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LastGod's Quick Introduction to Anime for New Watchers [To Be Revised Later]


What is anime?

The simplest way to define Anime would be that it is a Japanese cartoon. "Anime" is basically an abbreviation of "animation." It is an animation based off of Japanese Manga (comics). For those of you who read physical manga/light novels, you'll notice that the storyline/plot is modified, and may give a different point of view from the original.

Anime series vary in animation quality and artwork based on the original drawings done in the manga. Different companies animate different series, thus changing the overall feel from each different story.


There are many different genres and types of anime aimed at different audiences with different tones. Some are aimed at children (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Dragonball Z, etc...), teenagers/young adults, and adults (let's not get into that category too much, shall we?). In a nutshell, anime genres are similar to the genre-system that is found for books, with some obvious differences.





Types of Anime - (To be revised)
Different types of anime are not to, but could, be considered genres.
  • Ecchi - Reavealing, "sexy or naughty" anime. Rated normally for mature viewers, Ecchi commonly shows slight nudity, but no pornographic elements. It's the kind of... "you can see my bra and panties, but you're not seeing anything else!" kind of anime. Often confused but interchangable with Hentai anime.
  • Maho Shōjo - "Magical Girl" anime. These animes typically have a female as the main character, with magical powers. There is normally some type of magical object/device/transformation element in the series, and the girl fights an evil force (something like that...). Aimed at both boys and girls. Animation quality is sometimes skimped on in this type of anime.
  • Shōjo - Aimed mainly at girls. The genres for this type of anime ranges greatly, from futuristic science-fiction to historical drama. The main character is almost always female (due to the fact that this type IS aimed at girls), and contains either romance or cutesy types of slice of life and/or school life.
  • Shōnen - Aimed mainly at boys. These animes are typically action-based, still widely ranging in genres but with a smaller curve. The main character is almost always male, contains less dialogue, and more fighting. Violence is commonly expressed in this type of anime, and it's the "less talk, more ass-kicking!" type. Some are romance-based which corresponds to Harem quite often.
  • Bishōnen - "Beautiful boy" anime. Aimed at female audiences mainly, but might appeal to male audiences as well. More common Bishōnen animes have a school setting and romance conflicts.
  • Harem - Normally has one male protagonist and several female protagonists. Commonly romance/slice-of-life/school-life animes, the male protagonist has different relationships with each of the female characters. Depending on the series, it could be a separate arc which spans a certain number of episodes for each female protagonist, or all the females might fall for the male protagonist at one time. Harem almost always includes Tsundere.
  • Josei - Aimed mainly toward female audiences, Josei anime is created by women with a slice-of-life theme/genre. Simply put, it follows around the life of a female protagonist who has to tackle everyday challenges. A life-style version of Shōjo anime.
  • Mecha - Set in the future, aimed at, but not limited to, younger audiences. The protagonists are set in the future, which features giant humanoid robots that are controlled by the characters. Fighting always occurs in these types of animes.
  • Seinen - Similar to Josei, a sub-type of Shōnen. Follows a male protagonist around, typically business related. More realistic than Shōjo.
  • Hentai - Pornographic anime meant for adults (though it's very obvious that young people watch this). Self-Explanatory.




Common Genres of Anime - (More to be added)

These are only some of the vast amount of genres in Anime. Based on the genre itself, most viewers can guess the category/type of anime that the series is...
  • Adventure
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Ecchi
  • Fantasy
  • Harem
  • Horror
  • Josei
  • Magical Girl
  • Mecha
  • Mystery
  • Reverse Harem
  • Romance
  • Sci-Fi
  • Seinen
  • Shōjo
  • Shōnen
  • Slice of Life
  • Sports


List of Recommended Anime to Watch
I understand that many of you who are reading this may be a bit too lazy to take a look further into the Anime United forum, so the list has been copied here for your convenience. Genre-based lists will be ready at a later time.

Anime Recommendations List


If anyone has any revisions/additional information they would like to be put onto this post, simply post it below and I will get to it whenever I have time! Thank you!

~From your friendly LastGod~nyan!
Last edited by ConCon; Sep 17, 2014 at 10:49 PM.
I added the genres for the Anime recommendations, it based on wiki, few anime website, and one hentai site.
I didn't add ecchi and action because most Anime has those elements.
Will finish F to N tommorow or when I feel like it. Sorry, if I miss some genre there.

Anime Recommendations List

There are some music anime like beck and it is not always comedy some times it is action....
I have items you have TC- Lets Haggle..... |TMA|PSY|TNT|AU|