Ask John: Why Do Americans Hate Moe Anime?

Question:
Why do Americans hate moe anime so much? Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one who likes it.

Answer:
There’s always a danger in making broad generalizations, so I’ll do so with caveat. There are definitely American anime fans that are ambivalent toward “moe” anime, and American anime fans that like moe anime. But I do believe that the majority of American viewers with an interest in anime have a mild to strong distaste for cute and moe anime. I need to distinguish some difference between “cute” and “moe” because the two characteristics are often related, but are not necessarily the same. For example, anime series like Risky Safety, Hello Kitty, Villgust, Tenshi ni Narumon, and Di-Gi-Charat are cute, but not “moe.” Similarly, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Shakugan no Shana are “moe” anime that aren’t conventionally cute. As it pertains to anime and American anime fans, “cute” is self-explanatory: something adorable looking. “Moe,” in its contemporary definition, describes anime or anime characteristics that arouse feelings of possessive adoration and fanatic obsession. There are cute anime that have been mildly successful in America, including Card Captor Sakura and Kamichu. Titles like Haruhi Suzumiya, Shakugan no Shana, Rozen Maiden, and Lucky Star are “moe” anime that have proven reasonably popular in America. But cute moe titles like Kamichu, Ichigo Marshmallow, and Tsukuyomi ~Moon Phase~ have not been highly popular or successful in America; extremely cute moe anime series like Petopeto-san, Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime, Manabi Straight, and Moetan have almost no chance of being licensed for American distribution because American consumers generally dislike these sweet and adorable series designed to evoke protective and affectionate feelings from hardcore anime otaku.

Upon first impression, a comparison between anime and a family pet may sound absurd, but the analogy may not actually be invalid. I think that Japanese otaku have a comfortable, familiar, and affectionate relationship to anime. Like a pet or a younger sibling, anime is sometimes aggravating, but Japanese otaku may harbor a protective, possessive sense of love for anime. An affection for particular types of anime characters or the soft, delicate, feminine characteristics of anime creates the same sense of joy that one gets from observing a kitten or puppy. In fact, an adoration of anime similar in tone to loving a pet may explain some of the popularity of anthropomorphic anime characters like cat girls.

Anime is something close, familiar, and personal to Japanese fans. On the other hand, anime is something strange and foreign to Americans. Anime doesn’t look like typical American cartoons, nor does anime typically target the childish audience that American animation is frequently designed for. Despite anime being primarily entertainment designed for children and young adults, anime simply feels more intelligent, less condescending, and more adult oriented than typical American animation does. So American fans tend to perceive anime not as something familiar and comforting, but rather as a stylish fringe entertainment. Unlike Japanese viewers that enjoy amusing, candy colored, cute anime, Americans have a preference for dark, grim, serious, action and adventure oriented anime. While anime is like a companion for Japanese otaku, anime is a chic consumer product in the eyes of American fans. American fans don’t perceive anime as something to keep them company and soothe and comfort them; American fans perceive anime as a stylish, modern commodity to entertain them.

If my theory is correct, keeping in mind that there are always exceptions within any argument, familiarity with anime reveals a lot about the way viewers relate to anime, and explains why certain viewers gravitate toward certain types of anime. Japanese fans like “moe” anime because the style compliments the relationship that Japanese otaku have with anime. Likewise, American fans typically dislike “moe” anime because the style opposes the American perception of anime, and the American relationship to anime. Average Americans expect anime to be futuristic, progressive, adventurous, exciting, dramatic, intelligent, and stylish. Americans consciously and unconsciously want and expect anime to be adult oriented, absorbing and praiseworthy entertainment. The concept of soft, cute, childish, pandering entertainment, in other words, moe anime, represents the antithesis of the average American anime fan’s subconscious concept of anime and affinity for anime.