T6R2M8 JoJolity Delib

Judge Bugs Bunny (Logic)
I could pontificate on the philosophy of art and comedy, but ultimately I’ll grade this the same way I’ve been grading Philosophy Jojolities since R1M1: define your terms and reify the philosophy with mechanical plays. The one wrinkle is that a lot of a joke depends on how its told, and thus how it’s framed, so I’ll consider that a bit more than usual.

Marissa is a bit of a headscratcher. For a strat that starts with a dictionary citation of slapstick, Marissa pratfalling, and some comedic kills in the early game, much of the later narrative is built on highlighting Marissa’s coolness and resolve. This isn’t innately an issue—multiple modes of comedy and storytelling can balance and heighten cool and comedic—but it here begins to feel that comedy is left a bit by the wayside.

This isn’t quite to say it’s wholly gone, but that it’s discordant. Compare and contrast the early kills with the skateboarding with the zombie horde, the last of which has bits of “clumsy actions and humorously embarrassing events” but they feel more tacked on than integrated, more told than shown—especially compared to the earlier sections and when framed in the context of making Lomo “experience how death feels from the perspective of someone who wants to live.” I don’t like counterfactuals for Delibs, but I can’t help but imagine how the same tech could framed as jokes at Marissa’s expense similar to the pratfall above, ridiculous attempts at coming off as cool, but again, counterfactuals are only instructive at best.

They do point to the counter argument that the strat becomes increasingly “absurd,” which a zombie horde would qualify as and certainly as creative. However, strats naturally can tend towards the absurd and the bizarre regardless of valence, so it then becomes a matter of framing—absurd isn’t necessarily 1-to-1 with comedic. Again, compare the start of the strat where sections lead with their humor with later ones that backfill it. The zombies are stated to move clumsily, but its presentation and framing is notably different than those of the opening pratfall. Am I laughing because the strat is funny or because “this is the greatest high”?

To be clear, the two aren’t mutually exclusive, even if they become muddled. I'm not saying the strategy or tactics aren’t funny or fun, but their integration as the Jojolity is uneven; the tech is buttressed by the definition rather than the other way around. Nonetheless, I'm more willing to give deference to plausible intent and settle on a 7/10. I think the Jojolity could be more harmonized with the narrative and the mechanics—especially to coalesce around a clear joke—but the creativity of the finale pushes it to a solid good.

I mentioned my feasibility concerns (particularly in the final kill), the comedy of the Counterplay section is more ‘told than shown’, but that Errok so thoroughly recreates the Looney Tunes aesthetic in formatting, pacing, and prose warrants the highest praise—especially with a character conceit that does not lend itself to this style of humor. The Narrative of the strat hones in on a Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd/Roadrunner and Coyote dynamic between Lomo and Errok and continuously ties back to it. I’ve said that I only give 10s to strats that, despite contextually minor flaws, elicit an emotional reaction out of me and back it up with execution. When I have to pick myself off the floor three times while reading, what can I give other than a 10?

I stayed out of team chats as much as I could during strat time so I wouldn’t have the jokes spoiled for me and boy am I glad I did—stellar job by both teams and into the T6 Hall Of Fame with you!

Judge Roadrunner (Flamechar)
Slapstick is the name of the game and both teams deliver! AE did a great job with their comedy, ranging from pies to slapstick zombies (an **8**), but EEP went out of their way to create a whole Looney Toons approach for the strat, weaving it effortlessly into the narrative - no, making it the narrative. Additionally, I probably would never had expected Errok to have this kind of strat at the beginning of T6 - nor one that not only brings up what might become an incredibly serious part of his arc but in a way that doesn’t really break the comedic mood of the strat. Either way, Noxious Smelii gets a **10** on this one.

Judge Tweety Bird (Brianna)
Alright-- as for the Jojolity of being as ‘funny and slapstick as possible’, I think both sides did a pretty good job at this!

On AE’s side, the beginning play and working by the definition of slapstick fits the calculating and methodical play you were aiming for, and instances such as riding Lomo like a skateboard, making him hit himself, and hitting him with Errok pies are all great ways of displaying that. There’s no question that you really fulfilled the internal philosophical goal that was set out in the pursuit of this Jojolity-- but I think that a space where you could have improved in this area was comprehensively weaving this into the narrative that your strategy sets out. As it stands, your strategy is essentially a list of gaffes and jokes that I’m hesitant to say weaves into an overarching story. However, I don’t really have anything *bad* to say about this effort as a whole, and for that, it earns a high **7/10**.

Errok’s is an entirely different beast. I touched on it prior in my quality discussions, but this is a strategy that really just goes above and beyond when it comes to executing kills in a funny and slapstick manner for the sake of a narrative. There’s not really a single dull point in the strategy as far as funny plays go, and even though I feel like the underlying efficiency behind these plays and how well they work might be called into question, this is a strategy that really does a great job at representing what it means to be ‘funny’, and drives in a narrative to develop Errok and show off more of his character. This gets a **9/10** from me!