Everybody knows what mystery, romance, action, and horror is. They're all genres that books and movies fall under. But if you're going to watch anime, you should know there some genres that are not labeled in western culture. So, here's a few of them (conveniently in alphabetical order):
Adventure: This one is quite the popular genre. As the name suggests, an adventure takes place. These anime can be any length; short and sweet, standard 21-25 episodes, or super long with tons of character development, such as Naruto.
Examples: Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, Pokemon
Ecchi: According to Wikipedia, ecchi (ech-ee) is Japanese slang for lewd conduct. It can be used as a noun for describing someone as a pervert, or having dirty behaviour. This genre includes things that you would not want other people to be around when watching. These shows can start at PG-13 but the hardcore ecchi stuff can go to a rated R level. Sexual innuendos and behaviour are used, but to leave everything else to the mind of the audience. In some cases, it's not bad. Others, you might want to look into before watching, if you're fine with it. But most of the time, Hollywood stuff is worse.
Examples: Fairy Tale, The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat, Zero no Tsukaima
Fantasy: Pretty self-explanatory. Monsters, witches, magic girls, alternate universes, demons, faeries, and the sort. This genre is ofter paired with adventure or action. A lot of mythology, folklore, and fairy tale concepts are used in this genre, although they usually have a twist. A good example is in Fate/Zero, where the legendary King of Knights, King Arthur, is actually a girl.
Examples: Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?, Inuyasha, Fate/Zero
Game: The anime is about a card game, or a similar game, containing monsters in it. Players of the game face each other in battles, duels, or whatever else they may be called. Usually I don't watch these because they're geared towards younger male audiences (elementary to pre-teens) and are poorly done. Although, the card games that they come out with can be fun sometimes. These usually are the worst things ever when watched in English dub. *shivers in disgust*
Examples: Bakugan, Yu-Gi-Oh! (Any of them), Cardfight!! Vangaurd
Harem: The main character is surrounded by people of the opposite gender. Usually three or more. The protagonist is usually a boy that is either short, shy, not outgoing, or not well spoken, but somehow has a flock of girls following around. Sometimes they all try to get his attention, or sometimes they need him for something important (The Comic Artist and His Assistants). Really, I have no idea how this works.
In addition to this, the group of girls usually carry their own stereotypes. They include:
-A main girl that actually ends up with the main character.
-Two girls that are the biggest rivals and often lose to the others because they are fighting each other.
-A Kuudere of some sort (see my post on the 'deres)
-A Deredere, which is a sweet girl through and through
-A Loli (more on this in the next Guide to Anime post)
-A Tsundere
-The Childhood Friend
And there are actually more, but you get the point.
Harem anime are usually associated with ecchi and romantic comedy.
Examples: If Her Flag Breaks, The Comic Artist and His Assistants, Rosario Vampire
Horror: I know, this is already a well known genre. I just should say that when it comes to anime, horror is not very scary. Horror anime typically tend to be more gruesome than fear-inducing. Some horrors are actually not scary at all, just a little gory. Come to think of it, I have watched horror anime that aren't even as gory or violent as the Lord of the Rings.
Horror anime are rarely disappointing. They usually have a very good plot line, and are developed in clever ways that rival psychological anime. Just stay away from Highschool of the Dead. It's horror, but completely fanservice...
If you want to go full force into the brutality of horror, the worst I have seen is Corpse Party: Tortured Souls. It could potentially make people vomit, so don't watch if you're prone to that. Seriously, that thing is the most graphic anime I've ever watched.
Examples: Corpse Party: Tortured Souls, Mirai Nikki, Another
Josei: Josei meaning "woman". This one isn't as common. The intended audience is aimed at 18-40 year old females. These anime are usually more mature, and about romance. Not really much to say. It's just out there.
