Moe

"Our documentary now focuses on the Moeblob... treat with care, they cry easily."^[1]

"Somehow, when I look at her, I feel like I can't leave her alone. I feel like I have to protect her!"

—Chiri Kitsu, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Coined in Japan in the late 90s, "Moe" (萌え, pronounced as "Moh-Eh", derived from a Japanese word that means "budding" or sometimes "to burn") is an ill-defined otaku term that means, amongst other things, "cute", "huggable", or "endearing". While it's sometimes used to describe a series, it's more about a specific ideal or kind of character.

A common definition is that Moe is the ability of a character to instill in the audience an irrational desire to adore them, hug them, protect them, comfort them, etc. To some, it can evoke a Big Brother Instinct. Don't be misled, however—Moe can evoke such feelings in women as well as men.

What is "Moe"? Moe characters are cute. Moe characters are implicitly youthful, congregating to high school age and below. Adult female characters who qualify are almost always in their low twenties. Any characters older than that have this fact unmentioned, or the character's appearance is altered as little as possible regardless of the actual time that has passed. Moe characters often resemble traits from both the Lolicon (from the attitude perspective) and Bishoujo genres. A related implication is that moe characters are virgins though mostly in Japan where virginity still remains important to a girl's appeal. It has been proven however that moe characters need not always be virgins.

Their personality will reflect an 'innocent' outlook on something vital, such as about romance. While the Moe character does bring up associations with submissive personalities in general, expect also attitudes that resemble that of a Cloudcuckoolander or a Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Moe characters usually are quirky, and rely on Costume Inertia, odd language, strange hobbies and the like to make them seem unique and noticeable. Occasionally, these quirks are completely unrelated and seem a bit disjointed. If a character is plain, they are 'loudly plain' in the way Hollywood Homely characters are 'ugly'; sometimes they're just more moderate than the rest of the cast, and the writers implicitly suggest the audience is kind for liking the character for being plain.

More on these traits can be found here.

Such characters are also prone to being used as mere Fanservice. When a character has no visible personality traits aside from vaguely cute uselessness, he/she is termed the dreaded Moe Blob. An interesting result of this is some moe characters are quasi-Animated Actors; the series they star in need not be related at all, being only devices to enable the viewer to enjoy the character. Many of them feature in Gag Series, and only the merchandise for the series shows off its intended and occasionally creepy roots.

Male characters can also have moe traits, and they figure prominently in Shoujo and Josei. Like their female counterparts, moe boys are usually ridiculously cute. The Adorably Precocious Child is a good example. Bishonen characters (particularly Troubled but Cute characters) also tend to evoke feelings of Moe in a female audience and are frequently called Moe by both fans and authors.

See also Moe Anthropomorphism, Moe Couplet, Moe Stare; compare The Woobie where the focus is about sympathy. Yamato Nadeshiko has a similar appeal but for older characters. Also see When She Smiles for situations where applicable characters get massive Moe points for finally breaking out a smile. In darker series, very likely to suffer Break the Cutie. Weakness Turns Her On is a sort of Distaff Counterpart that concerns women's attraction to moe males. Contrast Rated "M" for Manly. What Do You Mean It's Not for Little Girls? when someone mistakes a moe show that's meant for older males for a show that's meant for little girls.

No connection to a certain bowlcut-wearing would-be leader, surly bartender, or six-year-old school bully, nor to a song about a stooge by Modern Man.

Examples of Moe include:

Moe characters

Advertising

• The Japanese Windows 7 mascot Nanami Madobe who's a bit ditzy and suffers from Cuteness Proximity.

Anime and Manga

Ur Example and Unbuilt Tropes

• Sailors Saturn and Mercury in Sailor Moon are prototype cases - in fact, there's a theory that the term Moe was originally derived from Saturn's civilian name, Tomoe Hotaru (written as 土萌; even the relevant kanji is the same.) Researchers such as Patrick W. Galbraith and Tamaki Saitō have found that "moe" was first used in 2channel in the 1990s, discussing female characters who were "hybrids of the Lolicon (Lolita Complex) and bishoujo (beautiful girl) genres". As this describes exactly Hotaru Tomoe, and coincides with Hotaru Tomoe's height of popularity in 2channel, there is likeliness in the theory that Sailor Moon is the Trope Namer.
• Moe Sagisawa of the little known (to westerners) anime Kyoryu Wakusei is another possibility for the trope namer. As in the case of Hotaru Tomoe her name and year of the anime's debut coincide perfectly with the earliest uses of the term.
• One of the prototypes for the modern type is widely agreed to be Neon Genesis Evangelion's Rei Ayanami; exotically beautiful, physically and emotionally vulnerable (even if it isn't obvious at first), in utterly pitiable circumstances once you discover what that is, coolly logical where others are uncertain... and, well, occasionally shown bandaged up. An absolutely staggering amount of what constitutes the modern trope has its origins in Rei, which is particularly hilarious when you consider that the creator was trying to make Rei disturbing. Talk about swing and a miss.
  • Shinji Ikari to a lesser degree and divided opinion.
  • Maya. The way she cringes at even the slightest bit of violence (though technically more of a Woobie trait...) makes her quite Moe.
  • Then there is Misato who is so tough on the outside yet tender in her heart, male fans will feel an irresitible urge to do her laundry, cook for her and hand out hugs on demand.
• Amelia from The Slayers seems to be another somewhat-prototype for the trope (having been around since before the trope was really identified at large). Although much (much) more go-getting, positive, and active than most modern characters who fall under the banner, she is the youngest of the four cast members, is very naive, possesses a rather impressive chest for her supposed age (14 in the first season!), comes from a fairly chaste background and religious city-state, and is often used as a punching bag by the villains to show how evil they are, which seems intended to produce an extremely sympathetic and protective feeling from the audience. It doesn't seem a coincidence that a larger number of shows like this began airing in the years following Slayers going off the air.
  • Which makes it kind of weird that if you watch The Slayers now, Amelia could easily qualify as a parody or subversion of the trope, as the very qualities that make her Moe are also exaggerated to such degrees that they're actually a little unnerving, and her naivete has sometimes put her in genuinely dangerous situations.
  • There's also episode 15 of Slayers TRY, where Lina is transported to an Alice in Wonderland-esque bizarro-world, complete with costume. She's absolutely adorable.
• The final, iron-clad ur-example for what is identified as the modern trope is Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura. While it's quite arguable that the entire show can be classified as moe, Miss Kinomoto takes the cake, between her clumsiness, her age-based cuteness, her verbal tics, and her city-crushing onmi-powers. What makes CCS and Sakura so notable is that the show's run marks the point when the industry noticed what kind of Periphery Demographic Sakura (alongside Rei and Amelia) had, and how much they were willing to spend on her; this was noticed, the money was counted... and the producers began to create works to match. Modern moe shows sprang to life not very long after CCS ended its television run.
• Shinobu from Love Hina. Her regular luminescent blushes, and embarrassed stutterings (not to mention that adorable squeal) are enough to melt the coldest of hearts.
• Ruri from Nadesico may also be a prototype as a young Emotionless Girl and Deadpan Snarker.
• It's a little surprising that Sasami of Tenchi Muyo isn't considered a prototype case.
• Milfeulle, Mint, and Vanilla from Galaxy Angel.
• Marian, from Sei Juushi Bismarck...until it was Macekred into Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.
• Nene Romanova from the original version of Bubblegum Crisis, with her cuteness (as opposed to her teammates' beauty), her relative lack of combat competence leading to her needing to be protected, and her fretting about her waistline.

