Terms and things for beginner manga readers.

ok, so a lot of you out there probably read manga, some maybe not though. Some of you might be here for the following reasons;

-"i want to read manga but don't know where to start"

-"i'm reading this manga but i don't understand some of the terms used"

-"Should i give manga a try?"

-"what's the point of manga anyway?"

or maybe some other reason not mensioned. Anywho, here is you place to be. I'll help explain things to you and if you have any questions, lemme know ^^


"What is manga?" "What does it mean?"

Well, in America, 'manga' refers to a genere of comic book (japanese comics) However, in japan, manga refers to any type of comic. Basically though, manga is japanese comics. "Manga" literally means " useless drawing" (or pointless drawing)


"What's with the big googly eyes on some of the characters?"

Well, i'm not sure if this is true or not, i think i read this somewhere. SO red if i'm wrong, please correct me. Anyway, some of you might be familer with "Bambi" the disney movie. Well, once a pon a time, a japanese guy (can't remeber his name) saw bambi's humungous eyes and liked them. So....that's why.

"How is manga pronounce?"
mong-ga


"Are there diffrent geners in manga?"
why yes there are, little filly. About a thousand. But i'll name the main two ones ones.

shoujo-"young girl" refers to comics for young girls. The main character is usual focused around a young girl.

shounen-"young boy" refers to a comic focused ona young boy.

these really arn't the 'main' ones. But a lot of comics have these geners. there are also very innapropeate geners, so be careful!


"What's an 'otaku?"
Otaku- someone obessed with manga or anime

"What do these terms mean?"

kawaii-cute

baka- stuped

senpai-upperclassmen(an underclassmen would refer to his/her upperclassment. ex; an eighth grader would call a ninth grader senpai)

Onigiri-riceballs

Chibi-"small" these are child-like versions of the characters in manga, they are normally used for comic releif, and what a releif that is!

bishounen- "beautiful boy"

bishoujo- "beautiful girl"


"Ummm...these two characters are in love...and their cousins!"

yes, that's fine. In japan it's allowed.


"What are those words they tack on to the end of names?" "And why do some characters call eachother by last name while they call others by first?"

"Those words they tack onto the end of names" are called 'titles' there are a bunch of diffrent titles, but the main ones are; san, chan, and kun. Which are american equivilent to "Mr., Mrs, Ms., etc." But we'll get to that in a moment. Why they call eachother by their last names is the same reason we call people by their last names, it's polite and shows respect. Just like we refer to someone we're not close to as as 'mr, mrs, etc.' the japanese refer to someone their not close to as their last name and then 'san'

ex. Hinamori-san

calling someone you know but arn;'t close to by thier first name can be concidered rude.

san-how you refer to someone you don't know well or arn't aquanted with.
ex; classmate, neighbor, etc.

chan-how you refer to someone you are close with. calling someone your not close to this can be concidered an insult. if you're close to the person, you can call them by thier first name.

kun-this is how you refer to younger male freinds.

ex; drago-kun


i'll add more info later. if you have any questions, lemme know! i'll add it on to this ever-flowing chart. and red, if you have anything to add, please do ^^ also, i aplogize if i didn't cover everything or if it's too confusing. i was thinking and typing at the same time. which, concidering how much information to write down, was pretty hard for me XD if you think i'm bluffing, ask lolipop.