For more information on our subreddit and the reasoning behind the rules, see here.
We define anime as an animated title, created by a Japanese animation studio. Independent works of Japanese origin may also be considered anime if they are recognized within the Japanese anime industry, or distributed by international licensing partners. By allowing things to be "anime specific", we allow posts about a specific anime or set of anime, as well as circumstances in which anime is deeply intertwined.
This also limits posts about real people when they revolve around said person's ability to work in the industry. Where the impact to their work is big enough, the first relevant thread will be allowed (no subsequent minor update posts). This includes: death, retirement (or return from), imprisonment, extended leave (e.g. maternity/paternity leave), and serious illness or other events preventing work for an extended period of time.
Posts about Japan outsourcing small amounts of animation to other country's studios are fine. However, this only works one way. For example, Korean animation with Japanese outsourcing will not be allowed.
Anime related tools/websites can be announced when they're released, but minor outages or small updates will not be allowed, including "is this website down" posts. Major outages or major updates to a website's functionality will be handled on a case by case basis.
Please note that music video anime and anime from commercials are allowed.
A list of posts we often remove due to breaking this rule include:
- Vocaloid
- Avatar The Last Airbender
- Wakfu
- Chinese and Korean animation
- Source material or adaptations of anime in other media (manga, light novels, etc.)
- Video games based on anime
- Live-action anime adaptations
- Status updates or questions about websites/apps that provide anime related * services (MyAnimeList, Crunchyroll etc,)
- Custom "anime" characters
- Meta posts about /r/anime or the anime community
Submissions and comments containing hentai or heavily NSFW content are not allowed. Heavily NSFW content includes visible female nipples, genitals of either gender, heavily implied sexual content, and sexual contact between characters. However, these rules do not apply to episode discussion/rewatch threads, given that the NSFW content is from that anime/source material, is relevant to discussion, and is properly tagged.
Exception: In comments only, NSFW nudity (including nipples, but excluding sexual contact and visible or outlined genitalia) is allowed as long as the images come from an anime episode or source material. The content must be relevant to the conversation and properly tagged or it will be removed. Additionally, artists are allowed to post NSFW versions of their fanart (uncensored), but only in comments and properly tagged.
We will remove sexually explicit content that doesn't comply with Reddit policy.
##Posting Requires Community Participation
We require users to actively participate in the /r/anime community before making posts.
As a form of protection against bots and spam, we do not allow users to make posts on /r/anime until they have accumulated 10 comment karma from participating in other /r/anime discussions. If you have an anime-related comment, question, or need a recommendation, please use the Daily Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion thread, the first pinned post on /r/anime.
This rule is very important, and it is suggested that you read through this section carefully. Posting untagged spoilers is a quick way to get banned. We are very strict about spoilers in /r/anime, and not just anime spoilers. Spoiling other types of media, western or eastern, will also break this rule.
A spoiler is a piece of information from a show that knowledge of without having seen the show could negatively impact a viewer's experience. An easy example is knowing the twist of a movie prior to watching. By having knowledge of said twist, all the surprise and suspense will be lost because you already know what happens. Note that this is a very broad and obvious example, and we limit more than this.
Generally speaking, anything you don't learn in the first few minutes of the first episode should have a spoiler tag.
A tagged spoiler is a way of being polite to the other users of /r/anime. While we use Reddit's spoiler tags, you also need to include the context for the spoiler tag before it in [] like so: [MM! Ep. 10 Fake Spoiler] >!Spoiler goes here!<
The basics of spoiler tags:
- All spoilers must be tagged
- All spoilers must have the name of the source in the spoilers title.
- A tagged spoiler's description must be accurate. For example, don't say your spoiler is from episode 3 when it's from episode 4.
- If the title of a post says it contains spoilers from a specific show, no spoilers in that post or its comments need be tagged, except when they're about events happening after a specified episode given by the OP (e.g. episode 100 spoilers have to be tagged when the thread says it's about episode 50).
- Spoilers from different mediums must be tagged the same way and must include the type of medium that is being tagged (VN, Manga, LN etc).
- If the title of an anime will spoil that anime by association (example: thread title), the title should be hidden behind a spoiler tag with "Meta Spoiler" or something to that effect.
- When posting bonus information that does not show up in either the source material or the anime, the relevant source must be included in your parent comment, so as not to come across as spoilers to the uninformed.
