ACG (subculture)

ACG ("Animation, Comics, and Games") is a term used in some subcultures of Greater China and East Asia. Because there is a strong economic and cultural interlinkage that exists between anime, manga, and games in Japanese and East Asian culture at large, the term ACG is used to describe this phenomenon in relative fields. The term refers in particular to Japanese anime, manga, and video games. The term is not normally translated into Chinese; if the meaning needs to be translated, it is usually "two-dimensional space" (, Èr cìyuán; 2次元)

Etymology
In 1995, a Taiwanese fan of animation and comics using the name "AIplus" established a board at National Sun Yat-sen University's BBS; the board was named the "ACG_Review Board", referring to animation, comics, and games. It is considered the first appearance of the term "ACG". Popularizing by Taiwanese anime and comics critique group Shuffle Alliance, the arrangement of the three letters was stabilized, and the term became popular in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

After light novels, which are often adapted into anime, comics, and video games, became more popular, the term "ACGN" was coined. However, the term ACG is still used in the majority of situations and is generally thought to include light novels even without "N."

In other regions
Japanese do not use the term ACG, though a similar concept is "MAG", meaning "Manga, Anime, and Games". Japanese speakers usually use nijigen (2次元) to refer a series of anime and manga culture (containing light novels and garage kits). The otaku culture (オタク文化) refers to the related subculture, while otaku industry (オタク産業) refers to related industries.

In India, "AVGC" is used instead, meaning "Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics".

Though the term is common in Sinophone-speaking areas and East Asia, it is not prevalent in the Anglosphere.