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Shounen
A genre aimed mainly at boys and teenage male readers, typically featuring coming-of-age stories built around friendship, hard work, and victory.
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Shoujo
A genre aimed mainly at girls and female readers, with stories centered on romance and delicate emotional development.
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Isekai
A story format where the main character is transported to a completely different world β often through an accident or reincarnation β and begins a new life there.
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Tsundere
A character type who acts cold and blunt at first, but gradually reveals a warmer, sweeter side over time.
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Kuudere
A character type who appears expressionless and rarely shows emotion on the outside, but has a warm heart underneath.
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Senpai / Kouhai
A uniquely Japanese cultural concept describing the hierarchical relationship between someone who joined a school or organization earlier (senpai) and someone who joined later (kouhai).
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Waifu
A fandom term for a female anime character a fan feels especially fond of. The equivalent term for a male character is "husbando."
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OVA (Original Video Animation)
An anime title released directly on video or digital formats from the start, without a TV broadcast or theatrical release.
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Seiyuu (Voice Actor)
A professional actor who voices characters in anime or games β in Japan, voice acting has become its own thriving celebrity industry.
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Chibi
An art style that redraws characters in a cute, exaggerated form with a large head and small body.
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Filler
Episodes added by the anime itself, not present in the original source material, created while the anime waits for the source manga to progress further.
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Cosplay
A hobby of recreating a character's costume and look from anime, games, and more, exactly as they appear β short for "costume play."