ML

en-noun

ML (countable and uncountable, plural MLs)

(slang, manga, anime) Abbreviation of male lead.


FL

(slang, manga, anime) Abbreviation of female lead.


manga

manga (countable and uncountable, plural manga or mangas)

desc

→ Hindi: मांगा (māṅgā), माँगा (māṅgā), मैंगा (maiṅgā)

Black Cat (manga)
Hokusai
manga (disambiguation)

Borrowed from Japanese 漫画(まんが) (manga), from Middle Chinese 漫 (MC manH, “free, unrestrained”) + 畫 (MC hweaH|hweak, “drawing”). Compare Mandarin 漫畫／漫画 (mànhuà), Korean 만화 (漫畵／漫畫, manhwa). After an 1814 book by Katsushika Hokusai. Doublet of manhua and manhwa.

zh-l

漫畫／漫画 (mànhuà)

English speakers are quick to notice the at times incorrect use of English in anime and manga. Many English words are customarily used in standard Japanese speech, and sometimes they are pronounced and employed in a manner quite different from their native use.

2001, Gilles Poitras, “What makes anime unique”, in Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know, page 63:

Manga (Japanese comics) are everywhere. Even here in Auckland. One can find various titles in their original versions as well as in Chinese, Korean and English translations.

2007, Yukako Sunaoshi, “Who reads comics? Manga readership among first-generation Asian immigrants in New Zealand”, in Popular Culture, Globalization and Japan, page 94:

Manga-influenced comics by Western authors are frequently sold alongside manga, although in most bookstores the decision is primarily a matter of format and packaging (i.e., whether the book is printed in the compact manga size or the traditionally larger American comic book format).

2012, Jason Thompson, “Introduction”, in Manga: The Complete Guide, page 46:

(countable, comics) A comic originating in Japan.


doujinshi

en-noun

doujinshi (countable and uncountable, plural doujinshi or doujinshis)

Borrowed from Japanese 同(どう)人(じん)誌(し) (dōjinshi, “fan-produced manga or essay booklets”), from 同(どう)人(じん) (dōjin, “group for the same interest”) + 誌(し) (shi, “magazine or a pamphlet”).

ja-r

(manga) A fan-produced book or magazine of Japanese fiction; especially manga.


splash

Probably an alteration of plash (compare spatter, spill for the initial s-).


PG

Although Supergirl fans will relish page 4, I believe the first panel of 5 says it all: after a full force ramming by SG, PG just casually tosses her into a wall. Now *that's* Power Girl.

1997 October 25, Lightning, “REVIEW Power Girl #1, uhm, I mean Supergirl #16”, in rec.arts.comics.dc.universe (Usenet), message-ID <62tta5$a7g$1@206.230.70.77>:

Actually, a point could be made that the animated Supergirl is much more like Power Girl than the pre Crisis Supergirl.
For one thing she adopted the name Karen (Karen Starr was the name Kara Zor-L created), also she wears PG's costume colors and has a strong resentment toward's Clark's overprotectiveness. The only difference is that the animated SG has the Kara Zor-El personality more than she does Power Girl's.

1998 May 6, CaptT...@webtv.net, “Re: Why is TV kind of pre-Crisis and comics Post-Crisis”, in rec.arts.comics.dc.universe (Usenet), message-ID <6iouoe$1jf$1@newsd-134.iap.bryant.webtv.net>:

I kinda hate how they made Power Girl (Kara/SG pre-Crisis on World 2 or 3?) evil and a clone of SG. One of my fav comics growing up was Supes, and PG and I think Green Arrow going after Vandal Savage.

2005 September 21, tan...@bellsouth.net, “Re: JLU - WOW”, in alt.tv.cartoon-network (Usenet), message-ID <SL7Ye.4284$xg3.1881@bignews4.bellsouth.net>:

(comics) Initialism of Power Girl (“DC Comics superheroine”).


super

For quotations using this term, see Citations:super.


scanlation

en-noun

scanlation (countable and uncountable, plural scanlations)

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(comics, chiefly manga) The process of scanning and translating foreign-language comics (especially Japanese manga or Korean manhwa) into the translator's language, for free distribution over the Internet.

(comics) A comic that has been scanned, translated, and with translation overlaid onto the original text to produce a second-language version of the comic; a scanlated comic.


panel

From Middle English panel (“piece of cloth, saddle pad, pane of glass, piece of ice, part, division, jury list, jury members”), from Anglo-Norman panel, panelle (“piece of cloth, saddle cushion”), from Vulgar Latin *pannellus, diminutive of Latin pannus (“cloth, rag, garment”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“fabric”). Cognate with Old English fana (“a piece of cloth, patch, banner, flag, vane”). Doublet of vane.

cog

The last panel of a comic strip usually contains a punchline.

(comics) An individual frame or drawing in a comic.


mai

(anime, manga, fandom slang, Internet slang) Alternative form of my (used in the expressions mai waifu and mai husbando)


comic strip

(comics) A series of drawings, in sequence, often but not necessarily depicting something funny or satirical in nature; more specifically, a single work consisting of a short row of such drawings.


comic book

(comics) A book or magazine that uses sequences of drawings to narrate a story or a series of stories, primarily in a serialized form, usually fiction.


smurf

Peyo
The Smurfs
fr:Les Schtroumpfs
nl:De Smurfen

Borrowed from Dutch smurf (via the Belgian comic De Smurfen, a translation of French Les Schtroumpfs), from French schtroumpf, a word that was created by Peyo based on German Strumpf (literally “stocking, sock”), either simply because it sounds funny to the French ear or based on a regional German use for “idiot”. Armand van Raalte was an employee for the Belgian publisher of Peyo's stories who felt that schtroumpf would not have the same effect in Dutch, so he tried to find a simple word that could be used both as a noun and a verb. The result was smurf. In other languages, the term was similarly altered; compare the translations below.

der

He occasionally used the proper noun of the restaurant as an adverb, the way a Smurf would.

