These terms are all in my own words. You can look them all up if you want to later, that is fine. It’s just like every synopsis of my reviews, basically. (I write those. If they’re italicized then I didn’t.)
Otaku
Definition: Noun—A person affiliated with watching anime and reading manga. Genuinely they also like to collect merch from certain anime fandoms.
Any anime fan would generally call themselves otaku, it is what it is. This word is very commonly thrown around and has been heard by most (if not all) anime fans.
In some cases, some people would see this term as an insult (unlike another word, but I won’t mention it), so they don’t generally use this term. However, almost everyone uses it, so it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t.
Shounen (or Shōnen)
Definition: Noun (but can be an adjective by they way you use it)—A genre of anime/manga made for the young boy demographic.
Some shounen series I can name off the top of my head (which I haven’t watched, mind you) are My Hero Academia, One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Naruto.
Many shounen is action-based to appeal to young boys, but they’re just as enjoyable for girls to watch as well.
Take Noragami, it’s shounen, but I still love it, so there.
Shoujo (or Shōjo)
Definition: Noun (but can be an adjective by the way you use it)—A genre of anime/manga made for the young girl demographic.
Some I can name off (some I’ve watched, and some I haven’t) are Ouran Highschool Host Club, Sailor Moon, Kamisama Kiss, and Maid Sama.
Shoujo anime shows are most likely animated romantic comedies. They’re cute to watch, but still also very enjoyable for the young boy demographic.
If you are a young boy who likes and appreciates shoujo anime/manga then you are doing everything right. 🙂
Seinen
Definition: Noun (but can be an adjective by the way you use it)—A genre of anime/manga appealing to boys in their older teens onto adulthood.
Some I can think of (and still need to watch) is Monster, Erased, Mushi-shi, and Berserk. (Pretty sure xxxHolic is one, it’s not bad, I just didn’t finish the first season because I started Inuyasha…)
These are more plot or psychological. They are certainly more mature and can be enjoyed by anyone as well.
Josei
(There is no meme, I couldn’t find one. ?)
Definition: Noun (but can be an adjective by the way you use it)—A genre of anime/manga appealing to girls in their older teens onto adulthood.
Some I can think of (but still haven’t watched) is Nana and Princess Jellyfish. How I think of Josei, is the equivalent of the Women’s Literature genre. (I don’t know, mainly around the same concepts of Me Before You.)
These are more plot and psychological based but focused around some romantic storyline. They are enjoyable for anyone, just like seinen.
Yaoi
Definition: Noun (but can be an adjective by the way you use it)—A genre of anime/manga revolving around BL (also known as Boy Love) for mature audiences, written by women for other women.
(The last part I didn’t actually know.)
I can’t really name any anime that is yaoi because of some venture into the shounen-ai category, which I’ll mention later.
I haven’t seen any, so I wouldn’t know if it ventures into the shounen-ai category or not. (Sorry I can’t recommend anything, but I bet Google has some if you look.)
Yuri
(Yurio… You okay there?)
Definition: Noun (but can be an adjective by the way you use it)—A genre of anime/manga revolving around GL (also known as Girl Love) for mature audiences.
It’s just the female counterpart of yaoi.
I can’t name off any shows, because I don’t really know any. (Sorry that I’m a poor information source.) That and, like yaoi, I don’t know which shows venture into the shoujo-ai category.
Shounen-Ai
Definition: Noun (but can be an adjective by the way you use it)—A “genre” of anime/manga that focuses on BL, but is more fluff and is less mature.
I guess the real difference is the age type that both yaoi and shounen-ai are aiming for. Yaoi is more mature and leans towards more adult audiences, whereas shounen-ai is just cute and leans towards younger audiences. (That’s just my general impression, age probably isn’t a large factor.) (I looked it up and got varying answers arguing or agreeing with my point, so I’m still leaving what I personally think it is.)
It’s not quite a “genre”, yaoi is, but shounen-ai isn’t really recognized as one by most people. (Or so I hear, I still think it’s a genre.) (It’s more like a category, one that’s for shoujo fans.)
Either way, if you go to manga sites, you’ve probably seen it up there somewhere. So it’s always nice to know a little more about it. ? (Just know that this term is not typically used, but it’s still out there in regards of finding certain types of anime/manga. I just thought it would be handy to know it.)
Shoujo-Ai
(Couldn’t find any memes.)
Definition: Noun (but can be an adjective by they way you use it)—A “genre” of anime/manga that focuses on GL, but is more fluff and is less mature.
This is the female counterpart to shounen-ai. Not everyone recognizes it as a separate genre, so it’s like a branch of another genre. And it isn’t as mature as shows that are yuri.
If you’ve been to any manga sites, you’d have seen this too. It’s just nice to know more about it. ?
Doujinshi
Definition: Noun— Self-published fanfiction or works with original characters.
I think that definition doesn’t need any more clarifications. It’s just manga that’s been published by the author that either contains their own original characters and plot or is based on another manga or anime.
Basically, I just imagine it’s mostly (but not all) fanfiction, but a little more professional. (It’s published for the publish to see, not hiding away in the darkest corners of the internet…)
I fact-checked most things (ones I wasn’t sure if that is) but if you feel like I misinterpreted something, please shout out to me in the comments!
I know I left some terms out (and for good reason) but if you want to tell me in the comments which ones I may have forgotten, I might be able to make a second part to this post. (Depending on the amount I forgot.)
Thanks for sticking around!