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Japanese for anime & manga
The words that come up constantly in anime and manga - genre names, the vocabulary of fandom, and the casual speech that textbooks leave out.
Anime is how a huge number of people meet Japanese, but the speech in it is mostly casual and often stylised. Knowing which bits are real conversation and which are character voice saves you from sounding odd.
Fandom words
オタク is stronger in Japanese than the English “geek” - it can imply someone a bit obsessive, so it’s safer applied to yourself than to someone else. 推し, by contrast, is warm and everyday: it comes from 推す (osu, “to push/back”), so your 推し is the character you champion.
Genres and formats
These labels describe the intended readership, not the content - plenty of adults read 少年 titles. 原作 is worth knowing if you follow adaptations: 原作 通り (gensaku dōri) means “faithful to the original”, a phrase fans use constantly.
Casual speech you’ll hear
Common in anime, but note the register:
A warning worth taking seriously: anime speech is heavily stylised. Pronouns like 俺 (ore) and 貴様 (kisama), and blunt command forms, are normal for characters but can be rude in real conversation. Learn them for comprehension; keep your own speech in the です／ます forms the lessons here teach.
These phrases get built into real conversation in the90 day course. The first week needs no account.