2012-05-03, 20:19 | Link #21 | |
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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I thought about including Kyou/Botan but decided to keep it short. And good call on Caro/Friedrich.
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By one definition, you’re absolutely correct. And given that the Sakura Kinomoto (Card Captor Sakura) won the first Saimoe tournament in Japan back in 2002, I also think this definition has a long history. However, I don’t think this definition can capture a lot of the characters who are considered moe. You say you don’t find Kagami Hiiragi from Lucky Star moe and by that definition, she indeed isn’t – yet like Sakura, she’s won a Saimoe tournament (specifically 2008). Nor is moe just “cute”. Aoki Ume’s character design aside, Tomoe Mami (Madoka Magica) is not a particularly cute character and she’s also a Saimoe winner. I consider both Kagami and Mami to be moe characters. As are Yuno and Yune. In all cases, I think that because of a particular “warm” feeling I have towards the character, but it’s not the same feeling in all four cases. You already nailed the feeling associated with Yuno and Yune so I won’t go further into that other than to say I think this “arm” of moe also covers many tragic characters. In regards to Kagami, I think the video I posted of Touka from Utawarerumono may prove useful here. Just to jog your memory, Touka is the bird-eared women: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kSF2p3jkx8 I suppose you could call Touka cute. Her “I AM A BODYGUARD!” is even more cute, but it isn’t “there” yet. The way she goes absolutely ga-ga around the Mikyuum – that’s moe. I’m not just thinking “cute”, but “Oh my God that is adorable” and I’m getting warm fuzzy feelings and it feels like my brain is kind of melting. I’d define that as a “moe reaction”. And of course, that scene is kind of meta in that Touka herself appears to be having such a reaction. I suppose you could say the sheer intensity of it is what separates it from “kawaii”. Of course, there is a grey area between the two. Several of Kagami’s behaviours are known to trigger such reactions among tsundere enthusiasts. The bit with her getting embarrassed while reading yaoi doujinshi at Comiket is one of the most notable, but there’s a lot of ways in which she tries to cover up the fact she’s just a little bit of an otaku that qualify. Then there’s Mami. As mentioned earlier, I don’t think Mami is even all that cute by anime standards. Yet I and many other seem to consider her moe. If I had to cite what makes Mami moe, it’s a combination of warmth, femininity, and “charm” – though I’d be hard pressed to define exactly what I mean by charm. A character that can invoke any of the three feelings is “moe” to me, and that indeed covers, many, many characters. In many cases, I think the question isn’t so much “is a character moe” as “to what degree are they moe?”. I feel that pets can amplify any of the three feelings, but particularly the second branch ("brain melt").
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2012-05-03, 20:59 | Link #22 |
Me at work
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Surprised this hasn't been posted yet
Sadly can't find a vid of Chiyo riding Mr Tadakichi so a pic will have to do The sketchbook fan that I am won't resist mentioning that Sora's attraction to cat is part of her appeal,even if none are technicaly her pets
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2012-05-03, 22:34 | Link #23 |
Senior Member
Author
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For sheer aesthetics, the cutest moe girl + pet combo for me would be either Madoka/Kyubey or Mami/Kyubey. Madoka Magica really did have an absolutely awesome sense of magical girl aesthetics.
But once you factor personality in, Kyubey doesn't work so well here. So I guess I'd probably have to give it to Card Captor Sakura and Keroberos. On a pure aesthetics level, they're not far behind the Madoka pairs for me, and this magical girl familiar is a little less objectionable, shall we say.
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2012-05-04, 08:56 | Link #28 |
Kneel Before Your King!
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Nanoha and Yuuno of... er... Nanoha.
... What? Yuuno was officially her pet at one point! Grr... fine... Yuki Nagato and Achakura of Haruhi-chan. ... Achakura doesn't count as a pet? Fine, fine... "Alien Witch" Yuki and Shamisen of... oh, it has to actually be her pet? Grr... Tooru and Tansan of A Channel. (Note: I'm perfectly serious here. I just wanted to be a bit silly at first so this wasn't a six-word post. )
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2012-05-04, 12:00 | Link #29 |
Yuri µ'serator
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: FL, USA
Age: 36
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Besides the already mentioned Miu + Pannya, and Kyou and Potan.
Nyan Koi!'s Kirishima twins sisters and their two cats Tama and Noir. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san's Nyaruko and her pet Shanta, um... I am not sure what it is exactly, but it's cute .
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