The Anime ABC's

[Revan]

Below you will find what I consider the “advanced” guide to the ABC’s of anime and as such the explanations have gotten longer in order for you better understand the terms. I have specifically choosen words that wouldn't require more then a paragraph to explain, and when in doubt I name an anime. I have no doubt that everyone will be able to find something on here that they know, but hopefully you will have discovered something you didn’t as well. At the very least, I hope you find something amusing.

A is for Akanbe. This is the term for a gesture you sometimes see in anime. The gesture consists of pulling down one lower eyelid in order to show the red inside, as you stick out your tongue and is sometimes accompanied by a sound that is pronounces something like “behhh-dah.” The point of this gesture is the equivalent to yelling “neener neener” and is considered to be an infantile taunt.

B is for Bukatsu. This refers to the club activities that appear in anime and manga. Everyone who watches anime must be aware that many schools in Japan not only encourage extracurricular activities but also sometimes make them mandatory. This is why you commonly find characters in clubs are at club events designed to gain more members. For instance Keiichi of “Ah! My Goddess” is in the Motor Cycle Club of his school.

C is for Compilation Movies. These are the movie that are comprised of material from a serial TV show and is used to compress a story arc down from the usual 8 to 13 broadcast hours to a more manageable 2-hour movie. An example of this would be the first 3 “Mobile Suit Gundam” films.

D is for Dubfectionist. This term was coined by ANN editor in chief, Christopher Macdonald and is used to refer to people who will only watch dubs when it is as good as the original, which means they watch a lot of anime subtitled.

E is for Eyecatch. This refers to those very short images or animations that are inserted into the middle of a Japanese anime TV series and are often accompanied by music and the series title. The first one takes us into the commercial break while the second one brings us back into the show. Japanese TV shows generally only have on mid-episode commercial break.

F is for Fansub. These are the fan-produced translated, subtitled versions of an anime and are generally found on the Internet for download. Warning: These are illegal.

G is for Garage Kit. As the name implies these are model kits that are put together by fans, generally in garages (though other locations are acceptable). These kits are characterized by the high degree of detail.

H is for Hammerspace. This term was created by fans to jokingly explain where objects come from when they seem to appear out of no where and is considered to be an extra dimensional, instantly accessible storage area. It is commonly believed to be derived from the “Ranma ½” series since the character Akane Tendo was a vigorous malleteer. Over the years animators have taken this joke one step further by incorporating the joke into the manga/anime. For example, in the series “Saiyuki” the character Sanzo commonly pulls out a large paper fan in order to hit his co-stars. Said so-stars often wonder where exactly he hides it.

I is for Image Album. These are the CD’s of written music that are designed to accompany a manga series. In Japan, popular series will have these albums so fans have a sort of soundtrack and are created so you have one more thing to buy.

J is for Josei. Literally translated this means “young woman” and is used as a demographic indicator for anime that is targeted to young women. This is considered to be one of the rarest forms of anime, as a large portion of it would actually fall under the category of “yaoi.” The non-yaoi form is almost nonexistent in the west and includes titles such as “Paradise Kiss” and “Honey and Clover.”

K is for Kodomo. Literally, “child,” this is another term used as a demographic indicator and is obviously used to describe manga/anime designed for children. One popular example would be “Doraemon.”

L is for Lemon. This term is associated with fanfics and is used to describe a story with an erotic parody nature. The name actually comes from the anime series “Cream Lemon,” which is credited as being one of the first hentai titles. Over time the term has moved from describing the overall story and instead is used to identify the sexual act in the story. Ex. The lemon is in chapter 10. Any story having a lemon should be rated mature and is unsuitable for younger readers.

M is for Manhwa. This is simply the Korean equivalent to “manga.” In the West the term is used to identify Korean manga.

N is for Nani. Anyone who watches a lot of subtitled anime will know instantly what this means. As such some fans have begun incorporating this into their everyday lexicon. So instead of asking “what?” they will instead ask “nani?” This is one of many examples of how Japanese words have become commonly used by English speaking fans.

O is for Omake. This term is used to refer to those bonus items that come with a DVD. These can include a figurine, a t-shirt, or an extra short anime on the DVD that takes the main characters and puts them into humorous situations. An example would be the “Omake Theater” that plays at the end of each episode of the series “Blue Seed.”

P is for Patlabor. Patlabor, aka “Mobile Police Patlabor” is a staple of the mecha genre of anime. This is a great example of how anime series can become franchises of epic proportions. Originating in 1988, the series consists of a manga, TV series, 2 OVA series, and 2 feature length films.

Q is for Queen Emeraldas. This is the name of the 4 episode OVA that follows the “Harlock Saga” and was adapted from the manga of the same name. Mostly this is on here because not a lot of terms and such begin with a “Q.”

