Did Luffy travel the same path that Roger took to get into Raftel? I've been quite curious as to why some of the islands that Roger has travled into are also voyaged by the Straw Hat Pirates such as Skypiea, Mermaid Island, and Zou.

If I recall correctly, there are routes in Grand Line on which you can set sail by traveling on the path indicated by the log pose( A device that tells you the direction of next island from the current island).

SPOILER ALERT:
Don't read if you aren't up to speed with current episodes.
I can think of two reasons.But before that i would like to mention few points:

One piece is greatly linked with Joyboy, D (the will of D) and of course Laugh Tale.
On Rogers journey he had instances where he was told someone(luffy) would come and change the world. He is the person Joyboy is waiting for. Or something like that.
After conquering the grand line there wasn't much time left for him (he was sick).
He and crew came to know about the void century. But again due to point 3 they couldn't do much about it. And at the time world government had too much power and control over people.

Also, Before I compare their journeys for you. Understand this:

One piece/Laugh tale (and other things like will of D/Joyboy/Void Century/Marines )
are the real deal and the goals of the Straw hat pirates and not retracing the path of Legendary Gol D Roger. Although they do want his title and treasure(We don't know what that is) and nothing else.

Record of the Void Century 800 years ago, in the Wano Country, a clan of master stonemasons known as the Kozuki Family invented indestructible block shaped steles for the purpose of recording important history on them while preventing it from being destroyed. Those steles would become the Poneglyphs.

Poneglyphs lead to a location. It's the path that either was created to stay hidden(from enemies and people) or to preserve something(op). It's obvious but i also say this because ODA said at current level Akainu can get to one piece in a year. But  he doesn't because that's not what marines wan't or they may not like what they will get in the end. (by marines i mean the ones at the top).

Roger in ZOU said to Pedro "My time is limited.Listen,Everyone has their own turn". Most people misinterpret this as his message to Pedro. Noooooo, he just mentioned that it was his(Roger's) turn. Pedro figures out his role on his own in whole cake arc and then realizes what Roger meant. Roger isn't the kind who would tell anyone random what to do. Because he wouldn't like it himself being told what to do. Here,
 a. The scene is after reaching Laugh tale (means he knew everything and acquired everything by the time)   b. and after meeting Oda.
 c. He knew about Joyboy, his promise and that someone will come after 20 years. And change the world
So, What Roger meant was that,he needs to make sure that the man of prophecy (he has learned about via different sources) reaches the Laugh tale.

Last point: Hence, When you see the bigger picture there are 3 characters to evaluate

 1. Joyboy: The mystery man we don't know much about. Who is the origin for most of the mysteries in one piece. Was the one who created path to one piece with help of wano kuri.And apparently Roger admires him, possibly so does luffy.
2.Roger: Who traveled most of his life(13 yrs +1 year apparently before his death) connecting pieces left by Joyboy. Known as pirate king (also thought to be his highest achievement). His, highest achievement is refining the path of grandline and making sure the man of prophecy reaches Laugh tale.
3. Straw hat Monkey D Luffy: The main protagonist of the story that has been changing the world since arc I. And probably will change the fate of the world when he finds one piece.
Now, with considering all the data from above and concluding , Your answer:

Yes luffy and roger are travelling the same paths. And its because of one of the 2 reasons.

After Roger conquered the grand line which took him 13+ years. Sailed again with Oden to provide a path to the man of prophecy (yours luffy) So, that he wouldn't have to invest as much time and effort as roger did.  In order to do this Roger traveled the grand line again in his last year alive. The only things mind blowing here is, Roger didn't knew which path luffy will take, so he travel the whole grand line that took him 13 years in 1 year. I mean he might know the path, and he probably wouldn't face much resistance like the first time but 13-1 ratio is still insane. (You might think he could have just helped in one path that luffy has been taking , but thats not an option here. Roger wouldn't leave his life's work to luck. He would rather die working). So, by this point Roger must have travelled Most of the "major" kingdoms/islands twice.

We have been told that there are multiple paths that you can take on grand line. See fig below.
If you look at this clearly you'll see that there are points that are common will travelling the grand line. Hence, if not any other island, Roger and luffy would have to travel these. So, sabaodi, fishman (and probably punk hazard) are a 100% possiblily. Roger went to wano and zou for/with oden Hence similarities there too. But there will be no explaination to Skypiea other than luck by chance.
Unless for example, lets say there are 4 paths to traverse grand line. One luffy took, one for law probably, one for kid , One for others skiping the details. Roger could have chosen 1/2 islands(so unique that only few{deserving} can find the poneglyph) per route to say things like he said to luffy on the poneglyph in skypia. This would explain the one year too but still some things would be left to luck.

Edit: All in all, it was Rogers role to make it happen.


