User:Collectonian/WIP4

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This essay is designed to assist editors of anime articles in creating stand-alone list of episodes for an anime series or OVA, with an eye for making featured list quality episode lists.

Contents

[edit] Should I even create an episode list at all?

Before creating an episode list for an anime series or OVA, first you should think about whether it needs such a list. An episode list should be created within the bounds of WP:SPINOUT, in that it should not be created by default for an anime series unless it is very clear the episode list will be to large to fit into the main article. For shorter series and OVAs, the episode list with summaries can fit well into the main article and should not be spun-out.

The choice to move an episode list to a standalone list should be made on a case-by-case basis, but in general a series with fewer than 13 episodes probably does not need to be spun-out unless its main article is well filled with other sourced, relevant content and size has become an issue. If a series has both a main anime series and one or more OVAs, keep the guidelines of the main MOS in mind. If the OVAs are not vastly different from the main series they should discussed within the main article. As such, their episode listings, if any, should also be included with the main articles episodes.

[edit] What do I call it?

Just as with the main series article, the episode list should use the official English title, unless the native form is more commonly recognized by readers than the English form. See: WP:NAME and TV.

Episode lists should be named in the format of List of title episodes. If a series has enough episodes that it needs to be broken up in to multiple lists, the main list should still use List of title episodes while the sub-lists should have a qualifier added, such as: List of title episodes (season x), List of title episodes (arc name), List of title episodes (episodes x-y). In some cases, such as Sailor Moon, where subsequent seasons of the series have different names, you can also use List of series title episodes for the subsets. Again, using the example of Sailor Moon, one could have List of Sailor Moon R episodes List of Sailor Moon Stars episodes and so forth.

[edit] Overview of the contents

  1. Lists should be fairly self-contained with regards to episode content. Individual episodes should not be broken out into subpages unless they can very clearly meet the requirements for WP:EPISODE and WP:FICT, which includes extensive coverage of the specific episode and its contents in multiple reliable sources. The focus of an individual episode article must be real-world information, with only a brief plot summary, not an extensive blow-by-blow of the episode.
  2. The introduction of the list should include all notable information related to the episodes that can be verified by reliable sources, including its original broadcast information (or release information for OVAs), if it was based on another work or format, and the most relevant staff (director, producer, production company, writer if not the same as the source). All of this should, of course, be purely in prose format.
  3. Remember Wikipedia is not a spoiler free zone so episode summaries should not be written in such a way as to try to avoid "giving away" the ending.
  4. The list will generally have only 1-2 categories, the first should be [[Category:Lists of anime television series episodes|seriesname]]. If the series has its own category, then it should be added as the second category for the list.

[edit] List layout

All material in an episode list should be verifiable and cited with reliable, secondary sources). Episode summaries do not need explicit citations, as they are source from the primary source, however all other aspects of the list should be properly sourced.

The overall list structure should be flexible and responsive to unique or exceptional aspects of individual series, but the following guidelines should be followed in most cases. If you're unsure about the format, feel free to ask at the project's talk page

[edit] Representative image

Per WP:NONFREE, episode lists should not have multiple images. Rather, a single representative image should be place at the top of the article, aligned to the right, with an appropriate caption. Ideally, this image will either be the title screen from the series, one of the Japanese DVD release covers, or one of the English DVD release covers. The image should be uploaded and include the appropriate Fair use rationale to comply with Wikipedia policies.

[edit] First impressions: the lead

The lead of an episode list should keep the recommendations of Wikipedia:Lead section. As the list is focused on the episodes, it should include a brief summary of the topic at hand, namely the episodes. It should include the series title, based on information (such as based on a manga series), the Japanese and English broadcast information, English licensing information, theme music, and home video release. It should also have a short 1-2 sentence summary of the series. All information included not explicitly sourced in the list should be sourced within the lead. Here is an example of an well-done lead for an episode list, taken from List of FLCL episodes, which was promoted to Featured List status on January 21, 2008[1].

