The Introduction Greetings! Did ya miss me? Then maybe you need a faster internet connection! ^ ^ Ahem.... This is where you can start your lessons in japanese animation. Here's some terms to help you get started (you'll need to check out the glossary for more terms that you'll need to know if you became interested in checking out specific titles or even decide to navigate the rest of the site) Anime- This is a term that is used to describe Japanese cartoons (as in moving animation). This is what you see on TV. Familiar anime titles to people outside of Japan would be Dragonball Z, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Digimon. Manga- Japanese for cartoon, but it actually refers to comic books. You might be able to find these at major book stores in graphic novel form (several issues compiled into a book). They are usually black and white, but can sometimes be found in color. Otaku- This is a term that is used a lot. This is the anime equivalent of a Star Trek Trekkie or a Grateful Dead Dead-head. Even though it's a derogatory term in Japan, many people outside the country use it to describe themselves when they feel that they have a certain understanding of Japanese animation and culture. Hentai- I decided to put this term in the Introduction because it's another term that you'll see a lot. However, this might not be such a good thing, since hentai anime titles are almost always marked with an "18 +" sticker . These tend to contain a lot of sexual content that wouldn't be appropriate for younger viewers. However, that doesn't make all these titles "sleazy". Many are acclaimed for their great animation and plot. Always make sure you check every title you come across if you don't want to mistakingly pick up one of these titles. That's all the terms for now. There's more in the Glossary of the site.