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A
action
lines
Straight
lines used in manga (or poorly
animated anime) to show movement.
ai
japanese.
Love.
aishiteru
japanese.
Literally a verb that means "loving," it's
usually used in context that means "I love you."
alternate
universe (AU)
A type of storytelling
(often used in fanfics) that takes
characters from a series and puts them in a completely different
setting with little to no connection to the original story.
Also includes fanfics about situations that could never
exist in the series (such as one character talking to another
character who died 50 years before he was born) as long
as no explanation is given that makes sense in the context
of the fictional world.
AMV
abbr.
Anime Music Video.
anger
mark
A mark made
up of three or four curved lines that's used to show extreme
anger or annoyance. It usually shows up on a character's
forehead (it resembles veins popping out). When animated,
it's often red and pulsing.
angst
As a verb, to
angst is to brood, whine, or curl in a ball and cry about
how much your life sucks. As a noun, angst is a prominent
feature in many anime and manga series, particularly in
characters' pasts. This can be anything from being upset
over your crush's ignorance of your existence to being haunted
by the horrible death of all your family and friends. Angsty
characters are abound in practically all anime and manga,
and a disproportionate number of them are bishounen.
anime
Japanese animation.
Usually feature big eyes (especially on female characters)
and small mouths which become huge when yelling. Anime is
very popular through much of Asia, and is gaining popularity
abroad as well.
anime
music video
Clips of an
anime series set to music. These sometimes have excellent
timing, lip-synching, and visual effects. Many cons
have competitions for music videos; see this
website for tons of music videos for download.
arigatou
japanese.
"Thank you." A longer, more formal version is
"arigatou gozaimasu."
artbook
A collection
of artwork from an anime, manga, comic, movie, video game,
etc. These often include color image
shots and/or preliminary sketches and character designs.
assistant
Some manga artists
have helpers to do the more boring and monotonous parts
of their job. Assistants are the people who ink frame borders,
draw unimportant backgrounds, deal with screentone
and draw a thousand action lines
a millimeter apart. Some manga artists get their start this
way.
AU
abbr.
Alternate Universe.
audio
drama
A voice actor
performance on CD, cassette, or radio. Sometimes anime and
manga have spin-off drama CDs, and other times an anime
is based
off an audio drama.
B
baka
japanese.
"Idiot." Very common insult in anime and fandoms.
bento
A Japanese boxed
lunch. Girls in anime often make these for their boyfriends
or crushes.
beta
reader
A test reader
for a piece of writing such as a fanfic.
Beta readers give you feedback on your almost-finished writing
for last minute edits.
BGM
abbr.
Background Music. Any music played during an anime, movie,
video game, etc. used to set the tone or make a scene more
interesting. These are often collected on soundtracks.
bishoujo
japanese.
"Beautiful girl." Girls with long legs, short
skirts, small waists, and large chests are incredibly common
in anime and manga of all genres. Sometimes spelled bishojo.
bishounen
japanese.
"Beautiful boy." These characters are common in
all types of anime, and come by the dozen in shoujo
series. They're effeminate, thin, and usually have really
nice hair with bangs that fall in the eyes. Sometimes spelled
bishonen.
bokken
A solid wooden
sword made of oak or other hardwood. In kendo,
the bokken is used for basics and forms practice, but not
sparring, where a shinai is used instead
to prevent injuries.
C
canon
Part of the
original work that comes directly from the creator. The
opposite of fannon.
cartridge
Before the popularity
of CDs and minidisks for console
game systems, video games came on cartridges: rectangular
plastic pieces that plugged into the systems. Making them
work can be a major pain, as any dust and dirt that gets
into the game can make it impossible to play.
cel
A picture on
clear plastic that is photographed for the animation process.
After they are used for animation, they become collector's
items. A good cel from a popular series can sell for hundreds
of dollars.
cel
animation
Traditional
animation, where animators draw pictures with slight differences
photographed in order to simulate motion.
CG
abbr.
Computer Graphics. When referring to animation, it means
animation done on a computer as opposed to drawing actual
cels. Until fairly recently CG animation was characterized
by blocky polygons, making realistic machinery but failing
to create realistic natural objects. There have been great
advances in the last few years, and big-budget CG projects
can look convincingly real about 75% of the time. When computers
are used to try to replicate cel animation, the pictures
tend to look cut-out and unusually bright. When talking
about still pictures, CG refers to a drawing that was colored
and finished using a computer, usually with a program such
as Adobe Photoshop.
chibi
japanese.
"Small." Sometimes used to describe children,
or in other contexts, superdeformed
characters.
-chan
A cutesy suffix
usually added to the names of girls and young children by
close aquaintences, friends, and family. After a certain
age, boys often start taking offense.
character
design
Preliminary
drawings of a character for an anime, they are used as a
reference by animators when drawing. Also can refer to preliminary
sketches for a manga or game. For major characters, there
are usually views from many different angles, head shots,
and pictures of said characters wearing different clothes
or holding important props. Designs sometimes also include
height charts, comparing the heights of the main cast members.
