It’s time to head back to the Colorful World of Marvelous, to see what all our favourite characters are up to now. Marvelous are having a joyously wacky start to the year, and I am always excited to see what they do next, so let’s get on with it.
Yuki Miyazaki defeated Takumi Iroha and Riko Kawahata in a three-way
I feel like I’ve been letting the side down by not spending enough time talking about how wonderfully entertaining Yuki Miyazaki is. Plenty of words have been put to work praising Hirota and Hibiscus Mii, but for whatever reason, Yuki tends to fall by the wayside. Well, let’s change that because she was wonderful here. Whether she was perching on the top rope, assured that Riko was going to be plopped into position for a Moonsault (she wasn’t) or trying to join in on Kawahata and Iroha trading kicks, she had me giggling my way through this. I wasn’t the only one either. There was a point where I thought Chigusa might drop the camera from laughing so hard.
She also set the mood nicely for our opener, which balanced strong wrestling with a streak of silliness. Away from Miyasaki, Kawahata was again impressive, looking at home in the ring with two people who have been doing this a lot longer than she has. She’s honing her kicks, making them a vital part of her offence, while also bumping her ass off, as I genuinely don’t know how she survived Miyazaki booting her out of the air on a Moonsault attempt. I’m pretty sure that broke one of my ribs, never mind her’s.
Throw in Iroha, and you have yourself a lovely old time. This was a perfect Ramblings About opener, as they brought us through the door with some light comedy and then kept us around with some good action. Two thumbs up from me!
Verdict: A Fun Opener
In the aftermath, we got some chat about the upcoming AAAW Tag Title Tournament, which set up Miyazaki as Kawahata’s partner. That certainly wasn’t what Miyazaki wanted (she was after Takumi), but Riko seemed pleased, so hopefully, they’ll manage to get along.
Leo Isaka defeated Daiju Wakamatsu
Daiju Wakamatsu is a young 2AW wrestler who is only a couple of years into his career. I’ve got to be honest, I’d never heard of him before, but then that isn’t rare for a Leo opponent.
And this ended up having the problems that many Leo outings do. It was a good showing between two talented young wrestlers that fell flat, not because of their abilities, but because it felt like it was on the wrong show. There was none of the chaos or spark that makes Marvelous magical, and it didn’t feel important enough to be taken seriously beyond that. It was simply a decent bout.
As I’ve said a million times, I like Leo, and I think he’s a good wrestler. Judging by this match, the same can be said of Daiju. However, that’s not always enough, and this never smashed through the ‘just a match’ ceiling.
Verdict: Fine
Sexual Violet (Makoto & Yuna Manase) defeated Team Blue (Rin Kadokura & Itsuki Aoki)
Sexual Violet have entered the fray, foregoing the usual naming conventions of the Colorful World of Marvelous and bringing together a rather fantastic trio of Makoto, Manase and Maria. That’s got to put them straight into contention.
Their debut certainly suggested they’ll fit in, as they found time for sexy pose-offs (poor Itsuki seemed ready to fight the crowd when Makoto’s attempts went over better than hers) and booting people in the head. I think there is a decent argument to be made that Makoto is one of the more underrated talents in the scene right now, and this match showed why that’s the case. She’s not only a load of fun, but she also lays into everything, favouring a well-aimed boot to the mush. Manase and her proved a potent combo, as they managed to outpower Itsuki and Rin at every turn.
It also made for a great bout, something that is becoming the norm with Rin and Aoki. They’re the workhorses of the Colorful World of Marvelous, as Team Blue haven’t taken centre stage but are always there to hold things together. Fingers crossed that their efforts are noticed because as much as I favour the chaos, I think they’re an excellent pairing who should be allowed, at the minimum, a decent run in the upcoming tournament.
Verdict: Great Stuff
Rin brought up said tournament post-match, and while I couldn’t quite figure out what she said, it seemingly inspired Manase to throw her hat into the ring. Unfortunately for her, Makoto is already spoken for (she’s teaming with Maria), so after a minor breakdown, she vowed to return with a partner before cutting a show-closing promo despite it not being the end of the show. You’ve got to love her enthusiasm.
Tomoko Watanabe defeated Kaoru Ito
With things not being entirely alright in the world of Team Black (aka they keep falling out, leading to Tomoko being pinned), it’s come to this, a battle between friends. Ito and Watanabe have known each other for a long old time (they debuted on the same day), and while they might not be as quick as they once were, they’ve picked up a bit of experience since then.
And yea, if you’re looking for a pacey wrestling match, then this isn’t for you. However, I kind of loved it. They started by bouncing off each other, hossing it out the old-fashioned way. Then, it morphed into Ito beating the shit out of poor Tomoko. Seriously, she must owe her money or something because there was a Senton and a Double Footstomp that looked murderous. Although to be fair to Ito, Tomoko didn’t exactly hold back either, making sure to lay into her limited offence before picking up the win.
It left us with something that had a beautiful simplicity to it as two old friends beat each other up. It’s not perfect, but it scratches an itch, and I’m certainly not going to be the one to complain about it.
Verdict: Ow
In the post-match, after a little bit more bickering, these two found some common ground and agreed to compete in the tag tournament together.
Team Yellow (Yurika Oka & Ai Houzan) defeated Team Yellow (Chikayo Nagashima & Ancham)
Ai Houzan and Yurika Oka have stumbled upon an act that I will never tire of. Two pest rookies, who don’t do anything particularly fancy, but who you have to damn near kill to stop them coming. Seriously, what could be better than that?
To spread the love around a bit, Chikayo and Ancham were outstanding in their role as well. For the bulk of this, they felt like they were in control, the combination of Ancham’s technical talent and Chikayo’s general all-rounder goodness, holding the rookies at bay. Sure, there was the occasional wobble, but that’s to be expected, and they had enough to get the win eventually, right?
NOT! Because these rookies are becoming a fearsome team, and when you give them an opportunity, they will take it. Tomoko found that out a few weeks back, and this time it was Ancham’s turn, as a misplaced smack from Chikayo’s toilet brush sent her stumbling into a roll-up and another famous victory for Ai Houzan. Ai and Oka are going all the way, baby!
Verdict: Give Ai And Oka All The Belts!
We got confirmation that Ai and Oka will be going for the titles, as the post-match saw Nagashima trying to decide who her partner will be, only for Ai to answer the question for her by choosing to stick with her rookie pal. Presumably, that means Nagashima will be paired up with Ancham, but I couldn’t pick up if that was confirmed or not. Either way, that tournament is shaping up to be something special.
Overall Show
That was another delight of a Marvelous show. Even with the Leo match running a bit cold for me, it was still a lot of fun to watch and ended with Ai Houzan getting another win, which is how all shows should end. I don’t know if they’ve confirmed the dates for the actual tournament, but I am very excited about it and can’t wait to see Ai and Oka crowned champions (shut up, it’s definitely happening).
Marvelous have their own NicoNico channel where you can support them.
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