As someone who has read manga for most of her time, I’m not sure I think about the terms used to describe Japanese comics anymore. Do you know What Does BL Mean In Anime? However, the more I speak to people who are new to manga and manga enthusiasts, the more I’ve realized the assumption that they can understand the meaning of the manga from the context can be an issue.
I’m all in favour of lowering barriers to manga’s adoption and also bringing new readers, which is why I thought a primer to the basic terms used in manga could be useful. Do you know What Does BL Mean In Anime?
The most important thing you should know concerning manga is that they are generally classified according to the target audience. Much of this is related to how manga is produced in Japan. The Manga series was initially published in anthology magazines before being collected into separate volumes. Since these magazines are typically targeted at specific age groups, they can serialize titles from various genres, such as romance comic Sankarea: Undying Love, epic fantasy, The Heroic Legend of Arslan, and post-apocalyptic action Attack on Titan.
With that in mind, Here’s a rundown of some of the key manga terms. A majority of them are that are directly imported from Japanese However; there are exceptions to all. I’m not making any assumptions here. This is not a space for judgments!
What Does BL Mean In Anime?
“Anime” is the Japanese word that means “animation,” but it refers to animation produced in Japan in the English-speaking industry. Suppose you were in Japan and employed the term “anime” to refer to any kind of animation. However, when you’re in America, in the U.S., it means animation made in Japan. Do you get it? This is why I have included this word in this article because most animation these days is adapted manga.
Boys Love: Sometimes abbreviated as B.L., this refers to manga that features romantic or sexual relationships between males. The primary audience is females, and the majority of B.L. mangaka are women. For instance, one of the VIZ Media imprints, SuBLime, is devoted entirely to this niche, and if you examine the manga, you’ll see something different about how they write their name.
Doujinshi: Doujinshi are fans of self-published comics. Numerous mangaka began their careers as doujinshi creators. For instance, the creative team CLAMP created doujinshi for various series, including Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, before their professional careers.
Ecchi The term “ecchi” describes the content that is sexually explicit or a little erotic. Think sexual innuendos and sexually suggestive content, or even nakedness. The more explicit, hardcore content doesn’t belong in this category.
Hentai The word Hentai usually refers to explicit sexual pornography. Although there is the possibility of overlap between other types such as B.L. and yuri usually refers to heterosexual content. The Japanese use of the term is also associated with perversion. This could explain why certain titles in the Hentai genre contain elements that are thought to be extreme or out of the ordinary by Western pornographic standards.
Josei, The Josei category was initially targeted at teenagers of older age and women. Consider about ages 18-40. It’s an excellent way to show life and love in a more realistic way than shôjo. Example: Princess Jellyfish
Manga: Manga refers to Japanese comics. Like we did in the term “anime,” the Japanese word that means “comics,” so all comics are referred to as manga within Japan. As with anime, it relates to comics created in Japan in the English-speaking industry.
Mangaka: In English-language usage, a mangaka is a manga creator. Similar to the terms “manga” and “anime,” it is a reference to any creator of comics in Japanese; however, as with the other terms, the term was given the meaning of “manga” in English.
Otaku Fandom in English: In the world of English-language, the fans of manga and anime frequently employ this term to describe themselves. It’s important to keep in mind that the word “otaku” has negative associations in Japanese.
Seinen: Seinen refers to manga, targeted initially at teenagers of a certain age and young adult males. Consider college students and young professionals. Example: Gangsta.
Shoujo is also known as Shojo. Shoujo is a reference to manga that was initially aimed at girls 10-18 years old. Example: Sailor Moon
Shonen, also known as Shounen Shonen, means manga designed to appeal to young boys younger than 18. Example: One Piece
Yuri is referring to material that depicts lesbian relationships between females. It’s intended to convey sexually explicit content. However, I’m aware that the general usage of fandoms isn’t as rigid.
Yaoi: Yaoi is a Japanese acronym meaning “Yama nashi, Ochi nashi, imi nashi,” meaning “no climax, no point, no meaning.” In the English language, Yaoi is similar to B.L.; however, it is more likely to refer to sexual content, whereas B.L. could be a different thing altogether. In Japan, the term yaoi typically refers to non-commercial content like doujinshi.
Wrapping Up:
Hopefully, now you know what does BL mean in anime? This should be enough to cover the basics of manga! I’d like to note that although the main categories of Shonen, shoujo josei, and shoujo originally had specific gendered target audiences, the actual demographics aren’t as restricted. Many shonen sports shows have huge female readers, and based on products I’ve seen, the first Japanese companies recognized this.
Have you checked out the 15 Best Sports Anime That You Should Not Miss!! yet?