Chinese
mythology
Many anime and
manga series are based (usually very loosely) on ancient
Chinese myths. Some examples are Fushigi Yuugi, Houshin
Engi, Saiyuuki, and Dragonball. The most common mythological
character in anime is Son Goku, the monkey king.
citrus
Another way
to say lemon or lime,
in other words, a warning about adult content in fanworks.
computer
graphics
See CG.
con
abbr.
Convention. There are cons dedicated to anime, comics, and
video games, as well as all sorts of more obscure topics.
They are a chance to meet people with similar interests
and find out the latest news for your particular branch
of the subculture. They're also a great place to buy obscure
import merchandise, meet famous people, and watch someone
dressed up as your favorite character walk past you down
the hall.
console
A computer-like
machine built specifically to play video games. It hooks
up to your TV, and you play via a controller. The newest
generation of game consoles include the Sony PS2, Microsoft
X-Box and Nintendo Gamecube. Games for one system are not
usually compatible with other systems.
console
gamer
A hardcore console
gamer usually owns several game consoles,
and many still have older systems in good working order.
They often prefer consoles to computer games because compatibility
is never an issue; the games are built specifically to work
with their system, so they rarely run slow or crash.
cosplay
Making and wearing
the costume of a character from an anime, video game, etc.
People usually cosplay at conventions,
which often have competitions and skits for cosplayers.
cram
school
A school that
a high school student or ronin attends
to get extra help studying for exams. The curriculum is
set up specifically for passing important tests.
crossover
A fanfic, fanart,
fancomic, etc. where characters from one series meet and
interact with characters from another.
cutscene
In many RPGs,
important plot moments are shown in cel
or computer animation--these animated
sections are called cutscenes. The player has no control
over the game during cutscenes. Also called FMV.
D
daijobu
japanese.
"All right." Can be used as a question ("Are
you all right?") or a statement ("I'm all right.")
dance
dance revolution (DDR)
An arcade game
by Konami. Colored arrows appear on the screen in rhythm
to a song, and you have to step on the appropriate large
pad key with your feet (up, down, left, right) to succeed.
It's also available for Playstation, but you have to buy
a pad for the floor. For more info, go here.
darkfic
A piece of
fanfiction that takes a normally
happy and lighthearted series and makes it horribly angsty
and depressing. Darkfics usually deal with issues like guilt,
death, suicide, or sexual abuse.
DDR
abbr.
Dance Dance Revolution.
demi-human
Half human,
half animal. Like a furry, but demi-human usually refers
to half-animal characters in professional works as opposed
to amateur, and doesn't have the sexual connotation that
the term furry sometimes implies.
digisubs
Fansubs
that are kept as .avi, .mov, or other types of movie files
on a computer and distributed by CD-R or FTP. Sometimes
these are later put on video tape and distributed like normal
fansubs. For info on getting digisubs, go here.
distro
abbr.
Fansub distributor.
DM
abbr.
Dungeon Master.
dojo
A martial arts
school, and common setting for an anime series.
domestic
A series owned,
translated, and distributed by a North American company.
Domestic anime and manga can be legitimately purchased at
mainstream retail stores.
doujinshi
Japanese fan
comics. In Japan, there are entire stores and conventions
dedicated to doujinshi. Although technically doujinshi should
be illegal, there are rules that allow it to be sold in
certain circumstances and it's often overlooked by the artists
of the actual comics because most of them started out drawing
doujinshi.
D-pad
On a game controller,
the set of connected buttons that allow you to move up,
down, left and right. Usually controlled by the left thumb.
drama
CD
See audio
drama.
drama
track
On some anime
soundtracks, there are tracks of dialogue by the cast interspersed
with the show's music. These often take the form of skits.
dub
Anime with the
voice acting redone by English voice actors. Purists
usually dislike these because the acting in an English dub
is often bad, and changes to the original script are necessary
to make the dialogue fit the character's mouths.
dungeon
master (DM)
The person in
charge during tabletop gaming, the Dungeon Master controls
all the side characters and enemies and comes up with the
plot of the game. Also known as GM, or
Game Master.
E
ecchi
A term for adult
sexual situations, although tamer than hentai.
The equivilant English term is lime.
These usually fall in the PG-13 to R category, and may be
about either heterosexual or homosexual relationships.
ED
abbr. Ending
song and/or animation. The credits run during it.
emulator
A computer program
that allows you to play console video
games on your computer. The actual games are downloaded
as ROMs. Most emulators are for older
systems, such as Nintendo or Super Nintendo. This is because
newer games require much better computer equiptment to run,
and there are fewer moral issues getting a game for free
when it's not available for sale anyway.
Engrish
Mangled English
writing found on Japanese food, stationary, clothes, and
other products, or anywhere Japanese people with a poor
grasp of the English language attempted to translate. Go
here
for examples.
Ever
Anime
A Taiwanese
professional bootleg music company that produces illegal
anime soundtracks. Copyright laws in Taiwan make these CDs
legal there. Technically, they are illegal everywhere else,
but because of the high price and rarity of the legitimate
CDs in the US they can be found fairly often in stores and
on the Internet. They are usually sold for between $7 and
$15 each. None of this money ever reaches the original artists.
The other most common Taiwanese bootlegger is SonMay.
For more info on anime bootlegs, go here.
