Tsundere (Tsue-n-deh-reh; with an "u" sound like in "Tuesday", and two "eh" sounds like in "pet".) is a characterization term used in manga.
Tsundere is a member of the "dere" family of terms, which are are all used to identify a certain kind of character in manga/anime. The "dere" comes from the Japanese term "dere dere", which means "loving or warm/friendly". However most deres are not particularly loving. The "Tsun" in "Tsundere" comes from the angry "Tsun tsun tsun" noise that these characters make when disgruntled. "Tsun Tsun" also means "to turn away" in Japanese. Originally, as with most dere terms, "tsundere" was only applied to girls, but now it is also applied to guys.
Tsunderes are characters that are angry or grumpy and tend to lash out at people that try to approach them. In particular, a tsundere will angrily repel the person they secretly care about the most, using insults or even physical violence. However, the tsundere can be very soft and kind inside if you can crack open their hard prickly outer shell.
Examples of tsunderes in manga:
England and Germany in "Hetalia: Axis Powers"
Senko in "I Hate You More than Anyone!"
Misaki in "Maid Sama!"
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Definition: Ahoge
Ahoge (Ah - Hoe - Geh, with a flat "eh" sound like in "pet") is a term that is often translated as "stupid hair".
Ahoge is not technically a Japanese word (it's not in my dictionary, at least, feel free to correct me) but is a term applied in manga. An ahoge is a long strand of hair that sticks up in a gravity-defying manner. It is often curly or changes shape. A character with an ahoge is often characterized as stupid or dopey, although in some cases they're just slightly dumb in a specific area. Ahoges can be delicate areas, often causing the character to faint (or do something else odd) if their ahoge is pulled on or touched. There are some cases where the ahoge can actually be pulled off, to comic effect.
Examples of characters with ahoges:
Ed from Fullmetal Alchemist
Italy from Hetalia: Axis Powers
Konata from Lucky Star
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Ahoge is not technically a Japanese word (it's not in my dictionary, at least, feel free to correct me) but is a term applied in manga. An ahoge is a long strand of hair that sticks up in a gravity-defying manner. It is often curly or changes shape. A character with an ahoge is often characterized as stupid or dopey, although in some cases they're just slightly dumb in a specific area. Ahoges can be delicate areas, often causing the character to faint (or do something else odd) if their ahoge is pulled on or touched. There are some cases where the ahoge can actually be pulled off, to comic effect.
Examples of characters with ahoges:
Ed from Fullmetal Alchemist
Italy from Hetalia: Axis Powers
Konata from Lucky Star
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Monday, March 7, 2011
Definition: AMV/MAD
AMV is an acronym that stands for Anime Music Video.
An AMV is a fan tribute to a certain anime or manga. It consists of images from an anime or manga set to a specific song or medley. There are two types of AMVs: slideshows or clips. A slideshow AMV uses just pictures or stillframes, whereas a clip AMV uses actual footage from the anime. A well-made AMV will sync the images to the song for maximum effect, either matching the lyrics or enhancing the mood.
A related term to AMV is "anime MAD" or just "MAD". A MAD is the same as an AMV, but generally refers to a video stemming from the site Nico Nico Douga (a Japanese video-sharing site like YouTube). MADs are not restricted to only clips or slideshows, but can also be original animations. Some MADs are amazing, with stunning visuals.
Some examples:
A Hetalia: Axis Powers AMV
A Hetalia: Axis Powers MAD
A Fullmetal Alchemist AMV
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
An AMV is a fan tribute to a certain anime or manga. It consists of images from an anime or manga set to a specific song or medley. There are two types of AMVs: slideshows or clips. A slideshow AMV uses just pictures or stillframes, whereas a clip AMV uses actual footage from the anime. A well-made AMV will sync the images to the song for maximum effect, either matching the lyrics or enhancing the mood.
A related term to AMV is "anime MAD" or just "MAD". A MAD is the same as an AMV, but generally refers to a video stemming from the site Nico Nico Douga (a Japanese video-sharing site like YouTube). MADs are not restricted to only clips or slideshows, but can also be original animations. Some MADs are amazing, with stunning visuals.
