How to Add or Edit Characters

Edit:
PLEASE SUBMIT CHANGES TO ONE OF THE TWO FOLLOWING THREADS:

Submit updates for existing characters here

Suggest NEW characters to be added here





Index
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1. Getting Started
2. Become a Moderator
3. Voice Actors
4. Minor Characters
5. Names
6. Image
7. URL Slug
8. Hair Color
9. Main/Secondary/Minor Relations for Anime/Manga
10. Main Anime and Main Manga
11. Tags
12. Descriptions


Getting Started
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You can update a character by visiting his or her page, and then clicking the 'edit char' link underneath the left image. We do not add characters for unaired titles - the anime needs to have started, so we can confirm the character exists in the anime, etc.

You can add a new character by visiting the admin character input page.

When you submit the form, a thread is created in this forum for moderators to look at. Unless the moderators can personally confirm submissions, they will possibly need confirmation from the community. Thus, if you have time and can browse these threads and chime in with agreeance or disagreeance, it would be helpful and would make things move quicker.


Become a Moderator
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Demonstrate your candidacy by submitting info for a bunch of characters in the format below, and we'll be happy to bring you on board to help! ^_^


Voice Actors
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Don't worry about including these when you submit characters because character moderators will fill these in as they add the characters. However, if you come across a character already in the system with a missing voice actor, please make a post about it here while linking both the character page and the voice actor on Anime News Network. If the character doesn't speak (has a nonspeaking role), you should make a post about it in the same thread.


Minor Characters
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If you’re adding an extremely minor character to an anime or manga who gets like a single appearance, please state in the comments section the episode and minute mark or chapter count that the character appears in.


Names
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*The first name you input is the 'Main' name - use the most well-known name for this one

*If the anime is on Crunchyroll, match the names to their translation

*'First' and 'Last' are based on the western definitions

*Disregard 'Last is First' - do not check it

*Capitalize the names as you would normally type it (do not fully capitalize the last name, even though it will look like it is when editing an entry)

*Only fill in the 'last' field if there is a traditional last name (for example, Smith, Yamazaki, etc). Otherwise, put everything in the First field (for example, Doctor John, Death The Kid).

*If there is a middle name, put everything except the last name in the First field.

*Names with 'Mr' or 'Mrs' at the front should also have a period. For example, 'Mr. Smith', not 'Mr Smith'

*Suffixes (san, kun, etc) should be avoided unless it is the ONLY name the character is known by, for visible names (ie, anything except 'searchable'). Otherwise, add as a searchable name only. Suffixes should be attached with a dash - , such as 'Sara-kun', not 'Sara kun'


NAME TYPES:

*Nickname - Only use if there is a very commonly known nickname IN THE ANIME OR MANGA (not a fan-given nickname) - most characters will not have one.

*Searchable - if there's a fan-given nickname that is well known or a name variation, use searchable. For example, if the name used is 'tomou' but some translations refer to the person as 'tomo', you'd use 'tomo' as the searchable name.

*USA Name - use only if there is a difference in name for the US R1 name. For example, Ash Ketchum for Pokemon would be a USA Name

*JP Name - you'll use this the majority of the time (if not always), and most of the time you'll only use it. It's tough to say how to be consistent with spellings. ANN, for example, tends to always use names like 'Tomo' instead of 'Tomou' (using 'o' instead of 'ou'), while the majority of other sites tend to use the longer form. As a vague rule, try to use what is the most common.


Image
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*Images are not required - don't worry about adding them unless you have the extra time and want to hunt them down. But if you're interested, here's our guidelines-

Spoiler

RULES

*Only one image per character is possible at this time

*Proportion Info: Images have a max width of 300 and a max height of 450-460; if anything greater is sent, the site will scale the picture down to where proper maxes are met. Pictures should always be vertical rectangles and not resemble a square or anything with a horizontal shape. You can check your picture to see if it has a good height/width ratio by temporarily scaling down your image to 130 width and ensuring the height is between 180 - 200; if the height is less than 180 or greater than 200 when at 130 width, this is a clear indication the picture's proportions are incorrect (remember to undo this resize check to restore the original before saving and submitting!). While it's encouraged to submit pictures larger than 130 width x 180 height, this is the minimal size we accept - anything less will be denied.

*Do not upscale/blowup images for any reason. It's totally fine for images to not fit max proportions.

*Do not use fan art or artist-created shots (or cut out a char from a wallpaper, etc).

