What does Shoujo mean? In this Romance Manga Dictionary I want to give you guys an overview of some typical words, things, or definitions you will often find while reading Romance Manga. Feel free to give me suggestions to add some words!
What does Shoujo mean? A Romance Manga Dictionary – Shoujo-ai, Shounen – meaning
- Shoujo ( 少女) means “young woman” in Japanese, so Shoujo Mangas are aimed at young females between 12 and 18 years old – although you typically can’t restrict the target audience to that age. Shoujo Manga often portrays an idealized romance. In search of some Shoujo to read? Check out this list: Shoujo without tropes.
- Shoujo-ai focuses on the relationship between two girls and is also aimed at young women as a target audience.
- Shōnen manga (少年漫画) is targeted at young males between the ages of 12 and 18 – although the age group varies. The meaning of Shonen is “boy” or “youth”.
- Shounen-ai (少年愛) focuses on the romantic (but non-explicit) relationship between two young boys.
- Josei manga (女性漫画) is aimed at women – as the name already suggests – because josei can be read as “woman” or “female”. These Manga often portrait a more realistic relationship than Shoujo.
What does moe and gap moe mean?
- Moe (萌え) can be read as „sprouting“ in Japanese and a word that describes strong affection for a character. These characters often have specific stereotypes and transmit a feeling of cuteness and evoke protectiveness in the reader.
- Gap Moe still evokes the mentioned feelings in a reader but from a character or behavior, you wouldn’t normally expect. For example, the delinquent does something really cute and you just want to hug them – that’s gap moe.
What is a Yandere?
- Yandere (ヤンデレ): A Yandere is a character that has strong feelings for another person, but gets psychotic when they are not answered. They often hurt the person they love or themselves. Yandere is a combination of yanderu (病んでる) which means sick and deredere (デレデレ) which means flirting.
- Tsundere (ツンデレ): A Tsundere is the opposite of a Yandere: The character is often portrait as brutal or rude but has a soft personality on the inside, which is only shown in certain situations. The word comes from tsuntsun (ツンツン), which can be translated as grumpy but is an onomatopoeia for „walking away disdainfully“ and deredere (デレデレ) .
- Kuudere (クーデレ): A Kuudere is often portrait as emotionless and indifferent, but they hide their true emotions on the inside.
- Deredere (デレデレ): Deredere characters are cheerful, bubbly and energetic. They show their affection openly.
- Dandere (だんデレ): A Dandere is shy, asocial, and often afraid to talk. They are very quiet and insecure, although they open up when with the right person. Dandere is a combination of “danmari” (黙だんまり) meaning “silence” and „deredere“
Kotatsu and Gokon – things you often read about in a Shoujo Manga
- Kotatsu (炬燵 or 火燵): It’s a Japanese heating table. The table is quite low and there is a blanket attached to it, so the heat stays under the table.
- Gōkon (合コン): It’s a Japanese Group-Date, where there are equally as many females as males so they can get to know each other. Through games and conversations, there should be formed pairs at the end of the night.
If you want me to add something to the Romance Manga Dictionary, feel free to write me an e-Mail or just comment below.
