Redefining and Recontextualizing Moe: A New Dimension to Sexualized Cuteness

After getting approval from my supervisor and head of department, I present to you my honors thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Japanese Studies at the National University of Singapore.

I decided upon the topic of moe for my research as it has been a very hot-button issue in anime fandom for quite some time. I hope my paper will give you a clearer understanding of the concept, why moe might be far more useful and essential to the otaku than you might have realized and why moe isn’t insidious and does not spell the death of anime. Also discussed are gender issues and virtual child pornography.

ABSTRACT

By adopting a cultural studies approach, this paper seeks to redefine and recontexualize moe. This paper argues that moe is used as a coping mechanism by the otaku to reclaim agency and remain connected in a more individualized society as opposed to a tool that legitimizes the subjugation of women in society and homogenizes anime. This is done through the possession of fictional characters via the creation of dôjinshi, attending events and going on pilgrimages to the real-life settings of their favorite manga and anime. In addition, because moe is an element of the kawaii art style, it is separate and distinct from the other elements of an anime, allowing creators to retain creative freedom while simultaneously catering to the otaku and appealing to a wider demographic. Instead of being exploited by producers, the kawaii art style facilitates the production of character merchandise that the otaku purchase and use to aid them in reclaiming agency and connecting with fictional characters and other otaku.

Continue to the full text after the jump. If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to link to this post! (^o^)

Honors Thesis Submission – Dreams Do Come True

…and with that, I’ve come to the end of my University education. The years just flew by and I am still in shock at how fast it felt (in retrospect). People say that dreams don’t always come true and that sooner or later, you’ll have to face cold, hard and harsh reality.

Role Language of Yandere Characters in Anime

One of the amazing things about anime is its versatility. By that, I’m not referring to its ability as a medium to tell a wide range of stories. I’m talking about its ability to be used as a case-study in a plethora of classes. Here’s a little write up I did for a Japanese linguistics course analyzing the speech of everyone’s favorite yandere characters.

Enjoy… or else~

(Seriously, I had to go through a ton of academic readings in Japanese for this and it was not easy…)

The Importance of Moe in Character Merchandise

This school semester (sans-finals) is finally over and this time round, I took my first honors-level class on Japanese popular culture. After much contemplation, for my research paper, I decided to write on the inherent importance of moe-elements when it comes to character merchandise. It was a long and arduous process to see this paper to completion, but it was well worth it and exceedingly fun and educational.

Enjoy!

Parody Dōjinshi and Self-Expression

Doujinshi, written as ‘dōjinshi’ throughout the following essay, is something that is close to the hearts of many Otaku, especially myself (take that however you may). And because of this, I decided to write a research paper on the subject for this past semester. Yes. You heard me. A paper on doujinshi for a university class. I love my major.

Japanese Popular Culture and Soft Power

Another semester, another academic paper on one of my all time favorite topics, Japanese popular culture. This time, it deals with the relationship between Japanese popular culture and Soft Power, the ability for one country to control another country’s wants and values through non-traditional means.

By now, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that my interest of Anime and Japanese popular culture extends beyond the boundaries of a mere hobby. Right now, it’s also a big, big part of my academic life. As the old adage goes: “Do what you love, love what you do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”.

Well, technically speaking, that’s complete bull because, believe me, writing this paper was not an easy task to accomplish. Hours of research, sleepless nights and sweat went into this paper and I’m ecstatic to say that all that effort was not in vain as I got quite a good grade for it.

As with all the other papers on my blog, the rest of this post will be sans pictures.

With that, I present to you the final draft of my work, untouched, for your reading pleasure. It can get rather technical at times, but I do hope you enjoy reading it. (^.^)

Tradition and Modernity in Kiki’s Delivery Service

This semester, I took a course on Postwar Japanese Film and Anime. For one of our individual assignments, we had to write an analytical essay on one of the assigned movies. With the semester finally over, it is my pleasure to present to you my essay on one of my favorite Ghibli movies, Kiki’s Delivery Service, focusing on how the theme of tradition and modernity is presented in the film.

The “Americanisation” of Cardcaptor Sakura

Picture by artist Moonknives, who does the most gorgeous Sakura art.

Taking a course on Contemporary Japanese Popular Culture this past semester, I was fortunate to find myself in the company of many other like-minded people who shared my passion for Japanese Animation and the preservation of its originality. For our class research paper, we decided to do it on the Americanisation of Anime, using the series that I and my group mates adore, Cardcaptor Sakura, as a case study. Since term is now over, and after consulting with them, it is my pleasure to bring you our paper in it’s unadulterated form.

Do note that this is somewhat different from the other articles that you have read on this blog due to the nature of it being an academic paper. Not to mention, do be prepared for a ton of text as I don’t think I’ll be putting any pictures in this article beyond this point. However, if you are a fan of Cardcaptor Sakura or Anime and just want to know what went on/goes on behind the scenes, I do believe it’s worth a read. Do also note that the paper will be in standard British English.

The paper is written by myself, Jovi, Wei Lun and Anmari.

Without further ado: