Halfway through the Amethyst Period (3 of 7 total), the International Saimoe League has run into some interesting developments. Four matches from the Aquamarine period had to be replayed, several matches between top-ranked contenders (including three #1 vs #2 battles in a row) occurred, and the tournament itself had to shift to a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. Not to worry, though, as the voting part itself is still smooth and easy. More details ahead…

For the amethyst period, the most recent standings show Ichinose Kotomi, Katsura Hinagiku, Hiiragi Kagami, and Saber among the 13 with 4-0 records so far (9 matches total per contestant in the period). It’s still far too early to call who will win the Amethyst Necklace. I’m personally glad to see contenders who didn’t fare as well in the other periods. The thing about a round-robin tournament is that the ups and downs are spread throughout the entire season.

As far as total cumulative standings, Sakagami Tomoyo sits at the top with Nagato Yuki, Fujibayashi Kyou, Fate Testarossa, and several others trailing close behind. Because the whole tournament is just barely one third complete, it’s not too late for contestants in the lower rankings to make it into the top 16 by the season’s end (and the postseason will start).

However, some parts of the community are feeling a bit of despair, concerned that the standings won’t change much in the next few weeks. Personally I think people are getting a little ahead of themselves, but my opinion may be a little biased now since I have become part of tournament staff (as a data analyst). What’s true, though, is that there are plenty of matches left; numbers should even out. But that doesn’t stop the “political” side of things, in a way.

The discussion is fleshed out more on the most recent pages of the AnimeSuki thread. While a round-robin tournament is the most fair, it’s time consuming. Voters have come and gone, and with the other Saimoe tournaments close to starting again, this first-year tournament is unfortunately getting shifted down the priority list. It’s because characters in ISML need consistent campaigning throughout the tournament while Saimoe Japan for example allows for long breaks between a particular character’s matches. Fans can concentrate on different arenas as time passes. Winners gain a lot of momentum while those ‘on the bubble’ still have plenty of time to garner support.

Moe is serious business, I know. But you can’t help the few that don’t feel like their efforts aren’t having a significant impact on the overall results anymore. The numbers disagree since important overtime matches have occurred last week, and many other matches were won by margins of 10 votes or less. It seems that tournaments like these need constant optimism and hope. I can mathematically explain all day that things will even out by late July or so, but it’s hard for the normal voter to envision that from here when it seems like KyoAni characters are dominating and girls from other series just can’t keep up. The dilemma then is whether or not some fairness should be sacrificed for suspense and uncertainty. And all I’d mean is reschedule matches or break the League into smaller Groups or Pods of sorts. There’s a lot to consider for next year, and all the input that voters and bypassers give is great. After all, this should be the first time a round-robin tournament (especially one of this magnitude) was ever executed. So it’s a learning process for everyone, and the staff will have a very important data point to use when 2009 rolls around.

…Well that’s enough rambling by me. If you aren’t already in the habit, go vote! Amethyst 5 is close to ending, with Amethyst 6 starting immediately after. Read the main page for the administrator’s epic space-opera writeups of the character battles and check the Photobucket account for results from previous rounds.

The tournament staff is always looking to grow with more translators. Plus if you have ideas as to how to improve the nomination process (or the scheduling and execution process even), drop by the AnimeSuki thread and share your opinion! Please help spread word of the tournament, too, as I believe a wide voter-base is definitely necessary to instill some everlasting suspense in these battles.

You gotta love the graphics people come up with for this tournament, too.

~Crisu

• Tournament homepage
• Voting page
• Match Results Archive
• AnimeSuki discussion thread
• Tournament forum
• Other Saimoe League posts on Borderline Hikikomori

On a vaguely-related note, Lolitron’s loli battle is in its Elite Eight period. Over the next week we’ll find out who out of 64 vintage lolis is the absolute best.