Wikipe-tan, a combination of the Japanese word for Wikipedia and the friendly suffix for children,-tan,[1] is amoe anthropomorph of Wikipedia.
Moe anthropomorphism (Japanese:萌え擬人化,Hepburn:moe gijinka) is a form ofanthropomorphism inanime,manga, and games wheremoe qualities are given to non-human beings (such as animals, plants, supernatural entities and fantastical creatures), objects, concepts, or phenomena.[2] In addition tomoe features,moe anthropomorphs are also characterized by their accessories, which serve to emphasize their original forms before anthropomorphosis. The characters here, usually in a kind ofcosplay, are drawn to represent an inanimate object or popular consumer product. Part of the humor of thispersonification comes from the personality ascribed to the character (oftensatirical) and the sheer arbitrariness of characterizing a variety of machines, objects, and locations as cute.
This form of anthropomorphism is very common inotaku subcultures. With the exception ofkemonomimi (which are human-like characters that have animal features), manymoe anthropomorphizations started asdōjin efforts. An early form of moe anthropomorphism is theGundam MS Girl created by Mika Akitaka in 1982.[3] Many anthropomorphizations were the results of discussions onJapaneseInternet forums such as2channel orFutaba Channel. The trend spread out ofdōjin circles as commercial anime and manga also prominently feature characters who are personifications of inanimate objects.
Themedia studies scholar Yuji Sone has argued that sincemoe anthropomorphism is usually personified bybeautiful young girls, it is an example of the outgrowth of otaku subculturalhabitus into sexual fantasies.[4] ThepsychologistTamaki Saitō regardsmoe anthropomorphism as an example ofmitate-e art due to its simultaneous use of bothhigh andlow art to provide additional, sometimes humorous, meanings.[5] Saitō also connects this anthropomorphism with a "desire for transformation" associated with theshōjo (girl) form.[6]
Kemonomimi (獣耳), literally meaning "animal ears", is the concept of depicting human and human-like characters with animal ears,[7] and by extension, other features such as tails.[8] Kemonomimi is often used in moe anthropomorphism, to depict animal characters in human form.[7]Catgirls and catboys are the most prolific and common in this category, although bunnygirls, foxgirls, doggirls, and wolfgirls are also common. Kemonomimi characters typically appear human except for added animal-like qualities. InHiroki Azuma's theory of otakudatabase consumption, animal ears are one type of "moe element," which is combined with other elements in a character in order to create an affective response in fans.[8] A notable franchise featuring moe anthropomorphism andkemonomimi isKemono Friends, which is focused on a myriad ofanthropomorphized animals in the form of girls and young women, ranging from real andextinct animals tocryptids andlegendary creatures. Another notable series isUma Musume Pretty Derby which focuses on girls as famous Japaneseracehorses. Mimiketto is adoujinshi convention dedicated tokemonomimi works.[8]
Whenmoe appearances are given to various creatures from folklore, mythology or fantasy, they are usually called monster girls (or sometimes boys). Their bestial traits may be fully retained, de-emphasized into mere personality tics or removed altogether. An early example of this is with the video game seriesTouhou Project beginning in 1996 which depictsyōkai and other mythical beings as young beautiful girls and women who use magic to unleash a barrage of intricate projectile patterns calleddanmaku, orbullet hell.[9] It was further popularized by such manga asMonster Musume andA Centaur's Life, and has grown into its own genre.[10] Rarely, the monster girls are relatively unchanged from their original form and personality, such asmermaids andcentaurides.
The fan-createdBowsette, a gender-swapped andmoe anthropomorphized version of theMario antagonistBowser that gives him the appearance ofPrincess Peach via the "Super Crown" powerup, became one of the most popularInternet memes of 2018.[11] The popularity of the character later led to otherMario enemies being givenmoe interpretations, the most prominent of which was Boosette (based on theKing Boo character).[12]
"Wikipe-tan" redirects here. For the information page on Wikipedia's unofficial mascot, Wikipe-tan, seeWikipedia:Wikipe-tan.
It has been suggested thatOS-tan bemerged into this section. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2025.
