| International Saimoe League | |
|---|---|
 International Saimoe League 2019 logo | |
| Information | |
| Abbreviation | ISML |
| Formation | January 2008 |
| Languages | Primarily English, many others supported |
| Leader | Crisu (2008-2015), Kholdy (2016-?) |
| Main Staff | Executive Staff |
| Website | ISML Main Page |
The International Saimoe League, also known as ISML, is a worldwide online popularity moe contest.[1] It is one of the many spinoff contests of the Anime Saimoe Tournament held on 2channel, yet is held on its own independent site. ISML is tailored to embrace voters from as many backgrounds as possible, currently supporting five different languages; the primary language of the tournament is English.
Format
The ISML operates nearly year-round. Whereas other moe competitions are single-elimination tournaments, the ISML operates similar to a professional sports league. The season is broken down into three phases; a Pre-season, a Regular season, and a Post-season. Characters that perform well in other tournaments or in the previous ISML Regular season may qualify directly into the qualification period. The best performers in those contests may qualify directly into the Regular season.
In the nomination period (typically early January), voters may nominate anime characters whom they find to be moe. The characters with the most nominations, as well as characters exempted from the nomination process due to their performance in the previous season or in other moe tournaments, move on to the qualification round.
The qualification period typically begins in late January or early February, and runs to the beginning of March. The nominated characters are drawn into groups, with the winner of each group qualifying for the Regular season. The remaining girls who do not qualify are drawn into new groups, with winners of those groups advancing to the Regular season as well. If there are more Regular season spots remaining, the remaining characters will be put into a 'last chance' qualifier.
The heart of the league is the Regular season, which runs from late March through early-to-mid August. Fifty characters (sixty-four in 2008 and 2009) compete in a round-robin format. The Regular season is broken down into seven periods, with the top performer in each period receiving a necklace or a pendant. (While a source of pride for fans of the character that wins it, a necklace has no competitive value.) At season's end, the top 16 performers advance to the postseason, with the top four automatically qualifying directly into the next year's Regular season.
The league's championship, called the Tiara, is decided in the postseason. The ISML is unique in that its champion is determined in a double-elimination format, as opposed to the single-elimination format that most other contests use. The winner of the tournament is declared the champion, while the remainder of the results is used to determine the final standings for the season.
Rules
Character Eligibility
The character must possess both humanoid appearance and anthropomorphic qualities (must be female appearance and feminime qualities before ISML 2015) .The character must have a name or a universal means of identification. The character must appear in a product that is published and distributed in Japanese media and is not rated 18+ or classified as pornographic. The character must either appear in the production on a regular basis or have individual significance to the series’ storyline. Eligibility for the Preliminary Period (and subsequently the Regular Season and Postseason) additionally requires the character's appearance in a full-length animation published and distributed in Japanese media (television, theatre, Internet-exclusive videos, and video discs) on a commercial scale by a registered animation studio. Competitors are classified as Candidates upon advancement to the Preliminary Period. Candidates are classified as Contestants upon advancement to the Regular Season. (Note: Since 2016, competitors are classified as Contestants upon advancement to the Main Tournament.)
Voting policy
Each voter is limited to one (1) vote per match per round. A voter may not vote on behalf of another person. A vote may be cast only during the specified time period for that particular match and round. Once cast, a vote may be edited by its owner only during this time period and subject to approval by the Staff. Violation of any of these procedures shall result in the voter's ballot rendered void and may also result in temporary or permanent restriction from voting or participating in future ISML-hosted events, enforced by the Staff.
History
In 2006, the popularity of Anime Saimoe Tournament and news of Best Moe Tournament spawned interest in English based Moe Tournament. The format of Elimination period for the Preliminary and Round-robin League Style for the Regular season was first proposed by Psieye on AnimeSuki forums. In 2007 following discussion about Super Moe Tournament results, the talk of English based Moe Tournament was reawakened and minhtam1638 started working on ISML as a reaction to this. After much discussion in the AnimeSuki Forum, the format of having Auto-qualifying entrants based on their records in Anime Saimoe Tournament and Best Moe Tournament was adopted along with free for all nomination phase to fill the number of 64 that was needed for the Tournament league play.
The main reason for the creation of ISML was spawned from the criticisms of two other tournaments, Anime Saimoe Tournament and Best Moe Tournament, for reasons that the single-elimination tournaments held in Japan and Korea were decided at random. To correct this problem, ISML uses a round-robin tournament, which ensure that all participants will face the rest exactly once. After the round-robin phase, the top 16 participants are seeded into double-elimination instead of randomly paired. Because each participant needs to be elimination twice, this process reduces random spikes in popularity that may cause a consistently strong character to fall.
Another goal for ISML is to have its polls open to voters across the world, where as Anime Saimoe Tournament attempts to block non-Japanese ISPs from voting. ISML is tailored to embrace voters from as many backgrounds as possible. From the first voting in ISML, which was the 2008 nominations, voters were encouraged to submit nomination in any language they were comfortable with. Volunteers promoted ISML in websites based in many different language. By the end of 2008 Regular Season, non-English speaking voters outnumbered English speakers. As of 2009, ISML is the largest moe tournament in the world. Its layout is user-friendly, requiring no registration and using image-assisted voting for recognition. While international voting is encouraged, ISML has a strict eligibility rule on its contestants. Only characters that are recurring or of significant importance are allowed; simply a cameo appearance does not receive consideration in ISML.
