There’s a certain topic within moe fandom that is rarely broached. Considering the amount of fuss people make over events like Sal9000‘s wedding, you’d think it would have come up, but most conversations skirt around what I have always considered to be the heart of the matter. In essence, it boils down to the following questions:
- The protection of innocence or the corruption of it?
- Sad girls in snow or hadaka apron on the boxart?
- Skinship or something more unsavory?
These points beat around the bush as well, but I think you get the idea. I believe that the often-overlooked “secret” behind moe and 2D complex lies within the exact opposite of what ero-ge is traditionally supposed to be about.
This is a bit of a follow-up to my last post, in which I talked about the art of adding depth to flat moe characters whose sole purpose is to pander to the viewer. My conclusion is that it requires the same level of writing that any other type of character requires; if the character is good enough, the viewers will suspend their disbelief automatically. However, this entire topic can only make sense under one assumption: moe can be appealing from an emotional perspective as well as, or instead of, a physical perspective. When Shin’s comment reminded me of a common point of contention within Moe Theory, as I like to call it, I decided to write a post that I’ve wanted to write for a year.
This also gives me a chance to post a screencap I’ve been wanting to post for a year.
Since this topic is rooted in the visual novel medium, a history lesson might be of value, and this handy article available on Shii’s database might be a good starting point.
As most people know, eroge began as just that: erotic games. The porn was always the goal, and the characters were an afterthought. In other words, the concept of moe appears to be newer than the concept of the visual novel, and it was not until later that VNs became the standard medium to create galge in.
To keep things simple, let’s use To Heart as an example. Though I don’t know from first hand experience, I’m fairly certain that it was one of the earliest examples of eroge that focused on moe over sex. In other words, the cast of characters was meant to be more romantically appealing to the player than sexually appealing. Whether people played the game with this in mind is another story, but looking at how the medium has grown since then, it’s common sense that 30+ hours of dialogue is too much to skip through for a couple hours of sex.
Effectively, the priorities of the medium have shifted. Every VN fan would have realized this by now, but I’m not sure how often the distinction is drawn between the two eras – and I think it’s a very important distinction.
Despite the fact that most visual novels involve sex and most of the heroines are sexualized and fetishized to some degree, I cannot see this as the point of emphasis in any but the most extreme games. You could argue that eroge heroines are not realistic, but this isn’t because the player views them as sex objects – it’s because the player views them as easy targets for a romantic relationship. At its worst, moe is about casting women as doormats for the comfort of insecure men; at its best, it’s about removing the impurities of relationships and focusing only on the emotion at its core. Your description will vary depending on your opinion of moe, but both perspectives agree on one thing: the goal of moe is to provide emotional therapy to the viewer, not physical therapy.
After all, when last have you heard someone criticize a moe show of having too much fanservice? Fanservice is like the antithesis of moe. In fact, non-fans have started describing shows like K-ON as having “moe fanservice” – and that’s accurate for all intents and purposes, but it implies that there’s a difference between traditional fanservice and “moe” fanservice. Shows like Nanoha and Nanatsuiro Drops are innocent at first glance, but because we know that they’re intended for a male audience, we still classify them as “fanservice,” only using a new subcategory. Even the moe-illiterate realize that you cannot use the same term to describe Queen’s Blade and K-ON.
This is relevant, somehow.
Anyway, what I believe I have proven in the last 700 words is that hentai, sex-focused eroge, and fanservice anime have virtually nothing to do with galge and moe, aside from their common origins and target audience. They both pander to the audience in the sense that they portray a convenient fantasy as reality, but they do so for a completely different reason. On one hand you have physical desires, and on the other you have emotional desires. They can be two sides of the same coin, but implying that your average fluffy moe-moe-rabu-rabu galge is about sex is just as nonsensical as drawing a parallel between Tsukihime and Bible Black.
In the end, whether you enjoy moe and visual novels for the physical or emotional aspect is entirely up to you. However, I feel the need to distinguish between the two elements because even though they often go hand-in-hand, they are still two very different things. When you look at moe from an emotional perspective, stories like Kanon make infinitely more sense.
This also ties into what I was originally talking about when I said that Kanon is great because it plays on its cast’s strengths and panders skillfully. My own enjoyment of the game is rooted in the surreal experience of standing in the school’s quad during lunch, having an unusual conversation with an unusual girl. Another person’s enjoyment might rely on their own experience of joining Mai in the school halls at night, fighting demons and solving a mystery.
Moe will always be subjective, but I think there is one truth that we should always keep in mind: escapism in visual novels can be emotional or physical, or both. Most good eroge strike a cosmic balance between the two, but they both have a distinctly different appeal, and they shouldn’t be treated as the same thing. In other words, Sugisaki Ken’s ambition of earning the harem end might be the dream of eroge fans around the world, but it shouldn’t be misconstrued as a symbol of moe fandom.
~ ETERNAL
つづく
