Amerianima – American inspired animations & comic books (Term from Rightstuf.com).
AMV – Anime/Animation Music Video this is when a person will take a song and edit scenes from an anime or animation series/movie to the song. (See GMV)
Anger in Anime/Manga – Anger is shown with the character becoming deformed and will have what people call “X’s” in the frame, usually in the forehead area.
Anime – Japanese Animation.
Arousal in Anime/Manga – When a character (male or female) is sexually aroused it is shown with a bloody nose. The bloody nose can be just a trickle to a full blown gusher.
CCG – Collectible Card Game, an example being Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game.
Chibi – A character can be drawn in a short, stubby, and with a big head to infer comedic elements in the story.
Cosplay – short for costume play. Dressing up as a favorite anime/manga character at conventions. In the U.S. you can see this at Science Fiction conventions and at Renaissance Fairs.
Crossplay – When a male will dress up as a anime/manga female character or when a female will dress up as a anime/manga male character.
Exasperations in Anime/Manga – Exasperation is shown by a teardrop on the character that is exasperated.
Eyes in Anime/Manga – The larger the eyes the more innocent the character. The narrower the eyes the more worldly the character.
Fan Service – This refers to when you see a characters (man or woman) underwear or skimpily clothed.
Flowers in Anime/Manga – Flowers in the background mean love. This can be either for a romantic love or a familial love. The background can also be stars, sparkles, or bubbles.
GMV – Game/Gaming Music Videothis is when a person will take a song and edit scenes from an video game to the song . (See AMV)
Hentai – Stories that are considered NC-17, the manga will have depictions of graphic violence or sexuality.
Heram Anime/Manga – These titles have either a single boy or girl surrounded by the opposite sex. All of these number of girls or boys are vying for the affection of the lead character. However, he or she pines for one specific character.
Host Club – The roots of a host club go back to the Geisha House’s. No sexual relations are permitted, the hosts are only there for patron’s support/boost their moral. A night at a club can cost from $500.00 plus and there are clubs for men and women.
J-Horror – Japanese horror movies.
J-Pop – Japanese pop music.
J-Rock – Japanes rock music.
Josei – Stories geared for adult women.
Light Novels – 200 to 250 page prose novels with manga characters.
Lolita – Lolita is a clothing style. The style is heavily influenced by the children’s clothing of 1800’s era Europe. The ultimate goal is a “cute and innocent” look as opposed to a “sexy” look.
Manga – Japanese Comic Books.
Mangaka/Manga-Ka – A professional manga author/artist.
Manhwa – Korean Comic Books.
Mecha – Stories that have a giant robot suits that people pilot.
MMORPG – Massively/Massive Multiplayer On-line Playing Game, an example of this would be World of Warcraft.
Moe – This refers to a manga or anime character with innocent big eyes. This term has two meanings: 1) Started out meaning that older males/females liked watching this type of show because the character reminded them of their children and they had an instinct to want to protect them from bad things. 2) After these shows became saturated and people became tired of them this term took on a negative tone. This came to mean older males/females liked watching this type of show in a sexual manner.
This has upset several people because they feel if you like this type of show it does not mean you like it in a sexual manner.
Nudity in Anime/Manga – The legal definition of pornography in Japan is governed for the most part by Article 175 of the Japanese Criminal Code. The article bans depictions of genitals, unless they are caricatures or absurd, cartoonish versions. (Anime Explosion by Patrick Drazen, pg. 56) In a story the genitals will be blank space, to look like a neutered image, a stylized blur or mosaics are used.
Showing the bust or backside is not considered inappropriate in the Japanese culture. It is common for a woman to dress down in a factory or field just as a man would. Public baths are still common in Japan.
OAV/OVA – Original Animated Video, going straight to DVD or Blu-ray.
Otaku – Anyone obsessed with a particular subject. This is associated with the anime/manga culture, but it literally means any subject. For instance if a person is obsessed with quilting that person would be a Quilting Otaku.
RPG – Role Playing Game, an example would be the Dungeons and Dragons game.
Seinen – Stories geared for adult men.
Shogo – Stories geared towards girls.
Shonen – Stories geared towards boys.
Shonen Ai – Stories that deal with two boys that have feelings for each other. No physical contact except for kissing.
Steampunk – Stories where steam power is still being used. Set in a Victorian type era with a science fiction flare.
Swag – Free items one would get at a convention. Examples of sway are: posters; comic samplers; stickers; t-shirts; and buttons to name a few.
TCG – Trading Card Game, an example would be the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game.
Yoai – Stories that deal with young men that have feelings for each other. The manga will show characters being intimate.
Yuri – Stories that deal with young women that have feelings for each other. The manga will show characters being intimate.