Results
Double-Elimination Era (2008-2010)
ISML 2008
In ISML 2008, there were no Pre-season phase, but 64 eligible characters were admitted from Anime Saimoe Tournament and Korea Best Moe Tournament. Its Regular season phase consisted of a round-robin divided into 7 periods. Each period has 9 matches, and the winner of that period would be given a necklace. After 63 round-robin matches, the top 16 moves on to eh Post-season phase, which consisted of a double-elimination tournament. The winner of the Post-season is the winner of ISML 2008, which was Fate Testarossa.
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ISML 2009
ISML 2009 introduced a Pre-season phase, which consisted of nominations and preliminaries. Its Regular season remained a 64 contestants round-robin tournament. In addition to its usual double-elimination, the Post-season introduced a relegation tournament which serves as an eligibility phase for ISML 2010.
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ISML 2010
A major change in ISML 2010 was its reduction of 64 to 50 characters in its Regular season. There are still 7 periods, but each period would only have 7 rounds with 25 matches per round. In addition, each of the 49 rounds would have an Exhibition Match, which features two characters who didn't make it to the main tournament.
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ISML 2011 - Single Eliminations from here on
ISML 2011 had some major changes such as:
- No more automatic entries to the Regular season but only to the Preliminary rounds.
- No character can win more than one necklace per tournament year
- An 8th round was added to help decide the necklace winner which is the Necklace Showdown. There will be 7 contestants fighting in the necklace rounds which is composed of the top 7 performers for each period assuming none of them are current necklace holders.
- Starting from this year, the postseason will be decided by a Single-elimination tournament.
- Male tournaments are first introduced here, in the form of Exhibitions.
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Nova / Stella Era (2012-2015)
ISML 2012
ISML 2012 has the female contestants split into two divisions: Nova Division for debutants and characters making their 2nd Main Tournament appearance, and Stella Division for veterans with 3 or more appearances.
Preseason is still the same, but the regular season's format is changed to accommodate the Nova / Stella split:
- Each division now has 36 contestants (for a combined total of 72).
- The format is still a single round-robin, however, there are no inter-division matches. (Meaning Nova girls will only fight other Nova girls and vice versa.)
- Since there will be only 35 matchdays, the season is now split into 5 periods. Each period still consists of 7 matches each.
- The top 16 girls of each division will advance to the Postseason.
In the Nova / Stella era, the gems were ordered differently: instead of the typical Aquamarine-Topaz-Amethyst-Sapphire-Emerald-Ruby-Diamond order, they used Aquamarine-Amethyst-Ruby-Emerald-Topaz Necklaces instead, corresponding to the five periods in the regular season. Sapphire Circlet was awarded to the Nova Bracket Winner, and Diamond Circlet was awarded to the Stella Bracket Winner..
Necklace rounds were changed to have the top 3 performers of each period in both divisions battle out for the necklace. A seventh contestant which is the best performer out of the remaining contestants will join the 6 contestants to complete the match regardless of division. A necklace holder is not allowed into the necklace match.
The postseason is split into two phases:
- Phase 1: Each division will hold a single-elimination tournament consisting of the top 16 girls in each division. Whoever wins the first round advances to Phase 2. Yes, a girl only needs to win once in Phase 1 to qualify.
- There are no consolation matches. This includes the third place match.
- The rankings for quarter-finalists and below are decided by regular-season placements. For the semi-finalists, whoever loses to the bracket winner gets third place. This ranking process will be used as seeds in Phase 2.
- Sapphire Circlet is awarded to the Nova Bracket Winner, and Diamond Circlet is awarded to the Stella Bracket Winner. (Despite a rule that prohibits a girl from winning multiple necklaces in a single year, they can technically break this rule by winning their respective bracket. This is the reason why the organizers changed the prize from "Necklace" to "Circlet".)
- Phase 2: Single-elimination tournament consisting of the quarter-finalists from both Nova and Stella. Nova girls will always fight Stella girls in the first round. The winner claims the Heavenly Tiara.
The ISML Seasonal Diadem was first introduced this year.
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ISML 2013
ISML 2013's tournament format remains the same with only a few minor changes. However, the Stella / Nova criteria has changed from this year until 2015:
- Stella now consists of characters who have 2 or more Regular Season appearances, and characters who have participated in Regular Season 4 years ago. The rest are assigned to Nova Division.
- Stella's Preliminary period is shortened to just one round.
The 2013 edition also introduced a new Exhibition Tournament consisting of Touhou characters.
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ISML 2014
Format Changes:
- Necklace score calculation: Schedule of Defeated Opponents (SDO) + 220 * Vote For Percentage (VF%)
- Postseason Phase 1 format is overhauled; the top 16 girls of each division will play four rounds ofSwiss-system tournament to decide who advances to Phase 2. The bracket still appears for Circlet purposes.
