General Stuff

What It Is: Anime is short for Japanese Animation. It is not, however, just cartoons.
Anime comes in all genres and interests. It's also drawn in many different styles and
it's rare that two series look alike. Magic Knight Rayearth characters have darkly lined
giant eyes, for example, while the girls in Perfect Blue have small, more human-like eyes.
This is because most anime TV series are based on manga (comic books) and the art
styles of the original artist(s) is recreated by animators to make sure the characters
look as much like their original manga counterparts as possible.

Strange Design: People new to anime get confused at the large variety of hair colors
anime characters can have. Some people wonder why there are blonde girls and red-
headed boys when in Japan, most people have black hair. Personally, I don't see why
reality should limit something like animation. Characters often also have naturally blue,
green, pink, or orange hair. I've heard that this is because it makes it easier to tell
similiar characters apart, but I think it's a matter of artistic liscense by original artists.
The eyes are also generally very big, especially in shoujo (see below) anime. Some
more series anime will have character that look more human than cartoony and vice
versa.

Types of Anime

shoujo - this is aimed for younger girls, usually around ages 5-18, though lots of older
fans (boys and girls alike) tend to like some shoujo series. (Card Captor Sakura,
Sailormoon, Wedding Peach, and Kodomo no Omocha.)

shounen - this is aimed towards boys, probably younger in age (around 5-18), though
some shounen stuff seems like it's for an older audience. (Ninja Scroll, Rorouni Kenshin,
Dragonball.)

mecha - often shounen anime, this features giant robots. (Macross, Evangelion,
Gundam Wing)

parody - these are often series, but can be movies, that make fun of other anime
as well as everything else. (The Slayers, Dragonhalf.)

hentai - basically, stuff with major adult content. I won't call it porn (because I hear
it's a little more complicated than that), but it's often filled with sex, nudity, and stuff
kids shouldn't watch. No, TAMA will not show any of this due to LTCC rules.

Of course, just because it's a boy's series doesn't mean girls don't watch and love it. Just
because it's aimed for young girls doesn't mean men in their thrities won't enjoy it.

Terms to Know

Just a quick lesson in terms you may need to know if you watch a lot of anime (or end up
in a discussion about it).

otaku - someone obsessed with anime (in America). In Japanese, it's not entirely the
same.
seiyuu - literally "sayer". It means voice actor/actress.
OAV/OVA - Original Animation Video/Original Video Animation. A short series that was
direct-to-video.
fansub - a subtitled tape produced from a Japanese original by fans for fans. No profit is
made off of these tapes.
cosplay - short for Costume Play, it's the act of wearing costumes of Anime/Manga
characters

Suffixes

In Japan, it's rude not to add a suffix to another's name unless you know them really
really really well, and even then, you're likely to do it out of habit. This can confuse
new anime fans, especially because each company translates them different. Some
leave them out of subtitles completely, ignoring them entirely. Others add it in the subs,
and some even try to find English equivilents (in MKR, when Hikaru calls one of her friends
"Fuu-chan", it's translated as "Fuu-ster" which gets very annoying).

Just a note, most suffixes can be used with either the given (first) name or the family
(last) name. However, chan and kun are often only used with the first name because
if you know someone well enough to call them "chan," you would be able to call them by
their first name.

chan - used for girls (or really young boys) as a friendly suffix.
kun - used for boys, basically like chan
san - can, in context, mean "Mr." "Mrs." "Ms." or even nothing at all.
sama - can mean "Lord" or "Lady". It's used when addressing a high superior and even
Gods.
sempai - what you might call your classmates or people in your grade level (usually boys)

Family

Family members don't usually call each other by their names (well, at least, I don't).

Okaasan/Mama/Haha - mother
Otousan/Papa - father
Oniichan (Oniisan)/Aniki - brother
Oneechan (Oneesan)/Aneeki - sister
Obaasan - grandmother
Ojiisan - grandfather

Content/Ratings

Anime, unless shown in a theater in the US (which rarely happens, save for Princess
Mononoke, X/1999, and Pokemon) anime is not rated, even when sold in the US, but is
given general age requirements (some of which are insulting). Stuff like
Card Captor Sakura is rated as "3 and Up". Rayearth is "13 and Up". Anything not aimed
at younger audiences is "18 and up" and often times, you'll have to show ID to buy these
(since it's not a law, though, stores will often let you slide!). Titles like these include The
Slayers, Evangelion, etc. (Imagine being carded to buy a Slayers tape! I was shocked!)

Because the anime isn't really rated, and because TAMA is a college-aged club, anything
that isn't explicitly hentai or isn't entirely objectionable can and will be shown. Anything
like Perfect Blue may have disclaimers. If you are under 18 and do not live on your own,
please have written permission from your parents to view violent/adult content,
swear words, etc. If you do not, you will have to leave the room when we show anything
that's not rated "13 and Up" and you'll miss out on a lot for no good reason.

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