Anime Terms
I’ve already posted the different classifications and types of Animes here. Now I’m going to post some common Anime terms for those who are not into the Anime-mania.
Anime (anything animated). These days, usually means specifically Japanese animation, however the word “anime” itself means any sort of cartoon in Japanese.
Aniparo (Anime parody). Refers to a genre in either anime or manga where known characters and stories are used in humorous situations.
BGM. Background Music.
Bishounen (”beautiful young man”). This term is very rarely used outside of anime. While it literally means “beautiful young man,” it has the same somewhat negative connotations as “prettyboy” in English. “Bishounen” is usually only applied to very feminine, swishy male anime characters.
Bishoujo (”beautiful girl”). More commonly heard outside of anime than bishounen, but still rare. Does not have the same negative connotations as bishounen.
Chibi. “Chibi” literally means “midget” and refers to anything small and cute. In anime, “chibi” refers to the super-deformed style of drawing. Characters with huge heads and itty bitty little bodies.
Cosplay Short for “costume play”. Dressing up as your favorite characters.
CG. Computer Graphics, or referring to anything in anime that is drawn digitally with 3D models.
Dub / Dubbed. If an anime is referred to as “dubbed”, it means the original Japanese voices were recorded over with another langauge voice, usually English.
Dojinshi. Literal meaning: same things, different people. Fan produced items from similar story lines, especially fan drawn manga. Dojinshi is pretty much legal in Japan as it shows the makers of official manga how popular their work is. Fan works range from hand-made photocopies stapled together into booklets to the professionally bound works.
Ecchi. “Ecchi” is the Japanese pronunciation of the English letter “H”, which in turn stands for “hentai”. It means anything perverted, overly sexual, etc. Always in a negative context.
Fan service. Anything used to please the audience that has nothing to do with the show. In anime, this is a “code word” for things like panty shots, close up of busts, etc. usually when the audience is predominately male.
Fansub (Fan-subtitled). The only way to find a translation of many less popular titles as well as surprising ones is through fansubbing. Generally, fansubbed items are distributed by copying freely, so poor quality copies are common. It is considered unethical and illegal to fansub a show which is being commercially translated.
Hentai. Refers to anything perverted, erotic, or sexual, always in a negative context. Words both as an adjective and a noun. Something can be described as “hentai,” and you can also simply call someone a “hentai.” Means the same as “ecchi”
Hime (princess). This is a name suffix, added to the ends of names. (Ex: Mononokehime = Princess Mononoke). If used alone as a noun, not attached to a name, the term is usually “himesama” or “ohimesama.”
Henshin (To transform). This term generally refers to animes or manga that has characters transforming into their magical alter ego.
Image Album. Albums for popular manga in Japan. Yes, popular manga/comics come with their own soundtracks. “Image” is used in Japanese the same way as “theme” is used in English, for character theme songs, etc
J-Pop. Japanese popular music.
Japanimation. A term used to refer to Japanese animation
Kawaii (”cute”). Literally, “kawaii” means defenseless/pathetic, but these days refers to anything dripping of cuteness. Also used for “cute” as in “cute girl/boy.” It is common for American anime fans to overuse this word. If you are male, please realize that this makes you sound comically swishy.
Kodomo. Literally means child. In the anime world, this term refers to anime or manga that is specifically created with children under the age of 10 in mind. Some popular kodomo anime titles are Doraemon and Anpanman.
Lemon (mature content). This is not a Japanese term. It is a word invented by American anime fans to refer to anime and fan fiction with sexual content.
Lolita. A term used for hentai involving children. Lolita comes from the book Lolita in which a forty some year old man falls in love with a fourteen year old girl. Lolita hentai is popular among men in Japan.
Lime. Usually refers to fanfic that hints that a couple had sex.
Manga (Japanese comics). As of 1998, over 54% of all bound printed matter published in Japan was manga, with nearly 2.8 billion volumes printed annually. Manga is much more popular than anime in Japan. Almost all anime starts as manga, gains a following, and is then converted to anime. Note that “manga” is printed, “anime” is animated. The two terms cannot be interchanged.
Mecha (Big robots in anime). This is not a Japanese term. It was invented originally by American anime fans to describe the big robots found in anime. Ironically, the term has caught on in Japan, and now some anime actually uses the term as well.
Megami-sama (a goddess). “Megami” literally means “female god.” “Sama” is an honorary suffix usually attached to the end
Manga-ka. A term used for a manga artist. Manga-ka is a difficult and much desired job in Japan unlike comic artists.
Mahou Shoujo. Literally means “magical girl.” This term is used to describe shows like Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura.
OAV. Stands for original animation video. Not part of a tv series, but not a movie.
Otaku (”obsessive fan”). This is a dangerous word. It has been adopted by American anime fans to mean any sort of anime/manga fan. Some even use it with pride. Note that in Japan, “otaku” is a very very harsh insult. It is reserved only for people who never leave their houses (which is what otaku literally means), because they are too frightened of people. No hygeine, no people skills, no motivation, and usually very perverted and disgusting. Use with great care outside of America.
OST Original SoundTrack - Soundtrack albums for the music in anime series.
OVA. A long, made for TV version of an anime series, usually 1-2 hours long. Occasionally seen on television, but usually released straight to video or DVD.
Omake. This term means “extra” in Japanese. In anime terms it usually refers to the silly stories, author notes, and alternative scenes found at the end of an anime series or manga.
Romanji (Also known as Roomaaji). The way in which Japanese pronunciations are written out using roman characters as it is done in English.
Regional Codes. A general DVD term, Regional Codes can be used to prevent the playback of certain discs depending on the geographical area it is played in. These codes were placed after various studios and home video companies supported these codes as a required part of current DVD standards. In doing so, they hoped to better control how DVD titles were exported to other countries. Regional codes can usually be found on the back of DVD packages inside the Regional Coding globe logo with the region number on it. In some cases, the Regional Code is spelled out.
The following is the regional breakdown.
Region 1 (R1) - The United States, United States territories, and Canada
Region 2 (R2) - Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, and Greenland
Region 3 (R3) - Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Hong Kong
Region 4 (R4) - Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean
Region 5 (R5) - Russia, Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
Region 6 (R6) - China
Raw. In the anime world, “raw” is the common term used for unsubbed anime.
Shounen (Young man). This term is usually used to describe something targeted at young boys. It is generally adventure or action based.
Sub. When referring to an anime that is “Subbed”. It means that the original Japanese voices are still intact and another language translation is added in subtitles, usually English. [Subtitles are little text translations at the bottom of a show/movie]
Seiyuu. The Japanese voice actors/actresses in anime. This may include singers.
Super Deformed. Also known as Chibi, a style of drawing that makes the character’s heads really big in proportion to their bodies. A style commonly used for a funny or parody scene.
Shoujo (Girl). Shoujo anime and manga are generally created with a female audience in mind. Examples include Sailor Moon and Magic Knights Rayearth.
Shounen-ai (Boy love). This term refers to anime or manga that deals with relationships between two male characters. It is generally thought of as being less explicit than yaoi. Examples may include Gravitation or Yami no Matsuei.
Seme. In a single gender relationship, this term refers to the dominant partner or the one playing the male role often found in yaoi.
Uke. In a gay or lesbian relationship, this term refers to the “sub” or “female” role played by one of the partners. This term generally shows up in yaoi animes.
Yaoi. Any content that has boy-boy situations. Homosexual content.
Yuri (Literal meaning: lily). In the anime world, this term is the equivalent of yaoi but for girls. In other words, it refers to anime/manga with girl-girl situations.
Here are other definitions of the terms described above…
Bishonen/Bishoujo: Japanese for pretty(bi) boy (shonen) or girl (shoujo). Used to describe someone who is good looking, or in some cases, a male who has very femine aspects.
Chibi: Chibi in Japanese literally is a derogitory term for a child, but in anime, it means a small charater. Chibi charaters are often big eyed, with exagerated features (big face, etc). The most known chibi character is Chibi Chibi from Sailor Moon. Characters also sometimes go chibi, otherwise known as Super Deformed.
Doujinshi: Doujinshi is the Japanese term for a fan manga. There are many types of doujin (slang term), so if you type in “doujinshi” in a search engine, you can get anything from hentai to serious stories. Doujinshis can be good if used nicely, such as to enhance a certain part of a manga series already created, or create a new “episode” of the series. Other types of doujins can be gag series, which are mostly short stories (like a comic strip) of comedy. Be wary while searching for doujins, and make sure to read the descriptions carefully if buying.
Fan Service: Fan service is when there is mild nudity or suggestive content in a series to keep the males happy, yet not offend females. This could include series such as Video Girl Ai, or even Neon Genesis Evangelion when Shinji “trips” on Rei. Series such as Sailor Moon, DBZ and many other famous ones contain fan service, which is why there are censorship issues with Toonami. I personally find no problem with fan service, but some people may be offended (ie “how convienent, Chun Li is taking a shower during the middle of the Street Fighter movie >:P”).