F
facevault
An exaggerated
expression of surprise, where the character's jaw drops
anywhere from an inch or two to hitting the floor.
fanart
Pictures of
characters from anime, manga, games, etc. drawn by fans
of the series. A good way to practice your art skills, because
people are more likely to look at your art and give feedback
if it's of characters they know.
fanboy
The term "fanboy"
doesn't simply mean a male fan (most male anime fans and
gamers don't really qualify as fanboys). Calling someone
a fanboy is generally an insult. It refers to stereotypical
losers with poor social skills and hygiene, the kind of
guy who speaks fluent Klingon and plays fighting games simply
to look at a pixelated girl's underwear. As this term becomes
more widely-used, though, it also becomes less derogatory.
fandom
A community
of fans that share a common interest. A large fandom usually
includes extensive information websites, shrines,
fanart, and fanfiction
(sometimes in large databases dedicated exclusively to fanstuff
for that particular show), mailing lists, and message boards.
Many fandoms seem to be run by a few people who have the
biggest and best websites, and webmasters from the same
fandom often link to each other, exchange fanart, or even
give each other cameos in fanfics.
fandub
An anime with
voice acting redone in English by fans of the series. They
don't own the rights and therefore can't profit off their
work, but they do it for the love of the series. Because
of all the work involved and difficulty in getting voice
actors, these projects usually only last a few episodes.
fanfic
A single work
of fanfiction.
fanfiction
Stories written
by the fans of a series using the characters and/or settings
of that series. Go here
for more info and lots of examples.
fangirl
Usually the
term "fangirl" doesn't refer simply to a female
fan (it's possible to be a fan and a girl, but not a fangirl).
Being a fangirl means squealing madly over hot bishounen,
and usually claiming a few to be your own. Probably 70%
of fangirls approve of and enjoy shounen-ai
and yaoi. Yaoi and non-yaoi fangirls
alike tend to have a perverted side.
fannon
Concepts, ideas,
and works for a certain series invented by the fan community.
The opposite of canon.
fanservice
Technically,
this term means anything that the producers of a show put
in as an extra for the fans, but usually it refers to characters
losing clothes for no particular reason. When the hot male
lead's shirt disintegrates in a fireball but his skin is
left mysteriously unharmed or a girl has her angsty monologue
in the shower for no story-driven reason, that's fanservice.
The most blatant fanservice often comes in the form of a
hot springs episode.
fansite
A website made
by a fan of something, dedicated to that thing. There are
tons of fansites dedicated to anime, manga, and games. Many
of them can be found on the
Anipike.
fanstuff
A term that
includes fanart, fanfiction,
and other fan-created work based on a series. Means the
same as fanworks.
fansub
Anime that's
been subtitled and distributed by fans without permission
from the Japanese company. Fansubbers were subtitling and
distributing anime long
before most anime started getting domestically
released in this country. Since fansubbers don't want to
take money away from companies that are bringing
anime to this country, they'll usually sub
series that are either too new or too obscure to be brought
over, and if a series is bought by an American company they
will stop. Because of this moral code they follow, and the
fact that fansubbers and distributors are fans and customers
as well, American companies mostly ignore fansubs.
fansubber
Someone who
subtitles anime without permission, for free.
fansub
distributor
Someone who
copies and sells fansub tapes. Because
fansubs are done without permission, they are not allowed
to make money off their tapes. Usually tapes cost between
$4 and $7 each, for the cost of the tape, shipping, and
VCR upkeep.
fanworks
A term that
includes fanart, fanfiction,
and other fan-created work based on a series. Means the
same as fanstuff, but fanworks sounds
slightly more professional.
fic
abbr.
Fanfic.
fighting
game
A type of video
game where you play as one character in a one-on-one fighting
tournament. Depending on the game, your character will fight
with unarmed martial arts, a variety of weapons, or superpowers
and other special moves. The buttons on your controller
are used to punch, kick, block, grab, and move around the
screen. Special high-powered moves are done by pressing
buttons in a certain sequence.
filk
Song lyrics
that have to do with a fandom, set
to the tune of a popular song.
filler
Most anime series
over 20 episodes have at least a few fillers. These are
episodes that were not based on the original manga. They
tend to be one-shots or short story arcs and never involve
important, plot-moving events. Poorly written fillers often
have out of character moments and plot holes. An animation
studio can have several different reasons for adding filler
episodes. Sometimes, when a series is being animated while
the manga is still running, fillers are added to allow the
manga artist time to write more of the story. Sometimes
a studio wants to turn a short manga into a longer anime,
and uses fillers to flesh it out. Other times fillers are
used to add more time for character development.
first
person shooter
A type of video
game where your screen shows the point of view of your character.
The controls are often difficult to use, with one set to
move your character and another to aim your weapon.
FMV
abbr.
Full Motion Video. In many RPGs, important
plot moments are shown in cel
or computer animation. These animated
sections are called FMVs. The player has no control over
the game during these sections. FMVs are also called cutscenes.
FPS
abbr.
First Person Shooter.
fuku
japanese.
