Show #073 – Direct Download: 
OP: Kanon 2006 OP, “Last regrets” by Ayana
ED: Clannad After Story ED, “TORCH” by Lia
In this episode we interview Caleb, an Otaku USA writer. Here’s his personal blog, Anime wa Bakuhatsu da!
- For a better definition of moe, listen to Dr. Weeaboo’s 2007 panel recording we did.
- Caleb saw Cencoroll at NYAF but we missed it.
- You can read more about Caleb’s opinions here and also over here:
It’s insulting to the entire human race to put someone down because you think the anime they watch is trashy compared to what you watch. It’s rude, it’s annoying, and it’s an embarrassment to any fan community. It’s perfectly okay to not like a series; no one’s expected to like everything, but insisting, even in jest, that someone who watches Kanon is suffering from severe autism (just like the characters! truly I am a comedy genius!) is just taking the extra step from “having a different opinion” to “being a jerk”. it’s common Internet behavior, true, but the Internet at large is another huge embarrassment to humanity.
Moe representative…
Doubt this was the intent but Caleb just seemed like the stereotypical moe fan. His voice almost sounded like Daryl Surat’s impression of a moe fan.
I was deeply disappointed in this show! I really wanted to hear about a moe fan’s opinions of what the appeal of the genre is, a few definitions of the term (if there is not a definitive one), etc. Instead this person who is considered enough of an expert by Otaku USA to get a column, didn’t even begin to answer any legitimate questions about the topic. I can understand why someone wouldn’t want to go into it at a party or other environment where the responses might be hostile or dismissive, but this was a legitimate friendly platform for explaining to the uninitiated.
Hmmm…
This episode was interesting, which I suppose is partly code for, “I’m not sure how much I liked it.” I certainly understand where Caleb is coming from: defining a controversial term like “moe” always draws fire from some contingent of fandom. Also, I think getting away from overarching terms that are often used just to shut down discussion is a good idea as well. “Moe” has almost acquired Godwin’s Law-like status as marking the end of a discussion, with some even directly invoking it.
On the other hand, I think having a common vocabulary is important in any discussion, and this is really where this particular discussion just never got going. Without a common definition, the term is essentially useless, and the beginning of this podcast is (unfortunately) a good example of that. Much of the time I didn’t understand what Caleb was talking about because he dropped show and character names that I was unfamiliar with.
Oh, well, but that Dewey Decimal is crazy! 😉 …
Show 43
As Erin suggested, I went back and listened to Show 43. While I couldn’t catch everything that was said (isn’t convention audio simply lovely?), I found the discussion between Nadia and Daryl Surat in the comments very interesting.
Daryl’s comments do a good job of explaining the problem many of us have with the “moe” trend in general. For me, the issues with moe are two-fold. First, moe focuses extreme attention on what is essentially an inanimate object (which sounds funny when talking about anime, until we remember that animation is still frames run at 24, 25, or 30 frames per second, depending on your standard). An important point that Daryl made is that this cannot be just any normal emotional connection (otherwise the term moe is useless), but something out of the ordinary. However, as many have pointed out, someone’s obsession with Haruhi or any other object of moe affection has nothing to do with me personally and is harmless to everyone but the subject.
The second issue is where anime fans (both current and future) as a whole are affected. Moe shows are really where the problem lies, not with moe itself. I think it’s the pandering that is so offensive to a lot of us. It’s the same reason I hate most reality shows. I could care less that someone wants to watch the latest Kardashian sister get pregnant and act like a moron, but those shows drain potential resources from other projects and bring the whole standard of entertainment down. I think the same holds true for the moe show in general.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t good shows that are essentially moe or have moe elements (I personally really liked the first season of Haruhi); we can find exceptions to anything (just as there are reality shows with more merit than Bad Girl’s or the latest Real World). But wherever media creators go with the easy sell, quality will tend to suffer.
O god the moe
o god could someone please shut that moe guy up or else il soot myself yes yes moe is good in fine doses like k-on or lucky star coz it pokes fun of them but not all the time he sounds like the type of guy who masturbates to haruhi living at home to the age of 30 type of guy and if he reads this comment id dare him to respond to me
Re: O god the moe
And why exactly would you soot yourself? Maybe become a chimney sweep or something, get a little Dick-van-Dyke-Mary-Poppins action going?
I lurv this moe
Отличный блог!
Администрации +1