Content:Titles

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Titles are how you identify an anime - there are many different kinds, both official ones and common ones as well as abbreviations. No anime can have have the exact same title as another. The Main Title (the transcription of the original language title) is listed at the very top of each anime entry, and at the top of the details table next to the image. The rest of the titles are listed with language and title type details. Anyone can add a title to any anime, with the restriction that if there already is an anime with that exact same title, it won't work; please use the search function to check for overlaps. Anyone can request that a title be edited or removed, but it will have to be approved by a mod, so state a good reason for why you wish it to be edited or removed. More Info...

To be merged into here: episode titles.

Adding Titles

In order to add a title to an anime, you need to go to the 'contributions' tab of an anime entry and click the 'add/edit titles' link there. This will lead you to the "Add/Edit Names for ..." page, where you can see (and request removal of) all the titles and which language they are in, that are currently added to the anime, as well as a tab where a text field and a few lists let you enter a new title and select what kind of title it is and which language it is in.

Languages

If an anime is or has been sold/aired in your language with a specific title, go ahead and add that title as 'Official Title' for your language. If you see a title that is clearly wrong under these contitions, please request removal or change the type of that title, stating your reasoning for the change so a mod can approve. If an anime has never been sold or aired in your language, there is no reason it should have a title in it, so please don't add one.

One thing AniDB relies on are its users from different regions, who can check and verify titles in different languages. If you would like to help out with this effort for languages you know, please don't hesitate to contact us on irc://irc.synirc.net/anidb. You can see a list of which languages already have people who can verify them on the staff page.

Anime Titles

Basic Anime Title Information

Official Title (Japanese Kanji, Chinese, and/or Korean)

Please check our Kanji & Romaji Guideline and our Romanisation for Chinese Guideline for further assistance with this.
allcinema is a reliable source for this.

Example: 

Anime title: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi
Official Japanese Kanji title: 鋼の練金術師

Official Title (English)

Check the official English page if it is licensed.

Example: 

Anime title: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi
Official English title: Fullmetal Alchemist

3rd party "official" sources may also be acceptable for English titles, when there is no 1st party English licencor. For example, My Big Emergency is an animation from 1936. As part of the National Project for the Sustainability of Born-Digital Cinema, supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, in 2016 The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo re-released the animation on their website with an English translation and English title. The translation was provided as "My Big Emergency". This can be accepted as an official English title for AniDB purposes.

Official Title (Language)

Meant for official titles in other languages. This title should be the title it is sold/aired under in the regions where they use the specified language; if it is sold/aired under more than one name in a language, use Synonyms/Aliases for that.

Synonym/Alias

For anything not official, which is widely used, or if it is sold/aired under more than one name, set them as synonyms/aliases.

Example: 

Anime title: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi
English Synonym: Full Metal Alchemist
Note Do not add synonym titles that only differ from an already existing, same language official title by their punctuation! Similarly, refrain from adding Japanese transcription synonyms that deviate from our romanisation guidelines unless they are in wide use! Ask a moderator if in doubt.

Shorttitle

A shortened version of the title.

Example: 

Anime title: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi
Shorttitle: FMA

Anime Title Policies

Capitalization

For rules on capitalization, please consult the capitalisation guide.

Foreign Language Portion of Official Japanese(/Korean/Chinese) Title, a.k.a. "Taglines"

  1. Official language title: 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 language (Japanese, Chinese, Korean) title.
    1. If the foreign language tagline is otherwise ignored, such as a marketing message or a narration (see the Symphogear example), don't include it in the Official CJK title.
    2. If the foreign language tagline is a transcription of the CJK title, do not add it to the CJK title; e.g. "キルラキル KILL la KILL " becomes just "キルラキル".
    3. Otherwise, always add the foreign language tagline (translations, a narrative snippet, a dialogue snippet, etc.) to the Official CJK title; e.g. 纳米核心 NANOCORE , "進撃の巨人 attack on titan ", and "神様のメモ帳 It`s the only NEET thing to do. ".
  2. Transcription title: If the foreign portion is "otherwise ignored", it is excluded 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.
    1. In the Main/Transcription title, do not transcribe the foreign language tagline if the foreign language tagline is simply a translation (e.g. "進撃の巨人 attack on titan " is transcribed only to "Shingeki no Kyojin") OR a transcription (e.g. "キルラキル KILL la KILL " is transcribed to only "Kill la Kill") of the CJK title.
    2. Otherwise, add the foreign language tagline to the Main/Transcription title; e.g. "神様のメモ帳 It`s the only NEET thing to do. " is transcribed to "Kamisama no Memo-chou: It`s the Only NEET Thing to Do.".