"Uniform." Often refers to a schoolgirl uniform.
furigana
The small hiragana
and katakana written next to kanji,
used to clarify pronunciation and make things easier to
understand. Most manga has furigana. They make the stories
easier to read for younger Japanese kids (and English speakers
trying to learn Japanese).
furry
Refers to either
a half human, half animal creature, or a fan of said creatures.
Furries are usually fanartists. Sometimes furry has a sexual
connotation, although as non-sexual furries are quick to
point out, this is not always the case. Also see demi-human.
G
game
master (GM)
The person in
charge during tabletop gaming, the Game Master controls
all the side characters and enemies and comes up with the
plot of the game. Also called the Dungeon
Master, or DM.
gamer
A fan of electronic
and/or paper and pencil tabletop games. Gamers come in several
varieties, such as console gamer,
PC gamer, and tabletop
gamer.
giant
robots
Very common
in anime, giant robots appear in all genres of anime, although
they are most common in shounen series. Since the success
of Neon Genesis Evangelon, many robot shows have tried to
tackle difficult issues involving religion, science, and
war instead of simply being about big machines beating each
other up. Giant robots are sometimes called mecha,
although this term can also refer to other mechanical equipment.
gijinka
A fanartist's
term for drawing animal sidekicks as human beings. This
is most common with kid shows like Pokemon or Digimon, simply
because these shows have the most little monsters and animals
running around.
glomp
An overenthusiastic
hug. Occurs both in actual anime, and in the fandoms, where
fangirls often talk about "glomping"
their favorite bishounen.
GM
abbr.
Game Master.
gomen
japanese.
"I'm sorry." This is the informal version, for
more formal situations use "gomen nasai."
H
H
abbr.
Hentai.
hai
japanese.
"Yes," or "here" when presenting something.
hajime
mashite
japanese.
"Nice to meet you." A polite greeting when meeting
someone for the first time.
hammerspace
Periodically
in many anime series, a character will pull a hammer or
mallet from thin air and use it to bash another character's
head in. The other dimension from which these hammers are
pulled has been named hammerspace. It has also been hypothesized
that this is where RPG characters keep
their massive inventories of weapons and armor.
hentai
japanese.
"Pervert" or "perversion." Often used
as a label for fanworks to warn against adult content. More
graphic than ecchi, hentai implies a rating of R or NC-17.
Hentai material may be about either heterosexual or homosexual
relationships, but if the term is used alone without being
marked yaoi or yuri as well, it's usually heterosexual.
het
abbr.
Heterosexual. Usually used to label a fanfic as being about
heterosexual relationships.
hiragana
One of the three
Japanese alphabets. Hiragana is one of the more basic alphabets,
and is usually the first learned by Japanese kids and foreign
language students alike. Each symbol is one syllable, and
there are 46 symbols in the alphabet. The other two alphabets
are katakana and kanji.
hit
points
In a console
or PC RPG, or when tabletop
gaming, your characters have a certain number of hit
points, usually based on their level, health, and/or strength
scores. Your number of hit points goes down when an enemy
successfully attacks you, and they go up by drinking health
potions or going to sleep. When they hit zero, your character
is KO'd.
hot
springs
In practically
every long anime series there is at least one hot springs
episode. The female characters go on one side, the male
characters on the other. Everyone's naked (although depending
on the intended audience, you generally don't see anything),
and the boys and girls are only separated by a wall. Usually
in comedy series, one of the male characters either gets
caught peeking at the girls or ends up getting stuck on
the girl's side through some handy plot device, and the
female character(s) proceed to beat the crap out of him.
In more serious series, the characters tend to keep to their
own sides and have angsty conversations. Instant fanservice
for everyone, and a quick idea for filler
writers with writer's block. Also see public
baths.
HP
abbr.
Hit Points.
I
image
shot
A
picture from a series that is never used as actual content
for that series. These are often used as manga or DVD covers,
or to decorate merchandise. They are sometimes collected
in artbooks or can be purchased in
card or postcard sets. Image shots can sometimes be strange,
dressing characters in outfits or putting them in settings
that would never exist in their fictional world (for example,
it's common to see characters from a historical or fantasy
setting dressed in modern clothes in an image shot).
image
song
Being a Japanese
voice actor doesn't just mean acting and talking--many shows
make their voice actors sing as well. Image songs are usually
solos by the voice actor of a character that have to do
with the situation of that character. These are sometimes
played during important scenes for that character, and sometimes
they aren't heard during the series at all but only on soundtracks.
Although some voice actors are decent or even excellent
singers, others are awful (they were hired for their acting
talent, not singing voice after all). Listening to some
guy who can hardly carry a tune try to squawk out a bad
pop song can be quite painful.
irasshaimase
japanese.
"Welcome." Often heard in anime restaurants and
shops, or written at the top of websites.
itadakimasu
Said before
starting a meal, this Japanese phrase is usually translated
as "grace" or "thanks for the food."
Real live Japanese people don't say this nearly as much
as anime would have you believe.
J
ja
ne
japanese.
A casual way of saying "good-bye." Also "ja
mata."
japanimation
A stupid American
term for anime. This word was more
frequently used back in the '80s and early '90s before anime
became popular. Today, using this word is probably the fastest
possible way to get sneers from purists.
Japlish
Same as Engrish.
