The Deal with Moé
Source: ANN
Derived from the verb “a plant sprouting, ” moe is an expression of adoration for innocent girls who are “as fresh as a flower bud”; can also be used to describe excitement towards an object or character.
According to a survey by Hamagin Research Institute, Ltd the market for ‘Moe’ merchandise, including printed media, visual media and games based on moe anime and manga characters surpassed 88.8 billion yen (US$840.5 million) in sales in 2003.
Hamagin divides the “moe” market into printed media, images and games. Games, primarily love simulations, are estimated to be worth 46 billion yen (52% of 88.8 billion yen) , printed media (primarily manga) worth 27.3 billion yen (31%), visual media (primarily anime, but also including other art) is worth 15.5 billion yen (17%).
With the Japanese “otaku industry” worth an estimated 290 billion yen (US$2.74 billion) in 2003, Moe related products accounted for almost a third of the otaku market.
Unmarried males in their 30s account for the majority of the moe market.
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This news really took me by surprise. Moé seems to be the newest vocabulary term used around these parts these day. In fact, I used it for the first time last night when I was reviewing He is My Master. I always find it hard to find the right words for my favorite style of anime. I throw around the words like “kawaii,” and “bishoujo,” because they all say the same thing: cute! I love cute things, especially those l’il anime girls with the big glossy eyes. But for some reason recently that love’s been a lot stronger for me then it was before. Why?
Well I guess my theory is that I’m at a stage in my life when getting married and starting a family seem to be just over the horizon. In a way, it’s very scary, but I’m also excited about the idea of parenthood. Since I grew up with just a brother, I never really interacted with any girls for most of my life. The idea of raising a sweet little girl of my sounds so appealing to me because it’s something I never had before.
There was a shoujo series that came out recently called Aishiteruze Baby that really hit a nerve with me. It was the story about a high school boy that is forced to take care of his little female cousin. But since her mother has abandoned the girl, she relies completely on the older boy to take care of her. This forms a father-daughter relationship between the boy and the girl, and the boy experiences so much love and happiness from her. It’s so sweet and innocent that it just made me tear up and wish I had that.
So then why the sudden attraction to Moé? Is it a sign of pedophilia?
Hell no, I say it’s the longing for fatherhood. That the last statistic in that article proves it. “Unmarried males in their 30s account for the majority of the moe market.” When you’re a Japanese salary man working for over decade in an exhausting job, what do you have to show for it? What’s the purpose in your life? Well, if you’re not married and don’t have a family… I don’t really think you have much going for you. So yeah, they’re seeing that window of fatherhood slowly closing on them, and it makes them long for it more. So that’s why they turn to Moé comics, anime, and games. And if you look at these things, there’s hardly any mention of anything sexual. All these men really want is an innocent little girl of their own to take care of.
Now I’m sure that many will look at this article and think that it’s a revolution of pedophilic perverts. But I say don’t be so quick to form that conclusion. To me, Moé is just another natural and healthy form of escapism.
Wow that was extremely insightful on your part…you very well may be on to something though. As for myself i really am not into the whole MOE thing at all, although i can appreciate the thought of having a shy and reclusive girlfriend very much so…she just has to be my age :p
Comment by Zexion — April 26, 2005 @ 5:31 am
Heh, great article, Scott! Moe really does seem to be one of those terms that you can’t easily define - you just ‘get’ (or not).
One thing I find interesting is the rather significant lack of it in North American media. Hmmm..
Comment by Satoshi — April 26, 2005 @ 12:02 pm
[…] Speaking of Moe, fellow anime bloggers Matthew and Scott have a bit to say about the connotations implied by the word, so that it may n […]
Pingback by Ronin’s Anime Chronicles :: In Anime News #1 :: April :: 2005 — April 26, 2005 @ 12:05 pm
Of course, any soccer mom who catches her kids reading this will automatically dispose of it and call up the government, demanding all Japanese-made entertainment be banned from America. Then again, soccer moms are stupid and should all be shot.
Comment by Alex — April 26, 2005 @ 5:14 pm
i like the idea that enjoying ‘moe’ anime can represent wishes of fatherhood.
Aishteruze Baby is one of my favorite shows, its so sweet, and Yuzuyu is awesome. Kokoro is great as well! There are degrees of moe though. I love something like AiBaby, or Ichigo Mashimaro and Rozen Maiden. However things like He is My Master, UFO Princess, Rezilmine ect. are the type of thing that the artical talks about. I hated those shows. It just goes to show there are good and bad in the genre, and its important to make the distinction otherwise you lose the good along with the bad…
Comment by Willuknight — May 25, 2006 @ 1:31 am