Knowing almost all Winglicamembers are anime fanatics, our being otakus is emphasized more by our ’smilies’ in instant messaging (IM) conversations. Have you ever wondered where these smilies came from and how they came about? well, look no further! Here is a site I found featuring origins of smileys, with guides and other links of other types of smilies you could use on IM’s.

As for this article, I am focusing more on the anime ascii smileys. To check out more information, click here to go to the The Smiley Guide website.

I don’t know about others, but most of the stuff found below are new to me. Maybe we can use them in our IM’s soon!

Anime has spawned one of the largest sub cultures on the net as it stands today, it has a massive fan base and although there are chat rooms for everything nowadays, anime has more than Anime is not to everyones taste but I love it! it’s fair share. Along with this massive influx in chatting, web building, emailing etc etc, the anime culture also has it’s own unique ascii emoticons used amongst it’s fans.

Unlike western ascii smileys where the emphasis is often in the mouth, anime ascii smileys have their emphasis in the eyes of the emoticon. left and right brackets frame the face and the smileys are read as they are seen, from top to bottom. Users often add arms and / or hands by using < and > either side of the emote like so <(o_O)>

If you see any errors in link and content, pls. inform us asap.

Romajization: To indicate double length in certain words, I will use ‘ou’ instead of ‘o’ with a bar on top. Also, please note that the Japanese language has varying degree of politeness, meaning what may be an appropriate word to say to your friend, may be disrespectful when said to an older person. So please use caution. I’ll include versions of the same phrase in polite form. Also, the single ‘n’ is retained as is, and not interchanged with ‘m’ or ‘ng’. For more info on this, please read Pronouncing the Single N.

