Wikipedia:WikiProject Anime and manga/Online reliable sources

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.

• Note: A custom search engine, which focuses on the sites listed here and filters out various unusable websites, courtesy of Gwern, is available here.

Instructions

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.

List of sources

General

Source	Owner / Publisher	Description	Evidence	Usable content	Discussion(s)
Active Anime (Archived via Wayback)	Rommel Salandanan	Active Anime is "a site dedicated to anime and manga". It has taken over Animefringe's tradition of annually asking fans to vote their Top 25 websites. The website has not been updated though since October, 2015 so more recent titles will not be present.	The websites Blu-ray.com and ICV2 both cite them with and without attribution. Other evidence includes an About.com Guide by Deb Aoki that links to one of their articles, and a link by Scott Green of Ain't It Cool News.	Anime/Manga reviews & Interviews	Project: 1
Ain't It Cool News	Harry Knowles	A review and news website run by Harry Knowles. Mainly focused on American comic books, but there are a few manga reviews to be found.	Ain't It Cool News has been cited by MovieWeb, and quoted by indieWire and Softpedia.	Manga reviews	Project: 1
AnimeCons.com	Patrick Delahanty	A directory of anime convention related information, including guest lists, attendance figures, dates, and press releases. Information can occasionally be incomplete due to reliability checks. Also hosts a video podcast about anime conventions.	While the content of the convention directory is user submittable, all submissions are checked and verified against the convention's website, press releases, or other reliable source before being added to the directory.	Anime convention information
Animefringe.com	Adam Arnold & Steve Diabo	A now defunct anime and manga magazine originally published between 2000 and 2005; continues maintaining a full archive of all issues on its site.		Anime/Manga reviews
AnimeNation Anime News (Archived via Wayback)	Gene Field & John Oppliger	Podcast by AnimeNation webstore, good for content that was released before 2013 as the website is now defunct.	This website was part of a larger retailer as a medium for upcoming release dates.	Release dates	Project: 1
Anime Today	Right Stuf Inc.	Podcast by Right Stuf, Inc. This podcast generally includes store updates. But every episode also feature an interview with a personalty in the industry or fandom.	Right Stuf Inc. is a major distributer of anime, and manga in North America.	Interviews	Project: 1
Anime World Order	—	A podcast hosted by Gerald Rathkolb, Clarissa Graffeo, and Daryl Surat.	All three hosts are contributors to Otaku USA since the first issue.	Anime reviews & Interviews	Project: 1
ArtBomb.net	Warren Ellis	Promotes "diverse" and "sophisticated" graphic novels. There are about 3 dozen reviews here that can be used.	Contributors are established comics writers, columnists and editors in the graphic novel industry. This website has also been cited as a reference resource by librarians and graphic novel authors.	Manga reviews
Comic Book Bin	Hervé St-Louis[1]	There are over 2,000 manga related articles here, searching for an exact title is recommended.		Manga reviews	RS/N: 1
Comics Worth Reading	Johanna, and KC Carlson	Comics Worth Reading is a website that gives manga reviews from a married couple with vetted experience.	Johanna was a graphic novel and manga reviewer for Publishers Weekly, while KC works for DC Comics.	Manga reviews	Project: 1
Graphic Novel Reporter	The Book Report Network	Graphic Novel Reporter is a website that does reviews on printed media. There are over 340 manga reviews to go through here that could be beneficial.	This website is associated with the same company that owns KidsReads. The reviewers appear to be vetted in the field with an editorial staff at hand.	Manga reviews	RS/N: 1
