New batch of anime and manga tags: Isekai (and reverse), Disability, Ancient China, and more

sothis

Forum Moderator
Anime-Planet Founder
Developer
Hi all,

Here's a summary of all of the anime and manga tags added since the last announcement. Most notably, after what's seemed like an endless amount of moderator discussion, we've figured out what to do with our isekai-related tags.

As a reminder, you can post suggestions for brand new tags, as well as anime/manga that are missing specific tags, in the tag section of the forum. Help out by posting missing ones in that section! And remember that you can check out recently added tags anytime by using the "date added" sort on the tags page.


Person in a Strange World (definition change)
ANIME | MANGA

Characters in these anime find themselves in a world very different from their own. They may have been suddenly whisked away to a strange world, become stuck in a video game, or are trapped in a different time period. Common themes include trying to discover how to get home, coming to terms with a new life in a new place, or political or social involvement with the local populace. See also: Isekai, Reverse Isekai, Summoned Into Another World, Trapped in a Video Game, and Time Travel.


Isekai
ANIME | MANGA

Isekai is a fantasy genre where a person from Earth is transported to, reborn, or trapped in a parallel universe or fantasy world. For beings from other worlds visiting Earth, see Reverse Isekai. Our Isekai tag definition does not include cases of being Trapped in a Video Game, but both sub-genres are included in the Person in a Strange World tag.

Note: do take a look at the last sentence above. We decided to not include the "trapped in a video game" theme in the Isekai tag. These do, however, fit under the parent "Person in a Strange World" tag, which we've had in our database since the beginning, and well before Isekai was a known genre. The Person in a Strange World tag also includes Time Travel or other cases that don't qualify as Isekai. All titles previously tagged Person in a Strange World are still tagged as such - we now double tag with Isekai or Reverse Isekai where it's applicable.


Reverse Isekai
ANIME | MANGA

Unlike typical Isekai titles where a person from Earth is transported to, reborn, or trapped in a parallel universe or fantasy world, in these anime characters from another world find themselves on Earth through similar means.


Submarine
ANIME | MANGA

These anime primarily take place onboard a submarine that sails the seas.


Ancient China
ANIME | MANGA

These anime take place in China during ancient or imperial times, or are set in a world similar to ancient China. Some works may be influenced or inspired by famous Chinese novels such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" or "Journey to the West", Chinese mythology, or historical figures from Chinese history. Common themes involve the happenings within the imperial court, waging war and forging political alliances, dynastic politics, and palace intrigue. Ancient China is a common setting for Wuxia titles.


Disability
ANIME | MANGA

These anime feature characters with disabilities. They may be deaf, blind, mute, unable to walk, or have other debilitating conditions that impact their life. Some are disabled from birth, while others acquire their disability due to an Illness or injury.

Note: previously, there is already a Disabled character tag. We now have an anime/manga version.


Mental Illness
ANIME | MANGA

These anime feature characters who struggle with a mental health condition that impacts their way of life, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, or a personality disorder. For physical ailments, see Illness.

Note: previously, we tagged mental illness with the Illness tag. Now, Illness is only used for physical illness.


Split Personality
ANIME | MANGA

These anime feature characters with multiple personalities. This may be the result of magic, a supernatural occurrence, or the character may have Dissociative Identity Disorder (also known as Multiple Personality Disorder), a Mental Illness that causes the person to shut off or dissociate their mind from their current surrounding by shifting to a different personality.

Note: also a character tag.


Wuxia
ANIME

Wuxia (武侠) is one of the oldest genres in Chinese literature, and translates to "martial arts chivalry". These anime, feature heroes who fight against evil. Wuxia stories can typically be thought of as the Chinese equivalent of The Odyssey, taking place in ancient China instead of ancient Greece, blending concepts of heroes vs evil, relationships between humans and gods, mythology, Cultivation of Qi, Magic, and a heavy emphasis on Martial Arts.

