Wikipedia:WikiProject Anime and manga/Online reliable sources

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This page contains a list of useful internet resources for writing about anime and manga related topics. It is maintained by the WikiProject Anime and manga. To help editors avoid FUTON bias, similar pages exist for books, magazines, and documentaries. There is no guarantee that sources listed here can be used for a particular purpose, and this page is not a substitute for understanding Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources. Please note that consensus can change, so any sources on this page may be upgraded or downgraded based on further discussion.

A custom search engine courtesy of Gwern, which focuses on the sites listed here and filters out various unusable websites, is available here.^[1]

Instructions for contributors

If you have an additional source you think is reliable, please bring it up on the project talk page so that consensus can be reached regarding its reliability and suitability for use here. If it is determined to be reliable, it will be added to this page. Undiscussed additions will be immediately reverted. Websites which host or link to scanlations, fansubs, or other illegal content will immediately be rejected as copyright violations, so please don't even ask.

Retailers as sources

Retailers are considered reliable sources for release dates and the existence of anime, manga and related products that have already been released. However, other secondary or primary sources—particularly publishers and academic sources—should be used if available. Retailers posting dates for an unannounced title, however, raise a red flag as to the legitimacy of the statement.

Internet polls

Polling on the Internet is inherently easy to manipulate the results. As such, unless the results are quoted by another independent reliable source, the results should not be used—especially to show notability; even when commented by an independent reliable source, it may still be giving undue weight to an inherently unreliable medium and a particular website.

•   The red highlighting is for websites that either have been archived or stopped posting recent updates for 2 years or more. This information can be useful for older series where reception is always welcomed.

General

Genre specific

Academic

• Intersections - Free, online academic journal focusing on East Asian media.
• Paul Gravett: Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga - Paul Gravett's website.
• en.matt-thorn.com - Rachel Thorn's blog, with different articles in English and Japanese. Her old website is archived via the Wayback Machine.
• Mechademia - Published by University of Minnesota Press
• Mindspring.com/~theduffields - Patricia Duffield's website, with an archive of some of her previously published reviews and articles. (Project discussion)
• Anime and Manga Studies Bibliographies - has some useful bibliographies for anime and manga studies, maintained by Mikhail Koulikov, who has a Masters' in librarianship.

Awards

• Shogakukan Manga Award (website) (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• Japan Media Arts Festival (website) - Backed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. A Grand prize is strong evidence of notability; other prizes and recommendations are weak ones. (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• Seiyu Awards (website)

Individuals

Often, individuals whose work automatically qualifies as reliable (because they are published industry experts, qualify as reliable self-published sources, or for other reasons) will write pieces for more than one website, and the RS status of some of the websites they've written for will be up in the air. In these cases, as long as there's no reason to doubt the author is who they say they are, their established RS status will override the website's indeterminate RS status for that piece.

• Deb Aoki, the reviewer for Manga.About.com. Twice a guest of ANNCast (1, 2).
• Christopher Butcher, manager of The Beguiling, director of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, and freelance writer; has written for About.com and Xtra! (project discussions: 1, 2, 3; added June 12, 2016)
• Ed Chavez, a well-published manga critic, translator, and publisher. (Project discussion; added October 13, 2009)
• Hitoshi Doi, has been interviewed by CBC Television and his website, the Seiyuu (voice actor) database, has been cited by Mary Grigsby
• Patricia Duffield, has been published in Animerica, Animerica Extra (over 100 articles), and Shonen Jump, and wrote seven reviews for Jason Thompson's Manga: The Complete Guide; has also edited and rewritten a number of manga volumes. (Project discussion)
• Erica Friedman - Reviews yuri titles and interviews, writing credits include Anime News Network, Animerica, Anime Feminist, and The Mary Sue [4]. Consensus is that she is generally reliable for anime and manga-related topics, but not to be used for anything controversial or BLP related. "Guest reviews" published to Yuricon by other writers do not have consensus for reliability. Guest of ANNCast. (added 23 February 2009; RS/N discussion, Project discussion)
• Clarissa Graffeo, a contributor to Otaku USA since the first issue
• Paul Gravett (website)
• Shaenon K. Garrity, a contributor to The Comics Journal, Otaku USA, Anime News Network's House of 1000 Manga column; also co-author of Manga: The Complete Guide, editor for Viz Media, and an award-winning webcomics writer and artist. (website)
• Katherine Luther, the reviewer for Anime.About.com
• Shortcut