- Tie-breaking criteria for the Swiss sytem is as follows:
- Wins
- Quality wins (against opponents with the same / higher wins than yours)
- Regular season ranking
This tournament also introduced more new exhibitions, such as Trap Exhibition (Males who look, act, and sound like females) and Visual Novel Exhibitions.
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ISML 2015 - Males in the Main Tournament
The 2015 edition saw the males playing in a separate Regular Season division instead of languishing in the exhibitions. Unlike the females, the top 16 contestants of the Male Division advance directly to the Postseason Phase 2. Otherwise, the tournament format remains the same: 35-matchday Regular Season, Swiss-system for Postseason Phase 1, and a Single-elimination bracket for Phase 2
The calculation changed into using voting percentage in Round + (Partial Score of All Opponents (PSAO)/ 3, and the voting percentage (VF) is 100 * (votes receives / sum of all voters in Arena), both Female Division (Nova and Stella) and Male Division.
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Female Division
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Male Division
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Reunification Era (2016-present)
ISML 2016
The Nova / Stella era has come to an end, and the Female Divison is reunited once again. The 2016 edition ushers in a new leader, and with it comes an all-new tournament format explained below:
Nomination period:
- No preliminary periods. Whoever gets the most nominations now advances outright into the Main Tournament. (Number varies per year.)
- Seasonal Diadem winners and Diadem runners-up receive Direct Invites into the Main Tournament, bypassing the nomination stage entirely. (They are indicated by Auto in the nomination results)
Regular season
- Split into 7 periods, just like in ISML 2008. The gem order is restored into the original order.
- Instead of a single large group containing all players, contestants are split into multiple groups of 4, which then play a single round robin. (Think World Cup-style group stage.)
- At the end of each period, the best performers play in the Necklace / Pendant round and advance to the next period, while the worst performers try to stay alive in the WIldcard Round. The rest also advance to the next period.
Postseason / Elimination Stage
- Unique to ISML 2016 is the implementation of a final group stage, where 16 contestants are split into 4 groups of 4, and play a single round-robin. Top 2 of each group advance to the quarter-finals, wherein it becomes a single-elimination bracket from there on.
Female Division
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Male Division
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ISML 2017
Changes:
- Contestants reduced from 128 to 120.
Nomination period:
- From 2017 onwards, Necklace and Pendant winners who didn't win the previous year will now gain Direct Invites into the Main Tournament. (Counting Seasonal Diadem winners and Diadem runners-up, this makes 14 (or more rarely 15) direct invites for females, and 6 (rarely 7) invites for males.)
Regular season:
- Contestants are now split into groups of six (6).
- From 2017 onwards, the Necklace / Pendant round is decided through Instant-Runoff voting (IRV, also called Alternative voting). CGP Grey explains it using an animal kingdom example.
Postseason / Elimination Stage:
- The final group stage is discarded altogeher; the 16-player single elimination bracket returns with all of its salty glory.
Exhibitions:
- Touhou tournament Part II
Female Division
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Male Division
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ISML 2018
This edition is notable for being the first tournament to end in the next year (it ended in March 2019).
New Exhibitions:
- Video Game characters
- Pets
Female Division
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Male Division
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ISML 2019
Changes:
- Contestants reduced from 120 to 72. Likely a response to the sheer length of the previous year's tournament.
- Contestants are split into groups of four (4) instead of groups of 6.
New Exhibitions:
- Couples / Ships (because not every pairing is canon, mind you)
Female Division
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Male Division
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Trivia
- There are only two (2) characters who won as Champion in both the International Saimoe League (ISML) and in the Best Moe Tournament in the female division: Hinagiku Katsura (ISML Champion 2009; Best Moe Champion 2007), and Mio Akiyama (ISML Champion 2010; Best Moe Champion 2010). Mio Akiyama won the ISML and the Best Moe Tournament on the same year of 2010.
- No One character who won as Champion in both the ISML and in the Anime Saimoe Tournament.
- The closest and the most fiercely fought championship in ISML happened on 2009 between Hinagiku Katsura and Shana. In the finals, Hinagiku defeated Shana by a slim margin of just eleven (11) votes (2117-2106) to become the Champion and be crowned with the tiara in 2009. In a past confrontation between the two in the 2007 Best Moe Tournament, Hinagiku defeated Shana in the finals by a razor-thin margin of just two (2) votes (2015-2013) to become the Champion in 2007.
See also
References
- ↑ "Anime Saimoe Tournament" J-Zine FTV Magazine (February 2009), pp. 31-32.
External links
| Major Tournaments | |
|---|---|
| ISML | 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 · 2020 |
| Best Girl |
BG1 (2014) · BG2 (2015) · BG3 (2016) · BG4 (2017) · BG5 (2018) · BG6 (2019) · BG7 (2020) |
| Bilibili Moe | 2015 (Japan) · 2016 (Japan // China) · 2017 (Japan // China) · 2018 (Japan // China) |
| Anime Saimoe (defunct) | 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 |
| Korea Best Moe (defunct) | 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012 |
| Information | What is "Saimoe" ? · Roster · List of champions · Records |
Language
Japanese Chinese Franch