Since the last podcast I listened to a interview of the folks at Ninja Consultants. You can listen to as well by subscribing to the Ninja Consultants podcast. I do recommend the show but be aware that like AWO they put out episodes rather sporadically.
In this interview there was a rat hole explored where Noah asked the question and I am paraphrasing “Where is the market coming from in America?”. I haven’t done any research as to why it exists but the joking response is that it was something people jerk off too. While I don’t disagree that there are some that do in fact yank it madly anytime they see a goth loli girls skirt fly up, I myself don’t fall into that camp.
I would say Moe for me is something that show cases lost innocence that we can’t see in our every day lives. In America due to the advent of the information age and the current politically correct climate, you have all kinds of walks of life thrown into your face. The end result is that children are exposed to far more sophisticated ideas and ideals at increasingly younger ages. Nowadays there isn’t a case of pure innocence left at least around these kids hit puberty. When you hear a episode of Loveline and your hearing a twelve year old girl asking about potential physically harming effects of double penetration it’s a pretty good indicator that the only case of Innocence left is just a thinly veiled cloak over willful ignorance. By this I mean the only way to remain innocent is to be a shut in or really thickheaded, neither of which I would say is a case of pure innocence.
I would say that in some way people either yearn for their childhood lost or the childhood never allowed. The fact that it is sexualized isn’t too surprising. Every male on earth feels like he was promised a virgin sometime in his life whether he will admit it or not. In America Virginity is practically a myth beyond age 14. I would argue the nerd crowd was probably the late bloomers so they had no shot in hell at 14 and therefore never got their virgin and Moe is the virgin that was promised to them no matter how guilty it makes them feel.
As for me, Moe to me (Air, Kanon, Clannad being the examples) represent a throwback to a simpler time when friendship is simple and everything is exciting no matter how stupid. Things no matter how trivial over the longhaul truly mean something to this crowd. I myself have been dealing with a visual impairment most of my life (since I was 6) and I felt like permanent consequence crashed down around me far too young. Moe is a way to recapture some of that youth and lessen the cynicism for just a little while.
Moe as a general doesn’t bother me and I have enjoyed quite a few of the programs although I would agree it’s been overdone and maybe not so many titles should be making their way across the sea. For example, STRIKE WITCHES!! This show goes a little beyond Moe into something rather deviant. It’s Japan and maybe they can dig on that stuff but I don’t like being pandered too quite so blatantly. It was even kind of a disappointment to me to find out that the original visual novels for the Key animation stuff had hentai material in them. I prefer my moe character driven and not my characters driven into the headboard at the end of their arc. Just me, Maybe there are some that need to know what every character in their favorite show looks like naked, but if it’s done just for the sake of doing it I find it kind of annoying. Could I at least get a little more subtle pandering so I don’t feel like the animators not handing me a baby wipe while throwing me a thumbs up. That’s all I ask.
I’m out I doubt this would answer Noah’s question properly but I thought with the recent show with me and Misugi throwing ideas back and forth this might be appropriate.
Peace
Written by roundpeg