2CH is the world’s largest BBS and drives about half of Japan’s web traffic in any given day (the other half is by NICONICO DOUGA >:D). Otaku of all shapes and sizes gravitate toward the site, making it one of the best places to gather geek demographics the world over.

One of the biggest voting events on the 2CH calendar is SAIMOE — literally “most moe”. Female anime characters of the moe variety are pitted against each other in knockout selections, with the winners of each group moving on to compete against each other in the next round.

The winner for the 2009 round — narrowly defeating K-ON!’s Hirasawa Yui, is none other than TORADORA’s Aisaka Taiga. The Palmtop Tiger has also defeated Nakano Azusa (K-ON!), Saginomiya Isumi (Hayate no Gotoku), Haramura Nodoka (Saki), and Maria (Hayate no Gotoku) on the way to the finals.

SAIMOE has been held yearly by 2CH since 2002, with voting from foreign IPs allowed until 2006. When ballot stuffing and other disruptions were traced to overseas participants, non-Japanese IPs were banned from accessing the voting module. International anime fans are now only allowed to participate as spectators.