Tokido said he wasn’t able to get the team that he wanted, but he did get a strong team. He said that Gachi-kun has always been a character specialist, and so he’s vulnerable with the ban rule, but that he’s really been working hard on his sub-character. He says that there is a lot of pressure on Gachi-kun, because he can’t let the quality of his main character fall (for CPT), and as a team we know that. We will work hard when he gets banned. Tokido is interested in seeing whether Haku will be able to play at the level he has been doing on a large stage like this. He expects a lot of him, and thinks that Haku is a bit like a dark horse. Talking about his team, he says that he if can implant the idea that their sub-characters are super strong, then they won’t be banned and can use their main characters, and that is a real strength. Looking forward to the match with Umehara Gold he thinks they have a lot of bases covered with the ban rule, and they can win.

They interview Daigo and he talks about his team. Daigo said that he ended up with Fujimura the day of the draft – he was planning on Bon-chan, but when Bon-chan was taken, he thought he would be the target of all the bans, and that he is particularly vulnerable to that. He didn’t think it would be fun. He says that Fujimura is from a younger generation than him, and he has a different way of thinking that would complement his well, so he chose him. Daigo said about Kawano that he thought from the start that if Kawano was available in the draft, he would choose him. He has shown through what he has done that he’s serious, and that you can trust him. Others might not see it the same way, but he thinks he got a good choice on the second round of the draft. He doesn’t yet know about his team chemistry and looking forward to how that works out. He expects that Fujimura’s Ibuki will be banned, and he’ll be the final player, meaning that he really needs to win.

Tokido Flame banned (Fujimura’s) Ibuki, and Umehara Gold banned (Gachi-kun’s) Rashid.

They spend some time with the teams as they talk about the order to send people up. Fujimura and Kawano actually do a rock-paper-scissors to see who would go first. I keep noticing that Tokido is drinking the e3 Brain Sports energy drink he’s been promoting.

Matches start at 35:07.

Sayaka Oonuki, an idol, is the interview host this time around. She interviews Tokido Flame. Gachi-kun thinks that Haku’s play beating Fujimura, since Gachi-kun’s Rashid was banned, was critical in their win. When asked their reasons for team order, Tokido said they thought that Kawano would go up first, and they wanted Haku against him in that situation, but even though that didn’t go as planned they were able to fight well and get the win. Haku said thought he wasn’t the type to get nervous, but he actually was more nervous than he thought, and he needs to work on that.

The commentary team chats a bit about things, and they show some HiFightTHs with Hameko doing Sajam style analysis.

They interview Itazan about his team. He said that when he wasn’t able to get his first choice (Machabo) he was sure that Dogura would have been taken by then, and he was able to get him, but that was completely outside of any scenarios that he planned on. He also thinks that Moke is a good additional to his team, who has both Rashid and Cammy. He was aiming to build a team that has a wide range of possible fighting styles, and thinks that he has an ideal team for that (each person on the team has two good characters basically.) Moke says that their concept is a team that doesn’t care who you ban, and he’s got lots of confidence. The interview asks about what they think for this season, and Itazan says “Mago has been extremely well lately”, using the polite form of address. Dogura says that you really need to use that polite form of address for Mago now. They zoom in on Dogura: “Mago-san won the China Premiere, Japan Premiere, and has just been putting out wild results, and do we think that we can beat him? I forgot my line.” (Everyone laughs.) Moke goes on a bit about how he thinks they will win, and Itazan says he has been looking forward to this season (he won the first two!) and will go full strength on this first match.

I don’t want to put too much time into clipping media, but you should always try to walk into a room like Mago. Sourced from the YouTube link above.

They then jump to Mago Scarlet. Mago says he’s know Machabo for 7 or 8 years, and he’s a trustworthy guy who puts in the work. Mago says that while Yuji is young, he’s thought lately that he’s a strong player, and he didn’t think he would be able to get him. He thought that if he could get Takeuchi John, he’d do that, but otherwise he’d go for Yuji. Since Yuji isn’t on the CPT, he can really concentrate on the SFL. He says that he’s the dark horse in this competition (man, that has been coming up repeatedly.) When asked about the opposing team, Mago says they’re really not sure who to ban. Machabo says everyone uses two characters, and that their leader has odd characters, and he really wants to ban those. He really wonders if they can make the other team feel like they are going to lose. (“Put an Auro of failure on them.”) If they can, they can win. When asked about their prospects, Yuji says that they can win, they have the strongest team (appealing to Mago it seems like), and then he says, that’s how I’m supposed to say it, right? Gets a laugh. Machabo seems confident. Mago says that while there might be people out there wondering about whether their team is ok, he thinks it is a very strong team with good balance, and it is hard to say who you should ban on their team.

