Anime Terms

Minna-san konnichiwa!

This is going to be a one-time post, and not a series or a channel. The aim of this post is to introduce some terms commonly used in the Anime circles. In the future, we may choose to add to this post, continue with a "Part 2", or refer to this post to explain some things in other posts.

Following are the ten most misused or misunderstood Anime-related terms:

1. Otaku

The information contained in this section is taken from Wikipedia, and from talking to Japanese and Korean friends. Picture courtesy of http://media.giantbomb.com.

In its most loosely translated form, Otaku is generally used to refer to someone who is a fan (that is, an anime otaku is an anime fan). However, while that may be a good thing to most people in the world, in countries such as Japan and Korea, Otaku brings with it a negative connotation. Here's a comparison:

In an English context, Anime Otaku simply means "Anime Fan" or "Anime Addict".

In Japan and Korea (yes, surprisingly to me, they have the same word for otaku and they have the same meaning and subtexts), it also carries one or all of the following connotations: someone who never leaves his/her home, has no friends, extremely obssessed, and in some cases, obssessed with fetishes such as nekomimi (catgirl) and/or lolicon (see below).

In fact, literally, Otaku translates to "someone's [or your] house", so coupled with the obsession to, for example, Anime, it would mean someone extremely addicted to Anime that he/she never leaves his/her house.

While the term is now being used very loosely in most English-speaking countries, groups, and/or organizations, using it in Japan should be done with caution. For example, they may find it weird to refer to one’s self as an otaku.

A good example of an otaku is Lucky Star main character Konata Izumi (seen in the picture above cosplaying as Haruhi Suzumiya). She is an Anime fanatic and a manga addict. On her free time (and even in not-so-free times), she plays online games and even adult dating games. She’s also good at any console games, she also likes drama CDs, visual novels, and pretty much anything Otaku-ish.

That makes her not only my favorite character, but this site’s perfect endorser.

This definitely begs the question, why otaku.ph?

First, we are not based in Japan... only chokoreitou is. :)

Second, it's short, sweet, and easy to remember, especially to anime-niacs here in the Philippines.

Last, and most importantly, otaku in English is being a fan, while otaku in Japanese is an obsession. We go for the middle ground, so to us, otaku is the love for something - more than just being a fan, but not obsessive enough to affect our daily lives.

2. Tsundere

In an Anime series, a Tsundere is a female character who is first shown to be cold-blooded, hostile, and mean towards another person (usually the main character). Eventually, this subsides and the other side of that character is shown to be a warm and caring person. Tsundere comes from the Japanese words Tsun Tsun (ツンツン) and Dere Dere (デレデレ), which, according to Wikipedia, means “to turn away in disgust” and “to become lovey dovey”, respectively.

Popular Tsunderes include Naru Narusegawa from Love Hina, Sakura Haruno from Naruto, Haruhi Suzumiya (left), Saber from Fate/Stay Night, and Asuka from Evangelion.

I will be posting a review of my favorite anime series, Lucky Star, in the next few weeks. But in summary, Konata, the otaku, keeps referring to her friend, Kagami Hiiragi as a tsundere. True enough, Kagami exemplifies the perfect tsundere.

The opposite of Tsundere is a Yandere, which in turn comes from the word Yan, which means a mental or emotional illness. Yanderes initially show warmth and affection towards a character, but later turn into violent and destructive outlets for their emotions. A perfect example of a Yandere is Kotonoha Katsura from the anime School Days.

3. Moe

Moe is a Japanese slang used to refer to strong attractions or interest to a particular style or type of anime, manga, or video games. It is sometimes translated as “turn on”, that is, “she is a moe” would mean “she is a turn on”. Although not necessary, moe usually brings sexual connotations with it.

A perfect example of a moe is Mio Akiyama from K-On! Her cutesy appearance, extreme reactions to teasing and scary stories, blushing facial expressions, and even her shyness all fall perfectly into the criteria for moe-ness. Plus, fanboys and fangirls both in real life and within the anime are attracted to her making her more popular than even the main character of the show.

Konata uses the term ‘moe’ a lot, especially when one of her friends react in a cute manner, or whenever she sees them in a different light.

4. Fan service (fan saabisu, or simply, saabisu)

Fan service is a term used to denote scenes that contain sexual connotations, or sometimes nudity, that are not necessary for plot development but are merely there to please the fans (assumed to be boys/men).

The new Evangelion movies (actually even its TV series version) are full of fan service, from Asuka leaving the bathroom naked to Shinji falling on top of Rei also naked.

The anime show Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan is an example of an anime that is absolutely filled with fan service, from partial nudities, to actual scenes from an adult anime (see Hentai below), and even to wires rubbing across the female protagonists thighs. These scenes, when removed, won’t affect the storyline… but the show would really suck if they did.

