Ask John: Why Isn’t There any Male Moé?

Question:
With the current explosion of moé anime series in Japan, I can’t help but notice that they are all targeted at men and feature cute girls. Why do you suppose that there aren’t moé shows made for female otaku that feature cute boys? Must moé shows feature girls, or do you think there would be room for moé featuring cute boys also?

Answer:
This is a particularly fascinating question because I think its answer dives deeply into contemporary Japanese psychology. Japanese men and women otaku seem to have a very opposite psychological perspective and motivation that affects the style of anime characters that they prefer. Both perspectives may be unconsciously rooted in larger Japanese psychological trends.

For the past three decades, the Japanese birth rate has been in decline because young Japanese women desire more independence and eschew the traditional role of mother and homemaker in favor of liberated career woman. Young girls, naturally, still develop a fascination with maternal instincts. In the 1990s anime like Mama wa Shougaku 4 Nensei, 2000’s Ojamajo Doremi #, and today, anime such as Chibi Devi exploit preadolescent girls’ fascination with motherhood. But as modern Japanese girls mature, they seem to renounce much of their childhood desire for the responsibilities of motherhood, instead seeking partners rather than children. Typical contemporary anime targeted at female otaku, such as Sekiichi Hatsukoi, Nodame Cantabile, Hakuouki, and Hetalia depict tall, handsome, adult men for women to idolize and fetishize. When rare contemporary anime do depict motherhood, like Mainichi Kaasan, they practically satirize motherhood by focusing on the frustration and difficulty of motherhood.

Male otaku seem to be emerging to fill the vacuum that females are creating. While the woman has traditionally been the strong figure within the Japanese household, with the woman no longer creating the homestead, the Japanese male has taken over the role. Anime series including Aishiteruze Baby, Usagi Drop, and Beelzebub depict men raising children. In the absence of mother figures, men have taken over the role of raising children. So at the same time that the female otaku psyche is drifting away from children, the male otaku psyche is becoming more conscious of children. An increased male otaku focus on children ties into and is influenced by the older and more prevalent Japanese male sexual dichotomy. Particularly introverted and socially awkward heterosexual Japanese male otaku are naturally drawn toward women, but young girls are less intimidating than grown women. Otaku with a predilection for fantasy and idolization, hence their interest in anime in the first place, instinctively refine and elevate their natural instincts, evolving sexual attraction into maternal or reverential affection. So moé is born out of a natural male attraction to female but an otaku’s sensibility of protecting, nurturing, and cherishing young, petite girls rather than lewdly sexually exploiting them. As a result, typical moé otaku don’t want child lovers. They want to become protective big brothers and fathers that devotedly and platonically adore and watch over their cute little girl charges.

Contemporary moé manga, games, and anime typically feature female characters because the moé affection for small and cute people lies primarily within Japanese males. Souta Takanashi of the Working! TV anime literally states this very principle. He’s asexually attracted to Popura Taneshima because she’s small, cute, and seemingly helpless. Moé anime revolving around cute, small boys do exist, for example, 2006’s Mamoru-kun ni Megami no Shukufuku wo! But such shows are infrequent because the otaku audience for such shows is very limited. The Japanese market for shouta anime is rather small, for shouta anime that’s not sexually oriented possibly even smaller. Contemporary Japanese female otaku seem to be largely either preadolescent girls that enjoy shoujo anime or fujoshi that prefer young adult men. There’s little sign of Japanese female interest in anime starring or revolving around cute, small, young boys that need or inspire coddling. When such anime do appear, like Kanokon, they target male viewers with a typical harem anime style vicarious wish fulfillment rather than a moé style role play. Typical Japanese male moé otaku largely seem to prefer young girls over young boys. The male otaku outside of the strictly deliniated moé cult seem to be most interested in either capable or typical young men as seen in anime like Suzumiya Haruhi, Bleach, Gundam, and Angel Beats, or very young children whose gender is largely irrelevant in anime like Usagi Drop and Beelzebub.