What makes a shrine a shrine?

[Chibi]

When I was younger, a good shrine/fansite for me was one that gave as much information as possible on the subject. Now that I think about it, it's kind of funny... Years ago, most character shrines only had general information, few or no information at all about the character's relationships with other characters, a media section with images, avatars, wallpapers, etc. and lastly a "Link" section where they linked other shrines similar to theirs. All the analysis and essays that we write in our shrines today - there was nothing like that in the shrines I visited in the past, but I still considered those to be good shrines.

Nowadays, however, a good shrine has to have more than that, in my opinion. I like shrines to have in-depth information and analysis about characters/relationships, etc. instead of being just a website with basic information. As some people have already said, if you want basic information on a subject, you can just go on wikipedia or google; but from a shrine, I actually look for something more than simple information. It makes it more interesting for me. :)

[Elysa]

When I was younger, a good shrine/fansite for me was one that gave as much information as possible on the subject. Now that I think about it, it's kind of funny... Years ago, most character shrines only had general information, few or no information at all about the character's relationships with other characters, a media section with images, avatars, wallpapers, etc. and lastly a "Link" section where they linked other shrines similar to theirs. All the analysis and essays that we write in our shrines today - there was nothing like that in the shrines I visited in the past, but I still considered those to be good shrines.

Oh man, I remember this! Most sites I used to visit just had some general info about the series and characters, and then a multimedia page with music, quotes, fanwork, images etc. and a site section XD

I tend to think of a shrine as a site that has mostly written work on it, though I think it also has to do with the fact that that is what most shrines out there have to offer. That's not to say that a site that offers other ways shouldn't be called a shrine. I remember Tabita used to have a shrine dedicated to the Kokuyo gang from Reborn, which I found really creative. I believe it was mostly art-focused, where she had drawn the characters in various situations and added her own comments :> So for me, I don't really have a set of "guidelines" that shrines need to adhere to. They don't have to have a ton of (analytical) essays, as long as the site as a whole shows dedication. I'd like to think there's a reason why people prefer quality over quantity :>

I'd also like to say that this thread has given me some ideas to possibly include in a shrine, like linking music to characters :> I often write things based on occurences happening in their respective series, but, especially in the case of my Sawako/Kazahaya site, it makes me think that it's more just a summery of the series and I'd like to offer something more than that ^^;

[Masao]

I think anything you create can at some level be considered a shrine. Though I usually prefer text-focused, but like Elysa mentioned, I really loved Tabita's tribute to Kokuyo. I think fanart you draw yourself is a great way to show your love for something, as long as you put effort into it. Though I have to say I'm not a fan of just cropping scans and artwork by others and doing nothing else to it, and calling that your own work. But the key to me is personal involvement. And while I love fanlistings, I don't think the codes/rules/join form/member list format can be compared to a full info and essay oriented shrine. Which isn't to say it's less than or in anyway undervalued, but that it's a different form of fan dedication. I don't think shrines are better than fanlistings, or vice versa, I just think they're just different ways to show your love for a subject.

I do like like how shrines have evolved to being more analytical, since basic info can be found on wiki. Which isn't to say basic info shrines aren't good. I think there's a lot to be said of writing what you thought a series or a character was about. But I always enjoy reading people's different takes on certain things.

I remember before I started making shrines, I used to think I sucked at writing and was always too afraid to even try. But after I started finally, I realized it wasn't as bad as I imagined, and it improved over time. My problem now is I just get lazy with organizing my thoughts, and putting it on pages.

[anon]

I gave a lot of thought to this topic, and while you certainly can't rule out fanart/fanfiction sites as a fan site (due the umbrella term of the name), they're not the same things as shrines/textual sites/tributes/what have you. The reason is because of their different portrayals: fanart/fanfiction sites have the objective of presenting creative works in a way characters, settings, or events are skewed through the author's imagination. I don't mean interpretations of what happened in which chapter, but alternations as whatever the creator sees fit, a personal fanon.

tl;dr the fan creator is not doing rehash of the character's personal history, or any interpretations about his or her personality itself. In fact the fan creator will often present works where certain events that never happened may take place, or certain out-of-character moments. It certainly tells a lot about the fan creator's interests, but very little about what the characters are like themselves, or how the original creator meant to portray the characters.

There's also more emphasis on the works themselves than the original content. You might be interested in seeing this artist's doujinshi of her favorite pairing... when said pairing is not even canon and have not interacted with each other in the majority of the series.

[Mikari]

That's actually part of what I like about those fanfic/art sites, they present something different from what I've already seen for myself so they really catch my interest. They are rarer now as such works are easier to keep/show on archives. Which is also why my Interest in shrines has died down over time.

[anon]

That's actually part of what I like about those fanfic/art sites, they present something different from what I've already seen for myself so they really catch my interest. They are rarer now as such works are easier to keep/show on archives. Which is also why my Interest in shrines has died down over time.

Kind of confused. I just classified them as not shrines?

[Varen]

@Jo

That's very true; I hadn't thought of that. Another that crossed my mind is how difficult it is to express yourself without using some form of words. I mean, granted, you can reconstruct an essay to be like a comic, but you'll still probably use some analytical functions and exposition to explain your interpretation.

[dubiousdisc]

Varen: Well, most comics are found in the intersection between the language of pictures and the language of words and that a lot of modern illustration uses words, both because of their meaning and because of their aesthetic appeal, so it's not like working with visual media completely excludes working with words.

Joe: Though that is a very good point re: fan works being usually adding parts that don't exist in canon and so on. They do fall under fansite, but I would guess not under shrine, huh. Although the borders can be blurred. For example, let's say we're talking about a game which has a description of some event that is never shown beyond that description, and you have an illustrated shrine to that...

[anon]

Tabitha made that Kokuyo shrine in the past that was completely illustrated. Even if it had images drawn by her I'd think it's a shrine and not a fanart site because she isn't displaying her works like a gallery.

[dubiousdisc]

Though, let's say instead of a manga a shrine of that type had been for a book?