In contrast, the “implied” sex scenes in School Days and Fushigi Yuugi may not be considered fan service (depending on how strict you are), since they are actual parts of the storyline and are important to future events in the anime show. If Makoto and Sekai didn’t develop a sexual relationship, School Days would have ended at episode 3.

5. Omake

Omake is the term used to refer to the “bonus content” in Anime DVD releases.

6. OVA

Short for Original Video Animation, OVAs are simply direct-to-video movies, that is, movies no longer released in theaters, but rather, released straight into DVD format. Sometimes, OVA is called OAV especially in English-speaking sites, but they mean the same thing.

The term OVA was initially used to refer to Anime movies released straight to disc. Although the current definition does not have this limitation, the term OVA is still most widely used in Anime, rather than any other movies or drama.

7. Bishoujo/Bishounen/shoujo/shounen

Shoujo means “young girl”, usually aged below 20. Shounen is the male counterpart.

In Anime and Manga, Shoujo are shows or stories intended for young girls, while Shounen are shows or stories intended for young boys.

Examples of Shoujo include Sailor Moon, Fushigi Yuugi, and Cardcaptor Sakura.

Examples of Shounen include Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, Naruto, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho (Ghost Fighter in the Philippines), and Fairy Tail.

Let’s see if you learned anything. What type of anime is “K-On!”? For those who don’t know, K-On! is a story of five High School girls who formed a band. They play lovey dovey and cutesy songs, and basically the entire storyline revolves around the life of a High School girl. Find out the answer at the end of this section.

Bishoujo, in an Anime, is literally a “pretty girl”. It is used to imply sexual themes, for instance, Japanese dating video games and other adult games are usually referred to as Bishoujo games.

Bishounen, on the other hand, is a “beautiful young man”, which in turn connotes androgynous, effeminate, or gender ambiguous characters. (Thanks Wikipedia, it was hard to describe this term using my own words.)

Now to the answer to my previous question about K-On!.... The answer is…. Neither!

Hehe, that was a trick question. K-On! is classified as a seinen manga/anime, which are shows targeted at young male adults (usually aged 18-30). :D

8. Yuri/Yaoi/Loli

Yuri, Yaoi, and Loli (Lolicon or Lolita Complex) are genres.

Yuri, or Girls’ Love, are stories with the theme involving love between female characters such as in the anime Strawberry Panic. Sometimes it is added as an additional element to an otherwise complete show.

Yaoi, in turn, is Boys’ Love, or stories with themes involving love between male characters. These are usually female-oriented stories.

Yuri and Yaoi are themes also discussed in Lucky Star. If you find this post interesting, you should really watch that anime.

Lolicon is usually interpreted as the attraction to very young girls, and it is usually grouped with child pornography or pedophilia. However, as a genre, Loli animes are shows that portray very young looking characters, that may or may not even be young (i.e. just the drawing style). Also, it may or may not be pornographic, as in the case of the anime series Kodomo no Jikan, which revolves around a Loli theme, but is not pornographic.

9. Ecchi/Doujinshi

Ecchi is an Anime or Manga genre that includes vague sexual contents such as partial nudity, unnecessary contact, or steamy dialogues. In other words, the anime stops short of becoming porn by being satisfied with teasers and implications.

A good example of an Ecchi is the anime School Days. Again, sex in this anime is implied and is part of the storyline, but it is never shown. It is talked about a lot of times, but rather vaguely or indirectly.

Seikon no Qwaser also involves implied scenes, even between two females. It also involves the sucking of powerful “mana” from a female breast. Love Hina, Fight Ippatsu Juuden-chan, D.C.: Da Capo, and Full Metal Panic can all be classified under Ecchi.

Doujinshi are simply self-published Manga, usually by amateurs.

However, in today’s context, meaning if you Google “doujinshi”, the word is tightly bound to “adult comics”, and you would probably get search results pointing to adult versions of popular anime shows or manga.

This isn’t wrong as a lot of doujinshi really are either different endings or more perverted versions of the actual anime, but some are original works, and some are even close to being real Manga, minus the publishing capabilities of professional artists.

Simply put, doujinshis are self-published books, nothing more, nothing less.

10. Hentai

Hentai is probably the most misused Japanese word. Literally, it is an adjective that means “perverted”. In today’s English context, however, Hentai refers to Anime which are pornographic or adult-themed.

Even in the Philippines, when someone says they have “Hentai”, they mean they have adult or pornographic anime (such as Bible Black or La Blue Girl, hehe).

The correct Japanese term for these anime shows is Ero. Hentai should be the term used to describe the person who has them. ^_^

fudepen

 

Credits: Stock Knowledge and Wikipedia.

Photo Credits: All images are hosted in multiple websites, so the actual owner of these images are unknown. All images were found easily via Google and are properties of their publishing anime companies.