Editorial Policy
How Hidden Anime reports, interprets and attributes sources. Our standards for factual claims, editorial voice, visual media and contributor content.
Japan-First Editorial Perspective
Hidden Anime covers anime culture through a Japan-first lens: production context, cultural roots, local reception and industry nuance that reaches international audiences second. Content falls into two distinct lanes:
- Factual reporting (Anime Feed) — sourced from verified official announcements, studio releases and registered industry media. Every factual claim is traceable to a documented source.
- Cultural interpretation (Nippon Lens, Ninja Bloggler, Tomodachi) — editorial analysis, cultural reading and opinion. Clearly framed as interpretation. Never stated as news unless sourced.
Paraphrase & Attribution
Hidden Anime paraphrases source material rather than reproducing text verbatim. Original sources are cited. We do not pass off third-party reporting as original journalism without attribution. Quotes from interviews or press material are attributed to the original speaker and source.
Visual Media Policy (§12)
Hidden Anime uses a four-level media classification for all images:
- N1 — Original photography from editors or contributors. Full attribution with name and country.
- N2 — Creative Commons from Wikimedia Commons, Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, PxHere, Openverse. Licence verified and displayed. Every article with third-party images maintains a
_source.txtrecord. - N3 — Official press material from traceable release channels (studio press kits, official distributor notices). Used only with visible credit and logged source URL. Maximum 2 per article; Studio Ghibli, Toei, Shueisha: prefer 1.
- N4 — Prohibited: manga scans, anime screencaps without permission, fan art without credit, AI imitating a protected studio, OGP scraped from Google / Pinterest / Reddit / X / fan blogs.
Every article requires a _source.txt file listing URL, access date, licence and rights holder for each image. Without it, the article does not publish.
What We Do Not Use
- Unauthorised screenshots from anime episodes, films or streaming platforms
- Frame captures from licensed streaming services
- Fan art or derivative works without express written consent from the creator
- AI-generated images imitating the style of a protected studio, character or artist
- Images sourced from Google Images without a traceable original source and confirmed licence
- Images from blogs or aggregator sites without clear rights provenance
- Any media where the source or licence cannot be clearly documented
Wikimedia and Open Licences
Hidden Anime uses images from Wikimedia Commons and equivalent open-licence repositories under licences compatible with editorial publication: CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC0 or comparable. Attribution — author, source URL and licence — appears visibly alongside each asset. Errors corrected within 48h on request.
Embed Policy
Hidden Anime may embed video from YouTube and posts from X using their official embed systems. These embeds reference original content via iframe and do not constitute re-hosting. All embedded sources must originate from a verified official account. Embeds are used strictly for editorial commentary.
Tomodachi Contributor Content
Dispatches submitted by Tomodachi contributors are reviewed and edited before publication. Hidden Anime reserves the right to shorten, rewrite or decline any submission. Contributors grant Hidden Anime a non-exclusive licence to publish their submission with credit. Contributors must not submit copyrighted material they do not own.
Amazon Product Images & Affiliate Links
Hidden Anime participates in the Amazon Associates Programme. Affiliate links use rel="sponsored nofollow" and are disclosed wherever they appear. We do not receive payment to review or recommend specific products.
Contact
Editorial questions: hiddenanimenews@gmail.com
Copyright or takedown requests: Copyright & Takedown page