Good question. There is no short answer. (Well... I tried this. See the other information page What is Anime?). So here's a long one.

Many people might say "Manga are Japanese comics, and Anime is the Japanese version of animation. Anime is usually, but not always, the animated version of popular manga." That's partially true, but it can be misleading.

First of all, though an outsider might think Japan "stole" comics from the West, this is not true. Japan has been making cartoonish art for a very long time (there are humorous ink drawings of animals and caricatured people from hundreds of years ago, bearing striking resemblances to modern manga). True, some aspects of manga are taken from the West, but its main features, such as simple lines and stylized features, are distinctly Japanese. It may be that Chinese art had more influence than Western.

Secondly, Japanese manga and anime come in all types, for all sorts of people. Unlike the U.S., which generally seems to believe that "comics are for kids," Japanese manga-ka (manga writers) write for everyone from innocent young children to perverted sex-starved men. But even the kiddie stuff tends not to be as simple-minded as the American versions. Children's manga and TV anime shows in Japan will sometimes depict death --- while the U.S. seems determined to run away from such realities of life (note how the U.S. version of "GoLion" ("Voltron") deleted all references to one of the protagonist's death). And, not surprisingly, much of Japanese manga and anime includes scenes of students in class or doing homework, or of people working in their offices. The work ethic seems omnipresent in the background. Manga and anime also portray technology sympathetically, while U.S. comics seem almost to avoid it, or revile it.

A third major difference is the unique Japanese manga and anime style. This may sound strange, but I have yet to see a Westerner who has quite mastered the distinct "manga" drawing style, so common in the Far East. This is not to say it is limiting. Within this broad common stylistic ground, each manga artist's technique is distinct and unique. The stereotype is of characters with huge hair and large eyes, but there are many, many variations, from L. Matsumoto's seemingly unevenly drawn squash-shaped "ugly" protagonists, to the soft-edged figures in Miyazaki's work. And, of course, there is less emphasis on the "superhero" world of the U.S.. In most manga, the men and women aren't necessarily exaggerated extremes of their gender stereotypes, and they wear things other than skin-tight costumes. In fact, manga and anime characters tend to have unique and aesthetic tastes in fashion.

And one minor difference between Japanese manga and, say, D.C. Comics or Marvel Comics (aside from the black and white nature of manga), is that manga are usually the vision of a single writer (at most 2, generally). Unlike American comics, where many writers do different plots and stories, manga are more like novels, complete and detailed worlds that are the vision of a single author. The characters remain consistent, and they are allowed to grow and develop. On a related topic, manga also tend to be drawn for a weekly or biweekly publication --- and the editors expect cliffhangers/you-really-want-to-read-the-next-issue endings each time. So the plot HAS to develop and HAS to be interesting. (There are, after all, crowds of hopeful would-be manga-ka waiting in the wings).

(One last difference is the onomatopoetic characteristic of the Japanese language; sound effects fit in much better, and look less stupid, than in English comics).

Perhaps it is the mix of harsh reality with the tantalizing world of fantasy that makes Japanese manga and anime so appealing. Many popular series, such as Doraemon, Ranma 1/2 and Kimagure Orange Road, follow the lives of seemingly ordinary people --- they go to school, do homework, get reprimanded by parents --- who have a shadow life that makes them somehow special, whether by psionic talent or friends who are rather different (robots from the future, or aliens from other worlds). I suppose all this serves to allow the reader to sympathize with the characters, and yet escape from bland, normal daily life to a fantasy world that is far different.

Even in worlds that exist in the far future, or long ago, the reader is drawn into a 3-dimensional character, one who is far from perfect, one who has stupid little habits or major character flaws --- and who has hopes and dreams that the reader can sympathize with. Unlike American super heroes, who often seem to just go around defeating Evil, Japanese characters usually have other goals in life that play large themes within their lives.

That brings us to two other aspects of manga and anime that I really like: the reality of the world, and the fact that things end.

