You've got to wake up bright and early to catch the “anime” Top 8 at the Evolution Championship Series, but it manages to be worth it every year. Last year's BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma finals captivated fans and newcomers alike with impossible comebacks and a passionate displays of emotion, so this year's Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- event (a game by the same developer) had a lot to live up to.

On top of that, this was the first time since 2009 that the Guilty Gear series would be returning to the main stage, and the series’ greatest players in the world were assembled to show off its newest entry.

Did they ever deliver. High-octane matches, colorful personalities, and perhaps the most memorable moment of the entire weekend were viewed by an audience of over a hundred thousand. Anime has a place at EVO, and Guilty Gear Xrd looks to have an extremely promising future ahead of it.

Ultimately, the tournament was won by Ken-ichi “Ogawazato” Ogawa, a man who would need no introduction in his home community. In the video, he was the player that stayed seated while Shigeno "Woshige" Ryuichi celebrated prematurely in the Winner’s Final match — he eventually won the tournament from the winner’s side.

I got a chance to catch up with Ogawazato after his victory. We chatted about the Guilty Gear scene, what makes the game so special, this tournament, and what's next.

To start off, could you give us a short self-introduction?

Sure. My name's Ken-ichi Ogawa. I'm playing under the handle Ogawazato, and I play Zato-1.

The casters at EVO referred to you as the “god of Guilty Gear.” So that would mean that you have a long history with the game?

That's right. I first started playing a little bit on the arcade version of Guilty Gear X, and since then I've been playing nothing but Guilty Gear.

Only Guilty Gear?

Well, I've played other games a little bit. But it's really just Guilty in the end.

What was it about Guilty Gear that attracted you so much?

The degrees of freedom in the game, and the original character designs that are the pride of [Guilty Gear developer] Arc System Works – it was the fun like that. Also, stuff like how you can kill your opponent in one move. That's what drew me in.

What led to you getting more serious about the game, and when was that?

There used to be a national tournament in Japan called Tougeki (also known as Super Battle Opera). Back in 2004, everyone said I was the favorite to win the tournament, but I lost in the first round. I was really frustrated at that time, and that's when I decided to work even harder at Guilty Gear.

And you've been using the same character since then?

Yeah. Well, back in XX he was known as Eddie. But that's who I've been using this whole time.

The new Guilty Gear, Xrd, was what was played here at EVO. What are some of the main things that set it apart from the previous entries in the series?

Well, compared to Accent Core, it's a return to the fundamentals of the series. With that as a starting point, they made adjustments with the idea of letting the players do more new things. You can play a lot more freely compared to the previous games, thanks to the new Yellow Roman Cancel, and the way you can use the Roman Cancel and time stop mechanics.

This year, the word “pro-gamer” came up a lot in the Japanese media. What's the current state of the Guilty Gear scene?

There aren't really pro-gamers in the Guilty Gear scene yet, but since Xrd came out a lot of people have taken notice. There were an amazing number of entrants in this EVO's Guilty Gear tournament. I want to keep this up.

So then, you're normally working at a job?

That's right. I work, and then in my free time I go to Mikado (an arcade) and practice.

What kind of work do you do?

I'm working part-time at a restaurant right now.

So, going into EVO, how did you practice for the tournament?

Like usual, I went and played against strong opponents with the attitude that even if I lose, I'd do it with no regrets. Before the matches, I also took notes on how I should play them out – which I talked about on Twitter. That's how I got ready.

So you practiced with other players who entered this tournament?

Of course, at get-togethers and stuff. I feel like we inter-mingled very well.

Did you come to this tournament with the confidence you were gonna take it?

I came intending to win, but everyone around me was so good that I'm honored I was able to do it. Really, it's a bit iffy as to whether I'll be able to do it again next time, but I hope I can come again.

Some of the matches during the Top 8 were really close, and it wasn't always clear who the victor would end up being. How did they feel from your perspective?

I expected that Dogura, Woshige, or Nage would be the one to make it all the way. So I think things went more-or-less as expected.

During the tournament, the scene with Woshige happened. If he'd managed to beat Nage and make it back to the finals, you were confident you'd beat him again?

Oh yeah. I was planning on winning. I think if you don't play with that attitude, you'll never get good.

How did you feel when that happened? It was a pretty abnormal event, after all. I'm sure you were surprised.

More than surprised, I was just like “Why's he standing up?” But then the next round started like that, so it meant that I won thanks to his mistake. But for Woshige, that was the first time he'd fought against me on a stage like that, and so I think his feelings were coming from a really genuine place.

As for me, I'm from the generation of players who had it drilled into our heads by Pachi, Kaqn, Arisaka to never stand up from your seat until the game is completely over, so I'm cool-headed from start to finish.

I didn't realize that incident was going to be so popular. But for me, it's bigger that I was able to become the champion.

By the way, how about when you stood up right after that?

I mean, every time you win you're getting closer to the championship, so you're naturally gonna want to celebrate. Considering how many people compete at EVO, less than one percent of the people who enter get to stand on that stage. It's a huge honor to be able to stand up on the stage when you win. I just wanted to be the EVO champ, and I managed it.

And then, when you finally won the whole thing?

It was the greatest. It made it worth all the work, and everyone was really happy for me. But now that EVO's over I have the next tournament – Arc Revo – to prepare for, so I'm hoping to keep it going from here.

Lastly, can you say something for the fans in the West?

Thank you very much for enjoying Guilty Gear. I'm going to work hard in Japan, so I can come next year – and I'd like to – please cheer for me.

Cameron Gilbert is a freelance writer, contributing EVO content to theScore eSports. You can follow him on Twitter.