Moe: Difference between revisions

[[File:moecamera 7147.jpg|link=Haruhi Suzumiya|frame|"Our documentary now focuses on the Moeblob... treat with care, they cry easily."<ref>That face... so cute... [[Cuteness Proximity|*Thought processes shut down*]]</ref>]]

 

 

Coined in Japan in the late 90s, "Moe" (萌え, pronounced as "Moh-Eh", derived from a Japanese word that means "[[Cuteness Proximity|budding]]" or sometimes "[[Tastes Like Diabetes|to burn]]") is an ill-defined otaku term that means, amongst other things, "cute", "huggable", or "endearing". While it's sometimes used to describe a series, it's more about a specific ideal or kind of character.

Their personality will reflect an 'innocent' outlook on something vital, such as about romance. While the Moe character does bring up associations with submissive personalities in general, expect also attitudes that resemble that of a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] or a [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl]]: Moe characters usually are quirky, and rely on [[Costume Inertia]], [[Verbal Tic|odd language]], strange hobbies and the like to make them seem unique and noticeable. Occasionally, these quirks are completely unrelated and seem a bit disjointed. If a character is ''plain'', they are 'loudly plain' in the way [[Hollywood Homely]] characters are 'ugly'; sometimes they're just more moderate than the rest of the cast, and the writers implicitly suggest the audience is kind for liking the character for being plain.

 

 

Such characters are also prone to being used as mere [[Ms. Fanservice|Fanservice]]. When a character has no visible personality traits aside from vaguely cute uselessness, he/she is termed the dreaded [[Moe Blob]]. An interesting result of this is some moe characters are quasi-[[Animated Actors]]; the series they star in need not be related at all, being only devices to enable the viewer to enjoy the character. Many of them feature in [[Gag Series]], and only the [[Covers Always Lie|merchandise for the series shows off]] its intended and occasionally creepy roots.

* One of the major themes parodied in ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'', where the Host Club members each cultivate an exaggerated trait/fetish for their female guests, and their [[Drop-In Character|self-elected consultant]] Renge frequently [[Meta Guy|monologues]] her opinion of what is ''moe'' to girls. More satirically, Club President Tamaki views his feelings towards Haruhi as ''moe'' (protective and fatherly) even though his classmates realize it's unusually thick-headed way of dealing with actually being attracted to her despite her not really being impressed by him.

** Haruhi as a whole could be seen as Moe. Despite her general [[Deadpan Snarker|snarky]], and [[Snark Knight|apathetic]] nature she does still have some moe traits ([[Your Mileage May Vary|the former two traits could possibly be moe, too]]). Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru often never fail to point out how [[Hollywood Homely|'plain' and 'dull']] she is treating it as more of an endearing quality, rather than an insult. The boys also love to dress her up in all sorts of outfits (granted, most are unisex or male—and Haruhi's not enthusiastic about it). She has few weaknesses with the exception of a [[Fear of Thunder]]. Haruhi is also painfully [[Oblivious to Love]]. Read chapters [https://web.archive.org/web/20100401180248/http://www.onemanga.com/Ouran_High_School_Host_Club/57/01/ 57] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20100403012650/http://www.onemanga.com/Ouran_High_School_Host_Club/58/01/ 58] for an unusually Moe Haruhi (she goes back to her [[Unexplained Recovery|normal]] self a chapter or so later).

*** Also Kirimi NEKOZAWA is very moe.

* Mikuru Asahina from ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' is recruited for the S.O.S. Brigade specifically because Haruhi decides that there needs to be a moe mascot character (specifically a short, babyfaced girl with huge boobs). She then tries to make Mikuru even ''more'' moe by forcing her into a [[Meido|maid outfit]] and [[Meganekko|glasses]], and [[Black Comedy Rape|constantly molests her]] to get [[The Woobie|sympathy points]]. Some fans have coined the [[Fan Nickname|term]] "Moe-blob" for her (and characters like her), because to a casual watcher, [[Neutral Female|all she actually does]] in the series is stand around and be moe, and oh yeah, ''serve tea''. {{spoiler|Of course, she's actually driving the entire plot via [[Time Travel]]. [[All There in the Manual|It's in the books]].}}

* ''[[My-HiME]]'' skewered the concept in a [[Post Episode Trailer]] (where a lot of things did indeed "burn") as well as foreshadowing the show's darker themes much later.