ICv2	GCO, LLC (Milton Griepp)	Current and archived industry news, including sales rankings and limited reviews for manga/graphic novels.	Cited/mentioned by news sources such as The New York Times, Business Week, and Publishers Weekly.	Manga reviews, industry news & sales figures
ign.com anime.ign.com (Archived)	Ziff Davis	Up until 2012, Anime IGN provided staff reviews as well as articles on anime. While the info has since been redirected to IGN, the site may still have reviews on more recent anime.
Japanator.com	Modern Method	General industry news and review website.	Anime News Network cites them as a source, and publishers like Yen Press and Vertical are willing to talk on the record with Japanator.	Anime reviews & industry news	Project: 1
MangaBlog	Brigid Alverson	MangaBlog is associated with Manga Bookshelf (see next entry), and provides reviews as well as interviews. It should be noted that MangaBlog has not received an update since 2016.	Brigid Alverson has written for Publishers Weekly, Katherine Dacey was the Senior Manga Editor at PopCultureShock, and Melinda Beasi is a guest writer at Comics Worth Reading.	Manga reviews & Interviews	Project: 1,2
Manga Bookshelf	—			Manga articles Interviews Reviews	Project: 1
Manga Life (Archived via Wayback)	Comics Bulletin (formerly known as Silver Bullet Comics)	Manga Life is good for reviews up until May, 2011. This website was an offshoot of Comics Bulletin.	On the "About Us" page, the contributers all appear to work in the comics/manga industry. Manga Life had also been quoted by sources such as Publishers Weekly.	Manga reviews	Project: 1
MangaBlog Manga Bookshelf				Manga articles Interviews Reviews	Project: 1 ,2
Manga Village (Old site via Wayback)				Manga reviews	RS/N: 1
Media Arts Database	Agency for Cultural Affairs	Created by the Japanese Ministry of Education's Agency for Cultural Affairs, the database containing broadcast/released dates of anime television and films between 1917 to September 2014 along with producers, studios, and other production information.	Published by a Japanese government agency	Generally usable	Project: 1
National Diet Library Online Public Access Catalog	National Diet Library	Online database used by the Media Arts Database as a source and can provide additional data. NDL-OPAC is available in English[2] and Japanese[3].	Maintained by the National Diet Library	Generally usable
PopCultureShock (Archived at the Wayback Machine)		Online magazine established in 1999.	Quoted by other reliable sources.	Manga articles Interviews Reviews	Project: 1
Read About Comics		Has not been updated since 2015.		Manga articles	Project: 1
Teen Reads				Manga reviews	RS/N: 1
The Comics Journal	Fantagraphics Books Gary Groth	A paper magazine focused on comics critical writing which went exclusively online by 2009. Also hosts: Journalista Hooded Utilitarian	Multiple winners of the Harvey Award in Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation category Multiple winners of the Eisner Award in Publication Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication category Also released: Manga masters issue & Shojo manga issue	Manga reviews Essays Round-tables
The Comics Reporter	Tom Spurgeon	Spurgeon's review site.	Spurgeon is a long time comic industry professional and a reviewer for Publishers Weekly.	Reviews	Project: 1
The Fandom Post	Chris Beveridge	Reviews and news site	Paneled at Anime Boston [4]	Generally usable	Project: 1
THEM Anime Reviews		Anime review site for newer and older titles (going back to 1968!), which has been active for at least ten years.	Its reviews have been quoted by other reliable sources, including manga/anime academic writers Brian Ruh and Frenchy Lunning. It has some industry backing/acknowledgment/requirements of having specific guidelines for accepting submissions with editorial oversight and published credentials/info on its writers and staff. The former editor and chief Carlos Ross was featured on G4's Attack of the Show, including discussing several of his reviews.[5]	Anime reviews	Project: 1, 2, 3
Twitch Film		Mostly independent movie reviews but provide coverage at times for anime.		Anime reviews	Project: 1
UK Anime Network				Anime reviews	Project: 1