With comics, the merging of art and words creates a unique medium. The art pulls in the mind, and the words make the reality. A picture may be worth a thousand words, while words may convey what art cannot, but the two types together are truly powerful. As for Anime, animation can do inexpensively what special effects crews can't even touch. Art is a limited form of virtual reality. Art, however, requires plot to make a story come to life.

As said before, even children's Japanese comics and animation deal with things like death. They also show that one's enemies aren't Just Evil. In series like Gundam, you can see that the enemies have hopes and dreams of their own, and do, in fact, have reasons for what they do. They aren't just crazy, or just plain evil. They're real.

Actions have consequences. If the protagonist screws up, he or she has to deal with those results ... and, if the person is smart, he or she will remember not to make that mistake again! The characters grow and change, learn new skills, get better at old skills, mature and gain wisdom (unless, of course, it's a comical series like Doraemon :)

And, like all good stories and all real stories, manga and anime have a tendency to end. Heroes and heroines die, or get married, or disappear. The anime series are especially good about this. They tend to have one of three endings: the hero wins (the throne, the person of the opposite sex, whatever), the hero dies (usually after winning), the hero sort of wins (but at a great loss). Of course, the anime or manga is often carefully crafted to either jerk tears out of your eyes, or make you stare in wide-eyed absorption to the very very last line of the credits. I can't describe it here, but think of the ending to any truly good movie, and you probably have it.

I guess I've wandered quite a bit over this topic. I also probably displayed a bias for semi-serious manga/anime (which I prefer), and I also probably didn't quite describe the nature of certain genres (such as pure business manga, or sex manga, or the purely political humor comics). And, of course, I'm sort of glossing over the fact that there is LOTS of trash out there. Like any field, manga and anime have their lemons, the ones with no plot, 2-D characters, and artwork from hell. However, the best manga and anime are true gems that should not be missed --- little portals into other worlds that will entertain, educate, and delight.

This list contains most of the Japanese releases of Anime (Animations) from 1963 until 1996. I'll try go get more info about the releases from 1996 to this year (1997) and keep this list up-to-date! If you think I missed a release,please leave me a message with the name and the year of release and after verification, I'll add it to the timeline a.s.a.p.


Timeline of Animation Releases in Japan

1963
Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy)
Tetsujin 28 (Gigantor)
8-Man (TOBOR, the Eighth Man)
Jungle Taitei (Kimba, the White Lion)

1967-1970
TV Series and Specials
Mach GoGoGo (Speed Racer)
Ribun no Kishi (Princess Knight)
Dororo

Movies and OVA's
1001 Nights
Cleopatra

1971-1974 
TV Series and Specials
Lupin III
Gatchaman
Devilman
Mazinger Z
Cutey Honey
Cashaan
Getta Robo G
Great Mazinger
Space Cruiser Yamato

Movies and OVA's
Panda Ko Panda (Miyazaki)
Mazinger Z vs. Devilman


1975-1978 
TV Series and Specials

Brave Raideen 
Jetta Mars
Captain Harlock
Galaxy Express 999
Gatchaman II
Space Cruiser Yamato II
Tekkaman
Time Bokan
Grandizer
Lupin III Series 2
Captain Future

Movies and OVA's
Great Mazinger vs Getta Robo G
Yamato I Movie version
Gatchaman Movie version
Arrevederci Yamato

1979-1982 
TV Series and Specials
Mobile Suit Gundam
Macross 
Doraemon
Gatchaman F
New Tetsuwan Atom
Space Cruiser Yamato 3
Endless Road SSX
Yamato: The New Voyage Special
New Tetsujin 28
Yamato III
GoLion (Voltron)
Doctor Slump
Queen Millennia
Urusei Yatsura
Mysterious Cities of Gold (Esteben)

Movies and OVA's
Triton of the Sea
Conen movie (Miyazaki)
Galaxy Express 999 Movie
Lupin III Castle Cagliostro
Orpheus (Winds of Change)
Adieu Galaxy Express 999
Phoenix 2772
Toward the Terra
Yamato: Be Forever
Cyborg 009 Super Galaxy
Mobile Suit Gundam 1
Mobile Suit Gundam 2
Baldios (Space Warrior Baldios)
Queen Millennia Movie
Mobile Suit Gundam 3
My Youth in Arcadia
Cobra movie
Godmars Movie

