Presented as part of the Manga and Anime education week!

A – Anime

Well, this seems like an obvious choice for the letter ‘A’ doesn’t it? The most common definition used for anime is “a Japanese style of motion-picture animation” or “a style of animation developed in Japan”.

Some of the key features that are found in anime are: Overly large eyes, elongated limbs, big hair and stylistic line work. Of course, there are other features that make anime anime, but these are some of the more common features. These of course are not set in stone in anyway, remember anime is an art form and like every art form the rules are not black and white.

For more information, check out this wikipedia article on anime

B – Bishonen

Bishonen is one of those words in anime that just seems to come up. Personally, I didn't know what it meant until recently. After some research and asking around I found out that it literally means "Beautiful Boy". In anime, males of the Bishonen type are "pretty" boys. More often, the term "Bishie" is used/

C – Cosplay

Cosplay is something that is mistaken as just "getting into a costume". This couldn't be further from the truth! Yes, of course, costumes are involved because the full name for cosplay is "Costume Playing", but cosplay is much more. It is about becoming your character and acting them out.

Check out these articles written by =MissRedRose, they will enlighten you more
DAOS-The Way of The Cosplayer Pt 1!!
The DAOS 15-The Way Of The Cosplayer Pt. 2

D – Dojinshi manga

I bet if you have come across this word you already have a thought in mind for it: Porn. Though, it is true that most Dojinshi are indeed pornographic in nature, it is not what a Dojinshi manga is. A Dojinshi manga is a non-professional or self published work. It can also be a fan Dojinshi or an original Dojinshi. A fan Dojinshi is a manga that is created using already established characters and created by fans. An original Dojinshi is a manga that is your own works, but not published by a large company, it is self publish by your own means.

E – Ecchi

That Ecchi! But what does that mean? Well, ecchi comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the letter H and is another way to say something is perverted. Generally, animes that contain a lot of sexual humor but are not outright pornography is called Ecchi. Titles like "Inukami" and "DearS" are considered to be ecchi.

F – Fan Art

I once told my friend outside of the art community that I was going to draw some fan art. And, my friend being literal (and possibly messing with me) said, "Oh, you're going to draw a fan... how exciting". Well, no, but ok. Anyways, I feel I should define this for those who do not know what fan art is

Fan Art is artwork based on copyrighted material such as books, movies, TV shows, comics, cartoons and games.

G – Glomp

The wiki definition of it is "an anime term for a big hug". And, as we all know and love it to be here on deviant art, it is this emote right here: To execute a glomp, you throw yourself onto a person and make a big bear hug that last for a while. For saftey concerns, ask before hand otherwise someone could get hurt (or you'll just look really silly )

H – Honorifics

So, you've seen an anime or 2 and you've heard people refered to as San or Sama or Chan even. Well, what do they mean? Here are some of the more common ones for you:

-San: This is the most common honorific you are going to hear in anime. It is speaking to someone formally and is basically the same as "Mr." or "Mrs."
-Sama: This is used to show a large amount of respect to someone, generally used for people of higher social status like a lord. Damaged927-Sama anyone? ... No?
-Chan: This is used for someone who is your friend and is the same age or is younger than you. Generally used towards female friends, pets and children.
-Chama: Same as chan but for someone of higher status (like a child princess).
-Kun: This is used most often for male friends of the same age or younger
-Senpai: This is used for someone who has been in the same organization as you, but for longer. Usually heard in a school environment between underclassmen to upperclassmen.
-Hime: Princess

I – Itadakimasu

You'll hear this word a lot in anime (if it is not dubbed of course). The first time I really encountered it was when Naruto was chowing down on some Ramen. This word roughly means "Thank you for the food or meal".

J – Japan

Makes sense right? Anime and Manga are derived from Japan, so this is the obvious answer for J. Japan is a is an island country located in east Asia and is located in the Pacific ocean. The primary language in Japan is Japanese and it is often called "Land of the rising sun".

K – Kawaii

Kawaii! This means that something is the epitome of cute! When something is kawaii, there is nothing cuter (except the next kawaii thing). When you think of Kawaii, think of kittens and plush toys, those are kawaii.

L – Lolita

Lolita is a fashion found through out Japan and is influenced by Victorian children’s clothing. Some of the key elements of lolita fashion are: Knee length skirt, headress, knee length socks, blouse, petticoat and high heeled or platform shoes. The look is to make a person look doll like.

