Ask John: Why Do Some People Hate Moe?

Question:
Why do some people hate moe?

Answer:
Following up on yesterday’s question.

Fundamentally asking why Americans dislike “moe” anime is to ask why Americans like certain anime with cute girls but dislike other anime with cute girls. Analyzing specific examples can provide only specific answers. Summarizing a broad answer applicable to a cultural perspective requires an examination of the cultural perspective itself. The answer lies in the fact that the majority of American anime viewers adopt a singular approach to anime while Japanese otaku have two different appreciative relationships with anime. Americans have a receptive attitude toward anime while Japanese viewers have a reciprocal relationship with anime. Americans expect gratification from anime. Japanese viewers do as well, but Japanese otaku also love certain types of anime in a way that Americans don’t.

For the majority of American anime viewers, anime is an entertainment product. Americans have no vested interest in anime; it’s not a cultural identifier like baseball and apple pie. American viewers expect anime to be gratifying, and don’t hesitate to dismiss titles which they don’t deem satisfying. American anime viewers judge anime through questions like, “Does this anime entertain me?” and “Does this anime satisfy me?”

American anime fans criticize and dismiss unoriginal and derivative anime because such shows don’t offer novel, unique entertainment value. Likewise, American viewers tend to harshly criticize especially cute, sappy, effeminate, and pandering titles because these types of anime don’t fulfill the average American viewer’s psychological need for anime to be “mature,” intelligent, exciting, chic, and counter-culture.

Anime fulfills a different role for Japanese viewers. For Japan’s anime fan community, anime is a contemporary cultural treasure. Anime is a uniquely Japanese art – a product of Japanese creativity, imbued with Japanese sensibilities, values, and philosophy, and designed to appeal to the tastes of Japanese fans. Like Americans, average Japanese viewers do approach average anime as an entertainment medium. Average Japanese viewers watch Naruto, Bleach, Pretty Cure, One Piece, Detective Conan, Studio Ghibli movies, and other mainstream anime because these anime provide cathartic entertainment. The distinction between Japanese and American viewers lies in Japan’s hardcore otaku community and anime specifically targeted at hardcore otaku. While Japanese otaku, like everyone else, critique typical anime with questions like “Does this anime entertain me?” and “Does this anime satisfy me?”, otaku also approach moe anime from a reverse direction, asking, “Can I associate with this anime?”, “Can I support this anime?”, and “Can I cherish, adore, and worship this anime?”

Conventional anime appeal to viewers’ sense of excitement, humor, and compassion. Moe anime generate a sense of possession and affection. Characters like Sakura Haruno from Naruto, Rukiya from Bleach, and Nozomi from Yes! Pretty Cure 5 are heroic role models – characters whom viewers respect and idolize as though they were celebrities. Moe characters are ones whom viewers want to protect and care for and serve or be served by. Moe anime is based on the philosophy of providing something for viewers to relate themselves to while conventional anime is designed to relate to viewers. Conventional anime seeks to address the viewer while moe anime seeks to be something which the viewer can address. Average American viewers aren’t used to the later philosophy, and aren’t interested in that sort of relationship with anime. As a result, moe anime based on that sort of reciprocal relationship with its viewers isn’t especially appealing to most American viewers.

Consider Japanese otaku that purchase phenomenal and even irrational amounts of merchandise related to their favorite characters because of a sense of responsibility to the character. Consider the Japanese phenomenon of traveling to Washinomiya, Japan and the “Konata is my wife” philosophy that have swept Japan’s otaku community in the wake of Lucky Star. Consider the popularity of Japanese maid and cosplay cafes in which patrons can literally and physically interact with women that seem to have stepped right out of moe anime. All of these examples reflect the Japanese philosophy of embracing and cherishing anime. Certainly these are self-gratifying circumstances as all human actions are based on some degree of selfish instinct. But America’s anime community hasn’t naturally developed any of these characteristics; the ones that America has have been imported from Japan’s fan community. The American approach to anime is, “What can anime do for me?” The Japanese approach is both “What can anime do for me?” and “What can I do for anime?” That explains why mawkish moe anime can be so popular among Japanese viewers and so reviled among Americans.