Hameko’s introductions are great – he’s got the rolling R’s on Doggurrraa!

Itazan Ocean bans Karin from Mago’s team, removing Mago’s Karin and Yuji’s Karin (his secondary.) Mago’s team bans Rashid, so Moke will use Cammy. The listen in on some of the discussion where the teams choose who goes up first, but it is low enough that I’m not going to try to understand it. Itazan’s team looks like they are enjoying themselves though.

The games start at about 1:09.

The ItaZan Machabo matchup looked really lopsided in Machabo’s favor. I’m a huge Itazan fan, so this was tough for me to watch. 🙂 Yuji really impressed.

In the interview, Machabo said he really wasn’t expecting to take the first game 4-0. Mago thought the ban would go against Machabo’s Necali, but since they banned Karin he thought that worked in his team’s favor. Hameko asked Yuji how he felt with the final spot left up to him (a lot of pressure!) but he said that he was all for it from the start. Hameko was joking around with Mago a bit, asking him about how Yuji’s performance again (referencing the first run of the RAGE All Star League), and Mago replies enthusiastically that Yuji did great. Utahiroba Jun asks the other team members what they think about Mago now, and Machabo says that even with his main character banned he played really well, and is looking very strong. Yuji said that he thought things went well for Mago with his sub-character. Mago takes the compliment well.

They start with an interview with Fuudo, talking about his team. He thought Bon-chan would be the most popular player, and he was sure others would choose him, but he was really lucky that he was the only one that put his name in. He says that Shuuto has both Urien and Dictator, so it is hard to ban him as well. He thinks that had he got Moke, Moke would likely have Cammy banned, and he thinks his team’s overall power is a bit higher with Shuuto than Moke. He expects to win now just that Japan tournament, but the world tournament with his team. He says his team’s strength is that they are hard to ban, and will do well with the ban rule in place, since they normally practice two characters. They ask the team what they think their chance of beating Nemo’s team is, and Bon-chan talks about how if they get a draw, he thinks in the long term that is a win. When pushed for a percentage Shuuto says 90%, which Bon-chan is pretty surprised by. He says maybe 70%. Shuuto says his teammates are really strong, and he wants to do his best to get even one point. Bon-chan says that he normally uses two characters, so this isn’t any different for him. Fuudo says that this opening battle is important, so he’s aiming for 4 points.

They then interview Nemo about his team. He says that he has two young players, who have been doing well in tournaments, and he’s happy he was able to get the two people he wanted as first choices. He says that Kichipa-mu is a dark horse, and even though he hasn’t traveled too much for CPT he’s a strong player. He thinks that people aren’t fully prepared for what a Zangief specialist can do. He says that he’s on the same team as John, and they travel around together, so he’s really seen how he’s a real lab monster and serious. Since he has two specialists, he thinks if one is banned, their plan is to get the other 3 points available.

Kichipa-mu says that if he’s not banned, he’s confident he can win, but if he is, he’s confident that Nemo and Takeuchi John can win. Takeuchi John says that this is his first time on a large stage for a team tournament and is really looking forward to it. Nemo says that this first battle is important, so he wants to take some points. He also says that he wants Kichipa-mu to get two points (setting him up as the last player) to which Kichipa-mu says he’ll do his best. The team doesn’t seem as much in the character of the oppressed company as much as in the last two leagues.

Fuudo’s team bans Zangief, and Nemo’s team bans Birdie.
Matches start at about 1:48.

In the interview afterwards, Bon-chan said that Shuto lost in the first round, but he and Fuudo were there to back him up and were able to pull it out. Fuudo said that the order was good, and it all went according to plan. Shuto said that he lost, but they came out on top with three points, and he’ll do his best in the next match. Fuudo thinks that Nemo’s team was trying to get two points from the first two matches, but due to Fuudo’s team’s overall strength that wasn’t possible. They asked what Fuudo thought when Nemo went up second, and Fuudo said that since John had already been up, and he knew that they had Bon-chan, so he thought they were going for two points.

