More moé!

Moé (pron: mo-eh) is one of the character-classifications in animes. There isn't any specific definition for it. In a literal point of view, in Japanese language the word can be best defined as 'budding' 'sprouting' or 'growing' . However, based on my extensive reading, it is actually derived from a Japanese slang which conveys the 'liking' or 'strong interest' in something. In some cases it can also be equated with the concept of geek or otaku.

Within the realm of anime fandom, moé is actually an archetypal character (by and large, young female character a.k.a bishojou) that triggers the feeling of protectiveness ,more often than not, among the male viewers. Typically, this type of character brings out the sense of purity, innocence as well as extreme cuteness or popularly coined as kawaii. However, in my humble opinion, there are also moé cases where bishie or bishounen is involved, though, I consider this under isolated ones (click HERE and HERE). Furthermore, moé can also be pigeonholed as various types such as nekomimi-moé, megane-moé, meido-moé and the list goes on.

Below are some eminent moé characters. Notice that, all of them are wearing school uniform (read HERE).

Name : Hirasawa Yui

Anime : K-On! and K-On!!

Name : Asahina Mikuru

Anime: Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu 1 & 2 and Suzumiya Haruhi No Shoushitsu

Name : Furukawa Nagisa

Anime : Clannad and Clannad After Story

Name : Sakura Mikan

Anime : Gakuen Alice

Name : Honda Tohru

Anime : Fruits Basket

Name : Mitsukuni Haninozuka a.k.a Honey-senpai
Anime : Ouran High Host Club

Initially, I associated moé with 'fetish'.Nevertheless, after doing some readings I believe the word 'fetish' is to strong. Evidently, it should not be associated with any sexual conduct. In addition, based on what I have read so far, moé should not be confused with ecchi or - even worse - hentai. For the reason that, moé characters usually initiate the sense of protectiveness as well as maternal / paternal love to protect. In actual fact, the characters are normally created to soothe the viewers (mostly male) rather than to incite sexual conduct. And for the same reason also, some critics claim that moé is a type of child-like character with erotic undertone also associated with lolicon. There are also some opinions that explain, moé characters only exist in seinen anime or manga since it targets the demographic - men. Thus, if the supossed moé characters ever exist in other genre, therefore they are not moé in actual fact.

For your information, there are many endless discussions and debates on this issue and it seems that they will not cease in any time sooner. Obviously, since there are many opinions on this matter, there are no exact black and white on how a moé character should be or act.

[Notes]

Bishoujos = beautiful young girls
Bishounens = pretty boys

Nekomimi = cat's ears

Megane = glases / spectacles

Meido = maid

Lolicon a.k.a Lolita Complex = sexual attraction to little girls

HTT live!

Being a K-ON! fan, this OVA is what I have been waiting for. It's about time for the girls to showcase their talent. They are definitely stage-ready!Even though the storyline of this OVA is simple, the idea of the girls having their first gig is really significant for the plot of the whole serialization.

Apparently, this OVA takes place in between the first season and the second season. Apparently, the girls were invited to do their live gig at a live house. Actually, they were invited by Ritsu's old friend who also had her own band. As we all guessed it, Ritsu was over the moon. Initially, it seemed that, Mio and Azusa were reluctant with the live gig, however when they realised that Mugi was willing to cancel her vacation, they ditched their plan. This is due to the spirit of camaraderie.

Discussion time...

Mugi just cancelled her vacation! しまった!

In this OVA, the girls were finally introduced to the real world of entertainment. They were exposed to the behind-the-scene activities prior to the gig. Since it was new to them, everything made them excited. They were given backstage passes and their own tickets and that had overwhelmed them!

Registration...

A supposed briefing... Ritsu was ignored!

Hora! Their very own gig ticket! This had caused everybody to be extremely excited. Even Ui (who was supposed to be more mature and composed compared to Yui) and since she was so overwhelmed she decided not to use them. Motainai, ne!

O, the tickets...わくわく!

The backstage pass...

Apparently, this gig had taught them a lot! Especially on the processes that they had to go through in order to do a gig. And they even work with many bands and band members that were going to perform on that day. The most embarrassing moment is when their rehearsal was a total wreck and to to make it even worse, they were witnessed by other bands as well... Nevertheless, the other bands were so supportive when they kept on cheering for our beloved HTT! Genki dashite, minna-san!

The other bands... HTT paled in comparison...

Mio, and she fell again... So deja vu!

A total blunder!

Hang in there, girls!

The face of a proud teacher... Sawako-sensei. She made it to HTT's first ever live gig! Ahhh... yokatta!

Finally, the gig! Yatta!...

The calm before storm...

The title of my post says it all! It’s definitely a calm before a torrential storm. Starting tomorrow, life is back to normal, i.e. hectic schedule, meetings, classes, my own classes and the whole enchilada! Anyway, to usher in the upcoming storm this is my second posting since yesterday…

In this post, I would like to announce my favorite animes of 2009. This is MY own list and it has nothing to do with other reviews out there.

My all time favorite is Eden of the East. The very thing that attracts me to this anime is the plot and eventually the conflict. They are so incredibly intriguing. I really love the OP and the ED themes and how they actually summarize the whole storyline ( If you watch closely, though). I'm also crazy with the portrayal of the characters, however, I am not head over heal with the portrayal of Saki, though. I think she is a little bit meek and pathetic… ngeh! But I love the whole concept of this anime series. It gives the concept of 'superhero' in a brand spanking-new angle. It is so thought provoking and the fact that they introduce terminology like Seleção (The Chosen One) and Noblesse Obliges (Nobility obligates). As for me, this is definitely a must-watch anime series ever!

