Anime Vocabulary, lvl. II

So we’ve been calling each other baka and kawaii since june of nineteen eighty-five. Perhaps it’s time to take things to the next level, if only to decipher incomprehensible messageboard arguments on 4-chan.* Here are eight more esoteric Japanese terms commonly encountered in anime and the discussion thereof; and as someone who considers anime the most legitimate of art forms, I think it’s time some of them entered our broader cultural discourse. After all our artists, it seems, have known about tsundere for years.

* I assume that’s where these discussions take place; I’ve heard the rumors, but never dared to go there myself

Moe (the “e” is pronounced): Five years ago, no one had heard of this; now it’s come over with a vengeance. Moe is what people mean when they use kawaii as a noun: it can refer to both the “adorableness” of a character, or the feelings inspired in the fan. Refer to figure above ^

Tsundere/Yandere: Technically speaking, a tsundere is a character who starts out cold or sarcastic and ends up fawning over their love interest, the hero. A yandere starts out loving and kind, and turns (worst-case scenario) into a raging psychopath. Nowadays, both terms can mean any character who displays these traits alternately. Shiraishi Minoru, in one episode of Lucky Star, delivers an impassioned monologue on the cheapening of tsundere.

Boh - Spacey. ex. Osaka from AzuDai.

Tennen - Tennen means “natural,” and a tennen character isn’t necessarily stupid, or naive, or spacey, just somewhat…well, a little of all of those things. ex. Miyuki Takara from Lucky Star, who protests in her character song: “Tennen ja arimase-e-en!”

Lolicon/Papacon/Mamacon/Imotocon - Refers to various complexes; for underage girls, father/mother figures and little sisters, respectively. ex. Excel of Excel Saga: “I’m so dumb I used to think lolicon was short for rolling computer!”

Kokuhaku - A confession of love. ex. Negima, when Nodaka confesses her love to Negi-sensei and the little kid walking by yells: “Uwa-ah kokuhaku da!”

Ore-sama - Ore-sama is about the most pompous way you can refer to yourself. It’s also the way a large number of anime characters refer to themselves, especially villains. ex. Laharl from Disgaea.

Aho/Boke/Chijin/Shomonai na yatsu - All (roughly) synonyms for baka. It’s time we put that horse out to pasture.