J-pop
Japanese popular
music. Basically, it's the Japanese equivalent to our Top
40. If you think American boy bands are ridiculous, just
wait until you see their Japanese counterparts. Many anime
series have J-pop theme songs, and some voice actors are
also J-pop singers (or become them at the hands of insane
merchandising). Other genres of Japanese music can be classified
by adding J- to their names, such as J-rock or J-punk.
K
kanji
One of the three
Japanese alphabets. Japanese kanji are the same as the characters
used in Chinese. Each character represents a word, and there
are thousands of kanji in existence. This is the
hardest alphabet to learn by far, and it's practically impossible
for even scholarly native speakers to know them all. The
other two (phonetic) alphabets are hiragana
and katakana.
katakana
One of the three
Japanese alphabets. Like hiragana, katakana's symbols each
stand for one syllable of a word. The difference between
the two alphabets is that katakana is usually used for foreign
words, and has symbols for some sounds that exist in foreign
languages but not Japanese. It is also sometimes used for
learning pronunciation or to emphasize the meanings of words.
The other two alphabets are hiragana
and kanji.
katana
A Japanese sword.
A katana is slightly curved, and the blade is only on one
side.
kawaii
japanese.
"Cute." This word is often squealed by annoying
female characters at a glass-shattering and ear-piercing
pitch and volume.
kendo
Japanese fencing.
Kendo is a major sport in Japan. It's taught in gym classes
and college teams are sometimes very competitive and high-profile.
Competitors wear armor covering their upper bodies and use
a bamboo sword called a shinai. The
equipment is designed so that the competitors can go all-out
against each other without anyone getting hurt. For more
info go here.
kisama
japanese.
A really impolite way to address someone, usually translated
as "you bastard" or something similar. Most often
heard in fighting or action series, when the hero addresses
the villain just after the villain does or announces something
evil.
KO
abbr.
Knock Out. Used in almost all RPGs and
fighting games, and some other
types of games as well. KO means that a character is taken
out of the action and/or are is unconscious. In a fighting
game, it means your character lost the round. In an RPG,
the term KO is often used to sidestep the idea of characters
dying and coming back to life hundreds of times over the
course of the story. Sometimes they use the term "fainted"
instead, which is even more ridiculous ("He got stabbed
three times through the gut and set on fire, then he fainted").
These terms indicate that the character's hit points are
at zero, and they won't be able to fight again until they
are given some sort of revival potion or have a good night's
sleep at the inn.
konnichiwa
japanese.
"Hello."
-kun
A Japanese name
suffix, usually used for men and boys of equal status
to the speaker such as friends and close aquaintences, or
for anyone male of a lower age than that of the speaker.
kuso
japanese.
A common swearword, usually translated as "crap"
or "shit." Sometimes used in the insult "kusoyaro,"
often translated as "shit-head."
L
LARP
abbr.
Live Action Role Playing. The setup is similar to tabletop
gaming, except that as much of the action as possible
is done in real time. This includes mock battles and physically
running around large buildings or part of a city. LARPs
sometimes last an entire weekend or longer. They are often
run at conventions.
lemon
A fan term
for adult sexual situations. More graphic than lime,
it means the same as hentai. These
will be rated R or NC-17, and may be about either heterosexual
or homosexual relationships.
lime
A fanfic term
for adult sexual situations, although tamer than a lemon.
The equivilant Japanese term is ecchi.
These usually fall in the PG-13 to R category, and may be
about either heterosexual or homosexual relationships.
litchi
A type of fruit
that's native to Asia, Australia, and the surrounding islands.
Litchi fruit grows on trees and the fruit itself is pink
or red in color and covered with a leathery rind. At Asian
markets, it's possible to find gummies, jellies, and drinks
that come in litchi flavor. Litchi is also spelled litchie,
lychee, or leechee.
lolicon
abbr.
Lolita Complex. Japanese society seems to have an obsession
with teenage girls, with girls in high school and younger
running around in very short skirts, and older women sometimes
going to great lengths to look young and cute. This is often
reflected in anime series, which are full of perverted old
men hitting on high school girls. Lolicon is sometimes written
"Roricon."
M
magical
girl
A genre made
up of Sailor Moon and similar stories. Magical girl shows
star a girl or group of girls with special powers. Their
powers often involve shooting hearts, bubbles, and other
girly things, and they often have sparkly, marketable, magic
wand-type weapons and props. Clothing is also a major focus,
as most magical girls fight in a special outfit and they
usually change via an elaborate stock
animation transformation
sequence. The Japanese term for magical girl is "mahou
shoujo."
mahou
shoujo
japanese."Magical
Girl."
manga
Japanese comics.
Unlike American comics, manga is read by a very large percentage
of the Japanese population, including adult men and women.
Therefore, there are many different genres of manga that
appeal to different groups. The most obvious division is
between shounen (boys) manga and
shoujo (girls) manga.
manga-ka
Japanese comic
artist. Unlike American comics, in Japan there is usually
only one person responsible for writing, drawing, inking,
and lettering a comic. They usually have assistants
to do the simple and repetitive drawing tasks, but all the
creative work is done by the manga-ka.