M - Manga

Manga literally means "Whimsical pictures". When we use the word manga, this is not what comes to mind, for the everyday use of the word it means "Japanese style comic" or graphic novel.

N - Neon Genesis Evangelion

This is one of the staple anime's and a must see. It has been hailed to be the most influential and arguable the greatest anime of all time. I could write an entire article on this one anime, but Wikipedia has already done that for me: Neon Genesis Evangelion (anime).

O – OVA/OAV

An OVA (original video animation) or OAV (original animation video) are animations that are released directly to video with out going through the movie theaters or becoming a TV show. For instance, Rozen Maiden and Rozen Maiden: Träumend were released as TV shows but Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre was released directly to video.

P - Peach Pit

Peach Pit is a company comprised of 2 female mangaka from Japan that have published some very well known manga's. They are Banri Sendo and Shibuko Ebara. The name "Peach Pit" is derived from the hang out bar from the show "Beverly Hills 90210". Some of their more popular works are DearS, Rozen Maiden and Shugo Chara.

Q - Q-ko-chan: The earth invader girl

Q-ko-chan is a manga published by Del Rey and is made by Hajime Ueda, the creator of FL CL. It is about an alien invader girl who appears on the main character's, Kirio, doorstep and forces him to adopt her.

R - Ramen

The diet of college champions! No seriously, when you go to college you will live off of this stuff... or at least I did. You can eat it dry, then it is like a snack instead of a meal, but that is getting WAY off topic. Ramen is a Japanese dish, that originated in China, that consists of these ramen noodles. Generally in a meat based broth (like beef or chicken) and can have a variety of toppings. It is VERY different than the 25 cent variety you can buy at the super market. Naruto is a big fan of this dish

S – Super deformed

This is most commonly called a "Chibi". The characteristics of a SD (super deformed) are much MUCH larger heads and very funky body proportions in the hopes of being cute or funny. Most often, SD is used to show an extreme change in a characters mood

T - Tan

You have probably heard of OS-Tan's. Tan is a mispronunciation of chan is and is often used to make something sound cute. It is often appended to pets. Here is an example of a tan, this one is called "FireFox Tan" by *SpookyRuthy

U - Udon

Another common Japanese dish that is found in anime. It is a noddle dish that is served hot with a mild flavored broth. Generally comes topped with chopped scallions but it can come with a slew of different toppings. The broth that it is made with varies from region to region. In eastern Japan it is a darker broth made with a dark soy sauce as opposed to the west where they use a light soy sauce to make a lighter broth.

V – Voice Actors

Voice Actors are crucial to any anime (or cartoon in general). They are the voice that you will forever associate with your favorite characters.

W - Wasabi

Wasabi is a root spice that belongs to the Brassicaceae which includes Horseradish and mustard. It is a very stong spice that has a hot flavor that is like hot mustard. Personally, I found this to be a great way to clear the nasal passages. Eat some wasabi (I like wasabi mustard with pretzels ^_^ ) and boom! Your nose is clear

X - X-Rated (A.K.A. Hentai)

Well, H was used up with Honorifics, and I wanted to explain Hentai because that is part of Anime as well. So, we have X-Rated The word Hentai itself is commonly used to mean "perverted". You'll often hear a female character calling a male character Hentai if they catch them looking somewhere they are not. When someone is talking about a Hentai anime, they are talking about Porn Anime.

Y – Yaoi/Yuri

These terms are used to describe scenes that protray homo-erotic themes for males (YAOI) and Females (YURI). Personally, I have heard these words conufsed a lot meaning that it means "girl love" (yuri) but not necessarily pornographic (like Shoujo-ai). But I also have heard that Shoujo-ai (and shounen-ai for males) is "girl love" and Yuri is pornographic. The same holds true for yaoi and shounen-ai. Pornographic or not, these words mean love between characters of the same gender.

Z - Zanpakuto

Z was a tough letter to come up with anything for, so after much deliberation I came up with zanpakuto. For a long time I never realised that this was the name of a soul slayer from the series bleach. Well, that what this, a soul slayer. Each soul slayer has a name and has 2 different forms: Shikai and Bankai. Each of these forms come with a different power level and can only be learned after a lot of training with a zanpakuto.

I hope you had fun with this, I know I had a ton of fun putting it together!

Enjoy,
^Damaged927
Manga and Anime Gallery Director