CHIFUKA HY
boys they like, but it is most often as-
EST
sociated with male fans of anime,
UROC
manga, and games that hang out in
Akihabara. One might infer from this
that moé is a phenomenon of shy men
talking about the girl characters that
they like.
T: Right. There was a time not too
long ago when men couldn’t say
that they liked cute girl characters.
It would be weird to say that
you are in love with an anime
NISHIMURAO
character, right? That long-
EIK K
ing that cannot be expressed
Y B
PH
is moé. Now things are more
RAGO
open. It’s all right to talk
TO
PH
about being in love with spe-
cifi c characters. It’s not like
Toro Benten
you’ll be labeled an otaku and
shunned the way people were
in the 1990s. So, for me, the word moé, which fi rst appeared in the 1990s, really refl ects the time in which men were awakening to feelings of affection for girl characters, but couldn’t express those feelings directly or openly. I am not so sure about the defi -
nition of moé now.
PG: On the subject of the expanding appeal of moé, I’d like to ask you about your work with Ryohoji Temple.
T: Temples in Japan have notice boards outside that advertise the temple and promote its events. This temple wanted to make their notice board more eye-catching. A mutual friend introduced me to the Buddhist priest, and he asked me to do manga-style illustrations of the gods. I wasn’t sure if we ought to THE VOICE OF MII-CHAN
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88
be caricaturing the gods, but the priest assured me that this was not at all indiscreet. He told me that Buddhism is about helping people live happy lives. I wanted to bring people to the temple and assist in its mission.
PG: I notice you changed the names of some of the gods. How did that come about?
T: I was working on an illustration of the goddess Benzaiten, and saved the fi le as Toromi Benzaiten, or, for short, Toro Benten.
Someone thought that this was a character name and printed it.
The name stuck, so I guess it must have been the gods’ will!
PG: Your van is decorated with images of Toro Benten, right?
She’s very popular! There is a fi gurine of her, and videos of her dancing and singing. Her voice is your voice, and you cosplay as her at events held at the temple. Have people said that this is too much?
T: If you’re not doing too much, then you’re not doing enough.
You may as well do nothing. If you’re not stimulating people, they won’t pay attention. It is funny that now, when people are saying that the temple is doing too much, is precisely the period when people are fi nally coming to the temple and enjoying it.
PG: Even prefectural governments
have used manga-style or moé
characters to encourage tourism
in Japan. Do you worry that mis-
understandings might occur?
T: Misunderstanding is part of
being interested. It’s nothing to
be worried about. It’s the begin-
ning of a discussion, which may
lead to understanding. I am happy if my char-
acters bring people to Japan and open up a discussion.
TOROMI
MOE_9_80-89.indd 88
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89
U
CHIFUKA HY
EST
URO CSOTO
PH
Ryohoji Temple in the
Tokyo suburbs is now
known by some as the
“moé temple” ( moedera) THE VOICE OF MII-CHAN
MOE_9_80-89.indd 89
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90
Interview with
Shimada Humikane
Sh
Shimada Humikane (age
unknown) is an illustrator
who helped spread the love of
“mechanical girls” ( mecha mu-
sume) in the 2000s. Where many
characters in manga, anime, and
games wear battle gear, Shima-
da takes this further by empha-
sizing both the cuteness of girl
characters and the coolness of
machines. Typically, a girl char-
acter will slip her legs into me-
chanical devices to fl y and fi ght.
T
His character designs inspired
INMEN
the anime series Sky Girls (2007)
TA
TER
and Strike Witches (2008) and
L EN
ITA
were used for fi gurines in the ac-
IG
D
MI
tion-fi gure lines Mecha Musume
A
N
O
K
and Buso Shinki produced by toy
©
and game maker Konami. In
this interview, Shimada
im plies that the secret of
his success lies in simply
Zelnogrard fi gurine from
going with the fl ow.
the Buso Shinki series
SHIMADA HUMIKANE
MOE_10_90-97.indd 90
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91
Bridging the Gap
between Mecha and Moé
Cute Girls and Cool Machines
Patrick W. Galbraith (PG): What are your
hobbies?
