They sold it well enough for me. To make up for their lack of overall skill (all but two were amateur), they took a series of gambles: first the loud strumming and supported by the uber skill to heighten the impact. Second, the folksy theatre style that felt like improv (because it kinda was). Those gambles paid off, but did not overcome the raw skill gap. It distracted enough for their best players to shine and impressed the audience with the novelty alone... they may have been somewhat tired of rote shamisen performances after hearing twenty in a row just prior.

I enjoyed how the nothing-burger school simply did everything well and got first place for being perfectly rounded.

I feel like this was the real performance of the season, and Sawamura will falter during the single competition; showing emotional and technical room to grow, of course.