Put Your Money Where Your Moe Is

It’s been said before that Haruhi raised the bar for moe anime, being as it was an ultra high-budget, far-reaching, excellent TV series that was probably the first thing to be all at once so thoroughly moe-centric, so well-produced, and so successful. Haruhi came out in 2006, and since then, there have been many well-produced moe series, especially from the likes of Kyoto Animation, A-1 Pictures, and J.C. Staff (not that everything they do looks as good as Raildex or Toradora). But this post isn’t about how moe anime have gotten all nice-looking and big—it’s about how moe anime are becoming the best-looking stuff on TV, period.

I watch a lot of monthly sakuga AMVs—that is, collections of all the awesome animation tidbits from each month of currently-airing anime. Usually, sakuga AMVs are pretty dominated by shows from studio BONES, which hasn’t been true this season as their only show, No. 6, contains minimal sakuga moments.

So, what shows are putting up the strongest sakuga showings this season? The Idolm@ster (A-1 Pictures), Nichijou (Kyoto Animation), and Hana-saku Iroha (P.A. Works), all moe-heavy shows. The only action show putting up a lot of great sakuga moments is Sacred Seven (Sunrise), which is right up there with The Idolm@ster in quantity of sakuga scenes. But when you watch the videos for July and August, there’s definitely more moe shows with awesome sakuga scenes than anything else. Not to mention all those Usagi Drop scenes of Rin doing cute shit… those count, right?

Feeling Moe In The City

Contrary to popular opinion, moe is possible in 3D. Moe is, after all, an emotion, and an abstract concept at that. It’s entirely possible that the right kind of person could find moe in an inanimate object. I find moe in the people I see around the city.

Actually, ghostlightning told me to think about what I’ve seen and find anime in the city; not things that I’ve seen in anime, but things that give me feelings which reflect on feelings I get from anime. It just happens that the aspect of anime which resonates with me most deeply is moe, and the parts of the world that strike out at me are the ones that give me moe feelings.

art by nabana

Finish or Fail 6 – Saki – The Meaning of Moe

‘Moe’. Moe, Moe, Moe. One of the most debated, debased, derogatory, yet delightful and potentially deadly terms of anime fandom. There are those who can’t wrap their heads around moe, or grasp it, or understand it, who think it’s a trend or a style or a visual phenomenon. There are those who try to pidegonhole moe, who try and categorize it as a genre, and who try to bash it or warp it. Now, I’ve done a lot of study on moe in the past. Moe helped me grasp my fandom when I almost lost it, I trained myself to learn more about it, and I published a definitive guide to breaking into it as a culture. However, if there is one thing I haven’t yet done, it’s to define moe. Saki has given me the confidence to do just that.

Clannad – Kotomi Arc – Before Yesterday, I Saw A Rabbit, Yesterday, A Deer, And Today, the Interior of Digiboy's Anus

If there’s one thing that can absolutely be said about Ichinose Kotomi, it’s that she has amazing feet. Her feet (as well as her knees) are plastered all over the arc, even in the parts where she is a little kid. Damn, those lolicons at Kyoto Animation know how to get my jeans tight. (protip: I never wear jeans.)

MikuMikuDance Love&Joy – Miku's Imouto?! – Most Moe Thing I've Seen All Month

I have pretty much come to realize that Nico Nico Douga is the greatest site ever. After all, manga artist Kentaro Miura has put his 20-years-running halfway-done epic Berserk on hold many times so that he could spend more time on Nico Nico Douga and play Idolmaster games. I suggest you get an account, or find someone who knows Japanese to make you one. It will also greatly help to know at least katakana and hiragana (as I do.) Or, with your account, just hang around the weekly top videos and enjoy. Please get an account. You won’t regret it.

Today, I want to share the most moe thing I’ve seen all month. For those not aware, I am a huge raving lunatic fan of Hatsune Miku, and I love watching her fanmade cg videos. This one is an extremely well-choreographed dance and song called Love&Joy. There are a number of videos with this dance, but this one has a twist – a mini Miku!!! It looks like Miku has a little sister and she’s so damn cute it makes my brain hurt. The end of the video has a little chu~ moment that was so cute I actually blushed. Love it!!!

I proveded a youtube imbed above since I know most people don’t have Nico accounts, but if you do, it’s always the better experience there.

Cruel Moe Thesis – OH! Repost 5

Because Oi, Hayaku has gone defunct, I will be reposting all my OH! posts here. Enjoy if you haven’t already.

How does one come to adore moe? Where does it begin? And where does it go from there?

The issue has been debated long and hard on the internet. Welcome to the NHK has it’s own theory:

But is this really true? I wanted to study one man’s obsession with moe – and what better test subject than myself?

Top 5 Most Moe Anime I've Ever Seen

So, I’ve been known to talk about moe pretty often, and some would say I’m somewhat of an expert on the subject. However, one thing that has some people confused is how I define ‘moe.’ I’ve been too lazy to hive a proper explanation, so I am going to try and give you an idea of what moe is by, for better or worse, listing the top 5 most moe anime I’ve ever seen. Five to One for the sake of suspense~~