Moe World Domination, Where do we go from here?

2024-07-17

Hello again everyone! Today I noticed my kitten has gone from a baby splat into a massive unit bent on the destruction of all flies in the world, for me that was a fun little thing to notice, and for knowing shes only a few months old and still growing, that tells me she might end up being at least 2-3 skyscrapers high. On that note, did you know that a lot of sanrio characters sizes are described via objects they like? Hello Kitty is 5 apples tall, Pom Pom Purrin is about 3 Puddings tall, etc, etc... If I had to describe myself by the length of something I like, I think maybe I'd be about 8 ink wells tall, give or take.

In any case, today's topic is going to be about the future, or more accurately, the present that is the future of Moe. A lot of the anime I grew up with had grand ideas about what the future would look like, partially this is because us middle eastern kids only really got things at a slower rate than the rest of the world for a while. I'd say my tastes and experiences skew 10 years older as a result of this discrepency, which means that I saw way more Y2K stuff than you'd expect from someone born after the turn of the millenium.

On watching Di Gi Charat, and picking up Chobits back up again, it really hit me just how much of the aesthetics of the time were rooted in these analogue futurisms, that fans of series like Star Trek or any Mecha anime are probably quite familiar with. There's really just something about seeing Chi get plugged into one of those old school sizzling tvs with those god awful 3 color RCA ports that itched a really fun itch in me, and I felt that joy of just how far things had come to that point. Now I'm not saying we should go back to the 'Good Old Days' where technology was a massiver pain in the ass than it already is (though making sure we keep that tech safe and archived is its own important and seperate topic!) but I am saying that this vision of the future, and what the world might be like, was part of what made series like this so interesting. Code Lyoko stands out as another really intesting series that dipped its hands into what the future might be like, or Techna from Winx Club, though their aesthetics don't tickle my fancy as much as the fisher-price plastic phones of other more Moe style series.

So then, what next? I'm not much of a believer in neo-nostalgia. while it can be really interesting and some incredible series and art movements have come out of it, the ease of commercialization doesn't make it palatable for me. It feels like a kind of pandering that comes out with the same old with less thought put into it every (re)generation of the medium. Plus, the idea that classic Moe has no home in current day climates doesn't sit well with me either! So what do we do? Reimagine old series with new specs? Or re-write the rules from scratch, to fit in with our new ideals, new tech, new feelings, and new people. We need a whole new purpose for moe and we need it now! ... or something along those lines.

In our modern day lives, I feel the best example of a new timeless moe that has appeared from the wood works might just be found in Pripara

Pripara is quite interesting, in that it gained a ridiculous amount of popularity while its contemporaries in the Pretty Series, Aikatsu, and Love Live, aren't managing quite as well with maintaining popularity with just a single version of the series, or one breakout character. I think a lot of that is owed to the absolute Moe Powerhouse that is Laala Manaka. I won't lie when I first saw her, fresh out of the Rainbow Live stupor, I was incredibly underwhelmed. There was just so much about her that was a massive departure from the previous Pretty Series designs that it felt like the two were barely connected. Now it has been years and she is still going strong, and I absolutely can see why! Her heart of gold, the ethereal feeling that comes with her, the soft shapes of her design, and that slightly bug-eyed look, all work together in harmony to create such a timeless classic that it's no wonder they keep coming back to Pripara just for her.

In general, Pripara has a really interesting point of view on what the future might look like from the space of a modern-day viewer. The world of Pripara so heavily leans on an explosion of color, community, and diversity, that it makes it a really great example of what globalization means for the world domination of Moe. Now, does Pripara execute all of this tastefully? Ehhhh......... not... really. There is a lot about it that I wouldn't really praise for anything, but despite that it still at least tries to include a wide variety of people into its folds. Young or old, thin or fat, no matter what you look like, there is probably a Pripara character that speaks to you. Between Leona's transness, Hibiki's nonbinary swag, Sophie's chronic illness, amongst many others, there's been a lot of characters that push on the folds of what an idol is, and who an idol can be. The idea that anyone can be an idol, but like, really, really anyone, and that all these people can still be a little bit moe doing it, is pretty cool! And while obviously Pripara isn't aimed at an older audience, it does feel like a great example of a reimagining of what makes Moe so powerful.

The power of cute girls to bring people together and aim for a brighter, happy go lucky future! A light in the dark dismalness of real life... or that's how I feel about it anyway ;3

Well, on a slightly related note, I tried my hand at redesigning my first sona to fit that Di Gi Charat vibe. How'd I do? I think I did a shit job of it, but it was a fun thing to give a go at anyway!

That's all I've got for you today. I'll be working on a comic tonight for a summer course I'm on, maybe tomorrow we can have a little talk about that, and I'll share my process on making it! Bye bye!!! x3

Currently Listening to: My rats sneezing in their cage.