum Kingdom
Señor Pink

Match 12

Jinbe
Pagaya, Conis, and Suu
Shanks
Coby and Helmeppo
Kiwi and Mozu
Hatchi
Gaimon and Sarfunkel
Pandaman
Marco and Jozu
Kanjuro
Big Mom
Jack
Vander Decken
Edward Weevil and Miss Bakkin
Spandam and Funkfreed
Stelly
[/hide]The tournament will begin on Monday, so get to Photoshopping/GIMPing/MS Painting! May the best character win, and remember…

There can be only one (vote)!

[Ballot Box]

Multivote is dead, long live the single vote.

[Don Quichotte De Flamingo]

One precious vote, all you have, all you need!

[TheXDrake]

Some of these matches are going to be brutal

[le crystal]

Klark Dell will sables his way through, I am sure of it!

Master of the Near Sea would require some campaigning…

[KageKageKing]

What is the deal with all those team-ups?

[Katzztar]

Clark Dell has my vote for sure, the competition in that round is all dried up!

[RamistaR]

Yare Yare Daze!!!

Pekomamushi got this in the bag.

[KageKageKing]

[CaptainAppleJack]

Was the first group intentional? Doflamingo, Rosinante, Law & Vergo…lulz.

[Jabberwok]

Rounds 1 and 7 will have the tightest competition

[Kubihige]

So many team ups, but no Wicca + San juan Wolf this is torture btw

[Wooden_Giraffe]

Wicca/Wolfy is love!!! <3<3<3

[KageKageKing]

Don't give the staff (more)weird ideas folks.

[C_uggs]

This "one vote" rule can be translated to one thing, a hard time for campaigners.:ninja:

I can't wait for the first round….Sees Moriah and Baby 5 groups...weeps.

[Huschel]

Ohoho. A Skypiean triple threat it is.

! Let's do this!

[Deviant_Mugen]

@CaptainAppleJack:

Was the first group intentional? Doflamingo, Rosinante, Law & Vergo…lulz.

Nope, just the way the randomizer rolled. haha

@Husch: Best of luck to the Angels (and Fox) of Angel Beach.

[Zar]

Oh god, the first round has Law, Kid, Killer, Hawkins, BOTH flamingos, Blackbeard and Vergo?!

I'm fiercely debating whether I should go with Makino or Mr.3…

[Mr M]

Buggy should win round 5 , come on love.

[Sano]

Interesting matches in the first round. I will be supporting Perona, Gedetsu, Whitey Bay, and Jabra for sure.

[BellisarioFaith]

Jeez, the first block has so many super-popular characters in it! I'm interested to see who will come out ahead.

[hosemisnuba]

Goddamit. Teach is screwed. :sad:

[MetaMario]

Wait so the "first round" is acting like the old prelims? In that there's a multi-block system?

[KaizokuJinbei]

Only one vote? that's brutal…

[Sparsebeard]

@KageKageKing:

What is the deal with all those team-ups?

I feel the same, it's not like there where too many nominations.

I mean, it seems that there where almost more characters added after than during the nominations…

[Katzztar]

Many of those team-up are ones that don't really do well just by themselves. Not all, but many do fall in that.
Papaya, Conis, Sciccors, Eyelashes, Lucky Roo, Yasopp, ect…. They don't get much votes themselves, so they were added to those that they are associated with, which freed up some spots. And no its wasnt' more than actual noms

[Sparsebeard]

@Katzztar:

Many of those team-up are ones that don't really do well just by themselves. Not all, but many do fall in that.
Papaya, Conis, Sciccors, Eyelashes, Lucky Roo, Yasopp, ect…. They don't get much votes themselves, so they were added to those that they are associated with, which freed up some spots. And no its wasnt' more than actual noms

Not that I really mind or that it really matters but:

If I remember well, there where about 145 nominations, so that means about 47 empty spots + I counted 73 chars added through team-ups = about 130 characters added after nominations so it's almost as much.