1. Abunai – unreliable, dangerous, critical; used to describe a certain circumstance or as a warning when exclaimed which means ‘Look out!’
2. Achira – there, yonder, that; used to point to far away directions or places.
3. Ai – love; can also be used as a prefix for related words like aijou (affection/beloved daugther), aikouka (lover), aikata (sadness & joy), among others.
4. Akuma – devil; or to describe a person that acts like one; the word oni can also be used and means the same thing.
5. Arigatou – ‘Thank you’; the polite form is arigatou gozaimasu.
6. Atarashii – new.
7. Atode – afterwards.
8. Baka – idiot or fool; one of the most commonly used words; the closest English translation would be ‘You fool!’ or ‘You idiot!’ .
9. Chigau – literally it means ‘to differ from’ but when exclaimed it can be used to say ‘You’re mistaken!’ or ‘You’re wrong!’; polite form would be chigaimasu.
10. Chikara – force, strength, energy, power.
11. Chotto matte – ‘Wait a moment’; the polite form is chotto matte kudasai.
12. Daijobu – ok; used to denote a state of well-being; polite form is daijobu desu.
13. Dakara – so, thefore.
14. Dakedo – however.
15. Dakishimeru – to hug someone tight; to hold someone close.
16. Doko – where; a question by itself; can be doko e? or doko desu ka?.
17. Dame – not good; can also be used to mean ’something unacceptable’ or ‘This will not do’.
18. Dare – who; can be used as a question; polite form is dare desu ka?.
19. Datte – because.
20. Demou – but.
21. Gaki – brat or kid; usually said in annoyance.
22. Ganbatte ne! – do your best or do a good job; also used when wishing someone good luck; it’s polite form is ganbatte kudasai and base form is ganbaru which means ‘I will work hard’ or ‘I will do my best.’
23. Hahaoya – mother; polite form; used to address one’s mother.
24. Hanami – cherry-blossom viewing.
25. Hai – yes; polite form is hai, sou desu (yes, it is so.).
26. Hayaku – hurry; the English translation would be ‘Hurry up!’.
27. Hentai – pervert; usually exclaimed by females when they feel a man has ‘dishonourable intentions’ ^^.
28. Hidoi – terrible or harsh; when said, it can mean ‘How cruel!’ or ‘How horrible!’.
29. Hime – princess; polite form is o-himesama.
30. Hontou – truth, reality; when spoken as hontou ni can mean ‘really’ or if hontou ni? can mean ‘really?’.
31. Hoshi – star.
32. Hoshii – wanted, wished for, desired.
33. Iie – no; it’s polite form is ‘iie’ plus the negative statement of what is being asked.
34. Iku – to go; forms would be ikimasu (I’m going), ikimashou (I shall be going) or ikimashou ka? (Will you be going?).
35. Isshoni – together; together with.
36. Itadakimasu – usually said just before eating; I don’t know the English translation but the French would be ‘Bon appetit!’.
37. Itai – painful.
38. Itsu – when or how soon; deviations include itsumo (forever/always), itsudemo (any time), itsugoro (about when).
39. Kakoi – good-looking or ‘cool’; one of the many fangirl words. ^^
40. Kami – can be used to say either paper or hair.
41. Kamisama – god.
42. Kanashii – sad or sorrowful; other forms are kanashimi (sadness/grief) or kanashimu (to be sad).
43. Kawaii – cute; in my opinion, the most used word in Japanese anime ^^.
44. Kawaisou – pitiful, poor or pathetic; often misinterpreted as having the same meaning as kawaii but they mean different things.
45. Kimochi – feelings, sensation, mood; can be combined with other related words such as kimochiii which means ‘good feeling’ or ‘feeling good’.
46. Kirei – beautiful or pretty.
47. Kochira – this way; used to point to directions or places that are near the speaker; as an exclamation, it is ‘This way!’
48. Kodomo – child.
49. Kokoro – heart; it can also mean mind or spirit.
50. Konnichiwa – ‘Good day’; used to greet someone; from the root word konnichi which means ‘today’.
51. Kotoba – word/s, language or speech
52. Kuso – profanity; English translation would be ‘Shit!’.
53. Mada – still or yet; can also mean ‘Not yet’.
54. Mahou – magic, witchcraft or sorcery.
55. Makenai – in its literal term, it means ‘I won’t lose!’; its base form is makeru.
56. Mamoru – to protect, to obey or to guard.
57. Mattaku – really, truly; usually used to express exasperation.
58. Matta ne! – ‘See you!’; a preferable phrase than sayonara because it denotes that the meeting will be soon rather than far off in the future; can also be interchanged with ja ne!; other deviations would be matta ashita (see you tomorrow) or matta raishu (see you next week).
59. Mou – already, again; when exclaimed can be ‘Enough’ or a sign of exasperation.
60. Nakama – groupmate, partner, associate, circle or friends.
61. Naruhodo – ‘I see’ or “Now I know’; can also mean ‘indeed’.
62. Ohayou – ‘Good morning’; used as a greeting; its polite form is ohayou gozaimasu.
63. Oishii – delicious or tasty.
64. Okaasan – mother; polite form; can also be reidou.
65. Okaeri – English translation is ‘ Welcome home!’; polite form is okaerinasai.
66. Oneesan – older sister; polite form; can also be ane, neesan, aneki (used if close to sibling), aneue.
67. Onegai – ‘Please’; can also be used when asking a favor from someone; the polite form is onegaishimasu.
68. Onigiri – Japanese riceball.
69. Oniisan – older brother; polite form, can also be aniki (used if close to sibling), anigo or kakei.
70. Onna – a woman.
71. Otoko – a man.
72. Otousan – father; polite form.
73. Ouji – prince; polite form is oujisama.
74. Oyasumi – ‘Goodnight’; used to wish someone goodnight usually before sleeping; its polite form is oyasuminasai.
75. Ryoukai – understanding or comprehension; English translation would be ‘I understand’, ‘Got it!’ or even ‘Roger!’.
76. Sabishii – lonely or lonesome.
77. Sakura – cherry blossom; a sacred flower in Japan and it blooms only once a year; the event is celebrated in a Sakura Festival with parades and picnics.
78. Sayonara – ‘Goodbye’; apart from its popular meaning, this usually denotes a ‘final’ goodbye, meaning that the one it is said to won’t see the other person for a very long time yet.
79. Senpai – an upper-class man, superior, elder; used to address someone of a higher level, usually in school.
80. Shiawase – happiness or good fortune; can be a prefix for other words like shiawasemono which means fortunate person.
81. Shimatta – profanity; English translation would be ‘Damn it!’
82. Shinjite – to believe, to put your trust in someone or something; has different forms like shinjitsu (truth/ reality), shinjou (true feeling) or shinjiru (to place trust in).
83. Soshite – and
84. Sou – so, really, seeming; polite form is sou desu (It is so); forms include sou desu ne? (Don’t you agree?) or sou desu ka? (Is it so?).
85. Sugoi – great or amazing; it is used to express pleasure or amazement at something; polite forms are sugoi desu! (It’s great!) or sugoi desu ne? (It’s great, isn’t it?).
86. Tadaima – English translation is ‘ I’m home!’ or ‘Here I am!’.
87. Taihen – awful, dreadful; used when describing a predicament or situation; the closest English equivalent is ‘I/We have a problem!’ or ‘Something awful has happened!’; polite form is taihen desu.
88. Tatakai – battle or combat; in its verb form it is tatakau which means ‘I will fight!’.
89. Tenshi – angel; can also mean heavenly or imperial gift.
90. Tomodachi – friend.
91. Totemo – very, awfully, exceedingly.
92. Tsubasa – wings; a word that’s prevailent in anime, especially CLAMP works ^^.
93. Umai – tasty; can be used instead of oishii but can also mean ‘clever’ or ’skillful’.
94. Ureshii – happy or glad; other forms include ureshinamida (tears of joy).
95. Uso – a lie; polite form would be ‘Uso desu’; deviations are usobuku (to exaggerate), usotsuki (liar) or usohappyaku (full of lies).
96. Yakusoku – arrangement or promise; young people sometimes interwine their little finger with another persons’ to seal their promise.
97. Yare – as an expression it means ‘Oh!’ or ‘Oh dear!’; it is also sometimes said twice in emphasis, as in ‘Yare, yare!’.
98. Yasashii – easy, plain or simple; can be used to describe a situation, event or thing.
99. Yume – dream.
100. Zettai – absolute or unconditional; can have forms of zettaichi (absolute value) among others.