Genre Specific

• Aestheticism.com - classic yaoi fansite, cited extensively in the yaoi-related literature and is therefore RS. (project discussion)
• Erica Friedman - Reviews yuri titles and interviews - but not to be used for anything controversial, or BLP related. Guest of ANNCast (added 23 February 2009; RS/N discussion)
• Sequential Tart - comics webzine by women in the comics industry that often reviews shoujo manga titles. (RS/N discussion & additional clue)

Academic

• Intersections - Free, online academic journal focusing on East Asian media.
• Paul Gravett: Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga - Paul Gravett's website.
• matt-thorn.com Matt Thorn's website, with different articles in English and Japanese.
• Mechademia - Published by Johns Hopkins University 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 (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)
• Japan Media Arts Festival - Backed Agency for Cultural Affairs. A Grand prize is a strong evidence of notability, others prizes and recommendations are weak ones. (added 2 May 2009; project discussion)

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 guest of ANNCast 1 2
• 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 seven reviews for Jason Thompson's Manga: The Complete Guide; has also edited and rewritten a number of manga volumes. (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, and co-author of Manga: The Complete Guide, editor for Viz Media, she is an award-winning webcomics writer and artist. (website)
• Katherine Luther, the reviewer for Anime.About.com
• 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
• Matt Thorn (website)
• 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)
• 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)

Japanese

• Aga-Search - Database of mystery and detective information (added May 4, 2009; project 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.
• Comptiq Website for the magazine publisher. Forcuses on Japanese video games.
• cho-animedia Website for the publisher of multiple magazines relating to anime and mange for several decades. discussion
• GamePlaza Haruka Voice Artist DataBase - Japanese voice actor database.
• Oricon 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 Kanto region. Put the Japanese title into the search box on the top right. ANN publish their weekly data but top viewed by year is available as is an all time top 10 going back to '77.

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.
• Yenpress - Yenpress 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.

Situational

• 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 distributer. 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 News Network - Anime news site with extensive release information and nearly 1,000 anime and manga reviews

A note about using Anime News Network as a reference: ANN is divided into sections of varying quality. For news, reviews, and release information, ANN is a reliable source and close to being a newspaper of record for anime and manga. The "fan interest" pieces, however, may be pulled directly from unreliable sources and generally should not be used - http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news is the "reliable" feed. In addition, because the encyclopedia portion is user-edited, that information is not reliable by Wikipedia standards. (Project discussions: 1 2 3 4, RS/N discussions: 1 2)

• 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. 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. (Example: 1 (ParaNorman) (can use) 2 (Fullmetal Alchemist) (cannot use), Template: 1 Project discussion: 1)
• 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, 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)
• Gamespot - Only staff authored content from the database can be used as a reliable source. Be aware that this website shares its database with GameFAQs, which is NOT a reliable source. (RS/N discussion)
• Japanese Animation Filmography Project - This is a wiki type of site which contains information about filmographies of Japanese animators past and present. Catherine Munroe Hotes manages the website, and has a PhD in film & 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)
• 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).

Unreliable

See also: WP:USERG

• Animetric (www.animetric.com) - self-published website by a person who is not a vetted industry expert (project discussion)
• Anime Maru: (www.animemaru.com) - self-proclaimed fake news website: [6]
• Baka-Updates Manga; (www.mangaupdates.com) - information is primarily user submitted and website also promotes illegal distribution of copyrighted materials.
• Firefox News (Firefox.org) - 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) - User generated content as explained here: "Gamers themselves publish almost all of the content on GameFAQs" [7]. (RSN discussion: 1, 2)
• Goodreads (www.goodreads.com) - 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) - The information is user submitted and rarely corrected for mistakes. (See also: Wikipedia:External links/Perennial websites#IMDb).
• TV.MSN.com (tv.msn.com) - no editorial control, incorrect information (project discussion)
• MyAnimeList (MAL; www.myanimelist.net) - information is primarily user submitted and website also promotes illegal distribution of copyrighted materials. (project discussion)
• Nihon Review (www.nihonreview.com) - self-published website with no reviews on reliable third-party publications. (Project discussion: 1, 2)
• Otaku Fridge (www.otakufridge.com; formerly Hentai Neko (www.hentaineko.com) - self-published website with user-submitted reviews. (project discussion)
• Otaku News (www.otakunews.com) - Non credited authors on a website that "allows people to join". (project discussion)
• TV.com (www.tv.com) - 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)
• Wikia (www.wikia.com/fandom) - User edited content.
• Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) - 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) - Also known as "Contributor Network", this website of featured freelance articles and user-generated reviews has no editorial oversight. (RSN discussion: 1, 2)

Other resources

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

See also

• 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