Modern Examples

• Hinata from Naruto.
  • Naruto and Sasuke when they were kids.
• Art Evolution has made Tsuna from Katekyo Hitman Reborn Moe enough to become an Uke Memetic Sex God.
  • Chrome Dokuro has always been Moe.
• 7 year old Son Goten of Dragonball Z, despite being a male character in a Shonen series, displays some traits of this trope. He is basically the happy, sweet, innocent, considerate, well-mannered, kind-hearted, cute and huggable little brother that we all wish we had, who is simply too good to ever be true outside a 1950's sitcom.
  • In Dragon Ball GT, he becomes a playboy who is nevertheless still chaste and warm hearted.
• One of the major themes parodied in Ouran High School Host Club, where the Host Club members each cultivate an exaggerated trait/fetish for their female guests, and their self-elected consultant Renge frequently monologues her opinion of what is moe to girls. More satirically, Club President Tamaki views his feelings towards Haruhi as moe (protective and fatherly) even though his classmates realize it's unusually thick-headed way of dealing with actually being attracted to her despite her not really being impressed by him.
  • Haruhi as a whole could be seen as Moe. Despite her general snarky, and apathetic nature she does still have some moe traits (the former two traits could possibly be moe, too). Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru often never fail to point out how 'plain' and 'dull' she is treating it as more of an endearing quality, rather than an insult. The boys also love to dress her up in all sorts of outfits (granted, most are unisex or male—and Haruhi's not enthusiastic about it). She has few weaknesses with the exception of a Fear of Thunder. Haruhi is also painfully Oblivious to Love. Read chapters 57 and 58 for an unusually Moe Haruhi (she goes back to her normal self a chapter or so later).
  • Haninozuka Mitsukuni is definitely moe. Although he's 18 at the beginning of the series, he still takes afternoon naps, adores sweets, and carries around his precious bunny. Honey could also fit under Badass Adorable considering he is more than capable of taking care of himself.
    • Also Kirimi NEKOZAWA is very moe.
• Mikuru Asahina from Suzumiya Haruhi is recruited for the S.O.S. Brigade specifically because Haruhi decides that there needs to be a moe mascot character (specifically a short, babyfaced girl with huge boobs). She then tries to make Mikuru even more moe by forcing her into a maid outfit and glasses, and constantly molests her to get sympathy points. Some fans have coined the term "Moe-blob" for her (and characters like her), because to a casual watcher, all she actually does in the series is stand around and be moe, and oh yeah, serve tea. Of course, she's actually driving the entire plot via Time Travel. It's in the books.
  • Arguably, by virtue of her being a clone of Rei Ayanami, Yuki Nagato.
    • That doesn't even get started with her role in the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, where she has a I Just Want to Be Normal moment, thus making her at least as moe as Mikuru, if not even more. (and The Woobie as well)
    • The armies of Yuki Nagato fanboys demand her moeness. The doujinshi provide.
    • And in this one. "If a rabbit is lonely, it will die".
    • And this image will make you go Squee!!
  • Mikuru could arguably be a deconstruction, since she is so obviously traumatized by being forced into the Moe-blob role that you feel like a total bastard to get turned on by it. Either that or she's just faking the whole thing to cynically manipulate everyone on orders from her future self
  • Another example would be Kyonko? Look for yourselves
  • Haruhi herself is also generally considered moe for analogous reasons that Rei Ayanami was. Many fans find her quirky personality, her appearance and antics both cute and endearing in it's execution even though when one thinks of them much of what she does is quite disturbing.
  • Also Kyon's sister and Tsuruya. Nyoron?
• My-HiME skewered the concept in a Post Episode Trailer (where a lot of things did indeed "burn") as well as foreshadowing the show's darker themes much later.
• Can a Humongous Mecha be Moe? Well, if the mecha in question is Dolores from Zone of the Enders, then yes.
• One episode of Keroro Gunsou features a one-shot character rife with disjointed moe characteristics: a cute, pale, spacey, soft-spoken, transfer student prone to bad luck who's interested in the occult. When Fuyuki takes a shine to her, his secret admirer Momoka outright describes her as a "retarded moe character."
• In Lucky Star, when Miyuki talks about how absentminded and how clumsy she is, Konata tells her that "these are not faults, but elements of moe". And then deconstructs the Dojikko elements by dismissing them as something cute in anime but annoying in real life.
  • Also, Tsukasa.
  • And Yutaka. Especially in the dub — her voice actress is Hynden Walch, voice of Starfire and young Nia.
  • Let's set the record straight here. Miyuki and Yutaka were outright called "walking Moe points" by Konata. And, what's more, the manga called themselves Moe-Yonkoma—the genre of yonkoma that started with Azumanga Daioh, and hence maybe should be listed below with Hidamari Sketch etc...
  • The entire cast, really. It's arguably what the series is best known for.
• Mahou Sensei Negima's Setsuna is an interesting case, as her friendship with Konoka was essentially a mechanism to show off her moe traits, until it was emphasized into a romantic feeling.
  • The manga series itself is notable. Class 3-1 and their Magic World friends represent most of the moe traits with widespread popularity; the strongest evidence being early notes for the series released as promotional material containing a chart with over 50 traits he thought would be interesting (with each girl seemingly getting about two or three). Robot Girl, Cute Mute, Tsundere, Elegant Gothic Lolita, twin lolitas, Cute Witch, tomboy, Shrinking Violet bookworm... with Akamatsu-san's frequent Naughty Tentacles, pantsu and Clothing Damage situations.
  • You can't have a page on Moe without mentioning Negi.
  • Hell, even the current Big Bad and his minions have Moe elements. especially Shiori, whose face on the last page of chapter 283 is perhaps one of the most Moe things yet seen in the manga.
• Subverted in Welcome to The NHK by creating a character that combines as many moe aspects as possible, with creepy results (though the anime version scales it back enough to actually be moe).
  • The novel version is WORSE. Visualizing it is impossible, however, as the traits contradict!
  • Specifically, she is a childhood friend who is a Meido robot, Ill Girl, an apparition, alien, and a Kitsune.
  • The protagonist Satou would qualify as moe if he wasn't a creepy nerd in his twenties.
    • And Misaki qualifies as fairly moe, too, once her past is revealed.
• Hiyori Nishiyama is a positively TINY high school student (at 140 cm), shy as all hell, adorable and often described as reminiscent of a chick (as in baby bird). She probably rivals Mikuru Asahina. Unlike Chiyo Mihama, she's as old as her fellow class-mates. She also cries a lot and likes to hide in lockers when stressed, upset or cornered.
• In Seto no Hanayome, a horrific episode of men crossdressing as schoolgirls and catgirls and trying to play off moe stereotypes culminates in San suddenly wearing cat ears—something everyone agrees is incredibly moe (before being sent flying).
• Much of the show Girls Bravo revolves around this, especially with the main character Miharu, who is completely oblivious to her own attractiveness.
  • Yukinari counts, especially in the episode where he dressed as a girl.
• Going by the series timeline, glasses-wearing nerd Yomiko Readman should be about thirty years old during R.O.D. the TV. But unlike Nenene, Yomiko looks exactly the same as she did in early stories.
  • R.O.D the TV's Maggie Mui is an interesting example. Appearance-wise, she's tall and boyish, with a somewhat flat and masculine-sounding voice. But on the other hand, she has a very moe personality; shy, quiet, and enjoys sitting in small spaces. The clash between her personality and appearance makes her adorably awkward.
• Magical Girl Warrior shows aimed at an older male audience, such as Lyrical Nanoha.
  • Nanoha herself became even cuter by having a cute partner, one major reason for the strong Nano/Fate fandom despite its occasional vagueness. When Nanoha is older, the addition of Vivio lets her show off her big sister/motherly traits.
    • Not to mention, Nanoha was the 2005 Anime Saimoe Tournament winner, and Fate was the runner-up of the 2006 tournament, only to lose to Suiseiseki.
  • And don't get me started on Nanoha and Fate's adorable adopted daughter, Vivio, who exists primarily to tug at the heartstrings.
  • To say nothing of Hayate when she was a little girl...
  • Caro is an adorable 10 year old girl with a sad past, a cute relationship with her partner, and after 4 years she still doesn't grow more than a few centimeters at the most. Her first action in Striker S is to trip and fall on an escalator for god's sake.
  • Lindy Harlaown from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
  • Signum (yes, that Signum) shows her fair share of moeness in the Force manga after recovering from the brutal slaughtering that almost killed her at the beginning of the season. Her first reaction upon recovering counsciousness is to give a broad smille with big, bright eyes(complete with blushing cheeks) and say some cute lines to the ones around her.
• Despite anyone watching the show probably not having a problem with an older lead female, Mizuho's age in Please Teacher is discretely never mentioned. Adding to the problem is that the plot treats her position as Kei's teacher as being the illicit detail, and not apparently an age gap. She seems to inhabit a magical twenties-something spot that is also somehow young enough to give her a little sister and a first kiss during the show's run. Mizuho's mother is no help, as she REALLY has no problem with Kei being younger...
  • Mizuho is listed as 23 years old on several sites, making her five or eight years older than Kei, depending on whether you use Kei's mental or physical age.
• Nyu, the innocent split personality of Ax Crazy Lucy from Elfen Lied. Also, Kisaragi with the bonus of being a dojikko, despite which she doesn't last very long.
  • Nana and Mayu could've codified the trope if EL had been written early enough, and Kouta is a decent male example.
• After over 600 chapters, One Piece had little to offer in this department. But lo and behold, the incredibly moe Princess Shirahoshi appeared. She's a socially awkward, well-endowed, Fragile Flower Ingenue mermaid who, despite or perhaps because of the fact that she's possibly of comparable size to their ship, is just so darn cute! It helps that in the very first panel where her face is seen, she is crying. Oda, you don't disappoint.
  • Actually Nami was this during the Arlong arc which served as an important part of her Character Development same with Robin during the Water 7 arc and this is both as adults in the present and children in the flashbacks. Obviously afterwards this takes a backseat to the action.
• The first two seasons of Da Capo feature a character actually named Moe. Given her large breasts, easygoing personality and way of speaking, she is indeed what many would consider moe.
• The appropriately named Moe Katsuragi in Risky☆Safety.
• Every teenaged female character from Hayate the Combat Butler. Hell, Hayate himself falls into this during his crossdressing moment(s); so much so that Maria and Nagi feel uncomfortable, and Klaus, unaware it is Hayate, is instantly smitten.
  • As is Tama the pet tiger.
  • And it's not just the teenagers either. Isumi's mom is just as moe as her daughter, and Nagi's late mother looked remarkably like Hayate.
  • Hayate even states (in a side story) that Izumi leads in this function.
• Subverted hard and fast in The Daughter of Twenty Faces; main character Chiko first appears to be weak, defenseless, naive and spoiled, but by the end of the first episode we've already learned how clever and perceptive she is and by the sixth episode she can easily hold her own physically against The Dragon of the first narrative arc - and in all her flipping around still manages to avoid any trace of a Zettai Ryouiki. Chiko is the embodiment of what happens when an Action Girl decides to go "the hell with moe".
• Rika and Satoko from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The show then goes on to royally mess them up, time and time again. By the time the second season rolls around Rika stops being moe, but Hanyuu more than makes up for it.
  • Rena is plenty moe as well, she just has a far less emphasis on loli moeness. At one point she plays this up in order to fluster Keiichi long enough to win one of their club's games of tag.
  • In its Spiritual Successor, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, you have Shannon, who fulfills most of the stereotypical moe traits (Meido, Shrinking Violet, The Ingenue, etc.), and also Beatrice (oddly enough), when you get glimpses of what the fandom has dubbed "Moetrice".
    • And Maria when she isn't being Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant
    • Also Sakutaro, for a male example.
• Sakuno Ryuzaki and Tomoka Osakada from The Prince of Tennis.
• Maylene from Black Butler is clumsy, bespectacled, and blushes easily. She's also a maid. And we love her for it. She's also a crack sniper, but that's just a bonus!
  • Ciel fits this quite nicely as well. In fact in certain flashback scenes, he's so moe, it's almost obscene.
  • Finni could be classed as moe as well in this trooper's opinion. What, with having the big green eyes, blond hair that he holds back with clips and an undeniably innocent expression, this trooper fangirl's everytime she sees him!
  • Snake is described near-perfectly by this page. Shy? Check. Quirky? Check. Socially awkward? Check, check, check.
• Played half-seriously, half for laughs in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. In her first appearance, Rei/Blair is a 12-year-old girl who not only fills in the moe charm after being "uncovered" (she had pulled a Sweet Polly Oliver first), but has in her first deck a card named "Maiden In Love", whose monster form is the one of a very moe girl who uses her charm to gain the favor of other monsters and have them fall in love with her... as long as they're males. The moment Judai/Jaden summons a female monster (who looks like a Hot Amazon), she snaps the "guys" out of it.
  • It should be noted that the Maiden in Love's effect only activated when she was attacked] Presumably, had Judai attacked with Burstinatrix rather than playing Burst Return and Polymerization, she'd have fallen for the Moe, too.
  • She also fits the mold when she returns in season 3, particularly once hospitalized.
• Nia Teppelin from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is very, very moe. Actually well used, as she counterweights Yoko's Stripperifficness and Simon's Hot Blood.
  • It doesn't hurt that she seems to be completely fearless. See her interactions with Kittan and Adiane in her first two episodes.
  • Disturbingly: Viral. Sure he's Estrogen Brigade Bait, and sympathetic, but that only really applies after the timeskip (particularly after the Lotus Eater Machine). Before that he was treated as moe by the Estrogen Brigade because of his Villain Decay of all things. Why fangirls, why?
    • I chalk it up to the scene where he was beat up by Adiane. Not only was he bandaged in a similar style like Rei Ayanami, but he looked very young and vulnerable there.
  • The Guren Gakuenhen manga parodies the concept when Kamina gets a little confused as to what "Moe" is supposed to convey.
    • Probably a pun on "moeru" which could either refer to 萌える ("blooming," and the word that "moe" comes from) or 燃える ("burning").
  • Prior to the timeskip, Simon is also pretty damn moe.
  • The robe-clad Yoko is ridiculously adorable.
  • Kittan of all people tends to be portrayed as moe in fan works (though that's usually only under certain circumstances).
  • Parallel Works: Kiyal's Magical Time, it is neigh impossible to not go crazy from the sheer amount of moe within those four minutes.
• Played straight, but taken to goofy extremes, in Penguin Musume Heart, where Sakura goes into Fan Girl rage over one of her classmates who manages to hit just about every moe category short of having animal ears.
• Tessa in Full Metal Panic!, highlighted in the OVA after The Second Raid. Of course, she also happens to be an extremely intelligent Captain of an extremely powerful submarine and Special Forces Badasses. Her orders are often phrased as suggestions.
  • Sousuke when he was a kid. Too cute!
• Tamaki-chan from Bamboo Blade is so moe it hurts.
• Elsie and Tenri from The World God Only Knows.
  • Not just those two. Pretty much every single girl in the series has a Moe moment at some point. Even girl Keima pulls it off.
    • Especially Shiori, the shrinking violet librarian.
• Yuko, from xxxHolic, has a small monologue on moe in the book xxxHOLiC: Anotherholic:

"If someone has flaws or defects, but that is exactly what draws you to them, people call it moe. It's different from 'like,' where you're drawn to their good points, their strengths. 'Like' doesn't care for defects or flaws. Moe is the opposite of 'like' or 'dislike'....."