What is the name of the show that involves a wish granting cat with a weakness to water? I remember when I was a kid watched an anime about a wizard cat. I think he was yellow and fat and each episode he made wishes come true hmmm... maybe for a bunch of kids?

He also has a weakness, the water, he hated it and I remember in one episode he touched the water and felt really sick and start to bleed by one of his mustache hairs.

That's all I remember,oh well, and it was a really funny animation. Anyone knows?

==UPDATE==

I remember some other stuff too: He has a pointed hat, as a magician. Maybe black or blue, maybe has some stars? (I'm not so sure about that last point) and each time he started his magic, he dances and spins around with a lot of effects, kind of like any magical anime girl power.

I live in Chile, South America and it was not very popular between my friends (at least I've asked a few times and nobody remembers), but it must have been broadcasted in the '90.

And the last thing "I think" it was anime, I mean, I remember kind of anime drawing style and the ending with credits writing and song language unknown for me at that age.

At last I found it! Actually it was not a cat, but the rest of my description fits. The name is "Please! Psammea-don" (おねがい!サミアどん Onegai! Samia-don?)

It seems that it only was broadcast in Latin America, France, Quebec and the Arab World as noted by Wikipedia and it was also never released in English, so maybe that's the reason why nobody here knew this animation.

PS: I really loved the ending


How can they tell the difference between NPCs and humans? How can they identify whether a student is an NPC or not? Is that because they act differently than NPCs? But what if the student doesn't remember anything (amnesia) and does everything and accepts everything as normal? In that case, can they tell the difference?

The only way for them to know that someone is human is if they deviate from how an NPC does stuff and if they don't recognize persons who have recently arrived in the Afterlife.

Basically if you live like an NPC then you must be an NPC. Hinata actually thought Ooyama was an NPC because Ooyama acted so normally that he was like an NPC which is why Hinata gave him a nickname of "Villager A" in their first meeting (he only calls Ooyama by that name in his thoughts). However, when Hinata had a good conversation with Ooyama, Ooyama said something about dying which showed that he was a human who died.

Yurippe knew Hinata was human because he would always go to the school roof (if memory serves right) which is not something an NPC does.

When all hell breaks lose in the campus and a person dismisses it as something normal, then that person is an NPC because anything weird that they see is supposed to be normal (at least, they think it's normal).

tl;dr

They act differently. Yes. They will still act differently (like by being curious). They can't tell the difference if they can't observe or experiment if the person will act how a non NPC would act.

For more info, read the light novel.


How complete is Juuni Kokuki? Juuni Kokuki / The Twelve Kingdoms is based on a series of light novels by Ono Fuyumi. Considering the rather abrupt end to the anime, I'm wondering how complete it is when compared to the novels. Also, if it isn't in keeping with them, why was it axed?

I'm wondering how complete it is when compared to the novels

Youko Nakajima is the main character in the anime, while in the manga she is only one of many main characters and her story is focused upon in only two novels.
Most of the main characters are the same, although some were added as supporting characters, their role being to externalize some of Youko's problems that were internal in the novels.

  Several events and existing characters in the series were expanded in the anime series, though the series general maintains the overall plot and themes introduced in the novels. Notably, the anime introduces the events of the fourth novel, The Twelve Kingdoms: Skies of Dawn, before the third novel, The Twelve Kingdoms: The Vast Spread of the Seas.

Also, if it isn't in keeping with them, why was it axed?

  The original scope of the series included adapting the sixth novel, Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora (featuring Youko leading the Twelve Kingdoms to find Taiki); elements of the sixth novel had already been alluded to throughout the second arc of the series. However, the series was cancelled after the completion of the arc featuring Shoryu and Enki's past.

It does not state the reason for the cancellation though.

Source: The Twelve Kingdoms Wiki page on the anime


What is the book referred to in Episode 4 of Asobi Asobase? Towards the end of episode 4, around the 18th minute mark, the girls are discussing the title of book(that is supposedly BL). Hanako suggests Anal Bum Cover (according to the subtitles). At that point the teacher screams and asks her not to tarnish her bible.

So, is Hanako's title based on some famous Japanese book?

According to this review, the term is slightly mistranslated, and is closer to 'Please Save My Butt', a play on 'Please Save My Earth', which is the series that is garnering the reaction.

As a side note, Anal Bum Cover is most likely a reference to the Saturday Night Live skit 'Celebrity Jeopary', in which "Sean Connery" reads the category "An Album Cover" as "Anal Bum Cover"


What happens if too much is given during a transmutation? In Brotherhood, during a transmutation, what happens if too much is given as a part of the equivalent exchange? In the series, the brothers lose something each for trying to give too little during the human transmutation attempt to bring back their mom... So what would happen if they give too much? Anything at all?

