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In procrastinating and looking for typos on this site, I realized I've been talking 500 miles per hour (or writing. Hence the typos) about bishounen, OAVs, and mangaka. Can't help it, I've evolved into a total otaku. What the hell?! Okay, okay, here's a modest list of definitions for commonly used Japanese terms in anime and manga. Some of them are technical terms, while others are just terms that are used over and over that they just jump out at you if you watch anime long enough.
The words in wine red have their definitions listed.
Oh yes, and this glossary also appears on Noated ^^
Big brother. No, not that kind of big brother. Big brother as in big brother big brother.
anime
Japanese animated video
red
"Thank you."
"Moron." You hear this a lot in anime. You read this a lot in manga too.
Short for bishounen
Beautiful girl
Really cute/hot guys
Small. So Sailor Chibi Chibi would literally translate to "Sailor Small Small." Hmm.
Anime or manga that are geared to both guys and girls. In other words, it's trying to be shoujo and shounen at the same time.
daijobu
The typical "I'm okay"
response to "Are you alright?"
Fansubs in digital format. Episodes and shows are playable using a variety of video playback programs such as Windows Media Player, DivX, RealOne, and BSplayer. Distributed through CD-Rs or DVD-Rs and online file transfer programs and services, typically. Usually preserves the quality of the files compared to fansubs in VHS.
A person who distributes fansubs, usually via CD-Rs or DVD-Rs. Typically distros charge only for the price of the recording media plus shipping and handling. The fansubs themselves are free.
Soft-core anime or manga porn. Less graphic than hentai.
Stand for fan-subtitled. Refers to anime with original Japanese audio and English subtitles that were added by fans. Helps promote anime to a non-Japanese-speaking audience.
"Try your best!"
"Sorry."
Feathered robe. According to legend, a man found a tennyo bathing in a nearby lake and stole her hagoromo. She had no choice but to stay with him and be his wife, because without her hagoromo, she could not return to heaven.
Anime or manga porn. 'Nuff said.
Light
honto
"Really?"
Monk or priest
Typically said before eating, as recognition that you humbly receive your food
Women. Older version of shoujo. I think.
"Cool!"
"Cute!"
Fox
Lowerclassman or junior
licensed
When an anime or manga
title is picked up by a publishing company in a given country and published
in that country's native language. Typically happens when fansubs
and scanlations were successful enough to
have a wide audience. Typically stops the distribution of fansubs
and scanlations of the licensed titles too.
Pertains to an anime or manga series where the main character is a girl with supernatural powers. She would have the obligation to save the world from the bad guys. Sometimes involves trademark transformation sequences. Sometimes involves trademark entrance lines too.
Means to protect. Also the name of anime's favorite boyfriend, Chiba Mamoru (which means Protector of the Earth). A lot of anime heroes can be heard declaring that they will protect the heroine, so I figured this word's common enough. Besides, Mamoru's hot.
Japanese graphic novels. Or comics.
Manga artists
Anime or manga with lots of machines (what a suprise). Typically classified under shounen.
Priestess
nani
"What?" This
is asked a lot, especially by clueless anime
and manga characters.
Cat. Kawaii!
Original animated video. Typically refers to really short anime, the ones with only one to three episodes or so, or to additional episodes that go outside the storyline of the TV episodes.
Ghost. You may be familiar with this term if you watched Fushigi Yuugi ^^;;
Big sister
A person who's really into anime and manga. In other words, me. And maybe you.
Another term for OAV. I think I prefer OAV.
Manga that's been scanned and translated. After scanning the manga pages, the Japanese text would be whitened out and its English translation would be typed in. Helps promote manga to a Japanese-illiterate audience.
Men. Older version of shounen. I think.
Voice actor for an anime character
One's senior in a hierarchical organization, typically an upperclassman at school
Soldiers. Probably. Usually heard in Sailor Moon, as in "sailor senshi" to refer to Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter...need I go on? I like using this term as opposed to the Americanized "scouts."
Male-male relationship that involves a minor. Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm just describing it as it is T_T
Young girl. Or girl. Whatever works.
Female-female relationships. Less intense than yuri.
Young man. Or guy. Guy maybe.
Male-male relationships. Less intense than yaoi.
If you don't know the everyday meaning of smut, type it in Google and see the garbage links that come back. Oh, man, I'd hate to see the customizable ads that'll pop up once my service provider reads this. Anyway, it's in this glossary because it's the common term for really ecchi manga ^^;;
Manga volume. Essentially, a compilation of a number of manga chapters.
Heavenly maiden
Male-male relationships that are more intense than shounen-ai. If there are anime that are shoujo and shounen, then there's also yaoi.
yaoi
pit
A parallel dimension that is typically accessed via threads in forums.
It means exactly what it reads. To gain entry, you must post stuff deemed
by the forum moderators to be annoying, asinine, or just plain you're-asking-for-it.
As punishment, you get thrown into this pit *nod* Oh yeah, and you must
have aversion to yaois *nod*
"I did it!" A lot of shoujo characters exclaim this.
Demon. You'll probably hear this a lot in shounen anime ^^;;
Female-female relationships that are more intense than shoujo-ai. Actually don't see as much of this as yaoi, but maybe that's just because I don't look hard enough.