User:Pokemaster97/Manual of style/Anime
Bulbapedia's manual of style for the Pokémon Anime is a detailed guidebook that addresses the currently relevant conventions for any and all articles and information overseen by Project Anime. This document assumes a basic working knowledge of both the overall manual of style as well as the Anime and its components. Please read it before you contribute to the project. Note, however, that the Pokémon franchise continues to evolve relentlessly, resulting in the guides frequently falling out of date. It is best to survey prevailing conventions as a supplement to reading these guidelines. If there are any unresolved disputes over what best adheres to the style of Bulbapedia, please contact the Project Leader.
General conventions
The {{Project Anime notice}} should only go on completed articles. Incomplete articles instead are tagged with {{stub|Anime}}. Please do not add this notice to articles in your personal userspace either until they are absolutely ready to get mainspaced.
Content from a new episode should only be added to an article once the episode has completely finished airing. This includes both the original Japanese debut of the episode and the first airing of the English dub.
Pokémon appearances and debuts
When listing Pokémon that appeared in an episode, very specific rules must apply first.
- The Pokémon must physically appear in the episode for it to count as a debut.
- Posters, statues, and other man-made objects depicting Pokémon do not count as appearances.
- However, photographs count as appearances, but never debuts, because it is a captured image of a real living Pokémon.
Naming conventions
Under the circumstances when there is only one major Pokémon character that exists in the anime, which does not belong to a Trainer and qualifies the notability criteria for an article, the suffix "(anime)" is preferred to be used in the article’s title along with the Pokémon's name, i.e. Deoxys (anime). All the movie Pokémon characters are required to have the movie’s number as the suffix, i.e. Deoxys (M07).
If there is any ambiguity, provided that there are multiple characters of the same species in the main series, then the name of the series or the region in which they first appeared is to be used as the suffix in the article’s title. In rare cases where the above naming conventions fail, the epicode may be used.
Episode and movie numbering
An epicode (short for episode code) is the manner by which an episode is referred to on Bulbapedia. As episodes are released weekly in Japan, and weekly for part of the year in the rest of the world, page moves would happen quite frequently if articles were retitled for their English release — not to mention if an episode title were mistranslated or misnamed. For the numbering conventions of chapters and rounds, see Epicode.
Introductory sentence
The full name of the subject of an article should appear within the first few words of the article itself. Alternate and popular names may be described later. The name should be given in its original form if it differs from its Anglicized form. Note that a name need not be romanized more than once. Song, episode and movie titles should be translated, not romanized. Also note that names in languages besides Japanese and English should not be included in the opening line, but rather further in the article, preferably in a section titled In other languages near the bottom with only Related articles and External links following after. Some examples follow:
- Masaaki Iwane
- Masaaki Iwane (Japanese: 岩根雅明 Iwane Masaaki) is an animator, born on August 13, 1965.
- Professor Oak
- Professor Samuel Oak (Japanese: オーキド・ユキナリ博士 Dr. Yukinari Ōkido, Ookido and Orchid are also seen) is a Pokémon Professor and has a home and research lab located in Pallet Town.
- Bulbasaur
- Bulbasaur (Japanese: フシギダネ Fushigidane) is a Grass/Poison-type Pokémon.
- Aim to Be a Pokémon Master
- めざせポケモンマスター (Mezase Pokémon Masutā exact, Mezase Pokémon Master is common; English: Aim to Be a Pokémon Master) was the first opening theme song of the Pokémon anime series, ...
Infobox
The {{New episode}} template is to be used while creating new episode articles. It should have all parameters filled if possible. English titles, character names and airing dates should be displayed if it is available. For articles on openings, endings and insert songs, {{Song}} template is to be used.
Content
Plot summaries are the backbone of episode and movie articles. Episode articles should have a list of all the characters and Pokémon appearing in that corresponding episode or movie, which link to the appropriate pages. In addition, there should be a small point form list of major events in all the episode articles, i.e., "Protagonist beats Gym Leader", "Protagonist captures this Pokémon", etc. Finally, a list of party changes (additions, evolutions, etc) and Gym Leaders battled should be included (only when applicable).
When an anime article contains a reasonable amount of the above content, it is no longer considered a stub.
Plot summary and blurb
All plot summaries featured on Bulbapedia are to be original pieces written by our users. Any plot summaries found to be copied from another website will be removed immediately. Copying information from another source is called plagiarism and is a very serious offense. This includes relying on fansubs. They are fine as a general helping tool, but do not go off what they say word-for-word. All plot summaries should be written in a third person, neutral point of view. Additionally, remember to use proper links templates. If you want to know more about proper linking, please have a look at this.
