Sunday 3 February 2013

How To Speak Anime

Everyone and their dog is making these “How To Speak English” or “Internet” or “American” videos. But I haven’t seen an anime one yet, so here’s my guide to anime tropes.

Bishoujo
An attractive member of the female species.

Dandere
Defined by his/her (generally her) shyness. Often a Moe as well.

Dojikko
Cute, but very clumsy. Think Bella Swan, but actually cute. Uh, and clumsy.

Genki Girl
Genki means energetic. As in, if you don’t move, she’ll bounce right over you.

Jidai Geki
A historical drama, often set in feudal Japan.

Kawaiiko
Kawaii doesn’t translate exactly to English. It’s not cute per se, more the concept of cuteness. Anything ending in -ko is female, so… a cute little girl. Sugar and spice and all that.

Kichiku
A sexy, sadistic boyfriend. Think Edward Cullen. But sexy.

Kichiku Megane
A sexy, sadistic boyfriend with adorable little glasses. That makes everything better, right?

Kuudere
Bitchy on the outside, sweet on the inside. Like my dear friend X*, but, you know, nice.

Mahou Shoujo
A young female superhero gains powers and fights evil, rarely without her favourite Kichiku.

Mecha
The many subgenres of mahusive robot animes, and/or the robots they’re based on.

Megane
Boys with glasses, who are therefore cute. Squee.

Meganekko
Means ‘glasses girl’, but pretty much a Moe with glasses. Note that without the glasses, she probably wouldn’t be a Moe.

Moe
The cutest girl possible. Which is apparently sexy, if you ignore the fact that most of them are under fourteen.

Otaku
An anime nerd. Note that in Japan, this term isn’t exactly a compliment.

Seme
The dominant guy in a yaoi anime.

Tsundere
Bitchy one minute, sweet the next, pissed off, apologetic, hot-tempered, wouldn’t hurt a fly… you get the idea.

Tsunshun
Like a Tsundere, but instead of being sweet half the time, she’s depressed.

Uke
The submissive guy in a yaoi anime.

Yangire
She’s cute, but she’s also a psychopath.

Yaoi
A gay romance.

Yuri
A lesbian romance, often fanservice-heavy.

Love always,
Victoria

* Sarcasm.