Ideas for an anime/series cataloger software

such as anidb or that one new places that opened up for open alpha testing?

(ID #369276) Posted on 2008/11/13 13:28

reply to Barsona's comment

Yeah, something along those lines. My idea is to use it in a much more customized way, letting you control every info about your catalog.

(ID #369285) Posted on 2008/11/13 13:36

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

you might want to look up anidb's anidb-o-matic
it syncs with the anidb database, and can help you keep track of the files you have
also syncs with your anidb account mylist, to keep track of what youve watched
and can rename your files and stuff
well, you can look at it more here: http://wiki.anidb.net/w/AOM

(ID #369474) Posted on 2008/11/13 15:18

reply to afatcow's comment

Thanks, I'll take a look at this one too ^^

(ID #370448) Posted on 2008/11/14 09:19

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

Easy-use-interface.

(ID #369293) Posted on 2008/11/13 13:40

reply to JChow's comment

Yup, that's one important thing I'll consider :3

(ID #369343) Posted on 2008/11/13 14:07

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

You mean you're making something like this?
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php
You say a database but how much information do you intend to put into it?
Is it just going to be a list of Anime? or more?
Personally I like ANN's encyclopedia's layout, including names, alternate/foreign names, sequels, related/sources, length/episodes, titles, companies, cast, news items, etc..
All of which I use frequently when I need to confirm/look up someone or a company.
They have a regular search by title or an advanced search that you can even look up by themes, like "harem, robots, aliens, etc.."
--
However, the only thing that I personally think that it lacks is that it doesn't have many visuals. As in pictures of said Anime. Usually they have one 'family picture' of the Anime characters, often than not, very misleading. Although they do have Seiyuu links and their info, they do not have information of characters in the Anime, or pictures. 
--
I guess what I want is a 'character' section like in the official websites of the Anime, containing plots, character info, pictures, etc.
--
Obviously ANN's database is already huge and it's understandable that they do not have such a feature. Not to mention that character descriptions would probably have to be written by their crew, which can in turn be highly biased or even mis-represented.
--
So, in the end, it's really all up to you on how deep you want to go.
Do you just want a list of Anime and included characters?
Or do you even want to get down to each seiyuu, their profile, related work, and even their blog?
Which is a ton of information that would need to be updated regularly.
Anyhow, ANN's database should give you some ideas on how far you want to take it, and also the information you need.
--
Another more simple database is www.anidb.net and a mid-version would be www.animenfo.com which includes character/seiyuu.
Hope this helps.

(ID #369316) Posted on 2008/11/13 13:52

reply to JooNkeN's comment

I think you might have misundestood my idea; I plan on making a software that helps people manage THEIR collection of series/animes. such management would b done by having some info about the series/anime and saving it on your computer, so you can easily find information about series/animes you have.
Being an software it probably could have a connection with anidb, animeinfo, or any related sites, but this would be only to get info about the series/anime you already have.

Sorry, I think I didn't make that very clear on the post ^^'

(ID #369330) Posted on 2008/11/13 13:59

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

ive created a spreadsheet for mine which i tweak now and then with new information i like to have available for when going through the list

i for the most part tend to have the anime title, how many episodes, average filesize per episode (which automatically adjusts to total estimated filesize for series), and a description of the anime

(ID #369488) Posted on 2008/11/13 15:29

reply to Laww's comment

Hmm... I use excel for mine too. The categories I use are :-

-Title
-Episode Number + Specials
-Comments
-Total File Size
-Genre
-Archive Method (I have both DVDs and HDD)

(ID #369624) Posted on 2008/11/13 17:33

reply to nutcase23's comment

Mine has : Name, Number of episodes, Size of the whole series, Quality, Idiom, Format, and a link to the wikipedia nentry about the series (since I borrow many animes to friends, I just have to send'em my list and they can chose which one they like ^^)

(ID #370447) Posted on 2008/11/14 09:18

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

In this case, maybe you could have a discreet section where, once you select a series, it gives a few reccomendations from places like myanimelist, etc., so you can continue building your collection.  Maybe in the lower right corner or some other noticeable but unobtrusive spot. 

(ID #370843) Posted on 2008/11/14 15:06

reply to Poofiemus's comment

Uhum, this is a good idea too ^^
Maybe even send you to a custom link to the page of the series you have :3

(ID #371764) Posted on 2008/11/15 09:13

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

I use DVDpeida.

(ID #369320) Posted on 2008/11/13 13:54

reply to JB.'s comment

sorry that's DVDPedia.... http://www.bruji.com/

(ID #369323) Posted on 2008/11/13 13:55

reply to JB.'s comment

Hm, seems interesting, but this isn't only for movies?
I plan on making something much more flexible in terms of possible info stored ^^

(ID #369334) Posted on 2008/11/13 14:03

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

Tags would be nice. Maybe a screenshot window too?