Mary-Sue
A fanfiction
term for an unrealistically perfect original character who
is obviously based on the author. Mary-Sues are tougher,
smarter, and more desirable than it's possible for an actual
human being to be. They are a self-indulgent chance for
the author to fantasize about his/her favorite fictional
world, and they usually annoy the general audience to no
end. A male Mary-Sue is sometimes called a Harry-Stu or
Larry-Stu. Also called Self Insert.
mecha
abbr.
Mechanical, but it usually refers to giant
robots.
mechanical
designer
Because of the
popularity of sci-fi and giant robots
in anime, many series have someone whose job is to design
all the robots, spaceships, and other strange mechanical
devices that exist in the fictional world.
memory
card
A rectangular
plastic piece that plugs into a game console
and is used to store saved games and other game information.
All of the more recent consoles use memory cards to store
game data except the X-Box, which has built-in storage.
miko
japanese.
"Priestess." Many webmasters give themselves nicknames
in the form *** no miko, which translates to priestess of
***. *** is often the name of the person's favorite anime
bishounen. This was started by
the anime and manga Fushigi Yuugi, where the main character
Miaka is the Priestess of Suzaku, or Suzaku no Miko.
minna
japanese.
"Everyone." This is what they yell in series with
large casts to get people's attention.
mithril
A fictional
metal that looks like silver and makes really great weapons
and armor, originally invented by J. R. R. Tolkien of The
Lord of the Rings fame. The word has been adopted by many
RPGs, and usually the second or third
best weapons or armor in the game are made of mithril.
MMORPG
abbr.
Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Usually played
on computers, although most new consoles can also be hooked
up to the Internet. These are games where you create a character
and play with or against other people via the Internet.
mod
chip
A part that
can be installed in an American game console
that makes it possible to play Japanese and bootleg games.
monster
shows
Pokemon and
similar series. Monster shows are characterized by their
amazing marketability. They usually star a bunch of kids
who somehow get involved with training and fighting with
little monsters (some imitators substitute robots for monsters,
but the concept is the same). The goal is to either find
the best monsters, or make your monster evolve into some
tougher form. These shows usually have tons of spin-off
games, toys, and other merchandise. Monster shows were some
of the first anime to make it on American TV, because of
their young intended audience and tendency to make lots
of money.
moshi
moshi
japanese.
"Hello" when answering the phone.
MP
abbr.
Magic Points. In an RPG, these points
allow your character to do special moves, like casting spells.
When these points reach zero, the character can no longer
do any special moves. Different games sometimes have different
systems for special moves. Others use the MP system but
call the points something different such as SP or Skill
Points.
music
video
In otaku
fandoms, this refers to clips of an
anime series set to music. These sometimes have excellent
timing, lip-synching and visual effects. Many cons
have competitions for music videos, and this
website has tons of music videos for download.
N
nani
japanese.
"What?"
nosebleed
When a character
gets a nosebleed in anime or manga, it means they are turned-on
or thinking perverted thoughts. This usually happens to
male characters who are looking at female characters, often
resulting in the male character getting a mallet to the
head. This does not apply to nosebleeds that happen when
a character is punched in the face.
NPC
abbr.
Non-Playable Character. In an RPG, these
are the random townspeople who tell you such useful bits
of information as "The Emerald Cave is to the east"
and "I saw a black-cloaked man heading toward the swamp."
O
OAV
abbr.
Original Animation Video. Same as OVA.
oekaki
board
A JAVA-based
program which allows people to post drawings on a forum-like
board. Pictures are drawn and posted completely on the computer.
Experienced and talented oekaki artists do really detailed
and impressive drawings. People can also post comments for
each picture.
ohayo
japanese.
"Good morning." The longer, more formal version
is "ohayo gozaimasu."
okama
Crossdresser.
These characters are surprisingly common in shounen
series. Although the characters can sometimes be serious
and dramatic aspects of the story, their crossdressing tendencies
are usually dealt with humorously.
omake
japanese.
"Bonus." This term is used for extra art, gags,
short comics, and other stuff stuck at the end of a manga
or anime. It's also often used on fanpages as the title
of the miscellaneous page.
onegai
japanese.
"Please." The longer, more formal version is "onegai
shimasu."
oni
japanese.
"Ogre." These are vaguely human monsters from
Japanese mythology. They're usually huge guys with horns
or fangs. They are fearsome creatures that enjoy hurting
human beings, and are often used to represent the dark side
of human nature.
OOC
abbr.
Out Of Character. Often a fanfiction
term, which means that the writer is changing the personalities
of the characters he or she is writing about for the purposes
of the story. This is sometimes done on purpose (in an Alternate
Universe fanfic, for example, the character's original
personality may not make sense) or is sometimes just bad
writing.
OP
abbr.
Opening song or animation.
OST
abbr.
Original Soundtrack. A collection of the music in an anime
series is often called an OST. When there are multiple soundtracks,
they are numbered OST 1, OST 2, etc.
otaku
japanese.
"Geek," a person who's obsessed with something.
Usually refers to hardcore anime fans. In Japan, this term
is more insulting than it is here (it's similar to calling
someone a fanboy). Anime fans in the
US have adopted it as a name and identity for themselves,
and it can be a mark of pride.
