AniDB Definition:Anime: Difference between revisions

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 To meet the AniDB definition of "anime" it must be:
-:* An anime needs to be '''animated'''. Live action, or something with just a few animated scenes and/or picture dramas (audio dialog over still images) is not an anime.
+# An anime needs to be '''animated'''. Live action, or something with just a few animated scenes and/or picture dramas (audio dialog over still images) is not an anime (these items can still be added as S episodes if they are released as a BD/DVD special).
-:* It has to '''have a plot'''. For instance an animated soap commercial is not an anime.
+# It has to '''have a plot'''. For instance an animated soap commercial is not an anime.
-:* The anime needs to be '''created primarily for the Japanese, Chinese, or Korean (""CJK") market'''.
+# The anime needs to be '''Japanese, Chinese, or Korean ("CJK")''': this means it is created primarily for the '''CJK market''' by '''CJK producers''', as defined below. '''Exceptionally''', other East Asian markets and/or East Asian producers may also be allowed. Refer to the CJK definition table below for a visual description of the policy.
-:** For instance, Disney may collaborate with a Japanese company on the making of a film for the United States, but it is not an anime even though a Japanese company is involved.
+## '''CJK market''': a CJK market must be the '''primary audience''' for the anime. For instance, Disney may collaborate with a Japanese company on the making of a film for the United States market, but it is not an anime even though a Japanese company is involved.
-:** For further clarity, a CJK company must be a '''producer''' of the anime; this generally means that a CJK company is credited for anime production. Just having a hand in the '''animation''' is not sufficient.
+## '''CJK production''': CJK companies/creators must be '''primary producers''' of the anime (see definition below); this generally means that at least one CJK company/creator is credited for anime production. The following points must be taken into account:
-:* An anime has to be '''professionally produced''' by a CJK producer. This means the CJK producer leads in production and receives the production credits.
+### Just having a hand in the animation is not sufficient; this is especially true of subcontracting work, which is not considered a part of the production work.
-:** Professionally produced re-cuts are considered anime.
+### Co-productions with other countries are acceptable, but only if CJK companies/creators have enough influence on the final product; the minimum threshold for sufficient influence depends on a subjective analysis by AniDB staff.
-:*** Example: {{short|a6399|Dragon Ball Kai}} is a Japan-produced full re-cut of {{short|a1530|Dragon Ball Z}}.
+#### In co-productions, companies are considered to hold a larger sway than individual creators; for example, {{short|cr205|Kamiyama Kenji}} may direct a movie for Warner, but that movie is still not anime even though direction is a key creative position.
-:*** Example: {{short|a1530|Dragon Ball Z}} contains several [[Content:Episodes#Guidance_for_O_episodes|O episodes]] representing re-cuts of a handful of episodes by official US distributor 4Kids.
+## '''"Other East Asian" exception''': we '''''generally''''' will accept East Asian animated works not from CJK if/when someone wants to add them. At the same time, we will not actively seek out those works, and neither will they be a priority. In this exception, East Asian is loosely defined as '''''any Asian country lying mostly to the east of India'''''. However, please note that we may block/delete specific works and/or countries, as the analysis of their own "anime-ness" is less straightforward.
-:** Fan made shows are not considered anime.
+## '''Non-CJK''': Animated productions that aren't CJK or at least East Asian per the definitions above are not allowed.
-:** Fan made re-cuts are also not considered anime.
+# An anime has to be '''professionally produced''' by a CJK producer.
+## Professionally produced re-cuts are considered anime.
+### Example: {{short|a6399|Dragon Ball Kai}} is a Japan-produced full re-cut of {{short|a1530|Dragon Ball Z}}.
+### Example: {{short|a1530|Dragon Ball Z}} contains several [[Content:Episodes#Guidance_for_O_episodes|O episodes]] representing re-cuts of a handful of episodes by official US distributor 4Kids.
+## Fan-made shows and/or parodies are not considered anime. Fan-made re-cuts are also not considered anime.
+### Both are [[AniDB_Definition:Anime#Other_fan-made_content|sometimes allowed as parody episodes]]; please check with a moderator.
+====CJK definition table====
+{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align: left"
+|-
+!  Legend
+!  Definition
+|-
+!  style="background-color: #ccffcc;"|✔
+|  Add to AniDB
+|-
+!  style="background-color: #ffffaa;"|'''?'''
+|  ''Generally'' add to AniDB, decided on a case-by-case basis
+|-
+!  style="background-color: #ffcccc;"|✖
+|  Do '''not''' add to AniDB
+|-
+|}
+{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align: center"
+|-
+!  CJK Definition Table
+!  style=width:10em | CJK<br>Market
+!  style=width:10em | Other East Asian<br>Market
+!  style=width:10em | Non-CJK<br>Market
+|-
+!  CJK Producer(s)
+|  style="background-color: #ccffcc;"|✔
+|  style="background-color: #ffffaa;"|'''?'''
+|  style="background-color: #ffcccc;"|✖
+|-
+!  Other East Asian Producer(s)
+|  style="background-color: #ffffaa;"|'''?'''
+|  style="background-color: #ffffaa;"|'''?'''
+|  style="background-color: #ffcccc;"|✖
+|-
+!  Non-CJK Producer(s)
+|  style="background-color: #ffcccc;"|✖
+|  style="background-color: #ffcccc;"|✖
+|  style="background-color: #ffcccc;"|✖
+|-
+|}
 ===Isn't that arbitrary and exclusive of good Western animation?===
 Yes it is.  Thanks for asking.  But we just don't consider it "anime."  We suggest entering it into [http://www.bcdb.com/ The Big Cartoon Database].
