Who founded MyAnimeList and when was it launched?
Garrett Gyssler founded MyAnimeList in November 2004, originally calling it AnimeList. He ran it alone for four years before CraveOnline purchased the site on the 4th of August 2008.
Questions about MyAnimeList
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Why is MyAnimeList called MyAnimeList instead of AnimeList?
Gyssler renamed it MyAnimeList by borrowing the possessive "My" from Myspace, then the dominant social network. The change was a deliberate echo of the most prominent social platform of that era.
How does the MyAnimeList ranking system calculate scores?
Users score anime and manga from one to ten, and MyAnimeList recalculates rankings twice a day using a weighted formula. A title requires at least 50 votes to qualify for a ranking, and only votes from users who have completed at least 20 percent of the title are counted. In February 2020, the formula was updated to counter vote brigading.
Who owns MyAnimeList now?
Gaudiy, a Tokyo-based company specializing in Web3 and AI technology, has been the sole owner of MyAnimeList since the 7th of May 2025. It acquired Media Do's ownership stake in April 2025 and then bought out all remaining shareholders.
Was MyAnimeList ever hacked?
On the 10th of May 2023, a hacker replaced the titles of every anime in MyAnimeList's database with references to Serial Experiments Lain. The site restored its databases and returned online on the 13th of May, with personal user data confirmed intact.
Is MyAnimeList blocked in any country?
MyAnimeList has been permanently blocked in Russia since October 2025, after Russian authorities classified the site's LGBTQ+ content as extremist.