English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
study aids published by SansaiBooks in Japan. Targeted at
otaku
is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorat ...
, it attempted to teach English words using examples drawn from computer games and
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
.
In the reprint of the first ''Moetan'' book and the bath towel sold during Comic Market 69, "MOETAN" stands for 'Methodology Of English, The Academic Necessity'. The
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
may have been chosen as a play on combining the words
moé
, sometimes romanized as ''moé'', is a Japanese word that refers to feelings of strong affection mainly towards characters in anime, manga, video games, and other media directed at the ''otaku'' market. ''Moe'', however, has also gained usage ...
and
-tan
The Japanese language makes use of a honorific speech in Japanese, system of honorific speech, called , which includes honorifics (linguistics), honorific suffixes and prefixes when referring to others in a conversation. Suffixes are often gend ...
, both terms of cuteness used in relation to girl characters in anime, to create a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words
Characters
* - Heroine of ''Moetan''. She lives next door to Nao and is infatuated with him.
* - The transformed version of Ink Nijihara, differentiated by the blue hair and duck costume.
* - A well liked but lazy high school student.
* - A magician in the magical kingdom, usually in the form of a duck.
* - A magician in the form of a pencil.
* - A magician in the form of an
eraser
An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from the material first used) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellum). Erasers have ...
.
* - A magician in the magical kingdom, usually in the form of a cat.
Voice cast (CD version)
*Ink Nijihara:
Yukari Tamura
is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Amuleto (formerly Arts Vision and I'm Enterprise). She debuted as a voice actress in 1997, releasing her debut single "Yūki o Kudasai" on March 26, 1997. Her role as Nanoha Takamachi in the ...
*Nao-kun:
Yuji Ueda Yuji or Yu Ji may refer to:
* Yuji Naka, is a Japanese video game programmer, designer and producer
* Yu Ji (painter), a Qing dynasty painter and calligrapher
* Yūji, a common masculine Japanese given name
* Consort Yu (Xiang Yu's wife) (虞姬; Y ...
*Ah-kun:
Masaya Onosaka
is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production. In 2010 he won the "Best Personality" Seiyu Award.
Onosaka was born in Osaka. He is known for his Kansai accent in some of his roles. He also the known voicing actor as Zhao Yun and Zhu ...
Moetan II
The sequel of ''Moeru Eitango Moetan'' was published in two volumes. It includes 1601 words.
''Moetan II'' is available in Chinese (Taiwan, Hong Kong) and Korean (South Korea).
This book is targeted towards serious, tutorial readers.
AKA -> (もえたん サブリーダー 〜文法·表現編〜)
Based on previous two books in the ''Moetan'' series, it teaches English grammar.
This book is targeted towards casual, tutorial readers.
Moetan 3
AKA -> (もえたん3 魔法少女の帰還〜Return of the Little Witch〜)
This version added poetry and Japanese culture. The book included two stories: ''Bill and Sam's Excellent Adventure'' and ''Return of the Little Witch''. ''Return of the Little Witch'' was illustrated by POP.
This book is targeted towards casual, entertainment readers.
Chinese version was published on September 9, 2006 by Min-Hsien Cultural Enterprise Co., Ltd.
This book features characters from first ''Moetan'' book.
Moetan Online
This is a series of phone applications published by Marvelous Liveware. They are available to
i-mode
NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet (distinct from wireless internet) service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocols, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail, and the pa ...
,
EZWeb
au, or au by KDDI, is a Japanese mobile phone operator. au is a brand marketed by KDDI in the main islands of Japan and by Okinawa Cellular in Okinawa for their mobile cellular services. au is the second-largest wireless carrier in Japan, wit ...
, and
SoftBank Mobile
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the Vi ...
Bandai Visual
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and f ...
, Planet Entertainment,
Actas
is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1998. It is currently a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Filmworks, which in turn is a subsidiary to Bandai Namco Holdings.
History
Actas was founded on July 6, 1998, by Hiroshi Katō and Jūtarō Ōba, who pr ...
, and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Incorporated produced a television series based on the book. The TV series premiered on Chiba Television on July 8, 2007, followed by
TV Kanagawa
(tvk for short) is an independent television station in Japan serving Kanagawa Prefecture and parts of the Greater Tokyo Area with favorable reception. The station was founded on April 20, 1971 and began broadcasting on April 1, 1972. Its call si ...
,
TV Osaka
is a television station affiliated with the TX Network in Osaka, Japan. The mascot character is "Takoru-kun" (たこるくん).
History
Television Osaka, Inc. was founded in 1981 as part of the reorganization of Tokyo Channel 12 Ltd (now TV T ...
,
TV Saitama
abbreviated TVS, doing business as is a Japanese fee-free terrestrial commercial television broadcasting company headquartered in Urawa-ku, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its intended coverage is Saitama Prefecture but with some s ...
