No doubt some of my readers were around in the early 90s, those Wild West days when the anime available in English boiled down to “naked girls and ultraviolence on VHS.”  But believe it or not, discussion of moe existed then too!  It was just in a much smaller circle, restricted to academics and the Usenet crowd talking about a foreign culture.  Not to mention that moe itself was a very different concept.

(NOTE: The earliest ref I could find to the word “moe” was 2003 on Usenet [incidental use, meaning it may have come earlier in a now-lost source], 2004 in print [in an article dedicated to moe--  definitely not the first-ever mention, but the earliest Google Books can find].  Pre-2000 discussion of the moe concept appears to use words like “kawaii” instead, or just plain English.  This may be a case of bad memory.  But the search continues!  Thanks to bikasuishin for the help.  - 2DT, 26 March 2011)

Old moe.

Moe back then, like today, was hard to pin down, but the best examples to pull out in those days were Ghibli heroines like Nausicaa or Sheeta from Laputa.  In their bravery and struggle to do good, and in their simple, pure-hearted personalities did the mysteries of moe emerge.

Obviously, that isn’t how we see things today, but I don’t think that old moe necessarily died.  New moe just works differently, and maybe more effectively for popularity’s sake, because it’s a heady equation of emotional attachment created by sums of attractive parts. Hime-cut moe + scaredy-cat moe + striped panties moe + embarrassment moe = Akiyama Mio, or what-have-you.

New moe.

This is the reigning state of affairs in post-digital fandom.  It’s effectively the only state of affairs in western fandom, since we began to partake in Japan’s real-time otaku culture (as opposed to waiting through the import cycle) just as new moe was reaching its zenith.  There was nothing for new moe to replace, so it slid right into our subculture as-is.

That brings us now, finally, to the enigma of Nakano Azusa, aka “Azunyan.”

I was originally going to call this entry "The Amazing Adventures of Boring Girl," but that seemed too mean. Plus, you know: pot, kettle, black.

After watching episode 27 of K-ON!!, I finally understand the appeal behind her character.  Azusa’s polite, conscientious, studies hard and does her best at club activities.  Most of her interactions with the cast consist of trying to get them to do things properly (usually failing and getting caught up in it despite her best intentions, but still).  If there’s a Yamato Nadeshiko for children, she’s it: The quintessential Japanese “good kid.”

In other words, I believe she taps into a vein of old moe.

Now westerners like Azusa too, but not quite in the same way.  I believe it’s because Japanese fans are drawn to the old moe-ness of Azusa’s character in a way that western fans aren’t.  Not to say we’re blind to it, but I will say that we’re not nearly attuned to it as we are to new moe.  We like the little tan twin-tailed girl who gets forced to put on cat ears and drink out of a pink kitty cup. That’s how we’ve been trained.

Of course, it would be silly to deny that Japanese fans interact with Azusa on this level as well.  Even her nickname, “Azunyan,” is a reminder of her new-moe appeal.  But in my time here, whenever I’ve had a conversation about K-ON! with perfectly normal, non-otaku Japanese, 9 times out of 10 they would say Azunyan was their favorite.  I wouldn’t assume the same results in the west.

Why?  What could it mean?  The above is my best guess.

The Riddle of the Azunyan: What is good in life?