[edit] The sections: comes after the lead

[edit] Episode listing

Ideally, the episode list will be in a tabular format, using the {{Japanese episode list}} template for formatting. At minimum, each entry should include the Japanese title (in kanji and romanji) and the original airdate. If the series is licensed for an English language release, English titles should also be included. If it has aired on television, the first English airdates should be included.

A summary of episode should also be included. These summaries should include the major plot points of the episode, including its beginning and ending, but they should contain a blow-by-blow description. Remember, Wikipedia is not a spoiler-free place and we must not try to avoid "spoiling" the story by not including episode twists end endings. This results in the list not having adequate coverage of the topic. Ideally, episode summaries should be between 150 and 300 words in length. Please make sure episode summaries are written by editors. Per WP:COPYVIO, summaries should not be copy-pasted from other websites, including official ones, nor from any episode summaries packed in with the home video releases.

The information in this table should be sourced from the general sources noted in the reference section. The episode summaries do not need sourcing, as the source is the episodes themselves.

If the episode lists includes episodes from multiple seasons, or from a blend of a anime series and OVAs, give them appropriate section headers such as "Season 1: yyyy" or "OVA". In general, unless the official materials in an anime series breaks it into named story arcs, episode pages should NOT be broken into arc sections.

[edit] Multiple pages

For very lengthy series, generally 40+ episodes, it may be necessary to break the episode list into individual season or story arc lists. If this is done, the main List of episodes should still contain the entire episode list, appropriately sectioned, without the episode summaries. Each section should have a {{main}} link to the sublist. These separate lists should include a full lead, as noted above, and follow the same guidelines laid out here as they will be evaluated as stand alone articles. Such lists should include reception and production information, where available.

The use of an modified episode template and transclusion is highly recommended in this scenario so that the episode lists do not have to be maintained in multiple places.

[edit] DVD Releases

The inclusion of DVD releases in episode lists is not a requirement, but up to editor preference. If DVD releases are included, however, they should include only the original releases in Japan and English language releases. There are several ways these can be handled, with the most common way being to break the section into release areas. For Region 2, because it encompasses a variety of area, subsections by country would also be appropriate.


===Region 2===
====Japan====

====Europe====

===Region 1===

===Region 4===

Each section should include sourced prose that notes who released the series and a quick summary of the release schedule and general details. This should be followed by a table listing the releases, release dates, and other relevant information. These tables should be brief and not include lengthy lists of the extras and features on the DVDs, nor should episode listings be repeated. A table such as this is more than adequate for most series:

Volume Date Eps
My Anime, Volume 1 August 26, 2005 1-5
My Anime, Volume 2 September 21, 2005 6-10
My Anime, Volume 3 October 16, 2005 11-15
My Anime, Volume 4 November 13, 2005 16-20
My Anime Complete Collection March 27, 2005 1-20

If the series was also released to VHS or Laser disc, name the section Home video releases instead and note the VHS releases with the DVD info. Expand the table to include a column for VHS release date, if its different from the DVD re;eases.

[edit] References

Due to the nature of the episode list, editors often find it useful to break the reference sections into two parts, one with general references that have been used to reference the episode titles, airdates, and any writer/director information in the actual tables. Then, a specific section that contains all of the in-line references from the lead and the rest of the list prose. The general references, like the specific ones, should use the appropriate citation template, such as {{cite web}} or {{cite book}}, they just do not have <ref></ref> tags around them.

For example:

General
Specific


Which would be recreated like this:


;General
* {{cite web |url=http://www.myserieswebsite.co.jp |title=Official ''my series'' episode list |publisher=MySeries Production Company |accessdate=2008-04-04 |language=Japanese }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.myserieswebsite.com |title=Official ''my series'' episode list |publisher=MySeries English Licensor |accessdate=2008-04-04 }}

;Specific
<references />

[edit] External links

This section should be placed at the foot of the article and should contain links to the official sites relating directly to the subject (both the Japanese- and English-language official sites are acceptable). Other notable and useful sites may be added, but please follow Wikipedia:External Links.