2021 December 8, Geraldine DeRuiter, “Bros., Lecce: We Eat at The Worst Michelin Starred Restaurant, Ever”, in The Everywhereist:

(comics, fiction) A blue pixie with white stocking cap, from the media franchise The Smurfs.


gutter

Sranan Tongo: gotro

From Middle English gutter, guttur, goter, from Anglo-Norman guttere, from Old French goutiere (French gouttière), ultimately from Latin gutta (“drop”).

(comics) A space between comic strip panels.


cartoon

Punch (magazine)
Russian Bear
The Great Game
cartoon

→ Portuguese: cartune, cartum

→ Swahili: katuni

In British English first, from French carton (“sketch, cardboard, card”), from Italian cartone (“cardboard, carton, box”), augmentative of carta (“paper”), from Latin carta (“papyrus, paper”), from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs) (see there for further etymology). Doublet of carton and card.

(comics) A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.

(comics) A drawing satirising current public figures.

tekenprent

animated cartoon — see also animated cartoon


cartoon

en-verb

cartoon (third-person singular simple present cartoons, present participle cartooning, simple past and past participle cartooned)

cartoons (present singular third-person)
cartooning (participle present)
cartooned (participle past)
cartooned (past)

(art, comics, animation) To draw a cartoon, a humorous drawing.


graphic novel

(comics) A comic book containing a single and full nonepisodic story.


graphic novelist

en-noun

graphic novelist (plural graphic novelists)

graphic novel + -ist or graphic + novelist

(comics) A person who creates fiction using a succession of pictures interspersed with text (i.e. a comic book).


strip cartoon

(comics) A series of illustrations depicting a humorous narrative.

comic

illustrations depicting humorous narrative


cartoonist

→ Indonesian: kartunis

(comics) One who creates a cartoon or strip cartoon.

cartooniste m or f dessinateur de dessins animés

(comics) One who both writes and illustrates comic books or graphic novels.

sarjakuvataiteilija

person who writes and illustrates comic books


shojo

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From the Japanese 少女 (shōjo, “young woman”).

(anime, manga) A style of anime and manga intended for young women.


shojo

en-adj

shojo (comparative more shojo, superlative most shojo)

more shojo (comparative)
most shojo (superlative)

(anime, manga) Being in the style of shōjo manga or anime.


baka

baka (comparative more baka, superlative most baka)

more baka (comparative)
most baka (superlative)

Borrowed from Japanese 馬鹿(ばか) (baka, “stupid”).

(anime manga, fandom slang, endearing) Stupid, silly.


baka

(anime manga, fandom slang, endearing) A foolish person, a dummy, a silly goose.


cunny

en-noun

cunny (countable and uncountable, plural cunnies)

(countable, fandom slang, chiefly anime and manga) The vulva or vagina of a child or childlike character (loli).

(countable, synecdochically) A child or childlike character, especially when considered sexually attractive; a loli.

(uncountable, metonymically) Lolicon-themed media, especially when erotic (hentai).


sequential art

(art, comics) A form of art where the content is presented in a series of artistic items positioned in a specific order to convey its message or effect, such as a comic strip.


speech bubble

(comics) A rounded outline, containing words, representing speech in a comic.

shtëllungë ligjërimi

rounded outline representing speech in a cartoon


kokoro

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/ˈkoʊkəˌɹoʊ/

Borrowed from Japanese 心(こころ) (kokoro, “heart, mind, spirit”).

Fame is for weenies. I'd rather be remembered for inventing a weird guitar effect or a recording technique than becoming famous by a song, unless the song is genuinely from my kokoro.

1992 December 7, Mike, “Re: When Things Go Wrong”, in bit.listserv.allmusic (Usenet), message-ID <ALLMUSIC%92120719125825@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU>:

(fandom slang, chiefly anime and manga) A heart.


webcomic

From Web + comic. The word is first attested 2000, but websites titled "WebComics" existed previously (as early as 1995).

Webcomics certainly have their selling points. They are harder to censor and generally free from editorial meddling[…]

2008, Danny Fingeroth, The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels, →ISBN, page 275:

Almost six years ago, Andrew Hussie began another one of a series of webcomics on his website, MS Paint Adventures. These early comics were experiments in fan-sourced storytelling: He’d create and monitor forums for character and story suggestions, then fold them into the story.

2015 February 24, Lilian Min, “How the Internet Invented a New Kind of Storytelling”, in The Atlantic:

(comics, Internet) An online comic, especially one first published on the Internet.


chibi

chibi (countable and uncountable, plural chibis)

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Borrowed from Japanese ちび (chibi, “something small; runt, dwarf; pipsqueak”)

bor+

(countable) A child-like character with exaggerated features, particularly in anime.

Since the eyes take up so much room on the chibi face, the head needs to be stretched and, therefore, usually ends up being oval-shaped to accommodate the oval-shaped eyes.

2013, Christopher Hart, Manga for the Beginner:

(uncountable) A style of cartooning in which the characters are drawn to be very small and cute.


lolicon

en-noun

lolicon (usually uncountable, plural lolicons)

Borrowed from Japanese ロリコン (rorikon), clipping of ロリータ・コンプレックス (“Lolita complex”), culturally adapted from the 1966 American academic thesis of the same name that had its name by Russell Trainer, of itself taken from the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita and English complex (not from English Lolita complex, which comes from the Japanese term). Lolita comes from Spanish Lolita, diminutive of Lola, from the given name Dolores. By surface analysis, loli + -con (“abnormal sexual attraction”).

clipping

ロリータ・コンプレックス

loli

an underage girl in anime or manga, especially if sexualized

Innocence’s story—about female sex androids that kill their owners—is possible only in a Lolicon country like Japan. The androids are modeled after little girls[.]

