I will start by saying that my first anime purchase was not a Bandai releases.  It was the first VHS release of Pokemon by Viz.  Say what you want about that but I was young at the time that I purchased and I enjoyed that series back in the day.

Getting back on topic the first anime DVD that I ever purchased was from Bandai and it was the singles for the original Mobile Suit Gundam.  I purchases that first five single DVD’s back in 2001 for a little over $100 for them.  People now might say that is crazy to pay that amount but remember paying $30 for four episodes of anime on a DVD was the norm at that time.

For about five years the only anime DVD’s I had in my collection at that time were from Bandai.  This included most of the Gundam shows released at that time, minus Gundam Wing and any of the Gundam SEED stuff and the other Bandai stuff I had at that time was the Love Hina.  I spend a lot of money on the Gundam DVD’s over the years.  Hell I even pre-ordered the $200 set for Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam the one that had dubtitles.  Of course, at the time, I did not know that, but that is a story for another time.

I have always had a soft spot for Bandai Entertainment over the years.  Hell the Gundam franchise got me to expand my anime watching experience back in 2001.  I used to tape the episodes on Toonami religiously back in the day.  Hell I used to stay up on Saturday nights and watch Adult Swim (you know when the used to shows anime more often) when it first started showing before I had a job just so I watch Gundam 0083.  I used to also watch Cowboy Bebop when it first aired on Adult Swim because it was pure AWESOME.

Even with all of their mistakes over the years, (no company is perfect so I am more forgiving in that area), they ALWAYS had a soft spot in my heart for helping shape me as an anime fan today.  Now I know personally Bandai did do this just for me, but with putting Gundam on TV it helped me in more ways than one.  It helped increase a bond between close friend and me even more than before which was already pretty close.

Now I know there are people out there who are not fans of Bandai and are happy that they not going to be putting out any new DVD or BD’s after February’s releases are shipped out.  Regardless of your feelings for Bandai, keep in mind this.  People are losing their jobs over this.  People who contracted to Bandai will not have those contracts continued and they will lose their jobs.  This also affects other groups such as Bang Zoom and Ocean Group two studios that Bandai has used in the past for their dubs.  Bang Zoom will probably stop dubbing anime and just focus on video games.  Ocean Group on the other hand will still do some anime, but since they also do Western animation and video game dubbing, they will probably be all right.

So what does Bandai not putting out any more titles after February mean as a whole?  First, one of the oldest anime licensing group in R1 will be gone, which is always a terrible to see any group leave the scene especially one such as Bandai Entertainment.  Second, the three titles that they had planned to release this year Turn A Gundam, GoSick, and Nichijou will not be released this year.  The good thing with that however is that the rights for these shows go back to their original holders so there is a chance that these shows can still get licensed and released thought if any of them do it will probably be another year or so before we see them out in the R1 market if at all.  Third and this will be come into effect years later (or sooner depending on the license) is what about the shows that they currently have licensed.  Once they go, OOP is there a chance that a lot of the titles will get licensed rescued or will they be forever in the bin of shows that do not get another chance in the R1 market.  Lastly, and this is probably the most important of all is that less shows will be licensed in the R1 region.  Sure Bandai was not putting out the amount of titles that say Funimation and Sentai Filmworks put out every week but Bandai still put out titles.  With one company out of the picture that just means there is less of a chance that a show can be released.  Funimation, Sentai, Media Blaster, and the other groups can only license so many shows and put out so many shows in a year.

Now I have read on the internet that some people think that Bandai Entertainment in a few years can come back and start releasing shows again.  I highly doubt that this will happen at all considering that their parent company decided to pull the plug on the stuff over hear so I doubt that they would be willing to let them try again in the future.

In short, Bandai Entertainment leaving the R1 industry is a terrible thing to happen.  Three shows that were going to see the light of day (and I was going to purchase two of those three shows) in R1 are not going to see that now and maybe never see it.  Fewer shows will probably be licensed as a whole and fan favorites may never be licensed again once they go OOP.

If there is a silver lining to this whole thing, I have to give credit where credit where credit is due at least the anime titles that are going to be released in February are still going to be released.  I cannot say the same for the manga division though.

Like many people these days I get my news online from sites such as CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo, etc.  However, an article that I read yesterday caught my attention for all the wrong reason.  The article is called “This is how you buy a gift for an otaku.”  Upon reading the article in full it is easy to tell that the article should be labeled “This is how you buy a gift for a weeaboo”.

