Skip to main content
- Anime
- An abbreviation of the phrase "Japanese Animation".
- BL
- Short for "Boys' Love". A genre of anime and manga focused on romantic relationships between male characters. Often used as a broader, milder umbrella over yaoi, which leans more explicit.
- Canon
- Material that is part of a story's official continuity, as opposed to filler, spinoffs, or fan-created works.
- Chibi
- A super-deformed art style in which a character is drawn with an exaggeratedly large head and a tiny body. Most often used for comedic or "cute" moments.
- Cour
- A quarterly broadcast block on Japanese television, generally lasting about twelve to thirteen episodes. Multi-cour series run across two or more consecutive seasons.
- Dub
- An abbreviation of the word "dubbed". Refers to anime that has been re-recorded or "re-dubbed" with dialog in another language.
- Cosplay
- Short for "Costume Play", this involves people dressing up in costume as a character. If you're interested in cosplay, check these out for cool anime costumes for girls and check here for some unique anime costumes for guys.
- Ecchi
- Anime containing frequent nudity, bouncing breasts (covered or uncovered), skin-tight outfits, and/or panty shots. Typically these have little-to-no graphic sexual content.
View example image
- ED
- Short for "ending theme". The song and animated sequence played over the closing credits of each episode.
- Eps.
- An abbreviation of the word "episodes".
- Fanfic
- An unofficial story written by a fan that features characters from official anime and/or manga productions.
- Fansub
- An anime that has been unofficially subtitled by fans.
- Filler
- Anime episodes or arcs that do not appear in the original source material, usually created to keep the anime from catching up to an ongoing manga or light novel.
- Hentai
- A Japanese word meaning "pervert" (or perverted). In anime, it refers to anime containing a lot of sexually explicit content.
- Honorifics
- Japanese suffixes attached to a person's name to indicate the relationship between speakers. Common examples include -san (polite/neutral), -kun (younger or familiar males), -chan (children, close friends, or anything considered cute), -sama (great respect), -senpai (upperclassman), and -sensei (teacher or master of a craft).
- Isekai
- Literally "another world". A genre in which the protagonist is transported, reincarnated, or otherwise relocated from their original world into a fantasy one.
- Josei
- Anime and manga aimed at an adult female audience. Tends to feature more realistic relationship and workplace drama than shoujo.
- Kawaii
- A Japanese word meaning "cute".
- Light Novel
- Often abbreviated LN. A short, illustrated Japanese novel usually aimed at young adults. A great deal of modern anime is adapted from light novels.
- Magical Girl
- Known in Japan as mahō shōjo, a subgenre featuring young female protagonists who use magical powers, transformation sequences, and themed costumes. Classic examples include Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura.
- Manga
- Japanese comic books.
- Mangaka
- The Japanese word for a manga author or artist.
- Manhua
- Chinese comics, often adapted into anime or co-produced animation.
- Manhwa
- Korean comics, traditionally read left-to-right (unlike Japanese manga). Source material for several recent hit anime, including Solo Leveling and Tower of God.
- Mecha
- Any mechanical device in an anime. Often refers to giant robots.
- OAV
- An older English abbreviation for "Original Animated Video", once common in Western fan circles. Refers to the same direct-to-video anime category as OVA, which has since become the dominant term.
- ONA
- Original Net Animation. Anime that is produced to be released directly to the internet. Also called web anime.
- OP
- Short for "opening theme". The song and animated sequence played during the opening credits of each episode.
- Otaku
- A Japanese term for someone obsessively devoted to a hobby, most often anime, manga, or video games. Originally a pejorative in Japan, it has been widely embraced as a self-applied label by overseas fans.
- OVA
- Original Video Animation. The standard Japanese term, and the modern global term, for anime produced to be released directly to video (or, more recently, streaming) rather than airing on TV or in theaters. Also called OAV in older Western references.
- Romanization
- The writing of the Japanese language phonetically using Roman characters.
- Seinen
- Anime and manga aimed at an adult male audience. Tends to feature darker themes, more complex narratives, or more graphic content than shounen.
- Seiyuu
- The Japanese word for voice actor or actress.
- Shoujo
- Anime specifically targeting a young female audience.
- Shounen
- Anime specifically targeting a young male audience.
- Slice of Life
- A genre focused on the small, everyday experiences of its characters, typically without grand plot stakes.
- Sub
- An abbreviation of the word "subtitled". Refers to anime that has been subtitled.
- Tankōbon
- A collected volume of a manga series. Most series serialized in weekly or monthly magazines are eventually released as tankōbon for purchase.
- Tsundere
- A character archetype, usually a girl, who is harsh, hostile, or aloof on the outside but secretly soft and affectionate underneath. The word combines tsuntsun (irritable) and deredere (lovestruck).
- Visual Novel
- Often abbreviated VN. An interactive Japanese fiction game presented primarily through text and static images, where the reader chooses how the story progresses. Source material for a number of anime, including Clannad, Fate/stay night, and Steins;Gate.
- Yandere
- A character archetype whose romantic obsession turns dangerous or violent. The word combines yan- (sick, mentally unwell) and deredere (lovestruck).
- Yaoi
- A genre of anime and manga focused on romantic and sexual relationships between male characters. Closely related to boys' love (BL), and often used to describe the more explicit end of the spectrum.
- Yuri
- A genre of anime and manga focused on romantic relationships between female characters.