The go over the highlights, and talk about the results. They talk a lot about the ban rule and how that influences team composition. The rankings after this first episode are (Team, points, battles, rounds)

Umehara starts off their team interivew saying that they didn’t get off to a good start, their player order was a bit off. Kawano says that he thinks there is a high chance he will be able to use his main character, and it is important for him to play as he normally does. Fujimura says that he lost the first game, so he wants to win and contribute to the team this time. Daigo thinks that in this match up against Nemo Aurora, no matter what player matches with what player, they have an advantage, which is different from the last time.

The narration over the second interview says that they didn’t expect Zangief to get banned, and then cut to an interview with Kichipa-mu who says he thinks it is likely that Zangief will be banned again, but he’s confident in his sub character matchups for this team. Takeuchi John says that he doesn’t think there are any characters on the opposing team that give Rashid trouble, so he will do his best. Nemo says that while their plan was good last time, he lost to Bon-chan, and this time he wants to make sure he wins to get more points for his team.

Nemo’s team bans Ikubi on Daigo’s team, and Daigo’s team bans Zangief on Nemo’s team.

They have a “Strategy time” shot, showing Nemo at his white board. He comments that Kichipa-mu’s probably going to be eternally banned. They talk about player order, but since the camera doesn’t show the white board we don’t know what it is that they plan. Daigo’s team talks about who they think Nemo’s team is going to try to send up against Guile (Takeuchi John, they think) but with everyone whispering it is pretty hard for me to make everything out.

Matches start at 28:31.

After Kichipa-mu lost the first set, Nemo and Takeuchi said that it’s ok, there’s nothing to be done about it, and they planned for the next person to go up. Nemo told him Kichipa-mu that he’d be eternally banned with a bit of a grin, and he’d better get used to Abigail. Kichipa-mu said he’s not using Zangief at all this month, but that he really wants to use him. Kichipa-mu gets a lot of good reaction face shots in. Looks rough, man. They didn’t show any strategy talk at all. They cut back to Daigo’s team, and it looks like he confirmed that Kawano would be ok to go up next. Kawano vs. Nemo was the next match.

Fujimura is releived that he was able to win this time, since he lost the first time, and the team won too. Daigo says he’s very happy since they were able to get all four points, which is huge in this game. Kawano is happy for the team win, but he is aiming for a sweep. Which they got. Utahiroba Jun says that when Nemo came out second to face him, he said it was just as he expected, but Jun wanted to know exactly what he expected. Kawano said that actually, it wasn’t what he expected at all, and he was frustrated, so he said it like that is what he expected. (Everyone laughs.)

During the replay, Hameko talked a bit about how Kawano is a hitbox user, and is able to dash well because of that.

Before the interview with Tokido Flame, they talk about the decisive victory over Umehara Gold in the previous episode. While he was happy with the result, he says that they didn’t play as well as they could, and looking at the event over the long term it is very competitive. If you don’t go in trying your best to win every match, you won’t be able to make it to the end. Haku says that no matter who he faces, he wants to win 2-0. Gachi-kun thinks that he will be the target of bans, but he wants to win and make the other team regret banning him. Finally Tokido says that since Itazan’s Ocean won the last two runnings (JP SFL Season 1, and the previous RAGE All Stars Powered by Capcom team league) he wants to really slap them down.

On the Itazan Ocean side, the narration says that with their previous 0-4 point loss, it really brought home the importance of the character ban system and how choosing player order can have a big impact. Itazan says that there are lots of variations that you might have when you think about the ban, and who you put up first and second. He didn’t take that into account last time. Dogura says that Haku is the only F.A.N.G. in the league, and probably most people don’t have a lot of experience against F.A.N.G.. He thinks Haku is a really key player for Tokido Flame, not just for them but for others that play them too. Moke-kun would like to notch a win on his belt. Itazan thinks it will go in an unexpected direction, and wants to put up a strong fight and win.

The matches start at about 59 minutes in. The bans are Dogura’s Dictator, and Gachi-kun’s Rashid.

