What is moe?

[Crisu]

Something cute? Something sexy? Something attractive?

There are several branches and divisions, aren't there?

Lots of blogs out there that dwell on different aspects, be it tsunderekko, meganekko, and many more.

"Your Moe May Vary" is a great mantra for all of this.

And how does moe drive you in a Saimoe contest? Or is it just popularity? Or are the two things synonymous?

[Fate]

I only consider Fate to be the true, pure embodiment of what we deem 'moe.'

[Seishi]

Moe tte nani? </tsukasa.jpg>

For me, strong moe is a feeling of deep-rooted connection with a character on a mostly emotional level, though physical features do play a part sometimes. We are all affected by different character aspects; it seems I am attracted to leader types (Nanoha) more than most other female character archetypes. Other moderate feelings of moe for a character come from the standard "I just want to hug and protect you" (Ranka) kind of feeling some characters invoke. However, I find that my views of moe greatly differ at times with forum crowds, but that's OK, even if it does frustrate me a lot.

Like love itself, it is an entirely subjective emotion. Not even Ken Akamatsu can give you a proper explanation for the feeling.

[Chocola]

Oh yay, a moe discussion.

For me, moe stems from cute. Of course, I need to "feel" some connection to the characters first, but I listed cute first, why? This is because cuteness is the aspect that usually leads to be bridging that connection. But then again there are three things that makes characters cute for me: One of those aspects is having pink/light red hair. This is weird, because pink is one of my least favorite colors. Because of that fact, I reason that pink identifies the character as female, as in, opposites attract. Another aspect is if the character is a loli. I tend to favor lolis more because they're...cute. There's really no other explanations because they are cute, and my cute is moe. And the last aspect, which most people find weird, is the correct placement of fangs. Simply put, fangs can make or a break a character to me, and having fangs is a good way to make me either really love you or really hate you. And here are my top 10 list:

1) Sakura Kinomoto: loli
2) Hinagiku Katsura: pink, win
3) Alisa Bannings: loli, win
4) Nagisa Furukawa: ?
5) Nanoha Takamachi: loli
-- Fate Testarossa: loli
-- Vita: eternal loli
8) Kagami Hiiragi: ?
9) Caro Ru Lushe: loli, pink = <3
10) Hanyuu: loli

And of course there are a few exceptions. There is a win factor where the character is just so "cool" that she somehow becomes moe. Kagami's personality was just top-notched and has everything I look for in a character. Konata is actually my favorite character in LS but Kagami blushes a few times, which helps. For Nagisa, I can't put why I like her into words. There are a lot less lolis from 11-20.

But cuteness isn't the only factor. They have to be likable, or make my feel them somehow. For this reason, there are many characters I find cute but not very moe. These include Ayu Tsukimiya, Yutaka Kobayakawa, Index Whateveryourmiddlenameis Whateveryourlastnameis, Minawa Andou, Mei Sunohara, Kyon no Imouto, and Hayate Yagami.

[LazyCanuck]

I had to do it

[Leandra]

Moé, to me, is based on the general design of an anime character. When a character is very appealing in it's design, I consider it moé. Some examples would be as follows; (Similar to KholdStare88's interpretation).

Hiiragi Kagami - Purple tsundere awesomeness
Fujibayashi Kyou - Same as above, + gorgeous violet eyes
Louise Françoise de la Vallière - Pink, loli
Misuzu Kamio - Shows great innocence, loli
Saber - Silent moe , kicks ass
Nanoha/Fate - Both are mahou shoujo / school girl
Yuno - Cute, innocent
Kirisame Marisa - Attractive, witch-character
Shana - Flaming hair/eyes, tsundere

Moé, with no doubt, is judged differently by everyone. By me, mostly on the artists design of the character. That is how I am usually drawn to a character in the first place.

[ayuayu]

moe is moé?

[Mushi]

Moe is what makes your heart go "pitter-patter."

[FNSNA]

what is moe?
Moe is the trait of a anime character that
1)I feel a close connection to that certain character
2) makes my heart warm and fuzzy [1) usually leads to 2)
3) That I want to protect
[From most important to least important]

This feeling is rooted in the character's uniqueness, character's personality, character's ideologies, their voice [I'm not strong saiyuu fan though], their background and their looks.
[again from most important to least important]

Some examples:
Osaka: Unique personality, unique voice
Mai [kanon], Feito: Her background [want to protect], looks
Auqamarine: Ideologies, looks >_>, voice, uniqueness
Ai Kaga: ideologies

I do admit, my list is a bit unique, but it is the unique characters that leave me a impression in the long run, while I will fall for Kagami in the short run, her image is not as deep in the long run

[ayuayu]

moé is something only you yourself can define ^_^ V

[Xjellocross]

*image*
I had to do it

You sir, have never won and failed more in one post.


Moe is what keeps me watching when an anime sucks. *cough*Chaos;Head*cough*
Strangely enough I pick up more moe series than anything else and end up putting more moe series on hold than anything else.

[Destiny]

*image*
I had to do it

You sir, have never won and failed more in one post.

QFT. Though maybe we could use Moe as an antithesis to moe.

[Xellos]

For me, moe boils down to hitting wickets. There are a number of character traits that will specifically push my buttons and if a character pushes enough buttons, she's moe. Some examples of aforementioned wickets:

- Tsundere
- Looks. I'll admit character design plays a factor; it's usually the first thing that draws me to a character. This varies from an overall attractive appearance to specific fetishes like twintails.
- Relating to them on some personal level
- Badassery

The list goes on. Like others have said, moe is personal thing. It evolves as well. While I stil like tsundere characters, I'm experiencing a bit of a shift towards liking calm and composed girls. Moe is a subjective and dynamic term, but that's what makes it so fun!

[Val]

If one word could just be used to translate the whole "moe" thing, I think it should be "cute".

(or Fate... ^o^)

But you got the general idea, and it's also a matter of personal appreciation.

[Chocola]

I just hate people who think that others who equate "cute" with "moe" is shallow.

[Seishi]

I just hate people who think that others who equate "cute" with "moe" is shallow.

Well then, please forgive me. I think it's a natural reaction. We all have our own ridiculous reasons for doing what we do.

[asandari]

Moe is what keeps me watching when an anime sucks. *cough*Chaos;Head*cough*
Strangely enough I pick up more moe series than anything else and end up putting more moe series on hold than anything else.

I resent that...
or wait... Maybe I was in the same position...

In either case, I used to bind myself rather strongly to the "A need to protect" definition, however I've allowed something of an emotional tie to mix in with my definition. It's an emotional tie beyond a protective urge. It's something that is very difficult to describe but is akin to "attraction" (Not necessarily sexual). A feeling that is something of a desire that cannot be fulfilled by a fictional character... Actually wait. I don't like where this is going. I'm ending this rambling now.

[alphastickmania]

Hmm... interesting.

Allow me to add my personal opinion of the word then.

I think that moe means being able to attract others (people) via certain means like cuteness and etc... (I can't quite remember all of the different kinds I wanted to mention)

You don't have to accept my opinion though. So if anyone feels like flaming me for this, don't. ^_^

[kenshin514]

Based on my opinion, moe is a character that usually looks little bit younger than her actual age. Her looks is toward to cute than beautiful or sexy and she will just melt me every time I look at her XD

[Kaito_Dash]

Moe is something about "LOVE", man.