OVA
abbr.
Original Video Animation. This is anime that went straight
to video in Japan, without being shown on TV or in theaters.
An OVA is usually 6 or fewer episodes long. Sometimes they
contain graphic violence or sex that wouldn't be shown on
TV. Other times they are based on a manga that wasn't long
enough or popular enough to have a normal TV series.
P
para
para
A type of dance
that's based on pre-scripted hand motions. Para para dance
groups come up with routines to certain songs and they are
performed in unison. It's popular in Japan and other Asian
countries.
para
para paradise
An arcade game
by Konami that's similar to Dance
Dance Revolution, except that it uses five infrared
sensors to follow your motions instead of a dance pad. The
game is played by following arrows on the screen and doing
the appropriate hand motions in front of the sensors. There
is also a Playstation version that can be played with sensors
or a controller. The dances and moves of Para Para Paradise
are based on para para dancing.
PC
game
A video game
played on a computer. Many of the popular games in this
group rely on connecting to other players via the Internet.
Other common types of computer games are ones that appeal
to a more mainstream audience that's less likely to own
a console, or games that depend on
typing. Sometimes console games also come out for computer.
PC
gamer
Hardcore PC
gamers are usually pretty good with computers in general,
and own computers with good video cards and fast Internet
connections. Many of them are console
gamers as well, but they prefer to play online games
on their computers. PC games also allow the player to use
a machine s/he already has instead of having to go buy a
console.
pencilboard
See shitajiki.
phoenix
down
In the Final
Fantasy series of games, a phoenix down is an item used
to revive KO'd characters.
phonebook
manga
In Japan, comics
are published in large magazines on colored newsprint. These
are perfect-bound (like a book, not a magazine) and the
bigger ones are over two inches thick (thus resembling a
phonebook). They come out weekly or monthly, and the most
popular one, Weekly
Shonen Jump, sells over 3 million copies every week
according to Viz.
plushie
A stuffed doll
of an anime character. These usually look superdeformed,
and are between 5" and 8" tall. Also see UFO
catcher doll.
pocky
A thin cookie
stick dipped in chocolate. Comes in many flavors including
strawberry, green tea, almond crush, and Men's (dark chocolate).
Can be found at most Asian groceries or markets.
public
bath
In Japan, in
addition to private baths in the home, sometimes people
bathe at the public bath. It's like a swimming pool with
hot water and nudity, and men and women have separate sides.
In anime, a trip to the public baths is sometimes used for
fanservice in place of a hot
springs episode.
purist
An anime fan
who insists on subtitles and hates all changes to the original
script, particularly Americanization (saying they're eating
donuts instead of rice balls, etc.). Most hardcore anime
fans have at least a little purist in them (bad English
voice actors are a real problem in many series), but real
purists are often impossible to please and overly critical.
PWP
abbr.
Plot, What Plot? Usually a fanfiction
term, although it can be used in other contexts. It indicates
that a work has little or no actual substance, that it's
cheap, quick, and easy. Usually these are about sex, although
sometimes the term is used for pointless humor fics.
Q
R
raw
Anime that hasn't
been subtitled or dubbed
over, in other words there's no translation for people who
don't speak Japanese.
revolving
door in the afterlife
When an author
wants their characters to go through the pain and angst
that goes along with the death of a friend, but they don't
want to actually lose a character for the remainder of the
series, they sometimes install a "revolving door in
the afterlife." It's a handy plot device that allows
characters to be brought back to life through some sort
of magic. The worst abusers of this concept are shows like
Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon, where sometimes single characters
die and are brought back multiple times.
ROM
A ROM is a series
of files that contains all the information that makes up
a game. In video game emulation for computers, the ROM is
copied from the original cartridge or disk onto a computer.
These ROM files can be played using emulators.
ronin
In Japan, students
applying to colleges and universities need to take long,
difficult enterence exams. A ronin is a student who is taking
time off between high school and college to prepare for
the enterence exams.
romanized
Same as romaji.
romaji
A Japanese word
written with letters of the Roman alphabet (the alphabet
we use for English.) Romaji allows English speakers who
don't know Japanese to read and pronounce Japanese words
without learning hiragana or katakana.
It is often used for English speakers trying to learn Japanese,
so they can work at one thing at a time (dealing with meanings
and pronunciations before learning all the symbols in the
hirigana alphabet, for example). Because the sounds used
in Japanese and English don't always match up, sometimes
Japanese words are spelled differently (shoujo/shojo, for
example). All the Japanese words in this glossary are romaji.
Romaji and "romanized" mean the same thing.
roricon
Another spelling
of Lolicon.
RPG
abbr.
Role Playing Game. A game where you play as a character
in a story. In a console RPG, you
generally have to follow the plot of the game very closely,
although most of them have numerous sidequest
opportunities. Almost all of them end the same way: the
main cast saving the world from certain destruction. The
plots of console RPGs range from simplistic to amazingly
detailed and complicated. MMORPGs,
LARPs, and tabletop
RPGs give the players much more freedom to do whatever
they want. Tabletop RPGs in particular depend on the imagination
and creativity of the players.
ryu
japanese.
