How do you approach moe competitions?

[G.o.S]

I pick "whatever's in-season for the 2ch otaku population." You have to consider who actually did cast the votes in these tournaments. Seriously, the participant number in Saimoe is tiny compared to the number of people who watch anime and I am not even counting mainstream anime. At the peak of saimoe, there were about 3k-4k votes and it is going down year by year. This small community of otaku contains only the most hardcore who are willingly enough to spend the time to vote for their favorite characters. And so newer girls who match their latest fascination are more likely to end up with a strong advantage in the competition.
On the other hand, if a national TV channel decides to host a moe competition I'll bet my saving account that the girls from mainstream shows will easily dominate everyone else.

[Tempester]

These contests, most specifically Saimoe, have never interested me. Popularity tournaments as a whole don't interest me, unless there's something in it for me. I prefer to express my character preferences in my avatars, signatures, MAL profile, and posts.

[Archon_Wing]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Or just really, really enjoy tournaments. It reminds me of people who are in sports pools and religiously follow all the games to see if their chosen players/teams advance. Personally, it isn't something that has ever really interested me, but I certainly know people for whom that's their thing. The great lengths people go through for these contests (especially some of the bloggers and such) are at once both admirable and a bit scary to me... But if you like it...

It seems to be this urge to pick a side and "fight" against other sides. So it's not unusual if you're not too fond of this kind of faction building. But yea, serious business.

Personally, I just treat it as a spectacle out of curiosity.

[Triple_R]

Big thanks to whichever moderator put "Other" into this.

[wontaek]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Big thanks to whichever moderator put "Other" into this.

I agree. I vote for whomever I am drawn to when I enter the voting booth, and there can be so many reason why I might or might not vote for someone.

[Coldlight]

I went with Other, because I vote with my heart and I tend to go with my personal favorites from the shows I've seen, regardless of anything else. I don't really vote based solely on how appealing ("most moe" option, in the context of this poll, based on the intention of the OP) or how well developed ("best overall" option) a character is.

In this respect, I think I largely share Liddo-kun's approach regarding moe competitions. This mindset allows me to flexibly make my choices without the hindrance of adhering to one particular criterion. In cases of matches where I encounter familiar characters who I don't hate nor like enough to be favorites, I follow an approach similar to wontaek's. I don't vote for unfamiliar characters.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Or just really, really enjoy tournaments. It reminds me of people who are in sports pools and religiously follow all the games to see if their chosen players/teams advance. Personally, it isn't something that has ever really interested me, but I certainly know people for whom that's their thing. The great lengths people go through for these contests (especially some of the bloggers and such) are at once both admirable and a bit scary to me... But if you like it...

Actually, I know of some historic sports rivalries that are less bitter and intense than some of the rivalries that will creep up between fans of different moe characters from time to time.

[Archon_Wing]

The internet is a scary place, eh?

[RJ TAYLER]

With a "SHAFT" trademark "Head Tilt", a grain or two thousand of salt, and a liberal supply of heart tablets come finals time.

Seriously though I approach every match on it's relative merits first and foremost. Sometimes with an eye to later round match-ups, or if the draw has a major flaw then I think in terms of 'trolling' but only as a last resort. This is the same for ANY competition whether is is a "moe' contest or not.

[HurricaneHige]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Actually, I know of some historic sports rivalries that are less bitter and intense than some of the rivalries that will creep up between fans of different moe characters from time to time.

Well...being any kind of Otaku (not just anime, but since we are in AS, we'll focus on anime) means you are extremely passionate about anime. Now...you are in a competition for your most moe character, that's pretty much adding passion on top of passion, which tends to bring out some scary behavior.

[Liddo-kun]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Actually, I know of some historic sports rivalries that are less bitter and intense than some of the rivalries that will creep up between fans of different moe characters from time to time.

I remember a mod closing down the Saimoe 2007 thread for a few days because the discussions seemed to be getting more "aggressive". It was right before (or during) Tsukasa vs Suiseiseki match. Got worried back then that the AS staff might decide to close the thread for good, fortunate that it was only a temporary closure.

[HasuMasu]

It's difficult for me to put into words, so I hope an example would suffice:

Hypothetically speaking, if a certain moe tournament placed my favorite character, who has not a chance in hell against a character I also like, less ofcourse, but would definitely win anyway, then I'll vote for the latter, since I like her anyway, I might as well help her out since she actually has a chance.

[zato_1one]

Don't belittle these kind of tournaments. I used to think like that but when I actually tried to follow Saimoe. It's funny like hell. Saimoe is not your average popularity contest. People actually take it seriously. Match analyzing, trash talk, whining, trolling, butthurt, tactical vote, fake vote and every dirty tricks you can think of. You will be surprised that people are actually going that far just to see their character win. For me, it's a very entertaining (albeit a bit bitter) experience.

I heard that someone was presenting the voting trend of Saimoe for his thesis subject to his adviser. I believe that he did it for a joke. Turned out that his adviser was actually interesting to analyze the statistics and voting pattern to predict the result. It's serious business indeed.

[Kyuu]

Originally Posted by zato_1one

Match analyzing, trash talk, whining, butthurt, tactical vote, fake vote and every dirty tricks you can think of. You will be surprised that people are actually going that far just to see their character win. For me, it's a very entertaining (albeit a bit bitter) experience.

Thus, the more of this stuff... the better.

The tournament format in of itself is interesting. Win, lose. That's it. Results are results. And for the most part, no backsies - with one notable exception this year. Nevertheless, ultimately, a champion is defined with each edition. May the "best" girl win.

Then add on the fact: there are three major Saimoe tournaments. All different rules. Different ways of doing things. And on this note, I treat the three equally - even though I have my complaints about all three.

[Ithekro]

I heard that someone was presenting the voting trend of Saimoe for his thesis subject to his adviser. I believe that he did it for a joke. Turned out that his adviser was actually interesting to analyze the statistics and voting pattern to predict the result. It's serious business indeed.

That might have been the start of ISML, since it is moe statistics heaven.

[Akemi Homura]

When it comes to female characters, I generally like characters because I find them moe, so by voting for my favorites I'm voting for the ones I find most moe by default.

[GreatTeacherKen]

I vote for the character who I find the most moe though sometimes the character I find the most moe can overlap with my favorite.