Okay what is moe?
 

Call me ignorant but I have not idea what the definition of moe is.

According to fansubbers, "moe" means "turn on elements".

I am still clueless???

Basically cuteness, but that's barely scratching the surface.

moe is girl going through puberty

Nah you're not ignorant. The word moe has been abused by, especially, western fans that it doesn't have a standard definition any more every person here will tell you something different. So I can't blame you for not knowing what the definition of moe is.

Moe is a specific form of charm that a character exhibits in their personality and physical traits which manifests strong feelings of protectiveness and sympathy in the viewer. In fact, I believe the closest equivalent word in English to "moe" would actually be "charm". Moe is not restricted to females, nor to childlike characters.

Tempster's definition of "charm" is a great starting point, but I'm going to be a bit more detailed.

The way I understand it, moe is slang that plays on the Japanese words for burning and blossoming.

So basically, a burning passion for a blossoming (youthful) girl. It's something you feel, ie. "I am moe for Kotomi Ichinose."

I consider a character moe if they evoke one or more of the following feelings:
1) "Brain melt" (ie. so cute, can't think...)
2) Warmth/"warm and fuzzy"
3) Charm or playful excitement

The characters that cause feelings 2) and 3) are often quite different for me: Nadeko (Bakemonogatari) and Kotomi (Clannad) are warm characters, Hitagi (Bakemonogatari) and Matsuri (Sola) are charming/exciting ones.

A moe character may or may not be sexually attractive. Age can vary as long as they exhibit youthful traits (I can name immortal characters and MILFs who are moe). Male characters can be moe although male moe characters tend to come across as fairly feminine for a guy (at least to me).

Also, note that when a character one is moe for is threatened, it usually draws a very strong emotional response. Many shows take advantage of this.

To be specific, this definition originates from AFK's fansubs of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya from back in 2006. AFK is a good sub group, but they tend to place a lot of emphasis on natural sounding English and "localizing" humour rather than accuracy, so they're not a good source for exact definitions.

/prepares popcorn

:heh:

I tend to think of "adorable" (said with that draw out tone, "isn't it adorable!") as the closest English equivalent to "moe". It's the sort of thing that makes you smile indulgently. Just as what people consider adorable varies, so too what is moe varies.


Moe can be sexually attractive or not. Little sisters tend to be a particularly common source of "moe" without the sexual attraction element. (Although lately it seems some shows are trying to use them that way. Ugh.)

The implication is different nearly every time I hear it. The closest thing to a definition I can tack on is "cute" or "adorable."

Amen.

One of the biggest debates is whether Moe is in fact gender-specific, but can apply to males as well - J-U-L-Y from Darker than Black II, for example. Or even traps, AKA Mako-chan.

"Adorable" is the best 'one word' translation I've ever come up with, though reading 0utf0xZer0's post is the most informative in what the word means. Unfortunately, we seem to have a faction of non-Japanese anime fans that obstinately insist on spreading confusion - their reasons vary from well-intentioned misinformation on their part to intentional dislike for plot elements they associate with the term. Sometimes, its like hearing someone insist 'tsunami' means lunar tidal cycles over and over and over, month after month after ... :) it gets hard to stay civil in the face of fundamental error. :)

edit: on the remote chance a few readers are not quite clear on what "adorable" means: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adorable

That is pretty accurate to the 2006 usage. You can see it in this post from the otaku lingo thread here. The word has changed significantly in how it is applied in psuedo-english usage since then.

The english usage has been losing any concrete meaning and has become over-inclusive into things it doesn't actually apply to. Many people abuse it to describe a certain drawing style, usually one that draws their ire.

"Endearing" is also a pretty good synonym for "moe"

This.

It fustrates me a lot since there's really a lot more to moe than just artwork.

From My understanding, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Moe creates the feeling of wanting to protect the moe character, almost like a motherly love for her child.

You're correct in that it is a feeling that the viewer projects rather than an attribute of the object itself. "Protective feelings" can get fairly complicated though - sometimes it is a bit more selfish than "motherly love" and can tread into the "my waifu" zone and other places. But basically, if your response is "heart stops", "squeee!!!", "omg-must-protect", you're brushing up against the "moe-zone".

Sure, drawing style =/= moe. But anything with the art design of something like a KEY work, it is almost always guaranteed to be an anime filled with moe.