1983-1986 
TV Series and Specials
Votoms
Orguss
Mospeada
Cats Eye
Lupin III Series 3
Giant Gorg
The Southern Cross
Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the Northstar)
Lensman
Z Gundam TV - ZZ Gundam
Maison Ikkoku
Dragonball
Dirty Pair
Saint Seiya
Transformers 2010

Movies and OVA's
Project A-ko 1
Genma Taisen (Harmegeddon)
Urusei Yatsura: Only You
Final Yamato
Golgo 13
Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer
Nausicaa
Macross: Do You Remember Love?
Lensman
Urusei Yatsura 3: Remember My Love
Dagger of Kamui
Megazone 23
Goshogun: The Time ...tranger
Night on the Galactic Railroad
Leda: Fantastic Adventure of Yohko
Angel's Egg
Urusei Yatsura 4: Lum the Forever
Ai City
Laputa: Castle in the Sky

1986-1989 
TV Series and Specials
Hokuto no Ken II
Saint Seiya
CIty Hunter TV - City Hunter 2
Machine Robo
Kimagure Orange Road
Lemon Angel - Lemon Angel 2
Saint Elmo's Fire Special
Samuraii Troopers
Transformers Masterforce
Borgman
What's Michael
New Topo Gigo
Patlabor
Ranma 
Dragonball Z

Movies and OVA's
Totoro of the Neighborhood
Dirty Pair Movie
Wings of Honneamis
Monster City (Wicked City)
Minna Agechau
Meikyo Monogatari (Manie-Manie)
Urusei Yatsura 5 (Urusei Yatsura Final)
Maison Ikkoku
Patlabor Movie 1
Megazone 23 part 3
Gundam: Char's Counterattack
Grave of the Fireflies
Akira
Orange Road: To Return to that Day
Gundam: War in the Pocket
Rhea Gall Force
Kiki's Delivery Service
One Pound Gospel

1990-1992 
TV Series and Specials
Nadia
Yawara
Shurato
Chibi Maruko-chan
Laughing Salesman
Cyber Formula
New Minky Momo
New Getta Robo G
Tekkaman Blade
Sailor Moon TV (Japan)
Tetsujin 28 FX
The Simpsons on Japanese TV

Movies and OVA's
Dirty Pair: Conspiracy of Flight 005
Devilman 2
Angel Cop
Cyber City OEDO 808
AKo the Vs (Grey Side, Blue Side)
Gundam F91
Gundam 0083
Roujin Z
Omoide Poro-Poro
Record of Lodoss Wars

Urusei Yatsura 6
Bubblegum Crash
Sukeban Deka
Otaku no Video
Giant Robo the Animation
Macross II
Porco Rosso
Video Girl Ai
Tenchi Muyo

1993-1995 

TV Series and Specials

V Gundam
Sailor Moon R
Ghost Sweeper Mikami
Irresponsible Captain Tylor
Blue Seed
G Gundam
Marmalade Boy
Sailor Moon S
Red Riding Hood Cha-Cha
Rayearth
Macross 7
DNA2
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Tenchi Muyo TV
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

Movies and OVA's
Moldiver
Ninja Scroll
Patlabor Movie 2
Ah! My Goddess
New Dominion Tank Police
Cat Girl Nuku Nuku
Please Save My Earth
Genocyber
Combustable Campus Guardress
Macross Plus
Iria
You're Under Arrest
New Demon Beast Invasion
Ghost in the Shell
Whispers of the Heart
Yamato 2520
Super Atragon
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 8th Mobile Suit Team
Gunsmith Cats

1996 
TV Series and Specials

Sailor Moon Super S
Vision of Escaflowne
Bakuetsu Hunter
Beat X
Birdy the Mighty
Gundam X
Slayers Next
Dragonball GT

Movies and OVA's
Memories
MD Geist 2
Power Dolls
Toshinden
Burn Up W!
X (1999) 

As you can see this list is rather big and I think new Anime releases are coming every year, so this one might grow even bigger and takes longer to load ^_^

You already know anime and manga from above. Here are some other, re-occurring words and phrases you'll come across while watching anime or talking about it with friends.
Some of these words or phrases have been mentioned before in The Anime Dictionary.