R is for RIF (Rabid Inuyasha Fan). A term that originates from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, this is the term that came to be used for Inuyasha fans after the show was taken off the air in order to allow other programs to air while more Inuyasha episodes were dubbed. The demands for Inuyasha became so large that Adult Swim became sarcastic to the point that they made it a running joke on their bumpers.

S is for Scanlation. Sometimes called a fanscan, scanlations are fan-made scans & translations of manga. Obviously the word comes from combining the words “scans” and “translation.” The unofficial translator uses a computer to erase the original Japanese text and then insert the translation. Warning: These are illegal.

T is for Osamu Tezuka. If you’re into anime and you don’t know who Dr. Osamu Tezuka is, you seriously need education. Tezuka is considered the pioneer of the anime industry and is commonly called the father of manga. Tezuka is attributed with creating the distinctive large eyes that define anime and manga. His productions include “Astro Boy” and “Kimba the White Lion.”

U is for Usuratonkachi. This is the nickname Sasuke gives Naruto in the hit anime/manga series “Naruto.” This word has continued to confuse to the point that I did a massive search to find out what it REALLY means. It is commonly translated as “total moron” or “idiot” but the closest thing to a literal translation that I’ve been able to find is “dumb like a hammer” (which is a take off of an old adage of being thick headed) but the best way to describe this is as a whole lot of insults (like the aforementioned total moron, weak-willed, etc.) rolled into one.

V is for VIZ media. This company is responsible for publishing and distributing a large chunk of the anime/manga related items for the English-speaking world. Everyone out there knows who VIZ is for their distributed titles include Naruto, Shonen Jump, Inuyasha, Fullmetal Alchemist and so many more that I could create a list longer then this article.

W is for Wings of Honneamise (1987). Also called "Oneamisu no Tsubasa: Ouritsu Uchuu-gun," this is the first feature length anime produced by Gainax (their most famous production being “Neon Genesis Evangelion”). At 800 million yen (approximately 7 million US) was one of the most expensive animes ever produced; however, it didn’t do well when initially released.

X is for Xenosaga. First a video game then an anime. This is a prime example on how over time the intricate worlds developed in games have spilled over into anime movies and/or series.

Y is for Yuri. This is the female version of “yaoi” and literally means “lily.” As with yaoi, yuri is commonly confused with a milder form which in this case would be “shoujo-ai” (or girl love). The easiest way to tell them apart it that yuri is completely inappropriate for people under 18 while shoujo-ai focuses on the relationship itself instead of explicit material. (The boy version of shoujo-ai is called “shounen-ai”).

Z is for Zatch Bell. This anime is being listed here as an example of what started as an anime/manga becoming a game. Many of these shows, like Zatch Bell, center around combat type situations and are developed more for the young male audience. As such it is not hard for these series to jump off the screen and into games. These games generally start out as card games and then escalate into video games.

[Revan]

Anime (pronounced 'annie-may'): Animation in the style developed and commonly used in Japan since the 1950s. Generally refers to the artistic style, but also a style of characterization and stories. Can also be used to describe comics and other still art drawn in the same style: see manga. Comes from the Japanese word for animation. Used by some people to refer specifically and exclusively to animation produced in Japan, regardless of style.

Anamorphic: Videophile term used to describe high-quality widescreen DVDs. Full explanation: a DVD of a widescreen production (such as a theatrical movie) can be created with a standard 4:3 width to height ratio, and have the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen included as part of that picture. On anamorphic (also known as "enhanced widescreen") DVDs the widescreen version of the video is squeezed to fill the whole frame, resulting in more detail in the image. On a standard TV, most DVD players automatically add the black bars to the image, but on a widescreen TV an anamorphic DVD will look better than a "standard" widescreen one. Most DVDs (anime or otherwise) of theatrical releases are anamorphic.

Baka: The Japanese word for "idiot" or "fool". A common (in fact it's one of the only ones) Japanese (and as a result anime) insult, this has been picked up by English-speaking fans. Very commonly used in fanfics or just as an expression. The sentence version, "[name] no baka", is also relatively commonly used (probably picked up from Akane's frequent use of the phrase "Ranma no baka" in Ranma 1/2).

BGM: Background music. The music (usually insturmental) that you hear in the background of a show.

Catboy: Male version of catgirl; see below.

Catgirl: A female, anthropomorphic cat-human hybrid character; generally a cute girl with catlike ears and possibly a tail up through humanoid girls with fur and generally feline features (whiskers, claws, etc). Catboy is also occasionally used. See furry, below, for a more general term for furry humanoids.

Cel: A single drawing used in animation. Cels are (usually) hand painted on a piece of transparent acetate and overlaid on a background picture to produce one frame of the animation we see. Cels are popular anime collectors' items, and can be bought from numerous web-based businesses.