- Source material scenes/info that were left out of the anime are still spoilers.
- In episode discussion posts (for airing shows and rewatches), all information that was not shown in previous episodes is considered a spoiler. Intentional spoilers in a context that they would otherwise be allowed may be removed, if we deem them to be malicious and exploiting the freedom of spoilers in a given thread.
- Do not put a spoiler in the title of a post, those are always visible even with spoiler tags.
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If you are linking to something which contains spoilers, then the post should be marked as a spoiler via the spoiler button after submitting. (If your post's title contains "spoiler," it may be marked automatically.) The title should also tell what source the spoiler is for. For example, "[MM!] Taro is so silly!"
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If your spoilers are related to a specific episode of a series, it is best to include that information as well. For example, "[MM! Ep. 10] Taro is so silly!"
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If your link contains spoilers to more than 3 anime, you may simply state "Spoilers for Multiple Anime" in the title, rather than naming all of them. It would however be appreciated if you still mention those where something major is spoiled, either in the title or as a comment.
- If your post follows link post spoiler tag rules accurately, you are good. Otherwise, it must follow the rules for comments
- If you opt for using the link post tagging, but want to include a spoiler from later in a series or from the source material, that spoiler must follow the comment spoiler rules
Any comment containing a anime spoiler should tag said spoiler as follows:
[MM! Ep. 10] >!Spoiler goes here!<
Which looks like:
[MM! Ep. 10] >!Spoiler goes here!<
Any comment containing a spoiler from a non-anime source include the type of source at the end:
[Fate/Stay Night VN Spoilers] >!Spoiler goes here!<
A typical use case would be:
It was super exciting when [MM! Ep. 10] >!airencracken ate a cookie!<; I can't wait for next week!
Where naming the title of a show will spoil said show due to association with a discussion, the title of a thread, or some other context, the title of the show should be covered with a spoiler tag with "Meta Spoiler", or something to that effect.
For example:
Thread title: Anime where the tsundere wins
[Meta Spoiler] >!Western Anime Communities: The Anime!<
When you want to post a spoiler for that anime, you can't post the title in the tag. Thus, the standard format would be:
[Meta Spoiler] >!Anime title!< [spoiler content] >!in which x, y, z happens and a, b, c die.!<
Information about Mod/Special flairs here
- Discussion [text only] — For posts focused on discussing anime in general.
- Help — For specific questions about anime, such as "Where is this character from?" or "What sources are there for this anime?" Please check our FAAQ before posting.
- What to Watch [text only] — For asking for recommendations about what anime to watch. You can also use the Daily Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion thread to ask for recommendations.
- News — For posts concerning new announcements, new developments, or current events in the anime industry, Important PSAs about events such as breaches or hacks of widely-used anime sites.
- Rewatch — For community-run group rewatches of an anime. For more information, please see our rewatches wiki.
- Official Media — For new, non-informational, official publications such as key visuals, voice actor statements, etc. Official media should link to the official source or include the source in comments.
- Clip — For clips pulled directly from anime.
- Video Edit — For fan-edited anime footage.
- Video — For videos that don't fall under Clip, Video Edit, Official Media, or Fanart, such as reviews, analysis, etc.
- Fanart — For works of art based on anime (drawings or physical creations), see fanart-specific rules.
- Cosplay — For images of someone cosplaying as an anime character.
- Watch This [text only, at least 1500 characters] — Long-form writings which encourage readers to watch a certain anime by analyzing its strengths and weaknesses.
- Writing [text only, at least 1500 characters] — For general long-form writing about anime (reviews, analysis, etc.) not covered by the "Watch This" category.
- Infographic — For images containing useful information presented in a way that makes the information more informative, appealing, engaging, or easier to read.
- Misc. — For miscellaneous content which doesn't fit into any of the above categories.
The following types of post submissions (not comments, unless otherwise noted) are banned under normal circumstances:
- Single image posts - exceptions are made for Official Media images and infographics, or albums of 5 or more images looking to illustrate an idea
- Promoting other communities - This rule includes Discord links, Reddit communities, or any other online group that exists outside r/anime. If you're a subreddit moderator looking to get promoted, contact us and we can add your subreddit to the related subreddits page or episode discussion threads. This rule includes comments.
- Comparisons of anime locations to their real life counterparts.