AlthoughChobits (2001) and Toy's iMac Girl (1998)[13] came first, thememe of turningcomputer-related phenomena intomoe subjects did not start until Shiitake-chan (しいたけちゃん), the anthropomorphization ofInternet Explorer'sStop button. The idea of Shiitake-chan came in 2001 on2channel, starting with a poster who claims he saw theStop button as ashiitake.[14] When Microsoft releasedWindows 7 in Japan, they included a theme pack centered around a personification of the OS named "Nanami Madobe" with voice samples fromNana Mizuki. Microsoft used another personification involving two girls named "Yū Madobe" and "Ai Madobe" to promoteWindows 8 in Japan.[15][16][17] As part of the market launch, a Facebook draw of 8 followers took place when follower count reached 80001; and total Twitter follower count for Yū and Ai reach 8001, where winners receive Madobe Yū and Ai-themed prizes.[18]
Elements of theJapanese constitution have been anthropomorphized intomoe girls, such asArticle 9, which prevents Japan from waging war, being "portrayed as a peace-loving girl."[30]
In 2010, users from the Breaking News board on2channel createdHinomoto Oniko as an anthropomorphism of the commonly used Chinese ethnic slur used against Japanese,Riben guizi (日本鬼子), literally meaning "Japanese devils". The character was made by the 2channel community in response to the growing anti-Japanese sentiment amongst Chinese netizens online, and has since become anInternet meme within Japanese imageboards and forums. In Japanese, thekun'yomi reading of thekanji which make up the racial slur can be interpreted as afemale personal name, and so the character is depicted as a young female wearing a traditional Japanesekimono, along with devil horns and akatana.[31]
Many online artists have depictedchemical elements as human characters in theirillustrations,webcomics andvideo games. Anthropomorphism of chemical elements is created more than that of chemical compounds. Notable examples are, a Japanese chemical company depicted their solvent products asmoe in an online webcomic and another one is an ongoing English webcomic about personified chemical compounds by a Romanian illustrator who works as adrycleaner[citation needed].
Habanero-tan, the unofficialmascot ofBōkun Habanero; and Bisuke-tan for biscuits thatKFC sells in Japan. The light novel seriesAkikan! has soda cans that magically turn into girls. Jelly flavors have also been anthropomorphized.[42]
Historic eras
A series of Japanese history books features anthropomorphism of historic events.[43][44]
Home appliances
Erotic computer gamesLike Life andMonogokoro, Monomusume both featurehome appliances as girls. These appliances includewashing machines,alarm clocks, blackboard erasers,pillows, first aid boxes,mobile phones, and evenpost boxes, among others. The very nature of such games, however, puts the main characters in unusual situations when the sex scene happens—such as essentially "having sex with the washing machine". Likewise, the manga090 Eko to Issho features girls who are mobile phones.[45]
Military hardware
"Mecha musume" (メカ娘,Mecha girls) are anthropomorphic personifications of military hardware, such asguns,tanks,ships,aircraft or evenmissiles, taking the form ofmechas, i.e. directly wearing the armament as robot elements, one of the earliest example being theGundam "MS girl" (MS少女,MS shōjo). Popular subjects of this kind of anthropomorphism notably includeWorld War II military vehicles, such as theWorld Witches franchise for aircraft and tanks,[46] or theKantai Collection andAzur Lane franchises for "ship girls" (艦娘,Kanmusu, abreviation of Kantai Musume).[47]
Vehicles
Notable trains which were drawn as girls include theFastech 360, often drawn with cat ears because of the train's emergencyair braking plates. Called "Fastech-tan", this particular "train girl" has its own collectible figure, sold with permission from theEast Japan Railway Company.[48] Thebishōjo gameMaitetsu and its anime versionRail Romanesque feature Railords, anthropomorphized train characters paired up with the real trains.[49][50]
AHong Kong Tram vehicle with the livery of amoe anthropomorphized character of a localsoy sauce brand
^Tamaki, Saitō (2011).キャラクター精神分析 ─マンガ・文学・日本人 [Character psychoanalysis ─ manga · literature · Japanese] (in Japanese). Tōkyō: Chikuma Shobō. p. 179.ISBN978-4-480-84295-4.OCLC709665062.
^abcPerdijk, Paul."Database Consumption".Japanese Media and Popular Culture: An Open-Access Digital Initiative of the University of Tokyo. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2021.
^Hidekaz Himaruya."Axis Powers Hetalia".www.geocities.jp/himaruya (in Japanese). Geocities. Archived fromthe original on August 3, 2012. RetrievedMay 30, 2008.
^日本史愛好倶楽部 [Nihonshi Alkō Kurabu] (2009).Nihonshi nenpyō: Moete oboeru shakai日本史年表: 萌えて覚える社会の常識 [Chronology of Japanese history: Learn society's common knowledge obsession] (in Japanese). Tokyo: PHP研究所 [PHP Institute].ISBN978-4-569-77299-8.
^Occhi, Debra J. (2012). "Wobbly Aesthetics, Performance, and Message: Comparing Japanese Kyara with their Anthropomorphic Forebears".Asian Ethnology.71 (1): 119.JSTOR41551385.For instance, an almanac of Japanese history by the Japanese History Aficionado's Club that spans the second-century Yamataikoku to the Russo-Japanese War (1904) introduces time periods and notable events, with each topic represented by its own moe-style anthropomorphism
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