There is no such thing as "giving too much" here. @Becuzz's answer touches on this, but I want to expand on it as well as talk about the human transmutation.
Giving "too much"
Alchemy (in the FMA canon) is basically chemistry. I will assume anyone reading this has not taken much (or any) chemistry in their life, so I'll try to keep it relatively simple.
Imagine you have a lighter filled with benzene. When you light it, and it starts burning, a chemical reaction is taking place, transforming benzene (C6H6) and oxygen (O2), into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). You can represent this as an equation showing the "amounts" of each compound required.

What happens if you put in 25 of O2 instead of 15? Simple: the 10 remaining O2 will not be used.
Transmutation, while more complex scientifically, obeys the same principle. If we're transmuting a block of lead into gold, we will get an equivalent amount of gold as the lead that we transmuted. Giving "too much" lead will result in either excess gold (if there is enough transmutation energy), or leftover lead (if it is not transmuted). The amount of gold will always be chemically equivalent to the amount of lead consumed in the reaction.
TL;DR: The chemical amount consumed in the reaction will always equal the chemical amount of the product created.
Human transmutation

In the series, the brothers lose something each for trying to give too little during the human transmutation attempt to bring back their mom

This isn't exactly correct. I get what you're trying to say, but it's not quite accurate.
The brothers gave exactly what they needed to get their mother back, right down to the soul data from their own blood. The reason they didn't succeed is because they could not provide her human life to go inside the body they created (which was actually a pretty good attempt for pre-teen prodigy knowledge of human anatomy). Add to that, of course, that God does not permit resurrection of this human life, and you've got a recipe for disaster.
The reason they lose their bodies proper is because they had to pay a toll to go inside the Gate (yes, against their will, as punishment). In the eyes of the beings overseeing this transmutation, the exchange was equivalent:

The materials (carbon, water, etc.) given were consumed and created the blackened beast.
Edward lost his leg and saw some knowledge within the Gate.
Alphonse lost his body and saw a lot of knowledge within the Gate.
Edward lost his arm and brought back Alphonse's soul from beyond the Gate.

In the end, neither too much nor too little was given, and the transmutation obeyed equivalent exchange.
Related reading

When Edward and Alphonse try to transmute their mother, how come they didn't gain anything?
If the "Truth" didn't exist, would that mean that feats such as Human Transmutation would work?


How does Obito have two Sharingans if Madara took one? If Madara took Obito's left eye, how come he has both Sharingans? (Chapter 683, page 15) Did Obito replace the one he lost with Kakashi's Sharingan, like a trade?

TL;DR:
Because Madara gave him the Sharingan he had taken from Kakashi back when he took the Rinnegan Obito had in his left eye socket.

Long version:
In chapter 674, page 14, Madara takes Kakashi's Sharingan eye (Obito's left eye):

In chapter 675, page 10, Madara switches his left eye - currently holding Obito's left eye - for the Rinnegan Obito has in his left eye socket:

In that same chapter, he lets Black Zetsu take control of Obito's left side. In chapter 676, page 2, we see that Obito now has both of his Sharingan, though he is not in control of his body:

In chapter 679, page 6, Black Zetsu leaves Obito's body to join Kaguya:

Leaving him finally in control of both of his Sharingan when Naruto revives him and he regains consciousness in chapter 683, page 6:


Who actually knows Saitama is as strong as he is? Other than Genos, King, and those he's defeated(if they even knew they were fighting him), who else knows his secret? It seemed to me the Hero Assoc. still hasn't taken a real notice.

Going by the chapter 102 of the Shonen Jump Manga:

   Genos, King, Silver Fang, Blizzard, and (possibly) Mumen Rider


Do we know anything about Obito's parents? After Rin was killed, he went rogue and attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails, and he was obsessed only with his Tsuki no Me plan. Didn't he have any sibling, parent, or someone to care about?? I don't remember seeing anyone close to Obito besides his teammates.

The Naruto Wikia article on Obito Uchiha states:

  Obito grew up not knowing who his parents were, leaving him alone and forced to fend for himself. This sad upbringing led Obito to dream of one day becoming the Hokage so that the people of the village would acknowledge his existence.

So I think no, he didn't have any parents, siblings or friends, until he met Rin and Kakashi. That is why he was obsessed with the Eye of the Moon plan. On second thought, I think Obito was rejected even by the other Uchiha, so he was totally alone.


How can Sakamoto talk? In a clip of Nichijou that I saw, Sakamoto the cat is seen being able to talk, and appears to be quite intelligent. (His lips never move, but he does speak.)

How is Sakamoto able to do this? Are other cats able to as well?

The red scarf that Sakamoto wears allows him to talk. The scarf was "invented" by another character in the series - Hakase (which means Professor).

In another episode, a crow is wearing the scarf and can also talk.


Why is there no official character song for Homura and Mami? Madoka has a character song titled "See You Tomorrow" (またあした, Mata Ashita) while Sayaka and Kyoko have a duet song titled "And I'm Home".

