Anime and Manga Definitions

Definitions of Anime.

1. Japanese for "animation". This is taken from the French word for animation. An accent mark may be used over the "e". Japanese animation is often called "anime".

2. Japanese for 'animation'. 'Anime can range from the very silly to the very serious, and is not necessarily intended for children or any specific age group.' - Michael Kim Animation as an industry is much bigger in Japan than it is in North America, being of the same order of magnitude as the 'live-action' film industry there. All genres are supported through three separate mediums: TV episodes, Original Video Animation (OVA), and full length feature films.

3. Japanese cartoon drawing style typified by short characters with large eyes. In video games, this style in most evident in RPGs, especially those released in the 90s.

4. animé is the Japanese word for animation and is used by the Japanese to describe all forms of animation. In the west it is used to describe specifically Japanese animation. The correct pronunciation is ‘ah-nee-may’ but the more common western pronunciation is ‘anna-may’. Manga – a Japanese comic book or graphic novel. Pronounced ‘mahn-ga’

5. animeAnime (pronounced AH-nee-may) is a term for a style of Japanese comic book and video cartoon animation in which the main characters have large doe-like eyes. Many Web sites are devoted to anime. Anime is the prevalent style in Japanese comic books or manga. In Japan, the comic book is a popular form of entertainment for adults as well as for younger audiences. Story lines are often very sophisticated and complex and extend into episodic series. Typical anime themes or genres include Ninja and other martial arts; the supernatural or horror story; the romance; and science fiction including robots and space ships. Foils for the main characters, including robots, monsters, or just plain bad people, often lack the doe-eyed quality.
Variations of anime called hentai and ecchai are sexually-oriented. Doujinshi is the term for "autonomous comics," or comics written and distributed by independent and often amateur devotees of anime.


Definitions of Manga

1. Sometimes confused with anime, manga is the Japanese word for comic book (or Graphic Novel, if you prefer) and is used in English to mean Japanese comic books. Manga and anime are very closely related, as artists frequently crossover, as do the characters they create. Usually the manga is created first, and if it becomes really popular then the market it deemed capable of supporting a much more costly animation based on it.

2. In 1814 the famous Japanese artist Hokusai created a book of black & white sketches that he called manga (involuntary sketches). In recent Japanese history the word has come to describe those small illustrated books of black & white ink drawings that tell a series of stories. Graphic novel would be the closest translation for "manga" though they are not at all like novels in the Western sense, nor are they comparable to Western comic books.

3. (mahn-gah) The Japanese term for comic book. In Japan, manga are targeted at all age groups and cover a wide range of genres. This is in contrast to Western comics which are typically based around superhero themes

4. In Japanese, the word manga is the common word for "comics" and as such used for every kind of comics, no matter what their origin. In the western world, the loan word manga came to mean "Japanese comics", ie comics from Japan. Unfortunately, that definition isn't exactly crystal clear. [My personal definition now is that manga should be used for comics made with a Japanese audience in mind and first published in Japan. That way, most of the uncertainties in the definition are avoided.]