I believe that the appeal of moe is derived from the viewer and not the product. The basis of moe is in a person’s own feelings of doubt, insecurity, and empathy. Not necessarily that they are full of doubt and insecurity, but rather that they are very aware of its power.
Moe does not always address these feelings head on, but it frequently refers to them in its characters. Even the strongest characters are somehow weak, and weakness is okay for not only the characters, but also the viewers, is the message I believe moe gives.
I don’t think moe is the complete removal of reality and the real world because even the most simplistic of moe addresses the inner feelings of people, and emotions are a world that to any person are more real than the world surrounding them.
OGIUE MANIAX 
Konichi wa :o)
First of all : SORRY ! This is not an answer to your post, but rather a little “ask for help” ;o) I could not find your e-mail address, so I tried this way. sorry, it won’t happen again!
Hi, my name is Dirk, I live in Brussels, Europe, and I am doing a research to get my degree in psychological studies. I am in my last year at the “Université Libre de Bruxelles” ( U.L.B.). My research is about the look we people bring upon Japanese animation, depending on the culture we live in.
To be able to do this study, I will need the help of people and anime sites out of Europe, so I can compare these populations. I am asking you here if it would be possible for me to add a link on your site, where people will be linked to a site (in English) were they will see an extract of a Japanese animation, and then they will be asked to respond to a questionnaire. Do you think this could be possible? If “yes”, how should this link look like (for instance, what size should it have?)
I already got like 140 European responses, but only like 8 Asian ones, which is close, but not quiet enough for a research…;o) I hope you can help me to improve this :o)
If you want to have a look at the website, the address is : http://www.toba.lu/memoire
Thank you in advance :o) For further information and responses, please feel free to use my e-mail address.
bye :o)
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Wow, his comment is cooler than what I was going to say. Dirk, do you know how famous the Mannekin Pis is here in Japan? It’s bizarre.
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I am of the opinion that moe characters are weak not to validate the viewer’s own weakness, but to smooth away the viewer’s ‘feelings of doubt, insecurity, and empathy’ by making the viewer feel strong in comparison to the moe character. Moe is a prideful emotion.
But I could well be wrong, I’m no expert.
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hehe, no, didn’t know that it was also famous in Japan, the mannekin pis;o) Hehe, suppose they find it kawaii ;o)
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The appeal of moe is the drive to help, ne? Especially to socially disconnected, emotionally stunted otaku, ne?
kawaii (cute) is derived from kawaisou (pitiful).
For one who never has satisfying social interactions to be able to help a poor, yet adorable creature that everyone else has passed over, and perhaps receive gratitude, atttention, and maybe even love in return, is a strong draw.
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