I just found out that Homura and Mami don't have a character song (from this Puella Magi wiki page) like Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyoko do. Are there any character songs for Homura and Mami? If there aren't, why didn't they make one for them?

Added to clarify, by character song I mean

  A song whose vocals are credited to the character or characters singing the song.

as per this question What is a “character song”?

I'm not sure precisely how a character's "official" song is defined, but a "Credens Justitiam" is, in my experience, often associated with Mami. Here's one source that sites this as the case. Further, for a more speculative approach, this is the song that plays during several of the scenes involving Mami, and, likewise,

   no longer seems to play in the anime after Mami dies (if memory serves me correctly).

Thus it would make sense that this is identified as her theme song.

As for Homura's song, the same source I listed earlier states that Homura's theme song is "Puella in Somnio" ("The Girl in the Dream"). Google searching "homura's theme" also will return several YouTube videos all of this song. As before, I believe this song is played most often (if not exclusively) in scenes directly involving or featuring Homura.


Why Doflamingo chose Dressrosa? Doflamingo said he is back to his old kingdom. Why did he said that and what was the point of choosing Dressrosa as his kingdom?

The Donquixote Family ruled Dressrosa 800 years ago. Here is the  wiki article for that:-

  The Donquixote Family is a royal bloodline which ruled the Dressrosa Kingdom eight hundred years ago and one of the twenty royal families which founded the World Government.

This is reason for him saying that he is back to his own kingdom as his ancestors were the original rulers.

They were replaced by Riku Family when they shifted to Marijois. Here is the wiki article for that:-

  Dressrosa was one of the 20 Kingdoms that fought the Great Kingdom. The Donquixote family originally ruled Dressrosa but the family moved to Mariejois and were replaced by the Riku Family.

Doflamingo was a World Noble when he was born but his Father left that position when Doflamingo was young. Here is the wiki article.

  Forty-one years ago, the child Donquixote Doflamingo was born in the noble bloodline, and two years after, the second child Rosinante was born. After enjoying eight short years of the Celestial Dragons' privileged lifestyle, Doflamingo was evicted from such luxuries when his father, Donquixote Homing, abdicated their status as World Nobles in order to live a normal life with his family of four; Homing was always considered by his compatriots as blasphemous and disgrace to the title of World Nobles. However, Doflamingo was still clinging onto his heritage by asking his father to buy more slaves and demand subservience from commoners, an attitude that Homing intended to reform.

  The family took residence in a country in the North Blue, which has no ties to the World Government. As a last favor, the Government has prepared an adequate manor and financial assets for the family to live with. Although Homing wished for a humble and peaceful life with his family among humanity, away from Mariejois' spoiling nature, little did he knew at the time that the island they resided on was filled with people who bear deep grudges against the Celestial Dragons, which would, in the future, become a stepping stone to Doflamingo's descend to darkness.

  Shortly after taking residence in the country, when it became known that the Donquixote Family are former World Nobles, their manor was burned to the ground by angry victims of the Celestial Dragons, and the family was forced to hideout in a small shack in the junkyard, much to Doflamingo's disgust. Barely escaping from constant pursuit, Homing tried to contact Mariejois to save his sons and wife, but the Celestial Dragons retorted how the family cannot return from their choices and coldly hung up. Consequently, the family was stuck living in poverty and on the run, and the two children were beaten up when they tried to steal food; they resorted to eating out of trash bins, and though they brought some food for their mother, she died from illness brought by the deplorable household, much to her family's broken hearts. Eventually, the three remaining Donquixote Family members were found and caught, and then hanged onto a wall above flames, tortured and beaten. While Homing and Rosinante were screaming for mercy, Doflamingo viciously blamed his father for condemning the family to such a hellish life, and snarlingly swore to kill all the commoners in revenge, turning the citizens' hatred to horrified shock.

Doflamingo killed his own Father for doing this. Here is the wiki article for that:-

  Two years later, Doflamingo's suffering drove him over the edge, awakening his Haoshoku Haki, knocking out the citizens. Trebol, a knowledgeable 18-years old, saw this as the advent of his new king, gifted Doflamingo with a Devil Fruit and an ornate flintlock. Armed with a viable weapon, Doflamingo killed his own father, for whom he holds with contempt for condemning the family into the life of outcasts. The child then took his father's head back to Mariejois, hoping to return to the privileged life as a Celestial Dragon. Unfortunately for him, the World Nobles already considers the Donquixote Family as a "family of traitors" for fraternizing with commoners, and refused to let him return. However, armed with the knowledge of Mariejois' national treasure, Doflamingo was considered a threat and the World Nobles tried to kill him; they failed and the former Celestial Dragon escaped.

