What is 萌え (moe)?

Submitted by kwa on Fri, 09/09/2016 - 00:54

Moe is...unnn, nanka...
萌え is a word that completely stumped us recently. When asked what does moe mean from a maid-cafe fan who obviously knew what it meant, we weren't really able to describe it. A term ubiquitous with anime/manga culture, it's actually kind of hard to describe. The best explanation I've ever heard is the first one, where 萌え is a feeling that you get when you see a really cute anime character and fall in love. It's so cute that you want to buy the action figures, buy the DVDs, posters, etc...turning yourself into an Otaku person (someone who is a fanatic e.g. anime/manga). Is it really that creepy? Well, that really depends on cultural aspects.
It can be used when you realize that you feel affection toward certain anime character or any かわいい (cute) object in general.
The kanji for 萌 is kind of interesting actually. You can see three characters in this kanji put together to get plant growth:Word Romaji Definition 艾 -- The top part of this kanji represents plants 日 nichi / hi day / sun 月 getsu / tsuki month/ moon
燃える (different kanji but same pronunciation) also means burn, as in burning desires.
Word | Romaji | Definition |
---|---|---|
艾 | -- | The top part of this kanji represents plants |
日 | nichi / hi | day / sun |
月 | getsu / tsuki | month/ moon |
Origins of Moe stem from the word 燃える which means to sprout (plants and vegetation). Although the word was almost exclusively used for plants, it became adapted to Otaku culture as an anime-slang word. This word somehow came to also mean to become infatuated with something. Since it's associated with Japanese anime/manga/gaming culture which loves cutesy anime, this is the main target of 萌え infatuation. The word came into use in this manner in about the 80s in Japan and didn't gain any international attention until after 2000. The exact origin of the word is difficult to determine because the word was first used across internet forums, which is a very popular method of communication in Otaku culture as can be seen from many scenes in Densha Otoko.
Can you understand what Moe means from this scene from Densha Otoko ?
Sexual attraction is often associated with 萌え, making the word kind of creepy to some people (myself included). As 萌え is a strong, fanatical feeling towards anime characters who are oftentimes depicted as young and innocent, you can see how this can easily be creepy. Even though I stated that it is an intense feeling, it doesn't really apply to just any emotion. It is a strong feeling akin to love or infatuation for something or someone that is not quite sexual in nature. There is a very fine line between moe and sexual attraction so please, do not confuse otaku who feel moe as perverts because that is not always the case (source Honeyfeed Blog). However, you should note there is a negative connotation with this word. Here's the urban dictionary definition: A Japanese slang term (ironically, first employed by otaku) used to refer to the fetish for or sexual attraction to idealized people, usually a fictional perfect young girl.
Types of 萌え characters are going to get a little geeky. Although I'm certainly not an expert on this subject, but anime fans definitely would be the expert here (although this list is also similar to a list of ALL weak anime characters?):Really nearsighted characters
Really short characters
Ditzy characters
Tsundere characters (this is mean characters who are nice after you get to know them)
Tomboys that are secretly girly
- Shy characters
Really nearsighted characters
Really short characters
Ditzy characters
Tsundere characters (this is mean characters who are nice after you get to know them)
Tomboys that are secretly girly
萌え isn't just necessarily about girls. This is where やおい (yaoi) culture comes into play, which is anime and manga themed homosexual love. Without getting too much into Yaoi, these characters are not so manly, but more ambiguous characters with no definitive sex organs. Even South Park made an episode covering this type of Moe:
As is words that are difficult to explain, let's just look at some pictures! These are worth 1000 萌えs.
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