Disambiguation

Sometimes two or more anime get the exact same title. AniDB does not allow multiple anime to have the same title, though, so disambiguation is required. The older anime (the one that has the earlier release date) gets the original title, and the newer anime gets a disambiguation bit at the end. Then:

Note Do not ever, under any circumstances or for any reason, make up your own fake season numbering. Other sites do it, but we don't. Season numbers are given if, and only if, they are already present in the title, such as in the cases of Overlord II or Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2 . Furthermore, when season numbers are in the title, they are given exactly in the same way as presented originally, not in any other way.
  1. Absolutely do not append anything to the older anime. If both anime have the exact same release date, or it is impossible to tell, just report one of them and let the mod figure it out.
  2. If the two anime are of the same type, then append the year to the newer anime, even if they're released in the same year. The year should be within parentheses.
  3. If the two anime are of different types, then:
    1. If the release year is the same, then append the type to the newer anime. Unlike the year, the type does not take parentheses.
    2. If the release year is different, then append the year to the newer anime. Again, it should be within parentheses.

A few supplementary rules apply if you are trying to disambiguate more than two anime:

  1. If the rule tells you to take the year and it is already taken, try the type. Similarly, if the rule tells you to take the type and it is already taken, try the year. In either case, inform the mod of what exactly you are doing, as there may be a better way to handle the case.
  2. If both type and year are already taken, try both, in the "(Year, Type)" format. Do not use any other formats.
  3. In the highly unlikely event all else fails, just report the entry and a mod will figure out how to best handle the case.

Episode Titles

General Episode Titling Policies

These basic principles apply to all episode titles of all languages and all episode types:

  • Do not include the anime title in the episode title. The anime title is an "anime title", and therefore not an "episode title" and not to be included as any portion of any episode title; anime titles are stored in the anime entry. This applies to all episode types, and all languages.

Non-Production Language Episode Transcription Title Policies

These basic principles apply to any language titles other than the original production language (e.g. English, French, Spanish titles, etc.).

Finding Episode Titles

  1. Check these sources, in order, to see if there is an official title available for the language in question:
    1. The video from an official licensed source for that language.
    2. The official website, if any.
    3. The tertiary official sources like the DVD/Blu-ray back cover, if any.
  2. If there is no official title for that language, use a translation of the official title from the production language (JP/KO/ZH).

After finding (or not finding) an applicable title, proceed to the next section on how to apply the title to each episode type.

Applying Episode Titles: General Policy

  1. TV series main episodes
    1. Not applicable.
    2. Use the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles.
      1. For English titles: otherwise if no title is found, use "Episode XX" where XX is the number of the episode.
      2. For all other languages: do not add a title.
  2. OVA and OAD main episodes
    1. If there is only one volume in the entire release, use "OVA"/"OAD" instead of the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles; also refer to Anime Entry Types That Typically Only Have 1 Regular Episode Entry.
    2. If there is more than one volume, use the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles.
      1. For English titles: otherwise if no title is found, use "Volume XX" for each OVA/OAD episode.
      2. For all other languages: do not add a title.
  3. Movies main episodes
    1. If there is only one movie in the entire release, use "Complete Movie" instead of the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles; also refer to Anime Entry Types That Typically Only Have 1 Regular Episode Entry.
    2. If there is more than one movie, use the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles.
      1. For English titles: otherwise if no title is found, use "Movie XX" for each movie.
      2. For all other languages: do not add a title.
    3. Movies split into multiple parts when released by fansubs
      1. In the past (generally 2010 or older), fansubs used to release movies separated into multiple files: this was done to reduce file sizes, and allow files to fit on a 700MB CD-R.
      2. For example, a 2 hour movie may be split into 2 files of 1 hour each, resulting in a "Part 1" and "Part 2" file.
      3. When adding these to the database, only for Movies, we create multiple regular episode entries to store all the part files.
      4. The naming convention is as follows: "Part XX of YY" -- see example: Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa (Laputa: Castle in the Sky)
      5. In the rare case of a multiple file fansub release for a movie series with more than 1 movie in the series:
        1. When each movie has a title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles, use "_______: Part XX of YY". Examples: "Origination: Part 1 of 2", "Execution: Part 2 of 2".
        2. Otherwise if no title is found, use "Movie ZZ: Part XX of YY". Examples: "Movie 1: Part 1 of 2", "Movie 2: Part 2 of 2".
  4. Music Videos main episodes
    1. If there is only one episode in the entire release, use "Music Video" instead of the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles; also refer to Anime Entry Types That Typically Only Have 1 Regular Episode Entry.
    2. If there is more than one episode, use the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles.
      1. For English titles: otherwise if no title is found, use "Episode XX" for each episode.
      2. For all other languages: do not add a title.
  5. Web series main episodes
    1. If there is only one episode in the entire release, use "Web", "Short Movie", "Complete Movie", etc. as appropriate, instead of the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles; also refer to Anime Entry Types That Typically Only Have 1 Regular Episode Entry.
    2. If there is more than one episode, use the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles.
      1. For English titles: otherwise if no title is found, use "Episode XX" for each episode.
      2. For all other languages: do not add a title.
  6. S episodes
    1. Not applicable.
    2. Use the title obtained under the rules for finding episode titles.
      1. For English titles: otherwise if no title is found, use the default "Episode SX" title format, e.g. "Episode S1", "Episode S13".
      2. For all other languages: do not add a title.
  7. C/T episodes
    1. Not applicable.
    2. Not applicable.
      1. For English titles: see the relevant type-specific sections for in-depth guidance.
      2. For all other languages: do not add a title.

