Let’s pretend for a while that “moe” isn’t a blanket term for any quality a fan likes to see in an illustrated member of the sex in which they’re interested. Functionally it might be, but we’re pretending here.

The “essence” of moe is protectiveness; a moe character is one for whom you might take a bullet. And it isn’t about sexual attraction, I’d say, even if others might say otherwise. Have you noticed how characters in ero doujins are often stripped of their canonical personalities almost entirely? I’m guessing that’s a necessity. I’ve talked about this, about how I subscribe to a gradient model of moe and gar, before.

At any rate, when Otouto-kun, who I’ve conscripted into reading Love Hina, mentioned that Keitaro might be moe, I couldn’t help but wonder.

Pop quiz: why is Keitaro likable?

You may answer differently, but I’d say it’s because he isn’t likable. If a screwup like him can succeed at life and love, why couldn’t we, in his circumstances? We want to see him pull through, as that would, in a way, confirm that we, too, could probably pull through. (He’s also genuinely decent beneath all the fatal clumsiness and young male hormones, but that doesn’t come through as often as the former two, especially in the manga.) Granted that we’d never find ourselves in his position, but it’s fiction-land, so we’re allowed to imagine.

And it’s not as if his failings are his fault, necessarily. Normally they manifest as a result of sheer bad luck. Is it unreasonable for us to feel inclined to protect him from unfortunate circumstance? If we could guide him, maybe he could prevail; if he can prevail, surely we could, too.

This is, perhaps, a convoluted train of thought. But Keitaro certainly isn’t gar (not like Seta, on whom he develops a raging man-crush), and he’s often too ironic to fall within the range of relatability. Is he moe, then, like a younger brother we must nurture into proper manhood?

This is not to say we can shove all characters ever into a linear scale. Etymologically, moe comes from “moeru” (萌える/to bud or sprout), though 燃える (to burn or get fired up) is pronounced no differently; either could indicate a certain manner of feeling toward a character. I’ve always thought of it as akin to warmth or affection. It’s possible — likely, even — that Keitaro doesn’t steal your heart in that manner, in which case moe might be obstructed. Whether or not we can call him moe may then depend on how much we’re distancing the state from emotion, and I’d be willing to bet that most of us do not, as a rule, distance it very far from emotion.

Personally I doubt I’ve ever found Keitaro moe (or that I’ve ever felt moe toward Keitaro, if you prefer it that way). I suppose I could, though, if only as an intellectual exercise.