  • WP:CANIPAEFFECT
  Callum May, occasional writer for Anime News Network and video editor/producer at OTAQUEST. Hosts his own platform on YouTube under The Canipa Effect.
• Gerald Rathkolb, a contributor to Otaku USA since the first issue
• Carlos Ross, former editor and reviewer for THEM Anime, was featured on an episode of Attack of the Show!
• Tom Spurgeon, a reviewer for Publishers Weekly and former editor of The Comics Journal
• Daryl Surat, a contributor to Otaku USA since the first issue
• Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide
• Rachel Thorn (archived website; English blog; Japanese blog)
• Mike Toole, columnist for Anime News Network and contributor to Animerica, Otaku USA, and Sci Fi Magazine; also reviewed anime on his own site, AnimeJump (Archived at the Wayback Machine)
• David Welsh, a contributor to The Comics Reporter, Comic World News (project discussion 1, project discussion 2; added July 6, 2010)

Japanese

• Aga-Search - Database of mystery and detective information (added May 4, 2009; project discussion)
• Animate Times - lists new releases, broadcast dates, and interviews from the anime industry and is owned by Animate. Frequently cited by Anime News Network. (discussion)
• Anime Newtype Channel - Lists episode broadcasts dates, summaries, directors, and writers of currently airing series. Be advised that information is updated monthly and is not permanent. Therefore references should be archived using WebCite or similar archival website.
• Billboard Japan (website) - posts articles and interviews with Japanese musicians; also contains accessible archive of all rankings for Billboard Japan Hot 100 and their exclusive anime-related music ranking chart, the Billboard Japan Hot Animation.
• cho-animedia - Website for the publisher of multiple magazines relating to anime and mange for several decades. (discussion)
• Da Vinci News - News about various anime, manga, and light novel-related subjects; owned and operated by Kadokawa Corporation. (project discussion)
• Dengeki Hobby Web - news releases mostly focusing on anime figures, toys, and merchandise; owned by Kadokawa Corporation
• Eiga - Articles and releases about films, including anime. Ratings and reviews are user-submitted and should not be used.
• GamePlaza Haruka Voice Artist DataBase - Japanese voice actor database.
• Kotobank - Allows you to search through a large collection of dictionaries and encyclopedias published by The Asahi Shimbun Company, Kodansha, Heibonsha, Nichigai Associates, Sanseidō, and Shogakukan. Contains entries on manga and anime series, magazines, authors, artists, and more. (discussion)
• Mantan Web - News and sales numbers for anime and manga-related topics; run by Mainichi Shimbun and frequently cited by ANN. (project discussion)
• Natalie (website) - General information about the anime and manga industry, including announcements and interviews. Frequently cited by Anime News Network. (discussion)
• Oricon (website) - Japanese news site focusing on Japanese pop culture, including anime and manga.
  • Rankings List for album rankings.
• List of when magazines began to be published (1950-1989)
• Tohan - sales rankings for books in Japan. Listings are often, but not always, easily searchable at Anime News Network.
• TV Drama database - largest Japanese database for TV dramas which includes a lot of anime. The source has been published and is considered an academic resource. (RS/N discussion)
• Video Research - TV audience ratings for the Kanto region. Put the Japanese title into the search box on the top right. ANN publishes their weekly data but top viewed by year is available, as is an all-time top 10 going back to '77.
• Weekly ASCII - news articles and interviews for otaku culture and is owned by ASCII Media Works.

French

• Animeland - Web counterpart of an Anime/Manga monthly (10 issues per year) paper publication. The #1 French anime paper magazine. (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• Bd Gest' - Mostly Franco-Belgian and American comics reviews but also some Manga reviews. (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• du9 - Reviews and interviews; some articles in English (added 17 December 2013; project discussion)
• Manga News - Anime/Manga website. Staff reviews can be hot linked by adding 'critique/' after 'serie/' in the URL. (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• Manga Sanctuary - Anime/Manga website. (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• Planete BD - Anime/manga website. (added 29 December 2013; project discussion)

German

• Anime no Tomodachi - Registered Anime/manga NGO. (Discussion}
• Animepro - Anime/Manga review site. (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• Phantastik News - SFF review magazine that covers books/films/manga/anime. (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• Splash Comics - Anime and Manga review site. (added 22 December 2013; project discussion)

Publishers

• Gomanga.com - The official website for Seven Seas Entertainment, an English-language manga publishing company. The website can be used to cite licensed and properties manga, as well as upcoming release dates and news. As always, the forum-based content is unusable. Keep in mind that this is considered a Primary Source.
• Kodansha - Japanese publisher, including magazines. Use citeweb for their site as their pages may be lost.
• Yen Press - Yen Press is an English-language manga publisher. The website can be used for its news information and manga release dates. Keep in mind that this is considered a Primary Source.