Character Designer: The person who designs the look (face, hair, usually clothes) of each character in an animated production. Does a prototype, on which the animated art will be based, for each character's facial expressions relating to different moods and emotions.

Con: Short for convention--an official gathering of anime vendors and fans. These range from relatively small regional affairs to massive gatherings of thousands of fans from all over the country; standard features include anime viewing rooms, autograph sessions and talks by special guests (at large cons these are usually Japanese comic artists and voice actors), cosplay areas (see below), and vendor rooms in which anime goods of all sorts can be bought.

Cosplay: A "Costume Play", a sort of amature theater in which fans dress up as favorite characters and enact scenes from anime, usually at conventions. This is an Americanization of a Japanization of "Costume Play"; that phrase was adopted by the Japanese and shortened into "Cosu-purei", which has been readopted into English as Cosplay (both versions have the same meaning).

CG: Computer Graphics. Usually this referrs to 3D animation (or backgrounds rendered from 3D models) done with computers, which is becoming common in newer anime productions. It can also be used to describe art drawn on a computer, including traditional-looking animation, but that is less common.

Digisub: Digital fansubs. A digitally produced and distributed fansub (see fansub, below). Produced by fans who digitize as-yet-unavailable-in-English anime and add subtitles, they are extremely popular. Digisubs are usually shared/traded by fans using Internet file sharing software such as the now-defunct Hotline, Morpheus, Limewire, and many others.

Doujinshi: Doujinshi can mean several things. Most generally, it is an unofficial comic book (or other art, possibly digital), usually by an amature, that is based on characters not "owned" by the writer/artist. Somewhat like fanfiction. Depending on who publishes these, they can range from legitimate to completely illegal, usually the latter.

The second definition follows; the thing is, most Doujinshi are that way because they are about subjects that wouldn't be covered in the actual series--that is to say, adult topics. Again, these range from somewhat more mature versions to outright ****ography, and from legit to illegal (almost always the latter). Note that despite being illegal, these are generally tolerated in Japan.

The third version is collections of (mostly erotic) amature art distributed in "underground" channels via disk (floppy, that is, and now the Internet/usenet). Once in a while one of these artists will gain some noteriety and their works may make it to a CD ROM collection or something of the sort.

Dub: Re-recording the dialogue (and, at times, songs and sound effects) of a program with dialogue in another language. In the context of Anime, it means a Japanese show dubbed in English. Generally more popular than subtitled anime (though it depends on the series), some fans only like these, others ("purists") hate them with a passion, and a small third group will accept either.

Ecchi (sometimes written "H"): A Japanese word for "pervert" (though the connotations are somewhat more mild--see Hentai, below). Usually used by American fans to refer to anime and related art of an adult nature. Commonly used term on the web. Properly written "H" and pronounced "ecchi" in Japanese, this is an interesting bit of linguistics; the Japanese word for "pervert" is Hentai. This is sometimes abbreviated (by the Japanese) as H, which is, in turn, pronounced (again, by the Japanese) "ecchi".

Eyecatch: An image or very short bit of animation, usually including music and a series' title, that is usually inserted into the middle of each episode of a Japanese TV series (two halves of the eyecatch frame the mid-episode commercial break). Some newer OAVs also include these, though there would have been no commercial, because fans like them.
Fandub: A variant of the fansub, below, these are anime videos dubbed by fans. Very uncommon.

Fanfic: A story written by fans that involves characters from an existing anime series. Usually written in installments and published on the internet, the content ranges from continuations of the official story to improbable situations to erotica.

Fansub: A video translated and subtitled by anime fans, rather than a professional company. They are of widely varying quality (from near-professional to barely watchable), and were for years distributed by fans willing to spend the time to copy and mail tapes for the cost of shipping and the blank video. Recently, digisubs have become the preferred method of distribution--digital movie files transferred through file sharing over the Internet. Though quasi-legal, since they are only usually available for series that have not yet been translated into English "officially", and when done properly are not used to make a profit, they are generally accepted without much hassle, and are relatively popular with hardcore fans, as well as those who like uncut (and perhaps subtitled) versions of series such as Sailor Moon or Dragonball.


Fan Service: Usually used to mean, basically, stuff to titilate adolescent male fans. It mostly includes those shower/bath scenes that usually have little to do with the story but seem to be generally appreciated by the fans (or at least the teenaged male ones). Also can be used more generally (if less frequently) to refer to almost anything unrelated to the story but included to please fans--fancy outfits, flashy mecha, a cute animal, that sort of thing.

