Those of you who have been following this year’s International Saimoe League (ISML) will know that we are now entering the final week of the regular season. If you aren’t familiar with the ISML, it’s an annual competition where people from around the world can vote on which anime girl they think it the most “moe” (pronounced mo-e). The word “moe” is defined on Anime News Network as follows:

Moe is a Japanese term used in connection with manga or anime to describe something precious, usually (but not always) the ideal of youthful and innocent femininity. Written with the kanji for “to bud or sprout” (萌), the concept covers a range of ideal behaviour for youthful female characters in manga or anime. To be moe, a character can be eager or perky, not overly independent, and call forth a desire in the viewer to protect them and nurture them. The term is also used to describe any preciously cute item; there is an animal mascot character store in Tokyo called Moe.

Each year the ISML has 64 contestants battle it out in a number of voting rounds. Each contestant will have the chance to go up against the other 63, and the top 16 go on to the post season where the Saimoe champion is determined. A number of contestants have already been eliminated, but there is still a chance for some characters to make it into the top 16. Currently, Saber from Fate Stay Night sits at 16th place with 126 pts, but Holo from Spice and Wolf at 17th place also has 126 pts, not to mention Furude Rika (Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni), Izumi Konata (Lucky Star), Furukawa Nagisa (Clannad), and Ichinose Kotomi (Clannad) who are all possibly 1 win away from making it into the post season.

Personally, I’m rooting for Kotomi, but there’s going to be stiff competition from the like of Shana (1 loss), Sakagami Tomoyo (3 losses), and Suzumiya Haruhi (3 losses) if she makes it into the post season. There’s still time to vote for your favourite moe anime girl on Aug. 24, 26, and 28 before the regular season ends so head on over to the ISML website now.