AniDB is a user-driven database (DB) and every user can add new anime entries. So if you know an anime that is not yet in AniDB, we encourage you to add it. But before you do so, please check the AniDB Definition of Anime and make sure the new entry is really an anime according to our definition! Furthermore, please check if the anime isn't already added to the DB under a synonym!

We also ask you to include as much info as possible when adding a new anime, it's for all users' benefit.

Where can I add Anime?

You can find the add anime link at the bottom of the animelist or MyList. Once you click it you're on the "Add Anime" page. There's a lot of info you can input here.

Basic Info

...which should be included when adding an anime.

Anime Title

The Anime Title is the "main title" that AniDB associates with the anime entry. In most cases, this is the Japanese/Korean/Chinese transcription of the official original-language title.
Please also read our Japanese Romanisation Guideline for further assistance with transcribing Japanese.
Please also read our Titling policy page for more rules on titling.

General example:

Main title - Japanese transcription:    Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (2009) 
Japanese official title:                鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (2009)
English official title:                 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

If the same title has been previously used in the past, the newer anime generally gets the year-of-release appended to distinguish it from the older anime.

In general, if the official original language title, in the video or otherwise, comes with a foreign language portion, generally (but not always) English, that foreign portion is included in the Official Japanese title.
However, if the foreign portion is "otherwise ignored", we would drop it from the transcription. "Otherwise ignored" refers to, but is not limited to references to the anime: on websites, in the media, in the Japanese trailer.

Please read our Titling policy page for additional details and explanations regarding all titling issues.

Type

Check the official Japanese(!) page or allcinema.
Sometimes OVAs are shown on Pay-TV before they are get sold (PPV). Those are to be added as TV and not OVA(!), since only the first airing counts!

See also this page with AniDB definitions of anime types: Anime Type

Airing Dates

General Guidance

Generally, the Japanese/Chinese/Korean/Asian air date is the first and most precise airing/release date worldwide for both individual episodes and the anime as a whole. Check the official Asian page, allcinema, the Japanese TV Guide (explained here), or other pages listed here.

The Western air date should only be used if the Western airing is materially earlier than the Asian one. Otherwise, use the air date in the home market. For example:

When the Western simulcast of a Japanese anime is 5 hours earlier, causing a 1-day date mismatch with Japan due to timezones, use the Japanese date.
When the Western TV premier is 3 months earlier than the Japanese release, use the earlier Western date. For example, FLCL Progressive first aired on US channel Adult Swim's Toonami block as a 6-episode series from 03.06.2018 till 07.07.2018. It did not air in Japan until 28.09.2018, where it was released in a movie format.

Number of Episodes

The above-mentioned sources are usually the most accurate when it comes to the correct episode count. In most cases, the AniDB entry should reflect the number of episodes for the original home market. If the airing in another market has remixed or re-cut the episodes, the home market cut should prevail.

For example, the US release of Dragon Ball Z condensed the first 80 episodes from the Japanese airing into 65 episodes for the US airing; this is informally referred to as a "US chopjob". The Japanese episode count and airing dates would override, as Japan is both the first-release market and the home market for the anime.

"Prologue" and "Episode 0" Episodes

Main article: Content:Episodes#"Prologue"_and_"Episode 0"_Episodes

"Prologue" and "episode 0" episodes represent a deviation from standard episode numbering, where the first episode aired for an anime is numbered and/or classified as something other than episode #1. For AniDB purposes, we try to match the intent of the publisher in how we record the episodes in AniDB.

Classification

By default, when it comes to episodes that are numbered as "Prologue" or "00", an "episode 0" will be considered an S episode on AniDB.
However, if there is a "clear indication" that an "episode 0" SHOULD be considered as the first episode of the regular airing sequence, then only on those exceptions would we number the "episode 0" as the first episode (i.e. episode 1) of the regular airing sequence.

Documentation

For both S episode and regular episode classifications, always add an episode note to provide a brief description if "Episode 0" is not already in the title. The note can be as simple as "Episode 0" -- more detail is always appreciated if available.
For exceptions where the "episode 0" is treated as the first episode of the regular airing sequence, we will explicitly indicate in the episode title that this episode is an "episode 0" -- see the exception titling policy for detail.

Examples
Examples of common "episode 0" instances where we enter the "episode 0" as an S episode:

Macross Delta -- episode S1, Battlefield Prologue, this is essentially a trailer of the first episode
Chaos;Child -- episode S1, Chaos;Head, this is a recap episode of the prequel series

For reference, this policy is confirmed here .

