Happy Moe Day!!!

Moe (もえ・萌え): Literally meaning “to bud” and a pun on the homonym “to burn”. It is used among otaku to mean getting fired up for budding young beauties. A character described as moe today is an amalgam of Lolicon and Bishoujo features. Most are infantile and bright and have massive, wet, dog-like eyes. They can seem almost animal-like, alien, or androgynous. The appeal of moe features relates to childlike purity, so it should come as no surprise that moe characteristics tend to be younger than Kawaii Bishoujo schoolgirls. The lolicon image is now considered too “real”, and too sexual, so moe is used instead to define a fantasy love or desire.