  Doflamingo became a pirate with the goal of revenge against the World Nobles who refused to reinstate his status by destroying the world they lord over, and he gathered various recruits whom became a new incarnation of the "Donquixote Family", whom he saw as his new, treasured family.


Who are the 10 strongest fighters in the tournament of power? The last 10 fighters who lasted are not the strongest because fighters like Hit were knocked out before. Which 10 will be the strongest?

A majority of the fighters who lasted until the end happen to be the strongest, however, some characters like Hit were indeed knocked out before and didn't last until the end.I have ranked the characters along with a reason why the character is weaker than the character above him in the list.Goku: In his Mastered UI form is the strongest fighter in the tournament of power. He clearly defeated Jiren who admitted defeat in Episode 130. If he had the stamina to hold onto the form even longer, he would've knocked out Jiren.Jiren: As mentioned above, Jiren lost to Goku in battle in Episode 130, so it only makes sense to place him second on the list.Vegeta: In his Super Saiyan Blue Evolution form, Vegeta did grow a lot stronger. However, we could see Jiren clearly overwhelm him alongside SSJB+KK*20 Goku and even Android 17 in Episode 127. So without a doubt, Vegeta is weaker than Jiren. The only fighter who was able to fight Jiren toe to toe was Goku, hence placing Vegeta third on the list.Toppo: As strong as he is, in his God of Destruction form, Toppo is substantially stronger. However, in Episode 126, he is clearly overwhelmed and knocked out by Vegeta once Vegeta powers up. Hence it is fair to place him fourth on the list.Kefla: (Note: Assuming Kefla doesn't grow even stronger) Some might argue Kefla to be stronger than Toppo and some even Vegeta. However, I personally believe Kefla should be placed fifth on the list. The reason is because, Kefla in her SSJ state was shown to be relative to a tired Goku in his SSJB form. The SSJ2 form is a 100 * Base Multiplier. The SSJB form is relative to SSJ Kefla(Possibly even stronger now). The Kaioken*20 would multiply that power 20 times. Hence, Goku in this state would be able to defeat Kefla, if he had the stamina to do so. Toppo was strong enough to initially overwhelm a Super Saiyan Blue Evolution Vegeta who was relative to SSJB+KK*20 Goku. So it makes sense to place Toppo above her on the list Anilaza: Again some might argue Anilaza to be stronger than Kefla. However, please note that Anilaza more or less had a relative beam struggle with 3 SSJB Tier characters and Gohan+Android 17, who are between SSJG and SSJB in terms of power. So technically, SSJB Goku+ KK*20 would be way stronger than Anilaza. Kefla in her fully powered state is definitely > SSJB+KK*5 Goku. So it makes sense to place Anilaza below her on the listHit: (Note: This is a power list. Hit has the skills/technique to possibly even defeat someone stronger than him in terms of power)In terms of power, I would say Hit is weaker than SSJB Goku and Vegeta. Some might argue Hit was able to fight SSJB+KK*10 Goku in the Universe 6 vs 7 tournaments. However, if you rewatch the fight, Hit used his timeskip and special techniques to avoid getting Hit by Goku's powerful blows and kept striking back. Even during his rematch with Goku, Hit landed several blows on Goku. However, Goku was able to take him out with a single Kamehameha when it managed to land on him. So it makes sense to place Hit below Anilaza.Android 17: Based on his performance against Jiren, and managing to survive his attacks(Which even Hit could barely do), I did consider placing him above Hit on the list. However, his inifinite stamina indeed gives him an advantage like Hit has with his technique. So I think it makes sense to place him below Hit on the list considering the fact that he's weaker than SSJB Goku and might very well be weaker than HitGohan: As strong as he is, Gohan isn't stronger than Android 17. During the pre-tournament arcs, Goku was forced to turn SSJB against Android 17 and only turned SSJB against Gohan when he insisted. Gohan didn't really fight anyone in the tournament who was a lot stronger than him and never really had a chance to improve during the course of the tournament. He indeed got stronger pre-tournament and is very likely between SSJG and SSJB in terms of power, based on his performance against Koicherator, Anilaza and Dyspo. Also based on Gohan's short fight against Toppo alongside Android 17 and Android 17's fight with Toppo, Android 17 seemed to be doing a lot better. So I think it is fair to place him below Android 17 on the list.Dyspo:(Note: This is a power list. Dyspo in his super speed mode definitely has the skill to take out stronger opponents). In terms of power, we see Gohan easily outclass Dyspo in Episode 124 without even powering up further. Hence it is fair to place him below Gohan on the list


Does "The Garden of Sinners" share the same world with "Fate" series? Looking back at both The Garden of Sinners and Fate series, I noticed that there are mystic eyes in both series. For example, Rider's Mystic Eyes of petrification revealed Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel and Shiki Ryougi's Mystic Eyes of death perception from The Garden of Sinners series).
Do they both share the same world?

