Content Scope & Strengths

## 📖 MangaBaka vs Other Databases – What to expect Whether you’re considering using MangaBaka or already contributing data, it helps to remember: not all manga databases play by the same rules. MangaBaka tends to be more open in several key areas, while maintaining clear editorial boundaries. This guide offers a detailed, side‑by‑side look at our scope—what we include, what we exclude, what we deprioritize, and what’s planned. You’ll also find the principles that set us apart from other major platforms, a quick‑reference table, and a candid look at current gaps. --- ### 📋 Summary – Is MangaBaka the Right Fit? - **You want a database that covers** professional manga, manhwa, manhua, OEL, Eastern doujinshi (including self‑published and parodies), Eastern novels, unofficial titles, and **selected web novels** - **You value** uncensored covers, a hierarchical tag tree, detailed volume tracking, highly customizable library lists, graphical stats, a recommendation engine, multi‑scope search, and nightly database dumps. - **We offer** 300k+ series (mixed & curated data), duplicate detection, 30MB cover uploads, multi‑language (WIP), detailed volume & metadata tracking, a hierarchical tag tree (including original MB tags), and more. **Not for you if**: you need a dee web novels catalog (like Novel Updates), deep doujinshi catalogs (like Doujinshi.org, planned), comics (planned), Western self‑published comics (temporarily deprioritized, though popular exceptions may be considered), full staff/character pages, public lists (planned), social features (follows, feeds, reviews, forum), comics (planned), or anime. --- ### 🤝 Cross‑Database Collaboration We don’t just focus on improving MangaBaka’s own data. Our team actively tries to improve the data of the databases we support — we study their guidelines, analyse which changes might be accepted and which ones would be outright rejected, and we still submit edits even when we’re unsure, just in case. We really appreciate cross‑database cooperation, so if you’re from one of those projects and you’re open to it, we’d love to work together in a spirit of mutual help. --- ## 🟢 How We Compare – Where MangaBaka Is More Open | Content Type | What MB allows | How others compare | |--------------|----------------|---------------------| | **Manga, Manhwa & Manhua (professional)** | ✅ All professionally published manga, manhwa, and manhua from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and other Eastern markets. | ❌ **Anime‑Planet** explicitly excludes lolicon, shotacon, and ero manga. ⚠️ **MAL** and **AniList** require publication by a reputable publisher. | | **OEL (professional)** | ✅ Fully allowed (professionally published OEL manga/comics) | ❌ MAL excludes OEL entirely. AniList adds OEL but with many criteria. Anime-Planet rejects OEL manga that look like western comics. | | **Western self‑published comics** | ⚠️ **Deprioritized for now** (unless popular). Most major databases reject them; Kitsu has no clear policy. MB deprioritizes them for now. | ❌ MAL / AniList / Anime‑Planet generally reject them. MB is similar but leaves room for popular exceptions. | | **Doujinshi (Eastern/Japanese)** | ✅ Allowed – even self‑published, **as long as properly cataloged**. Parodies and original works are both accepted. | ❌ **MAL, AniList & Anime‑Planet all require the author to have a professional background.** ❌ **MAL**: only Japanese, **requires print releases**, and only original works (no parodies). ❌ **AniList**: Japanese only; original works (parodies allowed only if by the original creator or staff of an original anime); requires professional background (serialized author or key anime role), proper paneling; uses “Self Published” toggle. ❌ **Anime‑Planet**: must be original creator if based on an existing franchise, at least 5 pages, restricts self‑published webtoons and certain challenge content, no Korean/Chinese/OEL doujinshi. | | **Novels (Eastern)** | ✅ Novels from **Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan** (other Eastern countries under review). ✅ **Light bungei** accepted. ⚠️ Pure literature / non‑fiction → case‑by‑case. | ❌ **MAL**: only direct adaptations/prequels/sequels/spin‑offs/side stories of an existing DB entry; restricted to JP/KR/CN novels from the 1980s onwards. ❌ **AniList**: does not add novels at all (except Light Novels). ⚠️ **Anime‑Planet**: adds **Japanese, Korean and Chinese novels & light novels** as part of its catalogue. Novels must be of JP/KR/CN