Mega Megane Moé
Hell and Heaven Moéltdown
Moé Rising: The line between cute and characterization
(I like Hisui, but the ol’ line about “So moe I might die” comes to mind)
Moe: is it in your anime, killing your enjoyment?
Recently I’ve been in a bit of despair over Clannad, the third installment in Key’s sad-girls-in-noun series that has been animated by high-quality animation studio Kyoto Animation. By all means, I like to consider myself a Key fanboy (I believe the official term for this is “kagikko”) like the best of them; look up at my banner (might need a couple refreshes, admittedly) or down at my posts, and you’ll see a whole lot of raving, ranting, and allusions to vanilla ice cream, among other catchfoods.
But with the advent of decidedly more real, down-to-earth visual-novel type stories in anime, for example, the highly lauded KimiKiss, it seems that some of Key’s works could almost be growing stagnant. Even other shows with what could be considered mildly moe characters, take a more realistic, balanced view, as the infamous quote in ef – a tale of memories goes: “If the girl is thought to be cute, it means she isn’t being described properly.”
There are a lot of instances of concentrated moe in anime nowadays, but Key works are generally among the genre-leaders in this regard. Just look at Kanon, and Yuuichi’s four childhood friends. Clannad is a bit more even-keeled in terms of characters, but Kotomi’s recent arc is what really tipped the scale for me, and led me to this post.
It made me wonder – is there a sort of divide between moe characters and strong characters? Is a moe character, by definition, one that has to be shallow? Or is this just a false dichotomy?
Now, as you may surmise, I’m going to be one to stand by the Kanon characters until the end of time. Whether it’s the persistent, fight-o attitude of Nayuki, Mai’s deceptively kind demeanor lying behind her silent personality, or Shiori’s strange, worldly poetic monologues, they all strike a chord somewhere deep inside.
But one has to wonder whether this emotion results from a liking of a strong characteristic or personality they have, or just what many people label as “moe”, what has been described as a sort of ‘protective urge’, a sort of “wanting to be there for them” of like.
I say this because if you think about it, what exactly would happen if you removed the main character (and projection of many a viewer), Yuuichi, from the puzzle. Would they all come crashing down? Would Shiori ever have been happy? Would Mai ever have stopped fighting those demons, internal and external? Would Makoto and Ayu even exist?
It’s a sort of grown-up fantasy for people to idolize guys like Yuuichi and situations like his, more than just a simple lust that people feel towards swimsuit models and front-page pin-ups, more of a wanting to “be the only one that can help them”, an ironically selfish motive.
And in order for this situation to exist, the girls’ characters have to be intentionally flawed, they have to be incomplete, one might say ‘broken’. Of course, that’s not to say that any flawed character is bad – a character in fiction shouldn’t be perfect by any means, and entire Shakespearean works have been built around characters – and stories – gone horribly wrong.
But I think the key to a character is to make them functional enough so that they can live on their own. Kaiji, from his self-titled series, I think, is an example of one such character; he lives a rather poverished, lacking life, but there’s no question that he could survive in his tiny apartment on his gas station pay. He may not be happy with his current life, but he is capable in every way, and so when he gets offered these deceptive opportunities by the yakuza to step up into a greater life, the audience can really feel for the torture, the human emotion that he has to go through.
However, the case really does seem different in many a visual novel, and Kotomi’s one such unfortunate example. As blog feedback has been indicating, Kotomi’s a sort of mixed bag: she’s one of the most adorable characters since the history of ever, but her story just doesn’t click as Jeff Lawson in one of the above posts puts it:
“I also have this gnawing feeling her story will turn out to be the weakest of the entire show. She’s hot moe infused with essence of sweet moe with a side helping of refined moe served on a dish made of moe mined in the moe mines of ancient Moetopia.”
And somehow, I can’t help but think that these two facts were linked.
For example, if you walk down to your local Moe dealership to purchase one of the latest 2008 models, you’ll be greeted with a customization list that reads off like a list of some of the biggest cliches in anime. Childhood friend? Traumatic childhood incident that caused mental impairment? Unable to make friends with anyone but one person? Check those boxes.
It’s sort of a left-brain, right-brain thing. The subjective right half eats it all up, loves the characters and their emotional ploys and the world be damned if anything come between them. But the logical left half notes that they’ve seen it all before, notes that it’s all been done to death, hates it and wishes there was something more creative.