Yes, Kara no Kyoukai, Tsukihime and Fate all take place in the same universe.
Aozaki Touko from Kara no Kyoukai is the sister of Aozaki Aoko from Tsukihime. Ciel from Tsukihime and Kotomine Kirei from Fate are part of the same organization. In Fate/Zero there's a part about Kiritsugus past relating to Dead Apostles (Vampires), that are the same as the ones from Tsukihime.
Ryougi Shiki from Kara no Kyoukai and Tohno Shiki from Tsukihime have the same type of mystic eyes.
In Kara no Kyoukai there's a magus trying to reach the origin/root by using a spiral of sorts. It's described as the main pursuit of all magi. In Fate, the Holy Grail War was designed to reach exactly this origin/root, too.
Here's an even more comprehensive relations chart:


How did Crocodile become a warlord? Crocodile doesn't even know the basics of Haki and was defeated by Luffy. How did such a weakling became a warlord?

The exact nature of how crocodile was selected to be a Warlord is not known.

However this is what Oda has to say about it

  Similar to Luffy, back when he was young, Crocodile's name spread across the seas with incredible momentum, but soon after he was admitted into the Shichibukai in his mid-20's, he tried to fight Whitebeard and was completely and utterly crushed by him.Source: SBS Vol.78

This seems like a rant question to me. So addressing those issues.

Crocodile was one of the strongest Warlords. He had a powerful Logia fruit with great control over its abilities. He could use its effects over large areas of land. His strength is compared to Jinbei and Ace in the Impel Down Arc.

Bartholew Kuma, Gecko Moriah, Jinbei may or may not have Haki.

Crocodile was one of the most important villains in the One Piece Universe. He beat the protagonist not once but twice. Had an interesting power, introduced us to the Shichibukai and created a very vast organization almost taking over a country single handed.

Also, I am not sure how you know Crocodile doesn't have Haki? He considered himself strong enough to attack Whitebeard head on. We simply don't see him have any need of it to use anytime he has been onscreen.

Moving out of the world,
Oda had thought of Haki before the series started, but hadn't used it before the Sky Island Arc (Mantra as observation haki). We have at least one clear example of this. Shanks scaring of the sea king. Mihawk may have used Observation Haki to beat the shit out of Zoro on Baratie too.

These may be the reasons that he had left them for later,

He was still fleshing out the idea about Haki. The three colors, there interactions etc. etc.
He saved them for the time skip region to show a clear way that our protagonist's could have a major power up. Ussop, Zoro and Sanji after Haki are a thing to be feared as learnt by Doflamingo.


What kind of transformation Trunks used in Dragon Ball Super when fighting Vegeta? In episode 54 of Dragon Ball Super (original air date, August 7):

   Trunks uses some kind of transformation. After transformed SSJ2, his hair grows, electricity sparks disappear, and his muscles grow. It looks similar to the USSJ (Super Saiyan 1 third grade) but now he has short hair, so could his hair grows like if he were transforming into a SSJ3? Is this a kind of new transformation or what?

Most likely it was the fondly nicknamed Super (or ultra) transformation. The wiki calls it the Second Grade and Third Grade. It is simply turning power into Muscle mass, which greatly enhances strength, but the bulk lowers speed. Vegeta, Trunks, and Goku learned and used this transformation in the Cell Saga. Vegeta and Trunks specifically used this to beat down Cell in his second form, before Vegeta helped him obtain 18 and get his perfect form.


Is super saiyan god a "super saiyan" transformation, or does just it have a missleading name? After watching the trailer of the new Dragon Ball movie, where a villain with an armor similar to saiyans appear and it has yellow eyes,

I started to wonder if a super saiyan transformation can have eyes of a different color than blue, so I started to check,

SSJ1, USSJ, SSJ2, SSJ3, blue eyes,
SS Rage, blue eyes,
Legendary SS , blue eyes,
SS Blue, blue eyes,
SS Blue evolution, blue eyes,

SS Rosé, pink eyes, but I'm not sure if this counts because it comes from a half god / half saiyan,
Ultra Instinct grey eyes, but apparently this isnt a super saiyan transformation, but a form any race can get,
SSJ4 yellow eyes but it's non canon,

And the only one that's left is super saiyan god with red eyes, but is this transformation a real "super saiyan" transformation or it's just a missleading name? Super Saiyan Blue is attained by "getting the power of a super saiyan god and transforming into a super saiyan" . So how can you transform into a super saiyan if you already have the power of a "super saiyan" god? Wouldnt this mean the "super saiyan" god is a missleading name and it isnt a "super saiyan" transformation but another kind of saiyan transformation?

The Super Saiyan God transformation requires the power of 6 pure hearted Saiyans. However it is not mentioned anywhere that the 6 Saiyans must be Super-Saiyan themselves, (since Videl's unborn child was able to contribute as well).

