Every fandom has its own vocabulary. And then theres anime, where most of theterms are an entirely different language. But before you throw your hands up in frustration trying to understand the difference between twelve words all ending in -masu, take a few minutes to read this lexicon of anime starter terms. A ANIMEAnime, simply put, is animation from Japan. It can also be considered animation that emulates the Japanese art style. The format can be a TV series, a mini-series (sometimes called an OVA- Original Video Animation), or a movie. Photo credit: viewersdiscretionisadvised.wordpress.comBBAKADummy. Idiot. Stupid. Baka! C CHIBISomething small or shrunken while still being cute. D DOUJINSHIFan-made manga, and theyre not just on LiveJournal! There are stores full of this stuff in Japan. E ECCHIContaining sexual themes without being explicit. F FAN SERVICEAdditional material ,such as up-skirt and cleavage shots, that are included to please the viewer, but are not necessary to the story. G GAKURANThe uniform made for middle school and high school studentsin Japan. H HAREMHarem is a sub-genre of anime in which the protagonist is surrounded by a multitude or men or women, most of whom have some kind of attraction to that protagonist. I ITAIItai! is what a character exclaims when something hurts like a cut, a bee sting, a stab wound, a third-degree burn, or an amputation. You get the picture. J J-POPJapanese pop music, sometimesused for anime theme songs. It is not a kind of soda. Soda will come later. K KAWAIIKawaii (pronounced like Hawaii) means cute. Not to be mistaken for kowai (ko-why) which means scary. LLOLITAA Japanese fashion style in which girls dress upin Victorian-inspiredoutfitsthat make them appear doll-like. Photo credit: Dark HorseM MANGAJapanese comic style, traditionally in black and white.Some manga is found serialized in magazines, but most likely you will find multiple chapters bound in one book. Commonlyread from right-to-left, instead of the American-style left-to-right. N NANI?What? No really, it means What? You will often hear it combined with other words to create more specific questions like Whats that? or What are you doing? O OTAKUSomeone who is obsessed with any kind of fandom.In Japan, otaku is a derogatory word that implies that a fanboy is nonfunctional. In Western culture, however, the word is defined more specifically as a hardcore fan of anime/manga/Japanese culture. Photo credit: pocky.comP POCKYA cookie stick covered with yum. Need we say more? Q Q-VERSIONA cute version of a person or thing. R RAMUNEFlavored soda with a ball in the neck forreasons. Challenge yourself to open and drink one of these things before you researchhow to actually do it. S SHOUNEN/SHOUJOShounen means boys and shoujo means girls. These terms are often used to differentiate between intended audiences. Additional terms you might want to familiarize yourself with are bishounen/bishoujo (or bishie for short) which means a pretty boy or pretty girl. There is also mahoshoujo which means magical girl, a common anime genre along the lines of Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. T TSUNDEREA character who starts off cold and indifferent until you get to know them, then find their warm and gooey center. U URUSAIThe word means noisy, but when said alone, it can also be used to say Shut up. Photo credit: http://www.malice-mizer.co.jp/V VISUAL KEIA fashion movementstarted byJapanese musicians that uses flashy and elegant costumes, hair, and makeup. Sometimes this look is intended to make performers look more androgynous. W WEEABOOAn Englishderogatoryterm for a non-Japanese person whosso obsessed with Japanese culture that they will emulate it in multiple aspects of their lives. No, going out for authentic ramen does not a weeaboo make. X XGESTURESThe X is a very common and very clear symbol in Japan. Basically, it means no good or DO NOT WANT. You know how sometimes Japanese RPGs will use the O button to confirm and the X button to back out on PlayStation games? Drives you crazy, right? This is why. Y YAOI/YURIYaoi and yuri are terms for anime and manga with homosexual love stories. Yaoi (pronounced yow-ee) is for males and also known as BL or boys love. Yuri is for females. Z ZETTAIMeaning absolutely. Zettai is a common term you might hear when someone is determined to stand strong, such as Zettai akiramenai! or I absolutely wont give up! Whatsubarashii or benri words would you add to our list? Tell us below in the comments! Feature Image credit:Toei Animation |