Moe - Television Tropes & Idioms

Mikuru: Conversion to perfect Moe-blob 92% complete.

Not to be confused with certain other Moes, as this trope is pronounced "mo-eh".

"Moe" (萌え, also spelled moé) is an ill-defined otaku term that means, amongst others, "cute", "huggable", "endearing". While it's sometimes used to describe a series, it's more about a specific kind of character. Can also incorporate sexiness, to some.

Or to put it another way, Moe is the ability of a character to instill in the audience an irrational desire to hug them.

Traditionally, these sorts of characters grew organically from 'regular' stories, especially those of young heroines. While some audiences grow irritated and dislike a male character for being conflicted, whiny, or less manly, these traits seem inherently tolerated in heroines, with the audience more likely to be sympathetic or at least dismiss them as 'girly' moments, especially if the child is a growing and awkward teenager. Moe can be thought as a step up from that: vulnerable or innocent qualities that are endearing to the viewer. Well, to some viewers.

Moe characters are cute. This is usually the specific aim, even over sexiness. Moe characters are implicitly youthful, congregating to high school age and below. Adult female characters who qualify are almost always in their low twenties. Any characters older than that have this fact unmentioned, or the character's appearance is altered as little as possible.

If this can't technically be done, the personality will reflect an 'innocent' outlook on something vital. A popular one is about romance. This is sometimes handwaved by the character being shy , but can befall even gorgeous characters. A related implication is that moe characters are implicitly virgins, even if this occasionally changes during the story or is revealed not to be the case (which can cause an Internet Backdraft). Related to this is that all Moe characters have at least one overwhelming character flaw, invoking the 'love for imperfect things' philosophy, which should hopefully make them endearing.

Moe characters are quirky, and rely on Costume Inertia, odd language, strange hobbies and the like to make them seem unique and noticeable. Occasionally, these traits are completely unrelated and seem a bit disjointed. If a character is plain, they are 'loudly plain' in the way Hollywood Homely characters are 'ugly'; sometimes they're just more moderate than the rest of the cast, and the writers implicitly suggest the audience is kind for liking the character for being plain.

An interesting result of this is some moe characters are quasi-Animated Actors; the series they star in need not be related at all, being only devices to enable the viewer to enjoy the character. Many of them feature in Gag Series, and only the merchandise for the series shows off its intended and occasionally creepy roots.

As might be guessed, Moe characters are not liked by everyone. Ones directly created as such are often disliked for being gimmicky, childish, and appealing to all the stereotypical desires of geeky fandom, including sexist or youth-obsessive themes.

Interestingly, male characters can also be moe characters to a female audience, and figure prominently in Shoujo and Josei. Like their female counterparts, moe boys are usually ridiculously, obnoxiously cute. Not even Bishonen cute—cute-cute. The Cute Shotaro Boy is a good example. The closest equivalents to the female variety tend to exist in Boys Love stories, and the Uke tends to fill most of these traits.

However, woobies or other awkward male characters can be seen as "moe" by fans. Like their Distaff Counterparts, they posses traits like quirkiness, clumsiness, social awkwardness, and other Character Tics that give them an endearing vulnerability. This can be especially effective if they possess a tough outer shell that belies a soft, squishy heart. If you ever hear a male character referred to as "adorkable

" chances are good they're pretty moe. If they aren't generically cute in canon, expect them to be so in fanfic and fanart.

If the character proves not to be quite as, uh, pliant as initially assumed, congratulations, you've just encountered the Badass Adorable. While they may inspire the same feelings of protectiveness, they are quite capable of taking care of themselves, thank you very much.

See also Moe Anthropomorphism, Moe Couplet, Moe Stare; compare The Woobie.