Some examples:
A Hetalia: Axis Powers AMV
A Hetalia: Axis Powers MAD
A Fullmetal Alchemist AMV
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Friday, March 4, 2011
Definition: OTP
OTP is an acronym for "One True Pairing" and is a term that can refer to any pairing, either fan or canon.
When a person says that a specific pairing is "their OTP", they mean that that particular pairing is their favorite pairing. An OTP can be series-specific or refer to a person's favorite pairing of all time. People can have multiple OTPs, as the term can indicate merely that a pairing is a favorite as compared to other pairings. More rare than an OTP is an OT3 (I've only seen it written once or twice), and this term refers to a favorite love-triangle (I believe. This term is one I'm shaky on, so if anyone has any other info you can leave it in the comments. ^^).
Warning: Don't mix up "OTP", which is a term, with the emoticon OTL, which represents a person kneeling in defeat!
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
When a person says that a specific pairing is "their OTP", they mean that that particular pairing is their favorite pairing. An OTP can be series-specific or refer to a person's favorite pairing of all time. People can have multiple OTPs, as the term can indicate merely that a pairing is a favorite as compared to other pairings. More rare than an OTP is an OT3 (I've only seen it written once or twice), and this term refers to a favorite love-triangle (I believe. This term is one I'm shaky on, so if anyone has any other info you can leave it in the comments. ^^).
Warning: Don't mix up "OTP", which is a term, with the emoticon OTL, which represents a person kneeling in defeat!
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Definition: Fandom/Fanon
Fandom (Combination of the words "fan" and "kingdom", I'm assuming) is a term used to describe all fan involvement in/around a manga.
Fandom refers to, and encompasses, all aspects of fan work; from fanart to fan speculation to fan pairings to fandom crack. All theories or works coming out of fandom are not considered canon, and it is important to remember this at all times. A lot of things in fandom are supported by canon, but unless it comes straight from the original manga it's not canon.
The term "Fanon" is almost the same thing as fandom, and is a compound word made up of "fan" and "canon". Fanon is the canon of the fandom universe, and is used as a marker to distinguish fandom stuff from canon. If a fanfiction or fan theory refer to the "fanon" they are referring to the widely accepted facts and universe held by fans of the series.
Hope this explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Fandom refers to, and encompasses, all aspects of fan work; from fanart to fan speculation to fan pairings to fandom crack. All theories or works coming out of fandom are not considered canon, and it is important to remember this at all times. A lot of things in fandom are supported by canon, but unless it comes straight from the original manga it's not canon.
The term "Fanon" is almost the same thing as fandom, and is a compound word made up of "fan" and "canon". Fanon is the canon of the fandom universe, and is used as a marker to distinguish fandom stuff from canon. If a fanfiction or fan theory refer to the "fanon" they are referring to the widely accepted facts and universe held by fans of the series.
Hope this explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Definition: Fandom Crack
Fandom Crack (combination term) is a term used only in fandom. It refers to an aspect of fandom or a certain object in fandom that is completely random and not intended seriously.
Fandom Crack can be anything from a theory as to where the canon is headed or a theory of what happened behind the scenes of the canon. In both instances the theories would be completely random, like "Aliens are responsible for everything!". Another aspect of fandom crack is a "crack pairing", which refers to a completely improbable pairing that is funny because it is so stupid.
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Fandom Crack can be anything from a theory as to where the canon is headed or a theory of what happened behind the scenes of the canon. In both instances the theories would be completely random, like "Aliens are responsible for everything!". Another aspect of fandom crack is a "crack pairing", which refers to a completely improbable pairing that is funny because it is so stupid.
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Definition: pairings
Pairing (English word, you should know how to pronounce this one!) is a term used by manga fans. "Pairing" is used to describe two characters that are involved in a romantic relationship.
There are many different kinds of pairings, and also many different ways of writing down a pairing. I will try to make things as clear as possible, as understanding pairings is pretty important.
Kinds of Pairings:
"canon pairing" = a pairing that is legitimately endorsed in the original work. Ed and Winry from Fullmetal Alchemist are a canon pairing.