"Dragon." Often used as a name or part of a name.
Can also be different schools of fighting, though this is
probably based off a different definition of "ryu."
S
-sama
An extremely
respectful name suffix, this one
is usually reserved for royalty and gods. Occasionally it's
used for a normal person whom the speaker really respects.
samurai
A member of
the elite Japanese warrior class. Being a samurai was hereditary,
so there was basically no way to be elevated to a samurai
rank if you weren't born into it.
-san
A respectful
name suffix. It's the closest equivilant
to the English Mr. or Ms. It is used more often than we
use Mr. or Mrs., however, and is sometimes used between
friends or love interests.
save
point
In a console
RPG, the save point is the only place
where you can save your game in a town or dungeon. It is
usually some sort of glowing, spinning shape.
sayonara
japanese.
"Good-bye."
scanlations
Online manga
scans where the Japanese text is removed and replaced by
English. Done by fans without permission. Here
are some examples.
screencap
A still image
from a TV show or movie. These are often kept in image galleries.
Also called a screenshot.
screenshot
Same as screencap.
screentone
Patterns or
shading printed on clear sticky plastic. It is used in manga
for shadows, printed cloth, and anything the manga artist
doesn't want in solid black or white. The pieces are cut
to the right shape with an exacto knife, often the job of
an assistant. Another word for
screentone is zippotone.
SD
abbr.
Superdeformed.
seinen
japanese.
"Young man." In the otaku community, this term
is often used for anime and manga intended for an audience
of men ages 18 to 25, older than shounen.
Many of the cooler, darker action and sci-fi series fall
into this category. They often feature dirty jokes, naked
women, and other adult content appropriate for the age group.
seiyuu
japanese.
"Voice actor." In Japan, voice acting pays better
and gets more respect than it does in the States, therefore
Japanese voice actors tend to be considerably more talented
than English voice actors. For Seiyuu info, go here.
self
insert
An author adding
an original character to a story who is either literally
the author, or is supposed to represent the author. This
is very dangerous to do for anyone who isn't both an excellent
writer and very self-aware, because the risk of creating
a Mary-Sue is huge. Usually these
turn into too-perfect characters whom everyone hates but
the author, but a really good (and really careful) author
can sometimes pull it off.
seme
The opposite
of uke. In a yaoi
relationship, the seme is the aggressive one, or the one
who takes what's traditionally thought of as the man's role.
When a yaoi relationship is labeled, the seme is the one
listed first (SemexUke.)
sempai
Another spelling
of senpai.
senpai
This is a respectful
term for someone at a slightly higher level than you in
an organization. If you are a sophomore in high school you
might call a senior senpai, likewise you might call someone
one level above you at work senpai. It can be used alone
or as a name suffix. Also spelled
sempai.
sensei
This is a respectful
term for either a teacher or someone who's a master in a
field that requires a high skill level (art, music, martial
arts). Manga-ka are usually called
sensei. It can be used alone or as a name
suffix.
senshi
japanese."Soldier"
or "warrior."
serial
A story that
comes out in parts on a regular basis. Japanese manga is
serialized in manga magazines. Much fanfiction
is also serialized.
shinai
A practice
sword made of split bamboo. Used in kendo.
shine
japanese.
"Die." This is a command, usually heard when the
yeller is swinging a weapon at the head of the person they
want to die.
shitajiki
Pencilboards.
They are placed behind the page that's being written on
in a notebook to keep the marks on that page from going
through to the next page. Shitajiki with pictures of anime
characters are common, and are collected both in Japan and
in the US.
shojo
Another spelling
of shoujo.
shonen
Another spelling
of shounen.
shoujo
Jap.
"Girl." In the otaku community, it usually means
manga and anime aimed at girls that usually center around
a main female character and her relationships. She is usually
surrounded by attractive bishounen.
Examples of shoujo series are Sailor Moon or Peach Girl.
For more information, go here.
shoujo-ai
A love story
between two female characters. Less graphic than Yuri,
the characters in a shoujo-ai usually don't go beyond kissing.
Sometimes the term is misused, so be sure to check the rating
of what you're reading/viewing. Also spelled shojo-ai.
shounen
japanese.
"Boy." In the otaku community, it usually means
manga and anime aimed at boys that usually feature a spiky-haired
hero and his friends having adventures and getting in fights
that last a very, very long time. Examples of shounen series
are Dragonball Z or Flame of Recca. For more information,
go here.
shounen-ai
A love story
between two male characters. Less graphic than Yaoi,
the characters in a shounen-ai usually don't go beyond kissing.
Sometimes the term is misused, so be sure to check the rating
of what you're reading/viewing. Also spelled shonen-ai.
shrine
A website dedicated
to one character that usually goes on at great length about
how awesome that character is.
sidequest
In an RPG,
a sidequest is anything you do unrelated to your main goal
that doesn't need to be accomplished to beat the game. These
are usually the way to get the best items, weapons, and
armor in the game, gain lots of experience, and sometimes
uncover extra information about the plot or characters.
sister
complex
A common form
of angst in all genres of anime is
the sister complex. A male character has a sister or sister
figure who was taken away from him at an early age, by death
or other means. This causes lots of angst as he looks back
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