2004, Patrick Macias, Tomohiro Machiyama, Cruising The Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo, Stone Bridge Press, page 48:

A Japanese term derived from the English phrase “Lolita complex,” lolicon describes a fascination with cartoons of very young-looking girls engaged in varying degrees of erotic behavior.

2014 October 15, Matt Alt, “Pharrell Williams’s Lolicon Video”, in The New Yorker:

(uncountable, anime and manga) Attraction (often erotic) to young, typically prepubescent girls, or the fictional depictions thereof.

I don't need to hear you are becoming a lolicon.

1993 October 29, "Eldrick Tobin, Master of Perversion" (username), "The Arc: Joyful Noise Omakefic Unit 01: Sentenced: A Fanboys! Crossover "jnomk01.txt" (1/1)", in alt.hentai.sailor-moon, Usenet

Ken's a lolicon (pedophile).

1998 March 9, Chadwick Ngan, “BLAND Manga Capsules 3/4/98”, in rec.arts.manga (Usenet):

Hey, don't take me for a lolicon: I'm not! It is just that I find that kind of anime... fun, refreshing.

2000 July 6, OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol, “:: chokes :: :: passes out ::”, in alt.hentai.sailor-moon (Usenet):

I like lolis, I consider myself a lolicon, but I'm not attracted to real children. Your argument fails immediately there since most lolicons are not attracted to real children. Am I a pedophile?

2016 July 14, Aiko_Hiroshi, Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! Episode 2 Discussion:

Let me say it again, lolicon and pedo are a different thing. japanese people are just saying it lolicon because in their mind, they already implanted the word of lolicon as pedo, but in anime community, pedo and lolicon are a different thing. why make it different ? so that we can see the difference from people who likes "fictional" little girl and from people who likes "real" little girl.

2016 July 15, YizelTro, Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! Episode 2 Discussion:

(countable, anime and manga) An individual who is attracted to underage girls.

If you are into bishojo, loli-con, or bishonen materials, be advised that customs *does* frown on what might be considered pornography.

1989 September 23, Mark Crispin, “bringing stuff into the US from Japan”, in soc.culture.japan (Usenet):

the whole gamut of lolicon and girls-with-guns genres

1993 March 27, Rafael Brown, “Anime Potrayal of Japanese Women”, in rec.arts.anime (Usenet):

Some critics of lolicon claim that those who enjoy it also necessarily enjoy real child porn […]

2006, Lawrence Eng, Otaku Engagements: subcultural appropriation of science and technology, page 168:

Bizarrely, viewing and collecting lolicon seems to have become a subcultural norm, especially in Japan, […]

2010, Sarah D. Goode, Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children: a Study of Paedophiles in Contemporary Society, page 29:

Most importantly, because German child pornography and child abuse laws forbid representation of children as sexual objects, there is a complete ban on shota or lolicon.

2010, Paul M. Malone, “From BRAVO to Animexx.de to Export”, in Boys’ Love Manga, page 33:

(uncountable, anime and manga) Erotic or suggestive artwork depicting underage girls.


genki

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Borrowed from Japanese げんき (“energetic, peppy”).

bor+

(anime and manga) A playful, hyperactive girl.


genki

en-adj

genki (comparative more genki, superlative most genki)

more genki (comparative)
most genki (superlative)

Akira, the genki red head, is accosted by Kyouko, a predatory blond girl in her high school.

2009 July 7, Dave Baranyi, “Aoi Hana - Blue Flowers for a Blue Girl”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

(anime and manga, typically of a girl) Playful and hyperactive.


yaoi

en-noun

yaoi (countable and uncountable, plural yaoi or yaois)

From Japanese やおい (yaoi), a blend of 山(やま)無(な)し (yama nashi, “no climax”) + 落(お)ち無(な)し (ochi nashi, “no point”) + 意味(いみ)無(な)し (imi nashi, “no meaning”), originally mocking those who criticised early yaoi works for being too focused on sex scenes instead of storylines.

ja-blend

(pornography, anime, manga) A form of hentai involving two or more males in a gay relationship.

ইয়াওই

(anime, manga) A narrative or visual work featuring a romance or sexual relationship between two or more men.


nuk

(comics) The sound of a pacifier being suckled on.


funnies

And I'm turning to the horoscope and looking for the funnies / When I'm feeling someone watching me and so I raise my head

1987, “Tom's Diner”, in Suzanne Vega (lyrics), Solitude Standing:

(comics) The section of a newspaper containing comic strips.


one-shot

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And with the added bonuses of color and videotape coupled with the disadvantages of higher production costs, a lot of syndie producers forsook weekly series in favor of one-shot specials — and it didn't take long for the airwaves to become thick with one-shots.

2001, Hal Erickson, Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987, →ISBN, page 106:

The Mummy belongs in a chapter devoted to one-shots as its progeny are different breeds rather than direct sequels.

2013, B. Forshaw, British Gothic Cinema, →ISBN:

This spectacular, free one-shot also includes original short stories from Sean Rubin's upcoming, enchanting dinosaur tale, Bolivar; Jim Henson's fantasy classic, Labyrinth (an Archaia original graphic novelby Ted Naifeh, Adrianne Ambrose, and Cory Godbey is in the works); and Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos' justice-seekin' boy hereo, Cow Boy.