Hentai: Hentai is basically anime/manga porn. It usually features exagerated sexual body parts. Some people think that all anime is hentai, which is not the case. Hentai series are usually doujinshis or adult series. Hentai in Japanese means “pervert”, so if you hear a character call another one that, they don’t mean the actual hentai 
Kawaii: Japanese for “cute”, often referring to super deformed anime, or a chibi character.
Lolita: Lolita is a term used for hentai (porn) involving little children (girls mostly). Lolita comes from the book Lolita in which a 40 some year old man falls in love with a 14 year old girl. Lolita hentai is popular among men in Japan, and is usually from doujinshi. Young girls are attractive in the Japanese society, especially the sailor fuku (school uniforms).
Manga: As anime is to video, manga is to book. Manga is the book form of Japanese art. Manga is similar to anime, yet there are benefits and downsides to having only both. Manga allows more description in each shot, yet it is sometimes harder to portray an action sequence, or a drastic change with only manga panels. In some cases, manga goes farther in depth with the series, while anime episodes my break down a manga book in order to make the episode.
Manga-ka: Japanese term for a manga artist. Manga-ka is a hard job, but it is a very respected and desired job there, unlike comic artists here in the States.
Omake: Omake means “extra” in Japanese. Omake are sometimes featured at the end of an anime series, or in the end of a manga. They can feature silly stories, to author notes, to alternative scenes (like in the first volume of Fushigi Yugi). Most CLAMP manga have a little author(s) note at the end, with cute little CLAMPerettes. ^_^
Otaku: Otaku is a controversial term used to describe a very esentric anime fan. It first derived from a psycho guy who watched too much Lolita Hentai. He ended up kidnapping, killing and raping little girls. He called himself an “otaku”, which was considered very vulgar until recently. the original story behind otaku is what sometimes gives people the wrong impression about anime, leaning towards the more violent series like Akira. Other people claim that otaku has no Japanese meaning, other than a house Its all a matter of opinion, and if you choose to use this saying, make sure you know who you’re talking to so they don’t take offense ^_^
Seme: A yaoi term, used to describe the more dominient or aggressive sexual partner (the “top” one).
Shonen Ai: Shonen ai (”boy love”) is manga/anime that features a male-male romance. In most cases, the characters are feminine looking (or atleast the passive one). Shonen ai and Yaoi are (for some people) interchangeable words. Others may disagree, saying yaoi is the actual sexual part, while shonen ai is just a romance.
Shonen Manga: Shonen manga (shonen is Japanese for “boy”)is manga that is directed to/made for boys, but everyone can like them. They usually feature a brawny hero who fights bad guys. Most of this type of manga is action and adventure, with perhaps a bit of romance on the side. Shonen manga usually features men with lots of muscles, spiked out hair (DBZ is an example), and mainly brute strength.
Shoujo Manga: Shoujo manga (shoujo means “girl” in Japanese)are usually series aimed towards small girls or teenage girls, however shoujo mangas are for everyone (yes this means you guys!!). Most shoujo manga revolves around romance themes, or using magical tools to save the world and such (Card Captor Sakura is an example). Shoujo manga usually focuses on girls, or feminine looking boys (most CLAMP things have very feminine boys like Kamui or Yuki). The figures are usually long hair, really big eyes, with long and slender bodies (arms, legs, hands, etc).
Super Deformed: Super Deformed (S.D.) is a term people use to describe when an anime character goes chibi, or little. Most of the time, charaters do this in a funny moment, to add a comic relief to the situation. In omake series (like what CLAMP has at the end of their manga, or in Blue Seed), characters are added as S.D. Sometimes, characters can gain cat features (like in Rayearth, or Peach Girl) to show slyness, or just to be cute. ^_^
Uke: A yaoi term used to describe the more passive and gentle of the two partners (”bottom” one).
Yaoi: Yaoi is male-male relationships in manga. As mentioned earlier in Shonen Ai, there are different views of if they are interchangeable. Yaoi is usually doujinshi of favorite characters (Gundam Wing is a yaoi favorite, seeing as it has 5 guys :P), but there are Manga-Ka out there who draw yaoi (most yaoi artists are female).
Yuri: Yuri is the female equivalent of Yaoi (girl-girl romance). Yuri usually isn’t as common as yaoi.
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