 These rules can be changed if the AniDB mods feel it is appropriate for AniDB.  At this time however, we feel these rules are the closest to meeting the spirit of what we want to catalog.
+===Definition of whether an anime was primarily produced by a CJK producer===
+{{CollapseBlock|
+Expand this section to see our definition of whether an anime was primarily produced by a CJK producer.
+|Determining whether an anime is considered primarily produced by a CJK producer involves a subjective evaluation of potentially ambiguous facts. To aide in the assessment, consider the following scale from 0 to 100, where:
+* 0/100 means the anime is clearly produced by non-CJK producers.
+* 50/100 means the anime is evenly split between non-CJK and CJK producers.
+* 100/100 means the anime is clearly produced CJK producers.
+To assess where an anime stands on the spectrum, we assess the CJK score of each production role in the anime, and sum total the weighted average CJK score of all production roles.
+* Higher importance roles and credits are scored with a higher weighting. Examples of higher importance roles include, but are not limited to: direction, production, work, production work, animation work, etc.
+* The role's weight is multiplied by the CJK score of the company/creator occupying the role (see definition below), to arrive at the weighted CJK score for the role.
+* The weighted average CJK score of all roles determines the CJK score of the anime.
+  '''Example, ''for illustrative purposes only, non-binding, not precedent setting, needs to be reassessed on a case-by-case basis, and not in itself a deciding factor on its own'':'''
+ Anime: {{short|a18283|Scott Pilgrim Takes Off}}
+ * Production: weight 3.0, occupied by {{short|cr54015|Netflix}}, 0% CJK -- 3.0 * 0% &#61; 0.0
+ * Animation work: weight 2.0, occupied by {{short|cr48093|Science SARU}}, 100% CJK -- 2.0 * 100% &#61; 2.0
+ * Direction: weight 1.5, occupied by {{short|cr48450|Abel Góngora}}, 40% CJK -- 1.5 * 40% &#61; 0.6
+ * Storyboards: weight 1.5, occupied by {{short|cr48093|Science SARU}}, 100% CJK -- 1.5 * 100% &#61; 1.5
+ Weighted average:
+ &#61; (0.0 + 2.0 + 0.6 + 1.5) / (3.0 + 2.0 + 1.5 + 1.5)
+ &#61; 4.1 / 8.0
+ &#61; 51% CJK, with this limited subset of roles described."
+====Definition of whether a particular company/creator is considered CJK====
+Determining whether a company/creator is considered CJK involves a subjective evaluation of potentially ambiguous facts. To aide in the assessment, consider the following scale from 0 to 100, where:
+* 0/100 means the company/creator is clearly non-CJK
+* 50/100 means the company/creator is evenly split between non-CJK and CJK
+* 100/100 means the company/creator is clearly CJK
+To assess the where a company/creator stands on the CJK spectrum, we assess their qualitative factors, applicable to the specific anime in question, and approximate a numerical score.
+ '''Example, ''for illustrative purposes only, non-binding, not precedent setting, needs to be reassessed on a case-by-case basis, and not in itself a deciding factor on its own'':'''
+ Creator: {{short|cr48450|Abel Góngora}} for {{short|a18283|Scott Pilgrim Takes Off}}
+ * Gongora is a Spanish national who's been working in Tokyo for Science SARU since 2013.
+ * Gongora leads the Japanese production team for this anime.
+ ** Gongora occupies the director role for this anime.
+ ** The director role is owned by SARU on this anime.
+ Therefore, considering the above, we consider Gongora to score at least 40/100 CJK.
+}}
 ==Exceptions==
@@ Line 94: / Line 181: @@
 <u>Example 1:</u> '''ShinySmilyStory''' by ''hololive ホロライブ - VTuber Group'' ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrsGNMMghKM YouTube link]) is a VTuber MV which meets the animation rule and the professionally produced rule, given that the video is produced by ''hololive'', a large corporation. However, the MV self-promotes a song created by ''hololive'' for its roster of VTubers. If idols in the MV were replaced with corporeal humans, this would be a live-action MV, which is clearly not anime. Similar to the general VTuber rule, this is an example of essentially "recording a selfie as themselves", only in song rather than as a vlog.
-====Fan-Made Shows/Amateur productions (doujin anime)?====
+====Doujin anime: fan-made shows/amateur productions?====
 Doujin anime are not professionally produced, so generally they are not allowed. However some of them can be of very high quality and even have professional voice actors, in which case we have accepted them.
@@ Line 106: / Line 193: @@
 :''Examples: {{a|5057|Superflat Monogram}}, {{a|9504|Next A-Class}}, {{a|10907|Fastening Days}}'', {{a|9029|Haru wa Kuru}}''
-====Live Action?====
+====Live action?====
 Where is the key requirement, "animation", hiding in this phrase? Are you mad? If there are some live action scenes that are incorporated into an anime that otherwise meets the requirements and when looked at as a whole they can still be considered animated, they may be anime (although this may be extremely unwise, common sense not ruling around here, as it's the first step on the sort of slippery slope we're already experiencing in country of origin), and certain official "live action" extras such as interviews are permitted. For stop motion animation, see the next paragraph.
@@ Line 117: / Line 204: @@
 Not as separate anime entries. Disk-only specials should be added as special episodes to an existing anime.
-====Parody Subs/Dubs?====
+====Other fan-made content====
+=====-- Parody Subs/Dubs?=====
 Not as anime entries. These are sometimes allowed as "Parody" episodes (P eps) to an existing anime; please check with a moderator.
-====Fan made re-cuts?====
+=====-- Fan made re-cuts?=====
 Not as anime entries. These are sometimes allowed as "Parody" episodes (P eps) to an existing anime, but only on an exception basis as approved by a moderator.