• Amazon - This website is usually used for past or upcoming release dates as certain media (such as printed works) may have an "official website" that only links to Amazon as the distributor. User submitted reviews on Amazon are not considered reliable, so they can't be used. (See also: Wikipedia:External links/Perennial websites#Amazon.com)
• Anime Vice - Reviews and commentaries by Gia Manry are considered reliable as she has reviews published by other reliable sources, namely Anime News Network. Other staff members (Matt Kessler, Matt Lopez, Tom Pinchuk, and Chris Schmitt) have not been vetted. Care should be taken when using Anime Vice as much of the website's content is user submitted/generated and would not be considered a reliable source. (added August 28, 2011; discussion)
• Behind The Voice Actors - An online database of voice actor credits in anime, cartoons, and video games. This can be used to shortcut verify the roles as long as the credit itself has a green check-mark that leads to an on-screen capture of the closing credit that confirms the role, for example: 1 (ParaNorman) (can use) 2 (Berserk) (cannot use). Screen captures here can also be used to verify "voice cast" lists, however, care must be taken in situations where the screen captures do not list the actor's particular role. Screen captures of official cast announcements may be reliable, but the actual cast announcement reference is preferred. Screen captures of self-published material such as tweets and resumes should be judged by WP:SELFPUB and grouped under those sources. Roles and lists that are not check-marked (covered by a screenshot), despite being listed under that actor, cannot be used. BTVA Award sections can be used, but only the staff's choice (not people's choice) is notable for wins. Other site sections such as actor biographical data, trivia, side-by-sides, voice-matching analysis, polls, credits count, and forum sections are not verified and should not be used. (Template: 1 Project discussion: 1)
• ComicBook.com – ComicBook.com is fine for news and columns. However, caution should be used as it often references unofficial social media accounts, so make sure it cites an official source. This website should also not be used for controversial statements, especially those relating to living persons. (RSN discussion, project discussions: 1, 2)
• Comic Book Resources (CBR)
  • Prior to 2016, Comic Book Resources is considered to be generally reliable. (project discussion 3)
  • From 2016 to mid-2023, Comic Book Resources is generally considered to be fine for attributed opinions and columns, though some consider it a biased source, so it may constitute undue weight. Additionally, it should not be used for controversial statements related to living persons or news based on references to unreliable sources. Editors have also noted that many list articles which Comic Book Resources published during this time do not constitute significant coverage needed for notability. (RSN discussion, project discussions: 1, 2, 3)
  • From mid-2023 to present, Comic Book Resources is considered generally unreliable due to its repeated use of AI-generated content and occasional factual errors. (project discussion 3)
• Comixology - A retailer site, it hosts columns by Jason Thompson, Shaenon K. Garrity (both reliable per above), and The Comics Journal editors Kristy Valenti, Joe McCulloch, and Tucker Stone. Their manga/anime analysis are reliable. However, the site also hosts reviews that are user-generated so they should not be used. (Project discussion: 1)
• Japanese Animation Filmography Project - This is a wiki type of site which contains information about the filmographies of Japanese animators, past and present. Catherine Munroe Hotes manages the website, and has a PhD in film and visual culture. The only usable information is content that is fact-checked by the authors. (Project discussion: 1)
• Mania.com (via the Wayback Machine) - Formerly AnimeOnDVD.com, contains anime news with thousands of anime and manga reviews. Editors must be particularly careful the reviews are from AnimeOnDVD/Mania staffers and NOT from the user-submitted "Maniacs" section. When searching for reviews, those that have a URL format of http://www.mania.com/*title*_*somenumbers*.html and that follow the original AoD review format are written by staff reviewers and are considered reliable and usable for articles. "Maniac" reviews written by users which are not RS can be detected by the lack of structured format and a URL in the form of http://www.mania.com/*username*/review/*title*_*somenumbers*.html
• Nausicaa.net - The "frozen", old site is RS, but the wiki version may not be since it currently allows anyone to register and contribute (at the very least, sourcing to the wiki should probably be done as a last resort for the present time). (added May 4, 2009; project discussion, also this FLRC discussion)
• Screen Rant – Screen Rant is generally reliable for attributed opinions and columns. However, it should not be used for controversial statements related to living persons or for news made based on leaks or references to unreliable sources. (RSN, RfC at RSN, project discussion)
  • Game Rant – Game Rant is generally fine for non-controversial topics and attributed opinions, though it should not be used on articles about living persons or for leaks. It should not be used to demonstrate notability due to concerns over undue weight and content farming. (VG/RS discussion, project discussion)
• YouTube - YouTube content such as upcoming releases, reviews, and interviews may only be used if the channel is official, and the subject passes Wikipedia's notability guidelines. On some channels a small gray check mark will appear next to the channel name, hovering your mouse over it will make the word "Verified" appear. Some official channels include: FUNimation, Sentai Filmworks, and Kadokawa. (See also: Wikipedia:External links/Perennial websites#Youtube).
• Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter - all of these social media sites may be used as self-published, primary sources, but only if they are verified as belonging to the notable subject. Keep in mind that Wikipedia is not a directory of the subject's web presence. The usage of Facebook is also discouraged as many of the pages require you to register to view the content, treat this like a temporary source until a better one can be found. Social media sites in general are mainly useful for upcoming releases, and possibly interviews. (See also: Wikipedia:External links/Perennial websites#Social networking websites).