• Suzuhara Misaki from the manga version of Angelic Layer.
• Suzie Wong, from Digimon Tamers, manages to overcome the semi-religious programming of one of the Devas and turn her against her own faction with the power of sheer concentrated moe.
• Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga from Azumanga Daioh is incredibly moe and cute.
  • As for being moe and cute, it's subjective. Her main appeal ranges from this to Nightmare Fuel.
    • Well, she did make it into the 2002 Saimoe finals.
  • Kaorin is also very moe.
  • Arguably Sakaki. While her appearance lends itself more to the Huge Schoolgirl look, her attitude is pure Moe, especially in the way that her love for cute things being dashed constantly results in people feeling sorry for her.
  • Chiyo-chan is very moe too.
• Hazumu of Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl is a strong example, being prone to bouts of tears. Almost a male example, as we see flashbacks of his childhood, before he became a she. (Gender-swapped by aliens. No, seriously.)
• Kaiji often gets called moe or even a moeblob, as part of Memetic Mutation. Of course, he is both male and not really moe, but the sheer amount of woobieness makes him look moe in the eyes of fans.
  • In fact due to the complete lack of female characters and most of the male characters are more on the manly side. The show is about as un-moe as you can get.
• In R2 of Code Geass, C.C.descends into this after she loses her memories. She gets better, though.
  • Also, Tianzi, and to some extent, Nunnally.
    • And let's not forget Shirley herself.
    • Or Euphie. Or Suzaku when he's teary eyed AND in a cat suit.
    • Or Kaguya. Most adorable international political figurehead ever. And she's got the brains to match.
  • If you say Lelouch didn't look adorable when the rest of the student council forced him to wear cat ears, you are lying. On the other hand, he's a complete bastard, so it balances out.
    • Episode 12, R2. The scene with Shirley. Actually, any conversation with Shirley
  • Subverted by Nina Einstein, who looks and most often acts the part, but is a racist who not only endangers her friends with her xenophobia-driven panic attacks, but also invents the series' premiere Weapon of Mass Destruction to fulfill Princess Euphemia's Evil Eye induced dreams of genocide.
    • To her credit, once she does personally witness what said weapon can do, she tries to at least partially fix the mess she caused, even earning a Crowning Moment of Awesome when she creates the counter weapon.
• In the episode "The Privileged" (Missing Hearts) of Ghost in the Shell, a cute little girl in the hospital is actually named Moe, according to the script excerpt on the title card.
• Soul Eater:
  • Crona. Cute, huggable, emotionally vulnerable and a massive woobie.
  • Marie is older than most examples, but she's quite cute herself.
  • And on the villainous side, Eruka Frog. Her scared squeals and faces, her fidgety demeanor and her incredible adoration for frogs make her pretty cute.
• Himeko in Kannazuki no Miko. Blonde, clumsy, helpless, and oh so cute.
  • Really, any Kai Shaku work is pretty much guaranteed to be drowning in moe.
• Zettai Karen Children: Kaoru loves to see how much moe she can squeeze out of the other girls (she's the one who insisted on pleated skirts for their uniforms), especially when she sees that one of her school friends is not only moe, but Dojikko as well. Two other characters love moe anime too, but these Otaku are looked upon as weirdos.
  • However, the series' crown prince of moe is none other than The Children's handler, Minamoto. It's the glasses...and making the girls eat their vegetables.
• Sakura's mom in Code Breaker is a true Moe Blob: she's the size of a small child and loooooves playing dress up since she's Sakura's adopted mom, who knows how old she is. There's also Sakura's classmate Nenene, who is also very tiny (yet two years older then Sakura), has glasses (and Mismatched Eyes), and loves groping Sakura's breasts (she even names them).
• The flashback in the Black Lagoon episode "Little Soldier Girls" reveals the young Balalaika to have been like this. See for yourself.
  • Fabiola Iglesias is very moe, even when she's being badass.
  • Hansel and Gretel can also be very moe. And boy do they know it.
• Aruruw in Utawarerumono. Of course, once she gets to know you, she can actually be rather manipulative.
  • Also that clumsy angel Kamyu.
• Nel from Bleach, on account of being the most adorable little kid, and she's every bit as adorable in her adult form.
  • Orihime Inoue counts as moe as her big droopy eyes, spacy attitude, and eventual cutie-breaking sometimes overshadow her hotness. Her image song is just adorable.
    • Orihime is just absolute pure unadulterated freaking adorable cuteness, I dare you to try and deny it!
    • She's even more Moe now that the anime came back from the Zanpakuto filler arcs, with bigger eyes and rounder facial features.
  • Momo Hinamori just reeks of Moe. Cute and willowy, even her name sounds Moe Moe! Her Zanpakutou Spirit, Tobiume, being the one little girl of the cast, also qualifies big time.
  • Rukia also ^{[dead link]} fits this trope ^{[dead link]} rather nicely ^{[dead link]} as well.
  • Kotetsu Isane, the 4th Squad VC is very possibly the moest of them all in Bleach, and consistently presented as such.
  • Hanatarou Yamada, seventh seat of the 4th squad, is about as moe as a male character can get. When he got a volume cover, it was of him tripping over his own feet.
  • Also, Nemu and Ururu count.
• Cute characters such as Bridget (Guilty Gear), Mizuho (Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru), and Jun Watarase (Happiness!) are often considered moe. The fact they are all guys is incidental.
• Most, if not all, of the various Gundam series all contain a moeblob (or several). Tiffa Adill of After War Gundam X takes the cake for eliciting "I-wanna-protect-her!" feelings from the audience, thereby being very moe without even trying that hard.
• Yin of Darker than Black is like Yuki above another Emotionless Girl character who seems to fall into this both because of mannerisms and Woobie characteristics. Amber from the same series is probably a subversion. She looks and behaves most of the time like a very cute and cheerful young girl. However, this is due to the Merlin Sickness caused by her renumeration, and more importantly, her plan involves pretty much killing the entire population of Japan (although she has a somewhat justifiable reason).
• Izuru Hino from Change 123, with her Tareme Eyes eyes, cheerful smile, and gentle and peaceful nature. Here is her initial appearance. Later we discover that she is actually a Badass Adorable (see here for an example). And that those bunnies which she tended weren't exactly her pets.
• Allen Walker from D Gray Man is a male personification of this, along with being a Cute Shotaro Boy. He tends to exude a feeling of innocent cuteness, especially with his wide eyes. A common term used to describe him is "adorable" and "extremely huggable." It also helps that he's the series' woobie.
• Conan of Detective Conan. Of course, this is a case of Older Than They Look...
  • Also, Ai and Ayumi. And Ran when she's crying for Shinichi/Jimmy to come home.
• Train Heartnet from Black Cat, during the time when he got shot with a Lucifer bullet and reverted back to being a kid. Just the whole transformation exudes "Moe Moe" vibes. It's complete with his original clothes falling off of him because they're suddenly too big for him, he blinks innocently several times, and says "eh?" in a very cute, high voice. Later, he's even shown to be forced to wear Eve's dress temporarily, since no one else had clothes that were his size. The epitome of Moe Moe for a young boy.
• Any work (and I mean any work) done by Koge Donbo. Her series are made of sheer Moe Moe. Di Gi Charat, Pita-Ten, Kamichama Karin... yeah.
• Used with utmost hilarity and blatancy in Ultimate Girls, where the trope itself figures in the plot and is the source of the heroines' power needed to destroy the Monster Of The Day. It works so well with the cute and shy protagonist Silk, so much that she absolutely positively does not want the job!
• Rihoko in Witchblade anime is so adorable in the scene where she hugs the table stand when a fat barmaid tries to kick her out.
• Pino in Ergo Proxy after being infected with the Cogito virus can be the cutest thing.
• Cute Shotaro Boy Shin in Prétear is the youngest member of the Leafe Knights. He had to run from a brigade of school girls.
• If you don't find the eponymous character from Serial Experiments Lain to be creepy she can be very very Moe.
• Taiga of Toradora! won first place in the 2009 Saimoe contest. Think of it as the Otaku Moe Olympics.
• Though this could be said of many characters in Fruits Basket, Kisa is the most straight example.
• Mio Akiyama from K-On!. There's a reason why she's the most popular character, although Azu-nyan and Yui aren't far behind.
  • MOE MOE KYUN~!
    • Utterly epic explosion of pink hearts for extra points!!
    • This has unintentionally made some people mistake moé for anything that Tastes Like Diabetes.
  • Ui's Christmas flashback is a prime example of moe. Along with her sister, they can turn this trope Up to Eleven on occasions.
  • And there's Azusa winning Saimoe 2010.
  • For every character in K-on! essentially; they are so full of Moe their eyes are an adorable shade of pink. There isn't even any male recurring characters for crying out loud. The entire show is based on its Moe value.
• Ichigo of the Nico Nico Douga ONA series On-tama! never fails to have certain characters become extremely infatuated with her because of this.
• Suiseiseki from Rozen Maiden was the 2006 Saimoe winner, and by virtue of being her twin, Souseiseki qualifies as well, albeit in a different way.
  • Sousei was the finalist of the 2005 tournament, only to be beaten by Nanoha.
• Yui from To LOVE-Ru. Really.
  • Nearly the entire cast, actually.
• Most of the male cast in Ookiku Furikabutte. Despite being a sports manga, it's more or less the female-targeted equivalent of a moe show in that there are tons of quirky male characters and has a large female fanbase who...aren't there for the baseball.
• Young Gilbert in Pandora Hearts is moe (he's the little weenie clutching his head there), but the (cheerfully sadistic) people around him like to create situations that make him even more moe. This is taken to extremes in the first DVD omake.
• Strike Witches: Little girls with magical abilities that fly around in magic-powered boots to fight extradimensional evil. They grow animal ears and a tail when they use magic. The girls from Fuso (Japan) wear one-piece school bathing suits all the time, some others wear just a jacket and lowleg pantsu.
• Mytho from Princess Tutu is a male example. The Damsel in Distress of the series, with huge eyes framed with thick eyelashes, Mytho's lost his emotions and a good deal of his common sense—which means he's CONSTANTLY in danger. Fakir just can't seem to resist how helpless he is.
  • Our main character Duck fits the bill as well, with her flusteredness every time she gets around Mytho or gets turned into a duck.
• Azmaria seems to fit the bill in Chrono Crusade—in fact, the anime stripped down enough of her importance that moe seemed to be the only reason she was in it. (Disturbingly, she's also one of the characters that's easiest to find hentai of.) For the girls, woobies Chrono and Joshua seem to fit the bill.
• Fitting the Dysfunction Junction of the series, Kiri Komori of Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei is very moe, and one of the friendliest, most well-adjusted characters of the series, despite being an extreme agoraphobic.
  • There's also Maria who is moe even to the characters in the show. See the quote above.
• Komoe-sensei from A Certain Magical Index, doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Bonus points that she looks like a 10-year-old girl.
  • All of the Misakas in general.^[2]
  • Index herself is quite moe. :3-face, eats a lot, and speaks in such a way that tugs at your heart.
  • Kazari Uiharu from the A Certain Scientific Railgun side is probably her series' moe character. A bit clumsy and frequently gets played upon by her friend Ruiko, she has a fair amount of charm that can enamor the audience to her.
• Satellizer L Bridget from Freezing can pull this off quite well, especially when she has her glasses on.
• Chihiro Shindou, from ef: a tale of memories is both incredibly moe and very much woobie due to her condition. If one thinks that a girl with brain damage causing severe memory problems and missing one eye couldn't be moe, you'd be very wrong. Contrast this with her twin sister Kei, who is incredibly Tsundere (emphasis on tsun) and doesn't really fit the moe archetype.
• Kirika from Noir is very moe. She may be a cold-blooded killer, but you still want to hug her.
• Retasu from Tokyo Mew Mew possesses a few traits that could make her this.
• Lisa of The Sacred Blacksmith seems to have been put together to embody this trope, the ending theme of the anime only turns it Up to Eleven.
• Ai Kora has a few straight examples (all the girls in Maeda's harem have their moe moments), but also parodies this in chapter 15, when Maeda's friend and fellow parts-lover Shibusawa becomes obsessed with moe after a trip to a Maid Cafe.
• Aiko from ~I"s~ has shades of Moe. She's cute, adorable, a little helpless, sometimes goofy and more than once forgetful.
• Quite possibly all of the female characters in Kanon are arguably Moe. They all seem to have one quirk or another that just makes them adorable in their own way.
• The same is true of Clannad. Some of them (Like Kotomi) still manage to stand out.
• While we're on the topic of KEY, almost every girl in AIR qualifies as this, especially Misuzu.
• Assuming you don't hate her guts, C-ko could be considered moe before the term even existed.
• Kyrie from World Destruction is another male example. He can qualify in both of the manga and game version, but the Moe trait is especially apparent in the anime version.
• Franken Fran is a very weird kind of moe.
• Sena of Eyeshield 21 is extremely moe, though whether it's intentional or not is up to interpretation. Nonetheless, in a series composed of manly men with nerves of steel, the main character's small, frail body, big dinner plate eyes, and timid yet strong willed personality make him extremely endearing to the audience.
  • According to the coach of the Ojo White Knights (a stern man in his 60s), men in Meido costumes is quite moe. Cue the younger cast demanding Brain Bleach.
• Various characters in Fairy Tail will qualify here and there, but the grand moe prize goes to Aries.
• Ooyama, Tenshi/Angel/ Kanade and Shiina from Angel Beats!!.
  • Especially Tenshi. ^{[dead link]}
  • Yui definately qualifies, as well as Yusa, Irie and Sekine.
• Almost all of the main female characters in Rosario + Vampire have shades of this from time to time, and believe it or not, Inner Moka is probably at the top of the Moe totem pole, at least in recent chapters. Still, the rest of the cast all have their moments.
  • Fong-Fong is a male example.
• Misa Amane from Death Note is a pure moe blob. Girlish Pigtails? Check. Gothic lolita? Check. Zettai Ryouiki? Check. Girly pouty attitude? Check. Long light colored hair? Check. Yandere? Double check.
• Hinako from Training with Hinako. She's a buxom 16 year old whose main purpose is to innocently flirt with the viewer while teaching them how to do important things like how to exercise, have good sleep habits, and bathing, all the while providing lots of Fan Service. And in volume 3, she even introduces us to her loli playmate Hiyoko.
• Ranka from Macross Frontier. Hell, she once stopped an uprising by airdropping onto the battlefield and singing. The fighting Zentradi stopped dead.
  • Arguably a deconstruction where, despite her moé points (or because of them), she royally screws up in the last few episodes.
• Dengaku Man from Bobobo-Bo Bo-bobo. The little guy is adorable! Sure, he can be rather crazy, but...
• Toboe of Wolf's Rain. Let's see: adorable, shy, clumsy, quirky, instills the need to hug? Yep, all of the above.
• Asuka Sugo from Future GPX Cyber Formula is an early example of the trope, especially in the TV series and the first 2 OVAs.
• This trope is way Older Than They Think with most of the female characters in Osamu Tezuka's Dororo.
• Lum from Urusei Yatsura is a very early example of moe, like in the first episode when she's crying because she's in love with a jerk who doesn't love her back.
• Aka Onda of the short-lived animated adaptaion of Rec is an over 18 example.
• Most of the female charaters in School Rumble are moe.
• Jacuzzi from Baccano! fits this trope perfectly. He cries a lot, is super cute, and is completely nice to everyone. The Slash: Cloudy to Rainy lampshades this.