origin; OEL or non‑Asian novels are not accepted. Webnovels have separate criteria (see below). | | **Light Novels** | ✅ Any series labeled as LN by publishers or retailers | ❌ **MAL**: requires a recognized LN label, or if not labeled, the novel must meet the adaptation criteria (I.2.4) **and** have enough illustrations to credit an artist. Light novels without an “Art” credit are rejected. ⚠️ **AniList**: only adds works **explicitly labeled as a Light Novel by the publisher/retailer**; anything else is treated as a novel and not added. ⚠️ **Anime‑Planet**: allows JP/KR/CN light novels (published). Japanese web‑only novels are excluded – they are only added as LNs if they later receive a physical release. Fanfiction, artbooks, and self‑published works are not accepted. | | **Web novels (limited)** | ✅ **Accepted, but only by manual request** – no bulk auto‑import. We add popular web novels case‑by‑case when submitted, considering the author’s recognition or the work’s popularity. *The web novel landscape spans over 3 million titles across platforms like Qidian, Kakao, Novelpia, SFACG, and Shousetsu ni Narou — a scale we're aware of as we selectively expand coverage.* | ❌ **MAL**: does not accept web novels. Novels are only allowed if they are direct adaptations of an existing DB entry, and only from JP/KR/CN since the 1980s. ❌ **AniList**: does not add web novels (only Light Novels are accepted). ⚠️ **Anime‑Planet**: allows **Korean webnovels** with an official English translation or a Novelupdates page; allows **Chinese webnovels** licensed in English by Webnovel (Qidian) or Wuxiaworld (link required). Untranslated KR/CN webnovels are not accepted. **Japanese webnovels are not added at all** (they may appear as LNs if published). ❌ No major database accepts all web novels or provides a dedicated web novel catalogue. | | **Artworks & supplemental books** | ✅ Allowed as standalone entries, including: • **Art‑focused:** artbook, illustration book, illustbook • **Info‑focused:** character book, data book, fanbook, guidebook, production material, settei shiryoushuu, memorial book | ⚠️ **MangaUpdates** allows only if **scanlated by an approved group** or **licensed in English**. ❌ MAL / AniList / Anime‑Planet generally do not allow standalone artworks. | | **AI‑generated manga / doujinshi (Eastern)** | ✅ Not disallowed, **but mandatory `ai generated` tag** | ❌ **AniList** retroactively deletes titles if known to be mostly AI. Most other databases ban or have no policy. | | **Unofficial titles** | ✅ Fully allowed (any commonly used title) | ⚠️ **AniList** allows if **extremely popular with the community**. ✅ **MangaUpdates** allows them. ❌ MAL / Anime‑Planet generally restrict to official titles. | | **Volume & metadata tracking** | ✅ Tracks individual volume releases, edition changes, and metadata updates (publication dates, ISBNs, page counts, etc.) | ⚠️ Other databases store volume counts but often lack detailed per‑volume metadata or release history. | | **List customization** | ✅ Highly customizable [library lists](https://mangabaka.org/settings/library) – flexible layouts, title language preferences, color themes. | ❌ Most other databases offer only basic sorting and limited display options. ⚠️ **MyAnimeList** allows some customization via custom CSS (for list design). | | **Recommendation engine** | ✅ Personalized [recommendations](https://mangabaka.org/discover) based on your library and ratings – plus the **[Mix](https://mangabaka.org/mix)** tool: pick a few series and tag rules, and we sum their DNA to find more series with the same shape. ✅ **Taste Match** highlights tags you liked/disliked per series. ✅ Now powered by **tag weights** (Core Romance is a much stronger signal than Incidental Romance), making suggestions far more accurate. Leagues above the rest. | ❌ **AniList**: user‑curated recommendations (often popularity‑driven); no auto‑rec system. ❌ **MyAnimeList**: user‑curated recommendations (require a reason, can be voted on) and an auto‑rec system limited by tag granularity. ❌ **Anime‑Planet**: recommendations are all user‑voted. ⚠️ **MangaUpdates**: offers recommendations but they are not user‑voted or user‑added. | | **Multi‑language title support** | ✅ Titles stored in many languages; you can set your preferred language for display across the site. | ❌ Other platforms usually default to romanized or English titles with limited language options. | | **User statistics & activity** | ✅ Detailed [graphical stats](https://mangabaka.org/stats) – reading