After many hours of seclusion and consideration, the winners for Show Me Your One Piece 2 contest have been chosen. We saw many fine examples of people "showing off their One Piece" along with why they love it.
We heard tales of how One Piece touched them on a personal level while others simply said why they love the series so much. All were great entries which made it even harder to choose our winners. Still, only two people will win the One Piece: Season 4 Voyage 1 DVD set that everybody has been eyeing.
Judging was based on how passionate, knowledgeable, and coherent the entry was, as well as the submitted image. A value was given to each category and then tallied up to come up with a final score. Even with this scoring system, coming up with just two winners was still a challenge and it was close call between the top winners only having a point difference.
Second Place: Gus
Gus's entry was one of the most detailed submissions that we received. He not only showed his passion but was able to tie in why Season 4 was so meaningful to him. Then, as you can see in the image above, Gus showed some critical thinking by sorting some of the most well known characters into alignments. He even included a supplemental to explain his reasoning. This was more than I expected from an entry. There is no question that Gus knows his One Piece, and that is considering that he has only been a fan since 2010.
First Place: Pablo
The entry Pablo submitted showed such passion that it rose to the top. That doesn't mean that it was a clear cut win. I think what really helped Pablo was the fact that he is a cosplayer, as you can see in his collage. Cosplaying is not an easy task as it takes hours to gather the props and put together even a single costume. There was also the treasure trove of merchandise from 4Kids, Funimation, and abroad that was hard to miss. Pablo showed a personal and material investment to the series that is admirable to see in any One Piece fan.
We would like to thank everybody who entered the contest. Everybody had passionate entries that were great in their own way. One Piece fans have always been passionate and it is always great to see examples of that. It is because of that passion that One Piece is where it is today in the United States and why we are getting Season 4.
Now we wait for Season 4 to come and enjoy the great episodes that will be included in it.
If I may say a few words, I would like to thank my Nakama, Brian, who ultimately begged me into giving this show a chance, and the pivotal reason I am here today. He is a proud otaku, and lover of all things Japanese. Very recently, he received an offer to teach English in Shizuoka. While I will for certain miss one of my best friends in the world, I wish him the best of luck, and this second place victory goes out to him.
ReplyDeletePablo, after seeing your submission for myself, I happily concede you are most deserving of your first place victory. While your merchandise collection is indeed impressive, I do agree with Mikey-san that your Zoro cosplay was the big seller. I looks truly amazing. I know full well how difficult cosplaying is. I was working on a Luffy costume last year, and I almost had it down, but I couldn't get the chest scar right (nor do I have the six pack).
While I will admit to being a bit sceptical with how Funimation seemed to be taking their sweet time with the series before, I am truly impressed with thier dedication as of late. Their newly released DVD collections have come out constistently, with great packaging, and at very decent prices. Hopefully One Piece will continue to gain steem, and Season 5 will not be far behind.
This show is about to get really good.
I have to say, Gus, I was really impressed by your character chart. That was awesome. You truly love your One Piece.
DeleteI can't wait until we get Water7, Enies Lobby, and Gecko Moria on DVD/Bluray. I want to see the moment where Kuma puts Zoro through the ringer. Best Zoro moment ever!
Thank you for your passion Gus and Pablo and the rest of you readers out there. You are what keeps One Piece around. Love you all.