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]
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 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.
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.
| Source | Owner / Publisher | Description | Evidence | Usable content[a] | Discussion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Case Suitable for Treatment | Sean Gaffney | An offshoot of Manga Bookshelf, Gaffney provides manga reviews. | Sean Gaffney wrote for Otaku USA when they were published. | Manga reviews | |
| 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.[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[5][6][7][8] | 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.[9][10][11] | 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 | RS/N: 1, 2 |
| Anime Feminist |
Amelia Cook | A site dedicated to examining Japanese pop culture through a feminist lens. Features reviews, articles, and interviews, broaching topics like gender, sexuality, and representation in anime and manga. | Amelia Cook, the site's editor-in-chief, used to write about anime for The Mary Sue and Otaku USA. Other site editors have written about anime and manga for Anime News Network, Crunchyroll, The Daily Dot, Forbes, and the Nichi Bei Weekly. The site itself was featured in The Japan Times in 2019.[12] Care should be taken to ensure that content constitutes due weight in the article and conforms to the biographies of living persons policy. | Anime/Manga reviews, articles & interviews | Project: 1, 2 |
| 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 (Archived via Wayback) |
Right Stuf Inc. | Podcast by Right Stuf, Inc. This podcast generally includes store updates, but every episode also feature an interview with a personality in the industry or fandom. Usable content only goes up to September, 2017 before the website was closed. | Right Stuf Inc. is a major distributer of anime, and manga in North America. | Interviews | Project: 1 |
| Anime News Network |
Kadokawa Corporation | A generalist anime news site | ANN is a reliable source and considered a newspaper of record for anime and manga. It covers news, reviews, release information, and human interest stories in the industry. Do not cite the user-edited encyclopedia database or any articles marked as advertorial. | Anime/Manga reviews, Industry news | Project discussions: 1 2 3 4, 5; RS/N discussions: 1 2 |
| 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 (Archived via Wayback) |
Warren Ellis | Promotes "diverse" and "sophisticated" graphic novels. There are about 3 dozen reviews here that can be used up the website's closure in February, 2019. | 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.[citation needed] | 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. | Editors and paid reviewers are present. | Manga reviews | RS/N: 1 |
| Comics Worth Reading | Johanna, and KC Carlson[13] | 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 |
| Ex.org (Archived via Wayback) |
Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation | This was an online magazine that was published until April, 2013 by volunteer staff. | Produced by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, the same organization that organizes Anime Expo. Interviews with known industry individuals such as Jan Scott-Frazier. | Anime/Manga reviews & Interviews | Project: 1, 2, 3 |
| Graphic Novel Reporter | The Book Report Network | Graphic Novel Reporter was a website that did reviews on printed media. There are over 340 manga reviews to go through here that could be beneficial to pre July, 2019 series (site close date). | 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, Businessweek, and Publishers Weekly. | Manga reviews, industry news & sales figures |
|
| ign.com - (Active) anime.ign.com |
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 still has information on recent anime. (It is best to google this info by typing in "IGN Anime" [2]) | IGN is a major American video game and entertainment media website that has an established review policy. | Anime reviews | RS/N: 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Japanator.com (Archived via Wayback) |
Modern Method | General industry news and review website that lasted until c.2019. | Anime News Network cited them as a source, and publishers like Yen Press and Vertical were willing to talk on the record with Japanator.[14] | 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/articles & Interviews | Project: 1,2 |
| Manga Bookshelf | — | Manga Bookshelf is a website that focuses on the general manga industry. Several different offshoots are present which provide additional manga reviews (these are discussed elsewhere here). | Many if not all of the contributors have vetted experience in the field.[15] As with other sources, the writer should always be checked. | Manga reviews/articles, columns, resources, & Interviews | 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 contributors all appear to work in the comics/manga industry. Manga Life has also been quoted by sources such as Publishers Weekly. | Manga reviews | Project: 1 |
| Manga Tokyo (Archived via Wayback) |
Gradus inc. | Manga Tokyo is useful for interviews as they have done so with known people in the industry until 2020. This website is NOT VETTED for their anime reviews. | Manga Tokyo conducted interviews of known people which include; South Korean producer Eunyoung Choi, and Japanese voice actress Miku Itō. | Interviews | Project: 1 |
| Manga Village (Old site via Wayback) |
While this source has reviews, Manga Village has not been updated since 2013. | 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 | Production information & release dates for anime/manga | 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 also available in English by clicking on the top right box marked as such. | Maintained by the National Diet Library | Generally usable[vague] | |
| PopCultureShock (Archived via Wayback) |
PopCultureShock was an online established in 1999, it ran until late 2012 when the website was taken down. | Quoted by other reliable sources.[which?] | Manga reviews/articles & Interviews | Project: 1 | |
