Although the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is only partly complete, interested readers can access the working text now at the website. I warn you now, with 3.2 million words up online already, it is a time-wasting machine. I’ve been writing entries on a number of Asian subjects, including a new contender for Japan’s first science fiction anime, a forgotten master of pre-manga art, and an ongoing effort to write entries for everybody who’s won a Seiun Award. Plus entries on all sorts of fun things, from Korean costume dramas to Chinese feminists, the science fiction of Yukio Mishima and the steampunk of Hitoshi Yoshioka. Since the Encyclopedia focusses on authorship, there are entries on the original creators of Sky Crawlers and Akira, 2001 Nights and Star Blazers. There are details of the Japanese variants of Flowers for Algernon and the translation of Neuromancer, Japanese experts on Jack the Ripper and the big names in yaoi.
And how much does this all cost you? Nothing. It’s all free. It won’t be finished for a year or so, but it’s being hosted and paid for by Gollancz as part of their SF Gateway. But I’m warning you: it’s a time hoover. Do not click on any of the above links if you haven’t got an hour or so to spare getting lost in the labyrinth.
The Official Schoolgirl Milky Crisis Blog 
Very interesting; I had last heard of it years ago and assumed the project was more or less dead.
I was looking at the Algernon entry; I had always heard that one of the _End of Evangelion_ episode titles, “Magokoro o kimine”, was based on Algernon, but that’s apparently not true or at least not mentioned?
No, it’s true. I’m planning to include it in the Evangelion entry, which I haven’t written yet. Magokoro o Kimi ni was the Japanese title of the film Charly, which was one of several prominent SF references to be found in the titles of Evangelion episodes and films. The SFE is supposed to show “incoming” references as well, which means that in the final version you will able to see all the entries that point *at* the entry you’re reading as well. I’m not sure why this function isn’t enabled yet in the beta, but I guess it’s because it’s a beta.
Ah, thanks.
(I *was* wondering what those odd text things were; I figured those were to incomplete articles when I searched the listed Evangelion title and didn’t find an article on it, which made no sense to me unless it simply wasn’t done yet.)
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As owner of the last SFE, all I can say is: mind BLOWN.
Is there going to be some way of providing feedback? E.g. 5 Centimeters per Second was first released in the US in 2008 (by ADV), not 2011 as stated at http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/shinkai_makoto (it was re-released in 2011 by Crunchyroll/Bandai with the newer Bang Zoom! dub commissioned by Comix-Wave)
I’ll sort that out , Shiroi Hane. Might take a few weeks before it shows up, but don’t worry…
I’m sorry to say that I’ve found a small error in Yoshihara Reiko’s entry – the 2010 remake of Ai no Kusabi has been rescheduled for release in January 2012.
http://forest.kinokuniya.co.jp/ItemIntro/683232
Will you also cover the winners of the Nihon SF Taisho Award who have not also won the Seiun Award?
Thanks, I’ll put that change in with the next batch that get uploaded.
The SFE doesn’t mention every award, but I shall certainly throw in those who have won the SF Taisho if they haven’t already been covered in a complete set of Seiun Winners. Sometimes, the process catches them anyway — I have, for example, just delivered an entry on Tow Ubukata, not because he won the SF Taisho, but because he has published books in English.