moggling - an anime.manga.gaming imageblog

The more I have to pick images for Moe Mondays, the more I ask myself the question “What counts as moe?” Today I’m wondering if moe can be as simple as a forlorn look. This is Momo from Ballad of a Shinigami, by Nanakusa

Two classic Tony Taka style girls at the ocean from Sora no Iro, Mizu no Iro, ero-manga and anime

Both seasons of Rosario + Vampire seem to be pretty popular right now (though I’ll admit I haven’t watched either) So why not some R+V fanservice? Ooops, looks like she got that vanilla ice-cream all over her face. Oh dear, better lick it off. Unfortunately this image doesn’t showcase any girls with cute fangs, so expect a pointy-tooth anime girl post soon!

Today heralds the first Moggling music giveaway! In the Otaku Challenge, I promised to give away some fun tunes to keep you entertained while surfing the interwebs. So here they are! Download away I guess I could have put some Azumanga tunes to go along with the post image, but oh well!  >.<  You’ll find some fun Lucky Star remixes, Usagi Chang Superstar compilation, and more!  Oh, and don’t forget to also subscribe to my podcast or download the podcast mp3s.

It’s easy to make “moe” into a stereotype. So I have to keep reminding myself that moe can be more. So here is Yurie Hitotsubashi from Kamichu, taking a nap under a tree. There is something really endearing and sweet about this. Yurie is a teen goddess (kami) who is trying to figure out why she became a goddess and how to be a good one. More about Kamichu here.

It’s Labor Day today here in America. It is also Moe Mondays on Moggling. So to honor both, it is only appropriate to present to you some moe maids, giving their 100% for their master. Here we see distressed maids Sawatari Izumi and Sawatari Mitsuki from the He is my Master defending themselves against Pochi the alligator. This manga turned anime is total fanservice featuring the classic ‘adolescent rich kid with a harem of buxom maids.’

If the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi was set in the old West, Haruhi would probably be the mistress of a bordello that connects a gang of rebel cowboys, Yuki would be the quiet stunner that does sneaks around and finds out the dirt on people, and Mikuru - well Mikuru would probably work for Haruhi in the bordello >.< But this pic puts the Haruhi girls in more of the standard Western get-up, with hats n guns n spurs - which is also an excellent interpretation of Haruhi Western Django.

Cool explosion scene from Akira. Neo-Tokyo go Boom!

This art of Misato on a cute little motorcycle seems to fit in with Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s use of retro vehicles and his attention to their accurate rendering. For example, after a bit of digging, this bike turns out to be a Honda Monkey z50J from 1975 (Only sold to Euro / Japanese market). The only difference I can find is that Misato’s ride has a custom exhaust installed.

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is best known for the character designs in Gainax’s Neon Genesis Evangelion, but he has had a prolific career - involved in creating character designs for a myriad of material from Nadia to The Girl who Leapt Through Time. He has also published an artbook called Der Mond which I’d love to get.  The Wiki page can give you a thorough breakdown of his work.  All I have to say is, Ayanami Rei and Asuka Langley wouldn’t be as immortal as they are today with this fantastic artist. In this image, you can see the Rei and Asuka character styles in the hairstyles, faces and poses. The retro scooters are extra win.