Now why is this you ask?  Let me break down this article a bit into why this article is misleading.  The third paragraph talks about a USB drive by that is based on GoLion (or Voltron if you have never seen the original series) The paragraph is as follows:

“It’s hard to go wrong with a gift like a USB drive, especially since there are so many cool ones for fans of Japanese culture. For instance, the Voltron 2 GB USB drive is part pose-able toy and part storage monster, ready to transport your files with attitude. Plus, he comes with a blazing sword, which has no other function beyond making you look that much cooler. Voltron Force, go!”

Now a USB drive is never a bad idea for any computer person or an otaku.  USB flash drives a great way to do backups for things like word or excel document or some pictures.  So what is the problem with this one?  First, this is a rip off price wise.  Looking at some other sites just for USB drives shows that I can get a 2GB USB flash drive for $5.99 at Tigerdirect.  So if I can get a normal one for roughly $6.00 why should I spend $37.00 one.  Second, you are buying for the name not the product.  But if you are asking yourself what type of drive can I get the $37.00.  Well you can get this 32 GB for the same price as the 2 GB Voltron one.

I am not going to go into every little thing that the article talks about since that would take up too much of my time.  Most of the items in the article would fit in with a weeaboo, which may or may not be an otaku.  The only items in that list that an otaku would probably enjoy would the two figurines that they discuss and the overpriced calendar.  However, a person who collects figurines would probably already have them either pre-ordered or ordered already.

Therefore, now that I have talked enough about what is wrong with this article lets us talk about what you could get an otaku for the holidays or their birthday whichever comes first.  First off, gift cards or gift certificates to places that sell anime or manga is never a terrible idea if you do not know what anime titles or manga titles to get a person.  Places that sell anime like Amazon.com, Right Stuf, Best Buy, RACS are just some examples of places that sell anime and manga excluding Best Buy which does not sell manga and RACS which I believe does not have gift certificates though I could be wrong.

For those who have large DVD and BD collections there are a couple of gifts that could benefit otaku and non otaku alike.  Shelving to stores DVD’s and BD’s are great especially those like me with large collections that are growing by the week.  Those who prefer manga over anime would also enjoy have bookshelves to stores their manga on.  If you are like me and do not keep your DVD’s and BD in their cases storage wallets are great since it allows ease of access for their BD’s and DVD and they are a lot easier to take around the house or apartment then a bunch of cases.

Maybe new shelves are not what they need, but a way to play those DVD’s or BD’s they own.  Blu-ray players have come down in a price lately so getting them a player so that if they only have DVD’s but plan on upgrading to BD’s in the near future then they are set to go.

I really could go on and on about what to buy an otaku, but I will end it here.  While I appreciate CNN for their news articles and their articles on geek fandom this article on what to get otaku is misleading and can easily confuse someone into thinking that an otaku and a weeaboo are one in the same.

1. I am thankful that we are still getting English dubs for some shows being released in North America.  In a perfect world all shows being released would have an English dub, but we do not live in a perfect world.  I am thankful that Funimation is still doing English dubs for the shows that they release.  I am thankful that Sentai is at least doing some dubs for their shows but A LOT less when they used to be ADV which in a way is probably for the best.

2. I am thankful that some older manga titles are being released again.  While I am grateful for Tokyopop bringing out many titles in their life, I am just as grateful if not more grateful to Kodonsha Comics for bring some of the titles that TP has released in the past and given a new life line in the English.  I am grateful that titles like Love Hina and Sailor Moon are being released again in English.

3. I am thankful for legal streaming.  Okay, so I do not really use legal streaming options because my laptop cannot stream well at all, but I am thankful that there are more legal options then there were ever before to watch anime.  This is great because not only can fans shows that either have never gotten an official physical release outside of Japan, but also watch the newest shows that come out of Japan each and every season.  Sure not every show being release is given a legal option but more shows than ever are given this option.

4. I am thankful for premium releases.  Times are tough for everyone including me; however, I am thankful that a few companies still put out premium releases these days.  Funimation has been doing this with the LE sets. Aniplex of America has been doing this with some imports and sets with a good amount of extra.   Nozomi does this with nice art boxes and some type of booklet about the series.  NISA does this with their first run of a series with a huge box and large book about the show.

