Poorly Written Glossary

This will get gussied up at some point, but for now I want to provide a quick glossary reference for terms I may frequently use that some of my less-connected-to-the-fandom readers might not be familiar with. In no particular order…

AAT / JAT

American Anime Time / Japanese Anime Time. Refers to a perceived divergence of fan cultures between people tracking anime newly released in the U.S. versus people tracking newly released anime in Japan. BAT is Bacon Anime Time, which refers to, among other things, Honey & Clover Chapter L.

moé

There is not a simple translation for this term, though it probably comes from the word for being ‘on fire’, and is sometimes translated as ‘sex appeal’. The characteristic use is to describe a quality in a female character that is attractive, not necessarily in a sexual way. Something that makes you go all gooey. It is also an interjection used when one has this sensation. At this point, usage of the word has expanded heavily to be a more general interjection of breathy excitement over pretty much anything (maybe you are a model train fanatic, and go “Moé!” when you see one you really like).

tsundere

An adjective that describes a character who at first behaves cold and either detachedly or violently (tsun-tsun) to a future love interest, but gradually warms up and becomes sort of lovey-dovey (dere dere). It has become something of an archtype for female anime characters.

nekketsu

Very roughly, Hot-blooded youth. A male character archtype where the male is really violently independent and tends to heavily and loudly challenge any opposition. Sort of.

osananajimi

Roughly, childhood friend. This is a common character archtype considered attractive by many, leading to its other common translation: “girl next door,” which I guess is supposed to convey the basic essence of the archtype appeal.

megane

Literally, glasses. Like the kind you wear on your face. The meganekko (see -kko, below) character archtype generally implies a quiet, reserved, intelligent girl with glasses.

-kko

Suffix indicating a young female. A tsunderekko is a tsundere female.

shoujo, shounen, josei, seinen

Respectively, ‘girl,’ ‘boy,’ ‘young woman’, ‘young man’; these also refer to age-group targets for anime and manga. Theoretically, the manga publication Shounen Jump is targetted at boys (though tons of women read it), and Shoujo Beat at girls.

loli(con)

“loli” is short for “lolita”. “lolicon” is short for “lolita complex,” and can refer to a general pedophilic attraction toward little girls, but more often in anime fandom refers to, all in one, a type of work (“this manga is [full of] lolicon”), attraction to that type of work (though that’s actually kind of uncommon), or a person attracted to that type of work (“Hung is a lolicon”). The work being anything with animated / drawn little girls, not necessarily (though often) in a sexualized or erotic way.

eroge

Short for ‘erotic game’. A common type of eroge are ero visual novels (I’m not actually sure if this is different from a “dating sim”, which is not a term I hear much anymore), where one usually plays from the first-person perspective of the protagonist and has a bunch of text-prompt choices that effect which, if any, of the various other charcters in the game you will get to have hot sex with later.

otaku

Originally (and probably still sort of in Japan) a perjorative term referring to a hardcore anime fan (and a particular stereotype too complex for me to get into at the moment), many fans (particularly American fans) adopted it as a non-perjorative title, probably after watching Otaku no Video a couple of times.

omake

“Extras”. I think this term traces back to classical Japanese theatre. Omake are short extra bits included with a longer story, usually comedic in nature. Very common in manga; occasionally in anime. Lucky Channel in the Lucky Star anime is an example.

weeaboo

Perjorative term adapted (I believe in 4chan) for a Japanophile or person obsessed with Japan. Previously more common was ‘wapanese’. The term traces back to an entirely unrelated webcomic.