MangaDB

[Ketsuron]

Due of several ppl asking about info regarding some mangas in the channel i thought of perhaps a MangaDB.

For the start, a MangaDB wont happen if there are not enough people willing to contribute.

eg. going after the question which group worked on the Monster manga.

So if you want to have such nice DB, people are needed who will

- to help add/update it (just note that there is already a lack of ppl wh will to do that for the existing anirec database, so there is a doubt that ANY help on the manga side would be). And moreover sothis is already doing more than anyone else regarding anime recommendations.

- maintain the information

- a team of very dedicated people

- one editor to look over descriptions

Only and only if there is enough interest, and willing people to help out, it could be considered.

[sothis]

kets pretty much summed up my opinion on this, but ill post anyways

people have wanted a manga recommendation database for quite sometime now. that, or a flat out manga database similar to the anirec (informational). i am willing to work on making this happen, but since i don't read manga, and since i barely get help for things as it is, i am not willing to do this unless there are some dedicated people who are willing to handle ALL of the information.

i just want to clarify again, the reason why i cannot take this under my wing for information is because i do not read manga. do you guys like the anirec database? guess what, 95% of all descriptions come from either me, dave, or masakari and frost. barely anyone helps add things, even when i beg... and the only reason it continues to grow is mostly because i keep watching things to add for you guys. this being said, i spend literally all my time working on the anirec, so i dont have time to go pick up manga and read it to add it, since i dont even like manga!

so here's what i can offer you guys, if you collectively decide you want this tool:

1. coding it and putting it up on the site

2. maintaining it code wise, adding new features and functionality

3. inputting all of the data, helping to edit descriptions for quality, fixing the images for additions


BUT, here is what i would require from you guys. unless i see volunteers, i won't go through with this. i would rather not put up something, than put it up, and have it be really halfass.


-people who read manga, that would be willing to write descriptions for every single manga they've seen.
just like the anirec db, i will not accept descriptions that are "official descriptions" or taken from any other site. they need to be hand written.

-someone to scan the covers of the manga
since there are no screenshots that can be taken of the manga, i'd assume a viable alternative might be to scan the cover of episode one, and i can make that small like the anirec images. there would be a visible copyright notice, of course, so i don't think this would cause a legal problem

-SEVERAL people who are dedicated to finding information for the manga
i'm not sure what kind of features you'd want, but i'd need all the information you guys want in the database, for each manga. i don't have time to go find it myself.

again, these people would need to be dedicated. i could probably even add a manga reviews section on the site (with a much less structured format), but again, there has to be desire to use it and help for once.

if this interests you guys, please brainstorm here what features you'd want for the database. it doesn't have to be the same as the anirec, but i'd probably want the layout to look similar at least (so then, there's a space concern depending on how much info you want).

and if you are dedicated, and can stick with it, post that here also.. along with how many manga you read, how many you would be willing to read, etc.

[sothis]

i will say that although my last post seems harsh, i am all for the idea of making this, since nothing except ann's really exists with good information. i am just very skeptical because i know how much help i normally get with stuff, and in this case, i cant hold the burden of it alone since i dont read manga.

...Sounds good. I do not read that much manga tho. But if it happens, i'll help as much as i can.

/Rikard

[sothis]

yeah, #1 is finding people who DO read a lot of manga, and can publicly say they are willing to help write descriptions in a timely manner. it would suck to put up this tool and have it only have like, 30 entries in it.

[MechaTama31]

I don't do much scanlated anymore, so I wouldn't be able to help with what group translated what, but I'd be willing to start doing descriptions for ones that I've bought. I also don't have a scanner (not a flatbed one, anyway), but that may change soon, and in the meantime, I can probably pull off some passable pics with my digicam. For tracking down information about a series, between Google and my ability to navigate Japanese webpages with at least partial comprehension, I can probably find out whatever there is to know.

As for how much I read, I purchase about 8-12 manga volumes per month. Obviously they aren't all from different series, but if someone has a particular request for info on a series, I would be willing to at least give it a gander in the bookstore, and buying one extra manga would not be a great hardship for me ^_^. If I can't find it in a bookstore though, I probably would not be willing to buy a volume sight unseen (online) simply for reviewing purposes... But between B&N, B. Dalton, Suncoast and a local comic shop, I've got a pretty wide array to choose from.

I could also put my nitpickiness and my flair for the English language to work as an editor.

Count me in. I would like some general parameters though, so I can whip up some sample entries. Stuff like text length, picture size, exactly what extra info is wanted, etc. I assume it will be similar to ARDB. And by "extra info", I mean things like if the same mangaka has done other works, if there is some anime/book/movie/whatever connection, things like that. For manga that is being published in English, it should also be pretty easy to list the publisher, and link to their page for it.

Just throwing ideas out there. But yes, I would love to help this get off the ground. As long as Dave makes it look purty ^_^.

[sothis]

mecha: im glad you'd want to jump on board

odds are i wouldnt want to put the group who subbed it in the database, but it might be useful to have things like year, company, etc. i dont read manga so im hopnig you guys can brainstorm what type of things you WOULD want up

[MechaTama31]

Including all of these things would probably be overkill, but here's some items that may be desirable information.

Mangaka (the author. I'm pretty sure we'll want that one)
Other works by mangaka
Alternate titles
How published in Japan (ie: Shounen Jump magazine, doujinshi, etc.)
When published in Japan
How published in English
When published in English
Published in other languages?
Connections to anime/movies/books/etc.
Total number of chapters
Total number of volumes
Other extras published (like the Rayearth artbooks)
Crossovers (CLAMP comes to mind... ^_^)
Prequels/sequels/spinoffs and how they fit in, chronologically and otherwise

Some of these would be cross-linked to other entries in the DB, things like the mangaka, or information about crossovers/sequels and stuff, but most of it could really just be plain text.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment... I'm sure I'll think of something else interesting as I work on these though... ^_^

[sothis]

i could see the "languages published in" being a few icons, like the vendors list... a country flag for each language. most would be just japanese or english so it wouldnt take up space, and would provide a graphical element

#chapters/volumes might replace the "episodes" functionality in the anirec entries

you are right, a lot of the stuff you mention probably could easily go in a helpful info chunk

[DS AP]

ice only got some manga sitting on my shelf (ive got a good bit form a few differnt series) but i DO have a flatbed scanner that will actualy scan