A guide to the terminology that is frequently used. I’ll try to keep this list up to date.
The explanations may get adjusted and more refined as my studies help me understand the origin of these terms more.
MC- Main Character
ML - Male Lead
FL - Female Lead
Manga - Graphic novels from Japan
Manhwa - Graphic novels from Korea
Manhua - Graphic novels from China
Slice of Life - Genre following everyday activities. Popular in manga, a few examples would be like 'A Sign of Affection' (which I haven’t read yet, but heard amazing things about), or 'Beauty Pop' (which I read in my teens)
Wuxia
- Means “Martial Heroes”. These are the stories about martial arts masters. Examples of books that are available in English translation: 'A Hero is Born by Jin Yong' (part of Legend of the Condor Heroes which all four books have been translated. The sequel series Return of the Condor Heroes is currently being translated.) and 'Eleventh Son by Gu Long'. While researching it was hard to find many translated Wuxia novels. Hopefully with translated novels getting more attention these days accessibility to Wuxia novels will increase.
Xianxia
- Meaning “Immortal Heroes”. This is a genre of fantasy inspired by mythology, philosophy, martial arts, and may include supernatural elements as well. One of the most famous works would be 'Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en'.
Cultivator
- This is a term you will find in Xianxia dramas and fiction. Cultivator stories will often have lots of references to various philosophies like Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It's an area I'm still learning about, but in the books and shows I've watched their cultivation helps them get stronger, have special abilities, and sometimes reach immortality.
Isekai - The main character has been teleported to another world. Isekai is a very popular genre in the world of graphic novels. A popular one that is a graphic novel, light novel, and also been adapted into an anime 'That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime'. Two books that would be considered the grandparents of Isekai are 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'The Wizard of Oz'.
Transmigration - Stories where the main characters through death or some other kind of incident has their soul enter another persons body in a completely different world. A lot of people consider this a subgenre of Isekai. These are very popular in Manhwa where they become a character in a novel, video game, or some other work of fiction. Examples: Villains Are Destined To Die (She wakes up in the body of the Villainess of a dating sim on hard mode), Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion (She's a secondary character from a book).
Regression - This is a form of time travel. But instead of physically going back in time you’re only mentally going back in time. The triggers can be different based on the story, it can be death, a shocking event, a curse, or something yet unknown. Three different examples of this would 'Erased' (manga where the main character returns to their childhood tries to prevent a horrible crime from happening), 'Father, I Don't Want This Marriage' (manhwa about a young woman returned from death to a few years prior, tries to live different this time), and lastly '7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!' (manga about a woman caught in a time loop. Each time she dies she starts over on day she was dumped and sets off to try living a different life this time. Now on her seventh cycle she has picked up an interesting array of skills and is making new choices to try and live past twenty and break the time loop.)