* Can a [[Humongous Mecha]] be Moe? Well, if the mecha in question is Dolores from ''[[Zone of the Enders]]'', then yes.

* In ''[[Lucky Star]]'', when Miyuki talks about how absentminded and how [[Dojikko|clumsy]] she is, Konata tells her that "these are not faults, but elements of ''moe''". And then deconstructs the [[Dojikko]] elements by dismissing them as something cute in anime but annoying in real life.

** Also, [[Cloudcuckoolander|Tsukasa]].

** You can't have a page on Moe without mentioning [[Adorably Precocious Child|Negi]].

** Hell, even the current [[Big Bad]] and his minions have Moe elements. {{spoiler|''especially'' [[The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body|Shiori]], whose [[Luminescent Blush|fa]][[Cry Cute|ce]] on the last page of chapter 283 is perhaps one of the most Moe things yet seen in the manga.}}

** The novel version is WORSE. Visualizing it is impossible, however, as the traits contradict!

** Specifically, she is a childhood friend who is a [[Meido]] robot, [[Ill Girl]], an apparition, alien, and a [[Youkai|Kitsune]].

** Lindy Harlaown from ''[[Lyrical Nanoha|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''

** Signum (yes, ''[[Badass|that]] [[Lady of War|Signum]]'') shows her fair share of moeness in the ''[[Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force|Force]]'' manga after {{spoiler|recovering from the [[Curb Stomp Battle|brutal slaughtering]] [[Near-Death Experience|that almost killed her]] [[So Last Season|at the beginning of the season]]}}. Her first reaction {{spoiler|upon recovering counsciousness}} is to give a broad smille with big, bright eyes(complete with blushing cheeks) and say some cute lines to the ones around her.

** Mizuho is listed as 23 years old on several sites, making her five or eight years older than Kei, depending on whether you use Kei's mental or physical age.

* Nyu, the innocent split personality of [[Ax Crazy]] Lucy from ''[[Elfen Lied]]''. Also, Kisaragi with the bonus of being a [[dojikko]], {{spoiler|despite which she doesn't last very long.}}

** Not just those two. Pretty much every single girl in the series has a Moe moment at some point. Even [[Attractive Bent Gender|girl Keima]] pulls it off.

*** Especially Shiori, the shrinking violet librarian.

{{quote|"If someone has flaws or defects, but that is exactly what draws you to them, people call it moe. It's different from 'like,' where you're drawn to their good points, their strengths. 'Like' doesn't care for defects or flaws. Moe is the opposite of 'like' or 'dislike'....."}}

* Suzuhara Misaki from the manga version of ''[[Angelic Layer]]''.

*** Or Kaguya. Most adorable [[The Chessmaster|international political figurehead]] ever. And she's [[Wise Beyond Their Years|got the brains to match]].

** If you say Lelouch didn't look adorable when the rest of the student council forced him to wear cat ears, ''you are lying''. On the other hand, he's [[Magnificent Bastard|a complete bastard]], so it balances out.

** Subverted by Nina Einstein, who looks and most often acts the part, but is a racist who not only endangers her friends with her xenophobia-driven panic attacks, but also invents the series' premiere [[Weapon of Mass Destruction]] to fulfill [[Ho Yay|Princess Euphemia's]] [[Evil Eye]] induced dreams of genocide.

*** To her credit, once she ''does'' personally witness what said weapon can do, she [[Must Make Amends|tries to at least partially fix]] the mess she caused, even earning a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] when she creates the counter weapon.

* Nel from ''[[Bleach]]'', on account of being the most adorable little kid, and {{spoiler|she's every bit as adorable in her adult form.}}

** Orihime Inoue counts as moe as her [[Tareme Eyes|big droopy eyes]], [[Cloudcuckoolander|spacy attitude]], and {{spoiler|eventual [[Break the Cutie|cutie-breaking]]}} sometimes overshadow her hotness. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLfFUGnLWC4 Her image song] is just adorable.

*** She's even more Moe now that the anime came back from the Zanpakuto filler arcs, with bigger eyes and rounder facial features.

** Momo Hinamori just ''reeks'' of Moe. Cute and willowy, even her name sounds Moe [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Moe]]! {{spoiler|Her Zanpakutou Spirit, Tobiume, being the one little girl of the cast, also qualifies big time.}}

* Almost all of the main female characters in ''[[Rosario + Vampire]]'' have shades of this from time to time, and believe it or not, [[Defrosting Ice Queen|Inner]] [[Badass Adorable|Moka]] is probably at the top of the Moe totem pole, at least in recent chapters. Still, the rest of the cast all have their moments.

