Yui is moe: Yui’s moe appeal
Posted: April 4, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized 7 Comments »
Nani?
And with the new KyoAni show K-ON! comes a new moeblob, Yui.
Now, “moeblob” is usually used to refer to an anime character whose only purpose in the show is to provide excessive moe appeal to the audience (thus, a walking blob of moe).
Well, here, Yui ain’t no Tsukasa. She is the only main character of this show, and is awesome beyond belief.
This post will examine aspects of her moeness and draw up comparisons to show the extent of her moe appeal.
The first thing I noticed (or rather, was thrust into my face) was Yui’s clumsiness.
Via wikipedia:
An essential quality of moe is that the [viewer] feels protective towards the character…
The clumsy girl stereotype in anime obviously plays off of this (Oh no, she fell down! I must protect her! …of course, this is done subconsiously, or you’re one weird person), and the beginning scenes with Yui’s watch and Yui falling down (as well as that later scene with Yui dropping the papers) are probably the most blatant portrayal of the “clumsy girl” character possible.
And moar stereotypes portray Yui as the ultimate in clumsy moe anime girls!
And then we shift our attention to her hair.
Hmmn. I’d say…
The hair accessory of Kafuka…
And the hair of Minorin (not to mention the pose).
Don’t mind Kafuka and Minorin. Yes, it’s actually like that, and I’m not a liar.
The hair accessory is a powerful thing indeed. It is nearly essential as an aspect of awesome moeness, and gives off childish vibes that make you just want to hug Yui and protect her. *cough* essential quality of moe *cough*
Yui’s small, cute, and badly drawn (screw you, inner critic!) hands make her seem smaller and more childlike.
It’s like…
“She can’t really grab much with those small hands, so I have to help her…”
“What if she grabs a knife and can’t hold on to it and drops it because I’m not there to protect her by helping her carry it?”
Facial expressions are the most important part of a moeblob (though not always of ubermoe characters in general).
No joke, Tsukasa definitely = Yui when it comes to facial expressions.
"I wish we were as moe as Yui..." "I know, right?"
They didn't believe me when I said that Yui is more moe than they are.
Washizu couldn't deny it!
Najimi went insane when I told her.
Osaka shed bitter tears.
Miku threw a tantrum.
"Yui is more moe than you." "nyoro~n"
tl;dr: Yui is the moe character of this season, if not of 2009 altogether (that is, until To Aru Kagaku no Railgun airs in the fall).
omg dude, awesome job. i love the anime insert references that you added. but yeah man, i havent seen moe on this high of a level since nogizaka haruka..which im kinda sad didnt get an honorary mention in this post BUT! no flaming has to occur, so everythings all good. i love the little ho ho ho noises she makes while walking, i love the facial expressions ALL OVER THE PLACE and most of all….i love the fact that i like the supporting characters almost as much as the main character. Tsumugi is awesome, not only is the name a carry over from kannagi as well but shes just down right damn adorable. Good review for an excellent and my favorite anime pick of the season.
Hahah, sorry, but I haven’t seen Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu yet! (It’s on my to-watch list, however…)
Actually, Tsumugi isn’t the same name as a Kannagi character (it’s Tsugumi, lol). I thought for a few minutes the same thing, but I soon realized that the two were different. :p
And yeah, the other characters are awesome. Mio feels like an insta-tsundere character, and Ritsu has some of the most awesome facial expressions ever (even more than Yui, jeebus!). Tsumugi has some… distracting eyebrows, but she feels like a Miyuki.
I simply cannot perceive how a moeblob can hold a guitar and rock on! Then again, this is Kyo-Ani, so perception is not required. This shows disorients my senses since in one hand, I have a childish feel for all four of them while on another, I get an impression that they are more mature than meets the eye. The OP and ED is a perfect example of this.
Tru.dat.
In my head, moeblobs are all like Tsukasa: the clumsy girl who just does cute actions and not much else. But to have Yui be the main character (well, so far) and to give us glimpses of her playing a guitar (and playing one the right way) is just mind boggling. It’s nothing like what I’d expect from Tsukasa… or any moeblob, really.
Oh, and I agree with you on the OP/ED thing, the ED especially. (At least the OP shows them doing some more schoolgirl-oriented activities :P)
but historically, if you go to a show like Marmalade Boy, you’ll find the main character is the clumsy one. Then again that’s shoujo, though I actually think the conversations in this show have a shoujoesque tinge to them..
I’ve not seen Marmalade Boy, but after looking over the summary/a few pictars, the feel that that show gives off is considerably different.
The main character may be clumsy, but she ain’t no moeblob (who puts a moeblob in the main character’s seat in a shoujo anime?) ….I think.
But yeah, K-ON! feels slightly shoujo at times, though it’s more of a shoujo + shounen = 0 equation.
[…] seen in this post, I am undoubtedly a Yui […]