1.	Baka!	"You're stupid!"
2.	Chara	character
3.	Chibi	Short, tiny. A chibi character may naturally resemble a super-deformed character, where the entire body has a smaller, squashed, cuter appearance.
4.	Dojinshi	Generally fan stories pertaining to a specific series. Could also be any series specific fan art.
5.	Hentai	Abnormality. Sexual perversion. Used also to describe a certain class of anime, manga or otaku (as in "H-Anime").
6.	Idol	(a) Certain people and characters transcend being something that you're a fan of. When you start worshipping them, adorning yourself in their image, collecting dolls, images or cards of the character, they've become your idol. (b) Singers with a major role in a series (Minmei from Macross for example).
7.	Japanimation	American slang for for Japanese animation. Similar to other less than ideal contractions like "blaxsploitation" and "teensploitation." It's best to either to use the full "Japanese animation" or shorter "anime." Don't talk about "Japanimation" to an otaku.
8.	Kawaii	cute
9.	Henshin	Transformation. Used to describe the sub-genre of special-effects shows featuring super-hero transformations (Kamen Rider or Metal Heroes). Also used to describe transforming mecha (Henshin Robo).
10.	Mecha	Just about anything mechanical: weapons, vehicles, robots, but usually not items like pencil sharpeners or ceiling fans.
11.	Nani?	"What?"
12.	Nihon	Japan.
13.	Otaku	Anime fanboy or fangirl. Generally a good thing in America, apparently closer to being a geek in Japan. If you're wondering if you've become an otaku take a look at Are you an Otaku?
14.	OAV/OVA	Original Video Animation: an anime direct to video release, anime made only for the video market. Direct to video releases are common in Japan, while still a rarity in America. Unlike the US, where Direct to video movies are still often seen as a reprieve from what would've been a disastrous theatrical release, OVA's in Japan can be big events unto themselves.
15.	Seiyuu	Anime voice actor or actress.
16.	Sentai	Task-force. Used to describe the task-force genre of live action TV series, including Zyuranger/MMPowerRangers and DaiRanger. Some American fans have been known to use this as a synonym for special-effects shows when they really mean to use tokusatsu.
17.	Tokusatsu	Special-effects. As one might use it in English, tokusatsu is used to describe a super-category of live action super-hero shows (Kamen Rider/Masked Rider or Zyuranger/MMPowerRangers) and giant monster movies (Godzilla or Mothra).

Dictionary of common terms or acronyms used when discussing manga or anime with Otaku. Sometimes you wished you never did (^_^)

