For information about Saimoe 2009, please visit the discussion thread on AnimeSuki.
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=82596
The Anime Saimoe Tournament of Japan
Q: What is Saimoe?
A: The term Saimoe originates from two Japanese kanji: Sai, meaning "ultimate", and Moe, meaning "to burn with passion for".
Saimoe is a contest that determines the most female moe character within a set period of time.
A: The Anime Saimoe Tournament is the first Saimoe tournament ever held, dating back to 2002, and it is the most widely recognized
tournament out of all of the others, including the International Saimoe League. It is hosted by the Japanese board 2channel.
Q: Is there a website where I can follow this contest?
A: There are actually two websites you can follow, which are both listed below:
http://saimoe2008.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ - the traditional format of the Saimoe Japan page.
http://friend.45.kg/saimoe2008/ - a new format of displaying Saimoe data similar to ISML.
Q: How does it work?
A: As opposed to ISML, which tries to determine the most moe character of all time, Saimoe Japan determines the most moe
character from anime released in the previous fiscal year. It uses the single-elimination format, which pretty much means that one
loss equals a knockout.
Q: When will (insert match) take place?
A: It's a long schedule, though not as long as ISML itself. This will be listed below:
June 23 - July 2 - Initial Nomination Phase.
One nomination vote means your character is in, regardless of how many votes a candidate gets.
All nominations will go to the administrative staff for character verification before being officially entered for the first preliminary drawing.
July 7 - July 27 - The First Preliminary Round (3000-odd candidates) (in progress)
In this round, you can choose nine candidates out of a group of 120-odd candidates. Around 3000 candidates are divided into 20 groups, and
contestants in each group will be up for vote per day, with the exception of July 17 (hey, we all need a break some time). For each group,
contestants in 1st through 9th Place will advance to the main tournament, while those placed 10th to 30th will move to the second preliminary round,
both of which will be explained below. Those below 31st - well, they had no chance from the start. If there is a tie for 9th place, both
will advance to the main tournament. If there is a tie for 30th, both will advance to the second preliminary round.
August 1 - August 12 - The Second Preliminary round (420 candidates)
This works exactly like the First Preliminary Round, except that there are
12 groups to decide from. You may still vote for nine candidates maximum, and the top nine candidates from each group will advance to
the main tournament.
August 19 - Date TBD - The Main Tournament
Personally, this is my favorite part. After drawings are released and we have one week to come up with various campaign material, the real
battles begin. Each round consists of a match between two or three candidates, where you are only allowed to vote for one candidate in each
match. Rounds 1 and 2 will have three candidates per round before we reach a standard 32 candidate single-elimination knockout. The
final round of this tournament will most likely take place during the first week of November, although an official date has yet to be announced.
Q: How do I vote?
A: Unfortunately, this isn't as unrestricted and lenient as the ISML voting page. Go to the code generator
and generate a code. If you look closely at the page, there are two sets of numbers, one of them being 55. This means that you can obtain the
voting code at the 55th minute of the hour assigned. As long as your IP doesn't change, you should be able to get that code if you go to that same
page. Note that this is usually more than a one hour wait unless you vote during the last hour. Now here's the confusing part: the voting page
changes as the 2ch thread reaches either 500 Kilobytes or 1000 posts, but our friends at the Synchroom
has the link to the current one. Go to that page and post that code along with the names of the candidates you want to vote for and you're all set.
An illustrated version of voting instructions can be found here.
Q: Does it accept English votes?
A: Unfortunately, all votes are in Japanese characters (Kanji), and only specific kanji in the correct format are
accepted as votes. There is, however, a group from AnimeSuki who is both translating
the kanji (so you'll know who to vote for) and posting the correct format that you will need to vote for characters you want for that particular day.
There will be a post for each group that will have the names translated. When voting, you are required to have "<<" and ">>" at the
beginning and end of each vote respectively. Also, do note that it is the Japanese ASCII code for ＠ and not the standard @ for each vote.
It will be easier to copy and paste, however.
Q: What if I get an error message instead of the code?
A: Sorry, but that's not my department. The CGI script that generates the code is programmed to ban proxy voters, who are prone to giving
candidates an unfair advantage. You were just caught in the middle.
Q: So, why is the International Saimoe League concerned about a rival Saimoe contest?
A: The Anime Saimoe Tournament of Japan accepts votes internationally, although the majority of voters are Japanese. However, as there is
international participation, ISML recognizes this contest as an International contest, and instead of competing for attention, we strongly
encourage you to participate in both of our contests, as well as any other contests linked to ISML. Also, the top 8 candidates from this
contest will receive automatic bids to ISML 2009.
Q: Is there anything else that I need to know?
A: If you have any questions at all, Psieye, our biography writer, and a group of his friends
are constantly updating the Synchroom, and that is where you will have most of your
questions answered. Otherwise, you may contact me at [email protected]