"fan pairing" = a pairing created by fans that is not canon. Kyouya and Haruhi from Ouran High School Host Club are a fan pairing.
"crack pairing" = a fan pairing that is completely improbable and only meant for a giggle. Hungary and Egypt from Hetalia: Axis Powers is a crack pairing. ("crack" in this instance refers to "fandom crack")
"slash pairing" = a pairing that is most times fan-made but can be canon, depending on what kind of manga you read. "Slash" refers to a yaoi or yuri pairing, which denotes a same-sex pairing. Roy and Ed from Fullmetal Alchemist are a fan-made slash pairing.
How to Write or Denote a Pairing:
With an "x": (Name 1)x(Name 2) denotes that Name 1 and Name 2 are paired together. "KyouyaxHaruhi"
With a "/": (Name 1)/(Name 2) denotes that Name 1 and Name 2 are paired together. Although this is where the term "slash pairing" comes from, it can be used for any kind of pairing. "Hungary/Egypt"
By combining the names: This type of combining can make a pairing harder to identify, as there are sometimes multiple ways to combine the two names. Also, sometimes a pairing is easy to identify and understand, like "EdWin" (Ed and Winry), as compared to a sometimes harder to identify "RoyAi" (Roy and Hawkeye, also a pun off of the Japanese word "Ai", which means "love").
Please tell me if I have missed any ways of identifying pairings or types of pairings, I'm always interested to find more. :)
Hope that explained everything! :D
--LeXa--
There are many different kinds of pairings, and also many different ways of writing down a pairing. I will try to make things as clear as possible, as understanding pairings is pretty important.
Kinds of Pairings:
"canon pairing" = a pairing that is legitimately endorsed in the original work. Ed and Winry from Fullmetal Alchemist are a canon pairing.
"fan pairing" = a pairing created by fans that is not canon. Kyouya and Haruhi from Ouran High School Host Club are a fan pairing.
"crack pairing" = a fan pairing that is completely improbable and only meant for a giggle. Hungary and Egypt from Hetalia: Axis Powers is a crack pairing. ("crack" in this instance refers to "fandom crack")
"slash pairing" = a pairing that is most times fan-made but can be canon, depending on what kind of manga you read. "Slash" refers to a yaoi or yuri pairing, which denotes a same-sex pairing. Roy and Ed from Fullmetal Alchemist are a fan-made slash pairing.
How to Write or Denote a Pairing:
With an "x": (Name 1)x(Name 2) denotes that Name 1 and Name 2 are paired together. "KyouyaxHaruhi"
With a "/": (Name 1)/(Name 2) denotes that Name 1 and Name 2 are paired together. Although this is where the term "slash pairing" comes from, it can be used for any kind of pairing. "Hungary/Egypt"
By combining the names: This type of combining can make a pairing harder to identify, as there are sometimes multiple ways to combine the two names. Also, sometimes a pairing is easy to identify and understand, like "EdWin" (Ed and Winry), as compared to a sometimes harder to identify "RoyAi" (Roy and Hawkeye, also a pun off of the Japanese word "Ai", which means "love").
Please tell me if I have missed any ways of identifying pairings or types of pairings, I'm always interested to find more. :)
Hope that explained everything! :D
--LeXa--
Definition: Canon
Canon (English word, pronounced like the weapon "cannon") is a term that can be applied to manga. It originated from the term "Biblical canon", which refers to the books that make up the scripture. When applied to any fiction, and in particular manga, "canon" means a story or theme that legitimately came from the original author. Works done by fans, such as fanfiction, are not canon.
Canon can be applied to manga in many ways. Canon Universe or "Canon-verse" refers to the original world or setting the story was set in, with no added details or characters. Canon pairings denote pairings that are acknowledged directly in the original story. Canon is just a useful term that can applied to pretty much anything to denote its authenticity.
Examples of "canon" things:
From Library Wars Kiiro Yumi/Hiro Arikawa:
Dojo and Kasahara are a "canon pairing"
The semi-futuristic Earth would be considered "canon-verse"
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Canon can be applied to manga in many ways. Canon Universe or "Canon-verse" refers to the original world or setting the story was set in, with no added details or characters. Canon pairings denote pairings that are acknowledged directly in the original story. Canon is just a useful term that can applied to pretty much anything to denote its authenticity.
