An Anime Vocabulary

Bishounen: Literally 'beautiful boy,' a bishounen is a young man who is impossibly beautiful and very feminine. He is generally a teenager. A bishounen is a common feature of shoujo stories, both anime and manga. A prime example is any man from Fushigi Yugi.  Biseinen is the term for a "beautiful man," and would refer to an older man rather than a teenager.

Cyberpunk: A subgenre of hard science fiction characterized most by an urban setting in a not-so-distant future that is dominated by technology, especially computer technology. This technology often extends into the human body via brain implants, genetic engineering or cybernetic body parts. Society in a cyberpunk setting is dystopian and dehumanized with the lives of people dominated by a system (oppressive government, large corporations or fundamentalist religion) with the technology, particularly information technology, enforcing the system. Crime and drugs are often rampant and people thrive and survive on technology at the expense of the environment. Anime cyberpunk tends to focus on characters who are either law enforcement officers in that setting or those who are trying to escape the setting, whether they be outcasts, criminals or someone else. Akira and Kokaku Kidoutai are anime examples of this genre, while The Matrix is a Hollywood example.

Doujinshi: Amateur fan-created manga that pay homage and/or parody the originals. Think fanfiction.

Dub: Short for dubbed. A movie that is dubbed has translated dialog by new voice actors. All anime shown on American TV is dubbed.  Many hardcore anime fans outside Japan despise dubs, while others feel they have their place if done right.  Most anime dubbing is very bad, however.  Unless I have no other option, I will not choose to watch dubbed anime.

Etchi: Also romanized ecchi or etti, literally the letter H.  A Japanese slang term that means 'sexual' or 'sexually oriented.'  It is a very mild term, slightly negative, such as 'naughty' or 'dirty' in English.  In the west, etchi refers to softcore pornographc anime such as Rei Rei: Missionary of Love.  Tends to have a poor portrayal of women.  See entry for hentai.

Gekiga: A term referring to more experimental or literary manga as opposed to more popular or commercial series.  Sanctuary is possibly an example of a gekiga manga, as Ikegami Ryoichi has been described as a gekiga artist.

Hentai: An abbreviation for hentaiseiyoku, a Japanese noun meaning 'deviant sexual desire,' or translating directly into English as 'pervert.'  In the west, hentai refers to that genre of anime that is explicit, hardcore pornography, such as Cool Devices or Urotsukidoji.  Hentai titles were among the first anime to be imported for home video sales in America and the overabundance of importation of hentai gave anime an undeserved reputation, when the blame should be placed upon importers. Hentai tends to be very exploitive of women.

Fan Service: Gratuitous female nudity (generally upper body nudity), very bouncy breasts, or panty shots inserted into a film/show/OAV for the sole purpose of giving male otaku something to ogle. The term has also been used to refer to very bishounen male characters in sexually brooding poses that gives female otaku something to ogle.  In the past, the term fan service has been used to refer to gratuitous mecha action, but this use is obsolete.

Fuku:  Japanese schoolgirl uniform, worn by girls in elementary, middle and high schools.  Often seen in anime such as Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.  Fuku are also seen in hentai such as Immoral Sisters, in which case see the entry for lolika.

Josei: Manga or anime with a target audience of females aged 15-40.  Other names for this genre are redisu and redikomi.  Literally 'ladies manga.'  As compared with shoujo, the artistic styles of josei tend to be more realistic and restrained, and the stories tend to be more realistic and mature.  An examples of a manga in this genre is Happy Mania.

June: Pronounced ju-nay, this is the name of a popular manga magazine specializing in stories of homosexual male love. The term june refers to stories of this nature that are original rather than dojinshi, and may be explicit or not, but always have lots of plot and relationship. This term is not much used outside of Japan.  See entries for shounen-ai and yaoi.

Kanji: Chinese characters that have been imported into the Japanese system of writing.

Kodomo: The name of a genre of manga that is produced for young children. Hamtaro and Doraemon are examples of this in anime.

Lolika or Lolicon: A term referring to relationships in which one or more of the participants is a young (underage) girl, and to a genre of manga and anime that features this as an element, whether sexually explicit or not.  Closely related to the hentai/etchi genre - whenever you see a young girl in a hentai feature wearing a fuku she is not a college student, despite being presented as one in the dub or subtitle.  See also shota.

Maho-no-Shoujo: 'Magical girl' anime and manga, this is a subgenre of shoujo whose stories have a superhero flavor. Probably the best known maho-no-shoujo anime is Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.

