Re: Anime Resource Thread
~General information on anime terms and culture~
Anime Genres and Classifications
While most anime can be described by traditional genres (action, fantasy, romance, drama, etc.), they are also often fall under other categories particular to to Japanese culture, or anime/manga styles in particular.
Age/Gender Demographics:
Shounen (also shonen, or shōnen): Shounen anime and manga are targetted at a younger, male age bracket, typically from childhood through late-teens. Much of the popular anime in the western world falls under this category, including
Pokémon as well as
Bleach, Dragonball Z, Fullmetal Alchemist, Death Note, and many others.
Shoujo (also shojo, or shōjo): The female version of shounen, targetted at the younger female audience, up through late-teens. While shoujo anime are not as prolific outside of Japan as shounen, there are some that are relatively well-known, such as
Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Clannad, and
Fruits Basket.
Seinen: Seinen anime and manga are aimed towards an older, male audience, and as such is more often willing to go into darker themes and are more focused on characters than action. Some well-known seinen shows include:
Ghost in the Shell, FLCL, and
Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Josei: The female version of seinen, josei anime and manga cater to an older female audience, and feature characters and situations that are typically more realistic than shoujo works. Not many anime fall into this category, but some well-known ones include
Paradise Kiss, Nana and
Honey and Clover.
Kodomo: Kodomo as a genre refers to anime and manga that are made specifically aimed towards young children. Well-known Kodomo anime include
Doreamon,
Hamtaro, and
My Neighbor Totoro.
Anime-specific Genres and Sub-Genres
Harem: Harem shows often feature a single male with a cast of many females and are usually romantic comedies (with varying amounts of either romance or comedy). There are also "reverse-harem" shows that have a single female surrounded by a cast of males. Popular harem/reverse-harem shows include:
Love Hina, Tenchi Muyou, and
Ouran High School Host Club.
Magical Girl (also known by its Japanese term "mahou shoujo"): These anime feature young girls with magical powers and are often well-known for their transformation sequences. Popular titles include
Sailor Moon and
Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Mecha: These anime feature giant robots and their human pilots. Some of the more famous shows are:
Gurren Lagann, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the various
Gundam series.
Sentai: Sentai shows feature a cast of super heroes, typically in colour-coded uniforms, though this genre is not as popular currently as it was back in the 80s and 90s. Oddly enough, the most famous sentai series in America is not an anime at all: the various
Power Ranger series.
Saint Seiya and
Bubblegum Crisis are two examples of this style of anime, and
Excel Saga and
Shinesman both parody the concept.
Slice of Life: These anime usually feature characters going through their every-day lives and tend to be more conversation- and/or character-based.
Azumanga Daioh, Yotsuba&!, and
Lucky Star.
Anime Formats:
Different anime fall into different formats, based on how they were originally released in Japan.
TV Series: TV Series are the most common anime format. These anime were produced to be shown on broadcast TV and are often at least 13 episodes long, with a single episode lasting approximately 20 minutes. A typical TV series will have 26 episodes (a standard Japanese TV season length), but many popular series are longer, spanning the length of several TV seasons.
Movie: Just like live-action movies, anime movies are typically shown in theatres and then later released on DVD. Some anime movies are stand-alones (such as the movies made by Studio Ghibli), others are released as side-stories or sequels to other series, as is the case with the
Pokémon movies.
OVA (Original Video Animation): OVA anime are produced for direct sales and are not broadcast on live TV. Because they do not have to fit into the standards for television broadcast, OVA anime do not have a standardized length, either in number of episodes or length of episodes. OVAs also typically have a higher budget and more freedom than a traditional TV series, though they tend to be shorter as well (the average length is 4-8 episodes). OVA can be created after the completion of a series (either to create a more complete ending, or to explore characters and side situations), or they can sometimes come before a series to gauge interest. Many OVA are also created with no relationship to traditional TV series at all.
ONA (Original Net Animation): ONA is the more "modern" version of OVA, anime that are released directly through the internet, either on YouTube or the producer's website. Sometimes ONAs are later shown on TV as well.
Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon is considered an ONA, since it was first shown in Japan on the Pokémon official website. As this is a very new anime format, it is not very common outside of indie projects and promotional showing.