When they break to talk about who goes up second, Tokido tells Haku that his win was really big. Haku says he doesn’t know why he lost the first game, but he got a bit more understanding of when Dogura would wake up with buttons. Itazan says he doesn’t like the next person’s sub-character, and they have to figure out what he can and can’t do with the sub-character. Moke says that he doesn’t think anti-airs will be great. The commentary desk says that Gachi-kun’s Karin was pretty close to winning it though.

In the post-game interview with Tokido Flame, Gachi-kun said he was worried when he lost a close set, but that Tokido was able to bring it back for the win. Tokido’s happy that he was able to win at the end, and hope that success carries on to the next battle. Haku said that Tokido taught him a technique to not be nervous, and it seemed to work. Sayaka Oonuki asked Haku what that was, and mimes jogging in place, saying that first you have to raise you heart rate before the match, get yourself a bit worked out, and that then you can calm down in the match. Utahiroba Jun asks Tokido if he’ll use Dictator if his Akuma is banned, but Tokido says that he doesn’t think he’ll be banned much. If he is banned, he will use Dictator, and in fact, there are matches where even if he isn’t banned he’ll use Dicator, surprising the analysis desk.

In the first episode, Mago Scarlet was the only team to get a 4 point sweep. They didn’t leave the final position to the team Captain, but to Yuji, the least experienced on the team. Mago thinks that Yuji is strong enough to take the final position, and his win when they did that in the first matchup is important for them. (Sets the stage for other teams to be less sure of their order.) Machabo says that he has been putting in a lot of work with his sub-character (Akuma) and thinks he can win with him. Yuji says he will do what he can. Mago says that if they can beat Fuudo they are close to winning; they will have a good path to the end and make a strong impression on the other teams.

Fuudo Gaia won 3 points the previous time, and their team has strong dual character users. Bon-chan says they want the other teams to think that they are happy to use either of their characters. So he thinks other teams will likely ban Fuudo’s Birdie and try to win two points in the last battle, or ban Shuuto’s Urien and guarantee a point that way. Since their opponent already has 4 points, he thinks that might be a valid strategy for Mago’s Scarlet. He hopes that they try to get a point that way. Shuuto says he’ll win his match, and then support his team. Fuudo said that last time Mago’s Scarlet got 4 points, but that wouldn’t happen this time, and actually they are shooting for the 4 point sweep. He wants to be in the position saying “We’re grabbing first place, you guys shoot for 3rd.”

Necalli is banned for Mago Scarlet, and Birdie is banned for Fuudo Gaia. The matches start at about 1:37.

In the interview, Fuudo thought that Bon-chan could take Machabo when Necalli was banned, but Machabo was stronger than he expected, so he thinks they might not ban Machabo’s Necalli next time around. Oonuki asks Shuuto about his straight win, and he says that since his opponent was using Karin, and they have the strongest Karin on the planet on his team, he was able to learn a lot about that match-up. He also got some advice from Fuudo in the second game, and was able to win because of those things. Oonuki asks Bon-chan about his feelings, and he says that he does think they got good practice in with Shuuto for the Karin match, and he’s really happy, they have a good team. Fuudo says that his Birdie has been banned twice, and twice he has gone on to win in the Captain position, so he thinks it is more likely that people will start banning Shuuto, so he wants Shuuto to practice more Dictator for the third episode.

The desk talks a bit about the bans before the start, and Hameko asks what happens if her Mika was banned (Yuuka plays Mika, and is friendly with Fuudo) and she she’ll use Birdie, they have the same anti-air buttons, etc.

Tokido’s Akuma was banned, and Fuudo’s R. Mika was banned.

Before the match, Haku says that in the first two episodes he matched up with someone who had their main banned, and it would have been strange had he not won, but now he expects to see more people playing their main character, and he wants to rise to the occasion. Tokido says that Fuudo Gaia has two huge players in Fuudo and Bon-chan on their team, and they both play well with the character ban rule. He thinks it would be a big deal if they could jump ahead of them in the standings now. Gachi-kun is unhappy that he hasn’t contributed a win yet, and wants to focus on one game at a time.

Fuudo feels like his team doesn’t even care about the character ban rule, and it hasn’t even applied to them yet. He feels like it is hard to ban him, he’s already been banned twice but played in the Captain position and won, so their opponents must be thinking that they have to ban someone else. Bon-chan says that Fuudo’s been banned and won with his R. Mika in the Captain’s position, so it’s hard to imagine how a loss for him would happen. Shuuto says that the other teams probably think there’s no point to banning Fuudo’s Birdie now, so he expects to be banned next, and has been working hard on his secondary for that reason.

