Learning manga-speak on the Web

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Otaku outside Japan are flocking to a Web site for help in learning expressions common in Japanese anime and manga, with clicks coming from 165 different countries and regions.

The site, "Japanese in Anime & Manga" (http://anime-manga.jp), has received about 1.2 million hits since being set up in February by the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai. Manga enthusiasts can learn expressions such as mote-mote (someone popular with the opposite sex), mukatsuku (that's so annoying), and kakattekoi (get over here and fight).

As Japanese anime and manga grows in popularity among young people overseas, more and more fans want to read manga in its original Japanese. However, many expressions used in the comics are not explained in Japanese textbooks, causing readers to skip over them without understanding.

The Osaka Prefecture-based institute, which offers Japanese classes, decided to create the Web site after hearing many students complain about expressions and words they had trouble figuring out.

The site is based on about 300 manga and anime, such as Astro Boy and Dragon Ball, and contains a total of 3,000 lines and expressions. Since the way characters in anime or manga speak depends on their role or status, the Web site is organized into eight types of characters, such as boys, girls and samurai.

When a user clicks on an expression, an explanation of its meaning and usage appear in English. Users can also listen to a recording of the pronunciation or take quizzes on what they have learned.

The institute also has posted original drawings by professional manga artists to teach onomatopoeia, such as mogu-mogu, which represents the sound of someone chewing heartily, and zawa-zawa, used to describe a buzzing atmosphere.

Setting up the Web site cost about 8 million yen, according to the institute.

"We've gotten a bigger response than we expected. I hope the site will help deepen people's understanding of Japan," an official at the institution said.