2011-01-07, 03:33 | Link #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
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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.
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2011-01-07, 03:39 | Link #7 |
Japanese Culture Fan
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Planet Earth
Age: 33
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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.
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2011-01-07, 04:10 | Link #8 |
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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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.
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2011-01-07, 06:46 | Link #9 |
The Combat Otaku
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Hiding here in Closed Space with Haruhi, Konata, Nagi, and Kirino. Reading: Grimoire
Age: 30
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Common look for characters that an otaku might consider "Moe". Moe is a Japanese slang word originally referring to fetish for or love for characters in video games or anime and manga. For example, Meganekko-moe, "Glasses-girl moe", describes a person who is attracted to fictional characters with eyeglasses. Since then, the term has come to be used as a general term for a hobby, mania or fetish (non-sexual) — Tetsudou-moe, "train moe", is simply a passionate interest in trains. A moekko is a character who could be considered stereotypically attractive — youthful and cute.
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2011-01-07, 09:59 | Link #11 |
Cross Game - I need more
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: I've moved around the American West. I've lived in Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Oklahoma
Age: 44
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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.)
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2011-01-07, 12:09 | Link #14 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
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"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
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Last edited by Vexx; 2011-01-07 at 12:25. |
2011-01-07, 12:32 | Link #15 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Quote:
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. |
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2011-01-07, 18:21 | Link #19 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
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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".
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