First Aired/Released and Finished Airing/Release Dates on the Anime Entry

Indefinite dates, with day or month given as ??, are accepted when there is no other accurate release date available worldwide. Typically, this is used when the anime is first announced and the precise airing dates have not yet been defined.

Examples: ??.10.2006 for some time in October 2006, ??.??.1954 for some time in 1954.

Note	Adding an anime without a start date will not be accepted.

Japanese TV Schedule Timestamps

Main article: Content:Episodes#Japanese TV Schedule Timestamps

Be careful with shows that have 24:00 and later air hours - this means that show will air on the night after the specified date. For the purposes of AniDB, a show listed as airing between 00:00 and 23:59 is added with the listed date; any show airing on 24:00 or later is added with the "first aired" date of the next day.

Example:

Japanese TV schedule says: 24.03.2005 25:30
this means it aired:       25.03.2005 01:30.

Such an episode would be added as "first aired on 25.03.2005".

Air Date General Guidelines, 1st Airings, and Special Event Airings

Important

Moderation discretion should be used on a case-by-case basis! See Adv. User subforum discussion for details here.

Airing dates on AniDB document the "standard airing" for a given episode. A "standard airing" is defined as a broadcast airing; this includes terrestrial TV, satellite TV, and web streaming TV (e.g. YouTube, Netflix, NicoNico, Abema TV, etc); this also includes TV Specials, as defined by Japanese broadcasters.
1. For web streaming TV, the broadcast must be a completely unrestricted public airing on the video platform, as a non-private/non-restricted video.
  1. A paywall (e.g. a premium subscription) does not count as a non-private video; it still counts as an unrestricted public airing, as it is no different than subscribing to satellite TV such as AT-X.
  2. A YouTube video marked "private" and available only by request is a private video.
  3. A video on a streaming platform (e.g. d Anime Store) that requires a limited-distribution personal invite code (e.g. only 1,000 codes will be awarded) counts as a restricted video.
  4. A video available exclusively in "live stream" mode without the subsequent ability to watch as video-on-demand counts as an unrestricted airing; this is no different than waiting to watch a TV special broadcast on MBS at a specific timeslot.
    1. By extension, a video-on-demand that is only available for a limited-time-window, e.g. only posted for 24 hours before the "special airing event" ends, counts as an unrestricted airing; this is actually less restrictive than a traditional TV broadcast, where the video is only available at the broadcast timeslot, and no longer available afterwards.
Regarding limited pre-airings (NOTE: the exact meaning of "limited" has not been defined yet. If in doubt, ask a moderator. If the moderator is in doubt, ask CDB-Man):
1. Event-based and physical-location-based pre-airs are never used as the airing date.
  1. Example 1: a pre-airing at a convention centre that is coupled with a voice actor Q&A + meet and greet session
  2. Example 2: a public viewing in an open park with a projector screen
  3. Example 3: a one-off airing on a Japan Airlines (JAL) flight
2. Regarding pre-airs in theatres:
  1. For terrestrial TV, satellite TV, and web streaming TV (including TV Specials), all theatre pre-airs are disregarded and are not used as the airing date.
  2. For movies, by definition they are aired in theatres, therefore the earliest full theatre date is used as the airing date. Pre-release festivals and other pre-air events are disregarded.
    1. Pre-release festivals and/or theatre pre-airs are defined as a limited-location release (e.g. only 2 theatres in Tokyo), premiering up to 1 week (7 days) before the full theatre release.
  3. For OVAs/OADs/ONAs and music videos:
    1. A somewhat common occurrence for OVAs is to have a movie pre-air 2 weeks in advance. In this scenario, use the movie pre-air date as the OVA air date, regardless of the # of available theatres.
    2. If the movie pre-air date is less than 2 weeks, ignore the pre-air date and use the retail release date.
    3. If the movie pre-air date exceeds 2 weeks, the OVA may instead be more correctly classified as a movie, as decided on a case-by-case basis by moderators. This is a rare occurrence.
If a episode originally intended for a broadcast release receives an early/advanced release in a different, unrestricted format, that format's early/advanced release date shall be used as the AniDB airing date.
1. Example 1: Jashin-chan Dropkick Dash was released in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video (Japan) and Crunchyroll on 06.04.2020; episode 1's TV broadcast started the same day. As such, all episodes use 06.04.2020 as the airing date, rather than the original broadcast date.
2. Example 2: Gekidol released its full series in BD format on 03.03.2021, which predates the TV broadcast of the last few episodes. As such, the last few episodes using the 03.03.2021 BD release date, rather than the original broadcast date.

