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I often hear "papa" and "mama" in animes, in situations where they seem to
mean father and mother. Is that so? Are these words borrowed from the Spanish
words "papá" and "mamá", which mean father and mother? Which kanjis do they
use since father for example is also お父さん and I don't think they use the same
kanjis, do they?
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translation meaning usage kanji etymology
Are "papa" and "mama" also used in Japanese as father and mother?
Pa and Ma are very international.

I see many families in Japan who prefer Papa/Mama to お父さん/お母さん

> papa = パパ mama = ママ
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mama = ママ papa = パパ are relatively recent borrowings, always written in
kana,(usually katakana) that exist beside the native terms 母 (haha) and 父
(chichi). In old Japanese, the word for mother 母 would have be pronounced in a
way that sounded more like "papa" (as a bilabial fricative). There are also
the native honorific readings (okaasama, otousama). And [WWWJDIC lists
multiple other readings](http://gengo.com/wwwjdic/cgi-data/wwwjdic?1MDJ%C9%E3)
of the same kanji, either childish (kaka, and toto) or outdated, as well as
the on-yomi (bo and fu).

In anime, ママ パパ, are informal, don't combine with honorifics. Children use
them freely. Older Teenagers and adults are less likely, but it depends on the
particular family dynamic. In adult company, you would be wise not use "mama"
to speak of your own parent (use haha) or someone else's (use okaasan).

It's not clear from which language the words パパ and ママ were borrowed. English,
Portuguese, Dutch and several other European languages use mama and papa (or
close variants). Any or all may have influenced Japanese.
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answer