2014, Louis Zampini, A Father's Guide to Comics, →ISBN:

The one-shot trend continued in Japan, where fans are used to paying what Western audiences consider absurdly high prices for anime, but this hampered them from Western release until companies began to bundle one-shots together.

2015, Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy, The Anime Encyclopedia, 3rd Revised Edition, →ISBN:

(television, film, comics) A television program, film, or comic book that is not part of a series.


grawlix

National Cartoonists Society
The Slate Group

A meaningless word coined by the American comic strip writer Mort Walker (1923–2018) in a humorous article entitled “Let’s Get Down to Grawlixes” published in The Cartoonist (1964), possibly influenced by growl.

kirosanojen sensurointimerkki

There is a wealth of comicana waiting for the student with enough drive and depth of understanding. Once he masters the secret of the waftarom, the solrad, and the grawlix, he can mix in any art circle but he's own his own from here on.

1975, Mort Walker, “50-50 or Fight”, in Backstage at the Strips, [New York, N.Y.]: A&W Visual Library, →ISBN, page 31:

Even in today's permissive society many four letter words are not permissible in the comics. […] So the creative mind came up with a variety of "jarns," "quimps," "nittles," and "grawlixes" to help convey a sergeant's strong emotion and add color and dimension to his personality.

1980, Mort Walker, “Indicia”, in The Lexicon of Comicana, Authors Guild Backinprint.com edition, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, published 2000, →ISBN, page 52:

He does all the Popeye voices, but prefers Olive Oyl's. He has noises for the nittles, the grawlix, the quimps, the jarns. He blows each balloon up before your ears. He reels home, +'s on his eyes, singing the spurl that rises like heat from his head.

1995 February 21, William H[oward] Gass, “Culp”, in The Tunnel, Normal, Ill.: Dalkey Archive Press, published 2014, →ISBN, page 159:

Thus, in a singles bar you’re probably better to stick with jarns, nettles, grawlices, and quimps (comic-book swearing).

1997, Ken Weber, Five Minute Challenge #1, Toronto, Ont.: Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, →ISBN, page 148:

A series of images or symbols used in speech bubbles in comic strips to indicate one or more swear words.

An image resembling an illegible scribble used for this purpose.

When Chicago-based author and illustrator Anders Nilsen was a political-minded college student at University of New Mexico, grawlix granted him a glimmer of fame. Demonstrating against a newly-enacted law, Nilsen wielded a hand-painted sign reading "F*&# Proposition 187." […] As a fellow comic writer, [Paul] Hornschemeier prefers what he calls "the other species" of grawlix, which is when the entire expletive is replaced by symbols. "When you see just the pure symbols, you imagine, 'OK, these are some dirty words,'" he says. "But the reader definitely becomes the author of that filth."

2011 May 18, Heidi Stevens, “What the grawlix?”, in Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill.: Tribune Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-11-16:

The symbols that work best are those that fill up space: @, #, $, %, and &. Hyphens, plus signs, asterisks and carets (^) leave too much white space within the body of the grawlix for it to look like a single word. […] Because it represents words spoken in anger or excitement, the grawlix should always end with an exclamation mark, even if it's an interrogative grawlix: @#$%&?! Finally, as a word of caution, you should reserve your use of grawlixes for emails to close friends. Grawlixes are highly inappropriate for any professional writing. And about that, at least, I'm not kidding.

2014, Bill Schmalz, edited by Sabita Naheswaran, The Architect’s Guide to Writing: For Design and Construction Professionals, Mulgrave, Vic.: The Images Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 88:

The work in this first section also involved identifying the purpose of grawlixes, the visual representation of swearing in comic strips. […] The students discussed the aim of grawlixes, raising their awareness of the effectiveness of graphic displays.

2016, Sonia Zyngier, Vander Viana, “Literary Awareness in a High-school EFL Learning Environment: An Empirical Evaluation”, in Michael Burke, Olivia Fialho, Sonia Zyngier, editors, Scientific Approaches to Literature in Learning Environments (Linguistic Approaches to Literature; 24), Amsterdam, Philadelphia, Pa.: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →DOI, →ISBN, page 287:

If I told you that a grawlix infestation is inevitable, you'd probably respond with something to the effect of, "What the $#@! are you talking about?" […] I have responded to most of 2020 with a series of grawlixes. For instance, when I learned that we've had more than 26 hurricanes, so the hurricane-naming people move to the Greek alphabet to start naming hurricanes, I said, "You've got to be &#@$ kidding me!"

2020 December 6, Curtis Honeycutt, “Grammar Guy: Saying goodbye to the year of the grawlix”, in Marc Chase, editor, The Times (Lifestyle section), Porter County edition, volume 112, number 125; volume 110, number 85, Munster, Ind.: The Times Media Company, Lee Publications, Lee Enterprises, →OCLC, page D11, columns 4–5:

Hate mail is just straightforward abuse. It's a verbal stinkbomb, a middle finger from a car window, the equivalent of what is called, in the comic-strip trade, grawlixes: @%&&#!!

2021 June 20, Jim Beckerman, “Matters of Fact: Why do people hate newspapers?”, in Daily Record, volume 34, number 205, Parsippany, N.J.: Gannett, →OCLC, page 5D:

A string of typographical symbols (such as "@[[#]]$%&!") used for this purpose.

A series of violence-related images (such as bombs, daggers, and skulls) used for this purpose.


finisher

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emanata

Now that we have our characters, there's a lot more we can do with them to show what's going on inside them. Those of you who believe in mental telepathy should not be at all surprised at the things cartoonists have emanating from their characters.

1980, Mort Walker, The lexicon of comicana, Emanata, page 28:

Emanata can come from things as well as people to show what's going on.

