Questions on anime

What is anime?

Cartoons? Haven't you grown out of them yet?

So you're a student who's never watched Wallace and Gromit? Or Pingu? Or Teletubbies? ;)

Anime is made to appeal to all ages, rather than just to children. While Western cartoon series (and those anime which are re-released by Western businesses) tend to be either truly childish, or of the adventure or combat-oriented type, Anime cover a different range of subjects. For example, there are several romantic comedy Anime that are watchable by adults in the same way as Western soap operas as any normal TV series. And a number of Anime films are specifically designed for adults.

Why have a club just to watch these things?

The main way to watch unlicensed anime is to download from the various fansub groups. But this takes up lots of time and download space on your computer, and a lot of hassle. On Monday nights we show popular, brand-new shows from Japan, in the original Japanese, and have six or more different series a term for you to watch.

And on Fridays, we watch licensed anime, on member-owned DVD. Always heard of a particular series, but never had the money to get your hands on all the episodes? Examples include things like Chrono Crusade and Full Metal Alchemist, and other great hits.

Plus, isn't it just more fun to watch it with a lot of people, who'll know just what you mean when you lament the terrible ending of Evangelion? ;)

Aren't they in Japanese?

Most of the anime we show are voiced in Japanese and subtitled in English.

Why are they subtitled rather than dubbed?

Dubbed versions of many anime are available, but they have the disadvantage that it is very hard to find voice actors and actresses who can stand in for those in an anime, and often some of the character of the scene is lost in the dubbing.

Secondly, the Japanese sentence structure is very different from the English one, meaning that the stressed words or words referring to actions or similar fall in different places. This means that after dubbing the words are often out of sync with the animation (or the animation has to be chopped up to fit the new words).

Also, in the case of shows like Naruto, the show itself is heavily edited in this country to hide blood etc. Now that really spoils the show's original quality.

Subtitled versions are also harder to obtain and tend to be more expensive. Hence, we will be showing mainly subtitled anime in the club. However! We don't necessarily hate all dubs :D Sometimes some of the Friday DVDs might be shown in English.

Can you get anime DVDs?

In 2008 we find ourselves in the lucky position that anime and manga is becoming more and more popular. The number of conventions in the country are increasing; high street shops such as HMV have an ever growing specific anime section, and here in Reading we are even lucky enough to have a specific manga store, red garden. Unfortunately anime DVDs are still expensive, and that means all the more reason to come along to the society :)

I thought anime videos weren't sold over here because they were only for perverts.

You've been hearing anti-anime stuff from some people in this country. Although it is true that at least 2 anime titles are on the list of material completely banned from entering the country, there are an awful lot of anime that aren't even slightly suspicious - it's just that the ones that are suspicious (Hentai anime, which does in fact mean "Anime for perverts") get rather a lot of attention. Also, some companies that release anime in the UK will cut even their tamest anime because they can't afford to have the film go through the BBFC twice, and therefore have to ensure it gets an acceptable certificate (U or PG, usually) first time around.

Interestingly, although it is acknowledged that anime can be more violent or dodgy than would be expected in this country, it's also been found that the least violent cartoon on general realise is anime (Tonari no Totoro, My Neighbour Totoro, 6 seconds violence total), while even popular Warner or Disney cartoons are far more violent.

What's a manga?

A manga is a Japanese graphic novel. Just like anime, people of all ages read these things - it's not uncommon to see businessmen reading them on the train back from work, for example. Also just like anime, the plural of manga is manga.

But there's a company called "Manga Video".

Yep, and the name doesn't really make sense. They probably weren't allowed to call themselves "Anime Video" because that's a natural product description.

Can I get manga in this country?

Yes; getting manga is a lot easier than getting anime because there are no legal worries about selling imported books off-the-shelf (well, within reason, of course).

Manga can be found in the Red Garden (Just off the oracle center, on London Street) in Reading.

If you feel like a trip into London, the ultimate place for manga is Adami Shobo on Brewer Street, which sells a large range of (original Japanese) manga with prices converted from Japanese at a rate of HALF A PENNY PER YEN OR LESS. (Most places in London, such as Oriental Plaza, charge 1p/yen; the Japan Centre charges even more.)

Can I learn any Japanese from reading manga or watching anime?

It's probably a bad idea to try and learn it this way - after all, how many people in English comics speak like regular English people would? But if you already know some Japanese and you want to practice, then yes, it's a good idea.

There is a magazine, published by the Animejin company, that tries to teach Japanese through manga cartoons. Also, if you cannot read Kanji, a number of manga have Yomikata characters that spell out the appropriate reading of the Kanji.

What do these Japanese/Anime jargon words mean?