• Animetric (www.animetric.com) [5] - self-published website by a person who is not a vetted industry expert (project discussion)
• Anilist (anilist.co) [6] - similarly to MyAnimeList, Anilist's database is primarily composed of user-generated material. In contrast to MyAnimeList, however, user submissions to Anilist are not published instantly, and require moderator approval before they are visible.[7] Moderators require reliable sources from users to approve submissions, so information from Anilist may be marginally more reliable than what is often found on MyAnimeList. Nonetheless, Anilist is still a tertiary source, and cannot be cited directly, and as such editors must seek out and evaluate the original source(s) of any information found there.
• Anime Maru: (www.animemaru.com) [8] - self-proclaimed fake news website: [9]
• Baka-Updates Manga; (www.mangaupdates.com) [10] - information is primarily user submitted and website also promotes illegal distribution of copyrighted materials.
• Fandom (www.fandom.com) [11]; formerly Wikia (www.wikia.com) [12] - User edited content.
• Firefox News (Firefox.org) [13] - no editorial control, open account creation with no vetting of "reporters" or "reviewers", allows user-submitted content, very similar to an open blog service. (project discussion)
• GameFAQs (gamefaqs.gamespot.com) [14] - User generated content as explained here: "Gamers themselves publish almost all of the content on GameFAQs" [15]. (RSN discussion: 1, 2)
• Goodreads (www.goodreads.com) [16] - no editorial control, very easy for anyone to review a book, occasionally copies unattributed text from Wikipedia. (RSN discussion, ANI discussion)
• Internet Movie Database (IMDB; www.imdb.com) [17] - The information is user submitted and rarely corrected for mistakes. (See also: Wikipedia:External links/Perennial websites#IMDb).
• TV.MSN.com (tv.msn.com) [18] - no editorial control, incorrect information (project discussion)
• Shortcut

  • WP:MYANIMELIST
  MyAnimeList (MAL; www.myanimelist.net) [19] - information is primarily user submitted. (project discussion)
• Nihon Review (www.nihonreview.com) [20] - self-published website with no reviews on reliable third-party publications. (Project discussion: 1, 2)
• Otaku Fridge (www.otakufridge.com) [21]; formerly Hentai Neko (www.hentaineko.com) [22] - self-published website with user-submitted reviews. (project discussion)
• Otaku News (www.otakunews.com) [23] - Uncredited authors on a website that "allows people to join". (project discussion)
• Sankaku Complex (www.sankakucomplex.com) [24] - Unverified authors, has published false and exaggerated information, and frequently refers to Twitter/Reddit posts from unverified accounts. (project discussion)
• TV.com (www.tv.com) [25] - Database information is user-submitted and reviewed by an "editor" or a staff member, but is not fact checked for accuracy. News articles and reviews written by staff (paid CBS Interactive / CNET) can be considered reliable, though most do NOT cover anime/manga. (RSN discussion: 1, 2)
• Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) [26] - All language versions of Wikipedia and sites that mirror it, are not considered reliable sources for the content taken from the articles themselves. Wikipedia articles are not considered reliable unless they are backed up by reliable sources. If there are sources present on foreign Wikipedia pages, they can potentially be useful and should generally be brought over here to use in the English language articles. If you are in doubt over a foreign source then bring it over to WP:RSN for discussion. (See also: WP:CIRCULAR, WP:COPYWITHIN)
• Yahoo Voices (voices.yahoo.com) [27] - Also known as "Contributor Network", this website of featured freelance articles and user-generated reviews has no editorial oversight. (RSN discussion: 1, 2)

• Some library/children's book journals that sometimes notice, review, or discuss various manga titles: Hornbook, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal.

• Wikipedia:WikiProject Japan/Reference library
• User:Goodraise/Referencing web pages
• User:Goodraise/Reviews as sources
• WP:VG/RS Reliable source criteria for WikiProject video games
• WP:CMC/REF Reliable sources for comics