From Japan

Otaku Terms Dictionary

From anime lingo and internet slang to modern Japanese expressions. Explore the words you'll encounter in otaku culture and everyday Japan.

Game

2 terms

Game

Kusoge

クソゲー(くそげー)

Kusoge (クソゲー) is slang for labeling a game as low in quality and no fun to play. The word shortens kuso na gēmu, meaning a crappy game, and is also written with the kanji 糞. It can also refer to the panned title itself. It is not only a put-down. The word has settled into a way of enjoying a flop and even cherishing it. It is never a compliment, though, so it should not be aimed casually at a game's creators or its fans. On Japan's video-sharing site Niconico and on YouTube, a large share of the uploads and streams feature someone playing a kusoge while giving live commentary. A game that only frustrates you when you play it yourself turns into entertaining content once a third party narrates it or shares it with others. The examples of so-called kusoge mentioned here are also games loved by many people and full of moments that beg to be called out.

OtakuInternetAnimeGame

Moe

萌え(もえ)

Moe is a slang term for the heightened rush of affection you feel when you are strongly drawn to a character from manga, anime, or games. It gets aimed at real people too, such as idols. There is no fixed definition; the word encompasses the whole feeling of adoring someone. Cute, precious, impossible to look away from. Thinking of it as a single word that folds in all those moments when your heart moves may help you understand. It began as the stem of the verb moeru, which describes grass and trees budding. As slang it works as both a noun and an interjection. What makes it distinctive is the way it pairs with traits. The pull you feel toward a character in glasses is megane moe, or glasses moe. Affection for a tsundere, someone who mixes coldness and sweetness, is tsundere moe. These endearing elements, like a little sister, cat ears, or a maid, are called moe zokusei (attributes) or moe yōso (elements). What you find moe differs from person to person, and there are as many forms of moe as there are combinations.

Otaku Terms Dictionary

Game

Kusoge

Moe

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