I’m really fond of anime terms and forum terms so I tend to use them sometimes when I blog. If you read anime blogs and lurk around different forums you’ll probably have no problem understanding what I mean in my posts. For those who don’t get it fret not. Here is a list of terms that I commonly use.
Terms:
4-koma – a 4 panel comic
4tw/ftw – “for the win”, Used to refer to something awesome.
NSFW – “not safe for work”, Referring to images, videos, or any media that are suggestive or pornographic in nature. Could cost you your job if you get caught looking at such things at work.
WTF – “what the fuck”
OVA – Original Video Animation
ONA – Original Net Animation
commoner – What we otakus call the non-anime watching folks.
orz – That actually represents a person on his knees in despair about something. Use your imagination for a bit. The o represents the head, r represents the hands, and z represents the feet. OTL is a variation of orz.
moe – Really hard to pinpoint the exact meaning. One meaning I read means “Cute female characters who draw sympathy and allegedly innocent obsession in devoted male fans of anime, manga, and video games. Usually has calculated endearing personal quirks.” Others say that it is a fetish so there are many kinds of moe such as meganekko moe (glasses girl moe) and little sister moe. Me, I just go with what Izumi Konata (from the manga and anime Lucky Star) says about moe; “Let’s just say that those who naturally get it are otaku.” Oh, and you read that as “mo-eh”.
moe blob – A character who’s only purpose is to incite a moe feeling in someone who sees them. The term was was first used by moe-haters as an insult to moe characters, but most of the time the ones insulting didn’t bother to see beyond the character’s moe traits. Asahina Mikuru from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu is the first known moe blob.
gattai – If you watch a lot of super robot anime, you will hear this word often. It simply means “combine”. With super robot shows, refers to machines combining to become a super robot.
Internet Meme:
over 9000 – What the scouter says about Goku’s power level. From a bad dub of Dragon Ball Z. Do note though that in Japanese, Vegeta did not say that Goku’s power level is over 9000.
lulz – “Lulz is a corruption of LOL which stands for Laugh Out Loud.” – Fox News
befriending – Refers to Takamachi Nanoha’s (from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha series.) battle tactics. First, she would try to reason with her enemy and extend a hand of friendship. (Like any typical mahou shoujo.) If that does not work, she would beat her enemy to the dirt with maximum power. (Like any typical shounen hero.) It’s interesting to note that Nanoha’s friends have been befriended in this manner. When someone says “You’re going to be befriended.” it means that a nice and cute girl (like Nanoha) is going to go batshit insane on you.
GAR – A character so bad-ass and awesome that even the manliest of men go gay for the character. Originated from 4chan where a guy said that Archer (a character from the anime Fate/Stay Night) is awesome and that he was gay for him. But instead of the word “gay”, he typed in “gar”, hence the term.
trap – a guy who acts and dresses like a girl very convincingly.
reverse trap – a girl who acts and dresses like a guy very convincingly.
QUALITY – Born from sarcasm, as the “quality” of something is usually inversely proportional to it’s quality. Used to describe poor animation and art in anime.
Don’t confuse “quality” with “QUALITY”:
quality (Sometimes typed “lower case quality” to avoid confusion.) = what it originally means
QUALITY (Note that it is spelled in ALL CAPS to indicate sarcasm.) = the opposite of what it originally means which is used to describe poor animation and art in anime.
“There is no Tsukihime anime!” – What fans of the visual novel Tsukihime would protest whenever the anime adaptation of Tsukihime is brought up. Yup, the anime is that bad.
Unlimited (Something) Works – The original one is Unlimited Blade Works, a skill used by Archer a character from Fate/Stay Night during his battle with Berserker. The original incantation goes:
I am the bone of my sword.
Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.
I have created over a thousand blades.
Unknown to death.
Nor known to life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons.
Yet, those hands will never hold anything.
So as I pray, “Unlimited Blade Works”
This incantation has been parodied a lot but the best known parody is Unlimited Essay Works.
I am the bone of my essay.
Procrastination is my body, and caffeine is my blood.
I have ignored over a thousand deadlines.
Unknown to MLA format, nor known to passing grades.
Have withstood responsibility to fail many classes.
Yet those classes will never teach anything.
So as I hand in,
Unlimited Essay Works
Touhou Fan Terms
⑨ – Used to refer to Cirno. Came about because of the infamous user manual of Phantasmagoria of Flower View where Cirno is marked as ⑨ and the label for ⑨ is “Idiot”. Its also interesting to note that Phantasmagoria of Flower View is the 9th game in the Touhou series.
“I’m the strongest!” – Cirno’s catchphrase in doujin works.
grilled chicken – Refers to Mystia. Its a running gag among fans that Yuyuko (Who is depicted as a glutton in doujin works because of her gluttonous lines in Touhou 8: Imperishable Night.) wants to eat Mystia.
zayaku (suppository) – What some fans call Reisen because her danmaku kinda look like suppositories. (They are bullets.)
Chuugoku (China) – What fans call Hong Meiling because they can’t remember her name.
Guncannon – Refers to Kanako. Its because of the faith pillars that attach to her back.