trends, team activity, public queue metrics. ✅ New **library growth breakdowns** by reading state, media type, content rating, and chapter/volume progress over time. | ⚠️ Most databases provide only basic list counts. | | **Advanced search scopes** | ✅ [Search](https://mangabaka.org/search) across the whole database, your library, or your recommendations. | ❌ Typical search is limited to the global database only. | | **Tag system** | ✅ Extensive tag library (based on AniList, MAL, MangaUpdates & Anime‑Planet), **plus original MB tags**, organized into a hierarchical **tag tree** with categories and subcategories. ✅ **Tag weights** (Core, Defining, Recurrent, Incidental) show how central a tag is to a series — clearer than percentage‑based or vote‑driven systems. Spoiler tags are blurred by default; implied tags are auto‑generated using **logical rules** (e.g., "school boy" automatically adds the "school" location tag, "teacher" implies related themes). Filter by minimum weight, toggle spoiler/implied visibility. | ⚠️ **AniList** uses a 6‑level percentage‑based weight system that can be confusing. ⚠️ **MangaUpdates** determines tag importance by user vote count, without explicit levels. ❌ **MAL** and **Anime‑Planet** have no tag weighting. | | **Transparency & moderation tools** | ✅ **Public change logs** for all database edits. ✅ **Submission history** (track your past submissions, including your original notes). ✅ **Duplicate handling** visible (merged/dismissed duplicates). ✅ **Leaderboards for Contribs and Mods** (daily, weekly, yearly, all‑time, detailed breakdowns). ✅ **Data discussion comments** (for mods & trusted users to discuss issues directly on the entry). ✅ **Submission management**: edit your submission while it's open, withdraw (cancel) it yourself, and clash protection so you never lose work. | ⚠️ **AniList**: lets you track past submissions, but an entry’s edit history only shows the moderator who applied a change — not the original requester, and submission history only displays moderator notes, not yours. Submissions cannot be edited or withdrawn once sent. ❌ **MAL & Anime‑Planet**: forum‑based changes are public, but direct edits show no public history; submissions are final once submitted. ⚠️ **MangaUpdates**: users only see "last updated"; full change history is visible only to moderators; submissions cannot be edited or withdrawn. | | **Contributor role with direct editing** | ✅ Contributors can [edit directly](https://mangabaka.org/contribute) – no submission queue, changes take effect immediately. | ❌ **MAL / AniList / Anime‑Planet**: most users must submit edits for approval, slowing down improvements. ⚠️ **MangaUpdates**: users can gain editing powers, but with restrictions on what they can edit. | | **Extensive series relationships (22 types)** | ✅ 22 distinct relation types: `main_story`, `prequel`, `sequel`, `side_story`, `spin_off`, `parent_story`, `source`, `adaptation`, `parody`, `remake`, `reboot`, `expansion`, `summary`, `compilation`, `contains`, `series`, `crossover`, `cameo`, `character_focus`, `uncollected`, `alternative`, `other`. While this adds a bit of complexity, it makes relationships far more accurate and precise than the generic categories used elsewhere. | ❌ Most databases offer only a handful of vague relation types (e.g., "related", "alternative", "prequel/sequel") that cannot capture nuanced connections like `spin_off`, `character_focus`, `compilation`, or `uncollected`. | | **News page** | ✅ Integrated [news page](https://mangabaka.org/news) from external sources and series referenced. | ⚠️ MAL also has a rich, integrated news section and feature articles, but it's limited to only the articles they write themselves — while other databases lack a dedicated news page. | | **Series cover images** | ✅ Accepts volume covers, promotional art, and official web covers from licensed reading platforms. **30 MB per image limit** enables high‑resolution preservation. Magazine covers planned (once magazine pages are supported). | ❌ Other databases generally do not add extra covers, just the first one or replaced with first english edition. ⚠️ **MAL** adds covers but heavily compresses images (max 600px), resulting in low quality and discarding archival potential. | | **Cover censorship** | ✅ **Uncensored covers allowed** – no forced blurring, cropping, or light sabers. Existing censored covers in the DB can be replaced with their uncensored versions. | ❌ **MAL, AniList, Anime‑Planet & MangaUpdates** enforce strict