Mangaka: In English-language usage, a mangaka is a manga creator. But as with anime, it means comics made in Japan in the English-language industry. As we saw with the word “anime,” it is the Japanese word for “comics” so all comics are called manga in Japan. It tends to portray life and love more realistically than shoujo. Josei: Josei is a category originally aimed at older teenage girls and adult women. The Japanese usage of the word also has connotations of perversion to it, which may explain why some hentai titles have elements that are considered extreme or fringe by Western pornography standards. While there is overlap with other categories like BL and yuri, it generally implies heterosexual content. Hentai: This word typically means explicit sexual pornography. Hardcore, explicit content doesn’t fall under this category. Think sexual innuendos, suggestive content, and nudity. For example, creative team CLAMP produced doujinshi for several series including Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure prior to the start of their professional careers.Įcchi: This term refers to content that is sexy or slightly erotic in nature. Many mangaka started out as doujinshi artists. Doujinshi: Doujinshi are fan and/or self-published comics.