Common Anime Terminology:
Japanese Terms and Loan-Words
Because anime and manga are products of Japan, its fan often use Japanese terminology when discussing shows and characters. In addition, certain terms appear frequently within shows and will sometimes not be translated by fansubbers or localization companies due to their widestreap use, or just due to the lack of a word in English that conveys the same meaning. Here are some of them:
Cosplay: A typically Japanese portmanteau of the words "costume" and "play", Cosplay refers to dressing up as characters from a work of fiction, such as anime or manga. Some treat it as performance art, some use it in conjunction with role-play, others just like to dress up as their favourite characters.
Chibi: A Japanese slang referring to a person who is small or short. In anime and manga terminology, it is often used to decribe something drawn in the super-deformed art style, with large heads and exaggerated expressions.
Honourifics: In Japanese, honourifics are typically added at the end of someone's name to indicate (in)formality or status. Here are some of the honourifics you may see in anime:
-san: One of the most common honourifics, -san is added to the end of a name to convey respect. It has roughly the same connotation as calling someone "Mister" before their name.
-chan: -chan is a diminutive suffix and is usually used to refer to young children or as a term of endearment. This is used more often to refer to females than males, but can be used for both.
-kun: -kun is a typically male suffix that is usually used by an elder talking to a younger male or used between male friend.
-sama: -sama is the extreme version of -san denoting a much higher status. Usually refers to gods or royalty (in a generic sense), or can be used by a business towards customers.
-senpai: -senpai is usually used to address someone of a higher rank in a specific situation, such as a senior colleague or an upperclassman in school.
-sensei: -sensei is used in reference to people in authority, such as teachers, bosses, doctors, politicians. It can also be used to refer to the head of a martial arts dojo.
Kawaii: Literally translates as "cute".
Light Novels: Light novels are a style of Japanese novel that are aimed towards young adults, similar to the Young Adult book genre in America. The novels are usually rather short as individual works and contain illustrations, but series can span many books long. Some popular anime have been created from light novel series, such as
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. However, this also works in reverse, with many light novels being written based on popular anime shows.
Manga: The Japanese term for comics. In Western culture, manga is usually only used to refer to comics that originate from Japan, similar to how "anime" is used to reference Japanese animation.
Moe: A relatively new Japanese slang term that has no real, concrete definition and is therefore hard to translate into English. Usually the term "moe" refers to feelings of love and protection towards female characters, either from other characters or viewers, but without any kind of sexual connotation. "Moe" has since become something of an anime character archetype.
Otaku: Otaku is a Japanese slang term used to refer to someone who is obsessed with something, and has a similar connotation to the English word "geek". In Japan, Otaku can be obsessive about anything, but in the Western world, the term Otaku is usually used to to refer to obsessive fans of anime, manga, Japanese video games, or Japanese culture in general.
Tsundere: Tsundere is a popular Japanese character archetype that refers to a character (usually, but not always, female) who has a hard exterior but is sweet and loving on the inside.
Visual Novel: A visual novel is a specific genre of video game that is very popular in Japan. Such games have minimal action and gameplay and are more like interaction fiction, hence the use of the term "novel." Like manga and light novels, visual novels are a popular inspiration for anime series, such as
Fate/Stay Night and
Higurashi When They Cry.
English Terms
In addition to Japanese loan-words, there are many English terms that have cropped up to describe different aspects of anime watching and anime culture.
Con: Short for "convention" anime cons are large gatherings of fans where they can meet others of similar interests, indulge in cosplay, buy DVDs and merchandise, and learn the latest anime news from industry professionals.
Dub: The term dub refers to an anime that has been dubbed over in a non-Japanese language, usually English. Usualy anime that is shown on TV outside of Japan is a dub in the native language making the show more accessible to a wider audience.
Fandub: A fan-created dub of a particular anime. While not nearly as widespread as fansubs, they are often used for parody or as practice for aspiring voice actors.
Fansub: A fan-created sub for a particular anime, usually created so that people outside of Japan can watch shows shortly after their release.
Fan Service: Occasionally popular in certain anime genres, the term "fan service" is used to describe shots and situations that involve showing characters with little (or no) clothing.
Raw: This is a term used to refer to anime in the original Japanese with no subtitles, dubs, or any other editing.
Shipping: Shipping refers to fans creating their own romantic pairings between characters of a series. Sometimes
Sub: This term refers to an anime that is shown in the original Japanese with English subtitles. Usually, subs are available for shows before dubs, since it is much easier to put subtitles onto an episode of a series as opposed to recording and adding dialog.