Also, I'd be surprised if many of those about 130 charcters made it past the first round, so what's the point of adding them anyways…

It's only my opinion but I don't feel that, for example pairing Paulie with Lulu or Duval with Motobaro helps them... in fact, personally it makes me less likely to vote for them...

Anyways cheers!

[Long John Silvers Rayleigh]

Vivi is a big enough character IMO, So is marco, shouldnt clark dell be part of a team? Who is clark dell? Is he a confirmed one piece character, im suspicious.

Ive decided to vote for single players over doubles whenever possible.

Hope Ace/Sabo/Luffy arent a trio :ninja:

[le crystal]

@Long:

Who is clark dell? Is he a confirmed one piece character, im suspicious.

A certain reptile we all know and (arguably) love.

[Sano]

@Sparsebeard:

Not that I really mind or that it really matters but:

If I remember well, there where about 145 nominations, so that means about 47 empty spots + I counted 73 chars added through team-ups = about 130 characters added after nominations so it's almost as much.

Also, I'd be surprised if many of those about 130 charcters made it past the first round, so what's the point of adding them anyways…

It's only my opinion but I don't feel that, for example pairing Paulie with Lulu or Duval with Motobaro helps them... in fact, personally it makes me less likely to vote for them...

Anyways cheers!

You probably weren't here for past tournaments, but anything can happen in this tournament. There are times in this tournament a minor character in the series have beating major characters. Like for example Fred the Awesome Octopus Fishman defeated X. Drake in the first round of the tournament in the 2011 touranment. Another example is the infamous Kizaru Vs. Makino in the 2010 tournament with Makino winning the match. Just saying anything can happen in this tournament.

[Sparsebeard]

@Sano:

You probably weren't here for past tournaments, but anything can happen in this tournament. There are times in this tournament a minor character in the series have beating major characters. Like for example Fred the Awesome Octopus Fishman defeated X. Drake in the first round of the tournament in the 2011 touranment. Another example is the infamous Kizaru Vs. Makino in the 2010 tournament with Makino winning the match. Just saying anything can happen in this tournament.

Sure, but I'm pretty sure that those upsets were the result of campaings and will characters who weren't even nominated get campaings?

Also, teaming up doesn't seem to help that much, looking at 2014 the only team that made it past the first round was Moriah & Aphelandra. I only say that because if find it lackluster to vote for a team where there is only one character to care about…
[h=3][/h]

[Shuhan]

Stelly is life

Stelly is love

Stelly will make One Piece great again

[Katzztar]

@Long:

Vivi is a big enough character IMO, So is marco, shouldnt clark dell be part of a team? Who is clark dell? Is he a confirmed one piece character, im suspicious.

Ive decided to vote for single players over doubles whenever possible.

Hope Ace/Sabo/Luffy arent a trio :ninja:

Clark Dell is a joke name that's stuck for a real character. It comes from a very bad mistranslated scan page that had Bartholomew Kuma, Sir Crocodile & Doflomingo on it (the scene where the three arrive at Marineford for the war), all three names were horribly mistranslated. I mean so bad its more of horrible renaming than a translation.

Crocodile =Clark Dell (Anyone remember the ones for Kuma and Doffy? )

So its been a joke to list him as Clark Dell, though in the actual tourney they usually use the proper name.

No, Lufy, Sabo & Ace won't be teamed up for the regular part of the tourney, each one has too much of a following for that. Like I said above, the teamup are of characters that have a history of not doing well by themselves.

Though now that you've mentioned it… its possible for a teamup for the filler matches aka the joke runs Maybe for best set of trios of the series? best brothers

[Kaptayn]

@Shuhan:

Stelly is life

Stelly is love

Stelly will make One Piece great again

Replace the "t" by an "m", that's the only thing this character represents.

[Ubiq]

@Katzztar:

Clark Dell is a joke name that's stuck for a real character. It comes from a very bad mistranslated scan page that had Bartholomew Kuma, Sir Crocodile & Doflomingo on it (the scene where the three arrive at Marineford for the war), all three names were horribly mistranslated.