Examples of "canon" things:
From Library Wars Kiiro Yumi/Hiro Arikawa:
Dojo and Kasahara are a "canon pairing"
The semi-futuristic Earth would be considered "canon-verse"
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Definition: Omake
Omake ("oh - mah - keh", with a "mah" sound like in "mark" and a "keh" sound like in "ken") is a term that describes an additional ending to a manga or anime.
An omake can be anything from an extra chapter of manga to just a single extra panel. Omakes come after the story or manga has ended, but are sometimes included at the end of a volume of manga or at the end of a story arc. The content of an omake can differ wildly. some omakes are a humorous "what if" look at how the original story just ended. Others are the reactions of the characters who were in the story. And some omakes offer a serious look at what happened to the main characters after the story ended. Omakes can also give you a glimpse at how the side characters are doing. A rough English equivalent of the term omake would be "epilogue".
Some examples:
La Corda d'Oro by Yuki Kure makes frequent use of omakes to tell stories about the side characters.
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa also uses omakes to make jokes at the end of each volume and give humorous alternate versions of the serious storyline.
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
An omake can be anything from an extra chapter of manga to just a single extra panel. Omakes come after the story or manga has ended, but are sometimes included at the end of a volume of manga or at the end of a story arc. The content of an omake can differ wildly. some omakes are a humorous "what if" look at how the original story just ended. Others are the reactions of the characters who were in the story. And some omakes offer a serious look at what happened to the main characters after the story ended. Omakes can also give you a glimpse at how the side characters are doing. A rough English equivalent of the term omake would be "epilogue".
Some examples:
La Corda d'Oro by Yuki Kure makes frequent use of omakes to tell stories about the side characters.
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa also uses omakes to make jokes at the end of each volume and give humorous alternate versions of the serious storyline.
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Definition: OVA
OVA is an acronym for "Original Video Animation", and is actually a term for an anime (or piece of anime) that is released only to DVD.
Most of the time an OVA is a special bonus for people that buy the DVD version of an anime. An enticement to spend money, as it were. OVAs range from being complete extra episodes to complicated back stories to omakes. OVAs can sometimes give creators a chance to add on content or story that they couldn't fit into the original series.
Examples of anime series with OVAs:
Black Butler by Yana Toboso, with it's lengthy side story "Ciel in Wonderland", which was an offshoot of the canon.
Fullmetal Alchemist with it's animated short "Chibi Party", which offered a look at the "actors" celebrating after the movie "Conqueror of Shamballa".
Hope that explains it all! :D
--LeXa--
Most of the time an OVA is a special bonus for people that buy the DVD version of an anime. An enticement to spend money, as it were. OVAs range from being complete extra episodes to complicated back stories to omakes. OVAs can sometimes give creators a chance to add on content or story that they couldn't fit into the original series.
Examples of anime series with OVAs:
Black Butler by Yana Toboso, with it's lengthy side story "Ciel in Wonderland", which was an offshoot of the canon.
Fullmetal Alchemist with it's animated short "Chibi Party", which offered a look at the "actors" celebrating after the movie "Conqueror of Shamballa".
Hope that explains it all! :D
--LeXa--
Definition: Shounen
Shounen ("Show - Nen", with a long "o" sound in "show" and an "eh" sound like "men") is a type of manga. "Shounen" means "boy" in Japanese, so "shounen manga" is boy's manga.
Shounen manga is generally action-packed, with a strong male lead. The art style of shounen manga is rougher than say, shoujo, and features bold lines and dark inking. Shounen manga generally contains some form of fighting or action, with maybe romance thrown in as a side story.
Some examples of shounen manga are:
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Bleach by Noriaki Kubo
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Shounen manga is generally action-packed, with a strong male lead. The art style of shounen manga is rougher than say, shoujo, and features bold lines and dark inking. Shounen manga generally contains some form of fighting or action, with maybe romance thrown in as a side story.