censorship on covers (genitalia, nipples, sexual acts must be blurred/barred; loli/shota heavily censored). | | **Open data & database dumps** | ✅ **Public nightly database dumps** in JSON, JSONL, and SQLite formats. ✅ **MangaBaka‑original data** licensed under **CC BY‑NC‑SA 4.0** (free for personal, educational, and open‑source use; attribution required; ShareAlike). ✅ **Clear separation** of third‑party data (nested under source keys) – you can always tell which terms apply. ✅ **Reciprocal license**: Third‑party providers (AniList, MAL, MangaUpdates, Kitsu, Shikimori, Anime‑Planet) may use MangaBaka Data commercially up to $10,000/mo revenue without a separate license. ✅ **Commercial licensing** on a pay‑what‑you‑want basis via OpenCollective, with full financial transparency (all expenses public). ✅ **Documented API** with rate limits and attribution requirements. | ❌ **No other major manga database offers complete downloadable dumps.** ⚠️ **AniList**: public GraphQL API, free for non‑commercial under $150/mo revenue; attribution required; API terms **prohibit use in competing list/tracker services** without permission. ⚠️ **MyAnimeList**: API requires approval; terms restrict commercial use; no open data dumps. ⚠️ **MangaUpdates**: API available, requires credit under Acceptable Use Policy; no bulk downloads. ⚠️ **Kitsu**: open‑source platform with an API, terms allow use with attribution; no database dumps provided. ❌ **Anime‑Planet**: no public API. | | **Library limit** | ✅ No limit | ❌ Some databases impose caps. | | **Library size** | ✅ **300k+ series** after cross‑deduplication and enrichment of **164k distinct base works** collected from upstream databases. We processed **638k raw records**, identified **164k source‑specific distinct works** (MU 119,160, AniList 25,441, Anime‑Planet 14,676, Kitsu 4,848, MyAnimeList 426, and others 32), then merged **~474k duplicates** — including overlaps between databases — to create a unified base, further enriched to **300k+**. The largest deduplicated manga catalogue available. | ❌ No other platform merges or cross‑references data at this scale. Each upstream database holds only its own siloed collection (MU ≈234k, AniList ≈136k, Anime‑Planet ≈111k, MAL ≈83k, Kitsu ≈74k); none provides a unified, deduplicated view across all sources. | --- ### 🔴 Current Limitations – Known Gaps [🔝 Back to top](https://mangabaka.org/pages/18#-mangabaka-vs-other-databases--what-to-expect) | Area | Current limitation | |------|--------------------| | **Web novels (auto‑import)** | ❌ No bulk import from NovelUpdates or other platforms. Manual submissions only, to keep the catalogue focused on what users genuinely care about. | | **Niche / unofficial platform releases** | ⚠️ Titles released on unofficial platforms (including pirate sites and scanlation aggregators) may appear there before we can add them. We rely on manual submissions or upstream databases (secondary sources) with their own content policies, so very new or niche works—especially those picked up early by scanlators—can be delayed. Planned solution: integrate primary Japanese, Korean, and Chinese sources to fill gaps directly. | | **Comics (Western)** | ❌ Planned, but nothing concrete yet | | **Doujinshi depth** | ⚠️ Supported, but nowhere near the depth of Doujinshi.org / Doujinshi.info | | **Chapter metadata** | ❌ Individual chapter metadata planned, but not yet supported. | | **Audiobooks & CD dramas** | ❌ Planned for inclusion, but not yet supported. | | **Staff pages** | ⚠️ Basic search/linking available; full dedicated pages planned. | | **Publisher pages** | ⚠️ WIP (linking/search available, full pages planned) – include filtering by series/volume collections, alphabetical order, edition, format, and release date. | | **Magazine pages** | ❌ Not yet supported (planned). Similar to publisher pages, but with interlinked series, chapters organised by TOCs, and chapter metadata. | | **Characters** | ❌ No dedicated pages (planned) | | **Public lists** | ❌ Not yet available (planned). (MAL has “stacks” as public list feature.) | | **Social & community features** | ⚠️ Planned: user follows, reviews, and forums for data organization tasks. Groups and profile biographies are not currently planned. | | **Two‑factor authentication (2FA)** | ❌ Not currently available. Account security relies on passwords and OAuth providers. | | **Release notifications** | ❌ No automatic alerts for new chapters or volumes. Submission status notifications (accepted/rejected) exist via