I think it gets very confusing though because all the Saiyans during the ritual including Goku were super-Saiyans(except Videl's child) and yet Videl's hair-color also changed to Golden. So I think the name Super Saiyan God is a misnomer and it should have actually been Saiyan God.

It would also make sense that way, since Super Saiyan Blue would then technically be a "Saiyan God" who does a Super-Saiyan transformation. That would be more accurate, but I guess we have to accept Akira Toriyama's naming convention, since it is his creation after all.


Osamu Dazai's book titled "Josei Gakkou (Highschool Girl)" in "Tsuki ga Kirei" In some episodes of Tsuki ga Kirei, I noticed that the main MC is borrowing some books called "Josei Gakkou(Highschool Girl) by Osamu Dazai".

I started looking for those books on the internet, and I found this book which is kinda related to?

Is this the correct book and is there any translation available for this book?

There's no work called Josei Gakkou (Highschool Girl) by Osamu Dazai, but there's 女生徒 (Joseito, Schoolgirl).

The English version is titled Schoolgirl, translated by Allison Markin Powell and published by One Peace Books.


Anime dubbed by original voice actors Are there any anime that have English language dubs voiced by the voice actors of the original non-English language of the anime?

The most prominent example that comes to mind is Pokémon, which has used Ikue Ohtani's voice for Pikachu for almost the entire series.


Why does Kagami feel necessary to emphasize that she is a simple-minded person? This has been on my mind for a while. In Lucky Star Episode 18, Tsukasa Hiiragi lightly expressed her desire for having a pet dog. But she quickly got her dream crushed by her sister Kagami, who warned her about all kinds of problems that would be faced by a dog owner. At that point, Tsukasa had to agree with Kagami, and said something along the lines of "you really know much about this, sister."  On hearing that, Kagami suddenly became bashful, turned her head away and said: "In the end I am also a simple-minded person, that's why I looked those things up".

It is this reaction of Kagami that does not make sense to me. Of course, I know that Kagami is a Tsundere kind of person, but I still see no reason to feel ashamed, or to emphasize your simple-mindedness here. After all, the difficulties of dog-raising that Kagami mentioned (walking, feeding, difference between a puppy and a grown-up dog etc.) do not seem like something that a high school student should look up to know, and no one would say that knowing these things stop you from being simple-minded.

Am I missing something deep here, or is it just Kagami designed to be over-reacting?

Kagami sees her simple-mindedness as something desirable

To explain a bit more, in that scene Tsukasa very innocently expressed her desire for a pet dog and didn't even consider the possible down-sides because of her air-headed character and the fact she was excited about owning a dog and single-mindedly chased after what she wanted.

Now, Kagami's character throughout the series has been established as the more forward thinking of the two sisters, but she doesn't want to be! When she reacts this way it is expressing how she wants to be like her sister, she tries to stave off the comments about how responsible she is by saying that she was just the same as her sister and innocently wanted a puppy too! And she was only the voice of reason here because she had been enthusiastically and innocently thinking about it for a while.

Throughout Lucky Star, it is a running gag that the sisters both envy the others personality traits, and this scenario seems to be an example of that. (you can also see here how Tsukasa also wishes she was more responsible like Kagami)


What music plays in Hunter x Hunter SLOW MO? 2011 release of Hunter x Hunter (Chimera Ants arc):

In the episode where Gon and his friends enter the castle of ants through the hole made by Knov , everything goes like a slow mo and an epic music hits. I apologise for not mentioning the episode number. This music is repeated several times during the arc after the inception.

I have listened to various OST's from Hunter x Hunter but I don't think any of them are the one which I am looking for...

Can someone Identify the music that was playing??

Okay after quite a bit of research, I think I may have found some stuff that may help you.

The episode that you are looking for is Monster x And x Monster (ep. 112). The slow motion part is largely the first half of the episode.

There are a number of tracks that play during the slow motion scenes. Here's a playlist of tracks from the Chimera Ant arc (30 tracks), of which I think your best bets are either Hegemony of the Food Chain, Kingdom of Predators, or Legend of the Martial Artist. Of the three, I think Legend of the Martial Artist is the song you are referring to, but you can go through the playlist to find the specific song for which you are looking. Keep in mind that multiple tracks were playing during the time you are referring, so it might be a mix of a few different songs in that playlist.


Why does Kuzen not have red eyes when wielding his kagune? I love Tokyo Ghoul and have the manga, but can someone please explain to me why Kuzen doesn't have red eyes when wielding his kagune in the anime?  Is it just a mistake made when animating this episode?

Is this related with the fact that the manager always has his ghoul eyes in the later episodes?

Most likely, it's a mistake.

If it isn't, it could be a sign of weakness. Eyes manifest on extremely RC dense Kagunes like kakujas, and I believe the kakugan is when RC cells enter the eye and turn it black due to concentration.

