Budding
Moe, Infatuation
noun
What is a bud doing? It's budding! Literally, what else can a bud be doing except budding?
Moe is also a slang term for feelings of infatuation or affection that "bud" up in you, usually toward cute fictional characters. It can be an adjective to describe said cutesy characters too, especially ones you see in anime, manga, and video games. The term's a bit dated now, but 萌え is an important concept in otaku subcultures.
This word uses a kun'yomi reading you didn't learn with the kanji, so here's a mnemonic:
You feel a budding of affection for the character Moe (も). Yes, the old bartender character from The Simpsons. He's so cute and moe with that apron and curly hair of his, you feel a deep, protective love toward him.
萌え系
moe style
萌えアニメ
moe anime
萌えキャラ
moe character
萌えポイント
moe score, moe points
萌え要素
moe elements
このアカウントでは、萌え系を中心に、僕の好きなアニメや漫画を紹介していきます。
This account introduces some of my favorite anime and manga characters, especially the moe kind.
この仕草は、萌えポイントが高い。
This behavior scores really high on the moe cuteness scale.
このアニメは萌え要素が多いんだよね。
This anime has a lot of moe elements.
この作品はストーリーもいいけど、何より萌えキャラが魅力的だ。
The story of this work is great, but what really stands out are the adorable characters.