the word itself "moe" is japanese slang used in connection with anime/manga to describe something precious, something worth protecting - usually with the ideals of femininity and innocence in mind. however it's not limited to that as characters who are tsundere, clumsy or show any kind of vulnerability can also reach moe status.
...to be honest it's an incredibly vague term that moe fans, whilst understanding the term, often struggle to verbalise the meaning. even konata from lucky star struggles to explain it!
so join me as i explore the meaning of moe, divided into two categories - moe by style & moe by genre☆
moe has a telltale art style - in particular if a character has big vacant eyes that look like you could fall into you might have just stumbled onto a moe anime or character!
while any art style could classify as moe, the commonly expected truth is the late 2000s/early 2010s is classic moe. this includes the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya, lucky star, chobits & k-on which at least artistically are considered staples of the genre.
this is probably because the popularity of moe was at its highest back in the early 2010s and more popularity = more moe animes. then as the typical anime art style matured the prevalence of moe dwindled to far and few in-between.
moe is regarded as applying to singular characters in an anime rather than the anime itself. however! there is one genre that is associated with moe - cute girls doing cute things (a subgenre of slice of life)
some of these animes, like yuru yuri, strawberry marshmallow & hanamaru kindergarten fit into the stylistic side of moe as well but others such as demon girl next door & comic girls don't. the former tends to be more popular in the moe community but that doesn't dispute that the latter is moe as well.
the reason cgdct works for moe is because the anime in its entirety is what gives you the strong feeling of affection and desire to protect. it's wholesome and feel-good and guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.
we've almost made it to the end of the post!!! yay! (≧▽≦) if you've never really ventured into moe before, i strongly recommend checking out lucky star! it's so moe it's almost a parody of itself and you'll definitely learn a lot ( ꈍᴗꈍ)
however if you're looking for a moe character in particular - check out chobits!! the anime itself is a drama (with a fantastic story i might add) but chii is the sheer definition of moe ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)
whether you're a dedicated moe fan or completely new to moe, thankyou for joining me on this journey!
