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Umehara ga kimeta

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Umehara ga kimeta
at the 2003 Tougeki – Super Battle Opera (SBO 03)
VenueMakuhari Messe
LocationChiba, Japan
Date23 March 2003
Competitors5,823
Teams1,941

Umehara ga kimeta or Crazy Live Commentary (Japanese: 電波実況, romanized: Denpa Jikkyou) was live commentary in response to a match by video-game player Daigo Umehara at a national fighting game tournament in Japan in 2003. In 2007, a 17-second video clip of "Crazy Live Commentary" was posted on a video-sharing website. The commentatary became a popular video, with millions of views. "Crazy Live Commentary" videos became standard material for mashups (videos remixed by individuals), and hundreds of mashups using "Crazy Live Commentary" were posted and shared. "Crazy Live Commentary" became notable in Japan, and the phrase "Crazy Live Commentary" ("Umehara ga kimeta") was also an internet meme outside the country.

Background

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Exterior of a convention center
Makuhari Messe

"Crazy Live Commentary" was play-by-play commentary by "Gama no abura" on a match by Daigo Umehara, the top player of the fighting game Guilty Gear X2, at the 2003 Tougeki – Super Battle Opera (SBO) fighting-game tournament in Japan. The phrase "Umehara ga kimeta" is the commentary's most passionate exclamation.

Tournament

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Crazy Live Commentary was made at the SBO fighting-game tournament. SBO, Japan's largest fighting-game tournament, was held from 2003 to 2012. It was organized by the arcade-game magazine Monthly Arcadia and Enterbrain, Arcadia's publisher. Unlike tournaments organized by game manufacturers to promote their games, SBO was not influenced by a particular game manufacturer.[1] SBO, with participation from leading foreign professional gamers, was Japan's first internationally-recognized e-sports tournament.[1][2]

SBO included media development. Microphone performances were a highlight: saying something cocky before a match or stirring things up like a professional wrestling match.[3] The 2003 SBO, on 22–23 March, was the first tournament at the Makuhari Messe event facility in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture.[4]

Seven titles were contested in SBO 03, which included Guilty Gear X2; the game had a large number of participants for all seven titles. From all over Japan, 1,941 teams entered the competition; the 32 teams surviving the preliminary rounds competed in the main competition at Makuhari Messe.[4] The format of the Guilty Gear X2 matches was tournament-style, three-on-three, with teams of three players fighting one by one until one of them lost; the team with the remaining winner advanced to the next match.[4]

Participants

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Daigo Umehara

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A young man at a competition
Umehara in 2018

Daigo Umehara, 22 years old, was a charismatic player in Japan's 2D fighting world. The team Umehara formed with two other well-known players in the Guilty Gear X2 division took first place in the preliminary survey to predict the winning team, more than three times ahead of the second-place team.[4] Umehara made it through to the main competition of all four of the seven titles he entered in SBO'03, finishing as the individual runner-up in Capcom vs. SNK 2 and the team champion in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.[4]

Gama no abura

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SBO's play-by-play was performed by 23-year-old "Gama no abura", who began working part-time at a video arcade before he was 20 years old because of his love of video games and desire to play in a tournament of his favorite title. He said that he began the tournament because he wanted to participate in it, but has become more interested in conveying the greatness of the players and making the event more interesting than in his success; he participates less as a player.[5] The number of new arcade-game titles released was declining; Gama no abura was involved in the launch of the fighting-game tournament, believing that if the industry could be boosted by simultaneous national tournaments for multiple games, manufacturers would be more willing to create new titles to revitalize the industry.[5]

The match

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The "Crazy Live Commentary" was made in the second round of the main tournament. Umehara's team lost two of its players to the other team's spearheads, leaving Umehara alone. Umehara defeated two members of the opposing team and, in the final round of the generals' match, Umehara won decisively to advance to the third round.[4] The commentary was:

Umehara ga! Tsukamaete! (Umehara grabs!)

Umehara ga! Gamenhaji! (Umehara pins him against the edge!)

