It's uncomfortably
common that when we surf thru the different manga pages we find
totally un-comprhensible japanese terms or phrases, wich make
manga unreachable for the common mortal. Well, NEVER FEAR,
SAMEOTOKO'S HERE!!! I've complied a list of the most common words
or phrases and their meanings for your reading pleasure...
If I missed any, let me know
- ANIME
- This french word is used in
Japan to designate any animation work. Outside Japan,
however, it's used to refer to animations with a japanese
artistic and/or intelectual origin. Note that even though
some american cartoons are produced in Japan, they are
not called Anime. In Japan,. the Anime industry is taken
as seriously as the film industry in the US.
-
- ARIGATO
- "Thanks"
-
- CHIBBI
- "Little",
as a descriptive adjective.
-
- DOUJINSHI
- "Creation or Publication
coming from people themselves". It's manga created
by fans. in most cases, they take the charactes and
universes from famous Manga-kas and create their own
stories and cross-overs. It's in the world of Doujinshi
where Hentai (read below) versions of famous manga
appear, like "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon" and
"Aa! Megamisama".
-
- GAIJIN
- In japanese,
"Foreigner". Used to designate any non-japanese
individual
-
- GOMENNASAI
- "I'm sorry"
-
- HENTAI
- Hentai literally means
"perverted" and, in some cases,
"twisted". It's commonly abreviated as
"H", and can apply to both Anime (H-Anime) and
manga (H-Manga). It's stories are oriented towards an
adult audience because of their explicit sexual content.
This genre is quite extense, ranging from comedy to
horror. Although in most cases it's only hollow stories,
that only make bucks from sex; good, complex, interesting
and original stories can be found...
with, of course, a good dose of adult content and
erotism.
-
- JA NE, JA MATA, DEWA MATA
- Good-bye phrases. "Ja
ne" and "Ja mata" are more informal than
"Dewa mata".
-
- KAKKOI
- "Handsome"
-
- KAMIKAZE
- The use of this term as
"suicidal" has generalized since WWII, when
japanese kamikaze pilots crashed their explosive-filled
planes against enemy warships... although it really means
"Divine Wind". In the XII century, the mongols
tried to invade Japan twice... and both times they were
stopped by a typhoon... a Kami kaze...
-
- KAMISAMA
- "God"... it's
formed with the words "kami" - divine; and
"-sama", a sufix that indicates the highest of
respects. By calling Osamu Tezuka the "Manga no
Kamisama", we honor him by calling hm the God of
Manga in his native language.
-
- KAWAII
- "Cute". Generally
used for girls and babies
-
- KIREI
- "Pretty" (Female)
-
- KONNICHIWA
- "Hello"
- MANGA
- MAN: involuntary; GA: art,
drawing... this term is commonly used to refer to
japanese comic books... but comic books could be just
american manga... why???... keep reading... this form of
art dates waaaaaay back, in the X - XII century, when the
japanese made litographies with a few images surrounded
by text that told a story; usually poems or political
messages.
Though often compared with western comic books, the Manga
industry represents a huge part of the japanese economy
and culture. There are manga about everything
and anything, from sports to war to
surrealism. Another difference between Manga and comic
books, besides the intelectual content, is size. A
single, weekly number can be as thick as a text book.
-
- MANGA-KA
- The author of some manga...
who not only writes and creates the concepts of all the
characters, but also draws, inks and takes care of the
publishing aspects of his work
-
- OTAKU
- Like "Anime", this
term has a different meaning depending on the country
it's said in. In Japan, "otaku" is an offensive
word, it refers to an antisocial individual, a geek, a
nerd. In the rest of the world, however, it's used to
designate an obessive fan of anything, most commonly
anime or manga (A Trekkie is, therefore, a Star Trek
otaku).
-
- MECHA [MEKA]
- From the word Mechanichs.
It's used to refer to robots and mechanical suits of
armor. The person in charge of the Mecha designs of an
Anime or Manga plays a key role in the production of such
work.
- SENTO-RYOKU
- In the Dragon
Ball Z series, the Sento-ryoku is a warrior's fighting
power expressed by a number in the fighter's Scouter
screen
-
- SHOUJO MANGA
- "Shoujo" means
"girl". This type of Manga is oriented towards
a female audience and it generally covers romantic,
dramatic or sometimes homosexual topics.
-
- SHONEN MANGA
- "Shonen" means
"boy" Shonen Manga is directed towards a male
audience. It covers action, sports, violence and such
things...
-
- -SAN
- Deference is very important
for the japanese. Sufixes such as "-san" are
added to names to pay respect to people or avoid excesive
trust. "-Sama" is far more respectful.
-
- SAYONARA
- Do u really need the meaning
of this???
-
- SENSEI
- "Master". It refers
to an individual who has earned the respect of a group of
people, who imitate or assist him in his work
- SHIRIMASEN
- "I have no idea".
It's generally used to answer the questions directed to
webmasters ( :P )
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