That all for now! ^^ I might make a second part of this soon to cover more words I haven’t included here. Hopefully, I can find the time. ^^

Originally compiled and edited by Darrin Bright and Ryan Shellito. I did not write these; the laws are just so hilarious that we wanted to to share this article with you. ^^

1. Law of Metaphysical Irregularity – The normal laws of physics do not apply.
2. Law of Differentiated Gravitation – Whenever someone or something jumps, is thrown, or otherwise is rendered airborn, gravity is reduced by a factor of 4.
3. Law of Sonic Amplification, First Law of Anime Acoustics – In space, loud sounds, like explosions, are even louder because there is no air to get in the way.
4. Law of Constant Thrust, First Law of Anime Motion – In space, constant thrust equals constant velocity.
5. Law of Mechanical Mobility, Second Law of Anime Motion – The larger a mechanical device is, the faster it moves. Armored Mecha are the fastest objects known to human science.
6. Law of Temporal Variability – Time is not a constant. Time stops for the hero whenever he does something ‘cool’ or ‘impressive’. Time slows down when friends and lovers are being killed and speeds up whenever there is a fight.
7. First Law of Temporal Mortality – ‘Good Guys’ and ‘Bad Guys’ both die in one of two ways. Either so quick they don’t even see it coming, OR it’s a long drawn out affair where the character gains much insight to the workings of society, human existence or why the toast always lands butter side down.
8. Second Law of Temporal Mortality – It takes some time for bad guys to die… regardless of physical damage. Even when the ‘Bad Guys’ are killed so quickly they didn’t even see it coming, it takes them a while to realize they are dead. This is attributed to the belief that being evil damages the Reality Lobe of the brain.
9. Law of Dramatic Emphasis – Scenes involving extreme amounts of action are depicted with either still-frames or black screens with a slash of bright color (usually red or white).
10. Law of Dramatic Multiplicity – Scenes that only happen once, for instance, a ‘Good Guy’ kicks the ‘Bad Guy’ in the face, are seen at least 3 times from 3 different angles.
11. Law of Inherent Combustability – Everything explodes. Everything.
• First Corollary – Anything that explodes bulges first.
• Second Corollary – Large cities are the most explosive substances known to human science. Tokyo in particular seems to be the most unstable of these cities, sometimes referred to as ‘The Matchstick City’.
12. Law of Phlogistatic Emission – Nearly all things emit light from fatal wounds.
13. Law of Energetic Emission – There is alway an energy build up (commonly referred to as an energy ‘bulge’) before Mecha or space craft weapons fire. Because of the explosive qualities of weapons, it is believed that this is related to the Law of Inherent Combustability.
14. Law of Inverse Lethal Magnitude – The destructive potential of a weapon is inversly proportional to its size.