His appeal didn't spring from any sort of trustiness, but instead from the feeling that if left to his own devices he'd probably end up walking off a cliff somehow.

• Ellis from El Cazador de la Bruja (and to a lesser extent, Nadie) is completely moe. Taco song, anyone?
• Give Holo from Spice and Wolf an apple, I dare you. As a Trickster, she knows how to make good use of her talents. She also has plenty of woobie moments.
  • Nora definitely qualifies as well.
• In episode 10 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, it's revealed that Homura Akemi was an Adorkable example of this before taking several levels in badass during the course of her Groundhog Day Loop and becoming the antiheroic Stoic Woobie that we know today.
  • Madoka herself is an example of this, too, as well as Sayaka Miki, which just adds to the emotional whiplash when Sayaka snaps and starts gleefully cackling to herself while bludgeoning a witch to death.
  • Between her large breasts, being a Cool Big Sis, and her Cruel and Unusual Death, Mami also qualifies. She also won the 2011 Anime Saimoe Tournament. There's a reason why her last name is Tomoe...
• Sammy from Eve no Jikan is incredibly moe. Something about an Emotionless Girl coming out of her shell just tends to have that effect.
• Akari from Aria.
• The Red Dragon named "Rose" from Dragon Crisis is so incredibly moe. One simply cannot help but want to give her a huge hug every time she says something.
• Despite being adult, masculine-looking men, both Kotetsu T. Kaburagi and Keith Goodman from Tiger and Bunny are considered very moe—mostly because they are complete dorks.
• Several characters from Axis Powers Hetalia. Notable examples (remember, Your Mileage May Vary) include Chibitalia, Liechtenstein, Canada, Taiwan, Vietnam and Russia.
  • There's also Norway, Iceland, and Latvia.
  • Adult (North) Italy, too! Strike that, he's moe at any age.
  • Basically, just about every major character and then some. It's also proof that even male can be portrayed as moe.
• Mikado Ryuugamine from Durarara!! has several fan nicknames, one of which is Moekado. Of course, others include Mootkado and Bosskado, but that doesn't stop him from being adorable.
• Though she's older than most examples, Miranda Lotto from D.Gray-man easily qualifies after her makeover. Her insecurity is incredibly cute.
  • Lenalee has her moments as well, though she really doesn't need protection too often.
• Yune of Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is built to pull the heartstrings, and boy does she. She's tiny, has Yamato Nadeshiko qualities, always wears fancy kimonos, is occasionally clumsy, is adorably stubborn about being useful, and is emotionally scarred from intense guilt. Despite her overall maturity, her girlishness breaks through sometimes; she just can't see a cat without wanting to pet it!
• Erio Touwa from Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko. She's obscenely cute and acts half her age.
• Sawako Kuronuma from Kimi ni Todoke is definitely this from the audience's perspective. She's incredibly shy and innocent, and a bit of a ditz.
• Ika, the squid girl protagonist of Ika Musume. She's trying to invade the human world, but isn't taken seriously because she's just too darn cute (childlike, frequently ditzy, clumsy when tentacle-less, etc.) to really be an evil invader...right? Even when she actively attacks people, they usually just think she's goofing around.
• Melfina of Outlaw Star.

Comic Books

• The title character of Empowered is a rare example in an American Superhero comic.

ThugBoy: She's got this whole adorable, aching vulnerability thing going on... [...] I wanted to comfort her and tap that ass like it's never been tapped before.

• Delirium in Death: At Death's Door
• Molly Hayes and Klara Prast from Runaways
• Ignacia from Wildguard
• Squee from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac could be an example of this.

Fan Works

• And If That Don't Work? has Shinju Ayanami, It Makes Sense in Context. Imagine the Moe qualities of Rei and Shinji and add a healthy dash of Elegant Gothic Lolita.
• Chi and Chakra has Ryoko Saotome, a moe Blood Knight.
• Pretty much EVERY original character that Author Nearlover7 writes. And if you know her from D 2 Brigade, she's pretty moe herself.
• Word of God says that Aideen, the previous Fire Keeper is this, as well as Anacaona the very first Air Keeper in Keepers of the Elements.

Film

• David Bowie's character from The Man Who Fell to Earth—a fragile alien who proves highly, tragically vulnerable to the pitfalls of the human world.
• The ultimate western example would be Audrey Hepburn's adorably innocent Princess Ann from Roman Holiday.
• Chekov, from the 2009 Star Trek movie. He's developed quite the female following.
  • He's practically a live-action anime character with his enormous greenish-blue eyes; no wonder he's a Moe! That and his positively adorable accent (especially when the computer acts like a bitch to him).
    • "I can do zat! I can do zat!"
• Little Nancy in Sin City the movie. She is a lot cuter when seen in full color light in the bonus DVD features than in the black and white of the movie.
• Raven in Cecil B. Demented falls into this category in a weird way, but then, considering the actress...
• Bonnie of Toy Story 3.
  • An arguably superior choice (due to the fact that adorable and needing protection is part of its plot) from Pixar: Boo. Not that one.
• Both used straight and subverted when Wednesday Addams turns on the charm at summer camp in Addams Family Values. In just a few moments she blossoms from her usual drawn and dour self into a charming doe eyed lovable little girl.
  • The other children are visibly shocked. One remarks "she's scaring me!"
• Child!Hanuman/Maruti from The Return of Hanuman. Big girly eyes, cheeks, innocence, he's just so adorable.
• Bumblebee fills this, despite being a mechanical life form. Due to being the most humanoid of the robot cast, his movements moddelled after Marty Mcfly, the fact his horns are replaced with little bug antenas, he's given Prowl's door wings which act like dog ears, and his childlike enthusiasm at times. There's a reason many cried when he was injured in the first film and when it looks like he's about to be executed by Soundwave in the third. Possibly lampshading this, Laserbeak uses his aparent ability to change into anything to become a human child sized pink version of him to trick a small girl into letting him inside so he can kill her family.
  • Carly in the third film aslo acts as this, due to being more emotional than Megan Fox's character Mikeala in the first film and more playful.
• Chucky from Childs Play. Yes, he is a psychotic mass murdering Complete Monster, but he just looks so adorable in his doll body.

Literature

• Interestingly, there's quite an argument to be made for this trope being Older Than They Think; many of these character traits are actually found in 19th-Century Western literature (which was consumed voraciously once Japan opened trade with the world). The comparison isn't always exact (generally speaking, Victorian-era authors had rather different ideas about how to use this character type), but this character type actually shows up quite a bit more often than you might think:
  • The best example of this might be Cosette. The Animated Adaptations that have aired in Japan over the years seem like they might've cranked the "moe" meter for her up to 11... but, uh, nope, that's pretty much exactly how she was described and acted in the book. Especially once she starts getting abused by the Thenadiers, even the most stoic among us pretty much want to scoop her up and give her a big hug and tell her it'll all be okay. Valjean then does this, and you can't help but cheer. This fades a little when she gets older, but Victor Hugo still makes her seem quite vulnerable. And, uh, describes her toilette in some detail. Yeah...
    • Hell, on the subject of Les Mis, we can't forget to talk about Cosette's mother, Fantine. She gets knocked up and abandoned, debases herself in every way to help her daughter, and ends up dying of several diseases at once. Or how about Eponine in the second half, who ends up destitute, uneducated, and in love with Marius but with no way to really express it, complete with Verbal Tics? (Not to mention shot dead pointlessly?) Really, the only major female character who doesn't have some of these elements is Madame Thenadier.
    • Also, you'll note something about the above: "Anime Adaptations". There have been four different adaptations of Les Mis produced in Japan, mostly from 1978-1979, and every single one featured a significant focus on Cosette (usually as a little girl, but sometimes going into the latter parts of the novel). The 1970s ones were widely watched, and a savvy reader can imagine how Cosette was portrayed in these shows (which is to say: close to her novel depiction). Even though it's easy to identify when the trope as shown here "coalesced", there is a very, very good argument to be made that the current Japanese moe wave and its idolization all traces back to Cosette Fauchelevent, in a kind of century-spanning Germans Love David Hasselhoff situation.
  • Victor Hugo really had a thing for this kind of character. Esmeralda also fits this type, being an ingenue and woobie who goes through a horrendous Break the Cutie process until she dies.
  • Charles Dickens also dipped into this territory on occasion; Tiny Tim is another excellent example of this trope (and, in a rare case, applied to a male - even in the 19th century this was usually done to girls). In fact, part of the narrative purpose of Tiny Tim was to be moe in-universe to help Scrooge feel bad about the fact that he'd inevitably die unless Scrooge changed his ways.
    • Of course, Charles Dickens being, well, Charles Dickens, he then immediately set about subverting the trope. The Old Curiosity Shop featured the character of Little Nell Trent, who was moe turned Up to Eleven. The craze surrounding this girl is legendary; Dickens essentially made entire countries feel protective about Nell. In the end, she dies in the most ridiculous, overwrought manner imaginable, and Dickens did this deliberately in order to parody the overly-objectified young females of the day in fiction. Yes, that's right, Dickens essentially deconstructed moe a hundred and fifty years prior to Cardcaptor Sakura airing. How old do you think the trope is now?
      • Or as Oscar Wilde said, "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing."
  • Tess, the eponymous protagonist of Tess of the D'Urbervilles is another example. Put through so much pain that you just want to give her a hug, not to mention being chaste and pure (at first, anyway). Like a lot of examples from this time period, though, the end result ends up a bit tragic.
  • O. Henry loved characters like this. Half his female characters match the trope almost exactly.
• The first Dresden Files comic, Welcome to the Jungle features Willamena "Will" Rodgers. Meganekko glasses: check. Twin braids: check. Deer in the headlights look: check. Wants to be under the hero's protection: check.
  • Speaking of Dresden Files, there's the Archive; perfect memory of everything written since before ever, anywhere, and holds all the accumulated memories of the previous Archives, as it's passed down from mother to daughter when the mother dies, and Ivy, as the current Archive was named by Dresden, had the unfortunate luck of having it all pushed unto her when she was a child, and her powers rival those of the Fae Queens. And when Harry met her the first time, she was all business, until she met Mister, Dresden's cat, and she went into a full 7-year old mode. And in Small Favor, when she saw otters, she went into full 12-year old mode.
• In the Harry Potter books and movies, Luna "Loony" Lovegood is considered by some to be moe, even causing Anonymous to have the unusual reaction of "I want to date her and meet her parents" rather than "I want to have violent, squicky sex with her, then kill her"
• Twilight's Renee Dwyer, mother of Bella. She's described as helpless and childlike by her own daughter and if she hadn't met her baseball player boyfriend she'd be broke, starving, and wandering around Florida.
  • For that matter, Bella herself. No self-esteem, clumsy, likes being stalked, has no other purpose in life than to serve her husband and kid? American Moe to the max. But Your Mileage May Vary.
    • Some commentators have described Twilight as the Western, heterosexual equivalent of yaoi manga in its relationship dynamics, and it's fairly common to give the Uke moe qualities.
• Bertie Wooster frequently gets this treatment in fanfiction. He is entertainingly ditzy, goodhearted, and frequently in (temporary) distress due to the wacky Comedic Sociopathy-fueled schemes of his friends, and many female fans find him rather huggable.
  • Note that he has this quality in-universe, which is why he's such a Chick Magnet.

"I once consulted a knowledgeable pal," I said, "and his theory was that the sight of me hanging about like a loony sheep awoke the maternal instinct in Woman. There may be something in this."

• Unseen Academicals's Mister Nutt isn't classically cute, but he is a good example of the "adorably awkward" type of male moe character: shy, socially awkward in a polite, erudite sort of way, a real sweetheart but seriously lacking in self-esteem and generally in dire need of a hug. All this is rather incongruous, considering what he turns out to be. When Pratchett uses Our Orcs Are Different, he doesn't fool around. Also, despite the fact Nutt is gray-skinned and unattractive, Glenda sees something in him.
  • Walter Plinge from Maskerade as well. He's just so earnest in his gawky misfit-ness. Totally subverted by the end. You can call Ghost!Walter a lot of things, but Moe isn't one of them.
• Veesey-koosey from Corwainer Smith's short story Think blue, count two is a passenger in suspended animation aboard a interstellar vessel who as been selected to be part of the emergency crew not because she was good at anything but because she has a daughter potential of 999,999, meaning that anyone older than her would accept her as a daughter after a few minutes of relationship and because of that that person would be extremely motivated to save her life and hence the ship.
• Arya from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.
  • Specifically invoked by Shae during Tyrion's trial for murdering Joffrey; when she tells a (totally untrue) story of how he horribly abused her, the text says "As the tears rolled down that pretty face, no doubt every man in the hall wanted to take Shae in his arms and comfort her", which is practically the definition of Moe. The circumstances make it one of the most brutal subversions of this trope you're ever likely to encounter.