Hameko says that player order is important. Particularly Bon-chan has not had much success against F.A.N.G., so if he comes up against Haku they might be able to win that.

Fuudo Gaia won. After the match, in the interview Bon-chan said that while usually Fuudo was in the Captain slot, this time he was, and that he thought Haku was a dark horse, so he really prepared for his FANG. He thought the second half of the season would go well if they could beat Tokido’s team, but he didn’t expect to beat them 4-0, so he’s very happy. Fuudo says that Shuuto’s win over Gachi-kun really gave them a good tail-wind, and that is why they were able to get the sweep. Shuuto thought he would be banned, and practiced his sub character, but was able to use his main character and won. Takasaki Kanami asks about how they prepared, and Fuudo says that under these rules the Captain battle is very important, and when he talked with Bon-chan and Fuudo they said Tokido’s Akuma would be tough. So they banned him, and it worked out. Bon-chan says that on their team, anyone can take the last position, and he thought it might be him this time, but he was prepared to take the Captain position.

In the pre-match video for Nemo Aurora, they talk about how Kichipa-mu’s Zangief has been banned for the past two matches. Nemo says that he has tried to choose an order to let Kichipa-mu shine, but now he thinks that Takeuchi John and himself have to put in more work. Kichipa-mu says that last time Nemo told him that he’d be eternally banned, which Nemo then repeats. Takeuchi John thinks that Rashid probably won’t be banned, so he’s going to do his best to win. Kichipa-mu says that he thinks he can beat all three people on Mago Scarlet with Zangief, but if he has to go only with Abigail then he is prepared for that. Nemo says that they first have to get a win as a team, and after that they can start racking up more wins.

For Mago Scarlet, they open with how Machabo had an easy victory last time with his sub-character (Akuma) and Mago says that he was really impressed. Yuji says that Machabo is the team Sensei. Mago said that he hadn’t seen Machabo’s Akuma and was a bit worried, but now that he’s seen him in action he’s not concerned at all. Machabo says that he’s seen Bon-chan’s Sagat against other Akumas a few times, and that gave him useful information. Mago says that on the other team they’re concerned about Kichipa-mu, but they have two people that can fight him well, so he thinks he might just let him run wild. Mago says that he wants to drown Nemo’s Aurora and rise up on their back.

I like how Yamato and Hameko ask Yuuka for her opinion on things. She does know SF, and knows the people involved (she comes to locals, and is active on twitter in the FGC). She talks a bit about who she expects to be banned. On Nemo’s team, Rashid is banned, and on Mago’s team Chun-Li is banned (targeting Takeuchi John and Yuji respectively.)

During the order planning, Nemo asks Kichipa-mu who he thinks he would be better against, he says that he has confidence against Necali, but that he hasn’t played Machabo much. Mago’s team talks about Machabo and Zangief, though I can’t really make anything out. The match starts and Takeuchi John goes up against Yuji.

Takeuchi John with Cody. I didn’t see that coming. After the match Nemo tells Takeuchi John that Yuji was doing a lot of wake up buttons and EX moves, then they confirm the next up with the staff. Mago’s team talks about sending Machabo up against Kichipa-mu, who they think will be Captain. Next up is Nemo and Mago.

Oh man, Kichipa-mu vs. Machabo. Interesting because Machabo cleaned up against Itazan’s Zangief. He didn’t do that against Kichipa-mu though.

In the interview, Kichipa-mu says that now people got a chance to see what happens when you don’t ban him. They got their first win, which helps their team confidence and he expects to keep on winner. Nemo says his goal was to get their first team win, and he’s glad the two people that didn’t get banned were able to win (Kichipa-mu and himself, strange way to phrase it though.) Takeuchi John says he is happy that they won, but wants to improve his sub character so that he can play well with him too. Takasaki Kanami (reading directly off the clipboard like she doesn’t know what the words mean) asks Nemo’s team about what preparation they did for Mago’s team. Nemo talks about how their plan was to get a point off of Yuji, regardless of who was banned, and then make up the two other points in the Captain position.