Are these ‘moe triggers’ always cliched? Maybe that’s part of what it is – you really can’t get that sense of comfort with a character without really knowing who they are, and the easiest way to do that is to pigeonhole them into at least a partially stereotyped character. If you have a character that breaks bounds, that isn’t cut and dry, it’s admittedly harder for them to be moe. Why? Because they’re new, because they’re different, and for a lot of situations, different is scary.
This is where ef goes, in taking a different path – the characters can’t wholly be sympathized with, and they can’t wholly be hated either. Miyako’s 99 Missed Calls is a perfect example of this; you really feel sorry for the girl, for trying so hard and getting shut down, but on the other hand, you get really creeped out by her persistence and desperation.
And while this sounds like a bad thing, I enjoy this style a lot, because it really invokes a lot of thinking, really makes you consider the character more than a simple black and white portrayal.
Once again I want to hark back to Stripey’s post on fanservice in anime, and argue that moe is largely the same way. Logically, you could probably argue that moe is essentially a subset of fanservice, for a more ‘pure’ type of fan.
And it functions the same way, on a character-by-character basis. If you take a blank character as a plain ice cream sundae, and lather it in moe syrup and dip it in moe chocolate and sprinkle moe candy all over it and put sliced moe on it with a moe cherry on top, it may look tasty to the eye but the fact of the matter is you’ll probably be gagging by the second bite.
Moe functions well as a garnish, a way to accentuate an otherwise strong character. It shouldn’t replace a character’s true personality and strengths but rather add to them, show a kind of contrast.
To speak in character terms, it’s similar to the theory of why tsunderes are so widely loved by many anime viewers. If a character was only tsuntsun (cold, mean, etc) or only deredere (loving, affectionate, etc), it wouldn’t be half as effective, because the viewer would not get that feeling of ’seeing the side of a character that not everyone sees’.
Similarly, in visual-novel-type shows, having a character that’s all moe, or conversely, not moe at all, doesn’t work quite as well. If a character looks weak on the outside, but really has a strong inner drive (Nagisa), or if a character looks mean on the outside but has a soft spot inside (Tomoyo), it really works better, provided that one doesn’t overpower the other. And as you may have guessed by the parentheses there, that’s why I’m still liking Clannad, why I look forward to the arcs of the other characters. (Aside from the comedy, of course.)
And that’s probably why I still continue to idolize Kanon; even though the character structure is very weak in spots, the characters, at least some of them, do fit this concept quite well. I know I described Mai to a T last paragraph. Other characters, like Ayu, may not work quite the same, as her clumsiness, loli-ness, and uguu~power generally overwhelm her serious aspects, but deep down, they are there somewhere, so I can’t say that I could truly hate on any of the Key games. Such is the tint of the rose-colored glasses.
Kotomi, I should hope is just a holdback of the older days of visual novels, when characters were perhaps a bit weaker, a bit more stereotypical. Since a lot of her story is so cliched, so moe-engined, she lacks that ‘other side’ to her, that something that makes her more than an cute 2D (in both senses) character. Certainly I see potential in a lot of other Clannad characters to break the mold and balance the opposite scales of rational appeal and emotional appeal, so don’t count me disenchanted yet.
Sometimes, there just needs to be a bit of stepping back for a minute and seeing how this new trend for moe is and isn’t changing things…
-CCY
(Hopefully not in this direction, for one…I apologize.)
(This post should rank pretty high on the incoherency scale, the analytical articles are always tough to write. Especially when you’re arguing against every anime you’ve ever watched. I still have no regrets in liking moe characters, I’m just surprised at how much of my viewing lineup is tilting away from stereotypical moe offerings – the ef rewatch (in case you were wondering what was holding the review), Kaiji, ARIA, SZS Zoku, even KimiKiss is on the lighter side of moe)
January 21, 2008 - 6:51 pm
Moe
SERIOUS BUSINESS
Jokes aside. I personally like the good old days of moe where you could sum up a girl by the personality traits like the shy one, aggressive one etc.
I hardly see shy girls with glasses in anime anymore or maybe I’m just not looking hard enough.
January 21, 2008 - 7:50 pm
We need more posts like this :)
The problem with moe is that it’s not well-understood indeed. Those who get it struggle in trying to convey it to the others who don’t. It’s almost like trying to describe a good steak to the vegetarian. And so there’s a serious misconception that moe-enthusiast see the moe traits as the only factors for character love which is untrue.