Live-Action TV

• Azkadellia, the Magnificent Bitch of Tin Man oddly enough has her Moe moments (Moements?). "Oh, Xora."
• Gaius Baltar in the reimagining of Battlestar Galactica is perceived this way by female fans.
• In a rare Live Action Lampshade Hanging in Ultraman Mebius, one of the GUYS' crew, Teppei Kuze, is the son of a rich family who has a maid named "Moe", complete with a short skirt and glasses.
• Kaylee Frye from Firefly. Whedon likes his anime.
  • Goes double for River. On top of being very Moe, she's also 125% woobie.
    • And as long as we're talking about Summer Glau, Cameron. The girl plays the Moe to maximum effect.
    • Summer as Bennett. So Moe that she threatens to create an adorable Moe singularity.
  • If we're talking about Joss Whedon shows, Willow, when she's not, y'know, evil. This is especially noticeable in the first few seasons.
    • For that matter, Tara. One of several reasons it was such a sucker-punch when she was killed.
  • Also Fred, especially with her ability to put more words in 3 seconds than any other person in the whole planet.
    • If Joss Whedon ever wants to conquer the world, all he needs to do is put Summer Glau, Amy Acker, and Alyson Hannigan in something together. The resultant Moe vortex will suck the planet in. Oddly enough, no one will complain.
  • In Dollhouse, Sierra's fan girl persona. Sierra's default state seems to be woobie.
  • Whedon also inverts his Moe girls. Willow and Sierra are cute and fun in day-to-day life, but when they're besieged by the Big Bad, asskicking ensues. River eventually is cured of her torture-induced insanity, single-handedly slaughters a room of Reavers, and replaces Wash as pilot. Fred's more a Hot Scientist than a fighter, but remember her Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the professor who trapped her in Pylea. Kaylee's the only complete. Moe of the group. Don't mistake cuteness for weakness, people.
    • Inversion? More like extra moe for Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds. Whedon's basically doing live action moe seinen.
• Glitch from Tin Man has moe qualities for many fans, due to the combination of his adorably quirky personality and traumatic backstory.
• Marlena Moreau from the Star Trek TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror." So cute. So seemingly cold and calculating, yet so abused and fragile under the skin.
  • Also Gem from the episode "The Empath." She never speaks a word, and all you see her do is take peoples' pain away like E.T.
  • Also, also, Jame Finney, the teenage daughter of one of Kirk's friends and a very emotional Shrinking Violet Pettanko with blue eyes big enough to drown in and a pleated miniskirt that screams "schoolgirl". When she apologizes to Kirk so sheepishly, you just want to give her a big hug.
• (Kelly) Erin Hannon on The Office
• In Densha Otoko, the eponymous character's Otaku friends mention the word "Moe" in front of Hermes, and Hermes, who is a normal human being and does not know what the word means, asks them, "Moe?" The friends think this is so Moe that they record her saying it.
• Small Wonder, a show about a Robot Girl living with her inventor and his family and making their lives a mess while being innocently cute. A rare American example of the theme.
• Lexie Grey (aka: "Little Grey") from Grey's Anatomy. Yeah, the one with the juice box... Not a virgin, but about as pure as a character can get on that show...
• To an extent Doctor Who's Jo Grant and Polly cover this territory at times.
  • Also, Amy Pond and her husband, Rory, who is Adorkable in human form.
• Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. Conspicuously the youngest member of the BAU, Reid's adorableness is frequently signposted by Matthew Gray Gubler's voice jumping an octave and random characters flipping his hair. The writers once devoted the first two minutes of an episode about another team member's grave childhood trauma to Reid performing "physics magic" with utter joy.
• Cat Valentine on Victorious.
• Zack Addy from Bones should count too. He was the young, innocent and socially awkward member of the squints (forensic geeks) and was like the little puppy of the team. Everyone loved him, sometimes more than the two main characters.
• Mei/Pteraranger from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. A pure-hearted, sweet, kind Warrior Princess who also possesses a high-pitched voice that would belong to a Moe character in anime, even though it might get on your nerves sometimes. Interesting that her Mighty Morphin Power Rangers counterpart is a hot Ms. Fanservice instead.
• Speaking of Power Rangers, Doctor K.
• NCIS: Abby Sciuto is a moe Perky Goth who frequently wears Zettai Ryouiki and pigtails. She doesn't have the moe personality though; being more of a Badass Adorable when threatened.
• Annie Edison of Community.
• Emma on Glee.
  • And even moreso than Emma, Kurt. If you took all the most adorable traits a twenty-year-old guy could possibly have and smushed them all together, you'd get Kurt's actor Chris Colfer.
  • Brittany! Her childish nativity and sweetness is an ungodly cute combination.
• Howard's girlfriend Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory. Seriously, she's a short, adorable blonde who wears glasses and has an incredibly cute voice, she's like an assertive live-action Mikuru with slightly smaller breasts.
• Alexis Castle from Castle.
• On Daddy's Daughters, Child Prodigy Galina Sergeevna (Liza Arzamasova) is a realistic-looking example of Moe Moe. She is an Adorkable Glasses Girl with Girlish Pigtails, Zettai Ryouiki, and Hair of Gold.
• The Inspector Lynley Mysteries' DS Barbara Havers - played by Sharon Small, she of the heart-shaped face and enormous green eyes - definitely qualifies as this, particularly since she is a "puppy" the world keeps kicking. Of course, unlike most kicked puppies, she bites back... but she gets over that eventually. (Well, mostly.) And that doesn't stop her 'kicked puppy look' from being one of the most effective on television.
• Sally Field as Gidget. "If you're in doubt about angels being real..."
• Parker, from Leverage. Partially as a result of her obviously Troubled Past and partially as a result of her endearing Cloudcuckoolander qualities, Parker's emotional pain seems to set off protective instincts in the entire team. Eliot even offers to kill a charlatan psychic for making her cry.
• Sometimes Shawn Hunter from Boy Meets World, but especially when he's 'Veronica' in Chick Like Me (S 4 E 15). She's just so shy and so happy to hear how pretty she is.
  • And Eric Matthews. Amazingly, another example of becoming more Moe when he's Chantelle in What A Drag (S 7 E 11). She's so sad when she is told that she's ugly, she actually cries for days until Topanga (not knowing Chantelle is Eric) says she has 'a beautiful spirit' after she gives her good relationship advice.
• Peggy Olsen on Mad Men; even when she becomes successful, she's just so damn adorable, you want to hold her in your arms and never let go.
• Babylon 5's Ambassador Delenn, despite being one of the most powerful sentient beings in the galaxy and more than capable of commanding a war fleet, can turn absolutely kittenish. Witness her private moments with John Sheridan, or any time she embarks on a passionately idealistic speech. This fits with her role as The Heart, as she is easily the most dreamy, romantic character on the show. Mira Furlan's dreamy green eyes don't hurt, nor does the fact that her nose goes all adorably wrinkled when she's confused or smiling.
• Toshiko Sato, from Torchwood (although we first see her character on a Ninth Doctor Doctor Who episode). A Hot Librarian, Meganekko, shy and timid, and has been in love with her Jerkass coworker for some time now, but has never been brave enough to pursue her affections.
• Joshua from Dark Angel is an unexpectedly adorable Moe. Maybe not in appearance, what with him being a seven-foot mutant dog-man. However, his sweet, gentle, idealistic personality and tragic story leave many just wanting to give him a big hug.
• Rather surprisingly, Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as a very young Stephen Hawking in BBC's Hawking inspires moe feelings in the female fanbase, at least if the comments on youtube and tumblr are at all indicative.
  • Perhaps this isn't too surprising. Viewed in terms of tropes and not as a historical documentary about theoretical physics, this is an Adorkable actor with a beautiful smile playing a Cute Glasses Boy-Stoic Woobie-Ill Boy-nerd who uses physics trivia and Beatles lyrics to flirt with the girl he likes.

Music

• Lala ^{[dead link]} (left), the Vocaloid singer for J-Pop/digital noise shotgun wedding わたしのココ. You think it stops there? Wait 'till she opens her mouth.
  • Possibly something of a Woobie as well; the band's webpage ^{[dead link]} states that she's a Shrinking Violet to the nth degree.
• Lights
• Damon Albarn of Blur most likely invokes this, particularly in the mid-90s. Just look at him. Awwwwww.
• Gorillaz guitarist Noodle has always been one in her way, especially considering the visceral art style. Here she is aged ten, fourteen and twenty ^{[dead link]} , complete with Cool Mask.
  • 2D also invokes this feeling a bit, particularly in Phase 3. He's definitely more Ugly Cute than anything, but his advanced Woobiehood and ditzy, laid-back demeanor make him... pretty damn lovable.

Newspaper Comics

• One male example who gets away with it because of his age is Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. Remember when the baby raccoon died? It was also a Crowning Moment of Heartwarmingyes,
  • It's when he wants to be, and it never works on his parents. Not even "Bambi eyes" work.
    • "Bambi Eyes," tend to lose the intended effect when one is using them to ask for a flamethrower.

Tabletop Games

• Sara Smith of Bliss Stage fame.
• The Warhammer 40,000 fan-character Cultist-chan turned into this once she got de-aged. Yes, a cultist of Chaos.
  • She's so cute she'll cahptoor your heart!
  • An unintentional example: The Land Raider is a ginormous uber-manly Awesome Personnel Carrier / Cool Tank, with multiple variations, each more badass than the last. The there's the Land Raider Spartan...
  • In a similar vein to Cultist-Chan, we have Lolicron, which is basically a Moe Personification of the necrons. And yes, she is adorable.
• Eberron's female religious leaders are adorable.
  • Jaela Daran has been mentioned many times.
  • Erandis Vol also practices knitting.
• The GURPS advantage Pitiable basically facilitates moe.

Something about you makes people pity you and want to take care of you. You get + 3 on all reaction rolls from those who consider you to be in a position of helplessness, weakness, or need (which never includes those with the Callous disadvantage). Taken in conjunction with above-average looks, Pitiable means you are "cute" instead of "sexy"; in combination with below-average looks, it means you are "appealingly homely," like a basset hound.

• The Collectible Card Game Weiss Schwarz uses moe as its primary selling point, allowing moe stalwarts such as the Lucky Star and Clannad casts to wage bloody moe battle against each other.

Theatre

• In The Phantom of the Opera, Christine is an perfect example of a Moe done well.

