| 'Animanga' is a compound word. It is made up of 'anime' and 'manga'. 'Anime' is a word adopted by the Japanese. It means animation or what is more commonly known as cartoons. On the other hand, 'manga' is an original Japanese word. It is equivalent to the English 'comics'. A manga is drawn by a 'mangaka'. Perhaps it is due to the fact that many anime are based on manga series and many manga are spin-offs from anime, the two arts are often grouped under the term 'animanga'. This is a very brief and loose explanation of the three words. A very detailed one and many other articles discussing the two arts can be found at Rei's Anime And Manga Page. A more technically accurate definition of these terms and many more related ones may be found at the Usenet Manga Glossary. You might also see terms like 'doujinshi', 'fan-fiction' and 'fan-art' on the web. As far as I know, these terms are used only in context with manga and maybe anime. 'Fan-fiction', as the name implies, are stories written by fans of the manga. 'Fan-art' are pictures of manga characters drawn by the fans. 'Doujinshi' are manga drawn by amateurs, usually related to existing manga or anime. |