(ID #369322) Posted on 2008/11/13 13:55

reply to FishBall's comment

Thanks, I didn't think about tags ^^
And the screenshot; I had an idea about the possibility to show each series/animes as icons in the program, and use a small picture to identify'em. That icon would probably be a screenshot or a logo of some kind.

(ID #369339) Posted on 2008/11/13 14:06

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

All I can do is point you at MyAnimeList ( http://www.myanimelist.com/ ) for all the possible options one could add (tags, where you're storing it, whether you'd re-watch it, watch date, etc.) as well as Anime-planet ( http://www.anime-planet.com/ ) for its nice looking interface and plenty of pictures.

I actually made a post about organizing awhile ago. It was more asking people how they kept track of what they've watched, though (I use those two above). http://www.dannychoo.com/detail/mac/eng/image/8433/Staying+Organized.html

(ID #369399) Posted on 2008/11/13 14:32

reply to litokid's comment

Oops. MyAnimeList is at http://www.myanimelist.net/ Sorry about that.

(ID #369401) Posted on 2008/11/13 14:33

reply to litokid's comment

Thanks, I'll check those sites ^^
And about your post, I kinda do the same, except I have an MS Office Excel file where I store all info related to this. But, since I had to do an assingnment, I thought doing a program to organize things for me would be interesting ^^'

(ID #369430) Posted on 2008/11/13 14:56

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

Features:
JPN Airtime, Broadcasting Company, Synopsis, No of episodes with titles, Genre classification, Year aired.
Production Company, Manga connection/light novel connection if possible (since majority of anime that is shown at the moment are from light novels.)

interface would be if you can do a mouse-over. 
hovering over the pic/icon will show the anime title and synopsis.
Clicking on it will activate a pop-up that will show the items i listed above.

(ID #369410) Posted on 2008/11/13 14:39

reply to Lelouch Lamperouge's comment

Thanks, this will be very helpful ^^

And the idea about the mouse is good, would be something interesting and kinda easy to make... I'll see what I can do :3

(ID #369433) Posted on 2008/11/13 14:59

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

Optional renaming function. One very good idea would be some sort of organizer, either abc ( diff folders) or Air date (by season/year), where it manually moves your files. One very popular item that might gain interest is some sort of list, either online or text file. That shows how many combined hours/days/months/years of anime you have and what you have watched, much like myanimelist. But in the end even with all these nice features a easy graphical userface would be nice. 

(ID #369446) Posted on 2008/11/13 15:06

reply to jhkplaya888's comment

Yeah, I thought of having a nice way of arranging everything so you could easily browse to everything.
And about that list, it's interesting but it depends if the user informs the total time of each series... But again, it could be calculated inside the program, so I guess it wouldn't be much of a problem ^^'

(ID #369490) Posted on 2008/11/13 15:29

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

I'm thinking something along the lines of having a list tree so that things can be divided into categories like alphabetically in a alphabet sort, or by category (ie. action, ecchi). 
Another thing you could do is have a thumbnail view, where each series is represented by a thumbnail and clicking on it will open a page will all of the information needed.
If you can't tell, I'm going for the approach of having multiple view types so people can choose their favorite.
One thing you could look into is have a linking feature so that you can click an episode in your program and it will start playing in a chosen video player(for dvds just alert them to put in whatever disk the episode is on).

(ID #369504) Posted on 2008/11/13 15:40

reply to Phalon's comment

The multiple ways of viewing is my aim too; I want the user to have a good way to see everything he has on his catalog.
And about the linking, I could make a system that catches all the files from a folder an relates'em to a link... Would possibly be a little complicated (people use different ways of naming the series ._.), but it's indeed possible ^^'

(ID #370403) Posted on 2008/11/14 08:34

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

Being able to create and define organizing criteria would be nice--like being able to organize things based on a rank of certain content you define.

(ID #369514) Posted on 2008/11/13 15:48

reply to Dcg's comment

Yup, I thought about having an user-made rank to each series, and that you could sort your files by this rank. retty easy thing to do, and very usefull ^^

(ID #370408) Posted on 2008/11/14 08:38

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

This is a great idea. I suppose one thing that could be included is an ability to scan your hard drive for media that is currently on your hard drive(s), so that you are able to see the files that you have before you start cataloging. One question, will you be able to access the file from the database?

(ID #369622) Posted on 2008/11/13 17:29

reply to ben_s's comment

Well, I'll probably let the user link the sereies entry with a folder, so you could open an episode automatically.
And about an scan, this probably would be much harder to do ^^" If I have the time I can make something along those lines, but since everyone uses different ways to rename their series, the program would find much garbage ._.' Anyway, I'll take note here ^^'

(ID #370412) Posted on 2008/11/14 08:45

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

field name are flexible and editable,
cover / image insert

(ID #369696) Posted on 2008/11/13 18:44

reply to adan's comment

I plan on having those features as well ^^

(ID #370417) Posted on 2008/11/14 08:51

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

you may take MyAnimeList as your base reference, it pretty much included every essential part.

