Anime & Manga Expressions

Japanese slang originating from or popularised by anime, manga, and otaku culture

はじめに

Anime and manga have given Japanese (and the world) a treasure trove of slang. From ツンデレ character types to 厨二病 (middle-school syndrome), otaku culture has shaped how an entire generation speaks.

This chapter covers slang that originated in or was popularised by anime, manga, and otaku culture.

テーマ

この章のJapanese Slang一覧（80）

• 厨二病 Middle school syndrome — the embarrassing phase where teens act like edgy ani...
• 腐女子 A female fan who enjoys boys' love (BL) content — manga, anime, and fiction d...
• キャラ立ち Having a strong, distinctive, and memorable character personality — standing ...
• 聖地巡礼 Visiting real-world locations that appeared in anime, manga, or other media —...
• 異世界 Another world — a fantasy genre where characters are transported to or reborn...
• なろう系 A style of story typical of the web novel platform Shousetsuka ni Narou — usu...
• 作画崩壊 Animation quality collapse — when anime frames become noticeably off-model, p...
• 声優 Voice actor or actress — professionals who voice characters in anime, games, ...
• 同人 Self-published fan works or indie creations — including manga, novels, music,...
• コミケ Short for Comic Market — the world's largest self-publishing fair held biannu...
• 萌え A warm, intense feeling of affection toward cute fictional characters — a cor...
• 覇権 The dominant or best anime of the season — the show that everyone is watching...
• 担当 Your assigned or chosen favorite member in an idol group or character ensembl...
• 布教 Evangelizing or proselytizing about your favorite anime, manga, game, or idol...
• 古参 A veteran or long-time fan who has been following something since early on — ...
• 新規 A newcomer or new fan who has recently joined a fandom or community.
• 二次創作 Fan-made derivative creative works based on existing anime, manga, games, or ...
• 公式 Official — referring to content, announcements, or merchandise from the origi...
• 原作 The original source material — the manga, light novel, game, or other work th...
• アニメ化 Getting an anime adaptation — when a manga, light novel, or game is turned in...
• 実写化 Live-action adaptation — when an anime, manga, or game is adapted into a live...
• 推しカメラ A camera angle or video that focuses exclusively on your favorite member duri...
• 供給 Content supply — new official content, media, or merchandise from creators th...
• 枯渇 Content drought — the painful state of running out of new content from your f...
• 解釈 Interpretation — a fan's personal understanding of a character's personality,...
• 解釈違い A disagreement on character interpretation — when someone else's understandin...
• CP Couple or ship pairing — the romantic pairing of two characters that fans sup...
• 最推し Your absolute number one favorite — your ultimate bias among all the characte...
• 箱推し Supporting an entire group equally rather than having one specific favorite m...
• 単推し Supporting only one specific member of a group exclusively — devoted single-m...
• DD Short for 'daredemo daisuki' (likes everyone) — a fan who supports multiple m...
• 壁サー A highly popular doujin circle placed along the walls at Comiket — indicates ...
• 島中 A smaller doujin circle placed in the middle rows at Comiket — the standard p...
• 戦利品 Goods obtained at conventions, events, or shops — your 'spoils of war' from a...
• 痛バッグ A bag covered in character pins, keychains, and merchandise — a visible decla...
• アクスタ Acrylic stand — a popular type of character merchandise featuring a printed c...
• 缶バッジ Pin badge or button badge — a round metal badge with character art, commonly ...
• ラノベ Light novel — a Japanese novel format aimed at young adults, typically with a...
• クール An anime broadcast season or quarter — a three-month block during which anime...
• 今期 This season — referring to the current anime broadcast season or quarter.
• 作画 Animation quality or key animation in anime, referring to the actual drawing ...
• 神作画 Godlike animation quality — used to praise exceptionally well-animated scenes...
• 総集編 A recap episode that summarizes previous episodes, often seen as filler by fans.
• 最終回 The final episode of an anime series — a highly anticipated and emotionally c...
• 伏線 Foreshadowing — a narrative hint or setup planted early in a story that becom...
• 伏線回収 Foreshadowing payoff — when a previously planted narrative hint is finally re...
• 鬱展開 A depressing or emotionally devastating plot development in anime, manga, or ...
• 俺TUEEE An overpowered protagonist trope where the main character is absurdly strong ...
• ハーレム A genre or situation where one character (usually male) is surrounded by mult...
• 百合 A genre depicting romantic or emotional relationships between female characte...
• BL Boys' Love — a genre depicting romantic relationships between male characters...
• 転生 Reincarnation — a core concept in isekai genre where a character dies and is ...
• 無双 Unrivaled or peerless — used to describe a character who dominates everyone e...
• 中の人 The person inside — referring to the voice actor behind a character or the pe...
• パクリ A rip-off or plagiarism — an accusation that someone copied another work or i...
• オリキャラ Original character — a fan-created character, often for use in fan fiction or...
• 夢女子 A female fan who imagines herself in a romantic relationship with a fictional...
• 絵師 An illustrator or digital artist, especially one active on social media or in...
• リアコ Having genuine romantic feelings for a fictional character or idol — short fo...
• 劇場版 The theatrical movie version of an anime series — a film released in cinemas ...
• OVA Original Video Animation — anime produced for direct home video release rathe...
• PV Promotional video — an anime trailer or preview released to generate hype for...
• ワンクール One cour — a single anime broadcast season of approximately 12-13 episodes.
• 2クール A two-cour anime run spanning two consecutive broadcast quarters, typically 2...
• トレス Tracing — an accusation that an artist copied another's work by tracing over it.
• イラスト An illustration, especially fan art or digital artwork shared on social media.
• 沼落ち Falling deep into a fandom obsession — like sinking into a swamp with no way ...
• 推しが尊い My favorite is too precious — expressing that your oshi is so wonderful it's ...
• 前期 Last season — referring to the previous anime broadcast quarter.
• 尊死 Dying from how precious something is — hyperbolic expression of being overwhe...
• 限界オタク An otaku at their emotional breaking point — overwhelmed by fandom feels to t...
• 推し事 Fan activities for your oshi — a wordplay on お仕事 (work) that reframes fandom ...
• SSR Super Super Rare — the highest gacha rarity tier, used metaphorically for any...
• 天井システム Pity system — a gacha game mechanic that guarantees a rare item after a set n...
• オタ卒 Graduating from being an otaku — leaving fandom life behind, either voluntari...
• 推し増し Adding another oshi to your list without replacing your existing one — expand...
• オタ活 Otaku activities — the full range of fan pursuits including attending events,...
• スパダリ Super darling — an ideal, perfect boyfriend character who is handsome, kind, ...
• 考察 Deep analysis or theory-crafting about anime/manga plot, lore, and hidden mea...
• センイル A birthday celebration event for an idol or oshi, featuring fan-organized tri...