The Beginner's Guide to Anime: The Attracting Factors in Characters

Okay, this topic I don't have a tonne of knowledge in, and I don't have any good research to go off of.  Sorry if this is not accurate to the veteran's standards.

As promised in the previous Guide to Anime post, I'm (going to attempt) explaining what a loli is. The explanation is, of course, below.  But before you read there, I should explain this topic a little more.  A loli is one of the many stereotypes put in characters as an attractive factor.  Most anime have a character that has an appealing factor to them, even though a lot of people don't notice that they are stereotypes.  Some of them are agreeable factors, where others take some time to understand.
I should add that there are a lot of them... So this list isn't complete.  Maybe if I feel oddly motivated I'll continue it.  Of course, if I miss any, just tell me in the comment section.

The Childhood Friend: As the title suggests, the main character has a childhood friend and they fall in love later (usually high school).  These are either promises made to each other from a young age, unrequited love that eventually gets recognition, or a relationship that neither character sees coming.  Usually found in the romance genre.
Examples: I actually can't remember any anime I've watched with a big emphasis on this.  I vaguely remember Asura Cryin' having this element, but don't quote me on that.  I haven't watched Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood or Steins;Gate but I heard they stress this element a bit.

Senpai/Kouhai Relationships: A senpai (sometimes spelt sempai) is a senior in position relative to someone else in the same field/discipline.  The most popular use in anime is at school, however, it can be used in dojos, workplaces, etc.  Basically whoever is slightly senior in rank, you call senpai.  And kouhai is the opposite: a senpai would call their underclassmen kouhai.  Senpai is not to be confused with sensei; an authority figure. Senpai is usually reserved for a mentor-type role.
In context, a 2nd year high school student would call the 3rd years senpai, and 1st years kouhai.
And also, as the mentioned above in the title, relationships between the senpai and kouhai may happen. If you don't know already, this element is where the meme "I hope senpai will notice me" comes from.  In some anime, the kouhai might have feelings for the senpai, but not have the ability to say it.
Examples: Strike the Blood,  Ouran Host Club, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia (sorta)

The Sibling Complex:  Closeness with a sibling to the point that it either annoys the charactercoughvictimcough, or makes other people wonder if incest is going to take place.  Usually the character with the complex teases their sibling a little much, and can be jealous people.  If the target character has a girlfriend/boyfriend, it's possible that the complex sibling would try sabotaging the relationship.  In other cases, the complex sibling declares their love (usually in a comedic manner) and tries to keep any other potential competition away.  In general, a sibling complex in a character includes thinking that if they weren't related by blood, they would have a relationship with their sibling.
(Side note: I think I might do a post just about complexes sometime.)
Examples: The Irregular at Magic High School, Oreimo, No Game No Life

Lolicon: "Loli" being the shortened form.  Blatantly put, a lolicon is a pedophile.  But in anime, it's a term used for a type of character.  Lolis are girls that are under the age of consent, the appeal being childish features and innocence.  I say this in the least possible creepy way: lolis are adorable.  They are like the cute internet puppies of anime.  But they can talk, dress adorably, cock their head slightly and say "senpai", and eat food in the cutest possible manner (yeah, I definitely have a weakness).
Now that you know about the sibling complex and lolis, I can share this photo I found a little while back... If you've watched a bit of all three of these series, it is a lot funnier.

Oh, you should also know that "imouto" is a younger sister.  It goes under the "sister complex" category.
Anime used from top to bottom: Black Bullet, The Irregular at Magic High School, No Game No Life

Maid: This one I never really got either.  There's this thing out there for maids, or girls in maid outfits.  I don't see the big attraction, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
Apparently characters in anime are aware maid outfits really exist as fanservice, and realize that having to wear one is potentially very embarrassing.  If you're watching an anime and the character has a maid outfit forced upon them, you now know why their face turns bright red.
The male counterpart of this stereotype is of course, the butler (shitsuji).  Using the most famous anime butler, Sebastian, as an example, the butler always looks good, acts gentlemanly, and does anything in their power for their master.  Not nearly as much as a fanservice as maid outfits, but still a huge attractive factor for girls.
Examples: Black Butler, Nanana's Buried Treasure, Kaichou wa Maid-sama!


