Anime & Manga Expressions

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

Introduction

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.

Themes

All Japanese Slang in This Chapter (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...