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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?


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japanese-language terminology
What does 'moe' mean?


> Coined in Japan in the late '90s, "Moe" (萌え, pronounced as "Mo-Eh", derived
> from a Japanese word that means "budding, to sprout/bloom") is an ill-
> defined otaku term that means, amongst other things, "cute", "huggable", or
> "endearing". While it's sometimes used to describe a series, it's more about
> a specific ideal or kind of character, similar to Kawaisa. When used as an
> interjection, figuratively, it's used to convey that "something blooms
> inside your heart".

Read more at tvtropes: [Moe](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Moe).


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Here's a desctiption from [Anime News
Network](http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/lexicon.php?id=77)

> Moe is a Japanese term used in connection with manga or anime to describe
> something precious, usually (but not always) the ideal of youthful and
> innocent femininity. Written with the kanji for "to bud or sprout" (萌), the
> concept covers a range of ideal behaviour for youthful female characters in
> manga or anime. To be moe, a character can be eager or perky, not overly
> independent, and call forth a desire in the viewer to protect them and
> nurture them. The term is also used to describe any preciously cute item;
> there is an animal mascot character store in Tokyo called Moe.
>
> There is a lot of debate over the crossover between moe fandom and lolicon.
> While the crossover exists among fans and products the two genres are not
> synonymous.

I think it's a good enough definition, but just for you to be able to
consider, here are a few others:

  * [on manga.about.com](http://manga.about.com/od/glossary/g/moe.htm)
  * [on animevice.com](http://www.animevice.com/moe/22-7/)

Basically, all of those define moe in the same way, but with different words
or phrases.


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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.


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