Discord integration. | | **Library export** | ⚠️ Export is available in MangaBaka and MyAnimeList formats, but MAL export is limited due to missing data on that platform. | | **Mobile app** | ⚠️ A native mobile app exists as a community pre‑release ([GitHub](https://github.com/Oazzies/MangaBaka-App)), but is not yet fully endorsed. | | **User‑created tags** | ❌ Only contributors/moderators can create new tags; regular users cannot. | | **User reviews** | ❌ Public reviews are not allowed. Only personal scores and notes are supported. | | **Reading challenges** | ❌ No yearly reading goals or challenge systems. | | **Multilingual UI** | ⚠️ UI translation is a work in progress. Title display is multi‑language, but interface localization is incomplete. | | **External retailer integration** | ⚠️ Basic links to retailers are present, but full volume‑level purchase/read integration is evolving alongside volume metadata (in active development). | | **Anime** | ❌ Not supported (manga/novels only) | | **API stability** | ⚠️ v1 still stabilizing (WIP) | | **Series creation for regular users** | ⚠️ Currently mod/contrib only (planned) | --- ## 📚 MangaBaka Data Governance & Contribution Resources [🔝 Back to top](https://mangabaka.org/pages/18#-mangabaka-vs-other-databases--what-to-expect) Curious about how MangaBaka handles data styling, romanization, and submission criteria? We maintain our own set of evolving guidelines — a constant work in progress. Here are a few key entry points, and you can explore everything on the **[documentation hub](https://mangabaka.org/pages)**. **Data quality & contribution** - [**Data Help**](https://mangabaka.org/data/help) – Find series with missing or low‑quality data and help fix them. - [**Team Activity**](https://mangabaka.org/data/team) – Contributor activity across merges, edits, covers, and submissions. **API & database** - [**API Documentation**](https://mangabaka.org/data/api) – Public HTTP API reference. - [**API Explorer**](https://mangabaka.org/data/api/explorer) – Interactive OpenAPI explorer. - [**API Changelog**](https://mangabaka.org/data/api/changelog) – History of changes to the public API. - [**Database Downloads**](https://mangabaka.org/data/database) – Daily database snapshots in JSON, JSONL, and SQLite. **Styling & editorial guidelines** A growing collection of references covering title styling, Japanese/Korean/Chinese romanization, publisher names, and more — all accessible from the hub. Examples include: - General Title Styling and Traits - Japanese Romanization Style - Korean Romanisation Style *(WORK IN PROGRESS)* - Chinese Romanisation Style *(WORK IN PROGRESS)* - Data Policy & Submission Criteria *(WORK IN PROGRESS)* For the complete list, visit the **[documentation hub](https://mangabaka.org/pages)**. --- ### ⚖️ Third‑Party Provider Terms – Acceptable Use & Terms of Service [🔝 Back to top](https://mangabaka.org/pages/18#-mangabaka-vs-other-databases--what-to-expect) *These are the official policies of the databases we integrate with.* - [**AniList ToS**](https://docs.anilist.co/guide/terms-of-use) - [**Kitsu ToS**](https://kitsu.app/terms) - [**MangaUpdates AUP**](https://api.mangaupdates.com/#section/Acceptable-Use-Policy) - [**MyAnimeList ToS**](https://myanimelist.net/about/terms_of_use) --- ### 🌐 External Data Curation Standards – Official Guidelines of Other Databases [🔝 Back to top](https://mangabaka.org/pages/18#-mangabaka-vs-other-databases--what-to-expect) *If you’d like to review the full rules that each site uses to accept or reject content, here are their official guidelines. They’re handy for comparing how MB’s approach differs.* - [**AniList Submission Manual**](https://anilist.notion.site/AniList-Submission-Manual-aa05e6b4ee8d4e7f98ee84dad475d024) - [**MangaUpdates FAQ**](https://www.mangaupdates.com/site/faq/7) - [**MyAnimeList Database Rules**](https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=515955) - [**Anime-Planet Database Requests**](https://www.anime-planet.com/forum/threads/manga-database-requests.346546/) - [**ANN BBS Guidelines**](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15209) - **Kitsu** → No official guidelines available --- ## 💼 A Note on Our Mission MangaBaka runs on open data, transparent infrastructure, and a catalog that improves with every fix — missing covers, corrected titles, new tags, every fix matters. We’re building a sustainable resource for manga discovery, and we’re glad you’re here. Now go track some manga! 🎌 Last Updated: 06/06/2026 *DD/MM/YYYY