1980, Mort Walker, The lexicon of comicana, Emanata, page 29:

(comics) Unrealistic pictorial elements emanating from a character, symbolizing something about that character, such as a sweatdrop for anxiety or a question mark for confusion, or emanating from an object, such as heat rays from the sun.


SG

Although Supergirl fans will relish page 4, I believe the first panel of 5 says it all: after a full force ramming by SG, PG just casually tosses her into a wall. Now *that's* Power Girl.

1997 October 25, Lightning, “REVIEW Power Girl #1, uhm, I mean Supergirl #16”, in rec.arts.comics.dc.universe (Usenet), message-ID <62tta5$a7g$1@206.230.70.77>:

Actually, a point could be made that the animated Supergirl is much more like Power Girl than the pre Crisis Supergirl.
For one thing she adopted the name Karen (Karen Starr was the name Kara Zor-L created), also she wears PG's costume colors and has a strong resentment toward's Clark's overprotectiveness. The only difference is that the animated SG has the Kara Zor-El personality more than she does Power Girl's.

1998 May 6, CaptT...@webtv.net, “Re: Why is TV kind of pre-Crisis and comics Post-Crisis”, in rec.arts.comics.dc.universe (Usenet), message-ID <6iouoe$1jf$1@newsd-134.iap.bryant.webtv.net>:

I kinda hate how they made Power Girl (Kara/SG pre-Crisis on World 2 or 3?) evil and a clone of SG. One of my fav comics growing up was Supes, and PG and I think Green Arrow going after Vandal Savage.

2005 September 21, tan...@bellsouth.net, “Re: JLU - WOW”, in alt.tv.cartoon-network (Usenet), message-ID <SL7Ye.4284$xg3.1881@bignews4.bellsouth.net>:

(comics) Initialism of Supergirl (“DC Comics superheroine”).


shonen

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From the Japanese 少年 (shōnen, “few years”).

(anime, manga) A style of Japanese animation and comics aimed at a younger male audience.


shonen

en-adj

shonen (comparative more shonen, superlative most shonen)

more shonen (comparative)
most shonen (superlative)

(anime, manga) Being in the style of shonen comics or animation.


mecha

From Japanese メカ (meka), from an abbreviation of the English mechanical.

Having deprived her of both her mecha and her lover, Masato looks set for a nasty end, but Miku arrives to save him.

1997, Helen McCarthy, The anime movie guide:

A transformation occurs when a mecha character, vehicle, or weapon unfolds and reassembles itself in a totally new form.

2002, Christopher Hart, Anime mania: how to draw characters for Japanese animation:

Porco Rosso evinces a deep fascination with mechanical objects of all sorts but it is by no means a mecha movie...

2006, Dani Cavallaro, The animé art of Hayao Miyazaki:

Each week the good guys fight the bad guys and vanquish them in a mecha battle, only to have the bad guys reappear intact the following week.

2007, Frenchy Lunning, Mechademia 2: Networks of Desire:

[…] to be a “lifter”—to pilot a mecha that can also transform into an air board […]

2007, Robin E. Brenner, Understanding manga and anime, page 170:

In this section, I show you mechas that are large enough to be piloted by humans from the inside. Although most of them are designed for combat, some function as transportation or construction mechas.

2011, Kensuke Okabayashi, Manga For Dummies, page 275:

(anime, manga) A large armoured robot on legs, typically controlled by a pilot seated inside.


senpai

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Borrowed from Japanese 先(せん)輩(ぱい) (senpai). Doublet of sunbae.

(anime and manga, fandom slang) An upperclassman or elder student, in the context of Japan.


manhua

en-noun

manhua (countable and uncountable, plural manhuas)

Borrowed from Mandarin 漫畫 /漫画 (mànhuà), from Japanese 漫(まん)画(が) (manga). Doublet of manga and manhwa.

(comics) A comic originating in China or Taiwan.


manhwa

Borrowed from Korean 만화(漫畫) (manhwa), from Japanese 漫(まん)画(が) (manga). Doublet of manga and manhua.

In fact, many manga fans don't realize that their favorite comics — such as Priest, Ragnarock, and Island — are actually Korean manhwa!

2004, Christopher Hart, Manhwa Mania: How to Draw Korean Comics, Watson-Guptill Publications, →ISBN, page 7:

Since the Korean language reads left to right (unlike Chinese and Japanese), manhwa are printed left to right in the same format as English books.

2007, Jason Thompson, Manga: The Complete Guide, Del Rey, published 2007, →ISBN:

As the best Japanese titles were mined, the American companies began to look for alternatives, and Tokyopop's founder Stuart Levy already had a budding interest in Korean manhwa.

2008, Mark James Russell, Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music, and Internet Culture, Stone Bridge Press, published 2008, →ISBN:


hench

en-verb

hench (third-person singular simple present henches, present participle henching, simple past and past participle henched)

henches (present singular third-person)
henching (participle present)
henched (participle past)
henched (past)

(comics) To be a henchman or henchwoman, usually for a supervillain.


loli

From Japanese ロリ or a clipping of lolicon.

(fandom slang, chiefly anime and manga) A childlike female character, particularly in the lolicon genre.


webcartoonist

(comics, Internet) A person who creates webcomics.


kohai

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Borrowed from Japanese 後(こう)輩(はい) (kōhai, literally “later cohort”). Doublet of hoobae.

ja-r

(anime and manga, fandom slang) An underclassman or younger student.


omake

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Borrowed from Japanese お負け (omake, “extra, bonus”).

(manga) Additional material to the main series added to the tankobon edition of a manga.


superdeformed

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(anime, manga) Alternative form of super deformed (“drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads”).


imouto

A character-for-character romanisation of the Hiragana form of Japanese いもうと (imōto).