Uh oh ..... Pull shade ..... draw curtains.

2012 & Third Impact: This Time For Sure!

October 21 has come & gone & it looks as if Harold Camping is wrong again (He has since retired & now says no one can know the time …..). No rapture. No armageddon. No world destruction.

And for us Evangelion fans, no Third Impact! As for me, good!

But wait! There is 2012. When the Mayan calender ends. Even though there are no indications that something would happen there has been much speculation about ….. THE END (Roll credits.). It’s all bullcrap but then again what a better time for Third Impact to happen.

So, when the ball drops on New Years’ & “Guy Lombardo” strikes up the band (Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s later. possibly 12-21-12. Can’t be too careful though.), be on the lookout for any hovering, blue haired, Japanese albino schoolgirls in the vicinity. Do whatever you can to avoid physical contact. Fight, run, hide, whatever. Just don’t let her get close enough to touch you. You may not like what will happen if you do. That’s my advice to you, take it or leave it.

So there …..

OK, so much for that. I can only hope somebody takes this warning to heart. I can only do so much to …..

Awww ….. Nooo! Not you ….. AGAIN?!. It’s not even Thanksgiving let alone New Years’. Why are you always picking on ME?! We’ve been through this ….. how many times already? Twice. Yeah, two times before & both times I’ve rejected Instrumentality & came back. The last time what was left of me dribbled under the front door & I rematerialized outside my apartment. BUTT NEKKID! Have you any idea how embarrassing that is? (Good thing the door was unlocked.) Come to think of it I don’t think you would …..

Look ….. kid. I don’t want Instrumentality. Really, I don’t. I don’t wanna be one with the greater “whatever”. I don’t care to be joined to the collective conciousness of the oversoul. I’m not into that communal thing. I’m also not into that fetishy schoolgirl look you seem to effect ….. & …..

Never you mind what I’m into! That’s not the point! The point is I don’t wanna go! I like it here. I like being here. And I like me just the way I am. It may be lonely & “painful” but that’s the way it is. I can take it.

Now I know I can’t outrun you, so I’m just gonna step right here in this here bath tub (Plug’s in? Good!) & pretend you’re not here. I figure if I reject Instrumentality beforehand, I won’t have to go through the krap of “transcendance” again.

Let’s see now ….. I’m in my happy place ….. I’m in my happy place ….. my happy place ….. happy place ….. happy place ….. happy ….. happy ….. happy ….. Aw darn it! ….. BLOOOOOSH!

burble ….. burble …..

LCL ….. Crisp & clean ….. no caffiene. Never had it. Never will!

Article copyright © 11-10-2011 Jay Agan

This article first posted at Jays’ Tee Vee.

The honest answer: Yes, panty vending machines exist in Japan. And I’ve seen one.

I saw my first and only panty vending machine at a hot springs entertainment complex in Odawara City. In case you haven’t had the experience of going to a hot spring, all you do is get completely naked, throw your clothes into a locker, scrub your body clean, and hop into different kinds of hot pools. When you’re done, you scrub your body clean again and go get your clothes. However, if you drip too much water on your clothes, or if your panties mysteriously disappear, or if they’re just too soiled, there’s a vending machine waiting for you. Now these panties aren’t the nice, cute-girl hipster types; they’re more like granny panties.

Though I’ve seen a granny-panties vending machine, it seems that panty vending machines are only in certain places, and rare at that.

In some places in Japan, you might be able to find some panty vending machines out in the open. More than likely, they’ll be tucked away between some cola machines or near a “pink” video vending machine dispensing porn. One blogger posted he found these machines on a lone street in Kumamoto. Lucky guy to be a witness to the cute panty vending machines.

Aside from this blogger, I’ve asked my Japanese friends about the machines. They seemed confused by the question– I mean, it’s not every day someone asks you if there are vending machines dispensing panties–so they paused before answering. “There are some near a roller coaster,” they replied. Not so shocking, seeing that some people pee in their pants–er, panties, so they have to get new ones asap.

As for used panty vending machines, my friends claimed there were none, along with a look of disgust. But supposedly, there is evidence that even they once existed before the government banned them in 1993, according to a  Snopes.com article. Schoolgirls would go to a porn shop, trade their panties for a pretty one provided by the shop, then they would go to school and return to trade back the soiled panties for their own underwear. I don’t get why people would want used panties, aside from stealing them from unguarded verandas as a joke, but supposedly that was done before the government ban.