** Fong-Fong is a male example.

* Hinako from ''[[Training with Hinako]]''. She's a buxom 16 year old whose main purpose is to innocently [[No Fourth Wall|flirt with the viewer]] while teaching them how to do important things like how to exercise, have good sleep habits, and bathing, all the while providing lots of [[Fan Service]]. And in volume 3, she even introduces us to her [[Les Yay|loli playmate]] Hiyoko.

* Ranka from ''[[Macross Frontier]]''. Hell, she once [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|stopped an uprising]] by airdropping onto the battlefield and ''[[Glamorous Wartime Singer|singing]]''. The fighting Zentradi '''stopped dead'''.

** Note that he has this quality ''in-universe'', which is why he's such a [[Chick Magnet]].

{{quote|''"I once consulted a knowledgeable pal," I said, "and his theory was that the sight of me hanging about like a loony sheep awoke the maternal instinct in Woman. There may be something in this."''}}

** Walter Plinge from ''Maskerade'' as well. He's just so ''earnest'' in his gawky misfit-ness. {{spoiler|Totally subverted by the end. You can call Ghost!Walter a lot of things, but Moe isn't one of them}}.

* Veesey-koosey from Corwainer Smith's short story ''Think blue, count two'' is a passenger in suspended animation aboard a interstellar vessel who as been selected to be part of the emergency crew not because she was good at anything but because she has a daughter potential of 999,999, meaning that anyone older than her would accept her as a daughter after a few minutes of relationship and because of that that person would be extremely motivated to save her life and hence the ship.

*** Inversion? More like extra moe for [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]. Whedon's basically doing live action moe seinen.

* Glitch from [[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]] has ''moe'' qualities for many fans, due to the combination of his adorably quirky personality and [[The Woobie|traumatic backstory.]]

** Also [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Gem Gem] from the episode "The Empath." She never speaks a word, and all you see her do is take peoples' pain away like E.T.

** Also, also, [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Jame_Finney Jame Finney], the teenage daughter of one of Kirk's friends and a ''very'' emotional [[Shrinking Violet]] [[Pettanko]] with blue eyes big enough to drown in and a pleated miniskirt that screams "[[Sailor Fuku|schoolgirl]]". When she apologizes to Kirk so sheepishly, you just want to give her a big hug.

* Howard's girlfriend Bernadette from ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]''. Seriously, she's a short, adorable blonde who wears glasses and has an incredibly cute voice, she's like an assertive live-action [[Haruhi Suzumiya|Mikuru]] with slightly smaller breasts.

* Alexis Castle from ''[[Castle]]''.

* ''[[The Inspector Lynley Mysteries]]''' DS Barbara Havers - played by [[Sharon Small]], she of the heart-shaped face and enormous green eyes - ''definitely'' qualifies as this, particularly since she is a "puppy" [[The Woobie|the world keeps kicking]]. Of course, unlike most kicked puppies, [[Jerkass Woobie|she]] [[Tsundere|bites back]]... but she [[Character Development|gets over that]] eventually. ([[Deadpan Snarker|Well]], [[Sarcastic Devotee|mostly]].) And that doesn't stop her 'kicked puppy look' from being one of the most effective on television.

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121221001949/http://televisionheaven.co.uk/gidget.jpg Sally Field] as [[Gidget]]. "If you're in doubt about angels being real..."

{{quote|"Moe!! A girl wearing glasses and coughing up blood is Moe!"}}

** From the same game, Kenshin is a more traditional moe character when around Rance. The rest of the time, she's the [[Lady of War]].

** Pyrrha joins the list in Soul Calibur V, although many players have griped that she comes across as forced.

* ''[[Devil Survivor]]'' is pretty heavy on the Moe (the better to freak you out with), but Amane Kuzuryu takes the cake. Her status as a [[Defrosting Ice Queen|Defrosting]] [[Emotionless Girl]] {{spoiler|who gets royally screwed over by her father}} is enough to make her a [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Rei clone]]. And when you save her from {{spoiler|[[Demonic Possession]]}} in her route, [[When She Smiles|her return to normal is just]] '''''[[When She Smiles|adorable]]'''''.

