It’s recently been reported that one 14 year old girl from the Isle of Man has become a Japanese pop sensation and has been posted all over the internet. The youngster in question is one Rebecca Flint or Beckii Cruel if you are going by her stage name, has been strutting her stuff on the Akihabara idol scene since October but it’s only now it’s been drawn to the attention of the local audience because she’s now a ‘big star’. She’s been dubbed a ‘moe’ idol and an ‘otaku’ favourite because of this. If you are unfamiliar with ‘moe’, I’ll try and explain it as best I can because it’s a rather bizarre expression.
‘Moe’ (pronounced “Mo.E”, literally “budding”, as with a plant) is a Japanese slang word originally referring to a strong interest in a particular type or style of character in video games, anime or manga. “Moe!” is also used within anime fandom as an interjection referring to a character the speaker considers being a moekko (a blossoming or “budding” girl). It’s a fetish, plainly put but a mild almost innocent one at that.
The issue I have with this that this breakthrough is being reported as a ‘fantastic success’, breaking down cultural boundries, but no one has stopped and looked into the deeper meaning of it. Not there is a lot of this mind you; the UK news reports ‘moe’ to be “a type of manga cartoon character known for small faces, big eyes and slender limbs” (Yahoo News). As a result lines are blurred between those who know what ‘moe’ really is and what it has been reported to be. Joseph L. Dela Pena argues that ‘moe’ is a pure, protective feeling towards a female character, without the sexualisation of lolicon while Jason Thompson of ‘Otaku USA’ regards moe when applied to young female characters or people as being an offshoot of the lolicon phenomenon and the role of cuteness in Japanese culture. Scott Von Schilling sees ‘moe’ in the sense as being indicative of men in their thirties “longing for fatherhood”. In response to the growing otaku fetishisation of cute female characters in anime and manga, Japanese animator and self-avowed feminist Hayao Miyazaki has said “It’s difficult. They immediately become the subjects of lolicon fetishism. In a sense, if we want to depict someone who is affirmative to us, we have no choice but to make them as lovely as possible. But now, there are too many people who shamelessly depict (such heroines) as if they just want (such girls) as pets, and things are escalating more and more.”
So what would you choose it to be? Because it boils down to a non-sexual view of the young adult female form or part of a perverse Lolita complex, neither of which is very appealing and this information is not being portrayed in many of the news reports. Instead Japanaphiles’ who know more about the Japanese culture have sprung up and have started asking just what the hell is going on. This girl is a ‘weebo’ (Someone not of the oriental race that tries impersonate or emulate the japanese or japanime culture) and it’s plain to see to anyone who has a general idea of what Japans pop and geek culture is all about.
If any young girl can become famous by dancing around to Japanese pop songs in Haruhi Suzimiya costumes then I feel sorry for those of you that do have genuine dancing, acting and singing ability because this girl is making a mockery of the form. Regardless of what you might think, “Beckii Cruel and the Cruels” are set to storm the Japanese pop charts.
Futher reading:
BBC News – Yahoo News – Asahii.com
Beckii Cruel Youtube Channel – Jason Thompson – Jospeh L. Dela Pena
It’s certainly unfair for those who have real talent to be over shadowed by a girl, whose fuel to fame seems to be due to “Lolita complex”, worrying too.