So, for all of you curious fans out there thinking about “weird Japan”, yes, panty vending machines exist in Japan, but they’re not on every corner or street that your eyes will see.

Pop in the disc, we’re off…..

FBI Warning. The Fat Boys Institute! “If you copy this disc, we’re gonna be really sore at you.”

The MPAA is watching you! Wooooooooooooo!

You wouldn’t snatch a purse. You wouldn’t steal a dvd. You wouldn’t download a car. Piracy is a crime, me hearties. Arrrrrrrr!

Stockholm Agreement (Darn Swedes!): The UN on the job. Don’t watch this flick at church, school, lunch, on the can, or any where else we don’t want you to. Otherwise we’ll sic Interpol, KGB, Gestapo, Kempetai, DVD, BVD, LSMFT, LCL, & any other alphabet soup we can think of on your sorry butt. Don’t think so? Try us! We’re mean! Oh yeah. Don’t take this disc on an oil rig either. You might start another gulf spill.

Stockholm Agreement (Them Swedes again.): En Francaise. We bite our thumb at you!

Stockholm Agreement. Bore you to death en Espanol. Si! Si!

Stockholm Agreement (Now in Swedish.) Ja! Ve bane gonna put such a thump awn yew an ….. oh forget it!

3+ trailors of flicks you could care less & less about. Usually from the “independent” studio wot sold them to……

The distributing studio logo. Complete with fanfare, music, spfx, etc. Metro, Goldwyn, Golan & Globus present…….

If its an anime (usually a collaborative effort), 4+ logos of studios from 2+ other countries along with their respective fanfares, music, spfx, etc. (Banzai Visual et al)

The opinions, statements, commentaries, nasty rumors, & back bites on this disc do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, management, flunkies, & covert operatives of Yadda Yadda Studios, or of their respective affiliates & tax shelters. However, any distress on your part would be considered a plus.

THX! The audience is sleeping.

The originating studios’ logo. Also with its respective fanfare, mucous, and spfx, etc.

THE FLICK.

Do….. not…… get me started on the 15+ minutes of end credits. Who catered, who did the laundry, who was “with the band”, who…… SEE!? Ya got me started!

I know! I KNOW! You can always skip through it (or prestop, stop, then menu) (on some you can’t). But hey! I love a parade. Don’t you?

Article copyright 12-12-2010 © Jay Agan

This article was originally posted at Jays’ Tee Vee.

On Thursday a member of Funimation acquisitions team posted on their forums about the stats of two shows Higurashi: When They Cry, and Familiar of Zero.  Below is what was posted about these two shows:

Note: This transcript below has been edited from its original post.  Those interested in seeing the original post pleased clicked on the posted link above.

Hey, guys. I’m on the Acquisitions Team, so here’s your answer straight up. I hope this doesn’t come off as too blunt. Please understand that this is just how it is.

Whey They Cry has expired and is past the sell-off period. It was the only WTC series that was a part of the original distro deal with Geneon. We renewed the titles that were part of that deal that did sell well. We let expire the ones that didn’t. That inludes my beloved The Familar of Zero.

The WTC sequels and Umineko were not part of that agreement. We do not have the license to any of those series. Unfortunately, because WTC series 1 sold poorly, we will never buy the license to the sequels or any other title that bears even a minor resemblance.

You’re better off asking Sentai or Nozomi to do at least a sub-only of the other WTC’s. Heck, you could probably get the money together to license and distribute them yourselves. It’s probably not expensive anymore. If Umineko sold as poorly in Japan as you say it did, then go after that one. It’s not as big an undertaking as you might think especially if you pool your money.

Aside from that, the best thing you can do as fans is to buy series 1 from Amazon (so we can track it) and continue to post in the forum about how much you enjoy the show.

You can ask at cons or email Feedback, but do you know what will happen? Rojas will forward everything to me or my coworker. You’ve gotten through to exactly who you needed to, so mission accomplished. I’m aware of the series, and I love me some Sea Cats. Hell, I’ve cosplayed as Beato, and I’m playing the game. Unfortunately, I have to look at sales data, and signs point to not buying the sequels or Umineko and instead putting our money toward less riskier titles.

