Hayao Miyazaki

So all fans of anime have heard the word moe with mixed interpretations, sometimes they cheer, sometimes they rant, and sometimes the just want to go wtf… But who the hell actually knows what moe technically is? Moe is such a wide range of different characteristics tacked on often unceremoniously to those poor anime characters. Moe is written in Japanese as 萌え, the kanji meaning bud or sprout and being read a “mo” for its kun reading. The word is slang coming from the word moeru which means to bud or sprout and can therefore be interpreted as a pun referencing the “budding” of a preadolescent girl. It is also speculated that since the word moe (萌え) is a homonym of moe (燃え) which means burning the word could be a pun on the burning passion that fans have towards moe characters. However we are not here to talk about budding or burning, we are here to talk about moe which is slang! The slang definition of moe is “a rarefied pseudo-love for certain fictional character (in anime, the manga, and the like) and their related embodiments” according to Wikipedia. Characters who fit this definition (which is hella large) are called moekko (萌えっ娘) with the final kanji meaning female child.

So now we have the technical definitions of moe, WTF is it!? Well first to answer that question we will have to explore the history of moe, and immediately as we dive into the history we come across an answer to what moe it is, it comes from the fact that…. No one knows who invented the word moe! There are many different theories about moe’s origin like the above mentioned puns on budding and/or burning, but another theory is it came from Hotaru Tomoe from Sailor Moon. Tomoe’s name is written with the two kanji 土萌, and you guys had better recognize a certain kanji by now. Yes do too her characteristics and the kanji in her name Tomoe is viewed as possibly being the origin of the word moe. Another theory is it came from the online forums 2channel during the 1990s where posters used it to discuss “hybrids of lolicon and bishoujo genres”. The most commonly accepted theory is that it is a combination of the last two where at that time on 2channel Tomoe was at the height of her popularity.

So in the end, the origin is a complete shamble, we don’t know where moe came from or what the hell it is, so lets go and examine some more famous moe characters. One of those is Lum Invader from Urusei Yatsura who is thought to be the source of moe and one of if not the first tsundere, talk about win. Lum is viewed to be the first moe do to her personality and her looks. Lum has a fiery temper, but is very naïve being from another planet and so is clumsy and doesn’t always understand what is going on around her do to her innocence, a common characteristic that touches our otaku hearts. She is also bad at cooking and gets drunk incredibly easily and she dislikes garlic which we somehow find cute? Another famous mope characters would be Rei Ayanami who “helped” to alter the definition of moe (and significantly confusing fans forever) apparently meeting the moe definition for being incredibly popular. Her pale skin, blue hair, and calm/quiet/cold/freaky personality which have spread throughout the anime, manga, and gaming industry. However we all know the most moe characters in existence ever if you argue with me I will kill you simply because they were designed to be the most moe characters in existence… the cast from Lucky Star. Period. No other comments needed.

Now here is what we are left with. Moe characters are characters that meet some fetish of the fans, most often something to do with lowliness, childlike helplessness, innocence, and cuteness. This is all enhanced by different characteristics such as glasses, striped underwear, butlers/maids, tsunderes, and sisters. However as we have seen there is no clear definition, it is something that insights burning passion for budding adolescence, the above traits are simply what seems to be the most popular but moe is not limited to that in the slightest, it just takes the love of fans.Unfortunately this effort by companies to make characters as cute as possible so that fans will buy their product has (in many eyes) begun to go far. One example is moe anthropomorphism, a fancy way of saying making non-human things (animals, plants, appliances, your face) moe as well in an effort to basically kill the watcher through diabetes through sugary cuteness. This is giving the opposite effect sometimes though, by making people dump the show and write it off as just another moe collage. Yet there is still a demand for moe as Hayao Miyazaki has said in response to a question about otaku obsession with cute characters, “It’s difficult. They immediately become the subjects of lolicon fetishism. In a sense, if we want to depict someone who is affirmative to us, we have no choice but to make them as lovely as possible. But now, there are too many people who shamelessly depict [such heroines] as if they just want [such girls] as pets, and things are escalating more and more.” So some people love moe and some people hate it, sounds pretty standard for anime right? So if you come about thinking WTF is this moe in my anime decide if you can stand it, and try to ignore it. Moe is like big breasts, they get in your face but if you prefer small breasts they can be ignored well enough.

Sincerely,

~Folium