- Post-episode end cards
- Meta discussion posts about lolis/shotas (e.g. "Loli appeal" or "Being a lolicon does not make you a pedo" type of posts.)
- Any question you can easily find the answer to via googling will be removed, e.g. "Is there a 3rd season for Attack on Titan?" or "What show is this image from?" Posts will be up until an answer is given and then removed.
- Wallpapers - exceptions are granted to albums of five or more images. Desktop modifications, custom phone backgrounds, and posts that focus on singular wallpaper images are not allowed.
- Do not use link shortening services - The syntax for using a masked link is:
[name](https://www.google.com)which looks like: name. Do not try to hide links in small or unseeable characters. This includes comments. - Magazine Scans - any Megami, Nyantype, Dengeki and any other spread heavy magazines must be posted in an album containing the complete set of images, and any others will be removed. Keep in mind that sexual content of minors is against Reddit's policies and will be removed.
- Non-informational teasers or announcements of future announcements.
- For the first 24 hours after an Episode thread is posted, all discussion posts about that episode are required to be in that thread including videos.
The following submissions are considered low-effort, and will be removed without exception:
- Videos or edits shorter than 60 seconds (Tiktok clips, YT Shorts, etc), gifs, posts of wallpapers, and figurine announcements
- Screenshots
- AI-generated artwork
- Jokes
- Itasha
- Petitions
- Comics
- Poll posts where the focus is entirely on a simple and basic poll
- Non-fanart birthday posts (including charts and collages)
- A song or soundtrack becoming available on any platform
- "I just watched an anime" posts that show very little effort put into them
- Text post threads with less than 100 characters. Posts flaired as Help, Fanart, and Contest are excluded.
- Post with titles that are non-descriptive, clickbait, emoji or memes
- Posts that are factually incorrect, leaks, or rumors
- Posts that are about database website aggregate ratings (e.g. FMAB is now top of MAL!)
Production visuals, videos, and other promotional material that has been newly and officially released by the production committee, publisher, studio, or other parties involved with an anime are considered Official Media. All posts using this flair must have the anime title in the title of the post. All Official Media posts must include a source. The post itself can directly link to the source, or the source may be linked in a parent-level comment within the thread. Official Media posts that fail to provide a source within 15 minutes are subject to removal.
Official Media content restrictions:
- Countdown art may not be posted individually. Instead, they may be posted as an image album when one day remains on the countdown. In the event that "Day Of" artwork is released after the image album has already been posted, then that art may be posted individually.
- Celebratory, commemorative, or "thank you" art may not be posted individually.
- During-air images, such as episode end cards, may not be posted individually.
The same clip, edit, or video may only be reposted once every 180 days. Any clip, edit, or video within the top 75 posts of all time for each flair are never allowed to be reposted.
Clips are videos showing unedited sections from an anime. The top Clips of all time can be viewed here. We allow posting clips from any anime subject to these rules:
- You may submit up to two Clip posts per 30-day period.
- They need to be properly flaired with the [Clip] tag as well as relevant spoiler and NSFW tags.
- They need to have the name of the anime in the title.
- They cannot be posted until a week after the episode discussion thread has been posted.
- Clips must be between 10 seconds and 5 minutes.
- Note that very short clips and GIFs should be treated as images. See the Restricted Content section for instructions on what image posts are allowed.
All clips must follow these guidelines to ensure their quality is high and consistent:
- Clips must have audio unless the scene is silent.
- They must have subtitles if the dialogue is not in English. Subtitles for music lyrics are not required.
- They must not have watermarks of any kind (screen recording software or channels), except for legal streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll).
- There must not be an obvious screen recording (e.g. the iPhone popup to stop the recording at the end of some clips, a mouse cursor, and actually recording the screen with a phone).
- The video container and the video content must match the original anime (so as to not create artificial black bars).
- They must be able to maintain a consistent framerate.
- They must be at least 480p or their original resolution.
Video Edits are videos where the focus is fan-edited footage from anime. Examples include fan-made AMVs (anime music videos), compilations, scene splices, and cross-media comparisons. The top Video Edits of all time can be viewed here. We allow posting edits from any anime subject to these rules:
- You may submit up to two Video Edit posts per 30-day period.
- They need to be properly flaired with the [Video Edit] tag as well as relevant spoiler and NSFW tags.