Video Games

• Recette, from Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, could only accomplish what she did because she was so lovable. It's even lampshaded in the dialogue. "That girl: something about her inspires people to care."
• Anveena from World of Warcraft The Sunwell Trilogy is practically the poster girl for this trope.
  • Pamela Redpath fits pretty well, too.
• Cream the Rabbit from the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
• Chihiro and Fuuka from Persona 3 qualify. Both are relatively plain compared to other female characters, tend towards shyness, and Chihiro herself is a first year and afraid of men.
  • Socially awkward? Check. Rough on the outside, squishy on the inside? Check. All in sharp contrast to his gruff appearance, Shinjiro Aragaki, of all people, fits this trope.
• Ayane from Persona 4 is even more so, as, in addition to being shy and unthreatening, she's mistaken for the main character's younger sister at the festival, has a perpetual blush, and just tries...so hard...to get better at the trombone, even though it's big for her, to catch up with the rest of the band.
  • And then there's Nanako. Just try not to fall in love with her.
  • Not to mention Rise. Yosuke takes special notice.
  • P4 also contains a fairly hilarious subversion using a character from P3, to boot: Chihiro, of all people, shows up during the school trip to Iwatodai, as the class president of Gekkoukan High. She isn't "moe" anymore (her fear of men, ah, having been conquered). Instead? She's now only about a half-step under Tina Fey in terms of straight-out hotness.
  • On the topic of Persona, P2's Jun Kurosu. Jesus Christ, just, Jun Kurosu. Even his first demon contact is called "Moe Face". Then there's the one involving Ginko putting Jun in drag and him looking so cute that the female demons adore him and the male demons are scared of him. Hell his official profile talent (amongst fortune telling and flower language) is CROSS DRESSING. Oh Atlus.
• From BlazBlue, we have Noel Vermillion, an adorably ditzy Lieutenant for the world government who, whenever you see her, you'll just want to give her a big ol' hug! Provided you're not a member of her Hatedom.
  • Tsubaki might be inching in this direction if she keeps getting mind raped the way she is, too. Though to a lesser extent than Noel.
  • Makoto has shades of this as well.
• Ilyana from the ninth and tenth Fire Emblem games is not only incredibly cute, but has an absolutely insatiable hunger. Several of the characters have reported her using her cute face and vulnerable appearance to swipe unsuspecting men's food.
  • FE 7 has Shrinking Violet Florina and Plucky Girl Nino, FE 4 has Rana, Yuria and Tinny; FE 8 has Myrrh, Neimi and Amelia and the third game has Chiki, Maria and Yumina. Thany from FE 6 is a subversion; she has a moe face, but timid and vulnerable are not in this girl's vocabulary. Fa and Sophia, on the other hand...
  • FE 1 has Caeda win over Roger the Knight with Moeness. Neat trick for a lance-packing Pegasus knight.
    • Ironically, many of the characters just listed can be complete badasses if trained up just right.
  • Nono from Fire Emblem: Awakening is something of a textbook example, being an adorable, innocent, seemingly young girl who speaks in the third person (Though being a manakete automatically makes her a Badass Adorable). Also, the fact that Awakening is the first game to give all of the unique units voices only boosts her moeness further.
• Fiolina "Fio" Germi from Metal Slug is a textbook example, safe for the whole "mass murder" thing. Doubles as Action Girl and Meganekko.
  • The game's eponymous battle tank is also very moe.
• Ibis Douglas from Super Robot Wars. She's not as moeblob obvious like Kusuha, but she actually became the champion of moe characters in the SaiMoe RPG 2006 contest. Maybe it had something to do with her Pettanko status; or her Captain Crash tendencies; or her love for cheesecake...
  • Setsuko Ohara from Super Robot Wars Z is quite possibly Ibis' Spiritual Successor in terms of Moe. She's a bit shy, has a very moeblob face, wears very short skirt, but quite possibly, the more she suffers beautifully, the more Moe and huggable she gets.
• In No More Heroes, Travis comments on a poster in his home - "Moe~".
  • And in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Shinobu says "moe!" on receiving items and will taunt enemies with "you've got no moe!" She also asks "what does moe mean, anyway?" while saving.
  • There's also Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly, the offensively moe Cliché Storm anime that Travis watches in both games. It needs to be seen to be believed.
• In the Touhou fandom, many jokes have been made about Yuyuko Saigyouji's power of absolute mastery of death and moe.
  • The recent fighting game where Suwako makes her appearance has taken the fanbase by storm with her moe, especially her animations.
    • For example. Yes, she is flapping her arms as she tries to fly. Adorable, isn't it?
  • A-hem. Yuuka Kazami is the original youkai moe~. You wouldn't be forgetting about her, would you?
    • The meme of Yuka being called "youkai moe" is actually from Word of God, but it also should be mentioned that Yuka is a flower youkai, and the literal meaning of moe is budding or sprouting (ie as a flower). Therefore, Yuka is less of an example and more of a victim of an Incredibly Lame Pun most English speakers won't get.
    • Make way for Kogasa, the new Youkai Moe~. How can you say no to a face like this?
• Nakoruru and Rimururu of the Samurai Shodown series are very much siblings made of pure concentrated moe. Nakoruru moreso, as she somehow got herself recognition as one of Japan's most moe characters.
  • Interesting fact is that when Samurai Shodown received an OVA, Nakoruru gets to be voiced by the actress who played Mei, as listed in the Live Action TV section above. So that means what's already moe, is dialed Up to Eleven.
• Polka from Eternal Sonata.
• Tsubaki, the storehouse keeper from Izuna Legend of the Unemployed Ninja.
• Eileen from Virtua Fighter.
• Aerie from Baldur's Gate II. Like her or not, she has all the markings of one.
  • Imoen is also VERY moe in the second game, when she reaches serious woobie status.
• No matter how much Zelos disputed in the Gummi-Skits, Colette Brunel from Tales of Symphonia is moe.
  • And so is Presea Combatir. And they're both Cute Bruisers.
  • There's also Estelle from Tales of Vesperia, full of so much Moe to go hand-in-hand with her Damsel in Distress role. In addition, she's adorably naive and gentle, though it wears off to a degree as the game progresses. She does start off as a girl who wants to make graves for every monster she kills.
• The Atelier has Pamela, a very cute Ghost Girl. No male or Mon could resist her charms.
  • Ah, but Pamela has no flaws. (Other than being, you know, dead. And surprisingly horrible in some appearances.) Vayne on the other hand, is extremely moe.
• The girls of Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors are either a combination of this, Fan Service, and/or The Woobie. Genki Girl Xiao Qiao in particular is so moe that Oda Nobunaga, of all people, pats her on the head in the Sengoku ending of Warriors Orochi. (It's All There in the Manual: Apparently she reminds him of his little sister Oichi, who was characterized similarly in the first Samurai Warriors game.)
  • Said sister is VERY moe, despite her Yamato Nadeshiko characterization in the later installments.
    • Dynasty Warriors 7, believe it or not, has Xiahou Ba. Cute big puppy eyes, innocent, baby face, and his quotes in battle radiate a sense of naivete.
• Carefree, cute, innocent Elena from Dew Prism aka Threads of Fate.
• Cute angel Flonne from Disgaea.
  • Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories has Yukimaru, the cutest ninja ever who looks younger than 20 years old and has a Verbal Tic to add to the moe appeal, zam. In addition, Hanako, the one little girl of the group, wishes to be a Demon Lord like Etna and would make the cutest Demon Lord ever.
  • The third installment introduces Raspberyl, the cutest Fun Size Badass Adorable Delinquent ^[3] in Nether Academy is very moe that you want to randomly hug her for no reason. Sapphire would definitely agree.
  • Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten introduces Desco, the Cute Monster Girl / Eldritch Abomination, who's easily the most moe character in the series to date. She's got a Verbal Tic, refers to her teammate Fuka as her "onee-sama", speaks in the third person, and generally ends up coming across as innocent and/or a goofball whenever she says anything, even when making death threats.
  • And from the same guys who made Disgaea, Marona from Phantom Brave.
    • Or simply put it, Nippon Ichi games love this trope to death.
• Starky the little alien in Chrono Cross.
• Space Invaders Extreme 2 Stage 5-D has, in the background, a cute girl dressed in an alien-like costume.
• Liara T'Soni of Mass Effect. Tali'Zorah nar Raaya is equally cute, but much snarkier and less of an innocent.
  • Though if you romance Tali as a male Shepard in Mass Effect 2, she gets so adorably flustered you can practically FEEL a Luminescent Blush coming through her faceplate.
  • In Mass Effect 2, a conversation between a Quarian girl and a Turian implies that Quarians in general instill this sort of reaction in humans ("It's always the same with humans: 'She gets sick easily! She's so vulnerable! I wonder what she looks like under that helmet...'")
    • This could be considered a Lampshade Hanging of the general fan adoration of Tali.
  • Legion. Yes, Legion, at least once he's opened up post his loyalty mission.
• Princess Zelda from Spirit Tracks. Somehow manages to become cuter in the form of an ungodly metal golem of ghost armor four times her size.
  • Zelda's moe returns in full force in Skyward Sword. The brighter art style and the fact that she looks younger than her Twilight Princess incarnation probably help.
  • For that matter; Toon Link, Toon Link, TOON LINK. He makes every game he is in about ten times cuter. You really want to cuddle him whether it's for his many endearing facial expressions or his adorable little battle cries.
    • Not to mention the Ensemble Darkhorse of girls like Aryll (Link's sister), Medli, Tetra... There's a reason why Wind Waker's cast is like an Unwanted Harem.
  • Midna from Twilight Princess, at least whenever she's not sporting a full on Slasher Smile or appearing in her (quite attractive) true form.
• Moemon is a Game Mod of Pokémon which replaces all of the Pokemon sprites with moe gijinka.
  • There are varying versions of the moe sprites for different hacks. Some are meant to be female-specific, while others could easily be mistaken for men if not for the gender symbol. A couple are male-specific, sorta, but not many.
  • In the main games, Fennel and Lyra (provided you aren't a member of the latter's Hatedom) definitely have huggable qualities.
• Alma Wade, at least in child form. Proof that, properly utilized, Moe can be scary as hell.
• Ruca Milda from Tales of Innocence, another male example.
• Okami: Origin of all that is good, and mother to us all, Amaterasu. AKA Ammy. AKA Fluffball. AKA Snowy, Fido, pooch, and Snowball. And Powderpuff. We all know she's a full blown deity reincarnated as a wolf, but dammit if she ain't the cutest thing in the world when she's wagging her tail.
  • Okamiden sees your puny example and laughs derisively at it. Then you look at this and say "D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"
• Miyu from Trinity Universe. She's a talented Starving Artist who is supporting her family. She is shy and uncertain. She wears A-Rank Zettai Ryouiki. And she's a Catgirl, complete with ears and tail.
• Valkyria Chronicles resident Moe Isara Gunther is also the squads tank operator, making her and her Bishonen brother the most powerful unit in the entire game.
• Asha of Monster World IV is ridiculously cute. She was also the least popular character in the series, unfortunately, owing perhaps to the Moe phenomenon not having arrived yet.
• Kingdom Hearts has Namine and arguably given her woobie status Xion. Ventus manages to be both this and a Cute Shotaro Boy.
  • And from the same game as Ventus, Zexion's "other, Ienzo. A Cute Mute who happens to be an orphan, and is just SO. TINY. His perpetual pout just makes him cuddlier.
  • Younger!Sora and Younger!Riku count too. Aww.
  • Kairi is still pretty moe by the time she grows up, but as a little girl? So precious.
• Nozomi Okita from Sengoku Rance is an unusual one: she has the usual Meganekko and School Swimsuit type things going on, but then she'll also turn getting raped into something funny and adorable.

"Moe!! A girl wearing glasses and coughing up blood is Moe!"

• • From the same game, Kenshin is a more traditional moe character when around Rance. The rest of the time, she's the Lady of War.
• Talim, Amy, and Xianghua from Soul Calibur. Tira could be viewed as moe if you like Yanderes.
  • Pyrrha joins the list in Soul Calibur V, although many players have griped that she comes across as forced.
• Devil Survivor is pretty heavy on the Moe (the better to freak you out with), but Amane Kuzuryu takes the cake. Her status as a Defrosting Emotionless Girl who gets royally screwed over by her father is enough to make her a Rei clone. And when you save her from Demonic Possession in her route, her return to normal is just adorable.
• Athena Asamiya from The King of Fighters was always a fairly cute girl in all of her appearances but for the moe qualities, was usually outclassed by other characters (such as Kula, Yuri, or Momoko). However, by the twelfth installment, she was redesigned and fell squarely inside the definition.
• The Final Fantasy series:
  • Final Fantasy XIII- Hope and Vanille
    • Yeuls in Final Fantasy XIII-2
  • Vivi from Final Fantasy IX is the best example in the series. He has many of the standard moe traits: he is clumsy, shy, young and innocent. Add in existential angst to justify his social awkwardness and a doll-like appearance and you have a character that most players just want to give a hug to.
  • Tifa from VII can get pretty Moe at times, especially when she acts so shy and awkward around Cloud.
  • Can't forget Yuna and Rikku from Final Fantasy X, especially with how Woobie they both are.
• Isabella in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Possibly Penny as well, although it's offset by all the crazy.
• Alistair in Dragon Age I. He is so innocent and shy, its adorable! Then he goes all knight in shining armor, or tries to, once you romance him a little.
  • When compared to food, one Dragon Age writer said Alistair is like "strawberries and cream, sweet and wholesome and delicious, and a little goofy." Another said he is like an apricot "Cute, sweet and just a little fuzzy."
  • Leliana is also terribly moe.
• Bethany in Dragon Age II. The face system seems designed to give her moe eyes if you make a custom face.
  • Merrill is a clumsy, sweet, shoeless, well-intentioned, Cloudcuckoolander doe-eyed innocent blood mage. She counts.
• The Waddle Dees in the Kirby series. They've been cute since the start, but have gained moe traits in more recent entries.
  • Heck, Kirby himself could qualify!
    • Kirby is so moe, even moe girls are moe for him!
• Rhyme from The World Ends With You. D'awww.
  • Even though you don't actually get to see her whole face, RG!Shiki is also very moe.
• Male Example: Lucas from Mother 3. He's only twelve or thirteen, incredibly shy, and a major Woobie, and many fans agree that he's incredibly adorable.
• Saki from Ar Tonelico 3. She's so Moe that she produces a Memetic Mutation.
• Golden Sun: Dark Dawn brings Sveta the Beastman Adept to the table. For starters, she's one of the most human-looking of the beastmen, with Pointy Ears, paws for feet, a very slight muzzle, and big catlike Green Eyes. But the true moe appeal of Sveta is her kind, gentle demeanor and huggably shy behavior (outside of battle), which is all justified: she feels guilty for the atrocities her people committed in their recent revolution. And then her brother uses her and her new friends to cause the Grave Eclipse, which doesn't help.
  • On the man-moe end of things, we have Prince Amiti of Ayuthay, whose sheltered upbringing has left him... endearingly oblivious to more complex matters of morality, as well as the matter of his not-so-immaculate conception. Then it becomes clear that Alex is the baby daddy, with all that possibly entails...
• The Maiden in Black from Demon's Souls; she is so cute that if you kill her, she will resurrect shortly after, and then apologize to you for not being able to die. The way she swings her feet on the stairs while waiting for you to get back is also nothing short of adorable.
• Guilty Gear has May, Dizzy (of the Shrinking Violet type), and Bridget (though Bridget is a unique circumstance and could be something else).