MasuraoTsukino and Audri are correct. #48 – well said, Audri.

Don’t worry. You guys aren’t like the Case Closed fans unless one of you has stalked Adam at a con including following him into the bathroom.

Funimation also mentioned that it would not seek out any title “that bears even a minor resemblance.”  Anime fans are quite upset about this and claiming that Funimation is being a dick by not releasing the rest of either series.

Now I write this part of the post as an anime fan and not as an anime blogger.  The news of this does sadden me since I am a fan of both the When They Cry and Familiar of Zero series both with the less than stellar dubs.  I have to give credit where credit is due and applaud Funimation for treating the fans like adults and giving an answer that is not sugar coated.  Funimation told the fans that it was not selling well for them and it is not going to get the rest.  There were no code words used or any type of industry talk, just straight up to the point used.  They respected the fans by giving the information that everyone can understand.

Now it has come from some anime fans that the “that bears even a minor resemblance” part is Funimation saying some dickish to the fans.  Now I don’t think that is the case, however Funmation should have worded this a bit better.  If this sounds familiar you might remember that Funimation had a similar situation with Big Windup where it did not sell well for them and as a result did not pick up the second season, or go after anymore sports anime.

Anime fans can scream and yell all they want about what happened with these two shows, but Funimation also has to look at the larger picture.  No company is going to dump a lot money into a show that may not sell well for them (well Geneon did but that is a story for another time.)

Now if this is what LCL was made of .....

Late Breaking News: “Expert” Predicts Third Impact To Hit May 21

Well not quite. Harold Camping of Family Radio claims to have calculated the exact time & date of the end of the world. His calculations indicate May 21, 2011 to be exactly 7000 years after the Great Flood. Since 2nd Peter, chapt. 3, verse 8 states “one day with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day,” and as God gave the world a seven day warning period before the Great Flood, he figures “Judgement Day”, will fall on that date.

While I think Mr. Camping is full of blueberry whack muffins (He’s been wrong several times before.), I feel a warning to be in order: When May 21 rolls around, be sure to steer clear of any blue haired, red eyed, female adolescents who may be “hovering” about. The individuality you save may be your own! Evangelion fans know whereof whom I speak.

To coin a phrase uttered by Charlton Heston in Soylent Green: “LCL ….. is ….. people!”

You have been warned. That is all.

Whew! Well, I’ve done my bit. When it comes time for the implementation of the Human Instrumentality Pro-ject, they better keep that wierd Ayanami kid away from me. I have no want or desire to be converted into so many ounces of Log Cabin. I really don’t need ….. What the ….. ! Hey kid! You really got some NERV comin’ here! Why I oughta ….. Whoa! Wait a sec! Your’e ….. No way! Get back! No! ….. Go away! ….. No! ….. No! ….. Aaaiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeee! ….. SPLASH! ….. burble ….. burble …..

L ….. C ….. L
That’s the name,
Flush your cares ‘n troubles,
Down the drain.
L ….. C …..Llllllll …..

This dire warning copyright © 5-5-2011 Jay Agan

Originally posted at http://jaysteevee.blogspot.com/

Funimation has done something quite interesting. They are probably one of the first anime licensing companies in recent years that has decided to take legal action against piracy. Many have accused the company of recklessly attacking their own fanbase, mostly due to the fact that more than half of  the anime community uses fansubs. That being said, I still have to side with Funimation on this particular issue.

Upon discovering the opportunities of Crunchyroll, Hulu, You Tube and the ANN player, I have tried to avoid using fansubs. The instance in which I would actually accept the use of them would be if accessing the product though legal or efficient methods was not possible. However, cases such as not liking ads or the quality not being in HD are not legitimate excuses for using fansubs. In fact, these are the main reasons why people don’t use simulcasts despite their availability. First of all, ads are necessary for a licensing company to make money off a simulcast, meaning without them, companies simply couldn’t make money off these shows. Second of all, the reason why simulcasts are usually not in HD is mostly due to the fact that the company wants to give you an incentive to buy the DVD or Blu-Ray. Unfortunately they don’t run a charity service , meaning that while it would be nice if they offered their best video quality, the reasons for buying a DVD and Blu-Ray simply wouldn’t exist anymore. I know I sound like a capitalist drone (Which I proudly am.), but if companies gave all their content away for free , then they simply wouldn’t have the cash necessary to keep licensing  more titles. Plus, as bad as this sounds, you were never entitled to any of these show in the first place, meaning that sometimes you do have to pay the price for entertainment.

