Alright, time to be honest with you guys...I love anime and manga. I'm a complete geek who stands around in the comic section trying to read an entire volume of manga in an afternoon and then walk out with six volumes I didn't even plan on buying. Why is it that you need to know this? Because I'm sure there's a few of you who lack drawing skills yet write plots for awesome anime or manga in mind. So if you are one of those awesome people then I suggest you sit back and relax because I'm gonna help you out a bit.
So if you've read a lot of manga or watch a ton of anime then you know that there are certain tropes you need to follow depending on the genre. But because this is very general we're gonna just go with some of the main tropes of anime and manga that you often see.
The Loud Mouth: This is typically a guy, usually a teen, that talk way too much and brags about how awesome he is. I discussed this in my last post so I won't swell on this too long, but basically this guy has a big ego yet is usually an underdog that isn't very skilled. If he is skilled then his bragging get's in the way of being truly awesome. Just watch out when he's serious though, the moment he stops playing with you he's dangerous.
Loli/Shota: A loli is a girl and a shota is a guy. Either way it's a person who could be sixteen or seventeen yet look like they're twelve. This trope can be bent in plenty of ways so you could make them evil, like Kanato from Diabolick Lovers, or sweet and adorable like Momiji from Fruits Basket. No matter how you do them up they'll always look very childish and be cute to almost diabetic levels.
Tsundere: Tsundere is a Japanese term that takes two words and jam them together. Tsun tsun, which means turn away in disgust, and dere dere which means lovey dovey. Basically it's a guy or girl who's cruel to their crush/partner but will be sweet to them at other times. Often they'll deny they like the person they're crushing on and even when they get together anything romantic will be accepted with a glare and blush. Of course it doesn't just have to be for crushes, they could love/hate their friends as well. Some good examples are: England from Hetalia Axis Powers, Kagami Hiiragi from Lucky Star, and Sakura Haruno from Naruto/Naruto Shippuden.
Also, if the Tsundere is female then she could wear two pony tails on the side of her head. For some reason that hair style often goes with tsundere females.
Emotionless Characters: For some reason there's that one guy, or girl, who never shows their emotions. Do they have them? Yes. But they just never show them for whatever reason, It could be a tragic past or some other horrible thing, whatever the case the character is never very happy to show their emotions, but when they do...Lord have mercy on your soul. Some wonderful examples are Julius Monrey from the Heart no Kuni no Alice series, Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan, and Lucy from Elfen Lied.
Being Set in Japan: Most anime/manga are set in Japan. If this is the case then do some serious research! No, most Western people won't know if your information is correct, but then you have that one person who happens to be a Nipponophile...Anyway! Just do your research before doing this, that way you're not the laughing stock of the world. Eamaples...Do I honestly have to list them?
A Japanese Monster: Depending on what genre you're writing you're gonna involve a Japanese monster or yokai. It could be slice of life with a fantasy twist, a right out fantasy, or some kind of mystery. But if it has monsters then there's gonna be at least one yokai thrown in. Some examples of creatures are yuki-onna, shinigami, and kitsune.
Blood: If you're writing an action, thriller, horror, or anything that has fighting expect a boatload of blood, and make sure at least gallon of it comes out of the characters mouths. Do humans have enough blood to fill up a milk carton? Yes. Should they be able to live if they lost that much? No, but this is a book made like an anime/manga so we're just gonna go with it. Examples...Every.Single.Shonnen.Anime.Ever.Made.
Light glinting off glasses: Yes, this IS a thing. No it's not necessarily something unique to anime and manga, but if you want your book to resemble it then I suggest you put it in. It's really an effect meant to make a character with glasses, who's probably awesome anyway and this will be discussed further another day....Rant aside, the light is just meant to heighten the mood to make them either awesome, thinking, or feared, Some examples are: Fraken Stein from Soul Eater, Nice from Baccano, and almost anyone with glasses in Hellsing.
So there you go, some very basic tropes used all the time in anime and manga. These won't make your book specifically anime or manga like, but it could help you go in the right direction. But don't take my word for it, please don't, go out and look for some tropes yourself. Who knows, maybe you'll find something new and awesome to share with the rest of us nerds.
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