Bishoujo/Bishonen: Respectively, these characters are the girls that are considered a beauty by everyone, and the boys that are so pretty that they can pass for girls.

Fan art of Zaizen Hikaru

The bishoujo have slimmer yet appealing figure, long flowing hair, big sparkling eyes, and an innocent face.  And bishonens... Just see for yourself.  These are all the hot guys in anime.  For anyone not familiar with anime, bishonens are often mistaken for girls.
Examples: Black Butler, Nisekoi, Inu x Boku SS, Special A

After spending probably too much time on this post, I have determined that this topic is going to take a lot longer than I thought.  It's late. I'm starting to spend more time editing than researching.  I'm starting to have terrible remembers.  #inexperiencedwriterexcuses
So, I'm splitting this post up.  Look for part two in the coming week!

The Beginner's Guide to Anime: The Foreign Genres

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!

The Beginner's Guide to Anime: School

(Mostly) all anime that use a school as a main setting follow a lot of sterotypes.  There are even anime out there that are based entirely on a high school, such as The Daily Lives of High School Boys or the recently popular The Irregular at Magic High School.  Usually you can find a school setting in the genres slice-of-life, romance, shoujo, and of course, the school genre. (More on genres in the next Beginner's Guide to Anime post!)

The classroom:

In anime where a standard classroom is used, there always seems to be a repeating pattern of where characters are placed.  It is very common for the main character to be in the far back left corner (see diagram), close to the window.  Of course, this picture is not correct for all anime, but it gives a good idea of the stereotypical seating plan.  For example, in the anime Tonari no Seki-Kun: The Master of Wasting Time, Seki-kun sits in the bottom left of the diagram, while the secondary character, Yokoi, sits to his immediate right.

There are certain standards in which class seatings in anime run by, as well as a few things to know when reading this diagram:
-The doors are usually sliding doors.  Also, it's common for the wall between the front and back doors to have windows on them.
-The main character may not have a rival.  If they have one, the rival is usually as far away as possible, or relatively close.
-The indifferent genius may be seated where the childhood friend is if they are a secondary character.
-Transfer students that are not main characters usually go in one of the middle columns, towards the back.  It's unusual if they are on an outside column.
-Class representative is usually either in the front, or second row.
-The love interest of the main character may be beside them.
-As said above, the main character may not always be the second last desk of the left column.  They are usually put in that corner though.
-If there is a mysterious youth in the back left corner, they usually are an important character.  Typically the rule is the more important of a character, the closer they sit to that corner...
-The back may have a clock as well.

The roof:

A typical school rooftop.  

Almost all schools in anime have a rooftop that is fenced by chain link fence.  Usually the rooftop of the school is treated as a meeting place for the main character and someone else, whether they be romantic interest or friend.  If the rooftop is open to students, it's common to see characters on the roof eating lunch.  The picture to the right looks like the school lets the students use the roof, since there are artificial grass and benches placed.  If the school treats the roof as student restricted zone, the main character usually finds access to it.  Sometimes they steal a key, climb through a window, or get access through a teacher (usually a young teacher that everyone likes).
Although the rooftop may be treated like a sacred meeting place for friends, it's also sometimes used as a meeting place for fights.  Bullies sometimes drag their victims to the roof to beat them up, or a love triangle climax may choose it's resolution point on the rooftop of a school.

The infirmary:
When a student gets sick or injured, they're brought here.  Like in real life.  ...What did you expect?

A smaller infirmary

Typically people who simply feel a little dizzy come to get checked out, usually brought by a friend.  Or, the character fakes being dizzy so they can skip class.  And for every sport-type anime I've watched that involved high schoolers, the infirmary is visited at least once.  If you find one that doesn't use it, please tell me ^.^
Also, a lot of medicine is typically stored here.  A lot.  I mean full cabinets of over the counter drugs.  In some horrors in which an apocalypse happens, the infirmary is not a bad destination for supplies.

I must say, I'm rather impressed with how well the anime world handles health care.  My school certainly does not have full size single beds with curtains like most anime schools do...