Furry: Used as a noun to refer to anthropomorphic, usually humanoid versions of animals--most commonly cat/human hybrids (aka "catgirls"). Almost always humanoid with full-body fur, but specific features can range from mostly human (though cat/dog like ears on top of the head are very common) to more animal like, featuring muzzle, whiskers, and paws.

H: Short for the Japanese word "hentai" and pronounced (at least by the Japanese) "ecchi". See the definition for both of those terms for details, but note that "H" is frequently combined with other words to point out adult content: "H-anime", for example, would be adult anime.

Hentai: The Japanese word for "pervert" (see Ecchi above, which is a milder form). It is commonly used by English-speaking fans to refer to ****ographic anime (note that it usually has slightly stonger connotations than Ecchi). Also used occasionally (particularly on the web or in fanfics) as an insult, with the same meaning as it has in Japanese. For reference, the connotation of "Hentai" in Japanese is closer to the English "deviant" or "pervert", while "ecchi" is more like "lech" or "dirty", and generally milder.

Image Album: A CD of music written to accompany a comic book. In Japan, popular comic series will frequently have CD of music produced for fans to listen to--a sort of soundtrack (and one more thing to buy, if you're a fanatic).

Japanime: Clunky Americanization of "Japanese anime", now rarely used--see anime.

Japanimation (Japanamation): Another old, rarely used Americanization of Japanese Animation--see anime. Now sometimes used derisively by fans to refer to crudely produced anime; things that resemble shows like Speed Racer, which were popular when the term was in use.

Keyframe: A detailed animation cell drawn by one of the head artists producing animation. The space between keyframes is filled with more frames by other (lower paid) artists, producing a smooth transition from, say, one position to another.

Manga: In English, generally used to mean Japanese comic books. Occasionally also used (even by the Japanese) to refer to animation (as in Manga Video). Pronounced "mahn-ga".
Magical Girl: There is some disagreement about the exact definition, but this term is generally used to refer to the genre of stories, geared toward younger (preteen) female viewers, involving a normal schoolgirl who is given magical powers (inevitably involving transformation of some sort) and expected to save the world. Some definitions focus more on the magical superhero-style powers, while others assume that being thrown into an alternate world as a savior is more important. Sailor Moon is the classic example, though the genre has been around since the 70s. The Japanese language version, mahou shoujo, is also occasionally used.

Mahou Shoujo: Japanese for Magical Girl; see above.

Mecha (pronounced 'meh ka', like the place): Comes from the Japanese word for mechanical, meka, which in turn came from English. It usually shows up in the credits of anime as "Mecha design", being the folks who design the look of the mechanical stuff in that anime. Among American anime fans, it is usually used a little more specifically to refer to the big robots that are so common in anime (Robotech and the like), but it can also be used to mean mechanical stuff in general (including cars, spaceships, and giant robots as well).


OAV: Original Animated Video. A sort of Anime miniseries produced to be released directly to video. Usually 4 to 8 parts, each one 30 to 45 minutes long. Frequently released in the US on volumes containing two or more OAVs. Also called OVA.

OVA: Original Video Animation: see OAV, above.

Otaku: Japanese word used by English-speaking anime fans to refer to an avid anime fan. In Japanese it is more of an insult (having a lot of negative connotations) and more general. An "anime otaku" would be something like saying an "obsessive anime fanboy" in English, but you could also have a "mecha otaku" (person obsessed with mechanical stuff), a "computer otaku" (obsessed computer geek), or any other variety of otaku.
Ronin: The Japanese term for a samurai without a master. Basically, they wandered around looking for work as a hired sword, and have a sort of cool, "lone gunslinger" image--think Clint Eastwood. The most popular instance along those lines is probably the movie "Yojimbo," but there are many others, including plenty in anime.

SD: Short for "Super Deformed." This is the art style where everybody has really huge heads and tiny bodies; often used along with anime or manga series as a kind of self parody (for example, a few short comic strips at the end of a comic book).

Sub: Short for "subtitled"--used to refer to a subtitled Anime program. Generally less popular than dubbed anime, but preferred by many "serious" fans. See also: Dub, above.


Seiyuu: The Japanese word for voice actor (or actress). Commonly used by English speaking fans on the web.

Shoujo: A style of artwork and story created for girls. Characterized by plots that focus on emotion and relationships, and art that tends toward the florid, with lanky characters and rather effeminite (but always attractive) men. Mostly popular with teenagers in Japan, most shoujo-style work has not spread widely, but it does occasionally gain recognition outside Japan (some examples are Revolutionary Girl Utena and X). The most common uses are "shoujo manga", litterally meaning "girls' comics", and "shoujo anime" meaning "girls' animation." Also romanized as "shojo" (actually a different word in Japanese).

Yaoi: Commonly used by English-speaking fans (particularly of the type who write fanfics) to refer to stories involving male-male relationships (generally between young, pretty hero types).