First Corollary – Small and cute will always overcome big and ugly. Also know as the A-Ko phenomenon.

15. Law of Inexhaustability – No one *EVER* runs out of ammunition. That is of course unless they are cornered, out-numbered, out-classed, and unconscious.
16. Law of Inverse Accuracy – The accuracy of a ‘Good Guy’ when operating any form of fire-arm increases as the difficulty of the shot increases. The accuracy of the ‘Bad Guys’ when operating fire-arms decreases when the difficulty of the shot decreases. (Also known as the Stormtrooper Effect)

Example: A ‘Good Guy’ in a drunken stupor being held upside down from a moving vehicle will always hit, and several battalions of ‘Bad Guys’ firing on a ‘Good Guy’ standing alone in the middle of an open field will always miss.

• First Corollary – The more ‘Bad Guys’ there are, the less likely they will hit anyone or do any real damage.
• Second Corollary – Whenever a ‘Good Guy’ is faced with insurmountable odds, the ‘Bad Guys’ line up in neat rows, allowing the hero to take them all out with a single burst of automatic fire and then escape.
• Third Corollary – Whenever a ‘Good Guy’ is actually hit by enemy fire, it is in a designated ‘Good Guy Area’, usually a flesh wound in the shoulder or arm, which restricts the ‘Good Guy’ from doing anything more strenuous than driving, firing weaponry, using melee weapons, operating heavy machinery, or doing complex martial arts maneuvres.
17. Law of Transient Romantic Unreliability – Minmei is a bimbo.
18. Law of Hemoglobin Capacity – The human body contains over 12 gallons of blood, sometimes more, under high pressure.
19. Law of Demonic Consistency – Demons and other supernatural creatures have at least three eyes, loads of fangs, tend to be yellow-green or brown (but black is not unknown), and can only be hurt by bladed weapons.
20. Law of Militaristic Unreliability – Huge galaxy-wide armadas, entire armies, and large war-machines full of cruel, heartless, bloodthirsty warriors can be stopped and defeated with a single insignificant example of a caring/loving emotion or a song.
21. Law of Tactical Unreliability – Tactical geniuses aren’t….
22. Law of Inconsequential Undetectability – People never notice the little things… Like missing body parts, or wounds the size of Seattle.
23. Law of Juvenile Intellectuality – Children are smarter than adults. And almost always twice as annoying.
24. Law of Americanthropomorphism – Americans in Anime appear in one of two roles, either as a really nasty skinny ‘Bad Guy’ or a big stupid ‘Good Guy’.
• First Corollary – The only people who are more stupid than the big dumb Americans are the American translators. (Sometimes referred to as the Green Line Effect.)
• Second Corollary – The only people who are more stupid than the American translators are the American editors and censors.
25. Law of Mandibular Proportionality (from A. Hicks) – The size of a person’s mouth is directly proportional to the volume at which they are speaking or eating.
26. Law of Feline Mutation (from A. Hicks) – Any half-cat/half-human mutation will invariably:
• be female
• will possess ears and sometimes a tail as a genetic mutation,
• and wear as little clothing as possible, if any.
27. Law of Conservation of Firepower (from U. Williams) – Any powerful weapon capable of destroying/defeating an opponent in a single shot will invariably be reserved and used only as a last resort.
28. Law of Technological User-Benevolence (from U. Williams) – The formal training required to operate a spaceship or mecha is inversely proportional to its complexity.
29. Law of Melee Luminescence (from U. Williams) – Any being displaying extremely high levels of martial arts prowess and/or violent emotions emits light in the form of a glowing aura. This aura is usually blue for ‘good guys’ and red for ‘bad guys’. This is attributed to Good being higher in the electromagnetic spectrum than Evil.
30. Law of Non-anthropomorphic Antagonism (from U. Williams) – All ugly, non-humanoid alien races are hostile, and usually hell-bent on destroying humanity for some obscure reason.
31. Law of Follicular Chroma Variability (from Spellweaver) – Any color in the visible spectrum is considered a natural hair color. This color can change without warning or explanation.
32. Law of Follicular Permanence – Hair in anime is pretty much indestructable, and can resist any amount of meteorological conditions, energy emissions, physical abuse, or explosive effects and still look perfect. The only way to hurt someone’s hair is the same way you deal with demons… with bladed weapons!
33. Law of Topological Aerodynamics, First Law of Anime Aero-Dynamics – *ANY* shape, no matter how convoluted or odd-looking, is automatically aerodynamic.
34. Law of Probable Attire – Clothing in anime follows certain predictable guidelines.
    Female characters wear as little clothing as possible, regardless of whether it is socially or meteorologically appropriate. Any female with an excessive amount of clothing will invariably have her clothes ripped to shreds or torn off somehow. If there is no opportunity to tear off the afore-mentioned female’s clothes, then she will inexplicably take a shower for no apparent reason (also known as the Gratuitous Shower Scene).
    Whenever there is a headwind, a Male characters will invariably wear a long cloak which doesn’t hamper movement and billows out dramatically behind him.
• First Corollary (Cryo-Adaptability) – All anime characters are resistant to extremely cold temperatures, and do not need to wear heavy or warm clothing in snow.
• Second Corollary (Indecent Invulnerability) – Bikinis render the wearer invulnerable to any form of damage.
35. Law of Musical Omnipotence – Any character capable of musical talent (singing, playing an instrument, etc.) is automatically capable of doing much more “simple” things like piloting mecha, fighting crime, stopping an intergalactic war, and so on… especially if they have never attempted these things before.
36. Law of Quitupular Aggultination (from Daniel Mikula) – Also called “The Five-man Rule,” when “Good Guys” group together, it tends to be in groups of five. There are five basic positions, which are:
• The Hero/Leader
• His girlfriend
• His Best Friend/Rival
• A Hulking Brute
• A Dwarf/Kid