::laughs:: it's ok. Josh only tolerates it becuase ^([sic]) I'm his imouto and am only joking.

1999 January 10, Animeg3282, “Recent flow of posters from AFSM to AGFF and vice versa...”, in alt.games.final-fantasy (Usenet):

The mirror was going to take you, just like it - like it almost took Mom, and Dad, and imouto. I couldn't let it take you... I love you, onee-san. Please, can you ever forgive me?

1999 July 13, Vctr113062, “[TK3 fanfic] "Phoenix" Ch. 19, 2/4”, in alt.games.video.sony-playstation (Usenet):

Second, why do all the girls correspond so well to accepted anime character archetypes? (We have at the least, Triela the tsundere, Claes the incho, Rico the bokke, Angelica as the sick girl, and Henrietta the imouto.)

2007 February 1, Abraham Evangelista, “10 Year Retrospective - My Least Favorites”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

I have to say I didn't have trouble with the cannon fodder, although the imouto is *extremely* annoying and needs a good spanking. She's too old to be acting like a brat.

2011 January 30, Captain Nerd, “Jan '11 New Anime series - my thoughts thru 3 eps”, in rec.arts.anim.misc (Usenet):

I mean, an utilitarian analysis, knowing in hindsight that little imoutos are the best thing that can happen to any anime lover, would clearly have revealed that her constantly kicking my balls when we were small enough to share a bath tub was not to be mistaken for ill intent, and that her nagging about my bicycle riding style when I carried her on the back seat was just natural

2015 September 20, pataphor, “Bantu versus Baby5: A critique of utilitarianism”, in alt.angst (Usenet):


blort

en-noun

blort (countable and uncountable, plural blorts)

Onomatopoetic; in sense 1, also blend of blow + snort.

(ABDL, chiefly art and comics, uncommon) Indicates the sound of defecation, especially into a diaper.


Pikachu

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(video games, anime, manga) A small yellow rodent-like Pokémon species that has red cheeks and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt, and has electricity-related powers.


newhalf

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Calque of Japanese ニューハーフ (nyūhāfu, “new half”). ニューハーフ is wasei eigo, from English.

calque

(anime, manga, slang) A character with a female body but only male genitals.


zombie strip

(comics) A newspaper or magazine strip cartoon that is continued by others following the retirement or death of its originator.


nani

Nani the fuck?


shoujo ai

Two connected etymologies. Either interpreted as a loan translation of Japanese 少女愛 (shōjo ai), or a specialized neologism created in analogy to shounen ai (少年愛; shōnen ai) using Japanese vocabulary.

(neologism, anime, manga) Anime and manga that explore emotional, but largely platonic, homoerotic relationships between women.


shounen ai

(slang, anime, manga) A narrative or visual work featuring a romance or sexual relationship between two or more males.


school life

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(anime, manga) A genre which has the majority of the storyline taking place in a school.


meganekko

Borrowed from Japanese 眼鏡っ娘 (meganekko), from 眼鏡 (megane, “glasses”) + 娘 (ko, “girl”).

Oh... Then I've have to find somebody who's be willing to get me a less-than-full-body shot of her, like the ones I have of five other meganekko who wear pince-nez: […]

2004 November 29, Rob Kelk, “Re: Anime genres? (was Re: Anime that every fan should watch?)”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

Anyway, so far, really, my favourite character is Yuki. Bonus points when we find out in the second episode she's a meganekko.

2006 May 2, The Eternal Lost Lurker [username], “Just started Haruhi...”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

Airheaded and delectably gauche, Miyuki stands out as a classic incarnation of the meganekko— namely, as noted, the moe type whose charm derives largely from the wearing of glasses—while also appearing to have a soothing effect on those around her by virtue of her sheer presence.

2012, Dani Cavallaro, Kyoto Animation: A Critical Study and Filmography, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 126:

(anime, manga) A female fictional character whose charm or attractiveness derives largely from wearing glasses.


starry eyes

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(chiefly anime and manga) Eyes with exaggerated starry highlights, with an expression of wonder or delight.


anger balloon

(comics) A balloon with a jagged outline, containing words angrily screamed by a character.


twintail

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From twin + tail. Sense 2 is a calque of Japanese ツインテール (tsuintēru).

(fandom slang, chiefly anime and manga) Either of a pair of unbraided tails worn on the sides of the head; an unbraided pigtail.

(in the plural) A hairstyle with a pair of twintails; unbraided pigtails.


superfight

Then back to a period of villain of the week, interrupting that with a superfight that created a new superheroine from an innocent bystander.

1998 August 2, Stephen B. Mann, “A long running superhero game”, in rec.games.frp.super-heroes (Usenet):

While seeking out Iron Man, she had her first superfight, little realizing her foe was the armored madman Dr. Doom, who was in the area on undisclosed business of his own.

2008, Scholastic Avengers Encyclopedia - Part 1, →ISBN:

It doesn't take the bad guys long to notice his efforts to save the humans below from the fallout of their superfight in the sky.

2013, Dan Margules, ScripTipps: Superman & Superman II:

(comics) A fight between a superhero and a supervillain.


Marvel

(fiction, literature, comics) Ellipsis of Marvel Comics.


cabbit

(anime, manga) A fictional hybrid of a cat and a rabbit.


tankobon

Borrowed from Japanese 単行本(たんこうぼん) (tankōbon).

(manga) A standard Japanese book format most commonly encountered as the individual volumes of a manga series.


hard light

This included a good six orvs a day in the HLHG (Hard Light Hologram) Simulation Room. This room could create an unlimited number of battle scenarios by way of quality hard light holograms; it was a key staple in Brigade training.

