Everyone seems to watch anime these days. With the rise of the internet, the number of anime fans has risen drastically. One of the best things about anime is that there are so many genres that you can look into whether it is a comedy, adventure, action, or thriller, there is always something that you may like.
But a beginner anime watcher is often lost in translation since the genres are named in Japanese. You may like watching them but are confused about what the name of the genre means. You may want to explore but can’t understand what the genre means.
Japanese anime like any other show does have a general genre such as action, sci-fi, horror, romance, comedy, and many others. However, we have created a guide of the genres that are EXCLUSIVE to Japanese anime.
Kodomo
Kodomo literally means children in Japanese. Kodomo genre anime is aimed at children between ages six and eleven. They have basic family-friendly stories usually with moral lessons.
For example:
Hello Kitty
Doraemon
Hamtaro
Shōnen
Shōnen means “for boys” and these anime or manga are meant for young teenage boys from ages 12 to 18. Shounen usually includes themes of friendship, fighting, and humorous plots with male characters and attractive female characters.
For example:
Naruto
Dragon Ball Z
One Piece
Boku No Hero Academia (My Hero Academia)
Shōjo
Shōjo means “girls” and these anime or manga are meant for girls in the demographic age of 7 to 19. Shoujo anime and manga usually have better art and “girly” visuals.
For example:
Cardcaptor Sakura
Sailor Moon
Nana
Seinen
Seinen is an anime or manga targeted towards young adult men between the ages of 18 and 45. Seinen focuses on action, sci-fi, politics, psychology, thriller, sports, or comedy.
For example:
Tokyo Ghoul
Death Note
Berserk
Josei
Josei is an anime and manga catered towards young adult women between the ages of 18 and 45. They usually have mostly female main casts and have comedy, romance, and slice of life elements.
For example:
Paradise Kiss
Aggretsuko
Hentai
Hentai is anime or manga with pornographic themes. They contain erotic scenes including sexual intercourse and nudity. They include themes of Harem (one male character around multiple female characters) or Reverse Harem.
Ecchi
Ecchi means “pervert” or “naughty” in Japanese. Ecchi manga or anime have sexual innuendos, sexual humor, partial nudity, and other sexual content with actually showing sex scenes.
For example:
High School DxD
Kill la Kill
Isekai
Isekai is an anime or manga where the protagonist or the characters of the anime are transported to a different world into a game or another dimension.
For example:
Sword Art Online
Konosuba
Mecha
Mecha is an anime or manga that has sci-fi or futuristic element where the character is robots or controlling robots. This might appear scenario of battles or wars.
span style=”font-weight: 400;”>For example:
Ghost In The Shell
Gundam 00
Slice of Life
Slice of Life anime or manga has a story that portrays the mundane daily life or events of the characters. They contain may or may not character development or plot points. They usually have comedy plots.
For example:
Anohana
K-On
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