User blog:Shadow7615/Shadow's Season 3: A Lookback

Well, it's been a long time since we were here. Best not to prolong things, but I will elaborate on the important stuff.

So, what ended up happening was my original laptop got damaged and degraded further and further until it became unsalvageable, so I went through the entirety of 2017, as well as my second year of university, without a personal use laptop, and I had to go without one until 2018, where I acquired the current laptop I am using.

With a 2016 commencement and 2019 conclusion, Season 3 is my longest Season thus far, I deeply apologize for all those people who were following this season with excitement, that I made the wait time so ridiculously absurd.

But without further adieu, it's time to review all the episodes of Season 3: Severed Ties.

Episode 1: Weiss Schnee vs. Jin Kisaragi
Opening the Season is a matchup that has since become fully playable and realized in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. Though 13 months before its announcement, Weiss, and Jin entered the Death Battle arena, to decide which chilling sword wielder could put their foe on ice.
 * Completion Date: June 23rd, 2016
 * Words: 4,068

Weiss marks RWBY's debut, with Jin bringing BlazBlue back for another season. Though this technically isn't Jin's first appearance in a battle of mine.

Trivia

 * This battle would go on to serve as the inspiration for my own main team in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.
 * This battle, as stated on the page, is dedicated to the late user, Tierhalibelbrylle, a strong enthusiast of RWBY.

Episode 2: Algol vs. Xemnas
As the season progressed, more video game characters appeared, fighting games prominently so. Much like BlazBlue before it, Soulcalibur made a return in Season 3, highlighting an antagonistic figure, Algol. Combating Algol was Xemnas, who became the first Kingdom Hearts character to enter the fray. A showdown of Final Bosses proved to test the skills of the bosses against one another and their unbridled power in full display.
 * Completion Date: August 18th, 2016
 * Words: 3,749

Trivia

 * This is the only Villain vs. Anti-Villain battle of the Season.
 * Xemnas VS Sephiroth was the original plan for this episode, claims made beforehand caused Sephiroth to be swapped for Algol, whilst Sephiroth would reappear later in Season 3.

Episode 3: Scorpion vs. Spawn
Fighting Games proved to be a constant this Season, as a champion of fighting game fame entered the arena, Scorpion. Opposing him was a returning Death Battle combatant, Spawn. The matchup proved to be a personal favorite of mine, thanks to the similar origins and debut of these two hellish fighters. WarpyNeko930 and I wrote this together, and I offer my sincerest thanks to my friend for helping me out.
 * Completion Date: September 13th, 2016
 * Words: 3,707

Trivia

 * 4 years after this battle's release, Spawn would finally be included in Mortal Kombat 11, helping realize this battle in a playable format.
 * This would be the final Death Battle I wrote in 2016, inciting a hiatus that skipped the rest of 2016 and all of 2017, the longest time between episodes thus far in my career.

Episode 4: Jin Kazama vs. Ryu
With a newly acquired laptop, my return to writing Death Battles was inevitable, and after the showdown of sorcerers, Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate, it was confirmed Jin and Ryu would be the next battle. This resulted in my entire Season having to be rearranged, to ensure I met the July 4th deadline. The power of Fighting Games would peak with this battle, and I managed to release the battle with assistance provided by then-battle writer, Nkstjoa.
 * Completion Date: July 4th, 2018
 * Words: 4,638

I extend my thanks to my fellow writer for helping me release a matchup from my childhood I had wanted to see become an official episode.

Trivia

 * This would be the first Death Battle I wrote in 2018, ending my hiatus and re-kickstarting my ambition to complete Season 3. Though the official episode's release did cause a complete restructure of the Season.
 * This battle is also part of Nkstjoa's Bonus Collaborations, which would be followed by Zax vs. Pan.

Episode 5: Auron vs. Jean-Pierre Polnareff
With the Season gradually picking up the pace, fighting game characters went on a break. The next episode saw the return of Final Fantasy and the debut of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. With the Guardian Caretaker going up against the Swordwielder of the Stardust Crusaders, it was refreshing to include a JoJo character. And the battle proving to be a welcome test to see if I could still handle writing. Der Purple Ist Dank provided assistance in writing for Polnareff, I extend my thanks to Derp for his efforts.
 * Completion Date: September 18th, 2018
 * Words: 3,698

Trivia

 * Releasing weeks before the debut episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Polnareff was included to subtly remind people of Polnareff before his reveal in Golden Wind later in the series.
 * This episode is the third collaborative fight in a row, for this season.