Image

The image ID field allows you to add a picture for this anime. It will be displayed together with the anime information. You must first download picture to your local disk and then use the image uploader, available from the "Upload" button, to transfer it to the AniDB server. The image uploader generates short image IDs, which look like xxx.jpg (xxx is a number). After uploading a picture in the upload popup, this ID is automatically entered into the relevant field.

The maximum allowed size is 400 by 600 pixels. Horizontal banner form images are also allowed up to 500 by 200 pixels, but you are strongly encouraged to use a vertical image instead whenever possible.
Don't use animated pictures.
The picture must be less than 150 KB in size. If necessary, lower the JPG quality value in your image editor or utilize tools like this JPG optimizer to meet the required limit.

Description

This should be a short summary of the anime in British English.
Preferable with as little spoilers as possible.
Link to entries in Cast and Staff tabs, i.e. character names and creator names.
Convention: Only link such names the first time they are mentioned. This is to avoid needless excessive highlighting all over the description.
Avoid using abbreviations like "don't" or "he'll", use "do not" and "he will" instead. Only keep those for quotations of direct speech.
Generally try to keep the quality level at Wikipedia standard (less dry maybe though).
No personal comments, please!
No rumours!

Note	In case someone finds a better* description, any previous description may well be replaced.*

About highlighting text

As the following sections will show highlighting of words/text in the description of an anime should be done very very sparingly. Several important pointers:

Use of italics in special sections and unlinked names:
- As the section Description layout points out the source and note paragraphs are all in italics.
- Generally, if names of characters, organisations or creators are *not* mentioned in the tabs Cast and Staff, i.e. they cannot be linked, then they should be put in italics. Reasons: For one it helps the reader distinguish story description from actual names, plus it is a reminder to link the names once the CharDB features those names.
- Convention: Only put unlinked names into italics the first time. This is to avoid needless excessive highlighting of these names all over the description.
- Rarely, italics may also be used to highlight certain words that require emphasis.
- Avoid putting links into italics. The link itself is already highlighted so "double-highlighting" is pretty much redundant.
- Avoid highlighting commonly known real-world names e.g. of locations, or shops, convention centres, or console names, ...
Use of bold — independent story titles, very special paragraphs:
- Bold text should be used very very sparingly, i.e. when in doubt do not use it.
- One case where the use of bold words has proven to be useful are "compilation" anime series that are made up of named, completely separate stories, e.g. by different directors. In this case each story title is set in bold, and the rest of the separate paragraph describes the individual story briefly.
- When a series is spread over several seasons, it can help e.g. the season two description to repeat (summarize) part of the first seasons description, to put the former into context. For this place a Recap: at the beginning of the paragraph. (Avoid this if possible though, better write everything from scratch.)

Examples

Use of bold type for "compilation" anime: Aoi Bungaku Series, Halo Legends, Shakugan no Shana S. Example use of "Recap:" in Ichigo Mashimaro OVA.

Use of underline — never!:
- Please completely avoid using underline in any part of the description. This text style is not required, and IMO (foo2) is ugly.

Description layout

* <Based on (optional)>
<empty line>
<The spoiler-free description of the anime. (required)>
<empty line>
Source: <Site name of source (optional, in italics)>
<empty line>
Note: <Additional information (optional, in italics)>

Placeholders?

The text between < and > in the above code is a just a placeholder!

Optional?

Only the actual description section is required, the other sections are optional (dependant on data availability, obviously).

Example

A good real-world example for the described layout above can be found for the anime: Ookami to Kohaku-iro no Yuuutsu.

Based on

If you have information on what the anime was based on (e.g. manga or game), then add a line at the top of the description by prefixing it with the * (asterisk) character. Be sure to highlight names, or when possible link these names. See D.N. Angel and K-On! as examples:

* Based on a shoujo manga series by [url=http://anidb.net/cr6367]Sugisaki Yukiru[/url], 
serialised in [url=http://anidb.net/cr22671]Monthly Asuka[/url].

Link usage

If Staff (tab) information is available for the anime, be sure to add the appropriate links to the "Based on" section using the creator ID.