Between these basic positions are distributed several attributes, which include:

• Extreme Coolness
• Amazing intelligence
• Incredible Irritation
37. Law of Extradimensional Capacitance (from Jason Bustard) – All anime females have an extradimensional storage space of variable volume somewhere on their person from which they can instantly retrieve any object at a moment’s notice.
• First Corollary (The Hammer Rule) – The most common item stored is a heavy mallet, which can be used with unerring accuracy on any male who deserves it. Other common items include costumes/uniforms, power suits/armor, and large bazookas.
38. Law of Hydrostatic Emission – Eyes tend to be rather large in Anime. This is because they contain several gallons of water, which may be instantaneously released at high pressure through large tear ducts. The actual volume of water contained in the eyes is unknown, as there is no evidence to suggest that these reservoirs are actually capable of running out. The reason water tends to collect in the eyes is because Anime characters only have one large sweat gland, which is located at the back of the head. When extremely stressed, embarrassed, or worried, this sweat gland exudes a single but very large drop of sebaceous fluid.
39. Law of Inverse Attraction – Success at finding suitable mates is inversely proportionate to how desperately you want to be successful. The more you want, the less you get.
• First Corollary – Unfortunately, this law seems to apply to Otaku in the real world…
40. Law of Nasal Sanguination (from Ryan Pritchard and Jason Aylen) – When sexually aroused, males in Anime don’t get erections, they get nosebleeds. No one’s sure why this is, though… the current theory suggests that larger eyes means smaller sinuses and thinner sinus tissue (see Law #38 above). Females don’t get nosebleeds, but invariably get one heck of a blush along the cheeks and across the nose, suggesting a lot of bloodflow to that region.
41. Law of Xylolaceration (from Lyndon Harris) – Wooden or bamboo swords are just as sharp as metal swords, if not sharper.
42. Law of Juvenile Omnipotence (from Erin Alia) – Always send a boy to do a man’s job. He’ll get it done in half the time and twice the angst.
43. Law of Quadrotriscadecophobia – There is no Law #43.
44. Law of Nominative Clamovocation (from Luiko-Ysabeth and Adrian Hsiah) – The likelihood of success and damage done by a martial arts attack is directly proportional to the volume at which the full name of the attack is announced.
45. Law of Uninteruptable Metamorphosis (from R. A. Hubby) – Regardless of how long or involved the transformation sequence or how many times they’ve seen it before, any ‘Bad Guys’ witnessing a mecha/hero/heroine transforming are too stunned to do anything to interrupt it.
46. Law of Flimsy Incognition (from Conrad Knauer) – Simply changing into a costume or wearing a teensy mask can make you utterly unrecognizable to even your closest friends and relatives.

Source : http://www.abcb.com/laws/