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Talk about Moe.

I've always taken it to mean cute, rather unintelligent or clumsy, girls with oversized eyes and high-pitched annoying voices.

I got the idea for this topic from Clannad Collection 1 talkback.

The definition of moe seems to be all over the place. The fact that there is no clear definition makes talking about it reeally hard.

It can be very irritating to hear that some series is a "moe show" when most of the cast don't fit the original and most negative meaning of moe.

Original moe
Protective feeling you get from "little sister"-character. Most of the Sister Princess cast are a perfect example of this.

"Fetish"
Way of talking about personal tastes like megane-moe (love for characters with glasses) or tsundere-moe (love of tsundere, duh).

I like this/This is cute
Can be used in pretty much any context.

I hope this this topic would stay on the topic of moe and not derail to the usual ANN anti-moe conspiracies.

It can be very irritating to hear that some series is a "moe show" when most of the cast don't fit the original and most negative meaning of moe. I am also very confused, because the internet seems to have agreed to Mio (from K-On) being the winner of this years Saimoe, even though she fits the original meaning of moe the least from the main cast.

we could possibly come to the conclusion that "moe" is now a blanket term for general over used cuteness in a series or character(s).

In a way, moe is a response to the empowerment of women in inter-gender relationships that we have seen in the past half century. In the 1950s, a man could safely expect to be the dominant (or if not exactly dominant, then active) partner in the process of forming a relationship. As women became liberated, this changed, and modern sexual diplomacy is a minefield that leaves us poor men challenged at best and despondent at worst.

It is therefore perhaps not surprising that moe strikes such a chord in the male viewers (though I would strongly maintain that moe is not unavoidably a male-oriented phenomenon). They see, in the character's vulnerability, a chance to play the rôle that conventional male upbringing still holds up as the male ideal: the rôle of protector, mentor, and devoted lover.

What it boils down to is that moe opens a chink in the otherwise-daunting armour of modern feminine empowerment, and the male audience appreciates that.

- abunai

I can deal. Sometimes the attitudes get tiring, but that's okay. With Blood-'s help, I'm trying to be tactful. However, I'm getting to the point where tact is doing no good.

The term "moe" has been changed, diluted, and adapted in many different ways over the years to the point where there is no real definition for it. Different people look at this term in different ways. It's now to the point where defining it is no longer a point of technicality but rather a point of opinion.

Because of all the different opinions and definitions of "moe" it's very easy for a series to get labeled as such. I'd say that after seeing all the examples of this we could possibly come to the conclusion that "moe" is now a blanket term for general over used cuteness in a series or character(s).

Stupidity is not a requirement for moe... I would say that the defining characteristic of moe is vulnerability. You can find plenty of indisputably moe characters in anime who are physically or mentally strong. What unites them all, however, is that (in one way or another) they are vulnerable.

It is therefore perhaps not surprising that moe strikes such a chord in the male viewers (though I would strongly maintain that moe is not unavoidably a male-oriented phenomenon).

In a way, moe is a response to the empowerment of women in inter-gender relationships that we have seen in the past half century. In the 1950s, a man could safely expect to be the dominant (or if not exactly dominant, then active) partner in the process of forming a relationship. As women became liberated, this changed, and modern sexual diplomacy is a minefield that leaves us poor men challenged at best and despondent at worst.

It is therefore perhaps not surprising that moe strikes such a chord in the male viewers (though I would strongly maintain that moe is not unavoidably a male-oriented phenomenon). They see, in the character's vulnerability, a chance to play the rôle that conventional male upbringing still holds up as the male ideal: the rôle of protector, mentor, and devoted lover.

What it boils down to is that moe opens a chink in the otherwise-daunting armour of modern feminine empowerment, and the male audience appreciates that.

- abunai