Visual Novels

• Shiki from Tsukihime tends to have a love of moe traits among the girls in the games. The doujins take this to whole new levels, creating his infamous line "So moe...I'm gonna die~!"
  • The female cast of the game are all quite moe; some just more than others.
  • Akiha, Arcueid, Hisui, Satsuki, and Len; arguably the most moe characters out of the lot.
  • Your Mileage May Vary with all of the above.
• The girls of Katawa Shoujo, who are all Disabled LoveInterests, but especially Shrinking Violet Hanako. Parodied in a series of yonkoma where Hisao's heart arrhythmia acts up on witnessing the girls being cute; they're literally so moe, it hurts.^[4]
  • In fact, the new moe rallying cry appears to be HNNNNNNNG!, imitating the character's heart attacks due to moe overdose.
  • Reiterating that Hanako out-moe's the others, that series of Yonkoma has most of the girls doing something to make Hisao's condition act up. Hanako's was just 3 Beat Panel of her looking at him, looking away, and looking at him again, apparently trying to work up the courage to say something.
  • Emi is also a step up from the other girls in terms of moe (and not popularity, unfortunately), as Hisao is already passed out from the beginning of the strip just from having a conversation with her. Of course, Emi herself is both completely flustered and moe at the same time in the proceeding panels.
• Ema Skye in the extra case of Phoenix Wright and her cameo in Ace Attorney Investigations. Check out one of her animation cycles if you want proof.
  • Really, any of your female companions fall into this in some way. Maya with her Adult Child naivete, Pearl's innocent ignorance of the world outside Kurain Village (and just being the one little girl in general), and Trucy Wright just all around. Even Kay Faraday, Genki Girl as she is, gets in on it sometimes with her charming ambition. It helps that all these characters have Woobie backgrounds.
  • Ron DeLite: Mask☆DeMoe.
• A quick answer: the whole moe game genre. Not that they are bad for it.

Web Comics

• El Goonish Shive shows us how not to do it: two moeblobs exceeding the critical mass together can make a moesplosion (cue speechless Diane).
• Hanners of Questionable Content.
  • And the author knows it. (Check the title.)
  • Marigold is as well, though to a lesser extent.
  • Marigold's anthroPC Momo is so Moe that she has a shocker built in to combat kawaii-related overload.
• Eve from Apple Geeks is a robot. She is also very innocent and very cute. "What kind of cat would you want?" "I want a lolcat!"
• Eerie Cuties brings us Chloe, the Meganekko Moe succubus who thinks that she's a failure as a Succubus.
• Anime News Nina parodies the phenomenon with "Melodic Summer Kuu-Tan," whose eponymous main character is a literal moe-blob, as seen here.
• Secret, from Keychain of Creation, with enough adorability that Keychain fanart about her is overwhelmingly more popular than Marena's.
• Kimiko from Megatokyo. "Rehhhh???"
  • Don't forget Yuki - she's a Magical Girl, she almost has no choice but to be moe!
  • Miho and Largo play a video game called "Super Moe Moe Moe Ball".
• Speaking of Kimiko...Masha Kinoko. Using the power of moe, she single-handedly melted any objection towards the introductions of original characters in the series and was considered too adorable to become the final boss of the series, which was her intended role in the story at the time of her introduction.

(Touhou Nekoyayou #50: A Maid's Work)
Tewi Inonymous: The unforgivable sin of fan works is original characters. DUH!
(Shenanigans in a Magical Forest 244: Masha: Wait, which her? PANIC!)
Tewi Inonymous: >Masha: Calm down, panicking will get us nowhere. Let's assess.

• • Moeshroom. Yes, she recieved a fan nickname because of this!
• Tifany from Precocious is considered this on the work page. Bud and Jacob comment on seeing her curled up asleep that she's "exceedingly cute!"
  • Yvette fits the role quite well also.
• Nepeta Leijon from Homestuck. She even warms /b/'s heart with her utter adorable.
  • Also, Jade can go into this category. Both she and Nepeta are clearly under Badass Adorable, though given the comic's cast...
  • You know what? Skip individual descriptions, all the kids, and ALL the trolls can count as Moe at one point, for a ludicrous plethora of reasons. Which makes the three trolls who are now hated and feared an especially interesting character study...
  • Clubs Deuce/Courtyard Droll is a Ditzy Ineffectual Sympathetic Minion with an F In Evil. This video is considered canon.
• Cuanta Vida has Anton, the panicky Meganekko medic. The CV fandom is usually ridiculously protective of the two main characters, so it really says something that Anton was immediately forgiven for working with Rojo to kidnap Bleu.

Web Original

• Sierra Manning in Survival of the Fittest, a cute emotional girl whose cuteness is only amplified by her lisp.
  • This trope could also easily explain why Orn "Dutchy" Ayers is so popular on the board. Dutchy is an Icelandic, free-loving comic book nerd who watches soccer and cries Tender Tears over the plight of third-world countries among other things. Add in his in-game posts, which makes many handlers see him as The Woobie, and his habit of wearing a Pointless Band-Aid over his nose, and you have a character who most of the board adores.
• Lonelygirl15. That is to say, Bree Avery.
• Codex of The Guild falls into more pathetic cute, but she still counts.
• MRirian became the second most subscribed person in Japan: for doing nothing but staring into a camera, looking incredibly moe. Really, almost all of her videos only staring consist of that.
• Jade Sinclair, codename Generator, of the Whateley Universe. Cute, Genki Girl, looks about ten years old even if she's a high school freshman, still fixated on Hello Kitty, ...
• According to Uncyclopedia, musicians such as David Ellefson, Varg Vikernes (Troubled but Cute), and Rick Allen (Bandage Babe) are considered moe by Heavy Metal fangirls.
• No mention of Erika Swanson of Erikas New Perfume yet? For shame. After using the Imported Alien Phlebotinum, she finds herself balancing tweenage social hardships with several infantile traits (Most prominently being the usage of diapers) and yet she still manages to be a Cheerful Child when not utterly embarrassed. Combine that with a shy, sweethearted nature and a pair of soulful Green Eyes, and she is 100% Moe.

Western Animation

• Betty Boop may well have been the original progenitor of the animated Moe character. The target audience of her cartoons was adult men rather than children, and she made popular the large eyes and other child-like facial features that are common on a lot of modern Moes. Also, she was voiced by Mae Questal, who at the time was very popular due to her cutesy voice.
• Adorably ditzy Magical Girl Hay Lin, from WITCH, IS this trope. Aside from Rei, one struggles to find a character who fits it so perfectly. If she's not being suggestive and adorable, she's being even more adorable and frightened, she's a slender little thing with a nice chest when she transforms but Pettanko leanings when a normal person. All she needs is blue hair and some bandages and she could be Rei's (much more chipper) sister.
• Jack Spicer of Xiaolin Showdown certainly qualifies as a rare western male example in his Butt Monkey moments. Only enhanced in fanon.
  • Omi is pretty moe himself.
• Starfire from Teen Titans. Murakami likes his anime. Glorious, friends!
• Ty Lee from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Peppy and childish with large eyes and even larger breasts!
  • Toph is also very Moe in appearance, although more of a Badass Adorable when you consider what she's capable of. As in, "Kick your ass to oblivion and then some with a bunch of rocks without even bothering to look at you" Badass Adorable. Doesn't deter a lot of fans from viewing her as Moe all the same, though.
• And then there's Baby Doll from Batman: The Animated Series.
• Futurama. Come on...if you were Leela, you know you'd date Fry in a second. None of that pussyfooting around. It's all his heart, and the fact that he is so very, very, very lonely, being the oldest human in the world by a very long shot. Plus, he's nice to people who don't give a rat's ass about him, for no good reason at all. What's there not to like? Intelligence? Overrated!
  • In fact, he's most adorable in his good-hearted loopiness.
    • Well, Billy West has had experience in doing the voices of awkward, somewhat dorky guys who can be pretty cute.
  • Or how about Leela herself? How can you not hear orphanage stories and not want to give her a hug? One eye or two, who cares?
    • What about Kif? With the big head, large eyes, small nose, girlish voice and the borderline Woobieness, he's downright adorable!
• Shego from Kim Possible turns Moe when she gets hit by an attitude ray, which changes her personality to the opposite of her current one. That lady on the Dark Action Girl page? That's her.Seriously.
  • Ron has his moments.
• Toki of Metalocalypse is the closest thing to Moe you can get in that series. He's so childlike, endearing, and you just can't help but want to hug him because he's probably the most sentimental of the group. And then there's his little song "Underwater Friends." However, he's also a good example of Beware the Nice Ones...
  • According to Uncyclopedia, Toki is an "archetypal moëkko character." (The Heavy Metal Umlaut is significant in this context.)
• Bubbles of The Powerpuff Girls.
• Lindsay from Total Drama Island. Peppy, innocent, sweet and has a very childish tone to her voice. Plus, how can you not love this face.
  • Also, among the new contestants, Dawn and Zoey. The former is a Luna Lovegood Expy, is the shortest girl in the season, has big, doe eyes, and a cute, squeaky voice. The latter is a cute redhead that has an endearing personality and a Friendless Background that would make anyone want to give her a hug.
• June from KaBlam!.
  • And Loopy.
• Oh God, Megan's cute little sister Molly from My Little Pony is the epithome of Moe.
  • A mislead witch known as Draggle from My Little Pony also qualifies, in ways mostly unlike those of Molly's.
• Klot from School for Vampires. Don't look at him - let alone talk to him - for long, or you'll find yourself offering him your blood voluntarily.
• Rudy, Penny, and Snap from ChalkZone.
• Jasmine from The Boondocks.
• Shadowcat from X-Men: Evolution. Kurt too, and Rogue, and Toad, and Amara, and the girl with the giant hands in the Morlocks, and to some, X-23, hell, lets just say half the cast.
• A number of characters from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Especially Mac.
• Fluttershy from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. So very much.
  • Hugely subverted in "The Best Night Ever" when she goes completely Cute and Psycho when the animals in the garden of the palace run away from her.
    • She was under a lot of stress at the time however, given that all she wanted to do was be friends with the animals and they just kept running away from her.
    • She could also be Yandere, which is still a branch of moe.
  • Apple Bloom is also very Moe, earning the Fan Nickname "Moe Pony" based on her first appearance alone.
  • Most characters from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic are pretty Moe to begin with. Heck, the entire show might be the best example of the "moe" concept catching on in western fandom today. Either way, many of the Ponies can fall under many different moe tropes, such as:
    • Rainbow Dash being a Boku-girl
    • Pinkie Pie being an Aho-ko
    • Apple Bloom being a Loli
    • Fluttershy being either typical moe, Yamato Nadeshiko or even Yandere, etc.
    • Sweetie Belle is adorably clumsy, has an amazing singing voice yet she's too shy to sing in public, the cutest voice cracks in the history of voice acting...d'aww!
  • Particularly notable is the episode "Green Is Not Your Color," where Fluttershy becomes a supermodel entirely due to her Moe appeal, complete with Enforced Method Acting so she always looks scared in her pictures.
• Numbuh 3/Kuki Sanban from Codename: Kids Next Door. Unflappably cheerful Genki Girl with an oversized sweater and a huge plushie obsession. D'aww. Even her Cute and Psycho side could be this to some.
  • Also her sister, Mushi. Too bad she turns evil later on...
  • Some consider all of Sector V moe.
• Jenny from My Life as a Teenage Robot.
• And on the subject of cute robot girls as listed above, there's also Penelope from Yakkity Yak.
• Sari Sumdac.
  • Skywarp from Transformers Animated is a Dirty Coward cloned from Starscream. The fans think he's adorable (maybe it's the constant fear combined with the likelyhood that he's the one who gets picked on the most that contributes to the Woobieness).
  • Bumblebee in that show, the G1 series, the film series, and the Prime series also count to some.
• Rapunzel from Tangled. Her mannerisms and personality make her the most adorable Disney Princess yet.
  • Not that there's any shortage of adorable Disney Princesses, like Ariel or Belle.
• The eponymous character of Sabrina the Animated Series.
• Isabella from Phineas and Ferb.
  • Phineas can be pretty moe as well.
• Patti Mayonnaise from Doug can be pretty moe.
  • The title character, to an extent. He's so adorably sweet!
  • Connie has her moments
• Cornchip Girl from Recess
  • The main six when they were in kindergarten were just adorable as well
  • Miss Grotke is a rare over 18 example of the trope. Personality speaking, she's like a misplaced Disney Princess. Sadly, a lot of her moe-ness is taken out of most dubs, where her cute, high-pitched voice is usually replaced with a lower, more boring one.
  • T.J. can be pretty moe sometimes. Most of the Japanese fans consider him to be very moe.
  • Gus is one of the cutest members of the main six.
• Agnes from Despicable Me.
• Heloise on Jimmy Two-Shoes. She is quite twisted, but even her Evil Laugh sounds cute. Jimmy himself too, he's just adorably sweet!
• The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes version of The Wasp counts, due to being the character with the most change from the comics. Her general appearence is adorable, her personality is hilarious, and her ability to Cherry Tap opponents into surrender adds to that. There's a reason she's the Ensemble Darkhorse of the group.
  • Ant Man also counts, as they avoid the mistakes many make in writing him by potraying him as an Adorkable Science Hero who gets excited at the prospect of mapping insect DNA and, unlike everyone in SHIELD and even some of the group, is a Wide-Eyed Idealist who really wants to help the super villains they fight and rehabilitate them into upstanding citizens.
• Butters from South Park. Loo-loo-loo, I've got some apples...