Clark or Clock Dell wasn't from the manga scans that gave us Bisoromi Bear, Tanjihado Loluflamingo, and Masuru D. Chocheh (I think those were German in origin), but from the Hong Kong fansubs that gifted us with things like the pirate crew of Roof, Sauron, Namay, Liar Bu, Sunkist, Joeb, and Nickel Bao.

[le crystal]

@Ubiq:

but from the Hong Kong fansubs that gifted us with things like the pirate crew of Roof, Sauron, Namay, Liar Bu, Sunkist, Joeb, and Nickel Bao.

May I know who are they supposed to represent? I'll try to prevent from coughing out my organs.

Also

!

[RamistaR]

@le:

May I know who are they supposed to represent? I'll try to prevent from coughing out my organs.

I guess that would be Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Nico Robin in this order.

[Wintermute]

@le:

A certain reptile we all know and (arguably) love.

I for one loved to hate him.

@le:

Also

! http://i.imgur.com/uv2SDJq.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cao23rbXIAAzFNz.jpg

No mistakes were made here. Xusasu is obviously just the old mesopotamian spelling of Jesus. Trust me.

[Robby]

@Sparsebeard:

Sure, but I'm pretty sure that those upsets were the result of campaings and will characters who weren't even nominated get campaings?

We pulled characters that did well in past tournaments, or that were important enough in the actual manga that it felt weird to have them be absent, such as Kuro, Karoobi and Choo, Nojiko, Makino (who has a lot of tourney history of crazy upsets) Pell… SMOKER, Magellan... the extras picked weren't arbitrary.

The nomination process was allowed to run for a good long while so folks could be sure to get in a character they wanted, after that its about trying to represent as much of the series as possible and making sure some of the bigger potentially overlooked characters still made it in.

Also, teaming up doesn't seem to help that much, looking at 2014 the only team that made it past the first round was Moriah & Aphelandra. I only say that because if find it lackluster to vote for a team where there is only one character to care about…
[h=3][/h]

It generally doesn't, that's why we feel okay with pairing up weaker characters. They generally don't fare well on their own, so pairing them up doesn't really change their odds much, but it does allow for more characters to get in and for more varied campaigns. Especially in cases where characters are almost always together and mentioned in one breath anyway, like Jonny and Yosaku. So we're not for instance, ever going to pair up Crocodile, Luffy, Whitebeard, and Enel onto a team.

Most of them won't get past the first round, but its nice to have them have at least a shot at it.

And sometimes you end up with magic combos that just work really well, like Don Krieg and Absalom.

[noob]

You're making me choose between Cavendish and Gedatsu?

Goodbye.

[Jabra]

@Katzztar:

(Anyone remember the ones for Kuma and Doffy? )

You mean the seven gods of pirate, Tanjahdo Lofulamingo and Bisoromi Bear-sama?

[Katzztar]

@Ubiq:

Clark or Clock Dell wasn't from the manga scans that gave us Bisoromi Bear, Tanjihado Loluflamingo, and Masuru D. Chocheh (I think those were German in origin), but from the Hong Kong fansubs that gifted us with things like the pirate crew of Roof, Sauron, Namay, Liar Bu, Sunkist, Joeb, and Nickel Bao.

opps my bad, I thought they were from the same, thanks for the clarification,

@Jabra:

You mean the seven gods of pirate, Tanjahdo Lofulamingo and Bisoromi Bear-sama?

Yes those were the ones I was thinking of.

Thanks to both for the help in remembering … you both get to witness me facepalming at my own stupidity/forgetfulness for thinking that Clark Dell was on the same page when the Tanjahdo Lofulamingo and Bisoromi Bear appeared in Marineford, I should have remembered that's impossible for Clark Dell/Crocodile was in ID !! It was Dracule Mihawk that was with them.

So... was Mihawk as badly mistranslated as "Tanjahdo Lofulamingo and Bisoromi Bear"? If so, what was it????

[Yobiyopi]

@Katzztar:

So… was Mihawk as badly mistranslated as "Tanjahdo Lofulamingo and Bisoromi Bear"? If so, what was it????