, and
TV Aichi
JOCI-DTV, branded as , is a television station in Nagoya, Japan operated by the Aichi Television Broadcasting Company, Ltd. (TVA; ja, テレビ愛知株式会社, Terebi Aichi kabushiki gaisha) and is an affiliate of the TX Network.
Broadcast ...
.
Anime characters
;
:
:The protagonist of ''Moetan''. She lives next door to Nao and is infatuated with him. Even though she is 17 she is often mistaken as a grade-schooler, however she makes up for it with her high grades, especially in English. She meets Ah-kun who gives her the power to transform into the magical hero Pastel Ink; using a pink flip phone, her "magical girl transformation" uses ribbons to censor the "naughty bits". She transforms into a duck-like outfit with blue hair. Using this new power she helps the people of her city while also using it to tutor Nao in English. In episode 12 she has lost her magical abilities but still continues to tutor Nao under her own design of Pastel Ink and gets into the same college as he; she has not yet revealed to him that she is Pastel Ink. Ink's quirks are that she is very clumsy, often tripping over nothing, a trait she seems to have gotten from her mother; and becoming entranced to the point of drooling at the thought of being alone with Nao-kun.
;
:
:Nao is a well liked but lazy high school student. He is completely oblivious to Ink's and Sumi's feelings for him and in the earlier episodes doesn't even notice them. He has problems with studying English which causes Ink to use her magical form to tutor him at night. He starts to grow closer to Ink but it is not known if he has deeper feelings for her than friendship (though they are seen holding hands at the end of episode 12 & he said he was interested in her in episode 3) and he is unaware that she is Pastel Ink. He likes to play video games, which he sometimes does instead of doing his homework. It was revealed that when Ink went back into the past it was she who got him addicted to video games.
;
:
:A magician in the magical kingdom, usually in the form of a duck. He is a hopeless pervert with a
lolicon
In Japanese popular culture, is a genre of fictional media in which young (or young-looking) girl characters appear in romantic or sexual contexts. The term, a portmanteau of the English phrase " Lolita complex", also refers to desire an ...
fetish and often drools a waterfall when watching Ink change into Pastel Ink; his viewpoint isn't blocked by ribbons. It was revealed that he was framed by Alice as a peeping tom which got him banished to earth in the first place, this being because he couldn't fall in love with her as her breasts were too big. Arc usually acts as the comic relief. His real form is that of a young handsome man with waist long blond hair.
;
:
:Sumi is also in love with Nao and becomes Ink's rival. She is 17 years old even though she looks like a grade-schooler. She is very rich and has a spoiled attitude because of that. Sumi also has a notable love of cats, to the point where she has practically everything in her room in a cat image, even her own nightgown is a large cat suit (with a scrotum). She and Ink were friends when they were younger but for unknown reasons they broke apart (probably because of jealousy since she is horrible at English), even though Ink still tries to be Sumi's friend. A few quirks of hers are that the end of the long strand of hair coming from the front of her head usually portrays what ever she is feeling (!,#, gloved finger pointing); and that she usually falls asleep while studying, which results in her getting hit in the head with a slipper by her maid Ruriko. By the end of the series it seems that her crush for Nao has all but faded and she has started to develop feelings for her magical partner Ka-kun (he has feelings for her as well) and has become good friends with Ink once again. Sumi changes into her magical form Tempera Sumi using a red flip phone, through the use of stars, putting her in a cat style outfit with her hair turned red.
;
:
:A magician in the magical kingdom, usually in the form of a cat. He is Sumi's partner. Even though he also has a
lolicon
In Japanese popular culture, is a genre of fictional media in which young (or young-looking) girl characters appear in romantic or sexual contexts. The term, a portmanteau of the English phrase " Lolita complex", also refers to desire an ...
fetish it is nowhere as severe as Arc's. He usually gets a
nose bleed
A nosebleed, also known as epistaxis, is bleeding from the nose. Blood can flow down into the stomach, and cause nausea and vomiting. In more severe cases, blood may come out of both nostrils. Rarely, bleeding may be so significant that low blo ...
when Sumi changes. He originally blames Arc for his banishment, getting into many petty arguments with him, until it is revealed that it was all set up by Alice. At the end of the series he seems to have fallen in love with Sumi and his true form is that of a handsome man with short, spiky black hair.
;
:
:By day, she's a famous singing idol. By night, she's a magical girl just like Ink. Her partner is a rabbit who is seen shaking all the time. She transforms into a magical girl using a blue flip phone, changing through use of green glowing feathers, to hunt down Ah-kun for "sins" he has committed. She won't forgive Ah-kun and plans to destroy him, but now that Ink is protecting him, things might be difficult for her. It is revealed that Eternal Darkness, the true antagonist of the show, was sealed in her heart until it was broken when Arc cast her aside; having Arc and Ka-kun framed and banished so it would be easier to take over the Magical Kingdom. Alice was saved through the combined efforts of Sumi and Ink and her true form was revealed to be that of a beautiful woman with long green hair and an ample bust. Even though she dislikes Arc's perverted nature she is still in love with him.