1.	5IF	(lit. Fifth Invasion Force) 1) A group of aliens which all resemble really cute girls which some Otaku believe have already taken over the world. "Previous invasion forces, the 1IF, 2IF, etc. tried to use superior physical strength, super technology, or other advantages to invade the world. Needless to say, they failed. The 5IF which utilized their cuteness, were successful. Look at all of reality (the Anime world) for proof."
2.	Aberration	1) An instance of "temporary insanity", in which the Otaku considers not being an Otaku, but discards once he "comes to his senses". "The other day I had an Aberration, but it quickly passed."
3.	Action	1) Something taking place within an Anime, or at a major Otaku convention. 2) "non-action" - something taking place outside of Otakudom, or solely in "real life" and therefore having no bearing to a true Otaku. "Paying your taxes is a non-action."
4.	AD	1) "lit. After Death of Tezuka Osama" - A date system in which the year AD 0 begins at the death of "the father of Anime/Manga", and goes on from there.
5.	Alive	(Live, living) - 1) Being an Otaku. "I will be alive until I depart."
6.	Angry	1) Someone who doesn't like Anime or Manga. "He's a very angry person inside."
7.	Anime	1) Animated episode, movie, or the like. These resemble Disney animated movies for the most part, only are many steps above Disney for a number of reasons.
8.	AO	1) Advanced Organization. Refers to any Otaku circle or organization or one dedicated to discussing, collecting, or creating manga or anime. "CLAMP is an AO. The US House of Representatives or the Office of the President is not."
9.	Ascended / "grown up"	1) An otaku or circle member who has no RL. Sometimes sarcastic, but some otaku consider it a compliment. "I guess I've finally grown up, I don't have anything to do other than watch Anime."
10.	B -	1) B-type blood. 2) (lit. Bureau) - The intelligence and counterintelligence arm of many Otaku circles. Generally refers to the member charged intelligence gather and infiltration. "Our 'B' turned up dead one day with a bullet in his head. Since then, no one's wanted to take over the position."
11.	Bishoujo, Bijin	1) A pretty girl.
12.	BIS	1) When used as a prefix to a number, it means the number of members in an Otaku circle. "Last I checked it was 42 BIS."
13.	Book one	1) A manga Otaku's favorite manga. "For me, Book one is def- inately Ranma 1/2."
14.	Bootlegger	(BL) 1) An unscrupulous individual who sells fan subs, or copied commercial releases for profit.
15.	Buzz	1) Babble on about something irrelevant, whine. "Don't buzz on about having to eat. I just don't care. Talk about reality."
16.	Circle	1) A close-knit group of friends with similar interests. "In Japan, there are many different types of Circles, manga/anime circles, production circles, drawing/art circles, lolicon circles, political circles, tennis circles, weapon/gun circles, and so on."
17.	-chan<	1) Almost always insulting when used between equals. 2) Endearing personal suffix, used between lovers, parents talking to children, or between girls.
18.	Con	- 1) Convention. (literally to deceive or convince by underhanded methods).
19.	Clear	To remove all resistance. "We cleared out the TV room in the public library and then finally were able to use it to get some work done."
20.	Clunker	(literally car, computer) 1) An aged VCR or LD player.
21.	Crook	(crooked, cranky, criminal) - Someone that dislikes Otaku-ism or anime/manga. "Obviously, the solution is to build jails and, once caught, put the criminals into them."
22.	Cycle	1) Day. "Help! Get me some Food! I haven't seen UY in 3 cycles! I'm dying!"
23.	Die	1) Stop being an Otaku. "Jake almost died the other day, but I managed to keep him alive by offering to let him borrow my Usagi blow-up doll." 2) Leave a circle. "We've had two people in a circle die in the last month! Something's got to be done!"
24.	Dispatch	1) Neutralize or destroy. Generally refers to vehicles/machines and not people.
25.	Doujinshi	1) A magazine-type publication with borrows characters from well known manga or anime, but has original stories.
26.	Ecchi	(H) 1) Perverted, having sexual content. "This issue of Ranma is definitely Ecchi, very H."
27.	Enlightened	1) Understands otaku-speak. "After talking with the club a little bit, I was sure I was surrounded by enlightened individuals."
28.	Grease	1) Money, funding, dues. "Sure, I can ack you some Lunatic Party Doujinshi. But I'll need some extra grease on the side."
29.	Hammer Down	1) "Go for it" - give it all you've got. 2) "Speed up!"
30.	Hentai	1) Pervert, perverted. "Don't be so hentai!"
31.	Ii na	1) yes, that's right, good luck, okay, ..., very dependent on context.
32.	Incog	1) Offbeat, unusual, strange, abnormal. "Some otaku believe that all bodily needs such as bathing, deodorant, eating, drinking, and exercise are 'incog'."