2005, C. C. Ekeke, Star Brigade: First Renaissance, page 155:

The Falcon formerly wore a pair of jet-powered glider wings that allowed him to fly at speeds up to 250 miles per hour. He now wears a pair of "hard light" wings that have increased his speed […]

2008, Scholastic Avengers Encyclopedia, Marvel Comics Group, →ISBN:

Abstract: Yeng is a Zontoan from planet Zing who volunteers to go on an intergalactic mission to a distant planet called Earth. Using a hard light drive, Yeng is able to project a solid hologram of himself, so that he appears as a stunningly handsome human […]

2009, Victor Kelleher, Spaceman Bill, in Fiction Gateway: Enriching the curriculum

I leaned against the wall and slid down into the ninety-degree corner between two hard light walls. I wrapped my arms around my knees as Sid's voice echoed.

2018, John Oddfellow / Caleb Rhodes, The Engine of a Million Plots, →ISBN, page 179:

"I think we should steal the orb and replace it with a hard light hologram so they won't even notice."

2018, Kay Hawkins, The Stars Are Calling, page 222:

(comics, science fiction) A solid, tangible hologram (projection of light), which can be used to construct structures such as walls or armor.


American comic book

en-noun

American comic book (plural American comic books)

(comics) A thin serialized comic book format published in the United States, containing on average 32 pages.


hyaa

(chiefly manga) Ah! Argh! A shriek or scream.


superhero landing

superhero landing (plural superhero landings)

Superhero landing. She's gonna do a superhero landing. Wait for it. [...] Whoo! Superhero landing! You know, that's really hard on your knees.

2016, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Deadpool, spoken by Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds):

Then — boom! — Spidey sticks the classic superhero landing.

2016 March 11, David Betancourt, “‘Captain America: Civil War’: How Marvel Studios just saved Spider-Man”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2023-01-01:

After the revelatory seventh episode aired, showcasing Monica’s newfound powers, fans flocked to Twitter to praise her first official superhero landing — a single mighty fist planted firmly on the ground, eyes forward and fierce.

2021 March 3, Leigh-Ann Jackson, “Teyonah Parris Didn’t Get ‘WandaVision’ at First, Either”, in The New York Times, retrieved 2023-01-01:

(comics) An action pose where someone is supported by three limbs — specifically: kneeling with one leg, while only the other foot and one hand are also touching the ground — typically seen when a superhero lands after flying or falling.


manga mark

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Compound of manga + mark. Compare Japanese 漫符(まんぷ) (manpu, “manga icon”).

Cultural learning experiences are required to understanding manga''' marks. For example, adults of Botswana interpreted a sweat mark used in Western comics as blood, rain, and tears (Byram and Garforth, 1980).

2006, David Shwalb, Jun Nakazawa, Barbara J. Shwalb, Applied Developmental Psychology: Theory, Practice, and Research from Japan, page 29:

In a previous preliminary experiment, we determined facial expressions for the robot KOBIAN-R with manga marks. Those expressions included four manga marks as “Cross popping veins” for “Anger”, “Tear mark” for “Sadness”, “Vertical lines” for “Fear” and “Wrinkle” for “Disgust”.

2014, Tatsuhiro Kishi, Hajime Futaki, Gabriele Trovato, Nobutsuna Endo, A Robotic Head that Displays Japanese “Manga” Marks:

Nakazawa (2005b) asked the meaning of the twelve manga''' marks to a sample of kindergartners, first-, fourth-, sixth-, and eighth-graders. Understanding of manga''' marks progressed along with grade level (Figure 7.2)

2016, Jun Nakazawa, “Manga literacy and manga comprehension in Japanese children”, in Neil Cohn, editor, The Visual Narrative Reader, page 248:

The comprehensive techniques that composes manga is immature. But there is a very high expressiveness in some aspects, such as the creation of a face viewed from the front and the expression of expressions using manga marks.

2020, Kurobokuya, Kurobokuya manga lesson 4:

(cartooning, manga, anime) A cartoon icon; a symbol used to indicate emotion, movement, etc. in a drawing; especially one used in or associated with Japanese-style manga.


siscon

siscon (countable and uncountable, plural siscons)

Borrowed from Japanese シスコン (shisukon), from clipping of シスターコンプレックス (“sister complex”). By surface analysis, sis (“sister”) + -con (“abnormal sexual attraction”).

surf

What's up with Da Capo? Siscon and lolicon in episode 1, a catgirl later -- is the target market fetishists?

2003 July 17, Galen Musbach, “The Summer of Our Discontent”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

Heck, it's not too hard to find incest themes in non-H these days. Bro/Siscon relationships date back even before the seminal "Revolutionar [sic] Girl Utena", and still crop up in today's harem styled shows like "Sister Princess", and the still hilarious "Majikano".

2006 March 26, Abraham Evangelista, “Re:Protecting the Children at anime cons”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

Perhaps you're wondering about what '80s anime would have thought of the siscon aspect. It likely wouldn't have been permitted as such a central concept on an anime TV show […] but the siscon theme was the focus of a relatively popular 1980s OAV series named for its main character, Ami.

2015 July 22, Tsukasa Fushimi, edited by Jemiah Jefferson, Oreimo: Kuroneko Volume 2, →ISBN, page 163:

“Imouto sae Ireba Ii” - Adaptation of a light novel with a strong siscon slant.

2017 September 19, Dave Baranyi, “Fall 2017 New Anime Try--Out List”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

(anime, manga, uncountable) Strong attachment or romantic/sexual attraction to one's own sister.