* Adaptation of [i]Kakifly[/i]'s ... Serialised in [i]Manga Time Kirara[/i] magazine since 2007.

Highlighting Please use italics ([i]...[/i] tags) to highlight names in the "Based on" section that do not have link information available!

Anime spoiler-free description text

Try to write a concise "appetizer" for the animation, that describes the story without giving away spoiler-related content. There are several sources for such descriptions: Use the official R1 DVD descriptions (preferred on AniDB), or you could write one yourself, or you could simply copy 'n' paste an existing description from one of many anime sites, or from Wikipedia.

Important

When copying content always credit the source, and also make doubly sure that you are actually allowed to copy the content! For the English Wikipedia this is usually OK.

Example from K-On!:

The healthy and energetic [url=http://anidb.net/ch4426]Tainaka Ritsu[/url]
(club president, drums) decides to join the school's [i]Light Music Club[/i], ...

Link usage

If Cast (tab) information is available for the anime, be sure to add the appropriate links to the "Description" section using the character ID.

Highlighting Again, please use italics ([i]...[/i] tags) to highlight names in the "Description" section that do not have link information available!

Avoid breaking
the 4th Wall

Please try to avoid "Breaking the 4th Wall" when writing the description of the anime, i.e. avoid adding info that cannot be know by the characters *in* the anime world. Typical phrases like "the main character is", "the story centres on", or "the series continues the adventures of <anime name>" are usually redundant anyway. Of course the story "centres on", otherwise that part of the description would be irrelevant. Such phrases irritate the reader, who is trying to follow the character setup and plot of the anime.
Info about e.g. series continuation should only be placed in the note section if the viewer needs to know of the previous anime to understand the current one.

Crediting the source of the description

As mentioned there are several possible sources for an anime description. Always place this source line in italics to separate it from the main description text. Here is how to credit them:

The best way is to use the official R1 DVD descriptions in which case you do not need to give credits.

On the other hand, if you have translated the description from a R2 DVD or have written one yourself, you can credit yourself like this:

[i]— written by <your_nick>[/i]

For example: — written by fooBar (use the [i][/i] tags for italics). Note the use of the em-dash —!

Why credit yourself?

This is mostly to prevent situations like the following: One of our users writes a description, the description is copy/pasted to AnimeNfo, someone from AnimeNfo comes and complains about taking their description and not crediting them, a mod adds a Source: AnimeNfo to the description, later the user who wrote the description notifies that he, in fact, wrote it, a mod removes the Source: AnimeNfo again.

When you copy (without changes or with light editing) the description from a site that has written/translated the description itself (e.g. AnimeNfo, ANN, Anime-Planet, MAL, etc.), then please credit the site you copied it from using the following scheme:

[i]Source: <site>[/i]

For example: Source: ANN (use the [i][/i] tags for italics).

If the edits are so substantial that the final version is not readily traceable to the original source, drop the attribution altogether; attributions such as "Source: <site> (edited)" are not used.

Additional Note

At times there is information pertaining to an anime that does not fit the "based on" (origin) or "description" (story) sections. This content should be placed in the "note" section. Always place such a note in italics to separate it from the main description text.

Example from Ookami to Kohaku-iro no Yuuutsu:

[i]Note: The Spice & Wolf novel, [/i]Ookami to Kin no Mugiho[i] was 
released on April 30 in a package that included this episode.[/i]

Since the note is already in italics, wanting to highlight words requires you to turn off italics around e.g. names (using the [/i] [i] tags). See above example.

Note

Other information to place here: special versions of the anime available (packaged with), details on the release format, early screenings, release dates (only if pertinent), awards won, general information putting the anime in context, number of initially planned episodes, why the anime was cancelled and where (if at all) it was continued...

Optional Info

URL

Enter the URL of the official Japanese(!) page here. You may add the official English page, if you are unable to find the Japanese one. Please do not add any unofficial or fan pages.

ANN (Anime News Network) ID/URL

Visit the ANN page for this anime and copy the link to the entry in this field.

AnimeNfo URL

Visit the AnimeNfo page for this anime and copy the link to the entry in this field.

allcinema URL

Visit the allcinema page for this anime and copy the link to the entry in this field.

Approval

New anime entries first need an approval by a mod before they are added to AniDB. You can see the status of your addition once you click on the my creqs link in the left menu.

Content:Anime

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