Moe

Icon is courtesy of KYM researcher/artist animecello

About

As defined from Wikipedia:

Moe (萌え, pronounced [mo.e], literally “budding”, as with a plant) is a Japanese slang word originally referring to a strong interest in a particular type or style of character in video games, anime or manga. For example, 眼鏡っ娘萌え, meganekko-moe, “glasses-girl moe”, describes a person who is attracted to fictional characters with eyeglasses. “Moe!” is also used within anime fandom as an interjection referring to a character the speaker considers to be a moekko (a blossoming or “budding” girl).

In the English speaking web, “moe” is a term that can be a bit controversial and has at times been considered a bit of a buzzword.

In particular, a lot of attention has been brought to anime series using “moe” characters to ensure that a series sells. It is very similar to the concept of western media using sex appeal to promote franchises. Some fans are all right and actually prefer shows of this type, while others automatically dismiss a show if it is using “moe” to draw in appeal. This particular topic of “moe is the cancer killing anime” is something that’s even discussed among Japanese fans. (See GAR)

However, typically in use “moe” generally means what an individual finds to be appealing or cute. It is not limited by gender or even necessary limited to living things, though a degree of personification is typically necessary for something to be considered moe and it is not uncommon for people to put human traits on non-human subjects to achieve a “moe” effect. (see Gijinka)

While the term can be associated with romantic love for the character, it can also refer to having pure and platonic love for a character.

Most often though, moe characters are young female characters. However, even characters like Kaiji Itou have been considered “moe” at one point.

Origin

In an article written by Patrick W. Galbraith of Tokyo University ^[1], Galibraith explores the origins and meanings behind the term “moe”. He states that the term originated from 2channel in the 1990s in the discussion of young, cute, and innocent girls and their burning passion for them. This term likely picked up because moeru (nominalized as moe) while meaning ‘to bud or sprout,’, is homophonous with the verb ‘to burn.’

Common Moe Archetypes

• Megane (glasses wearing characters)
• Twin tails (see Hatsune Miku), and drill hair
• Loli (young or youthful looking girls)
• Tsundere
• Kuudere (cool and apathetic type, often portrayed as robotic)
• Maid
• Cat girls, girls with fangs
• Plain girl
• Imouto (little sister)
• Energetic girl
• Clumsy girl
• Ahoge (アホ毛, antenna-like hair that sticks up)

While many of these are associated with personality, there are also many physical characteristics typically owned by characters designed to be “moe”. Moetron and other fan-made chimera characters are meant to make fun of how common these characteristics are.

Moe Anthropomorphism

An example of moe anthropomorphism used by cellphone companies

One other phenomena is the personification of non-human objects. A popular fad among corporations lately has been to create selling points for products by using anime characters or even creating moe mascot characters based off of different products. Most of it starts out as fan art, but some of these things are adopted or created by corporations.

These kinds of mascots are popular in otaku culture and they are frequently seen on many websites including, but not limited to 2chan, 4chan, Pixiv, Deviantart and Nico Nico Douga.

Popular examples of Moe Anthropomorphism

• Hatsune Miku
• Green Dam Girl
• OS-tan (personified operating systems)
• Axis Power Hetalia (a popular series with personifications of WWII countries)
• Pokemon Gijika (personified Pokemon)

External References

^[1] Japanese Studies – Moe, Exploring Virtual Potential in Post-Millennial Japan