| Read About Comics | Greg McElhatton | Read About Comics is a source that provided updates on American comics, but also provided manga reviews by McElhatton. This website is useful for older reviews as it has not been updated since 2015. | Greg McElhatton was a founding contributing writer for the first 58 issues of Wizard. He also served on the Small Press Expo Steering Committee since 1997, and served as a judge for the Eisner Awards. | Manga reviews | Project: 1 |
Sakugablog
|
Kevin Cirugeda | Sakugablog is focused on animation production, and regularly reviews the animation found in anime. The website also translates a variety of interviews and production materials. | Kevin Cirugeda has written for ANN (1,2) and Thrillist (1), and the blog features pieces written by anime industry creators such as Ken Yamamoto (1). | Production information, anime reviews, & interviews | Project: 1 |
| Screenanarchy (Previously: Twitch Film) |
Todd Brown | Mostly independent movie reviews but has a section for anime. | Quoted by major outlets such as New York Post, the Washington Times, and Variety. | Anime reviews | Project: 1 |
| Soliloquy in Blue | Michelle Smith | An offshoot of Manga Bookshelf, Smith provides manga reviews. | Michelle Smith was a senior editor at PopCultureShock, and has written for CBR. | Manga reviews | |
| Teen Reads (Archived via Wayback) |
The Book Report Network | The website Teen Reads was by the same company that ran Graphic Novel Reporter. Many of the reviews are duplicates (found on both sites) with some exceptions (ex: +Anima Volume 1). Reviews go up to July, 2019 before the website was closed. | This website was 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 |
| The Comics Journal | Fantagraphics Books Gary Groth |
A paper magazine focused on the critical writing of American comics which went exclusively online by 2009. Also hosted on the site were the "Hooded Utilitarian" until January 2018, and "Journalista" until 2011.[16][17] | Multiple winners of the Harvey Award in Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation category, and multiple winners of the Eisner Award in Publication Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication category. | Manga reviews, essays & round-tables | |
| The Comics Reporter | Tom Spurgeon | Spurgeon's review site which includes reviews for American comics, but also for some manga. Spurgeon died in November 2019 and the website has not been updated since. | Spurgeon is a long time comic industry professional and a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. | Manga reviews | Project: 1 |
| The Fandom Post | Chris Beveridge | Reviews and news site | Beveridge was paneled at Anime Boston in 2014, and has been interviewed by Anime News Network.[18][19] | Manga reviews & industry news |
Project: 1 |
| THEM Anime Reviews | — | Anime review site for newer and older titles (going back to 1968!), which has been active since 2003. |
|
Anime reviews | Project: 1, 2, 3 |
| UK Anime Network | Etharius Ltd | Non-profit website where anime fans write reviews, these editors include at least two whom also have industry experience. | Caution should be given here as the "write for us" page states: "The UK Anime Network is not run for profit, nor is it a professional publication. It's a website run by fans with contributions by other passionate fans of the genre."[20] Only reviews done by Ross Locksley (formerly Ross Liversidge) and Andy Hanley are considered reliable as they have experience in the field.[21][22] | Anime/Manga reviews & industry news | Project: 1 |
| Source | Focus | Owner / Publisher | Description | Evidence | Usable content | Discussion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aestheticism.com Archived via Wayback |
Yaoi | Yaoi fansite | Cited extensively in yaoi-related literature, this website was last updated in 2006, later became defunct in 2009. | Manga reviews & resources | Project: 1 | |
| Chil Chil (in Japanese) |
Yaoi | Largest yaoi database in Japan. | Reported in Sankei Sports (link) and Anime News Network (link 1) (link 2) for its annual BL awards. Only the awards and interviews can be used as the rest of the site's content is user-submitted. | Annual awards and interviews | Project: 1 | |
| Sequential Tart | Shōjo | Comics webzine by women in the comics industry. | Manga reviews | RS/N: 1 |
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.
|
See also: WP:USERG |
www.animetric.com) [5] - self-published website by a person who is not a vetted industry expert (project discussion)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.www.animemaru.com) [8] - self-proclaimed fake news website: [9]www.mangaupdates.com) [10] - information is primarily user submitted and website also promotes illegal distribution of copyrighted materials.www.fandom.com) [11]; formerly Wikia (www.wikia.com) [12] - User edited content.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.gamespot.com) [14] - User generated content as explained here: "Gamers themselves publish almost all of the content on GameFAQs" [15]. (RSN discussion: 1, 2)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)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) [18] - no editorial control, incorrect information (project discussion)www.myanimelist.net) [19] - information is primarily user submitted. (project discussion)www.nihonreview.com) [20] - self-published website with no reviews on reliable third-party publications. (Project discussion: 1, 2)www.otakufridge.com) [21]; formerly Hentai Neko (www.hentaineko.com) [22] - self-published website with user-submitted reviews. (project discussion)www.otakunews.com) [23] - Uncredited authors on a website that "allows people to join". (project discussion)www.sankakucomplex.com) [24] - Unverified authors, has published false and exaggerated information, and frequently refers to Twitter/Reddit posts from unverified accounts. (project discussion)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)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)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)