Kuramochi Yuuka tells Nemo: “In your personal win against Mago, with whom you have a fated connection, you had a crazy grin when you win, and I felt like it was really wicked. How did you feel?” Nemo says that he was confident in the Karin matchup, and thought he would use Cammy, so he prepared a lot for that. He was happy that Mago used Karin, because there might have been a small chance he would lose with Cammy.

The interview with Itazan Ocean starts off with the Narrator talking about how they have lost consecutively. Itazan says that he thinks that all three of the people on their team are real momentum players, can be hot or cold, and really come at you in waves. Dogura chimes in “Because we’re the Ocean“. Itazan: “Absolutely!” When asked about Umehara Gold’s team, Itazan says he really doesn’t know if they have good teamwork or terrible teamwork (laughing – just assume that any time Itazan says anything, he has a maniacal grin and is laughing. He’s always like that.) Dogura says that Umehara and Kawano both pump their fists and cheer, but somehow Fujimura is mad at only Kawano. Even if Daigo makes the same mistake, he doesn’t say anything, but he will definitely point it out to Kawano. Dogura promises a win, coming in on a big wave. Moke says they will win, he’ll drag the wave after him if he has to, Itazan says that they will absolutely win, making their outlook look brighter. Everyone on this team laughs all the time, they definitely look like the team that is having the most fun (despite their current ranking.)

Daigo thinks they are in a good spot considering they lost the first Captain battle in the first round, but getting all four points in the second episode was big for them. Daigo thinks that in this matchup he will likely be banned, so it is time for his Zeku to come out. He thinks that Itazan will be in the Captain slot, and if that is the case they have a chance to get those points. Fujimura says he is looking forward to use Ibuki, but he’s unhappy that two characters he really doesn’t like (Zangief or Abigail) might show up. Kawano says that he has been challenging himself to try hard things recently, and he wants to try some difficult things here that he might not do in a tournament. For example, seeing Dictator’s heavy punch and punishing that on reaction. Daigo butts in: “You don’t need to do that”, and Kawano says he’ll give up if it doesn’t go well.

Hameko says that Itazan’s characters handle Fujimura well, and Guile gives Itazan’s characters problems, so it is likely Guile will be banned.

As expected Itazan Ocean bans Guile, and Umehara Gold bans Rashid. Itazan’s team talks order, and thinks Daigo will use Zeku. Dogura whispers to Itazan asking if he can use Urien against Daigo’s Zeku, since he thinks he can win that. Daigo’s team talks a bit, Fujimura doesn’t want to go up against Itazan, and they say that Itazan Ocean is pretending to talk. The camera cuts to Dogura, who asks “Should we talk about the kinds of food that we like?” Tonkatsu Curry, which is the correct answer. Desert Island for life food right there.

Fujimura says he was happy that he was given the responsibility to anchor the team, and very happy that even against an opponent he didn’t want to face, he won. Daigo’s satisfied that he was able to win with his sub-character. Kawano says that Fujimura is just crazy strong. Takasaki-san asks Fujimura what it was like being able to use his main after being banned all this time, and he says that he was very nervous because of his opponent, but he prepared for the match, and he was able to execute on that. Kuramochi asked Kawano about how he tried to win on a CA, and he said he was sure he could win with it, but he completely forgot about V-reversals, and when that happened he was sure he would get an earful from Fujimura, and was scared when he looked back at him.

The interview starts looking back on the previous 0-4 point loss to Fuudo Gaia. Tokido thinks that they got the best order for them, but the other team was just better. They ask about Kichipa-mu, and Gachi-kun says he is doing really well, and he really wants to play Zangief. He doesn’t want to wake the sleeping lion. Tokido says that they made detailed plans about whoever the other team might ban, and will win.

For Nemo Aurora, based on Kichipa-mu’s win with Zangief in the prior episode, Nemo expects opponents to focus on banning Zangief, so he and Takeuchi John have to step up. With regards to the opposing team, Nemo says that he really hates F.A.N.G., and that it is a tough match for Urien, so they will ban him and try to defeat Gachi-kun and Tokido at full strength so they can get a point from Haku, and they should be able to get 3 or 4 points that way. Takeuchi John says he’ll do his best (looking cute the whole time) and Kichipa-mu says that with his Zangief getting banned he won’t be able to play with a smile ever again, but he’ll do his best job.