Quite often you'll find that Anime fan pages include some Japanese words. Here are some of the most common, and what they mean:

Otaku -- Literally means roughly "enthusiast", but has the social connotations of "nerd" or "geek". It has become a common word outside Japan for a fan of Anime and does not carry those connotations in that context. The Japanese have begun to use it in that way as well. Be warned, though: some people still use it to mean only an obsessive fan of Anime, and not all Anime fans like the name.

Animejin -- "Anime person". The thing to call anime fans if you want to use jargon and don't know if they mind otaku.

Hentai/H/Ecchi -- (H stands for Hentai, and Ecchi is a phonetic representation of the English pronunciation of H.) Literally means "pervert". A common insult by girl characters in romantic anime, but is also used to refer to pornographic anime. Naturally, these will not be shown in the club.

Baka -- Idiot. Common word used by angry anime characters; some Western anime fans use it as a good-natured jibe. But be warned - to a Japanese person, this is a very serious insult (sufficiently serious it wouldn't be used in a good-natured way), and could easily lead to violence (according to at least one phrasebook, anyway). (Academic excellence is very highly rated in Japan, so calling someone an idiot is a very strong put-down.)

Ne? -- At the end of a sentence, ne? indicates a semi-question anticipating a positive answer. It's a bit like ending a sentence with "doesn't it?", "isn't it?", or "eh?", in English - except it can be used on almost any sentence.

Kawaii -- Cute/pretty/sweet. Apparently the ultimate compliment given to any girl in a romantic anime. Some have it that this is ideally said with the voice rising several registers on the final -ii.

Suki -- Liked or loved. Definitely the ultimate compliment given to many girls in romantic anime. In Japanese, saying that something is suki is the same as saying in English that you like it. However, when applied to a person, it means you love them. A common usage is when a shy male finally confesses his affection for his distant love with a heart-felt cry of Suki da!

Busu -- Ugly. The absolute worst thing to say to a girl in a romantic anime - although after saying this it's not going to be romantic much longer.

-San, -Chan, -Kun, -Sama -- Honorific name endings. -San is universally honorific, -Sama is universally more honorific, and -Kun is something like "strong" and is usually used for males. - Chan is "cute/sweet", and is usually used for children and girlfriends, although it is sometimes used in other contexts (but retains the same meaning).

SD, Super Deformed -- Many anime are drawn very seriously, but often either the same or a different artist will draw the same character in a deliberately very cutesy form - usually with a rather outsized head, less detail, etc. This is known as the Super Deformed representation of the character. The best way to get introduced to this is to watch Dragon Half, which has the famously bizarre feature whereby characters pop in and out of Super Deformation in the middle of a scene based on their current mood and actions.

Mecha -- One of the more common genres of the more mainstream Anime, these Anime are about battles fought by giant robots, or people wearing power armour that effectively transforms them into robots.

Shoujo -- Little girl. Can be modified to bishoujo to mean "beautiful/cute little girl". Used to describe anime or manga that is targeted at girls in Japan, usually meaning story or relationship-based plots and less emphasis on fighting and battle (such as Kodomo no Omocha). Note that the male equivalent of shoujo is shounen, but bishounen, while it may mean that the man is handsome, also implies something else about him. Shounen anime or manga is usually based on the military or on battle and can be exceptionally violent - sometimes quite shockingly so (Jojo no Kimyouna Bouken).

Maho bishoujo -- Magical girl. The official designation for much of the shoujo type of manga and anime. Series of this genre invariably involve a shy, nervous or incompetent schoolgirl who befriends a cute flying animal and receives a small magical artefact enabling them to transform into an extravagant costume (with a transformation sequence that is invariably and obviously spliced from episode to episode) and - if they're lucky - to do other stuff too. Examples of the genre include Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (the most famous and well known series), Card Captor Sakura, Magical Stage Fancy La La, and numerous others.

Sweatdrop -- One of several odd Anime visual conventions. Characters who are nervous or worried indicate it by having a single large beat of sweat appear on their head.

Facefault -- Further, characters who have just done or witnessed something exceptionally stupid tend to fall flat on their faces for no apparent other reason..

Nosebleed -- And male characters who are nervous or unsuccessful with women invariably develop a massive nosebleed immediately they are put into any revealing situation..

Shoujo Mallet -- Whereas male characters who are lecherous with women tend to be frequently whacked with large wooden mallets that those women produce from thin air.

Minna -- Everyone.

Seiyuu -- Voice actor.

Shoujo-ai / Shounen-ai -- Romance between two girls / two boys. Not hentai, just romantic :)

General questions about Japanese culture?

If you are interested in these, please note that the University has a Japanese society devoted to it. Although many Anime fans have an interest in Japanese culture, we won't be dealing in depth with aspects of it that aren't related to Anime. A few quick popular questions, though: