The following is a list of the major genres and designations that are specific to anime and manga.
Bishōjo: Japanese for 'beautiful girl', blanket term that can be used to describe any anime that features pretty girl characters, for example Magic Knight Rayearth.
Bishōnen: Japanese for 'beautiful boy' blanket term that can be used to describe any anime that features "pretty" and elegant boys and men, for example Fushigi Yūgi and most CLAMP shows.
Ecchi: Derived from the pronunciation of the letter 'H,'the first letter of the word 'Hentai'. Japanese for 'indecent sexuality'. Contains mild sexual humor, and some fan service, for example Love Hina and He Is My Master.
Hentai: Japanese for 'abnormal' or 'perverted', and used by Western Audiences to refer to pornographic anime or erotica. However, in Japan the term used to refer to the same material is typically Poruno or Ero. Example: La Blue Girl, MeruPuri.
Josei: Japanese for 'young woman', this is anime or manga that is aimed at young women, and is one of the rarest forms. Example: NANA.
Kodomo: Japanese for 'child', this is anime or manga that is aimed at young children, for example Doraemon. Hello Kitty, Keropi and Panda-Z are other examples.
Robot/Mecha: Anime or manga featuring super robots, examples: Mobile Suit Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Moé: Anime or manga featuring characters that are extremely perky or cute, for example A Little Snow Fairy Sugar and Akazukin Chacha.
Progressive: "Art films" or extremely stylized anime, for example Voices of a Distant Star or Byōsoku 5 Centimetre.
Seinen: Anime or manga targeted at teenage or young male adults, for example Oh My Goddess!, Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop.
Sentai/Super Sentai: Literally "fighting team" in Japanese, refers to any show that involves a superhero team, for example Cyborg 009.
Shōjo: Japanese for 'young lady' or 'little girl', refers to anime or manga targeted at girls, for example Fruits Basket, "Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch"
Mahō shōjo: Subgenre of shōjo known for 'Magical Girl' stories, for example Sailor Moon.
Shōnen: Japanese for 'boys', Shōnen is like Seinen, but refers to anime or manga targeted at younger boys, for example Dragon Ball Z or Naruto .
Mahō shōnen: Male equivalent of Mahō Shōjo, for example DNAngel.
Shōjo-ai/yuri: Japanese for 'girl-love', refers to anime or manga that focus on love and romance between female characters, for example Revolutionary Girl Utena and Kannazuki no Miko. It is often being replaced by the term "Girls Love" (GL).
Shōnen-ai/Yaoi: Japanese for 'boy-love', refers to anime or manga that focus on love and romance between male characters. The term "Shōnen-ai" is being phased out in Japan due to its other meaning of pederasty, and is being replaced by the term "Boys Love" (BL). An example of this style is Loveless.
Some anime titles are written for a very specific audience, even narrower than those described above. For example, Initial D, Wangan Midnight and éX-Driver concern street racing and car tuning. Ashita No Joe is about boxing. Hanaukyo Maid Team is based on the French maid fantasy.