- Edits of a specific anime must include the name of the anime in their title.
- Edits cannot contain material from a recently aired episode until a week after the episode discussion thread has been posted.
- Edits must be at least 60 seconds in length.
- Content from other websites should not be rehosted on Reddit (e.g. via video upload). Submit a link to the original source instead, unless you are the original creator or you can demonstrate that the original creator has given you permission to reupload their content.
All edits must follow these guidelines:
- Edits must have audio.
- There must not be an obvious screen recording (e.g. the iPhone popup to stop the recording at the end of some clips, a mouse cursor, and actually recording the screen with a phone).
- Content must be in the correct orientation (e.g. no videos that are rotated 90 degrees and require the user to "turn their screen" for proper viewing).
- Editing an anime's opening song over another anime opening is not allowed.
- No TikTok or YouTube Short content.
The top Videos of all time can be viewed here. All videos must follow these guidelines:
- You may submit up to two Video posts and two Fanart posts per 7-day period.
- Content from other websites should not be rehosted on Reddit (e.g. via video upload). Submit a link to the original source instead, unless you are the original creator or you can demonstrate that the original creator has given you permission to reupload their content.
- Videos relating to a specific anime must include the name of the anime in the post title.
- Videos must be at least 60 seconds in length. Looping content or adding obvious filler to pad video length is prohibited.
- No TikTok or YouTube Short content.
Fanart broadly refers to creative, anime-related artistic work, and you may submit two Fanart posts per 7-day period. All Fanart works must include an element from an anime (such as a character or an object): "anime-inspired" content (such as landscapes or original characters) is not allowed. Fanart depictions of surprise characters or events from source material that have not yet appeared in the anime adaptation are considered spoilers and not allowed to be posted.
Fanart includes drawings, paintings, hand crafts, sculptures, cake decorations, tattoos, etc.
Videos of fan creations, including drawing timelapses, fan animation, musical covers, etc. at least 60 seconds in length should still be flaired as [Fanart] but must follow the Video Rules above rather than the fanart rules below. Videos shorter than 60 seconds should be treated as images and follow the General Fanart rules below.
- Must be submitted as a text post, not a direct link.
- Must include the name of the show depicted in their title.
- If you have several shows, you can use [Multiple Shows] and list all names in the post body.
- Fanfics are not allowed under any circumstances.
OC fanart refers to content that you have drawn, built or otherwise created yourself. Use the [Fanart] post flair.
- If the work takes inspiration (such as the pose or expression) from another fanart or image, the reference must be credited and linked along with your work in the post body. Failure to do so will result in strict sanctions.
- Note that tracing an image does not count as OC fanart.
- Must be final and of good quality. Work-In-Progress, including foreign objects in the frame, poor lighting, incorrect orientation or similar content is not allowed. Please respect your art.
Fanart that was found online, commissioned, drawn by a relative or otherwise is not your own work follows different rules. Use the [Fanart] post flair.
- Must be posted with at least three different, related pictures. They can be multiple pictures of the same character, same artist, similar poses, etc.
- Must link to the original of the picture.
- Do not use rehosting websites like Danbooru or Pinterest, but use the social media account of the artist, like Pixiv or Twitter.
- In the case of murals, statues, other immovable work, and commissions, a single picture is accepted as long as you took it yourself.
- Cosplay posts must use the [Cosplay] flair, must include the name of the show depicted in the title, and be submitted as text-posts.
- All non-OC cosplay posts must be posted in an album of 3 or more images, and all images must have a direct relationship: either photos of the same cosplay, cosplays from the same con, or cosplays by one person.
For any posts or comments whose focus is a specific music or soundtrack link, the following rules apply:
- TV-size openings and endings (OP/ED) are allowed as posts only if they are new and high quality. They must be posted with the [Official Media] flair if they are individually released. User-cut clips must be posted as a [Clip] and are allowed to be posted earlier than a week after the episode release.
- Officially uploaded music videos are allowed as posts, but audio-only or cover-art-only content is not.
- Full songs and individual tracks, even if unofficially uploaded, are allowed as comments.
- Playlists of unofficially uploaded songs are prohibited.