My second favorite anime of 2009 is K-ON! W00t! I love this anime because of the representation of the characters and most important of all is the music, the ongaku! I really enjoy watching Yui and Mio shredding their guitars. It’s so surreal and it oozes with awesomeness! Other than that, I really enjoy the storyline as well as the animation. Will there be K-ON 2! I’m not so sure. But I bet it will.

The third anime is FMA Brotherhood. I enjoy this anime tremendously because of the action-packed and fighting scene. I also love the way they portray the two main characters Edward and Alphonse Elric. Sometimes this series is slow moving in places however I still fancy the whole plot and conflict.

I hate to admit it, but sadly it’s true. I almost put this anime under my to-drop list, however there is something about this series that gets me hooked. It's probably the characters. The series is none other than Suzumiya Haruhi 2. I care not to explain much, because the more I explain the more I’m confused. So, I’m just gonna leave it that way. Somehow, some things are better left unsaid…

Uniform revelations...

Ever notice something? By and large, main characters in animes series are mostly students, and to be exact, school students. This hackneyed portrayal is actually intentional since the target audience are mostly adolescents and young adults. These characters are displayed in variety fashions of school uniforms. Animes series such as, Bleach, Deathnote, Gokusen, The Law of Ueki, and Blood+ portray school students as their protagonists.

On the other hand, animes like, Kamichu, K-ON, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, and Ouran High School Host Club have different intention. These animes are promoting some sort of cuteness-fetish known as moe (mo-eh). To add, moe doesn't exhibit sexual content. It is actually highlighting on a character's cuteness, extreme cuteness to be exact. However, too much exertion on cuteness sometimes can lead to lewd content, or ecchi. To some extent it may lead to more than that...

Anyway, in this post I am not going to discuss on that matter. I just want to show everybody the multitude of fashions and styles in anime school uniforms.

This is the uniform in SUZUMIYA HARUHI NO YUUTSU... I really like the male uniform. Kyon and Koizumi look dashing in it! Whereas the girls' are a bit 'traditional in their sailor-fuku uniform. Maybe if the male students are to wear gakuran, then everything would be nicer. Somehow, the male student's uniform and the girl's don't really match...


This is taken from OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB. Their uniform basically oozes with sophistication and grace. This is because they are from a top-notched school. Since the main characters are mostly male, so the series reveals more on the male students uniform. And since the theme of this anime series is gender-bender, thus Haruhi (Fujioka, that is) wears one. (Well, actually female uniform is actually a Victorian-styled yellow dress with a pair of puffy sleeves.)


This is taken from anime K-ON!. Their uniform exudes elegance as well as charm at the same time. Since this is an all-girl school, thus there is no male uniform. If you notice, among the four of them, only Yui wears her uniform with a pair of dark tights underneath. I think she looks so adorable in them...


This is taken from GAKUAN ALICE. The uniforms are a bit juvenile and this is because these characters are actually elementary-school students. I really like the combination of the dark sailor-coat with wide collars as well the plaid skirt / shorts. The combination brings out the endearing side of each character. Even Natsume looks extremely cute in it despite his riotous temperament.


This the uniform from anime CODE GEASS. Since the series is set in an alternate fantasy world hence the uniforms have the fantasy feel. Anyway, they still look elegant and neat. However, I don't think they are comfortable enough.... I believe wearing a double-breasted blazer is definitely uncomfortable during lessons.



This is taken from ITAZURA NA KISS. I like both of female and male uniforms style. This is because the style complement each other. Both are modern, nifty as well as sharp. I think, this is important because it represents the individuals. For example, even a bumbling idiot like Kotoko looks smart in the uniform! This is certainly the best example of clothes maketh the man (or in this case, it's a woman!).


This screenshot is taken from anime LOVELY COMPLEX. In my opinion, the uniform looks simple and light. Instead of wearing blazer or button-down coat, they use cardigans or sweaters. Maybe it is to complement the whole theme of this romantic-comedy anime series. In this series we can see that the uniform is styled according to the individual's taste in fashion.

Well, actually there are so many anime uniforms that I like to show in this post. Frankly speaking the number is endless! Till then, we just have to settle with these...

Moe, moe kyun!

During my free time, usually, I like to surf the net and read other anime blogs for some insights and suggestions on what anime should I watch. Recently, I came across an anime entitled K-ON! I noticed that there are several ani-blogs that are avidly writing reviews on this anime.

Somehow, that got me rather curious. Then, I went to realityLapse.com [click HERE] and I noticed that there is an anime of that title under 'K' category. I click the link and I started downloading first two of the series. At the beginning, I only watched the two episodes, just to test the water. Well... after I finished it, I believe the anime is worth watching. However, imho, I don't think it is THAT addictive. It doesn't fall under must-watch category. But then again, I might be wrong. Maybe I need to watch more episodes before I jump into any conclusion.

Initially, I wondered what K-ON really means. After watching the first episode I learned that K-ON is actually an abbreviated form of a Japanese word keiongaku which means light music. BTW, this anime is about 4 girls in a light music club. Since they are in the club they decided to establish a band.

These are the screen shots taken from Episode 1....

This is Yui. She is ditsy and clumsy... but she is so incredibly kawaii!

Nodaka-chan is surprised because after two weeks in school Yui is still undecided on which club to join...

This is Mio the basist. She is so kawaii... and very talented too... And I think she has issue with... almost everything. A weird character, I reckon.

Ritsu (or Ricchan, according to Yui) the drummer... The most boisterous among the lot.

And this is Tsumugi or Mugi the keyboard player... She is the 'princess' of the band...

Hanging out...

Finally Yui decided to join the band... even though she doesn't really know how to play a guitar...








[Note]
The anime is so kawaii and it's loaded with moe characters....