Shimada Humikane (SH): I don’t have
anything that you could call a hobby. If
I’m forced to say, then I guess it would be
e
watching B-level action and horror mov--
ies—genres that you can laugh at and
forgive even if they’re just awful. Rather
r
than thinking about what you are see--
ing, you can just enjoy it.
PG: Would you consider yourself
an otaku?
SH: To me, the word otaku
Strike Witches
carries this image of a deep,
ANDU
intense person who has mastered one
K
2008/
O
A
O K
specifi c genre. By that defi nition, I can’t
T
UED
NES
really say that I’m an otaku of anything.
GO
OG
SHIA O
When I’m drawing, I study things that are
, H
1 T
AD
necessary for my work, but I would never
A
AI 50
7 D
call myself a specialist or researcher. If you
SHIM
NE
get too caught up in the material then you’ll
TD. © 200
never get the job fi nished. As a professional il-
, HUMIKA
O., L
U
N CE
lustrator, I try to exercise a degree of moderation.
NBO
T
A
OH
NA A SW
EHIS
AK
PG: Why did you decide to pursue drawing as a career?
O
HID
AD
©
K
SH: At fi rst I was just drawing for fun and never thought to mak
e BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN MECHA AND MOE
´
MOE_10_90-97.indd 91
13/2/14 10:21 AM
92
Sky Girls
it my career. Like many oth-
ers, I was creating my own
fanzines and sometimes that
led to requests to do work
I
’INKA
for companies. While doing
IUKA
this type of work, drawing
SEISS
somehow became the center
IRL
G
of my life. I started publish-
Y
SK /
ing commercially in my mid
T
twenties. I think that if I
INMEN
TA
ERT
ENL
ITA
IG D
MIANO K
had set my sights
©
on being an illustrator in my teens, I
probably wouldn’t have been
able to handle all the
pressure and might
have burned out.
PG: Where does the inspira-
T
tion for your illustrations
INMEN
TA
come from?
ERT
EN
SH: I feel that the character
L
ITA
IG
designs I do are an assem-
D
MIA
blage of the things that I
NO K
like, things that have accu-
©
mulated over the course
of my life. There was
a time when I had a
streak of contrarian-
ism and wanted to
Murmeltier fi gurine from
the Buso Shinki series
SHIMADA HUMIKANE
MOE_10_90-97.indd 92
13/2/14 10:21 AM
93
Asuka fi gurine from
the Buso Shinki series
T
INMEN
TA
ERT
ENL
ITA
IG
D
MIANO K©
Zelnogrard fi gurine from
the Buso Shinki series
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN MECHA AND MOE
´
MOE_10_90-97.indd 93
13/2/14 10:21 AM
94
T
INMEN
TA
ERT
ENL
ITA
IG
D
MIANO K©
Murmeltier fi gurine from
the Buso Shinki series
SHIMADA HUMIKANE
MOE_10_90-97.indd 94
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95
make things that were different from other people’s work, but these days I’m not so ambitious. I don’t think that what I do is particularly unique.
PG: Really? So the mechanical girl is for you nothing new?
SH: As a genre, it has existed for a long time. Girls and technology are common in manga and anime, and these are things that I like, so it seemed natural for me to mix them together. There wasn’t any logic behind it. I just
thought the drawings looked cool.
PG: Was it a conscious choice to make your characters youthful?
SH: It’s fun to draw cute, young girls. Besides, speaking from a market standpoint, those are the draw-
ings most in demand. I think that’s all there is to it.
PG: What do you focus on when drawing?
SH: As I’ve said, I try to design characters that I think ANDUK
2008/ O
A
TO K
UED
NE
GO
SO
SHI
G
A
O
, H
1 T
ADA AI 50
7 D
SHIM
NE
TD. © 200
, HUMIKA O., L
U
N CE
NBO
T
A
O
N
H
A
A SW
EHIS
AKO
HID
AD
Strike Witches: armed and cute
©
K
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN MECHA AND MOE
´
MOE_10_90-97.indd 95
13/2/14 10:21 AM
96
are cute or cool. Also, I pay close attention to colors and hues I use for characters and their costumes, so that they portray a calm image.
