The TV IV:Proposals/Handling Anime

I've noticed a whole lot of various methods used to properly show anime series. A lot of people are using the original airdates of the dub, people are splitting the one season into multiple inexplicably, there's a lot of discretion on cast lists and whatnot. The point is, we need to reach an agreement on how to handle anime series on season and show pages in particular.

Comments

1. I've been working on fixing Cowboy Bebop so that it reflects the original airdates (in Japan) and the original one season format. Personally, I think that the way that I'm doing things makes sense, particularly the cast table that I put up on the main page. But surely there are better ways to go about some of these things. --IndieRockLance 13:14, 26 Sep 2005 (EDT)
2. I think we should just go the "originally intended country gets focus" way, similar to what we've been doing with UK shows. So all airdates are the Japanese ones. I don't even know how to go about doing episode titles, episode pages, or commenting on any possible dubs, though. --Wizardryo 22:57, 26 Sep 2005 (EDT)
3. I can see actor lists, season and episode guides getting very complex quickly when more an anime series has been dubbed into more one language and/or changed significatly in the process. For instance, episodes being dropped from some dubs, multiple episodes combined into one, changes to seasons, plot elements/relationships being changed (and that short list has been complied with just one anime series in mind!). Perhaps each dub should be entered as a seperate show, especially if it has been significally altered from the original series? --GafferFish 08:36, 8 Oct 2005 (EDT)
4. With the exception of Robotech, I can't think of any series that would need its own series page (and that one only because it's three different anime series combined into one). If you're thinking of Cardcaptors, the only concession I think we need to make for cases like that is to create a separate episode listing page for it. The episode descriptions should still link to the original Japanese version; we can note any edits/changes there. --Lampbane 16:29, 30 Nov 2005 (EST)

Possible Rules

We've never come to a consensus on this, but since I've been creating a lot of anime pages, these are the general rules I've been following and I think they're relatively fair:

1. Original Japanese airdates should be used, not just because of the "original country gets focus" but also because many shows will never be aired outside of Japan, while some other shows (like Tsubasa Chronicle, which I'm working on) will be covered long before their US (or UK) debut. It's best to be consistent across the board.
2. Because this is an English-language site, using the official English title is best. It's the title most users will be familiar with and will spot on a list, and also because trying to romanize any Japanese title inevitably leads to disagreements.
3. Same stance on episode titles - the official English translation is best since there are multiple ways to romanize a title.
4. Some titles, however, will be changed due to legal or marketing reasons (Case Closed, Knight Hunters). In those cases, the original Japanese title (or a translation of it) is preferred (Detective Conan, Weiß Kreuz).
5. Speaking of romanization, we should use the Hepburn romanization since that avoids romanization wars, generally tends to be what a lot of official translators do, and it's also what Wikipedia does (not that I'm saying they're right, but it seems to work for them). This method involves macrons, which should be easier to add now that we have the toolbar at the bottom of the editing pages. -- Lampbane 22:10, 9 July 2006 (EDT)
6. List Japanese and English voice actors. Most English dubs are not exclusive to America, and are likely to be used in many other English-speaking countries as well. -- Lampbane 17:47, 12 July 2006 (EDT)