33.	Iscandar	1) A prison-planet from "Star Blazers", an old Anime. A really bad place. "I'd rather go to Iscandar than fight that thing!"
34.	Iya, Iya-da!	1) No, no way, I'm not (doing that).
35.	John	1) A lone cop. 2) "Big John" - Federal agents, or the government in general.
36.	Joke	1) Real Life. "That new guy is so hung up in the joke he can't just enjoy reality (Anime)."
37.	Juice	1) Power, electricity. "The power company cut the juice to my house so I can't watch Anime anymore."
38.	Kososhiseneruu	1) lit. "go to sleep and shit in your pants". Extremely insulting. Use with caution.
39.	Kuso	(literally "shit") 1) "Damn", as in "Damn it!".
40.	Level 5	1) The highest level that an Otaku can reach, something that many aspire too. At this "level of existance" the Otaku professes to living in a total anime-based world.
41.	Lolicon	1) Lolita complex. "When the FBI busted our Lolicon circle, I sold out and ratted on all my friends."
42.	Manga	1) Japanese "comics". Unlike american comics, everything is done by a single author (most of the time), and they have a mainstream following. Though its becoming less uncommon for authors to have assistants. For instance Kakinouchi Narumi has her husband help her draw parts of her manga's. Manga accounts for 30% of all book sales in Japan. (Bunko, Takoubon are compilations of manga).
43.	Mecha	1) Giant robot. 2) Any type of cool-looking vehicle. 3) "mechamecha" - totally messed up.
44.	Mon	(literally "man") 1) "Man", as in "Oh man! This sucks."
45.	NB	Nosebleed.
46.	Neko	(literally "cat") 1) Submissive, as in a submissive partner. "I'm not your cat!"
47.	Obasan	1) Old lady. Insulting.
48.	Offload	1) Expel, get rid off. Nicer way of saying "die". "Ben refused to pay his dues twice, so he was offloaded by our circle."
49.	Otenba	(Otenpa) 1) Tomboy.
50.	Pop	1) To kill someone with a gun. "The John (cop) wasn't letting up, till Benny popped him with a .44."
51.	Prowler	1) A police car, a cop, the law. "Ned, who had the largest collection of pirate and bootleg tapes: he got into trouble one day with the prowlers and was never seen from again."
52.	Race	1) Real life. "Why should I run the race when I can watch anime all day?"
53.	Rabbit Ears	1) A coded warning that a cop is nearby. "We were about to drop off the Son May CDs but then our watcher yelled 'rabbit ears!' and we had to abort."
54.	Reality	1) The collective world of all anime and manga ever made. "Sure, so a crank told you so-and-so. But in reality, what is the answer? Hmm?"
55.	Rot	1) Laser rot. Old LDs tend to turn yellow and degrade in picture quality over time. Newer ones supposedly don't do this.
56.	Sailor Moon	(BSSM, SM) 1) Bishoujo Senshi Sera Muun (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon), a popular manga aimed at younger girls, aged 6 to 14.
57.	-sama - (o-)	1) Honorable prefix/suffix. respected, big, ...
58.	Screamer	A police car, especially one with the siren on. "Ain't the guy in that screamer weird? He runs his siren just for company."
59.	Seinen	1) Manga aimed at adult men, like salary men.
60.	Service Shot	1) A sequence in Anime that "does service to hentai fan boys". That is totally meaningless regarding the plot and story, but depicts naked girls, sex, rape, or such. "In my club the prez was a total Hentai, he'd always slow-step through Ami's Transformation sequence and other service shots. "
61.	Self-determination [lacking in]	1) Dislikes Anime. "Sure, I tried showing Harry UY, only to find he was rather lacking in Self-determination. He's just another Crook."
62.	Shoujo - (Shojo) -	1) Manga aimed at young girls. 2) A girl.
63.	Shonen	1) Manga aimed at young boys. Generally the most popular genre.
64.	SO	1) Sell out. If an illegal circle is broken, sometimes members will sell out and rat on their friends in exchange for immunity or lax/reduced prosecution. "When a circle is broken, the first guy to SO generally gets the sweetest deal."
65.	Stone	1) Similar to "rock" in english, a planet. 2) "Third stone" - Earth.
66.	TR	(lit. "True Reality") 1) Canon, actually happened in the official manga/anime; in the Otaku "world". "It is not TR that Marumo kissed Ami, just b'cos so-and-so's Fanfic said so." 2) A part of the Otaku mindset. "So what if Clinton says I must pay taxes. It's not TR, so I won't."
67.	Urusei Yatsura	(UY) Urusei Yatsura. A shonen series, sci-fi/romance/ humor which is historically the most popular Anime (when it was being shown).
68.	Wash Up	1) Not admit being an Otaku. "I'm going on a date tonight. Gotta wash up."
69.	Wet	1) The part of a machine that still maintains some humanity. 2) "Wet- ware", software to make a robot seem more human. 3) Having to do with people in general. 4) "Wet Work" - Assassination. "After doing Wet Work for my circle the third time, it stopped bothering me."
70.	Work	1) Watch Anime. "Sure I'd love to go on a date, Miss, but I gotta go home and work."
71.	Yasashii	1) Easy.

