Quote:
Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0
While I agree that if you have Key style art, you almost always have moe, I understand Totoum's perspective here. I don't like to describe moe as an art style because I feel it gets people to concentrate on associated traits rather than the core of the concept. Same reason I dislike it when Mikuru is used as an example of moe character traits... she's one end of the moe spectrum, whereas at the other end you have characters like Rin Tohsaka and Kuroneko. As a moe fan, I prefer to have people recognize that I have fairly broad tastes.
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That's fine. I never said anything against that specifically.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0
The broad use of the term is fairly deliberate - like I said, many of us try to demonstrate the breadth of the concept when given the opportunity.
That said, I have gradually added associated characteristics to my definition of moe in an attempt to make it at least somewhat specific. As it stands, my definition is something like this:
"A passion for a youthful female character, not necessarily sexual in nature and usually stemming from her being adorable or charming."
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Which is where I find a problem. Now that is not necessarily directed at you personally, but from what I've seen of the moe community, their attempts at defining the term are so elusive that only they would know what it means.
To me it comes off as an attempt to deflect any and all criticism to their brand since every time someone says something about moe, they either say "Well that's not really moe," or , "That's only a certain type of moe." It cannot both be a very strictly confined and broad definition at the same time.
When I discuss something like the genre of horror, we have a FAIRLY good idea of what we are talking about. Genres are already broad enough, and if people who promote the so called "moe" genre want to be taken seriously, they have to allow grounded criticisms stick to it, otherwise it is a useless term.
Sure each genre might have a little bit different spin on some areas, and there are nuances wherever you go, but the basic core idea is there. Right now, the moe community simply doesn't want to accept what exactly this core idea is, and as far as I can see, there is no reason to respect such an inadequate term.
IMO, it makes it a little hard to discuss the topic, and that's why the term I said should be discarded since one seemingly can't criticize it in any form. It might be better to just go back to the days before the word moe ever came about in mass popularity.