General
Last updated
Last updated
Ensure synopses meet the below guidelines for Length, Content, and Grammar and Style. Synopses must also follow the Style Guide.
Leave clear comments for every edit you make. This is important to allow everyone involved to be informed about and understand the changes you have made, especially the writer and the reviewing coordinator.
Make sure the information provided in the synopses is accurate. Be particularly cautious of:
Time periods: When specifying years, centuries, etc., please make sure you are using the right time period.
Titles, Names, and Genres: Make sure to stick to MAL's naming conventions and check all the spellings carefully. Refer to Rewrite's Terminology guide.
Ages of the Characters: A 16-year-old is just as much a high schooler as a 17-year-old, but it is still absolutely essential that we maintain accuracy across all the facts we present to MAL users. When in doubt, go through the character description on MAL, Japanese Wikipedia, and, if available, the official anime/manga website. Also, rely on the first chapter/episode of the original source for the appropriate age to use.
Events in the Story: It is easy to skip details that seem obvious to us, but omissions could make a synopsis misleading. Similarly, do not make assumptions about a series if the anime/manga specifies no such thing.
Numbers: Amounts of money, prices of objects, number of wins and losses of a legendary sportsperson, etc. are easy to get wrong.
Correct any spelling and grammatical errors in synopses, and improve readability as necessary.
Look for and eliminate "recap sentences" concluding synopses, especially ones that contain the title of the series. Rather than using the structure "Anime/Manga Title tells the story of characters A and B, who explore these listed themes and feelings," writers should find a more creative way to include important information throughout the entire synopsis.
As much as possible, try not to over-edit. It is important to retain the writer's original voice in the synopsis. However, extensive editing is okay as long as it is backed up by solid reasoning.
If the synopsis is not accessible, notify the writer. More information can be found in the Creating the Synopsis Document section of the Writer Instructions.
Post in the anime-fixes or manga-fixes channel in our Discord server to report errors such as inconsistencies in spelling and other details across MAL. If you are not a member of our Discord server, then you may notify Red-Comet.