Editorial Policy

1. Editorial independence

KyotoVibe operates as an independent editorial platform. The views expressed in our reviews and articles are those of the individual writers and reflect their genuine assessments. No commercial arrangement — including custom review orders and sponsored placements — gives any party the right to alter, pre-approve, or otherwise influence the editorial content of a review or article.

This means: if a studio pays for a custom review order and the resulting review is negative, it will be published as written. We will not accept payment in exchange for a guarantee of positive coverage.

2. Organic vs. commissioned content

Organic content is written entirely at the editorial team's discretion, without any commercial arrangement. It is not labelled as sponsored. Commissioned content — whether a custom review order, standard editorial placement, or premium sponsored review — is always labelled prominently at the top of the article with a clear disclosure stating the commercial nature of the piece.

3. Sponsored content labelling

Sponsored or commissioned articles carry a visible disclosure in the following form: "This review was commissioned through KyotoVibe's custom review order service. The editorial content reflects the genuine opinion of the author." (or equivalent wording appropriate to the format.) This label appears before the body of the article.

4. Review methodology

Reviewers are expected to consume the full title — all available episodes, or the complete film — before writing a review. Partial-viewing reviews are not published under KyotoVibe's byline. Where a series is ongoing at the time of review, this will be noted clearly.

Reviews include the reviewer's name. Anonymous reviews are not published. If a reviewer has a relevant conflict of interest, they must disclose it at the start of the article.

5. Corrections policy

If factual errors are identified in published content, we will correct them and note the correction at the bottom of the article with the date it was made. We do not silently edit published articles to remove errors. Contact [email protected] to report an error.

6. External links and affiliate arrangements

Where KyotoVibe uses affiliate links (e.g. to streaming platforms or retailers), these will be disclosed in the article in which they appear. As of December 2024, we do not use affiliate links. This policy will be updated if that changes.

7. Comments and reader interaction

KyotoVibe does not currently operate a public commenting system on the site. Reader responses can be sent to [email protected].

8. Questions about this policy

For questions about our editorial practices, contact us at [email protected].