PG: What does moé mean to you?
SH: Isn’t it something like looking at a puppy or kitten and feeling that it is cute, in an asexual way? But there isn’t wide support for the concept as I have described it, so maybe I don’t know what moé means.
T
INMEN
TA
ERT
ENL
ITA
IG
D
MIANO K©
Asuka fi gurine from the
Buso Shinki series
SHIMADA HUMIKANE
MOE_10_90-97.indd 96
13/2/14 10:21 AM
97
PG: Do you think that there has been a moé boom?
SH: Moé has been around in bishojo manga and games from way back. Moé is a catchy word
and may appear at fi rst glance to be a new
genre or phenomenon, but
that’s probably only be-
cause of increased media
usage of the word in the 2000s.
Moé was around before then and
it will remain long after the word falls out of use.
PG: What’s next for you?
SH: I don’t know what will happen in the future, and I would describe myself as a follower, not a
leader. But as long as there continues to be an
environment where I can do what I want to do,
I will carry on, whether it’s for a commercial or
amateur market .
ANDUK2008/ OAO KT UEDNE
GO
SOG
SHI
O
A H, 1 T
ADA AI 50
7 D
SHIM
NE
TD. © 200
T
HUMIKA ,
O., L
U
N C
INMEN
E
NBO
T
TA
A
OH
ER
N
T
A
A SW
ENL
A
EHIS
K
ITA
O
IG
HID
AD
D
©
K
MIA
Above: Strike Witches; right: Murmeltier fi gurine NO K©
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN MECHA AND MOE
´
MOE_10_90-97.indd 97
13/2/14 10:22 AM
98
Interview with
Maeda Jun
Maeda Jun, born in
1975, is a writer for
the company Key,
which produces computer
games targeted at an adult
male audience. Though he
incorporates humor, Maeda’s
stories about young love are
highly melodramatic, and often
bring players to tears. Games
of this type have a category all
of their own: “crying games”
( nakige). Thre
e of Key’s releases:
’S
RT
Kanon (1999), Air (2000), and
AL A
SU
Clannad (2004), were adapted
VIY S
into TV anime and became
ETRU
pivotal to the discussion of the
OU C
PH
moé phenomenon. In this in-
AR
OG
terview, Maeda talks about the
TO
PH
background to Key’s games.
KEY /’ST
AL ARUIS
This page: Clannad, Fujibayashi Kyo; 2004 V©
far right: Kanon, Kawasumi Mai
MAEDA JUN
MOE_11_98-107.indd 98
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99
The Crying Game
Moving Players to Tears
Patrick W. Galbraith (PG): Can you tell me a l
bout
l me about
your hobbies?
Maeda Jun (MJ): Basically I like to play r
y ole-
role-
playing games, specifi cally those featuring cute
turing cute
female heroines. I can’t get into a game unless I
me unless I
feel moé for the character. If you love the char the cha -
r-
acter, then you invest in the world wher
h e she
ere she
exists. As a player you think, “I can contin
onti ue
nue
this quest for her sake!” I enjoy feeling
ng
that way.
PG
PG: W
: ould
W
you
call y
call ourself an
n
otaku
otak ?
MJ:
MJ: Y
es, I am an
an
n
otaku
otak . I’m actuall
ual y an e
ly
x-
an ex-
tremel
trem y stereotypical
otypical otaku.
otaku.
Of course I am the w
Of
m
a
the w y I am
ay I am
with g
wi
ames, but I am r
b
eall
ut I am r
y
eally
a m
a usic
m
otaku.
u Some months
. Some months
I buy as man
I b
y as a hundr
ny as a hund ed
red
YE
CDs.
C
I listen to a variety of
to a variety of
T’S / K
genres—J-pop,
op anime songs,
, anime song
s,
AL ARU
Western m
W
usic,
usi post-r
c, p
oc
ost-r
k,
oc
The Moé Manifesto Page 8