;
:
:Alice's partner in the form of a stuffed rabbit, who wears a red top hat and constantly shakes. It is revealed in episode 10 that Na-kun is a young girl with the same body structure as Sumi and Ink, whom Arc drools over till being hit by Alice.
;
:
:Sumi's maid. A lovely young woman who always bears a calm smile, yet she is very strict when it comes to Sumi's studies, often hitting her upside the head with a slipper to wake her up. She has a keen eye, not being fooled when Sumi changes into her magical form. Yet even though she is hard on Sumi and not afraid to point out her master's faults, she acts like an older sister. She is very friendly to Ink and refers to Sumi as Ojousama.
;
:
:Nao's younger sister. She appears to have some kind of ability to predict the near future. She is an energetic girl and even though she pretends to be fooled, she can tell that Pastel Ink is Ink. Mio also likes the idea of Ink and her brother as a couple and secretly tries to set them up on dates. In episode 12 it is revealed she too is a Magical Girl named Magical Mio with Dandy as her partner; She transforms using an orange flip phone and changing with hearts, her hair turning blond and wearing a pink dog-like suit. Her powers are uncertain since Dandy defeated the enemy himself. Mio is more brutal to her partner's perverted actions than the other magical girls.
;: Ink's classmate. She takes the
stereotypical
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
role in a
magical girl
is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transf ...
series as the beautiful girlfriend to Ink. She has long hair and an ample bust. She adores Ink's little girl appearance and hugs her between her large breasts every time she does something cute.
;: Ink's classmate. She takes the stereotypical role in a magic girl series as the
tomboy
A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...
to Ink. She is the more level headed of the group and enjoys sports.
;: Ink's teacher.
;: Ink's mother. A very positive-minded young woman that is only a foot taller than her daughter. She is very clumsy, like her daughter.
;Dandy aka Da-kun
:
:A man wearing a brown trench coat and hat who is seen running from the same police officer in almost every episode (almost like a Zenegata/Lupin relationship). It is never explained why the cop chases Dandy as he is never seen doing anything wrong, and he even helps out Ink every now and again. This has been happening for some time, as in a time travel he was being chased by the same officer, and the officer was seen crying when it appeared that he was unable to arrest Dandy. It is later revealed that he is the King of the Magical Kingdom, and Mio's partner. He turns into the form of a small dog while still wearing his hat, and has a lolicon fetish as well (drooling and having a nose bleed when Mio changes, a combination of Arc and Kaksu's reaction).
;: The transformation item used by Ink, Sumi, Mio and Alice in the forms of cell phones.
Episodes
Takayuki Nagatani, a producer of the Moetan moe anime television series, posted on the official series blog that Episode 6 will be replaced by a highlight clips episode in Japan "for various reasons." Episode 6 will be only available on DVD, while Episode 5.5 "Sumi to Ruriko no Moetan Diary" ("Sumi and Ruriko's Moetan Diary") took over its broadcast slot.
Adaptations
Home page of the TV series hosted 4 square comic strip that are updated daily starting from 2007-07-09. 99 strips had been produced.
Beat Net Radio and Lantis web radio hosted ''Moetan'' Listening Radio, featuring Sumi and Ruriko.
Lantis sold ''Moetan'' audio drama CD on September 9, 2007.
Lantis sold soundtrack CD for the opening and ending songs of the TV show on July 25, 2007 and August 8, 2007 respectively.
Tetsuya Takahashi
(born November 18, 1966 in Shizuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese video game designer and director. Takahashi worked at Square (now Square Enix), in the 90s as a graphic designer and director, participating on some of their most well-received title ...
produced a comic book titled ''Moetan Magical Busters'', please save the world! (もえたん 〜Magical Busters, please save the world!〜), which was serialized in ''Moetan'' monthly magazine (もえたん ぷちげっかん) that is bundled with the August 2007 issue of Gamelabo magazine. The cover for the magazine was illustrated by POP. 4 volumes of the comic are planned. The book followed the design and settings of the TV series.
Video games
On August 9, 2007, Techno Quest Inc. published a vertical shooter, based on the ''Moetan'' franchise, for Windows XP titled ''Moetan Shooting'' (もえたん·しゅ〜てぃんぐ).
Moetan DS
It is a learning video game using design and cast from the TV series.
Preorder include DVD video.
Combat picture book
Hobby Japan
is a Japanese publishing company known for publishing and releasing books, magazines, light novels, games, and collectibles. Founded in 1969, the company owns and distributes such publications as the eponymous ''Hobby Japan'' magazine, as well ...
published Nijiiro Ink (from MOETAN) and Alice (from Nitro+ games?) as part of ''
Queen's Gate
Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road.
The street ...
'' combat picture book game series, which is based on the
Lost Worlds
The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century.
The g ...
game rules.
See also
*
Edutainment
Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...
Moegaku
is a series of English language study adventure games for PC and PSP developed by Studio Sagittarius. Based on the concept that was made popular by the Moetan series of English wordbooks, it tries to spark the interest of the player for langua ...