** Hugely subverted in "[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S1/E26 The Best Night Ever|The Best Night Ever]]" when she {{spoiler|goes completely [[Cute and Psycho]] when the animals in the garden of the palace run away from her}}.

*** She was under a lot of stress at the time however, given that all she wanted to do was be friends with the animals and they just kept running away from her.

** Apple Bloom is also very Moe, earning the [[Fan Nickname]] "Moe Pony" based on her first appearance alone.

** Most characters from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' are pretty Moe to begin with. Heck, the entire show might be the best example of the "moe" concept catching on in western fandom today. Either way, many of the Ponies can fall under many different moe tropes, such as:

*** Pinkie Pie being an Aho-ko

*** Apple Bloom being a Loli

*** Sweetie Belle is [[The Klutz|adorably clumsy]], has an amazing singing voice yet she's too shy to sing in public, the cutest voice cracks in the history of voice acting...d'aww!

** Particularly notable is the episode "Green Is Not Your Color," where Fluttershy becomes a supermodel entirely due to her Moe appeal, complete with [[Enforced Method Acting]] so she always looks scared in her pictures.

* Mentioned in ''[[Shikabane Hime]]'' - after Ouri falls ill, Keisei ills his room with posters and collectibles from the series ''[[Show Within a Show|Moe Warrior Zenbunose Puchi-tto]]''. Ouri is rather less than pleased.

* ''[[Yotsuba&!]]'' by the same author as ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]''.

** Also, Canada, [[Memetic Mutation|WHY SO MOE?]] Even when some Canadians [[Single-Issue Wonk|don't like]] [[Misplaced Nationalism|this]].

** [http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-643.html This post on Himaruya's blog] adds [[Chinese Girl]] Taiwan pretty firmly to the Moe chain. Apparently confirmed in the drama track of China's CD, where she's given a quite child-like and girlish voice.

** So...would that make Mochimerica [[Incredibly Lame Pun|a literal moe blob]]?

* ''[[Touhou]]''.

 

* Another set of [[Dating Sim|H-Games]] with actual plots and sympathetic characters is Key's works. ''[[Kanon]]'' and ''[[AIR]]'' have both been animated twice [[Bleached Underpants|with all H-scenes removed and practically no fanservice]], and didn't lose much; ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'', which was also animated twice under the same contract, was completely clean in the first place.

* ''[[Visual Novel/Wanko To Kurasou|Wanko To Kurasou]]''. [[Puni Plush]] art, loli doggirls and (for the most part) [[Sweet Dreams Fuel]]? ''Kitaaaaa!''

 

=== Western Animation ===

* The 1980's cartoon ''[[Hello Kitty]]'s Furrytale Theater''. No, it's not an anime. [[Tara Strong]], the mistress of cute characters, started as Kitty on this show when she was 13.

** And the Henry and June shorts at some points. Because uh, the two main characters include a [[Cute Shotaro Boy]] and a [[Cute Bruiser]].

* ''[[Wakfu]]'' has been described on this very Wiki as ''[[Gurren Lagann]]'', "but with [[Moe Moe]] rather than [[Hot Blood]]." The main character is Yugo, a [[Cute Shotaro Boy]] with [[Cute Little Fangs]], huge brown eyes, and a [[Nice Hat]] with cat ears. One of his companions is Amalia, a [[Rebellious Princess]] with a [[Flower in Her Hair]] who [[Does Not Like Shoes]] and harbours a ''deep'' attachment to her female bodyguard. Speaking of said bodyguard, even [[Tsundere|Evangelyne]] [http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/I_am_Latia/WHYSOMOEEVA1.jpg has] [http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/I_am_Latia/WHYSOMOEEVA2.jpg her moments.] It's important to note, though, that while these characters ''look'' huggable and helpless, [[Badass|they're anything but.]]

* ''[[Madeline]]'' shows shades of this, oddly enough for a late 80's/early 90's show. A lot is done to ensure the tiny, cute heroines are [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj2XOhC1YlM as tiny and cute as possible].

** "She may be teeny-tiny, diminuitive, petite, [[Ear Worm|but that has never stopped her from being pretty neat..."]]

* ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]'': Jenny, whose insecurities and innocence can be quite endearing.

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Anime Fan Speak]]

[[Category:Double Standard]]

[[Category:YMMV Trope]]

[[Category:Memetic Mutation]]