Note: this was already a manga tag, but now is also an anime tag


Cultivation
ANIME

Cultivation (修真) is a Taoist concept that describes extending one's lifespan through practicing martial and mystical arts, with the goal of cultivating Qi: the spiritual life force. Cultivation is a common theme in both Wuxia and Xianxia stories, with one key difference: Xianxia stories typically focus on cultivation for the purpose of achieving immortality.

Note: this was already a manga tag, but now is also an anime tag


Gyaru
ANIME | MANGA

Gyaru (ギャル) is a subculture of women, also known as "Gyaru girls", who follow many types of Japanese street fashion. Gyaru girls are typically characterized by having heavily bleached or dyed hair, tanned skin, highly decorated nails, and dramatic makeup. There are many types of gyaru, such as Ganguro, Kogyaru, and Himegyaru.

This tag was previously called Ganguro. The definition has been updated to include other types of Gyaru girls.


Happy Science
ANIME

These anime were created by the Happy Science religious movement, formerly known as The Institute for Research in Human Happiness. Founded in Japan in 1986, this controversial Religion worships a deity named El Cantare, who they believe has been reborn many times as different mythological gods and historical spiritual leaders.


Firefighters
ANIME | MANGA

These anime feature firefighters: professionals employed to extinguish fires and rescue those whose lives are threatened by them. Firefighting might be the focus of these anime, or important characters are firefighters.

Note: also a character tag.


Skeletons
ANIME | MANGA

These anime feature protagonists that are skeletons: characters that have nothing more left to their physical bodies than their bones.

Note: also a character tag.


Koalas
ANIME

These anime feature koalas: Australian marsupials known for clinging to tree branches and snacking on eucalyptus leaves. They are sometimes referred to as koala bears, although they are not members of the bear family.

Note: also a character tag.

[EDIT] and these others I missed:

Anthropomorphic
ANIME | MANGA

Anthropomorphism describes attributing human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, plants, or other natural phenomena. Characters in these anime may walk on two legs, wear clothes, or have a human appearance. Common examples in anime and manga include anthropomorphic animals, food, or objects. Not to be confused with Animal Characteristics, which describes characters that have animal-like features, such as a human with a tail.

Note: also a character tag.


Elemental Powers
ANIME | MANGA

These anime feature characters who possess elemental powers such as fire, water, wind and lightning.

Note: also a character tag.



Thanks, as always, for your continued support of Anime-Planet. If you like our tags, tell your friends about the site! They tend to be a popular draw for new users :)
 
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Very pleased to see that there's now a separate Mental Illness tag! Same with Disability, since I wanna say somethings were tagged as Illness that were about, say, autism, which isn't an illness, but I could be misremembering and getting it confused with another anime/manga site, lol. Either way, both are great additions imo.

Finally isekai
Technically it was always there, it's just now a sub-tag of Person in a Strange World. Person in a Strange World used to encompass most types of Isekai.
 
Koalas...

4ZsSgzH.gif


Oh and yay mental illness!
 
Anthropomorphism and Elemental Powers are now added to the announce, missed those.
 
Koalas
ANIME

These anime feature koalas: Australian marsupials known for clinging to tree branches and snacking on eucalyptus leaves. They are sometimes referred to as koala bears, although they are not members of the bear family.
Damn, how rare is it for this type of tag to exist only for Anime entries and not manga. Usually, it's the other way around.
 
Would anime/manga/novel with character transported (reborn? recreated?) from game to Earth be categorized as reverse isekai?
 
Would anime/manga/novel with character transported (reborn? recreated?) from game to Earth be categorized as reverse isekai?
A character from a video game/virtual world/internet/etc coming to the real world is not reverse isekai. It has to be from a "real" fantasy world. Digital worlds do not count.
 
Whelp, darn, I had been telling people how Anime-Planet circumvented the whole "is .hack// or SAO an isekai?" debate by simply using the "person in a strange world" tag and ignoring the "isekai" word itself.

Oh well.

Anyway, thank you for the new tags!
 
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