An unfinished plot summary should not be completely removed as we do not require users to give full summaries and not bother submitting the partial ones at all. As long as there is a good chunk of information, it should be alright to add. There may be a valid reason a user would stop writing at a certain point. If the original author has not made any further changes within the next three days, then it is appreciated if the plot summary gets completed by someone else.
Similarly, a somewhat poorly written or formatted plot summary should also not be removed altogether, especially if it is complete. Instead, it should be cleaned up. As we have users from around the world, it should be expected that not all users will be native to the English language. It would be a discouraging approach to remove useful, albeit poorly written, information. Someone who has a better grasp at the language or the wiki code is always welcome to fix the poor writing and formatting.
The episode blurbs should always be written in italics, with a link to official English website as hidden text in the beginning of the blurb. Blurbs should not be altered from their original wording on the official English website.
Numbering
The Bulbapedia rules of episode article titling dictate that the order in which the episode aired in Japan is its title. Episodes of the original series are titled EP001, EP002, and so on, with the numbering system being that of, again, Japanese-aired episodes. Note that Holiday Hi-Jynx and Snow Way Out! are not considered episodes.
Episodes of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire are titled AG001, AG002, and so on. Redirects should exist from the episode code had the series not changed— EP275 should redirect to AG001, EP276 to AG002, and so on. Note that AG101 is Vanity Affair - the skipped episode is AG101 (unaired). Both clip shows in this series are also counted as episodes.
Episodes of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl are titled DP001, DP002, and so on. Redirects should exist from the episode code had the series not changed— EP467 should redirect to DP001, EP468 to DP002, and so on. The clip show in this series are also counted as episodes.
Episodes of Pokémon the Series: Black & White are titled BW001, BW002, and so on. Redirects should exist from the episode code had the series not changed— EP658 should redirect to BW001, EP659 to BW002, and so on.
Episodes of Pokémon the Series: XY are titled XY001, XY002, and so on. Redirects should exist from the episode code had the series not changed— EP800 should redirect to XY001, EP801 to XY002, and so on.
Episodes of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon are titled SM001, SM002, and so on. Redirects should exist from the episode code had the series not changed— EP940 should redirect to SM001, EP941 to SM002, and so on.
Episodes of Pokémon Journeys: The Series are titled JN001, JN002, and so on. Redirects should exist from the episode code had the series not changed— EP1086 should redirect to JN001, EP1087 to JN002, and so on.
Side story episodes are titled HS01, HS02, and so on, in the order they were aired in Japan on the Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, a.k.a. Shūkan Pokémon Hōsōkyoku.
If an episode does not have an English title, the Japanese title should not be used, instead they should be referred to by their epicodes. Furthermore, titles as aired in English should also redirect to the epicode of the respective episode page, i.e. the page The Battle of the Badge would redirect to EP063. Also, epicodes should be used when referring to anything from Japan version of the episode, this includes the Japanese opening and ending themes, and the Japan exclusive bonus segments.
Special episodes and movie articles will be titled using their appropriate epicode, with redirects going from their English and translated Japanese titles. For movies, the epicode should always start with an M, followed by the movie's number according to the official release order. Within the article's body, the best possible translation should be used if no English title is available for episodes, specials, and movies.
Lists of Pokémon in episode articles
Pokémon belonging to main characters should appear at the top of the list, in the order Ash-Misty-May-Dawn-Iris-Serena-Brock-Cilan-Clemont-Goh-Tracey-Jessie-James, in the order they were obtained/revealed. Ash's Pikachu, Team Rocket's Meowth, Misty's Togepi, Dawn's Piplup, Iris's Axew, Clemont's Dedenne, Goh's Raboot, Jessie's Wobbuffet, James's Chimecho, and James's Mime Jr. should precede all others. If a Pokémon is traded, it should be listed with the Trainer who traded it away within the episode it is traded, and with the Trainer it is traded to in all subsequent episodes it appears in. In addition, a Pokémon egg received by a main character should not be counted as an actual appearance of the respective species and therefore, should not be listed under the characters section.
Other characters' Pokémon should also be grouped together in the order they were obtained/revealed. Semi-regular characters' Pokémon (characters which recur in more than one episode, excluding two-part episodes) should precede guest characters' Pokémon. Wild Pokémon should appear in National Dex order, with recurring wild Pokémon topping the list.
