The Meaning of Moe
Moe Moe ♥ KYUN ♥ !
A young and confused otakuling might still be in his or her weeaboo stage when he or she notices some fanboys arguing over something called "moe". They could be having a calm yet passionate debate over which character is more moe, or they might be blowing their tops off, screaming about what the Hell "moe" even means. Well, what does it mean?
For years, moe has served as a great topic for fighting over worldwide. But put away all the hatred and death threats for now, because the core of moe is LOVE!
You know what's moe? Your waifu is moe! And so is everyone else's waifu; to them, at least.
Moe is essentially a form of erotic cuteness that you are attracted to. Many people refer to a certain art style as moe, but that's not exactly true. Moe can extend from Lucky Star's Konata Izumi, to Madoka Kaname, to any character that you find attractive. Obviously the things usually considered to be factually moe are widely popular in its cutesy style... But in truth, moe is subjective. In other words, you can totally think Rin Tohsaka is moe as Hell, but that doesn't change that Saber's Hella moe to me! I couldn't care less about your Rin. And moe is not subjected only to female characters! Just take one look at Tumblr and tell me they aren't going all googly eyed over their Iwatobi Swim Club bishies. Males can absolutely be moe.
Okay, I hear the nerd in the back pointing to anime like Girl Friend BETA and Love Live!. I know what you're thinking, and it's true. There are anime they devote their entire existence to being moe. That's perfectly possible! How is it possible when moe is subjective? That's because people are predictable. There are trends for moe just like anything else, and that cutesy art style I mentioned earlier is one of them.
There are notable demands when it comes to the typical moe otaku. For example, tsundere. This also shows how moe is not just determined by visual appearance. Tsundere is very popular and most harems have at least one tsundere character nowadays. Even normal romance anime, ecchi anime, and other anime with female characters often throw in a tsundere or two because the creators know that many people consider tsundere to be moe! And this spawns the type of anime that focuses on making their characters seem as moe as possible. They are simply appealing to their audience and nothing else.
So there you have it! The true meaning of moe! I hope this satisfied your urges to educate yourself on the otaku slang term!
