What is the most common question anime fans get asked about anime? For the longest time, anime sat on the sidelines of Western culture but in recent years it has gained massive popularity and is widely beloved by fans of all genres. The modern era's seemingly unavoidable push toward globalization has pulled what had once been niche to the center of pop culture.
The new fans jumping on the My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer train might have a few questions about the world of anime. There are some terms, debates, and subgenres that new fans might want to read up on before foraying deeper into the world of anime.
10 Does Avatar: The Last Airbender Count As Anime? This Question Is The Subject For Debate In The Anime World
It does and it doesn't. While Avatar: The Last Airbender is modeled after the Japanese animation style, it doesn't fall within the technical definition of anime due to the fact that it was produced outside of the Japanese Archipelago. However, this strict definition has been contested in modern times.
Since Japan started animating manga, the word anime has blossomed alongside the artform's growth. What was once used to denote animation that came from Japan now stands in place for an entire style of animation. Two other anime that stretch the bounds of anime are Tower of God and The God of Highschool. While both of these Crunchyroll original anime were produced in Japan, the source material comes out of Korea.
9 Isn't Anime Meant For Kids? Some Anime Are Family-Friendly, While Others Are Meant For Adult Audiences (Like All Forms Of Media)
Shonen anime is produced with (typically) male children between the ages of 12 and 18 in mind as the target demographic, but there are a number of other anime subcategories that are not intended for children. In fact, Seinen anime is an entire genre of anime produced with young adults as the target audience.
The globalization of the anime art style has also brought on new anime like Dragon's Dogma, Castlevania, and Blood of Zeus that are intended for a more mature audience. These adult anime do a great job of reaching anime fans that are often overlooked by most Shonen anime series.
8 Is Dubbed Or Subbed Better? It Depends On Your Personal Preference And The Anime Itself
This massive international fandom warrants the effort it takes to translate the original Japanese voice acting so as many people can enjoy anime content as possible.
Translating anime content is done in two different ways. The easiest way to translate it is by using Subs, or Subtitles. While the original Japanese VO plays in the background, viewers can read the translated dialogue at the bottom of the screen. Dubs accomplish the job of translation by bringing in different voice actors to record dialogue in the language of choice. Dubs may save viewers from reading subtitles, but it also takes longer to produce.
7 Where Can Fans Watch Anime? Funimation And Crunchyroll Are The Best Places To Watch Anime
The best question to ask an anime lover is what to watch, but in the current streaming state of the world, the most important question that should be asked is where to watch. Though not all anime are available on every streaming service, each has their own collection of great anime.
As of today, every major streaming service is working hard for exclusive deals on anime content. Still, Funimation and Crunchyroll are at the top of the anime streaming game because of their extensive catalogs and simulcasts. For fans simply looking for easy to access anime content without adding a new streaming service to the bill, Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max will do. Fans hoping to keep up with the kids in Japan will have to invest in a funimation or crunchyroll account or forever risk being a couple of months behind the current anime trends.
6 What Is An MC? Best Boy? Best Girl? The Terms Refer To The Main Character And The Fan-Favorite Boy/Girl
To fully understand anime, fans have to get a grasp on the jargon that anime fans use to talk about the content they are watching. Three character titles new fans will have to get used to are MC, Best Boy, & Best Girl.
MC is a simple acronym for the main character, but the other two titles here are a bit more subjective. The label of best boy and best girl are applied to whoever fans see as the best boy or girl character in the respective anime series. For example, Naruto is the MC of Naruto, while Sasuke and Sakura are the resident best boy and best girl respectively.
5 What Is A Weeaboo? Otaku? Waifu? They Refer To Different Levels Of Obsession With Anime And Its Characters
The terms "best boy" and "best girl" are colloquialisms that stem from the wholesome side of anime, but there are also slang terms that are commonly featured in the more mature side of the fandom which fans should be prepared for. This jargon includes words like Weeaboo, Otaku, and Waifu.
Weeaboo or "weeb" in its abbreviated form denotes a person who loves Japanese culture. Otaku is similar but denotes a person who loves internet culture so much that they lack common social skills. Finally, a waifu is an anime character that fans love a bit too much. While many associate these words with obsession rather than love, it is possible to casually appreciate each of these things. Not every fan wants to leave this world behind and enter the world of anime.
4 What Is Isekai? Isekai Is A Genre Of Anime Where The Protagonist Is Dropped Into An Alternate World
New fans of anime have surely encountered the word Isekai. The genre that is taking the anime world by storm is denoted with a Japanese word that translates roughly into "other world" in English.
Sword Art Online is perhaps the most well-known anime that falls within this genre, but new hit series like That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime and My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom are filling this genre with great new anime content. Any anime that starts its MC in a world like our own before taking them to another world falls within the Isekai genre.
3 Does Every Anime Come From Manga? No. Like All Forms Of Media, There Are Many Sources Of Inspiration
In the same way that the modern superhero genre of films looks to comic books for source material, anime very often pulls from Japanese Manga for inspiration. It is important to note that not every anime is inspired by Manga, though.
Great Pretender is a brand new anime series with an entirely original story. Even anime that fall within "the Big Three," like Naruto, often produce original content for many of the arcs within the anime.
2 What Are The "Big Three" Anime? Naruto, Bleach, And One Piece Are The "Big Three"- However, This Term Is Contested In The Modern Fandom
The big three anime are Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece, but some fans will argue that Dragon Ball deserves to be included as well. To do this the Big Three has to become a Big Four, which begs the question: what is the purpose of labeling a big three if there are more than three top-tier anime?
Originally, this denotation was designed to track the top three best selling manga published in Shonen Jump. Since other manga publishers began creeping up on Shonen Jump in terms of readership and anime producers began looking outside of manga for source material, this label has continued to lose steam. Some modern fans believe that this term can lead to gatekeeping within the community as some new fans may be accused of not being "real anime" fans if they both have not seen the big three or only know the big three.
1 What Is A Crunchyroll Original? A Crunchyroll Original Is An Original Anime Made By And For Crunchyroll
Like the well-known Netflix Original series, a Crunchyroll Original is an anime series funded and produced by Crunchyroll itself. Readers can find a list of great Crunchyroll original anime here.
Fans of Tower of God, The God of High School, and Noblesse have already familiarized themselves with the Crunchyroll original production team. All three of these properties are adaptations of Korean Manhwa. It seems Crunchyroll is interested in expanding the definition of anime by reaching outside the borders of Japan when looking for source material.