Jennifer Wand, Marc Hairston and Emru Townsend · From fps #8 · June 28, 2006 | Reading about anime for the first time can be bewildering, which isn't surprising: not only are half the terms you encounter in another language, half of those have had their meanings corrupted over time.This guide will help you make sense of what you read and hear about anime. We've even indicated where terms might have different meanings between Japan and English speakers.

afureko Derived from "after-record." Anime studios usually produce the animation before recording the voices. Voice actors have to time their performances by watching the complete animation on a screen during the recording session. See also: purireko.

bishie A slang corruption of bishounen, typically used by younger English-speaking fans to describe attractive anime men. Unlike a classic bishounen, which refers to a certain type of character, a bishie can be any attractive male, no matter how manly he may be.

bishounen Literally means "beautiful boy." This term refers to the long-haired, graceful, somewhat effeminate men that often populate girls' manga and anime series. As opposed to the more manly otokomae characters, these characters are usually supporting roles rather than romantic leads, and their sexual orientation is sometimes unclear. When this word came across the Pacific, it lost its connotation of femininity and became a catch-all phrase for handsome anime men. This may be because American girls see no contradiction in referring to handsome men as "cute." See also: bishie.

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