The full rule is "Do not link/lead people to torrents or unofficial streams/downloads" and also includes manga/scanlations, light novels, and other illegal or unlicensed media. This rule also extends to watermarks of illegal streaming sites and links to images hosted on scanlation sites. Edit the watermark away or rehost on imgur, respectively. Leading others to illegal streams or torrents includes explicitly mentioning specific streaming/torrenting sites, offers to send users illegal content, and leading to proxy services to circumvent licensing.
Note that this rule does not apply to simply mentioning the name of a fansub group. However, linking/leading where to find subtitles is still not allowed.
Episode and movie discussion threads are automatically posted by the bot account /u/AutoLovepon when there are adequate subtitles available. Therefore, do not make your own discussion threads. In the case of a movie/OVA being released in Japanese theaters or home video, the thread will be posted when an English version is available anywhere in any format. Please use our modmail to send us a message if the discussion thread is at least two hours late.
For the first 24 hours after an Episode thread is posted, all discussion posts about that episode are required to be in that thread including videos.
Posts and comments discussing the rules and state of the subreddit will be removed and redirected to the meta thread. A meta thread is a thread specifically about /r/anime (e.g. a suggestion to improve the reddit or a complaint about something). Do note that even though the thread is posted every month, we moderators are constantly monitoring it. You can find the latest one here.
No memes, image macros, reaction images, 'fixed' images, shitposts, or rage comics.
This includes blatant bait or troll attempts. Posts that consist of just an image and text from a meme also break this rule, even if the text is in the title of the post rather than superimposed on the image. Note that the “meme flair” will auto-remove any post that is tagged with that flair, to catch users who do not read this rule.
Do not try to sell things, use affiliate links, advertise crowdfunding, or spread referral scams. Links to sales or products that you do not profit from are generally okay, but do not try to sell your own products here. Go to /r/animebazaar or /r/iamselling instead.
We define infographics as images containing useful information presented in a way that makes the information more informative, appealing, engaging, or easier to read. Infographics must be original content. They must be the final product, be of reasonable quality, and contain minimal errors. They may be posted as link image posts and should use the [Infographic] flair.
For the purposes of infographics, original content means that the infographic itself must be your own creation, and the information must be in some way novel. Aggregate rankings from database websites such as MAL and AniList are not considered original. This data can be used, but must not be the focus of the infographic.
Weekly/Seasonal ranking infographics
Weekly/Seasonal ranking infographics (e.g. "Top 10 Spring 2020 Anime") that do not originate from a reddit thread, or a Japan focused source, can only be posted once per week and per source in a condensed version (all polls from that week in one post). To be noted that the source must be linked in the post body or comment section.
Generic ranking infographics
Generic ranking infographics which are not done in a weekly format may only be posted once per week and per user. They must still link the source of the data where it applies.
Any attempt to organize a group to upvote/downvote/comment on a thread in a different subreddit or raid any other community, including targeting individuals, will result in all participants being banned from /r/anime. Additionally, for those from outside /r/anime, targeting us in this manner will result in bans as well as the removal of all relevant comments and posts. This includes posts that are essentially a witch-hunt against any person or group.
We do not allow bots on /r/anime, even "useful" bots. Whenever we see a comment or post by one, that bot is banned. We would appreciate it if you blacklisted /r/anime in your bot's configuration to save us the hassle.
If you really think your bot would be beneficial to /r/anime, please modmail us explaining why and we'll let you know if we will permit it. In general, novelty accounts will also be removed on sight, being very similar to bots in how they operate.
Though the above rules are /r/anime specific rules, you are still expected to adhere to the Reddit user agreement and to use common sense when interacting with others. Trolling and shitposting mean walking a very fine line, and we will ban you if you take it too far. Posts advocating suicide or mentioning that you feel a user should kill themselves are never appropriate, and are grounds for an instant ban even when used as a joke.
Despite the verbosity of this page, it should not be considered a complete list of things that are against the rules. Moderators will remove posts at their discretion if they feel it is not appropriate for /r/anime. Additionally, the rules should be considered fluid, as they and our interpretation of them evolve over time. In addition, the mods will use their judgment to remove any post or comment that they believe is likely to incite drama that may be linked to from elsewhere on Reddit, as we could do without that sort of attention. This list is not exhaustive - we've tried to be as verbose as possible in explaining the rules, but ultimately moderator actions are done on a case by case basis. If a moderator determines that a user's post or behavior negatively affects /r/anime, they can and will take action.