Manga: The Japanese word for comics, used in Western society to refer exclusively to Japanese comics. Literacy is near 100% in Japan and manga are the most popular reading. Manga cover a wide range of subjects, aimed at all levels and interests in society. In this country, manga are often confused with anime. A lot of anime draws its inspiration from manga (like Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon), and other anime may later be turned into manga (like Shinseiki Evangelion). Manga art is generally of a finer nature than anime art. These days, some manga are available in English translations.

Manga-ka: The creator of a manga, whether the writer, artist, or both.

Mecha: From "mechanical," mecha refers to machines and devices, but most often to giant robots. As a genre, mecha, in the form or shows about giant robots, brought the first anime to America in Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy). Early shows like Tetsuwan Atom had an idealistic vision of a utopian future where technology was something we could trust and the world would be like today except with better and cooler technology. However, robot anime has changed into shows like Armored Trooper Votoms with a cogs-and-gears sort of naturalism, or shows like Shinseiki Evangelion and RahXephon that are even darker and ask serious questions. The android version of these mecha shows often question what is the nature of humanity and what makes us human.

Omake: A Japanese term meaning 'bonus' or 'extra.'  Omake can refer to a short bonus chapter in a manga, extras or special features on a DVD, small toys sold with candy or soft drinks - basically anything that is an extra bonus that doesn't fit into regular category.

Otaku: A Japanese term meaning 'obsessed fan,' or literally 'your house'. Another translation might be 'fanboy.' In common usage it refers to a person who is extremely knowledgeable and fanatical about a topic (any topic, not just anime). This term has a negative connotation, and can be insulting in Japan.  Many American fans of anime have adopted this term as a badge of identification, much like fans of another show call themselves Trekkies.  Japanese fans can use this term as well, just witness Gainax's Otaku no Video.

Seinen: Manga or anime with a target audience of males aged 15-40.  Another name for this genre would be seijin.  As compared to shounen, the art in seinen anime and manga has a wider variety of styles, and the story lines tend to be more complex and gray.  Examples of seinen would be Akira or Crying Freeman.

Seiyuu: A voice actor or actress in anime.

Shounen: Literally means 'small year' in Japanese, meaning 'young boy.' Shounen is the most widely published genre of manga in Japan; the genre targeting junior high and high school boys. Shounen stories generally focus on action and fighting, however there are shounen romances. As a rule, shounen is not as emotionally involving at shoujo. Examples of shounen action anime are Dragonball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh, while examples of shounen romance include Tenchi Muyo and Chobits.

Shounen-Ai: Literally 'boys' love;' a genre of anime and manga that focuses on idealized love between young men. Another term used in Japan is boīzu rabu.  In Japan these terms refer to a genre of professional manga as opposed to doujinshi.  The fanbase for shounen-ai is almost exclusively female, as are its creators.  The characters are idealized emotional bishounen, and the stories revolve around relationships.  In the west, shounen-ai is generally used to refer to a story that is romantic but not sexually explicit.  Shounen-ai is a very popular genre, both in Japan and in the US - Gravitation, a shounen-ai title, is the best-selling comic in America in twenty years. See entries for yaoi and june.

Shoujo: Literally 'young girl' in Japanese, this is another term taken from manga genres. Shoujo targets junior high and high school girls. The stories tend to concentrate on romance and character development. The main character is usually a girl and often focuses on everyday life. Men tend to be bishounen and romances are idealized.  Hana Yori Dango and Peach Girl are good examples of shoujo.

Shoujo-ai: Literally 'girl's love;' this is a term that is used exclusively in western fan circles, it is the female equivalent of shounen-ai.  The relationship between Anthy and Utena in Shoujo Kakumei Utena could be interpreted as shoujo-ai, especially in the film.

Shota or Shotacon:  A term referring to relationships in which one or more of the participants is a young (underage) boy, and to a genre of manga and anime that features this as an element, whether sexually explicit or not.  Closely related to the yaoi/shounen-ai genre, see also lolika.

Sub: Short for subtitled. A movie that is subbed is presented with the dialog in the original language with translated subtitles at the bottom of the screen. Most hardcore fans prefer subs (myself included).

Yakuza: The Japanese criminal underground, somewhat close to the Mafia. Like the Mafia here in America there is a romance attached to the Yakuza, which can be seen in such works as Crying Freeman or Sanctuary.

Yaoi: A genre of anime and manga that focuses on homosexual love between two men, generally two bishounen.  In Japan yaoi refers to doujinshi rather than professional comics.  The term is derived from an acronym for 'yami nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi' which means 'no climax, no resolution, no meaning.'  In the west, the term yaoi refers to sexually explicit material in this genre as differentiated from non-sexually explicit material.  Examples of yaoi include Boku no Sexual Harrassment and Kizuna. See entries for shounen-ai and june.

Yuri: Homoerotic romance featuring two women. Not as popular as yaoi, apparently almost exclusively dojinshi.