Entire series called moe

Notable Producers of Moe Series

• The animation company M.O.E. is named after and produces many such shows; some have more Fan Service than others.
• Kyoto Animation also has a knack for this. They made the series (Lucky Star, Kanon, Air, Clannad, Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On!} that are the zenith of moe.
• CLAMP, on occasion.
• Akiyuki Shinbo. Anything he touches will at least have clearly recognizable elements.

Anime and Manga

• Most of the female cast from Kanon. Even the fully-grown Akiko is just as cute as the teenage girls.
  • Ayu is especially notable for this. Looks much younger than other characters in the series, and she constantly finds herself in tight situations (eliciting her catchphrase "Uguu").
• Half the entire cast of Mon Colle Knights. Especially Beginner. Even Mondo and Luke (both male) fit this trope.
• Saki.
• Ichigo Mashimaro embodies this with all the subtlety of a thrown brick. It has four "younger sisters", all cutesy, strangely dressed, inexplicably endearing oddballs, although this is slightly subverted, as according to elder sister Nobue, Chika's only distinguishing trait is a lack of a distinguishing trait.
  • The author's deadpan delivery does keep the moe aspect within manageable bounds though, although the series certainly has its amounts of Squee—Miu and Nobue's intimate moment after Miu's open display of jealousy comes to mind.
• Kamichu! is an excellent example of the two different kinds of moe. Most of the show is based purely on the "protective feeling" school of moe, as the show is not "sexed up" in any way, and bears nary a hint of Fan Service. And then from left field comes the obligatory Beach Episode Lovers of the Sun. Gainaxing, Fan Service, and stretched-tight swimsuits suddenly leave the target audience at a loss. (Mumbles to self, "...was as disturbing as that Hello Kitty bondage doll ...")
  • The anime is mild compared to the Manga that came after, which is at times quite Fan Service-heavy. This often focuses on Matsuri, who is also depicted as much more well-endowed than in her anime-incarnation. The other girls get their fair share as well though, especially Yurie.
• Tsukuyomi Moon Phase, on the other hand, will provide your daily required dosage of Loli Catgirl Cute Monster Girl Vampire-chickage.
• The Japanese Transformers toy and manga series, "Kiss-Player", attempts to combine moe-type female characters with transforming robots. Reaction has been suitably mixed, with a large contingent declaring it the Worst. Thing. Ever. (It should be noted, though, that at least part of this reaction can be traced to the storyline, which involves evil robots with disturbingly phallic tongues who eat people.)
• Chobits.
• Azumanga Daioh could be a prototype; it came before moe, but it follows the structure of many modern slice-of-life moe series with its almost entirely female cast of quirky characters and emphasis on their interactions and day-to-day lives. Though unlike most moe series the focus is more on humor than cuteness and the girl's personalities are Played for Laughs instead of Squees. Special mention goes to Chiyo, Sakaki, and Kaorin.
• Di Gi Charat
• Uta Kata is a psychological analysis of human nature wrapped in a powerful, tear-jerking story of a tragic friendship. Oh, and there are various cute underage girls to look at along the way.
• A Little Snow Fairy Sugar
• Potemayo is about a boy and the eponymous, unspeakably cute, over-possessive, literal moe-blob he found in his fridge.
• Kamichama Karin. Seriously, even the Bishonen are moe.
• Bottle Fairy.
• Chi's Sweet Home.
• Chocotto Sister.
• Hidamari Sketch. You will fear for your nutbladder.
• And of course, who can ignore Moetan?
• Mentioned in Shikabane Hime - after Ouri falls ill, Keisei ills his room with posters and collectibles from the series Moe Warrior Zenbunose Puchi-tto. Ouri is rather less than pleased.
• Yotsuba&! by the same author as Azumanga Daioh.
• Axis Powers Hetalia is stuffed to capacity with moe goodness, appropriately, as its huge cast of characters consists of moe anthropormorphisms of countries. You've got your standard-issue "Hetare" (Hetalia is a contraction of "Hetare Italy," referring to North Italy, but many other characters also qualify), Tsundere (Germany, South Italy, and most notably, England), Yandere / Cute and Psycho (Russia, (arguably) Latvia, and Belarus), Cute Shotaro Boys (Sealand and Latvia), The Cutie (Taiwan), and various others. Listing all the Meganekko would take up half the page. England and Italy have been called tsundere and moe, respectively, in canon.
  • Also, Canada, WHY SO MOE? Even when some Canadians don't like this.
  • Lithuania comes damn close to being the most moe, if simply through having hellish luck. First, he's lackey to Poland, who has a good heart but is very selfish, then he winds up with Russia, and, just to top it all off, his crush, Belarus, breaks all his fingers in less than five minutes. Face it, this guy's entire life is made up of Yank the Dog's Chain moments.
  • This post on Himaruya's blog adds Chinese Girl Taiwan pretty firmly to the Moe chain. Apparently confirmed in the drama track of China's CD, where she's given a quite child-like and girlish voice.
  • So...would that make Mochimerica a literal moe blob?
• Binchou-tan is the Moe Anthropomorphism of various Japanese charcoals and, for some reason, aloe. Heartbreaking poverty and loneliness, mind-blowing cuteness, and incredible Scenery Porn ensue. On a cuteness scale of 1 to 5, it's a solid 11.
• Lucky Star lampshades moe characters regularly. The series as a whole is more of a parody of moe series, but can still be classified as moe due to it following high school girls who don't look a day older than 12 and are often portrayed as adorable. Its popularity also helped launch a moe subgenre that's best described as "four female moe-blobs hang out and do nothing in particular."
• K-On!. The series description can be summed up thusly: Four moe-blobs form a rock band.
  • The 4th episode may have hit a new peak in moe with Maid Mio.
    • Moe Moe Kyun~!
  • And just when you think it can't be topped, Azu-nyan arrives on stage.
• Petite Princess Yucie has all these cute princess candidates, but the moe gets turned Up to Eleven the moment Beth's fairy assistant Belbel appears on screen.
• Kokoro Library, even though it's fairly light on the Fan Service overall.
• GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class
• Pani Poni Dash
• Macademi Wasshoi
• Hanamaru Kindergarten
• Hamtaro
• Cardcaptor Sakura. It's debatable how intentional this was on the part of the creators, but its success with the adult male Periphery Demographic helped launch the moe craze of the mid-to-late 2000s.
• Project A-ko, many female characters (none of them including B-Ko) are subject to Moe.
• Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai!
• MM!!
• Tamayura
• Tantei Opera Milky Holmes
• Mitsudomoe
• Mahou Sensei Negima
• Working!!!!
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica. In addition to the art style, this series inspires the trademark huggable/in-need-of-protection feelings by putting the cute female characters through massive amounts of suffering, turning them into epic woobies.
• Strike Witches, which is most famous for taking a bunch of cute moe girls and putting them in uniforms that do not include trousers.
• A Channel
• Nichijou
• Dog Days
• Softenni
• Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi
• Yuru-Yuri sold itself as a moe comedy like Lucky Star or KON but with more overt lesbianism.
• Ro Kyu Bu
• So Ra No Wo To has been rebuked for cheapening the War Is Hell trope with Moe-ness. It has been called "Military K-On!" and subjected to many Dissimiles with that series.
• Inverted with MangaKaiji, the anti-Moe anime. Which wouldn't be mentioned except that its second season was expressly advertised as such.
• Fortune Dogs

Video Games

• Game Tengoku (also known as The Game Paradise).
• Behold the latest SpinOff of Gradius! Otomedius!
• Arcana Heart is widget-powered moe.
• All of Nippon Ichi's strategy RPG releases are cutesy enough to qualify as Moe.
  • Even Soul Nomad?
    • Especially the Demon Path
• The champ, however, has to be Pop 'n Music. Take your pick of literally dozens of characters, including one actually named Moe (which she is, in spades).
• Neko Blade
• Chip Chan Kick, a Bubble Bobble clone for the PC-FX.
• Touhou.

Visual Novels

• Another set of H-Games with actual plots and sympathetic characters is Key's works. Kanon and AIR have both been animated twice with all H-scenes removed and practically no fanservice, and didn't lose much; Clannad, which was also animated twice under the same contract, was completely clean in the first place.
• Wanko To Kurasou. Puni Plush art, loli doggirls and (for the most part) Sweet Dreams Fuel? Kitaaaaa!
• There's actually a whole VN genre for so-called "moege". Da Capo and its spinoffs, SHUFFLE!, Snow Sakura and Canvas2 are just some that this particular niche has to offer.
  • Speaking of Da Capo, remeber the character Moe above in the anime section? In the VN there's more to her than meets the eye, and it has to do with her unusual sleeping habits, if that alone is not Moe enough. She takes sleeping pills. Not because of insomnia, but due to a tragic incident in her childhood - there was a boy she liked, then one day he died. Overcome with grief, she made a wish to the magical Sakura Tree to see that boy in her dreams. Hence her need to sleep. Thus when the tree withers, she loses that wish, and just breaks down. Awwww

Web Comics

• Nerf Now moe-fies everything, including Team Fortress 2. While all the characters in TF2 are male (probably), the comic has male and female versions, and otherwise follows devotedly the Rule of Cute. It also has Moe-Anthropomorphized Zerg Girls.
  • Even Nerf NOW commented on Poppy from League of Legends when she was smacked with a cute hammer.

Western Animation

• ChalkZone
• The Powerpuff Girls
• The 1980's cartoon Hello Kitty's Furrytale Theater. No, it's not an anime. Tara Strong, the mistress of cute characters, started as Kitty on this show when she was 13.
• The Life with Loopy shorts on KaBlam!!
  • And the Henry and June shorts at some points. Because uh, the two main characters include a Cute Shotaro Boy and a Cute Bruiser.
• Care Bears
• Strawberry Shortcake - especially the first two incarnations (i.e., the 1980s specials, and the 2003 series).
• Rugrats, but moreso in the later episodes.
• The Buzz on Maggie
• To some extent, The Fairly OddParents.
• Kim Possible
• Wakfu has been described on this very Wiki as Gurren Lagann, "but with Moe Moe rather than Hot Blood." The main character is Yugo, a Cute Shotaro Boy with Cute Little Fangs, huge brown eyes, and a Nice Hat with cat ears. One of his companions is Amalia, a Rebellious Princess with a Flower in Her Hair who Does Not Like Shoes and harbours a deep attachment to her female bodyguard. Speaking of said bodyguard, even Evangelyne has her moments. It's important to note, though, that while these characters look huggable and helpless, they're anything but.
• Sabrina the Animated Series
• Liloand Stitch! From the Puni Plush art to the high octane Sweet Dreams Fuel, it drips of Moe at every corner. Especially Lilo.
• Madeline shows shades of this, oddly enough for a late 80's/early 90's show. A lot is done to ensure the tiny, cute heroines are as tiny and cute as possible.
  • "She may be teeny-tiny, diminuitive, petite, but that has never stopped her from being pretty neat..."
• My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, especially Fluttershy and Applebloom.
  • Also the original My Little Pony.
  • The jury's still out on My Little Pony Tales, though...
• Ruby Gloom
• To a certain extent, Phineas and Ferb.
• Doug, to an extent.
• Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends.
• Rainbow Brite
• Shirt Tales
• My Life as a Teenage Robot: Jenny, whose insecurities and innocence can be quite endearing.

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uguu~

1. ↑ That face... so cute... *Thought processes shut down*
2. ↑ Mikoto even won the 2011 International Saimoe Tournament!
3. ↑ in Demon standards, delinquents are those who do "good" things such as attending classes, give themselves homework, does volunteer work, donate blood, etc.
4. ↑ Except Shizune, who uses her foot