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kj1980 · 2006-03-23, 13:48

cours / kur (pronounced similar to "Coor" as in the beer "Coors" without the "s" sound)

The lingo "cours / kur" (written in romanization as "kuuru") is a lingo used in the entertainment industry to denote 3 months of air time. In English, it would closely mean "seasons." However, there is a slight difference between broadcast "seasons" used in America versus the "cours / kur" that is used in Japan. Then again, an American "season" roughly mean 24 episodes so the term cannot be used equivocally as well.

The origins of the word "kuuru" is believed to come from the French word "cours" or the German word "kur." Loosely, they both mean the English word "course" and "cure" respectively, meaning "time of course needed for cure/treatment." Although there is no true answer which one is correct, I tend to use the German word "kur" when I write it. Hence from down on, I'll use "kur" as my preference.

Obviously, it's a pun in the entertainment industry. A kur is necessary to see if the show is going to be interesting, and the "treatment" (grabbing viewer ratings) during the "course of run" (airing time of 3 months) becomes a factor whether the show will be continued or dropped for more "cours/kur." However, this doesn't hold true for most anime shows airing late at night since they are slotted to be 1 or 2 kur from the start anyway.

1 kur means 3 months. Hence some shows may have 12 episodes, some may have 13 episodes, and rarely some have 14. There is no specific number of episodes for 1 kur. It's a relative estimate of a division of TV shows into 3 months blocks. While kur maybe similar to the term "season" used in American TV industry, it is somewhat different. A "season" in Japanese entertainment lingo would be "ki." Hence, I would call a kur a subdivision of "season" So let's use this in anime terms.

Shingetsutan Tsukihime had 1 kur totalling 12 episodes
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien had 1 kur totalling 14 episodes
Shakugan no Shana had 2 kur totalling 24 episodes (1st kur: 1-12, 2nd kur: 13-24)
Mai-Otome had 2 kur totalling 26 episodes (1st kur: 1-13, 2nd kur: 14-26)

Getting it? Now let's move on to what I mean by kur as "subdivision of seasons."

Rozen Maiden had 1 kur totalling 12 episodes (1st season)
Rozen Maiden ~traumend~ had 1 kur totalling 12 episodes (2nd season)
Full Metal Panic! had 2 kur totalling 24 episodes (1st season)
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu had 1 kur totalling 11 broadcasted episodes (2nd season or not, depends on how you look at it)
Full Metal Panic! the second raid had 1 kur totalling 13 episodes (3rd season, some prefer to consider Fumoffu as separate and this as 2nd season)

So to answer the question in another thread, Fate stay/night is 1 season with 2 kur totalling 24 episodes.

2006-03-23, 13:48	Link #16
kj1980 Gomen asobase desuwa! Join Date: Nov 2003 Age: 43	cours / kur (pronounced similar to "Coor" as in the beer "Coors" without the "s" sound) The lingo "cours / kur" (written in romanization as "kuuru") is a lingo used in the entertainment industry to denote 3 months of air time. In English, it would closely mean "seasons." However, there is a slight difference between broadcast "seasons" used in America versus the "cours / kur" that is used in Japan. Then again, an American "season" roughly mean 24 episodes so the term cannot be used equivocally as well. The origins of the word "kuuru" is believed to come from the French word "cours" or the German word "kur." Loosely, they both mean the English word "course" and "cure" respectively, meaning "time of course needed for cure/treatment." Although there is no true answer which one is correct, I tend to use the German word "kur" when I write it. Hence from down on, I'll use "kur" as my preference. Obviously, it's a pun in the entertainment industry. A kur is necessary to see if the show is going to be interesting, and the "treatment" (grabbing viewer ratings) during the "course of run" (airing time of 3 months) becomes a factor whether the show will be continued or dropped for more "cours/kur." However, this doesn't hold true for most anime shows airing late at night since they are slotted to be 1 or 2 kur from the start anyway. 1 kur means 3 months. Hence some shows may have 12 episodes, some may have 13 episodes, and rarely some have 14. There is no specific number of episodes for 1 kur. It's a relative estimate of a division of TV shows into 3 months blocks. While kur maybe similar to the term "season" used in American TV industry, it is somewhat different. A "season" in Japanese entertainment lingo would be "ki." Hence, I would call a kur a subdivision of "season" So let's use this in anime terms. Shingetsutan Tsukihime had 1 kur totalling 12 episodes Kimi ga Nozomu Eien had 1 kur totalling 14 episodes Shakugan no Shana had 2 kur totalling 24 episodes (1st kur: 1-12, 2nd kur: 13-24) Mai-Otome had 2 kur totalling 26 episodes (1st kur: 1-13, 2nd kur: 14-26) Getting it? Now let's move on to what I mean by kur as "subdivision of seasons." Rozen Maiden had 1 kur totalling 12 episodes (1st season) Rozen Maiden ~traumend~ had 1 kur totalling 12 episodes (2nd season) Full Metal Panic! had 2 kur totalling 24 episodes (1st season) Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu had 1 kur totalling 11 broadcasted episodes (2nd season or not, depends on how you look at it) Full Metal Panic! the second raid had 1 kur totalling 13 episodes (3rd season, some prefer to consider Fumoffu as separate and this as 2nd season) So to answer the question in another thread, Fate stay/night is 1 season with 2 kur totalling 24 episodes. Last edited by kj1980; 2006-04-10 at 12:23.