Anime Entry Types That Typically Only Have 1 Regular Episode Entry

These anime entries typically only have 1 regular episode entry (regular episode type, meaning S episodes are excluded):

  1. OVA/OAD
  2. Movie
  3. Music Video
  4. Web Series (when used to release an OVA/OAD, Movie, or Music Video; does not apply to Web Series used to release a TV series)

For these anime entries, when it only has 1 regular-type episode entry, the episode title is added to anime entry's title and not the episode entry's title; the entry's single episode title follows default rules as outlined above.

  1. Generally, this rule applies only for cases when there are one (Hajimete no Gal: Hajimete no Bunkasai ) or two (Koi to Uso: Isshou no Koi / Koi no Kimochi ) episode titles for the single episode release.
  2. In rare cases when there are more than 2 (Tottoko Hamtarou: Anime Dechu! ) episode titles, do not add them to the OVA/OAD's anime title; they are added like usual to the episode entry's title.

Stylized Episode Numbers

Episode "titles" such as "Operation 9", "File #002" or "XYZ第一話" or "ABCの第三話" etc. are considered to be stylised episode numbers rather than episode titles.

  • When they prepend the main episode title, do not add them or their transcriptions/translations to the title.
  • When they appear standalone as the only thing in the episode title, use the default "Episode XX" or "Volume XX" naming convention instead.

"Prologue" and "00" Episodes (For English Titles)

When it comes to episodes that are numbered as "Prologue" or "00", unless there is a "clear indication" that an "episode 0" should NOT be considered as the first episode of the regular airing sequence, an episode 0 will be considered episode 1 on AniDB, as it is the first aired episode.

Examples of "clear indications" for what "episode 0" entries should NOT be considered as the first episode of the regular airing sequence:

  • 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, the original discussion on AniDB's moderator IRC channel can be found here, along with follow-up comments here.

In Summary: when an "episode 0" is considered as episode 1 on AniDB

  • An episode note should be added to provide a brief description. For example: "Listed as Episode 00"
  • We will apply the following episode title naming convention, to make it explicit that it is an "episode 0":
-- "Episode 0: xxxxx: yyyyy - zzzzz",
-- "Episode 00: xxxxx: yyyyy - zzzzz",
-- "Prologue 00: xxxxx: yyyyy - zzzzz",

Etc, where:
xxxxx: yyyyy - zzzzzz
Represents our general title naming convention of:
Main_ep_title: sub_title - sub_sub_title

Guidance for T Episodes

T episodes include PV (promotional video), CM (commercial), Preview, Trailer, etc. (non-exhaustive list); essentially, anything that generally serves the purpose of promoting an anime is a T episode. Generally, T episode naming guidance is as follows:

  • If available, provide the Japanese T episode title in full.
    • For example: A PV posted on the official website (directly embedded, linked to YouTube or some other video service, etc.) would have an official title from the producer/distributor as written on the website (preferred) or as provided in the video's name or title card.
    • For example: A web PV posted on the official YouTube would have an official title from the producer/distributor.
    • Do not include extraneous bits in the title, such as "- Netflix", "TVアニメ" ("TV Anime"), that are metadata, but not part of the actual functional title of the PV.
  • If a Japanese title is given, transcribe it in full.
  • For the English title, the general naming convention is as follows: <<Type>> <<#>> (<<Length>>): <<Description>> - <<Sub-description>>
    • Type: type of T episode, e.g. PV, CM, trailer, web PV, BD/DVD CM, etc. (non-exhaustive list). More descriptive terms are preferred, but terms should still be kept as short as practicable (e.g. do not expand "BD/DVD CM" to "blu-ray and DVD commercial").
    • #: number the various T episodes based on airing order, for each type. For example, if the anime has 3 PV and 4 CM, number them PV 1, PV 2, PV 3, CM 1, CM 2, CM 3, CM 4.
    • Length: provide the length in (m:ss) format. For example (1:36), (12:35). Given that most T episodes do not have formal titles, the exact length helps to track the T episodes, as it is otherwise very difficult to tell the T episodes apart.
  • Whenever possible, try to add a short and uniquely identifiable description of the shown content to the Note field of the episode, especially if that trailer or commercial is not available on the Internet. Good descriptions help immensely with identifying files from different releases whose labeling and ordering does not match with other releases or our episodes.

Example: PV 5 (24:00): Public Anniversary Special

The general naming convention is not universal. Use some discretion for special cases. Examples:

Guidance for C Episodes

TBD.

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