Overheard on Twitter: Twilight Fans vs Moe Fans

So even as I type this, a fluffy of discussion is going on via Twitter. It started out with manga blogger Melinda Beasi, who noted that she has the Twilight graphic novel, and is looking forward to seeing if it deserves all the "flack" its received.


TOKYOPOP intern and manga blogger AllAboutManga replied that they wouldn't get as much flack "if they didn't create things like Edward panties or Edward body pillows," and Beasi pointed out-- rather rightly, I should think --that anime and manga geeks can hardly point fingers when it comes to being fans of body pillows and their ilk of product.

At this point TimMaughan, a sci-fi/manga/anime blogger, jumped in, suggesting that "at least some of the Twilight fans admit it's a sex thing, and aren't living in otaku style denial."

I won't go into great detail on the ensuing discussion, some of which is intelligent and interesting and some of which is little more than otaku RAGE!, but I found the comparison interesting. We've certainly talked about moe-- that indefinable mix of cute, needy, and (arguably) sexy --and we've also talked about the female side of fangirling (mostly fujoshi, BL fangirls). But the comparison of Twilight fans, fans of fictional characters who ooze angst, need, and sexual attraction while maintaining a stance of chastity (at least as I understand the first novel), to moe fans, who also dig needy characters, often with a sexual undertone, is a pretty interesting one.

I'm not quite ready to write up a full essay on the topic myself, but what do you guys think? Do moe fans have more in common with Twilight fans than they'd like to think?