(anime, manga, countable) A person with such an attachment.


monoeye

Tysm Hitomi!! They are both so cute! 😳💖 Why does everyone have a cute monoeye OC~

2022 December 10, Akiko✨ (@Akiko_oc), Twitter:

It's also the first day of the month, that means it's monoeye day! Cyclops art RT bomb incoming!

2022 February 1, Hitomi 👁🎧 (@HitomiOnpa), Twitter:

(chiefly anime and manga) A humanlike monster girl species with a single large eye.


beat panel

See beat (“short pause in a play, etc. for dramatic or comedic effect”).

(comics) A panel without dialog (speech bubbles or the like) and no significant visual changes to the previous panel, symbolizing passing of time.


uniboob

(pornography, anime and manga, sometimes science fiction) A female character with a single breast in the center of the chest.

yksirintainen

pornography: female character with a single breast


-con

Modeled after lolicon; ultimately from clipping of complex (“abnormal mental condition”).

clip

(chiefly anime and manga) Forming terms for abnormal sexual attractions.


majokko

Unadapted borrowing from Japanese 魔女っ子 (majokko), composed of 魔女 (“witch”) + っ子 (“person having a certain quality”, also diminutive suffix).
This term is sometimes also glossed in English as “little witch”, the word 子 (ko) meaning “child” or “small”.

affix

The viewer is normally treated to the transformation from the point of view of the majokko herself - the other people around her basically would see a "flash of light" and (poof!) she's changed.

1999 July 13, Animeg3282, “The magical girl thread”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):


pull list

Many places kept ‘pull lists’. A customer would leave a list of titles. The store would use the totals from the pull lists to order, and then the store would pull pristine, untouched issues out of the shipment for their regulars.

2010, Henry Melton, Pixie Dust, Wire Rim Books, →ISBN, page 49:

(comics, slang) A list of comic titles that are automatically ordered for a customer once they are available.


furface

Look, kid ... forget about what ol' fur face there said about alien abduction. I suspect you were sleepwalking. Have you ever done that before?

2005 August 19, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic):

(fiction, comics, fantasy) A term of address used for any animal with fur, ranging from playful mocking to utmost derision.


brocon

en-noun

brocon (countable and uncountable, plural brocons)

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(anime, manga, uncountable) Strong attachment or romantic/sexual attraction to one's own brother.


MSPA

MS Paint Adventures
w:MS Paint Adventures

(comics) Initialism of MS Paint Adventures.


compound balloon

(comics) A type of speech bubble that splits dialogue into smaller pieces.


Time Variance Authority

(comics) A fictional organization appearing in American comic books, depicted as a group of timeline monitors.


mesugaki

Borrowed from Japanese メスガキ (mesugaki), from 雌(めす) (mesu, “female (animal)”) + 餓鬼(がき) (gaki, “brat”). The term began being used among English speakers around 2020.

ja-compound

WE NEED MORE POKEKID IN EEVEE COSTUME DOUJINS DAMMIT!!
preferably one that presents her as a mesugaki :9

2020 May 26, @harid_ziran, Twitter, archived from the original on 2024-07-18:

Riro quickly became one of the company’s most popular idols due to her gimmick as a “mesugaki” type character.

2023 November 28, Brandon Lyttle, “VTuber Riro Ron terminated for ‘dangerous and harmful’ activities”, in Niche Gamer, archived from the original on 2023-11-29:

Mutsuki is a brat that like to be suggestive with sensei. She's a mesugaki archetype, one of the more popular one in fact (despite it starting in azur lane)

2023 December 25, @megamega171, Twitter, archived from the original on 2024-07-20:

Youre Oshi is the vtuber who made the loli song playing into the lolicon fetish of the Mesugaki. Dude cant pick a side on this topic.

2024 April 16, @king_of_games34, Twitter, archived from the original on 2024-07-20:

(manga, anime, pornography) slutty brat girl; young (or young-looking) girl who likes to sexually tease her superiors


fwip

(chiefly manga) A generic sound for movement, or for something appearing.


kyaa

(chiefly manga) An expression of surprise or dismay.


harem ending

(manga, manhwa) The ending of a hentai or pornhwa in which the protagonist ends up partnered with all or several of the potential love interests encountered in the story.


uwaa

(manga) Whoa! Wow! An exclamation of shock.


super deformed

Borrowed from Japanese スーパーデフォルメ (sūpādeforume), from スーパー (sūpā, “super-”) + デフォルメ (deforume, “stylistic distortion”).

ja-r

(anime, manga) In Japanese caricature, drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads.


Arceism

Beyond those holidays, Arceism should be celebrated by one's own interpretation.

Arceus is ironically worshipped within the Pokémon community, as in the Facebook Page “Arceism” naming a fictional religion centered around it [6].

2023, Suraj Sood, “The Augmented Cognition of Religion and Spirituality in Media”, in Augmented Cognition:

In mainstream Arceism, Arceus is regarded as the creator of all Pokemon, Ghost-types included.

2024 November 28, ElSquibbonator, Reddit:

new religious movement
new religious movement

(fandom slang, video games, anime, manga) A parody religion or new religious movement based on the Pokémon franchise, centered on the veneration of Arceus, a creator deity in the canon of the series.


monster girl

Calque of Japanese モンスター娘 (monsutā musume).

calque

(anime and manga) A fictional female character who shares visual traits with a monster.

monster meisje

fictional female character with monster traits


monster boy

Gender inversion of monster girl, which is a calque of Japanese モンスター娘 (monsutā musume).

(anime and manga) A fictional male character who shares visual traits with a monster.

hirviöpoika

fictional male character with monster traits


multibreast

(pornography, anime and manga, sometimes science fiction) A female character with more than two breasts.

monirintainen

pornography: female character with multiple breasts