Some examples of shounen manga are:
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Bleach by Noriaki Kubo
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
Hope that explains everything! :D
--LeXa--
Definition: Shoujo
Shoujo ("Show - Joe", with a long "o" sound in "show") is a type of manga. The word "Shoujo" actually means "girl", therefore "shoujo manga" is girl's manga.
Shoujo manga generally has a focus on pretty people and art, with a female main character. They feature lots of cute boys and the plot mostly focuses on some sort of romance. The setting and driving plot of a shoujo can vary alot, being everything from high school drama to fantasy adventure.
A few examples of Shoujo manga:
High School Debut by Kazune Kawahara
Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori
(and the ever-popular) Fruit's Basket by Natsuki Takaya
Hope that explained it!
--Lea-- ^^
Shoujo manga generally has a focus on pretty people and art, with a female main character. They feature lots of cute boys and the plot mostly focuses on some sort of romance. The setting and driving plot of a shoujo can vary alot, being everything from high school drama to fantasy adventure.
A few examples of Shoujo manga:
High School Debut by Kazune Kawahara
Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori
(and the ever-popular) Fruit's Basket by Natsuki Takaya
Hope that explained it!
--Lea-- ^^
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Welcome
Why hello there!
You can call me LeXa. I'm a Japanese-loving person who has been studying Japanese language for about two years now.
If you've stumbled across this blog, welcome. This blog is dedicated to one of my favorite things in the whole world: manga. As you may know, manga ("mah - n - gah"; not hard "a" sounds like in "man", but soft "a" sounds like in "are") are Japanese comics, and are closely related to their animated counterpart, anime ("ah - nee - may").
Manga and its surrounding fan-base is full of strange terms and concepts. During my foray in the manga world I have learned and collected some terms and this blog is dedicated to writing down and explaining the definitions of some of those terms. Here are some of the terms/concepts I would like to explain on this blog:
A note on warnings: Manga is a diverse and complex world that does make the occasional foray into adult content. Because I know that some themes offend certain people more than others and also because heck, I'm really pretty conservative in my manga tastes, I will be putting warnings on some definitions. I won't go into details anyways, but hey, I sure do appreciate warnings other places on the internets, so let's go with this. ^^ For example: the two bolded points on the list above are two of the terms I know I going to want to put warnings on.
Also: I will try to put pronunciation on the terms as I explain them. Because I'm studying Japanese I do know about how the terms should be pronounced but I can't promise to always be perfect, so apologies if I mess up. m(_ _)m
So if you follow me thus far, let's go! :D
--LeXa--
You can call me LeXa. I'm a Japanese-loving person who has been studying Japanese language for about two years now.
If you've stumbled across this blog, welcome. This blog is dedicated to one of my favorite things in the whole world: manga. As you may know, manga ("mah - n - gah"; not hard "a" sounds like in "man", but soft "a" sounds like in "are") are Japanese comics, and are closely related to their animated counterpart, anime ("ah - nee - may").
Manga and its surrounding fan-base is full of strange terms and concepts. During my foray in the manga world I have learned and collected some terms and this blog is dedicated to writing down and explaining the definitions of some of those terms. Here are some of the terms/concepts I would like to explain on this blog:
- Cannon
- Pairings
- Otomen games
- Fanon
- Fandom
- Doujishin
- Fanfiction
- Omake
- Fanart
- AMV
- OVA
- Fanservice
- Shota/Lolita
- Yaoi and the like
- Datingsim
- Chibi
- Moe
- Megane
- Yandere
- Tsundere
- Art books
- Character/refernce sketch
- Otaku
- Fujoshi
- 2Chan
A note on warnings: Manga is a diverse and complex world that does make the occasional foray into adult content. Because I know that some themes offend certain people more than others and also because heck, I'm really pretty conservative in my manga tastes, I will be putting warnings on some definitions. I won't go into details anyways, but hey, I sure do appreciate warnings other places on the internets, so let's go with this. ^^ For example: the two bolded points on the list above are two of the terms I know I going to want to put warnings on.
Also: I will try to put pronunciation on the terms as I explain them. Because I'm studying Japanese I do know about how the terms should be pronounced but I can't promise to always be perfect, so apologies if I mess up. m(_ _)m
So if you follow me thus far, let's go! :D
--LeXa--
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