Burst Yonde! Mada Hairu! (He predicts the burst! [The combo] still continues!)

Umehara ga! Tsu･･･Chikazuite! (Umehara gra—closes in! )

Umehara ga kimeta! (Umehara finishes it!)

— Gama no abura[6]

Umehara's team was eliminated in the semifinals.[4] Although there was no live streaming,[5] the tournament was recorded and sold on the Enterbrain DVD Tougeki Super Battle DVD Trilogy-Disc3.[4]

Video distribution

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On 6 March 2007, a 17-second video entitled 『電波実況 「ウメハラがぁっ！！！決めたぁぁーっ！！！(Crazy Live Commentary "Umehara ga kimeta!!!"』 was posted on the online video platform NicoNico.[7] The video is one of NicoNico's oldest, which began as a video-sharing service that day.[8] The enthusiastic commentary became popular[9][5] and, by 2024, had over three million views.[7]

Mashups

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After Crazy Live Commentary videos were posted on NicoNico, a large number of mashup videos were created by splicing and editing images and audio from the commentary.[9] According to the IT-news site Mynavi News, "ふぃぎゅ@ウメハラ," (a Crazy Live Commentary mashup for the theme song of the adult PC game ふぃぎゅ@Mate) began the Crazy Live Commentary mashup craze.[9]

Participant reactions

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On his streaming channel, Umehara was asked by a viewer how he felt about the Crazy Live Commentary upsurge on NicoNico: "I didn't feel bad about it, honestly, although I didn't get what was so funny about it".[10][11] "Gama no abura" has a positive view of the commentary's fame,[5] and approved its use as mashup material: "There were a lot of comments and stories about that play-by-play, but I heard that there were people who got to know Umehara because of that play-by-play, and that there were people who became interested in fighting games, so I think it was a success in a sense. At the time, I wanted people to understand how great he was, even if it meant making a laughingstock of myself".[12]

Reception

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"Crazy Live Commentary" has been considered a masterpiece of live commentary, and was described by gaming media outlet Inside as "a great commentary that not only captures the momentum, but also accurately captures the development of the game".[6] Online news outlet Netorabo introduced the commentary as "game-jargon-free, easy-to-understand, and emotionally-expressive shouting", and praised it for "making a significant contribution to the resurgence of fighting-game popularity".[5] Esports website Gamer Gamer described "Crazy Live Commentary" as esports' best live commentary, a way to convey the competition's excitement comparable to announcer Fujio Kariya's commentary about the men's team gymnastics final at the 2004 Athens Olympics: "The parabolic line drawn by Moonsault is a bridge to glory!".[13]

Influence

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In Japan

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For the 2015 release of the Umehara-themed manga Umehara FIGHTING GAMERS! 2, a promotional video for the book was narrated in Crazy Live Commentary style by "Gama no abura".[14][15][16]

During a 2022 Street Fighter V match in the long-running Topanga Championship, the MC saw Umehara's edge attack and exclaimed, "Umehara ga!" The commentator replied, "Gamenhaji!" and Crazy Live Commentary was replayed. It became popular on social media.[6][17]

A 2024 song, "Rolling Sobat," was released by the rap group RainyBlueBell.[18] The song's lyrics are interwoven with Crazy Live Commentary's signature phrase.[19][20]

Abroad

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When "Gama no abura" arrived in the United States to comment in Japanese at the 2011 Evolution Championship Series (the world's largest fighting-game tournament),[21][12] he was interviewed by local media and replayed the Crazy Live Commentary.[22]

In 2015, in the final match of the Ultra Street Fighter IV division of the fighting-game tournament Stunfest 2015 in France, Umehara made a one-sided attack. The commentator responded in Japanese, "Umehara ga ...", using the meme.[23] The meme, released at Stunfest, was included in Umehara FIGHTING GAMERS! 2.[16]

Aftermath

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In 2010, Umehara signed a sponsorship deal with an American video-game peripheral manufacturer and became a professional gamer.[24][25] He is considered one of Japan's first professional gamers.[26] In 2024, Umehara was still active in the top echelon of the fighting-game world and working to expand the player population.[27] "Gama no abura" is a director of esports-related activities (which include founding an organization which organizes fighting-game events), and has fewer opportunities for play-by-play work.[5][12]