The bans are as expected, Haku’s F.A.N.G. and Kichipa-mu’s Zangief. On Nemo’s team it sounds like they think Haku will be going up first, or maybe Gachi-kun. It sounds like Tokido thinks Kichipa-mu will go up first.

After Nemo Aurora’s victory, Takasaki-san asked Nemo about his feelings on the victory, and he said that based on how good Haku was with his secondary, he probably should have had Takeuchi John play him. But he was able to get a point, so it was up to him and he’s glad he was able to win. When asked about how he feels about the future, Kichipa-mu said that he will work to improve his Abigail to the point that he can win with him, Takeuchi John says that he thinks he and Nemo will have to get the points, and he’ll work to make sure that he can win even in the Captain slot. Nemo says that their next match will be against Itazan, and he says that he wants to show them that “our Zangief is strong too!” You can hear Itazan laughing off camera.

Fuudo says that he doesn’t mind being banned so much, he was already banned 3 times. In fact, he kind of wants to be banned. In fact, please ban me! he said. Bon-chan said that he thinks that Itazan isn’t looking too hot based on his play, and he hopes that trend keeps up at least until they play. Fuudo says that Itazan’s team doesn’t have many points, so they really want the win.

Dogura says that their opponent is probably the most formidable team, and if they can defeat them then he thinks they can ride that (Itazan: a wave will come). Itazan says that it will be really exciting if the leader falls, so they want to contribute to that kind of exciting story. Moke says that they will win. Then Dogura says “We will WWIIIIIINNN! Baban!” and everyone laughs. Itazan gives his “We’ll win”, and calls for a cut. That team laughs a lot.

Mika was banned for Fuudo, and Rashid was banned for Moke. Shuuto wants to play Moke, since Dogura would be tough for him. He thinks the order will be Moke, Dogura, and Itazan. Moke talked about how Itazan should face up against Bon-chan since apparently he has some motivation to do that. Dogura thinks that Bon-chan will be the Captain since he wasn’t banned, but even if it isn’t him, that isn’t too bad for them.

I really enjoyed the Bon-chan vs. Itazan match. I actually really enjoy watching Bon-chan play Sagat, where he can actually do some zoning in SFV, which is rare. The battle for Abigail to get in, and then watching how he keeps the pressure on once he is in and converts that to big damage is a lot of fun to watch. It doesn’t hurt that he won it, taking the win for his team.

In the interview, first of all, Dogura has some pretty hot shoes. Takasaki-san asks how they feel after the victory, and Moke says he’s overjoyed. Dogura says “Man, Fighting Games are so much fun!” Itazan says that the fact that they could put up a good fight with Fuudo Gaia in first place and win it make him think an Itazan Ocean wave will be coming, and he’s very happy. Dogura has some nice things to say about Itazan: no matter what the match up, Itazan plays like he thinks thing will be fine, and you can tell that, it makes him easy to support.

Prior to the ban selection, the announcer talks about how Daigo was able to win with his sub-character Zeku in the previous episode. Since Fuudo Gaia only got one point in their match in this episode, Daigo views this match as a chance to jump into the lead. When asked about his thoughts on the opposing team, he says that they all have strong sub characters, and it is a team that you don’t want to have to play. They are all strong, and Fujimura says that he think any match against them for him is tough. Because it is so tough, Daigo says that he really wants to work hard to beat them (even though he said that last time and lost.)

On Mago Scarlet’s side, looking back at their loss Machabo says that he thinks he should have more practice with Necali over Akuma (the JP SFL is filmed over a couple of sessions, and not just one or two big days like the US, so you can make adjustments between some episodes.) Mago says he thinks thing are good for their team compared to Daigo’s, he’s had trouble with Karin lately. He thinks Daigo wants to take particular care about that case, so he’s interested to see if they meet up or not. He doesn’t think there has been enough time to really make much adjustment though. Machabo say’s he’ll do his best, and Yuji says this is an important match and he’ll do his best.

Ibuki is banned on Umehara Gold, and Necali is banned on Mago Scarlet.

Takasaki-san asks how they feel after getting the sweep. Machbo says it feels great, and getting the sweep really makes for a good outlook. Mago says that Daigo’s team was 2nd, and they are third, so it really felt like a playoff match, and going 4-0 in points in that situation really makes him happy. Yu-ji thinks this puts them in a good position.