Episode 6: Chrom vs. Zack Fair
The return of my two favorite JRPG series returned for another round, Chrom and Zack entered the arena, both wielding swords of history, passed down to successors. This battle was quick to follow up after Auron vs. Polnareff was completed. And perhaps my most emotionally gripping battle to write in the entire Season, it is a personal favorite of mine. Chrom's announcement in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate a month prior to this battle's release inspired me to complete this battle.
 * Completion Date: September 22nd, 2018
 * Words: 5,042

Trivia

 * This battle was released on the same day of the year as Lucina vs. Lightning Farron, the day of my Birthday.
 * Lucina and Lightning have both wielded the Falchion and Buster Sword respectively.
 * Releasing less than one week after Auron vs. Jean-Pierre Polnareff, this is the shortest time between episodic releases.

Episode 7: Robin (Fire Emblem) vs. Corrin (Fire Emblem)
With the impending release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Chrom's inclusion, the time felt right to finally complete the battle I first created back in 2015, Robin and Corrin, vessels for the player, squared off in my first Fire Emblem matchup, deciding this matchup was interesting, as I followed the principle of assessing video game characters without the influence of the player,
 * Completion Date: November 10th, 2018
 * Words: 5,001

Trivia

 * I had originally planned for the female variations of Robin and Corrin to fight, however, I changed my mind due to there being no default gender for either character and that the gender used would only be an aesthetic change.
 * This was the final Death Battle I wrote in 2018, with the rest of the season being completed in 2019.

Episode 8: Wing Gundam Zero vs. Evangelion Unit-01
Reminiscing about the earlier years of the Death Battle Fanon Wiki has always been something I enjoyed, I always like returning to Godzilla vs. Evangelion Unit-01, as it proved to be such an impactful battle, this inspired me to bring the Evangelion Unit-01 into battle, and pitting him against fellow 90s mecha, Wing Gundam Zero. The change of pace from normal people to pilots in mecha was fun to partake.
 * Completion Date: June 29th, 2019
 * Words: 5,895

Trivia

 * This battle was inspired by both Godzilla vs. Evangelion Unit-01 and Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon.
 * This battle would be the second Mecha Death Battle I wrote, as well as the first Death Battle I wrote in 2019.

Episode 9: Ultimecia vs. Homura Akemi
With my drive to write battle restored, I started making battles more often, multiple in a month if I was able to muster the endurance to write. Although this battle proved to take longer than I intended, though understandably so, as it ultimately ended up having a word count of over 19,000. A personal milestone for myself. Although I did not handle the whole fight by myself. Due to the vast powers commanded by Ultimecia and Homura, I needed to understand concepts and abilities I had not dabbled in prior, and with some help from LuckyEmile, I was able to implement these ideas and complete the battle, I wholeheartedly thank LuckyEmile for lending some dearly appreciated assistance.
 * Completion Date: July 27th, 2019
 * Words: 19,623

Trivia

 * As for this battle's release, it is the longest battle on the wiki, surpassing Yusuke Urameshi vs. Dante.
 * This battle included cameos from over 40 Death Battles, something I wanted to do as thanks to the community as well as paying homage to Dante vs. Homura Akemi, written by Fedora Lord Para 348.

Episode 10: Terra Branford vs. Sayaka Miki
Continuing onward, the next battle would pit two ladies of the blade against each other, Terra Branford would find herself up against Sayaka Miki, both commanding magic, their battle proved to be testaments to their characters, and how their emotions guided their journeys. A personal favorite of mine this season, I really enjoyed writing their interactions with each other.
 * Completion Date: August 14th, 2019
 * Words: 5,700

Trivia

 * This is the second time where I have used the same franchises in matchups in back-to-back episodes. With Ike vs. Cloud Strife and Marth vs. Warrior of Light being back-to-back in Season 1.
 * This battle included music from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as the Lightsaber Duels served as writing inspiration for this episode.

Episode 11: Gintoki Sakata vs. Segata Sanshiro
Death Battle could not contain Segata Sanshiro, he and Chuck Norris are too powerful to be held down by forever. Segata soon returned to the world, once again compelling others to play the Sega Saturn, however this time he found himself in a battle against an equally, absurdly powerful opponent with unusual abilities. Gintoki Sakata. Though who even knows if a written battle on a fanon wiki can contain them.
 * Completion Date: August 28th, 2019
 * Words: 5,052

Trivia

 * This was my first Joke Death Battle, hence why it is featured in a blog, as opposed to having a page.
 * Much like Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro, this battle has no definitive verdict and can be seen as a stalemate.