I think you have just inspired my own post. :)
January 21, 2008 - 8:51 pm
Remember: Always check your links before posting, especially your “blog feedback” one ;)
I’m one of those people who still doesn’t fully grasp this concept of “moe”. I do admit the Cardcaptor Sakura posts over at Moe Check! with Damien’s “CHECK!Point” moments gives me a vague understanding, at the very least.
I’d read somewhere that by the time I finished watching the first DVD of Strawberry Marshmallow, I’d fully understand moe. Didn’t happen. Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch with that as a goal, or something? Ana is mature but young, Matsuri’s adorable, Miu is evil, and Chika has no distinguishing feature. Where’s the moe part? Is it the “Matsuri’s adorable”? Or does it jump from character to character, depending who the viewer is?
Can a character be “moe” without a person feeling the need to go out and protect that character? Can a character “act moe” while still being a strong person inside? I’m thinking of Miu in Super GALS! here. She’s such an adorable person, and acts cuter than cute at times, but she was once the leader of a street gang, and when her past catches up with her, she can lose her cool. Can a character be moe, but have moments of being unmoe? Or is it an unmoe character who acts moe?
When the despisable 17-year old Nanaka in Nanaka 6/17 falls down a flight of concrete stairs only to wake up in the hospital with no memories after age six, is the six-year old Nanaka “moe” by her characteristics and actions? Or is there a distinction between “this character is a child in need of protection” and “this character needs protection, thus she is moe.”
Is moe a characteristic of a person that will be grown out of? Or is it something able to remain even after situation and adversity cause a character to grow and mature? What’s the ratio of female to male “moe” characters? What’s the ratio of “everyone finds her moe” characters to “a few people find her moe, but not many” characters?
Obviously I have a lot to learn about this “moe” concept. At least I pronounce it correctly. I get points for that, right?
January 21, 2008 - 10:17 pm
Just a curiousity here. I wonder if moe isn’t necessarily a character trait, but if it’s a viewer reaction. So it isn’t that the character is lost, or needs protection. It’s just that the viewer has that reaction.
Or if it’s a little bit of both.
January 21, 2008 - 10:32 pm
Hey, I’m ritchan from ritchan.ikimashou.net. What in the world happened? Is the domain really pending renewal? Why the hell is the placeholder page taunting me with ‘Hentai Video Downloads’?
Also, do you know how to contact Randall in case something like this happens? The only email I have of him is on ikimashou.net.
January 21, 2008 - 10:34 pm
Never mind that last comment, I forgot completely about his other domains…
January 22, 2008 - 1:35 am
Your whole post fail for saying that Ayu is rori (lol wtf)
January 22, 2008 - 1:55 am
You won’t have to worry too much about Clannad being stagnant for too long, Fuuko and Kotomi stories are by far the most “moe tragedy Key style” in the game.
Let just say that those who enjoy the most relationship focused stories like Kimikiss will probably enjoy what is coming in Clannad.
January 23, 2008 - 4:47 pm
Koji Oe: Personally, I like the new moe blends they’re coming out with, since a lot of my complaints with characters like Kotomi is that they’re so…done before.
But I will admit that I like your tastes of “shy girls with glasses” very, very much. Chinami from Code-E is the last one I can think of; there are a few promising meganekkos side characters, at least.
Stripey: Heck, I’m having trouble trying to explain it to myself. XD Moe really is a pain to figure out sometimes, I do wonder how it managed to catch on regardless.
Cameron: Yeah, moe is definitely in the eye of the viewer; for instance, a lot of people find tsunderes (yes, that word again) moe, but I find most of them annoying. Still, there are a lot of generally-accepted characteristic out there, such as shy characters. That probably says something about a lot of anime fans as a whole…
Anonymous1: Might want to check my most recent post ;)
Anonymous2: Good to know, I figured good stuff was coming from the twins and Nagisa, I’ll look forward to see what they can do.
Chris: Oh dear God. XD Time for me to do the impossible according to Stripey and explain moe.
I think the simplest way to put it, is that moe is that liking between “she’s a good character” and “I’d hit that”. Sort of a pure romance / appeal, for characters you like on a logical/emotional/mental level, rather than a physical one.