Surprisingly, they got him right

[hide][/hide]

But that didn't stop them to translate Sengoku as the great Zango

[hide][/hide]

[Long John Silvers Rayleigh]

@Robby:

We pulled characters that did well in past tournaments, or that were important enough in the actual manga that it felt weird to have them be absent, such as Kuro, Karoobi and Choo, Nojiko, Makino (who has a lot of tourney history of crazy upsets) Pell… SMOKER, Magellan... the extras picked weren't arbitrary.

The nomination process was allowed to run for a good long while so folks could be sure to get in a character they wanted, after that its about trying to represent as much of the series as possible and making sure some of the bigger potentially overlooked characters still made it in.

It generally doesn't, that's why we feel okay with pairing up weaker characters. They generally don't fare well on their own, so pairing them up doesn't really change their odds much, but it does allow for more characters to get in and for more varied campaigns. Especially in cases where characters are almost always together and mentioned in one breath anyway, like Jonny and Yosaku. So we're not for instance, ever going to pair up Crocodile, Luffy, Whitebeard, and Enel onto a team.

Most of them won't get past the first round, but its nice to have them have at least a shot at it.

And sometimes you end up with magic combos that just work really well, like Don Krieg and Absalom.

It sounded more like he was saying they wouldnt get past the first round because people dont like pairs more than those characters being initially unpopular.

Sidenote why is rob lucci the tournament whipping boy?

[Katzztar]

@Long:

It sounded more like he was saying they wouldnt get past the first round because people dont like pairs more than those characters being initially unpopular.

Sidenote why is rob lucci the tournament whipping boy?

My guess is that many think he, as a 'big bad of the arc that Luffy has to fight', would have a big following but he seems to beaten quite often by some surprising choices.
At least that's what I remember … though I can't remember any details

That and there are some fans that do not like him and are not shy about stating it. I remember some people complaining that he was over-hyped, emotionless and boring ect

[The Franky Tank]

As far as threat went at the time, Lucci did quite well. Using various hybrid forms and fighting Luffy on equal footing, he was impressive and for me still has the best fight in the entire manga. Despite not being impressive design wise, I still liked it, especially because the pigeon elevated him somewhat. His blood lust was a bit chilling as well. That said, he didn't leave a mark with personality, especially when you had Crocodile and Enel beforehand, then next you have Moriah.

As for the actual thread, I don't think I have to think hard for most rounds actually. The question is do I start campaigning for the character I want now, or do I wait until it gets tighter before trying. I feel this character will make it past the first round, but crazy things happen.

[MetaMario]

@Katzztar:

That and there are some fans that do not like him and are not shy about stating it. I remember some people complaining that he was over-hyped, emotionless and boring ect

@The:

That said, he didn't leave a mark with personality, especially when you had Crocodile and Enel beforehand, then next you have Moriah.

Pretty much. People love to break out the Bleach comparisons when talking about Enies Lobby and Lucci.

[The Franky Tank]

@MetaMario:

Pretty much. People love to break out the Bleach comparisons when talking about Enies Lobby and Lucci.

I wouldn't go that far. Sure, Enies Lobby was a big fight fest which really grinded story bits to a halt after the Robin flashback, but I still had fun with those fights. Really enjoyed Franky having his first fight, we got an idea for how Chopper was going to grow, Sanji had a great fight, despite the weird victory the Kaku fight was fun, and most importantly Sogeking had the sniping moment.

The only comparison I would make is Soul Society and Hueco Mundo arc with Enies Lobby. Soul Society had other things going on that allowed readers to stay invested over the period and had some pretty good fights. In that aspect I would put it above Enies Lobby. Hueco Mundo was a lot like Enies Lobby in that it was fight after fight with little to no breaks, but Hueco Mundo had very boring fights and there wasn't any stakes involved.

[Robby]

Lucchi always loses in these things. By a lot.

I think one year he went up against Crocodile and lost by several hundred votes.

[The Franky Tank]

In the game of One Piece, it takes more than just power to win a character competition. You need design, personality, quirks, and be super memorable.