See also

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  • Evo Moment 37 - Umehara's upset in 2004, considered an iconic moment in esports history[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b yoshida, hiroshi (2020). "eスポーツから考える: 身体、技術、コミュニケーションの現在と未来 Thinking from eSports: The Present and Future of Physicality Technology and Communication". Fashion Talks...: The Journal of the Kyoto Costume Institute: 服飾研究. 12. the kyoto costume institute: 28–37.
  2. ^ Kakei, Seiichiroh (April 10, 2019). eスポーツ地方創生～日本における発展のかたち～ [ja:eSports Regional Development: The Shape of Development in Japan] (in Japanese). Byakuya-Shobo CO., LTD. ISBN 978-4864942263.
  3. ^ "『ザ・ランブルフィッシュ2』がリリースされた当時の格ゲーシーンを伝説の格ゲー大会"闘劇"の生みの親、猿渡氏＆松田氏とともに振り返る" [ja:A look back at the gaming scene when “The Rumble Fish 2” was released with Mr. Saruwatari and Mr. Matsuda, creators of the legendary “Tougeki” gaming tournament.] (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h 闘劇 ＳＵＰＥＲ ＢＡＴＴＬＥ ＤＶＤ ＴＲＩＬＯＧＹ－ＤＩＳＣ３ [Tougeki ＳＵＰＥＲ ＢＡＴＴＬＥ ＤＶＤ ＴＲＩＬＯＧＹ－ＤＩＳＣ３] (in Japanese). Enterbrain. 18 August 2024. ASIN B00009N2JS.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "「ウメハラがぁ！」の名実況はなぜ生まれたのか 裏方として格闘ゲームを支え続ける電波実況の中の人に話を聞いた" How did the famous "Umehara ga!" We interviewed the people behind Crazy Live Report, who continue to support fighting games behind the scenes. (in Japanese). ITmedia Inc. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "電波実況としてお馴染み「ウメハラがぁ！画面端！」が令和に復活！？格ゲーファンが大興奮" [The well-known Crazy Live report "Umehara ga! Gamenhaji!_ is back in reiwa period!] (in Japanese). IID, Inc. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b "電波実況 「ウメハラがぁっ！！！決めたぁぁーっ！！！」" [ja:Crazy Live Report "Umehara ga kimeta!!!] (in Japanese). NicoNico. 6 March 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  8. ^ "「ニコニコRe:仮で見れる動画まとめ Wiki」でニコニコ最古級のネット動画を時系列順にチェックしてみた" [ja:Checked out Nico Nico's oldest online videos in chronological order on the "Nico Nico Re:Temporary Video Summary Wiki".]. GIGAZINE. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "格闘ゲーム界のカリスマ「ウメハラ」、神業からMADまでニコ動でチェック!" [ja:Check out the charismatic "Umehara" of the fighting game world, from divine deeds to MAD on NicoNico!] (in Japanese). Mynavi Corporation. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  10. ^ "てきとう" [ja:unserious] (in Japanese). Mildom. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  11. ^ "ニコニコの「ウメハラがぁ！」でお馴染み「ウメハラ電波実況」について語る【梅原大吾 切り抜き】" ["NicoNico's "Umehara ga! Talks about "Umehara crazy live report" known for. [Daigo Umehara clipping]] (in Japanese). YouTube. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "「一般の人も楽しめるコミュニティ大会を続けていきたい」【ボタンマッシャーズ代表 がまの油氏インタビュー】 （1/2）" [ja:I want to continue to hold community tournaments that the general public can enjoy. [Interview with Mr. Gama-no-abura, Representative of Button Mashers] (1/2)] (in Japanese). Tekwind. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  13. ^ "eスポーツの名実況といえばこれだ！【編集部コラム】" [ja:This is what we call a great e-sports commentary! [Editor's Column]] (in Japanese). Medical One Co., Ltd. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  14. ^ "ウメハラ「ストZERO3は嫌いだった」 EVO2015に向けて7/10にニコ生出演するぞ！" [ja:Umehara: "I hated Street Fighter Alpha 3" I'll be on Nico Live on July 10 for EVO 2015!] (in Japanese). KADOKAWA ASCII Research Laboratories, Inc. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  15. ^ "ウメハラ選手＆がまの油氏のPV解禁！漫画「ウメハラ FIGHTING GAMERS 2」が6月26日に発売―ニコ生＆プロ論を語る書籍「勝ち続ける64の流儀」の情報も" [Umehara & Gama no abura's PV release! Manga "Umehara FIGHTING GAMERS 2" will be released on June 26th - Information on Nico Live & the book "The 64 Styles of Winning" about professional theory.] (in Japanese). ixll Co., Ltd. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  16. ^ a b "梅原大吾本人が出演！「電波実況」のあの人も登場！コミックス『ウメハラ FIGHTING GAMES②』 公式PV" [ja:Daigo Umehara himself makes an appearance! The "Crazy live report" player also makes an appearance! Umehara FIGHTING GAMES (2)" Official PV] (in Japanese). KADOKAWA. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  17. ^ "第4期 TOPANGA CHAMPIONSHIP【Aリーグ DAY6】" [4th TOPANGA CHAMPIONSHIP [A League DAY6] (in Japanese). CELLORB. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  18. ^ "TOPHAMHAT-KYO、雨天決行、ill.bellによるラップクルー・RainyBlueBell、新曲「ローリングソバット」リリース&MV公開" [RainyBlueBell, a rap crew consisting of TOPHAMHAT-KYO, UTENKEKKO, and ill.bell, releases new song "Rolling Sobat" & music video]. TuneCore Japan KK. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  19. ^ "RainyBlueBell "ローリングソバット" 【MV】" [RainyBlueBell "Rolling Sobat" 【MV】] (in Japanese). YouTube. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  20. ^ "歌詞 ローリングソバット by TOPHAMHAT-KYO 雨天決行 ill.bell" [Lyrics Rolling Sobat by TOPHAMHAT-KYO UTENKEKKO ill.bell] (in Japanese). TuneCore Japan KK. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  21. ^ "世界最大の格闘ゲーム大会「EVO 2011」開幕、初日は「スパIV AE」" [ja:EVO 2011, the world's largest fighting game tournament, opens with "Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition" on the first day.]. japanese. GIGAZINE. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Evo 2011: Gama No Abura w/ Zhi: "Umehara GA!" がまの油 ウメハラが". YouTube. 7 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2024. 1:07,22:53
  23. ^ "USFIV: EG Momochi vs MCZ Daigo Umehara - Stunfest 2015 Grand Final - CPT 2015". YouTube. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2024. 9:41,9:45
  24. ^ "ついにプロゲーマーデビュー！ 2D格闘ゲームの「神」ことウメハラ選手を知っていますか？" [ja:Finally, his debut as a professional gamer! Do you know Umehara, the "God" of 2D fighting games?]. ITmedia Inc. (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  25. ^ "格闘ゲームの神，ウメハラ氏が米Mad Catzと契約。プロゲーマーとして活動を開始" [ja:Umehara, the god of fighting games, signs a contract with Mad Catz of the U.S. and will start activities as a professional gamer.]. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  26. ^ "IRのキラーコンテンツ「eスポーツ」とはなにか？ JeSUの浜村氏に聞く (1/3)" [ja:What is "e-sports," the killer content for IR? Interview with Mr. Hamamura of JeSU (1/3)]. JaIR (in Japanese). KADOKAWA ASCII Research Laboratories, Inc. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  27. ^ "梅原大吾に聞く 「スト6」登場後の変化と格闘ゲームのこれから" [Interview with Daigo Umehara: Changes after "SF6" and the Future of Fighting Games] (in Japanese). Nikkei Business Publications. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  28. ^ "How 'Evo Moment #37' Became the Greatest Viral Clip in Esports History". Rolling Stone. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
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