*Do not use an image that is being used on another anime database

*If an anime exists, always use an anime image over a manga one

*Pictures need to be of a character's initial appearance from the first series to prevent spoilers or changes in character design in following sequels, but this rule can be broken if the characters look exactly the same. More exceptions to this is if the beginning takes place for a few episodes (perhaps during the cast's childhood) and then does a time skip/a life-changing event occurs where the characters will remain the older age/have their different appearance for the rest of the story.

*Images must be SFW.

*Do not use visual novel, game or otherwise non-anime/manga shots for a character

*Do not take pictures from the opening or ending animation (the OP and ED songs).

*The image must be indicative of who the character normally is. If the picture is a bizarre appearance for the character, it is better to use a more common look.

*The character should be centered in the photo and not way off to a side or corner.

*If other cast members or objects are obstructing the view of the character, find an alternate.

*If there's a bunch of unused space above the character's head, remove it from the picture - the beginning of the photo starts from just above the tip of their hair.

*It's more desirable to take pictures of characters whose heads are not cut off.

*It's best to get a shot of the character facing forward, not to the left or right.

*Try to avoid darker images if possible and focus on clarity.

*The head should be around 40% of the image height, with 60% body, except in rare cases where the characters are stunted/short, or it's not possible to find an image, etc

*EXAMPLE 1, EXAMPLE 2, EXAMPLE 3.

*For minor characters with very limited appearances, it may prove impossible to snap a perfect picture like the examples shown above. Unless you run into a case like Gelus, don't submit images that are this close up.

URL Slug
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To create a url slug, take the person's MAIN first and last name, change them to lowercase, and add a dash in between each word.

If you get an error that the URL slug is already taken (which means another character in the database already has that URL slug), add the exact URL slug for the main anime or manga (see below for what the main anime/manga are) right after the character's URL slug. Do not truncate or abbreviate the anime/manga url slug.

Examples:

Naruto Uzumaki = naruto-uzumaki
John Smith = john-smith
John Smith (another one, in a different anime whose url is /anime/naruto-the-movie-1) = john-smith-naruto-the-movie-1



Hair Color
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*Select the main color from the dropdown.

*For now, light/dark will just be the main color (ie there is no distinction between light or dark brown).

*When in doubt, DON'T MARK HAIR COLOR.

*Unless a manga character has a color shot on a volume cover or an insert, do not mark hair color. If the color is mentioned in the manga, it can be added.

*For animals, if they are a solid color of fur, use that for hair color.

*Only mark 'bald' for characters who are human (or very human-like). Do not use this for monster characters or obvious non-humans who don't have hair in the first place.

*If a character is totally bald, do NOT try to base hair color on eyebrows or facial hair. Instead, mark the hair color as 'None'.


Anime/Manga
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These are autocomplete fields that you must use to link this character to anime and manga entries. There is a dropdown for the type - main, secondary, minor. This is a REQUIRED part of the form that MUST be filled out. Failure to mark a character as a Main, Secondary or Minor in your submission will result in its denial.

Only add relations for something you have PERSONALLY seen or read. Do not assume that just because you've watched the anime, that the relation is probably the same for the manga. Likewise, do not use external resources to 'confirm' this kind of information, it needs to be based on your personal viewing/reading.


'Main Anime' and 'Main Manga'
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Only mark these fields if the character has an anime or manga relation filled in. For example, if you were adding a character to an anime, after clicking on "Add New Anime..." and filling out the Main/Secondary/Minor info, underneath is a "Main Anime:" textbox which you need to complete as well. If left blank, when the submission generates a thread in the Character Submissions forum, the thread title will only list the character's name and not what anime/manga the character is from - this could delay the moderating process or result in the submission's rejection altogether. It's generally the series the character debuts in.


Tags
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Only use tags that are major elements of the character. You can see a full list of character tags and how to use them HERE. If you have a suggestion for a different tag, put it into the Comments area of the form.


Description
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We are currently NOT accepting descriptions at this time. If you write one, be aware it will be denied.

 

added a note about 'bald' hair usage (namely, it should only be used for humans/or human-like characters who have/had hair)

 

just added a note about suffixes:

 

give the image rules are long, it might also make sense to clean it up a bit with some subheadings. such as:

The following types of images are not accepted:

• Fan art
• Visual novel, blah blah or other non anime/manga sources
• Images used as a main from any other anime database (or google image search)
• Manga images, if an anime exists

(etc)

right now the 'we dont accept x types' are scattered throughout the section so its a little hard to find them, also using the official bbcode style might make things easier to raed