(ID #369777) Posted on 2008/11/13 20:44

reply to WiseFreeman's comment

Yeah, I'm also planning to suggest that. MyAnimeList is pretty good reference if you ask me.

(ID #370226) Posted on 2008/11/14 04:46

reply to daichouginga's comment

Thanks, I'll check it out ^^
Maybe in the future I have the skills to make a plugin so you could import your catalog to the myanimelist too, if it isn't too hard :3

(ID #370420) Posted on 2008/11/14 08:54

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

Good luck with that GnuoyKun! I had an idea to make something like that, but didn't have support for it, and ended giving up on it.

Was innitially going to code it in Delphi, but then switched to PHP to try an online approach...

Dunno what's your coding experience, but for the exporting feature, I'd recommend formatting the file in XML, trying to comply to some standard.

Dunno if animenewsnetwork, anidb or animenfo can output xml, but it would be nice to have a standard format so you could eventually make comparisons with online databases.

Maybe I'm getting a little too far ahead here, but since you have lots of time to do it... I have lots of ideas for something like that, since I almost started coding something similar. Only gave up because of lack of time some 6-7 years ago.

Anyways, I'm from Brazil too. If you need more help with that, get to my blog and send me a message!

(ID #369876) Posted on 2008/11/13 22:24

reply to XSportSeeker's comment

Yeah, I myself wanted to do something related when I fisrt tried coding, but to create an user interface in C++ isn't the most happy thing in the world ._. But now I had the oportunity to make this, so I'll finish it no matter what :3
And yes, I will; I've been reading your blog every now and then XD

(ID #370426) Posted on 2008/11/14 09:02

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

If your talking about an anime version of endnote that might be nice.  I'd include options for Fansub/Orig DVD/Raw, year, studio, creator like Mayazaki, etc.  Maybe also add an option for an Album cover for the entire series.

Speaking of album covers it might also be nice to have an addon for OST and related CD's.

(ID #369897) Posted on 2008/11/13 22:40

reply to Macrossfan2's comment

Uhum, that's something that would be indeed interesting, thanks ^^
Myabe even have different sections, one for the series, one for CDs, and one for OVA/movies... It all depends on how much I'll bring myself to do ^^""

(ID #370427) Posted on 2008/11/14 09:05

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

you know recently i was thinknig that animelist.net is lacking something, maybe this can serve as a reference. Maybe custominzing a page like myspace but dedicated to your favorites pictures, videos and maybe phrases of your anime...

(ID #369951) Posted on 2008/11/13 23:18

reply to pipopaz's comment

You can actually customise MyAnimeList to a certain amount. The panel is plain as usual but its under the animelist style. The list pages for Manga, Anime can be customised with CSS coding.

For pages with the members details, you can actually find a different ways to add good graphic inserts?

(ID #370074) Posted on 2008/11/14 00:58

reply to SG's comment

Use anime planet as a guide as well.  Using anidb is mainly for locating fan sub groups, not a topic you might be wanting to incorporate into your software from legal issues.  I prefer to include a cover art of the series so people can see some of the characters.

(ID #369981) Posted on 2008/11/13 23:53

reply to Robostrike's comment

Actually it wouldn't be a problem, since it will only catalog things; it could have legal issues if it had a download link for the series, but this is far from the goal of this software ^^"

(ID #370430) Posted on 2008/11/14 09:07

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

Software to keep a catalog listing of Anime on the computer?
So it would be able to read directories of the anime series being stored at?
Sounds pretty hard, so I would think that the user would be able to direct its path to the folder with the anime titles. Being able to read off the directories means automatic input based on the file data I presume.

Another idea is to be able to open, or play the file from the app by just clicking the episode name and it'll locate the file and play it under a set preference of player choice (that another idea, preferences).

Able to change the colour scheme of the app like the Nero CD writer software.

Check out iTunes, I think there could be some good ideas you can use from it. iTunes pretty much does music instead of anime series. If its similar to iTunes in keeping your anime intact then I think that its pretty much works well for reference.

(ID #370086) Posted on 2008/11/14 01:08

reply to SG's comment

Yup, this is indeed a possibility. I'd have to write something that searches for all possible ways of naming an series, but in the end it should be very simple, only a matter of coding it.
And thanks, haven't thought about watching iTunes ^^

(ID #370437) Posted on 2008/11/14 09:13

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

If you want any help, i would like to help you out!

(ID #370090) Posted on 2008/11/14 01:09

reply to BlackWolf's comment

any help would be appreciated, but since it's an assignment from university I can't have much help from coding, because after all I'll have to show this to my teachers and explain how it works ^^"

(ID #370442) Posted on 2008/11/14 09:16

reply to GnuoyKun's comment

scan for files could be a good fearure you can check anime list buider www.animelistbuilder.com has some good features, like export the list/data base to a html page

(ID #370924) Posted on 2008/11/14 16:27

reply to jano's comment