Each character's Pokémon should be listed separately:
When a Pokémon debuts—consider the television series, their openings and endings, and the movies to be separate continuities in this case:
Pokémon that are later revealed to have evolved should be linked to as the evolutionary level they appeared at in the episode:
- In EP237
- In AG156
When a Pokémon is obtained:
When a Pokémon egg hatches:
When a Pokémon evolves:
When a Pokémon is seen in a flashback:
- Butterfree (Ash's; flashback)
When a Pokémon is traded away:
When a Pokémon leaves:
- Butterfree (Ash's, leaves)
When a Pokémon returns:
Reference list
- Main article: Bulbapedia:Manual of style/Anime/Reference list
Notability requirements
This notability policy was created after a flooding of the Anime Pokémon section of Bulbapedia with many articles that failed to meet notability standards. After many discussions among Bulbapedia users on talk pages, the forums and meetings, these rules were written down to finally determine which articles should be redirected and which should be kept.
The following are guidelines to which Anime characters and the voice actors are notable to get their own articles on Bulbapedia:
Humans
Battle judge
The battle judges, especially if they are a character of the day, can be differentiated by human and synthetic characters.
- As human characters are expected to be more expressive, they are deemed notable enough to contribute to the story in some capacity. The synthetic characters, however, are often designed for a very specific purpose in mind, i.e. judging battles in this scenario, and there is a limited scope to them for plot involvement. Therefore, they should be added to the main battle judge article as a section, unlike human characters such as Olivier.
- Synthetic characters, who are a recurring character or play a more pivotal role, will be judged on a case-by-case basis. A good example of this would be Clembot.
Voice actor
The Japanese and American voice actors are notable, provided they answer at least one of the following:
- They voiced a main character in the anime for more than one episode.
- They had parts in at least 10 episodes.
- Voice actors who have had parts in fewer than 10 episodes, but have voice roles in other Pokémon media (such as Pokémon video games), will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
International voice actors are no longer considered notable, as their information should be listed on Project Globe's articles.
Exceptions can still be made to either side - the final decision in case of dispute will be made by the staff.
Pokémon
- Pokémon that are owned by Ash, Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Lana, Kiawe, Lillie, Sophocles, and Mallow are all notable, provided they appeared in more than one episode. If they did not, then they would have to have had a significant impact on the plot of the episode or the series as a whole.
- Pokémon that are owned by Goh are only notable if they have appeared in more than one episode, and if they had an impact on the plot of an episode or the series as a whole. Those that haven't had plot significance must be used by him in at least two different episodes, in addition to their capture episode. This may include activities that are tangentially related to the plot, such as aerial scouting or use of said Pokémon’s abilities in some form. The background appearances of a Pokémon do not count.
- Pokémon that are owned by Jessie and James are also only notable if they appeared in more than one episode. Once again, exceptions can be made for Pokémon that had a significant impact on the plot of the episode or the series as a whole.
- For rival characters and other recurring characters, only their signature Pokémon may have an article created about them. An exception may be made if another Pokémon that is not the signature has had an impact on the series. One example of this would possibly be Gary's Arcanine. Jimmy and Marina also fall into this category. If a rival's signature Pokémon does nothing more than battle or has no major impact on the plot, then it is not notable for an article and instead should have a section on its Trainer's page.
- Gym Leaders may have an article about their signature Pokémon, but only if it did more than just battle in the episode(s) it appeared in and had some impact on the plot. Examples would be Blaine's Magmar, which saved the Cinnabar Gym and developed Charizard's personality, or Clair's Dragonair, which helped save the Dragon Kingdom. Elite Four members and Frontier Brains also fall into this category.
- Recurring wild Pokémon may only receive articles if they appeared in at least three episodes AND had a significant impact on the plot or contributed tangentially to it. An example of this would be Bewear that followed Team Rocket around, and the Jigglypuff that followed around Ash and his friends. The background appearances of a recurring Pokémon, whether in real time or a flashback, do not count.
- Pokémon that have appeared in movies or multi-part episodes are notable if they were the main character in that movie or anime episodes. The other Pokémon, who appeared in the respective movie or set of episodes, may sometimes be notable only if their role was significant in the plot. If possible, merged articles should be created for those Pokémon, such as for the legendary birds from The Power of One or something similar to Forces of Nature from Pokémon the Series: Black & White.
- Pokémon that belong to characters of the day are never notable for their own article. However, in rare instances, an exception may be made if the Pokémon itself was a character of the day.
Japanese
Kanji
Romanization
Integration of content from other websites
It is against Bulbapedia's policy to directly copy a summary from other websites without permission.