Episode 12: Sephiroth vs. Madoka Kaname
The Season Finale that I have been waiting years to finally set in motion was finally completed in Season 3. Making his return to Death Battle, Sephiroth faced off against Madoka Kaname, for a climactic and epic battle to end the Season with the highest highs ever achieved thus far in any Death Battle I've written.
 * Completion Date: September 14th, 2019
 * Words: 14,000

Trivia

 * This battle is my equivalent of Goku VS Superman and was created to be just like it, including its presentation, featuring a title sequence, a breakdown of Strength, Speed, and Durability, as well as the Board of Wizdom breaking down the comparison.
 * Additionally, "Planetary Crisis" and "Battle of Gods" are both references to major works in DC Comics and Dragon Ball that influenced and changed the franchises going forward.
 * The combatants themselves have comparisons to Goku and Superman. Madoka and Goku are anime protagonists who unlock godly power and use it protect the Universe from extreme dangers.
 * Sephiroth and Superman both believed themselves wholly human, and upon discovering their alien genes, both ultimately embraced and made use of it, both have also been voiced by George Newbern.

Bonus Episode: Sakura Haruno vs. Tifa Lockhart
With the end of another Season comes another Bonus Episode, and for Season 3, it was time to return to the matchup that was featured as the Season 1 Bonus Episode. 4 years after that episode, I decided it was time to revise my original battle and include everything Sakura and Tifa had picked up in those 4 years. And with a nostalgic feeling about it, writing these two once again showed me just how much I have changed, and makes me thankful I have not given up.
 * Completion Date: September 25th, 2019
 * Words: 5,007

Trivia

 * As this is a rematch between two combatants I have matched up previously, Goku VS Superman 2 proved as a key inspiration for this episode, both skipping the analysis sections and focusing more on their characters, as well as their influence on the versus community.
 * Although this is a rematch, this battle can alternatively be called Sakura Uchiha vs. Tifa Lockhart, factoring in Sakura's marriage, additionally, this battle was released on the same day as Sasuke VS Hiei, the matchup featuring Sakura’s husband.

Season 3 in Summary

 * Total Word Count: 85,180
 * Average per Episode: 6,552 words

Teaser and Polls
Season 4 is not far away. If you're interested to know who is fighting, then Check this out! A little preview of Season 4, Episode 1.

Which Season 3 Death Battle is your favorite? A Refined Chill - Weiss Schnee vs. Jin Kisaragi Deep Voices, Great Power - Algol vs. Xemnas 90s Demons Reborn - Scorpion vs. Spawn The Dark Within - Jin Kazama vs. Ryu Our Sword is Yours - Auron vs. Jean-Pierre Polnareff Inheritors and Predecessors - Chrom vs. Zack Fair At the Player's Command - Robin vs. Corrin Mechanized Melee - Wing Gundam Zero vs. Evangelion Unit-01 Time? What a concept - Ultimecia vs. Homura Akemi Battle of Magic and Sword - Terra Branford vs. Sayaka Miki Parodies of Power - Gintoki Sakata vs. Segata Sanshiro To save what we cherish most - Sephiroth vs. Madoka Kaname One Last Round - Sakura Haruno vs. Tifa Lockhart Which victorious Season 3 Combatant is your favorite? Jin Kisaragi Xemnas Spawn Jin Kazama Auron Zack Fair Robin Evangelion Unit-01 Homura Akemi Terra Branford Madoka Kaname Tifa Lockhart Which defeated Season 3 Combatant is your favorite? Weiss Schnee Algol Scorpion Ryu Jean-Pierre Polnareff Chrom Corrin Wing Gundam Zero Ultimecia Sayaka Miki Sephiroth Sakura Haruno Which Death was your favorite? Weiss Schnee (Frozen and shattered via Arctic Dungeon) Algol (Lifeforce drained via Invitation to Nothingness) Scorpion (Decapitated by Leetha in axe form) Ryu (Snapped neck) Jean-Pierre Polnareff (Impaled in the chest) Chrom (Bled out from Apocalypse) Corrin (Impaled in the chest) Wing Gundam Zero (Heero stabbed by Progressive Knife) Ultimecia (Complete Disintergration via Energy Projection) Sayaka Miki (Complete Disintergration via Ultima) Sephiroth (Obliterated via Shooting Star's arrows) Sakura Haruno (Exploded via Final Heaven)