Like Cameron mentioned, it’s highly subjective (especially since I haven’t seen the shows you mentioned), so the best I can say is in generalities.
It’s tough to have a moe character that’s strong, which is why I went on a bit of a tirade in this post. ‘Moe’ isn’t really an act, but something that needs to be genuine; if a character is acting, they’re just being cutesy (or annoying, whatever). And since admirable characteristics and moe characteristics are tough to blend (moe charas typically involving a sort of adorable fallacy in a character), strong characters that are also moe are tough to come by. The best you would probably get are characters like Sakura Kinomoto (to use an easy example), because she almost has two sides to her, the hanyaa~n side (light-hearted, everyday life) and the card-catching side (serious, can-do attitude).
Regarding Nanaka, who I’ve admittedly never heard of; generally, if you pity a character, that’s not moe. Moe is not usually something that stems from serious situations, which is what that sounds like. It depends whether her acting like a six-year-old is meant more for humor, or to invoke pathos in the viewer.
It’s possible for a character to grow at least partially out of moe, but usually not into moe. The classic example is a harem character that looks simple and 1D, but actually has a lot of depth and emotion to them. Take your pick from the Kanon cast.
Male ‘moe’ characters don’t usually happen, but this might just be because the ‘moe’-utilizing audience is largely male, and so would be more attracted to the opposite gender. Female readers – do you feel ‘moe’ for some guys?
And ‘moe’ to be honest, is all over the map, simply because it’s a broad tag. Some people find physical looks to be moe (Kyon’s famous line to Haruhi about ponytails), some prefer character characteristics (spacey moe, like Osaka), and some like a blend (my personal favorite, the megane / glasses moe), so it’s almost an inverse rule 34 that if there’s a female character, someone probably thinks she’s moe.
And hey, I didn’t learn how to pronounce moe right for months, so props to you on that. ^^
January 23, 2008 - 7:06 pm
Describing “moe” is much explaining and little understanding, I’m afraid ^_^;; But I think I have a better grasp of the basic concept. Thanks for putting the time and effort into that!
As for Nanaka, her situation is that she doesn’t remember anything after being six years old, so her childhood friend has to help her out while six-year old Nanaka tries to live a normal high school life. Not a comedy per se, but generally not serious either, save for scenes such as Nanaka-with-her-six-year-old-memories going to her preschool and finding all her friends and teacher are gone.
Maybe “moe” describes how the mullet-haired bully sees Nanaka after her mind returns to childhood (without him knowing she’s a child), as he finds she irresistably cute, and in need of protection. Oh, and the series has a ferris wheel scene, not once, but twice!
The show has a “Sailormoon era” feel to it, and is mostly a journey into what happens with the characters, and what changes are brought due to Nanaka having the mind of a child again. I’m not sure what kind of viewer I’d recommend the series to, though. I thought I’d mention a little more about it is all.
Could a lake of “male moe” be due to male characters, be it young boy, teenage boy, young man, adult man, as generally either being self-reliant (Spike, Cowboy Bebop) or a loser (Keitaro, Love Hina), or just plain Vash-like (Vash, Trigun)? I wonder if Sasazuka (Strawberry Marshmallow) could nail the moe bit if he had an episode of his own and wasn’t being sent out into the hallway unjustly by the teacher every moment.
With series such as Sailormoon, Strawberry Marshmallow, Azumanga Daioh, Angelic Layer, Cardcaptor Sakura, Janggeum’s Dream, and Bottle Fairies on my seen list, it’s hard even to find a male character…
January 26, 2008 - 9:37 am
I don’t know if there’s an actual term for “male moe”, but a lot of the moe character traits have male counterparts as well, in that the traits are the same, but the gender is simply flipped. This may be seen fairly easily with Ouran High School Host Club, mainly because that anime exaggerates the character types for comedic purposes (like, say, Moetan exaggerates moe traits).
I’m not sure about the relative popularity of “male moe”, though, since proponents, like those of female moe (eg myself), tend to be loud and slightly frothy-mouthed, thus providing a skewed perspective.
March 16, 2008 - 9:36 am
Amazing post there, probably one of the best I’ve read; on this blog or anywhere. You just summed up a ton of things I’ve been thinking – and in the end, I’m still teetering between typical moe characters like Ayu and deeper characters like Miyako. All in all, I couldn’t have said any of that better myself.