There are two types - Anime (cartoons) and Manga (comics), both with their merits and flaws. Ignore Manga Video's usage of the name - they made a mistake when doing that, although Manga Books is appropriate. Anime and Manga are as diverse as each other - science fiction, drama, fantasy, modern life, etc, like films and books and they also resemble this; some anime inspire manga, while some manga inspire anime, like films give rise to books (The Abyss) and books give rise to films (Jurassic Park). There are also anime or manga versions of popular video games, but these are much better than the film and book equivalents (Street Fighter the movie compared to Street Fighter the animated movie.... 'nuff said.)

The same as books and films, anime and manga are similarly related; manga is normally much more complex than it's anime counterparts, where as the anime is more easily accessible and more visually appealing (Akira.... you try reading all the manga volumes!)

For further information, Helen McCarthy's book is excellent if you want to find out more. Her first book covers Anime in general and her second gives a list of almost every anime made from 1985 onwards.

There are some terms you may encounter - here's a brief list of the most common ones...

1.	Anime	Japanese cartoons in general.
2.	Bishounen	'beautiful boy'. This is artwork which has anhydrogenus male characters (blokes who look a bit like women). CLAMP is the main studio producing this type of work.
3.	Bishoujo	'beautiful girl'.
4.	Chibi - Child's body	the head is proportionally larger than the body, just like a baby's or small child's. (Often abbreviated to CB)
5.	Chan	suffix added to a word meaning 'darling' or 'little one'.
6.	Ecchi	mildly perverted.. like a 'Carry On' film. Or for you American viewers, mildly sexually based, based more on smut rather than things of an actual full sexual nature.
7.	Hentai	erotic, or sexual in nature. A stronger version of ecchi and is what has given anime and manga a bad name in general over here. (Urotsukidoji, Adventure Kid, etc.)
8.	Kawaii	cute in general. Includes Super deformed or other related themes.
9.	Manga	literally 'irresponsible pictures' (in the kanji writing that is). Comic books.
10.	Mecha	any powered armour suit, robot, or fighting vehicle. Can be used to describe the style of the anime/manga, or the actual machines themselves.
11.	OAV	Original Animation Video. Basically not a TV series of the anime, or a big screen movie. Think of it as a TV movie. This is what is normally found on videos here.
12.	OST	Original SoundTrack. Sound track for the anime.
13.	Otaku	Obsessive fan of anything; in this context, a Japanese derogatory term for anime fanatics. Some people in the West use it without any attached meaning though.
14.	Shojo	Japanese for girl: usually used to describe a style of manga. Shojo manga are drawn in a flowery, pretty, romantic style, and concentrated on romantic/emotional subjects. (ie, if you're anything like me, make sure there's a bucket nearby to vomit in...)
15.	Shonen	Japanese for boy. Normally action/adventure based.
16.	Super Deformed	another word for Chibi. Usually abbreviated to SD.
17.	Yakuza	the Japanese mafia.