Amaterasu's Contest History

Who is Amaterasu?
Amaterasu (Or, as affectionately named by Issun, Ammy) is the main character of the most artistic games of all time, Okami. We can't really discuss Amaterasu without getting into the story first, so let's jump right in.

100 year ago, legendary swordsman Nagi, along with the snow white wolf, Shiranui, battle the 8-headed demon Orochi, who had capture Nami, Nagi's beloved. Unable to defeat the demon completely, the two manage to seal away Orochi's power... for a time.

Fast forward to "present day" Nippon. Orochi's seal has been broken, and he once again begins to coat the land in a cursed veil. Sakuya, a wood sprite, calls upon the sun goddess, Amaterasu and Shiranui reincarnated, in order to aid in the fight against darkness. Along with the three-centimeter tall wandering artist, Issun, Ammy sets out to chase away the darkness that plagues the land.

After clearing Shinshu Field and the surrounding areas of Orochi's curse, Ammy and Issun head to the Moon Cave in hopes of slaying Orochi. With the help of Susano, Nagi's descendant, they easily handle Orochi, and his dark essence floats northward, though Amaterasu thinks nothing of it.

Still searching for the remaining Celestial Brush techniques, Ammy and Issun find themselves not only liberating Ryoshima coast from an almost poisoness green mist by defeating the "virus" Blight, but also combating the evil Ninetales (Kyubi) of legend in his stronghold of Oni Island. Both their essence, like Orochi's, float lowly northward to the land of Kamui. There, Ammy ends an eternal snowstorm that froze the land over by defeating Lechku and Nechku, the twin demons that take the form of mechanical owls. There, Amaterasu boards the Ark of Yamato, finally facing of with the true king of evil. With Issun and everyone they've met on their journey pulling for her, (And spawning the most touching cut scene since the MGS3 ending) Amaterasu finds the strength to destroy the evil Yami and finally rid the world of evil. Restoring the ark, Amaterasu uses it to travel among the stars.

The fascinating thing about Amaterasu is that she's the typical silent protagonist, yet so different. Link is a skilled swordsman, Samus has an array of weapons that put entire armies to shame, and Cloud is TRAINED to fight. Amaterasu is a wolf. Granted, a god in wolf's clothing, but still just a wolf. During one of the games final cut scenes, though, you realize you were a god all along to those people. They depended on you, cared for you, aided you, and they didn't even know your identity. You may as well have kept your secret. They would want you to succeed anyway. Not just for themselves, but for you. And it's the fact Amaterasu can not only invoke those feelings, but will do anything to make people believe in a brighter future, is truly amazing.

"Let's join and call upon the great god! Let's show Ammy we truly believe! Put your hands together and pray! Let's make our gratitude obvious! I mean, we shouldn't pray only when we want something! We should consider how the gods must feel once in a while. We should even take on some of their burden. If you pray with all your heart, maybe the sun will cheer up and show itself once again, lighting the world with its heavenly glow! After all, the best thing about the great god Amaterasu is that happy-go-lucky spirit! Right, Ammy? Answer if you can hear me, ya big furball!" - Issun

(Writeup courtesy of Biolizard28; n_o_souza@hotmail.com)

Contest History
Win-Loss Record: 4-3

Summer 2007 Contest - Division 6 - First Group
 * Division 6 Round 1 --- 2nd place, 31431 [22.75%] - Dante, 67963 [49.19%] - Little Mac, 22851 [16.54%] - Matt, 15910 [11.52%]
 * Division 6 Round 2 --- 2nd place, 25540 [20.83%] - Dante, 53240 [43.41%] - Ada Wong, 23800 [19.41%] - Balthier Bunansa, 20051 [16.35%]
 * Division 6 Final --- 4th place, 15644 [11.93%] - Pikachu, 44304 [33.79%] - Dante, 39904 [30.43%] - Leon Kennedy, 31279 [23.85%]

Amaterasu was lucky in her first contest in that she got a weak match to start off and even then people were doubting her abilities. Many people thought she would lose to Little Mac or even Matt in that match. In the end she proved them wrong and won the match rather easily. After Balthier's flop in the previous round Amaterasu was also thought to have a great chance at advancing and after going neck and neck against Ada Wong at night she was able to pull through in the morning. However in the third round Amaterasu was quickly out-matched by her opponents and finished a distant fourth.

Summer 2008 Contest - Division 4 - First Group
 * Division 4 Round 1 --- 2nd place, 32815 [26.56%] - Crono, 60803 [49.22%] - Frank West, 19972 [16.17%] - Kaim Argonar, 9940 [8.05%]
 * Division 4 Round 2 --- 4th place, 23270 [16.32%] - Crono, 45757 [32.09%] - L-Block, 39556 [27.74%] - Ryu, 34004 [23.85%]

While Amaterasu's path was more or less a lock in this contest people were surprised on how well she performed percent wise. It seems that the release of Okami on the Wii has helped her strength and made her into a legit mid-card.

Winter 2010 Contest - Hyrule Division - 6 Seed
 * Hyrule Round 1 --- Defeated (11) Shadow the Hedgehog, 41994 [52.59%] - 37852 [47.41%]
 * Hyrule Round 2 --- Lost to (3) Luigi, 21036 [40.41%] - 31026 [59.59%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 60th Place [23.33%]

For the third contest in a row Amaterasu has done better based on expectations. Most people thought that a portion of her strength came from the four-ways format. She was the underdog against Shadow and was able to win in a close, but never in danger in losing type of match. In the second round she was able to break 40% on Luigi which is pretty impressive.