A Glossary
Anime -- comes from the word animation. Think Japanese cartoons and you'll be right on track.
Bishie -- short for bishonen, which is Japanese for "beautiful boy." Often used by girls when referring to the handsome guys in manga.
Con -- short for convention. Teens will save for months and beg for rides so they can go to one of these. If you have an anime club at your library, find out when all the cons within driving distance happen, and make sure you don't schedule a meeting for those days.
Cosplay -- short for costume play. Basically, dressing up as a character from a manga or anime series.
Ecchi -- it's how the Japanese say the first letter in hentai, which is usually translated as pervert. In the western world, it's used to differentiate manga with a fair amount of sexual innuendo, fan service, comedic sexual situations (a boy accidentally groping a girl, etc.), and/or nudity from manga with actual sex scenes.
Fan Service -- things mangaka put into their manga to please the fans. It usually refers to things like panels where the perspective lets you see up someone's skirt and girls in revealing clothing, but it can also include non-sexual things like references to other anime or manga series. Check Wikipedia for a more detailed explanation.
Gender Bender -- a series where a character is required to cross-dress in order to achieve their goal. The character is usually trying to keep their true identity a secret from everybody.
Harem -- manga where a bunch of cute girls are all after the same boy (Negima), or a bunch of gorgeous boys all fall for the same girl (Ouran High School Host Club).
Josei -- manga written for young women ages 18-30. May be more sexually explicit than shojo manga. A lot josei manga is yaoi. Not a lot of non-yaoi josei is published in the western world.
Manga -- the Japanese word for comics. Outside of Japan, it refers to any graphic novels that come from Japan, and sometimes from other parts of Asia or North America if the art style is similar.
Mangaka -- someone who writes/draws manga.
Mecha -- people running around in giant robotic suits fighting each other, aliens and assorted other bad guys.
One Shot -- a short story, usually only one chapter long.
Otaku -- a rabid fan. In Japan the word is an insult, but in the western world, the word has been adopted as a badge of honour by manga and anime fans.
Seinen -- manga written for young men ages 18-30. As such, it can be more violent and sexually explicit than shonen manga, although not always.
Shojo -- means girl in Japanese. Shojo manga is manga written for teenage girls. It can be any genre, but tends to focus more on emotions than shonen manga.
Shojo-ai -- means girl's love in Japanese. It's used in the western world to describe lesbian romances (yuri) with no sex scenes. They focus solely on emotions.
Shonen -- means boy in Japanese. Comes in pretty much every genre. Uses far less flowers than shojo manga does.
Shonen-ai -- means boy's love in Japanese. It's used in the western world for yaoi with sex scenes. Like shojo-ai, it focuses on the main characters' emotions.
Smut -- Sex scenes.
Yaoi -- homosexual romance manga written for teenage girls and women. Teens seem to either love it or loath it. Yaoi is generally very explicit, and often includes rape portrayed in a positive manner. Yes, really. Shonen-ai (boy's love) is the western world's designation for yaoi without sex scenes and that focus on emotions. Teens know what they like and are ready for, so make sure you do a reader's advisory interview to find out what level they're comfortable with before you suggest titles.
Yuri -- lesbian romance. Like shonen-ai, emotions play a big part. In the western world, yuri that is not explicit and focuses entirely on the emotions of the main characters is called shojo-ai (girl's love).
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