Anime News Network
Encyclopedia
Anime News Network is an anime industry
news
website
that reports on the status of anime
, manga
, Japanese popular music
and other otaku
-related culture within North America
, Australia
and Japan
. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere
and elsewhere in the world. The website offers reviews and other editorial content, forums
where readers can discuss current issues and events, and an encyclopedia that contains a large number of anime and manga with information on Japanese and English staff, theme songs, plot summaries, and user ratings.
Founded in July 1998 by Justin Sevakis, the website claims to be the leading English-language source for news and information about anime and manga on the Internet. The site operates the magazine Protoculture Addicts
. The website has separate versions of its news content aimed towards audiences in the United States
, Australia
and the United Kingdom
.
In July 2002, Anime News Network launched its Encyclopedia, a collaborative database of anime and manga titles also including information about the staff, cast, and companies involved in the production or localization of those titles.
In the fall of 2004, the editorial staff at ANN became formally involved with the anime magazine Protoculture Addicts
; the magazine began publishing under ANN's editorial control in January 2005.
On September 7, 2004, the Sci Fi Channel
online newsletter Sci Fi Weekly named the site the Web Site of the Week.
In January 2007, the site launched a separate version for Australia
n audiences. Later, in October of that year, Macdonald was scheduled to be a panelist for the ICV2 Conference on Anime and Manga in New York City
, held there in December 2007.
In February 2008, Anime News Network ranked second in the 2007 Top 25 list of best anime web sites by the website Active Anime.
On July 4, 2008, ANN launched its video platform with a library of anime trailers as well as its own news show named ANNtv.
The website maintains a listing of anime and manga titles, as well as people and companies involved in the production of those titles, which it dubs an "encyclopedia". The site hosts several regular columns, including a question-and-answer column "Hey Answerman", a review column entitled "Shelf Life", a column on old and forgotten media called "Buried Treasure" written by Sevakis, and a listing of claimed differences between edited and original versions of anime series titled "The Edit List". Staff members of ANN also publish their own blogs hosted on the site.
The site also hosts forums
, and includes threads to accompany each news item for purposes of discussion. Anime News Network hosts an IRC
channel on the WorldIRC network, [irc://irc.worldirc.org/animenewsnetwork #animenewsnetwork].
, it
has recently been blocked in Saudi Arabia
where it is believed to contain pornographic material.
Anime industry
The anime industry has grown significantly in the last few years, especially outside of Japan. It has spread rapidly across the world, with a major increase in the licensing of various series, movies, and OVAs at an increased rate across multiple regions, and the rise of the anime network, Animax,...
news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that reports on the status of anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, Japanese popular music
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
and other otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
-related culture within North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
and elsewhere in the world. The website offers reviews and other editorial content, forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
where readers can discuss current issues and events, and an encyclopedia that contains a large number of anime and manga with information on Japanese and English staff, theme songs, plot summaries, and user ratings.
Founded in July 1998 by Justin Sevakis, the website claims to be the leading English-language source for news and information about anime and manga on the Internet. The site operates the magazine Protoculture Addicts
Protoculture Addicts
Protoculture Addicts was a Canadian-based North American anime and manga magazine published by Protoculture Inc., an Anime News Network company...
. The website has separate versions of its news content aimed towards audiences in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
History
Anime News Network was founded by Justin Sevakis in July 1998. In May 2000, current editor-in-chief Christopher Macdonald joined the website editorial staff, replacing former editor-in-chief Isaac Alexander.In July 2002, Anime News Network launched its Encyclopedia, a collaborative database of anime and manga titles also including information about the staff, cast, and companies involved in the production or localization of those titles.
In the fall of 2004, the editorial staff at ANN became formally involved with the anime magazine Protoculture Addicts
Protoculture Addicts
Protoculture Addicts was a Canadian-based North American anime and manga magazine published by Protoculture Inc., an Anime News Network company...
; the magazine began publishing under ANN's editorial control in January 2005.
On September 7, 2004, the Sci Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
online newsletter Sci Fi Weekly named the site the Web Site of the Week.
In January 2007, the site launched a separate version for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n audiences. Later, in October of that year, Macdonald was scheduled to be a panelist for the ICV2 Conference on Anime and Manga in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, held there in December 2007.
In February 2008, Anime News Network ranked second in the 2007 Top 25 list of best anime web sites by the website Active Anime.
On July 4, 2008, ANN launched its video platform with a library of anime trailers as well as its own news show named ANNtv.
Features
Anime News Network publishes news stories related to anime and manga that are researched by the ANN staff. Other contributors, under staff discretion, also contribute news articles.The website maintains a listing of anime and manga titles, as well as people and companies involved in the production of those titles, which it dubs an "encyclopedia". The site hosts several regular columns, including a question-and-answer column "Hey Answerman", a review column entitled "Shelf Life", a column on old and forgotten media called "Buried Treasure" written by Sevakis, and a listing of claimed differences between edited and original versions of anime series titled "The Edit List". Staff members of ANN also publish their own blogs hosted on the site.
The site also hosts forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
, and includes threads to accompany each news item for purposes of discussion. Anime News Network hosts an IRC
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
channel on the WorldIRC network, [irc://irc.worldirc.org/animenewsnetwork #animenewsnetwork].
Site Blocking
Although the site is a specialized news network in the latest animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, it
has recently been blocked in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
where it is believed to contain pornographic material.