Examples: Chihayafuru, Loveless, Eden of the East (not quite sure about this one, but that's the official genre, and it's popular, so I'm putting it there)
Magic: Used with fantasy a ton. Of course, magic is used. They can be used in charms, praying etc., but the biggest stereotype under the magic category is the kid-orientated magic girl anime (mahou shoujo). These are usually girls who can be anywhere between 6th grade and high school where they live a double life between a student and a magical girl. These anime are usually light hearted and attractive to young girls. However, the stereotype can be misleading and the anime may have some dark themes in them (Puella Magi Madoka Magica). This anime sure puts up an excellent facade with the mahou shoujo look.
Examples: Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, The Irregular at Magic Highschool
Mecha: Robots. Giant, overpowered, mountain levelling, human piloted, physics defy-ing robots. Think of humans piloting Godzilla-sized robots at war, flying into space, shooting nuclear-generated lasers at each other... pew pew pew...
All jokes aside, mecha can either be very good, or very overrated. They are completely unbelievable achievements in science, and very unrealistic. The best one I've seen (and one of my favorites) is Code Geass. It's main genre is not mecha, but it's definitely worth seeing.
Examples: Code Geass, Asura Cryin', Mobile Suit Gundam
Psychological: My favorite genre, next to horror. These anime are extremely plot-orientated, and cleverly outlined. I have so far never been disappointed with a psychological anime.
There are different interpretations of the psychological genre:
-Mystery based: These series are like a giant game of chess. Mental geniuses making one move after the other, trying to outwit each other with the fate of many people in their hands. Just watch one of these. They're fantastic. Examples: Code Geass, Death Note
-Mental instability: main character or someone goes insane. Yanderes can be found in this genre. Often more associated with horror than the mystery based psychological anime. Examples: Another, Mirai Nikki
School: Used with drama, slice of life, and romance. The plot usually goes in chronological order, and has it's own sets of stereotypes as seen in the previous Guide to Anime post. This is usually a secondary genre, so the mood of the school setting depends heavily on the primary genre. In Medaka Box, students have superpowers called abnormalities, so you can expect a building or two on campus that gets destroyed once in a while. In Say "I Love You", the students are ordinary kids. Nothing special.
Examples: Say "I Love You", My Little Monster, One Week Friends, Medaka Box
Seinen: The male counterpart genre of josei. Aimed towards 18-40 year old males. It is commonly said that it is violent and sexual, but that's not always the case. Sometimes they have really good themes, and may even be romances (White Album).
Examples: Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing Ultimate, White Album, 5 Centimeters per Second
Shoujo and Shounen: Anime aimed at 7-18 year olds. Shoujo is the genre directed at girls, and shounen is geared towards boys. These two genres are the probably the biggest umbrella term there is for anime, all having subgenres of the ones listed above, with the exception of josei and seinen. Shoujo anime usually have more themes of romance while Shounen have themes of adventure or action.
Examples of shoujo: Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, Pretty Cure, Ouran Host Club
Examples of shounen: Bleach, Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, Ao no Exorcist
Superpower: Not just simply having superpowers. This means having way more power than super heroes have in American movies. These guys make the Hulk look like he needs to do more weight training. Be prepared for tonnes of explosions, instant landscaping*coughdemolitioncough* and yelling unnecessarily while powering up or attacking.
Examples: Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Dragonball Z
Vampire: Of course, these anime have to do with vampires. And like all other stories about vampires, they all have different strengths and weaknesses. The thing with vampire anime is that the vampire usually ends up falling in love with another character and a lot of consensual biting to either restore or transfer powers takes place. That's really the big difference between the well known vampires and anime vampires.
Examples: Rosario Vampire, Vampire Knight, Strike the Blood
And lastly, some things to stay clear of. I'm not ashamed to write this or am trying to give ideas. Remember, the title of this series is the beginner's guide to anime. So, if you're new to this wonderful world, keep in mind that if you see these things, it's best that you stay away.
Hentai: Anime porn.
Yuri: Girls that love girls.
Yaoi: Guys that love guys.
Remember, if you are unsure about an anime, look around for reviews and whatnot first. Otherwise, have fun!
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