Funimation ‘s main strategy with their decision isn’t to get rid of piracy, but to discourage it through a display of power that is this current lawsuit. It’s probably an empty threat, the legal costs of actually pursuing all of the pirates in the United States probably being insane, but it may scare a few people with the thought that they could be caught through a simple IP address. It’s also probably a promotional stunt that will result in quite a bit of attention, if not, maybe a few scared pirates. Funimation has every right to sue these BitTorrent users, as they are stealing content from them, thus resulting in the profit that Funimation receives from these simulcasts to be reduced substantially. Plus, before people start complaining about other regions, you have to understand that Funimation is only suing distributors in Texas, meaning this will have no effect on any other country. There is simply no legitimate excuse as to why anyone in the US would need a fansubbed version of One Piece when a decent quality sub is available on Hulu.

The only aspect that I found to be unfavorable was the fact that this will probably do little to actually stop piracy. Sure it may scare a few people, but it probably will do little to combat the negative affects that fansubs have on simulcasts. That being said, I still have to commend Funimation for taking the a step in the fight against piracy, no matter how small or ineffective that step may be.

The first person I ever heard say it out loud was Travis Touchdown in No More Heroes.

“Moe,” he gushed, slowly enunciating both syllables while he pawed a poster featuring three prepubescent anime girls.

I was familiar with the word and concept from reading Genshiken manga (though I admit I thought it was pronounced “mo” at the time), but I’d thought it stood for a general affinity for a character or object. Lately though, the more I’ve heard about moe, the more it seems to apply to a singular character type. Modern moe, in fact, appears to apply to just a select few anime titles.

As a female anime fan, I have a lot of male friends who are into these so-called moe shows, but I wasn’t sure if they’d apply to me: When the series’s audience is male otaku, what is the appeal for women? However, I enjoy shounen type anime as much as I do shoujo, so what’s the harm in trying?

In order to begin my first foray into moe, I crowd-sourced Twitter for some essential moe shows. I chose four: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-ON!, Toradora!, and Clannad. Based on watching one or two episodes of each, here’s what I think moe means:

Prepubescent features. Despite Travis’s prize poster, I was expecting moe to refer to women with hyper-sexualized features- big breasts and tiny waists. However, moe characters tend to be exceptionally young looking and acting. While they’re usually high school aged, their big eyes, thin frames, and – oddly enough – super deformed tiny hands and feet, they could pass for much younger. When older women, like mothers or teachers, are portrayed, they could easily pass for their students and daughters.

A sensitive male protagonist. Moe anime directors seem to go out of their way to make the male protagonist sympathetic. He is usually a quiet, reserved guy who has lost a parent. Because he’s usually a jaded delinquent who doesn’t fit in, he’s not sparklingly sweet like a shoujo anime male lead, but he knows what to do to attract that special lady. The obvious exception to the rule is K-ON!, which so far has no male characters at all, but I suspect a yuri protagonist eventually takes this position.

Quirky personalities. Every moe character falls into a type. There’s the class representative one, the energetic one, the quiet one, the spacey daydreamer, and most moe of all, the shy, embarrassed one. This last one seems to be the most desirable of all moe characters, and the general “fan favorite” moe character of each anime – let’s say Mio (K-ON!), Taiga (Toradora!), Mikuru (Haruhi), and Nagisa (Clannad) – possesses this personality type.

No overt sexuality. This is key. If this was standard anime, moe series with their multitude of female characters for every male character, would fall into the harem genre. But moe doesn’t ever address sexuality head on. The focus is less on sex appeal than on cavity-inducing cuteness. Even with characters like Mikuru from Haruhi who could fall into standard anime sex appeal standards, we’re treated to close up shots of her big, sparkling eyes, not her breasts.

From these four observations, I’ve deduced one very important thing: Moe is a genre, not a character design. It’s not just about appearance, or even just about character personality. Moe is an overarching theme that seeps into whatever else the show is about. Can moe be for women? It depends whether you’d find it distracting or not. While a moe anime may purport to be about a music club, the supernatural, or plain high school drama, the main focus is still on showcasing the cute, quirky, female characters. But with that in mind, don’t knock it ’til you try it.