The clubroom:

The Student Cultural Research Club from Kokoro Connect

In Japan, schools typically have a large variety of extra-curricular activities that students participate in.  These activities are student led, with a teacher as a supervisor.  Any club can be created as long as it is approved by faculty, and enough members join from year to year.
Typically a clubroom is a smaller room in the school that may or may not be in a separate building on school grounds.  The club rooms are meant to simply be a meeting place for the clubs, unless they need more space or a different venue, such as a light-music club, or a kendo club.  The club room shown above is a typical room that is neatly kept, but there are some strange ones out there.  The club room in The Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is in an abandoned building, and has a hidden basement... (sorry if that is a spoiler)

The Beginner's Guide to Anime: The 'Deres

In the culture of anime, there are many archetypes and stereotypes just like stories from any other place in the world.  A common one is the archetype of the 'deres (pronounced "deh-reh". Like "meh" except starting with d and r).  "Deredere" or just "dere" in short means lovestruck.  The biggest criteria for being a dere is the switch in behaviour when a certain event happens (usually a certain special someone is around them).   Typically, a dere is a girl, but they can be boys too.  It's just not as common.

There are different types of 'deres out there that can be put into sub-archetypes.  But for this post I'll be briefly giving an overview of the four most commonly known and used ones.  

Tsundere (tsune)

Louise de la Vallière

"Tsun" meaning to turn away.  Tsunderes usually have colored hair, and are socially adept.  They are academically stable, and are well off athletically, although this is not absolute (as can be seen from my selection of a tsundere example to the right).  The biggest determining trait about a tsundere is their conflicted feelings towards the lover in question.  Their face becomes red, they deny anything to do with a romantic relationship when brought up, stutter, and sometimes become physically abusive (in a comical way).  Usually such physical abuses are unrealistic and for comical effect, such as kicking their paired character into outer space.  Stuttering in denial usually sounds like this:

"I-I-It's not like I like you are anything!  I t-thought it would b-b-be a good idea to give you ch-chocolate for being a nice p-person!  Stupid! D-Don't get any wrong ideas!"

A good example of a tsundere is Louise de la Vallière from Zero no Tsukaima! (The Familiar of Zero!).  

Yandere (yahn)

"Yan" from the word "yanduru", meaning mentally ill.  Where tsunderes would be described as (comical) abusive love, yanderes are obsessive love.  Often the affection that yanderes show are very sweet and attractive... until the trigger is initiated.  Then their affection becomes extreme, and sometimes dangerous.  They are extremely jealous lovers, and will even kill should other people interact with their obsession.  

Yuno's bipolar personalities

The trigger of change for yanderes are usually when someone other than themselves show affection towards the target character.  When this happens, the pupils of the eyes usually disappear, and they have a crazed, absent-minded look.  Unless the main character calms them down, the yandere will do something dangerous.  It's this bi-polar obsessive behaviour over a person that makes a yandere easy to spot.  

I think it's safe to say that the most well known yandere character out there is Gasai Yuno from Mirai Nikki.  

Kuudere (koo)

Kanade playing the piano as seen in the main theme

"Kuu" being wordplay on the english word "cool".  The title being semi-self-explanatory, a kuudere is a character who typically is calm and collected, and keeps their cool most of the time.  It is truly a rarity to see them flustered or show a large range of emotions.  Of course, the trigger being the person they are in love with, they usually show attraction and more emotion around the partnered character.  

Although she doesn't seem like a dere at first,  Tachibana Kanade from Angel Beats! fits the textbook definition of kuudere perfectly.  

Dandere (dahn)

"Dan" derived from "danmari", meaning silent.  Danderes are not to be confused with kuuderes.  Kuuderes are reserved yet socialize on acceptable levels.  However, danderes are shy and do not say a lot until the right people come along.  As they get comfortable with the right people, they gain confidence and the dere side of the dandere starts to show.  

The normally shy Hinata defends Naruto

A lot of times, danderes are portrayed as the antisocial book readers and don't talk to anybody.  But that doesn't mean they don't have feelings.  Sometimes they can be a loner but have a huge crush on someone.  Their only problem is that they are much too shy to initiate a relationship, and need help.  As these characters develop, it is common for their confidence level to grow.  

Hyuga Hinata from Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden clearly shows the growth of a dandere over a 3 year span.