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 [...]

Love Hina — it’s harem, yes. It’s by no means the first harem manga, clearly, but it was my first exposure to harem, and damn near my first exposure to manga, and so it played a formative role in my personal fandom. Even now, during my second re-reading (to which I will subject you, noble [...]