The Manual of Style is the policy regulating the style and formatting of Space Battleship Yamato Wiki articles.
For rules regarding the layout of SBY Wiki articles, refer to the Layout Guide.
Perspective
In-universe
In-universe topics cover everything within the fictional world of Space Battleship Yamato, including characters, battles, events, spaceships, and more. These articles should be written as if the events of the series actually took place, without referencing the real world. As such, avoid mentioning real-world elements such as series titles (e.g., Final Yamato) in the main body of the article.
In order to maintain consistency, Articles should align with the "present" of the franchise’s latest released media. For example, for topics in the remake continuity, this means writing from the perspective of the year 2207, the setting of Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 3199.
This means that the past tense should be used for historical events, completed battles, and deceased characters, defunct organizations, destroyed locations. The past tense should be used for describing living characters, active political entities, and ongoing events in 2207. Biographies and history sections should be written in the past tense, as they describe completed events. The article introduction should follow these same tense rules.
The only exceptions to an in-universe perspective in an in-universe article are the "behind the scenes" section, the notes at the end of the article, and section describing alternate versions of the article's topic from official but non-canonical sources (for example, the manga section on the article for Susumu Kodai (2199)). The gallery section may include concept art, such as character or mecha design sheets.
Out-of-Universe
Out-of-universe topics include everything regarding the Space Battleship Yamato franchise outside of the fictional world it depicts. This includes people working on the franchise, publications, websites, events, etc.
These articles should primarily be written in the present tense.
Spelling and translation
Translation
Whenever possible, articles should use the official English translations from subtitles or dubs. However, if an official English translation contradicts a verified Japanese source, the wiki follows the Japanese source.
- Example:
- Great Garmillas Empire is translated to "Greater Garmillan Empire" in official Japanese merchandise, as such, this translation is prefered.
- Despite subtitles for Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 using “Great Garmillas Empire,” the wiki adopts “Greater Garmillan Empire” as the correct translation.
Choosing the Correct Spelling
- When an Official Japanese Source Provides a Different Spelling
- If a name is officially spelled out in Japanese material, that spelling takes priority over subtitle or dub translations.
- Example:
- Starsha Iscandar is spelled “Stasha Iscandar” on the official Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2205 poster.
- Despite the Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 subtitles using “Starsha,” the wiki adopts “Stasha” as the correct spelling.
- When an On-Screen Spelling Differs from Official Subtitles
- If the on-screen text in the series uses a different romanization than the subtitles, the wiki follows the on-screen spelling.
- Example:
- The official subtitles for Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 spell Gami-loids as “Garmilloids.”
- However, since the spelling "Gami-loid" appears on-screen, the wiki adopts this version.
- When the Official English Translation is Incorrect
- If the official subtitles provide an incorrect translation, the wiki may use a more accurate, non-official translation based on the original Japanese.
- Example:
- Fleur's name is rendered as “Frerul” in the official Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 3199 subtitles.
- This is incorrect because the Japanese spelling フルール (Furūru) does not include the extra "L" at the end. As such, SBY wiki corrects the name to "Fleur."
Handling Conflicting Spellings
- When Multiple On-Screen Spellings Exist
- When a Secondary Source Provides a Conflicting Spelling
- If a conflicting spelling comes from a secondary source (e.g., merchandise or trading cards), only the spelling from a reliable source (such as an on-screen appearance) is considered valid.
- The alternate spelling from the secondary source should be mentioned only in the Behind the Scenes section or Notes.
- Example:
- Abelt Desler is spelled "Abelt Dessler" on screen, so both versions are included in the article introduction.
- The name "Abert Deslar" appears only on a trading card. As such, it is only mentioned in the Behind the Scenes section.
Language, Capitalization, and Emphasis
Language
Articles need to be written in English, whenever a word has more than one accepted spelling, the American English spelling is prefered.
Capitalization
- Ranks should always be capitalized when they immediately precede an individual's name. Do not capitalize ranks when used as a substitute for the name.
- The name of a species should always be capitalized.
- The name "Desler cannon" has also been capitalized as "Desler Cannon" in official subtitles, so all capitalizations are accepted.
Emphasis
- The name of the article should be bolded in its first usage in the article's text or introduction, as should any alternate formal names and nicknames mentioned.
- Ship names should always be capitalized and italicized .
- The names of ship classes should be capitalized italicized.
- The exception is when a ship class's name consists only of an abbreviation, such as FS-class Space Torpedo Boat.
- The names of space stations or fortresses should be capitalized, but not italicized.
- The title of a series, book, or comic should be italicized.
- The title of an episode should not be italicized, but should be put between "quotation marks".