Anime related glossary

Alpha_522 · 03-07-2008, 12:48 AM

Anime [アニメ]
Say: "Annie-May"
Noun: Animation in the style developed and commonly used in Japan since the 1950s.

Generally refers to the artistic style, but also a style of characterization and stories. Can also be used to describe comics and other still art drawn in the same style, though manga is more commonly used for that meaning. Comes from the Japanese word for animation. Used by some people to refer specifically and exclusively to animation produced in Japan, regardless of style.

Manga [漫画]
Noun: In English, usually used to mean Japanese comic books.
Pronounced: "Mhan-ga"

Occasionally also used (even by the Japanese) to refer to animation. It is also the name of the anime company Manga Video, which is frequently shortened to just Manga in discussions.

Ecchi [エッチ]
Noun: Pervert, lech.
Pronounced: "Etch-ee"

A Japanese word for pervert (though the connotations are somewhat more mild--see hentai for a stronger version). Usually used by American fans to refer to anime and related art of an adult nature. Commonly used term on the web. Properly written H in Japanese, ecchi has an interesting linguistic origin: the Japanese word for pervert is hentai. This was sometimes abbreviated (by the Japanese) as H, which in this case is, in turn, pronounced (again, by the Japanese) ecchi. The word H/ecchi has since developed into a slightly different meaning in Japan; it most frequently refers to anything erotic, though it is still used as a relatively mild insult.

Hentai [変態]
Noun: Pervert.
Pronounced: "Han-Tie"

The Japanese word for pervert. It is commonly used by English-speaking fans to refer to pornographic anime. Also used occasionally (particularly on the web or in fanfics) as an insult, with the same meaning as it has in Japanese. Note that hentai and ecchi are directly related words in Japanese (hentai was abbreviated as H, which is pronounced ecchi), but the connotation of hentai is now closer to the English deviant or pervert, while ecchi is more like lech or dirty, and generally milder.

RAW
Noun: Untranslated Anime.

Raw means theres no subtitles for the english or any other country translations, its just pure japanese spoken and no one had subbed it yet.

Fansub
Noun: A video translated and subtitled by anime fans, rather than a professional company.

Fansubs are of widely varying quality (from near-professional to extremely crude), and were for years distributed by fans willing to spend the time to copy and mail tapes for the cost of shipping and the blank video. Recently, digisubs have become the preferred method of distribution--digital video files transferred through file sharing over the Internet. Though quasi-legal, since they are traditionally available only for series that have not yet been translated into English officially, and when done properly are not used to make a profit, they are generally accepted without much hassle, and are very popular with many serious fans, as well as those who like uncut (and perhaps subtitled) versions of series such as Sailor Moon or Dragonball. Fansubbing has taken off in recent years thanks to the internet and easy to use, inexpensive subtitling software.

Fansubs are technically illegal, although opinions from an ethical standpoint are mixed. Most fans accept them unquestioningly, and there are cases where fansubs have served as underground advertising for untranslated series, but there have been others where companies were reluctant to license anime due to market saturation of fansubs. The effect of widely available digisubs on the anime market is not entirely clear, as with all other digital piracy.

OVA [オーブイエ]
Noun: Abbreviation of Original Video Animation. A sort of anime miniseries produced to be released directly to video.

The word is used both to refer to individual episodes and the series as a whole. Series are usually 4 to 8 parts, each one 30 to 45 minutes long. Frequently released in the US on volumes containing two or more OVAs. Also called OAV, but OVA is more commonly used..