Genres of Anime

There are so many Genres of Anime depending on how you classify them. Too many to get into too much detail....ughhhh..here we go..........

1)Dumb Fun...

This is the category for anime made simply because the producers thought it would be fun to do. Tends to be high energy, humourous stuff. It might not have much depth, but a bit of flash and pace can make a nice change now and then.

2)Erotica...

Material with erotic, but not offensive, content.

3)Harem...

This is partly a genre, partly a formula and partly a recognition of the young male anime audience. The important element is that one male, generally shy and reserved around females, finds himself suddenly at the center of a story involving multiple females who have a tendency towards being extremely cute and sexy. It's not exactly the most highbrow form of anime.

4)Hentai...

In Japanese this is "perverted" and it's definitely not a compliment. In western fan circles it describes material with explicit sexual content.

5)Komodo

This is material intended for children. This doesn't mean it's childish by western standards however. It doesn't seem to imply any gender discrimination.

6)Low-Brow

This is anime that cheerfully disregards taste and complexity to revel in the land of stupid and weird. It's a bit of a specialist taste, but has many fans.

7)Magical Girl

A genre based around a young girl suddenly being called upon, or forced into, using her magical powers for the protection of peace and goodness. Generally this is a `secret' power, so that her normal life, while challenged, continues alongside.

8)Magic Warrior

The genre grouping for super-powered warriors. While a bit more subtle than the American counterpart the aspects of power, and teenage male fantasy, are the power behind this type of anime.

9)Mecha

A title that describes the anime fascination with fighting robots. These may range from powered suits, upto huge robots. They generally tend to be warlike devices as well.

10)Other

This marks anime which focuses on something alien to, or ignorant of, humanity. As a result watching them explore our world can give an interesting view of ourselves. It's quite a common theme in anime.

11)Parody

This is anime that includes an element of making fun of the real world. This might also include making fun of anime and anime viewers.

12)Seinen

This is anime aimed at a male, college aged, audience. It tends to have a firm basis in reality even if the content is rich in fantasy. It's not very common in the west due to the commercial focus on young teen (shounen) markets.

13)Shoujo

This title is used to describe anime that is intended for an audience of young females. Many western fans find this form, which has no western equivalent, fascinating. While the individual titles have much in common the shoujo genre is very wide.

14)Sport

Billions of hours of human effort have been put into jumping, running and punishing inflated balls in various ways. As you can tell I'm not particularly motivated by sport, but the human story behind the training, dedication and competition can make some powerful anime. A popular genre in Japan, but less common amongst English speaking fans.

Hopefully that's it.....

~jake0bus_

Site made by Pam Ramos & Jake Lambert
2002