What does 'moe' mean?


I've now watched quite a few anime and I'm still at a loss as to what the term
_moe_ represents. Is there an agreed upon definition for it? If a character is
_moe_ , what does that mean?




Here is an [academic
paper](http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html)1 with
an analysis of the concept of moe, including its history and origin,
relationship to the socio-economics of Japan, previous academic studies of
moe, otaku and fujoshi psychology, and a very in-depth analysis of _what moe
actually is_.

A short table of contents of the topics covered:

  * Japanese critical discourse
  * Emergence of the _moe_ form
  * _Otaku_ discussions of _moe_
  * _Moe_ desire and sexuality
  * _Moe_ in relation to 'reality'
  * The female approach to _moe_
  * _Fujoshi_ exposing virtual potential in reality

To quote from its conclusion,

> Both _otaku_ and _fujoshi_ describe _moe_ fantasy as 'pure,' or set apart
> from reality, and it precisely because it is pure that it can give birth to
> such perverse and polymorphous possibilities. The _moe_ character is a 'body
> without organs' and it engenders virtual possibilities without limits or
> control. Stated another way, _moe_ describes affect, or an unstructured
> intensity in response to the virtual possibilities of fantasy characters.
> Whether it is the girl-child popular among men or the homosexual boys
> popular among women, these young characters are not part of the 'real' world
> and do not demand their partners be socially mature and responsible adults;
> with _moe_ characters, men can experience love outside the confines of
> manhood (defined by work) and women love outside the confines of womanhood
> (defined by childbirth).

* * *

1 "Moe: Exploring Virtual Potential in Post-Millennial Japan", by Patrick W.
Galbraith. Published in the Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese
Studies, article 5 of 2009; first published on 31 October 2009.




Here is an [academic
paper](http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html)1 with
an analysis of the concept of moe, including its history and origin,
relationship to the socio-economics of Japan, previous academic studies of
moe, otaku and fujoshi psychology, and a very in-depth analysis of _what moe
actually is_.

A short table of contents of the topics covered:

  * Japanese critical discourse
  * Emergence of the _moe_ form
  * _Otaku_ discussions of _moe_
  * _Moe_ desire and sexuality
  * _Moe_ in relation to 'reality'
  * The female approach to _moe_
  * _Fujoshi_ exposing virtual potential in reality

To quote from its conclusion,

> Both _otaku_ and _fujoshi_ describe _moe_ fantasy as 'pure,' or set apart
> from reality, and it precisely because it is pure that it can give birth to
> such perverse and polymorphous possibilities. The _moe_ character is a 'body
> without organs' and it engenders virtual possibilities without limits or
> control. Stated another way, _moe_ describes affect, or an unstructured
> intensity in response to the virtual possibilities of fantasy characters.
> Whether it is the girl-child popular among men or the homosexual boys
> popular among women, these young characters are not part of the 'real' world
> and do not demand their partners be socially mature and responsible adults;
> with _moe_ characters, men can experience love outside the confines of
> manhood (defined by work) and women love outside the confines of womanhood
> (defined by childbirth).

* * *

1 "Moe: Exploring Virtual Potential in Post-Millennial Japan", by Patrick W.
Galbraith. Published in the Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese
Studies, article 5 of 2009; first published on 31 October 2009.