Since his eyes aren't black while his Kagune is manifested, it means he doesn't have enough RC cells in his body to manifest Kakugan.


How did Zatch lose his memory? In the series Zatch Bell, Zatch is sent to earth from his world along with a bunch of others. But when he gets there he has no memory where he came from. The person who finds him reads from a spell book and makes Zatch shoot lightning from his mouth.

There is a whole bunch of times when he his fighting the others like him and he slowly starts to learn about what he is and where he is from. But why is it that, out of all of the others, Zatch loses his memory and doesn't know why he is there or where he came from?

Zatch lost his memories after he had already arrived on Earth. He was defeated by another mamodo, who decided to erase Zatch's memories instead of destroying his spellbook.

   The mamodo is named Zeno, and he is revealed to be Zatch's twin brother.

 As for his motivation: Zeno had a painful childhood, enduring brutal training on a daily basis. He grew up separately from Zatch, and believed that Zatch was living an easy, enjoyable life elsewhere. Not only that, but Zatch had inherited their father's great power, "Baou" (Zatch's 4th spell).

 For these reasons, Zeno was extremely resentful of Zatch, and came to believe that Zatch was the reason his own life was so terrible.

 Once they were on Earth, Zeno sought out Zatch and defeated him. Zeno decided to leave Zatch's spellbook alone, because destroying Zatch's spellbook would just send him back to their world, where he imagined Zatch would be living happily.

 Instead, he stole Zatch's memories, so that Zatch would be forced to wander around, confused and alone, being constantly attacked with no idea why.

 Later in the manga, Zeno accidentally looks at the memories he stole from Zatch. He realizes that Zatch's life was also painful, having suffered greatly at the hands of an abusive stepmother. Zeno regrets giving Zatch amnesia, and apologizes to him.

The circumstances of Zatch's amnesia are revealed in the chapter "Stolen Memories" (Volume 5, Chapter 48).


Does Ichigo still have his powers after his battle with Yhwach? The final chapter of the manga shows Ichigo leading a normal life but it's never really shown if he is still a Shinigami. Or is it the same as the time he used the Final Getsuga Tenshou in his fight with Aizen? Has Kubo talked about this somewhere, given how abrupt the ending was?

Yes, the 2 Novels following the manga's ending said that he regained the powers stolen by Yhwach.


Is the circle-script used in Rokka no Yuusha decipherable? In Rokka no Yuusha, we see a number of instances of a fictional script consisting of glyphs inside circles. For example, from the introductory narration:

These are probably too low-resolution to be readable. However, in episode 3, we get a suitably-high-resolution shot of Adlet's letter to the princess:

Fictional scripts in anime are often ciphers (a la Space Dandy, Suisei no Gargantia, etc.). Is this one also a cipher of some sort?

Multiple presumably-independent decipherments have been conducted by denizens of the internet (>>128296467 on /a/, >>128297371 on /a/, and /u/justinlam3 on /r/anime), all of which arrived at the same conclusion: the circle-script is a simple substitution cipher for the Latin script, and the underlying plaintext happens to be coherent English.

Adlet's letter reads:

  TO NACHETANYA
  I MET OUR
  COLLEAGUE FROM
  THE SIX FLOWER
  IM GOING AFTER
  HER SO YOU
  JUST GO AHEAD
  FOR YOUR
  [...]

And indeed, this is essentially what Nachetanya says when she reads the letter out loud (in what sounds to us like Japanese).

The cipher appears to lack a majuscule/minuscule distinction, and also appears to lack punctuation. Adlet's letter didn't have enough text to allow us to identify the circle-script equivalents of all 26 English letters, but >>/a/128297371 did construct a partial substitution table based on Adlet's letter:

Luckily, we get more ciphertext to work with in episode 12:

   The text on the tablet with the instructions for activating the temple became marginally readable after I spent over 9000 hours in Photoshop GIMP enhancing it: link (you might like to try running it through waifu2x for increased readability). It reads as follows:

       TO ACTIVATE AGAIN THE
       BORDER BETWEEN INNER
       AND OUTER CLOSED AREAS
       AS FUNCTION OF
       SANCTUARY REPEAT THE
       SAME OPERATIONAL
       PROCEDURE AFTER REMOVING
       THE TREASURED SWORD AND THE
       BROKEN LITHOGRAPH THAT IS
       GRASP THE TREASURED SWORD
       AND LET THE BLOOD
       PASS THROUGH IT AND DESTROY
       INTONING FIXED WORDS

 This accords what Hans tells the rest of the group.

Using this information, we can decipher a few more letters.

Alas, there is no information available to us beyond Adlet's letter from episode 3 and the ciphertext from episode 12. While there are other ciphertexts large enough to be readable (mostly close-up shots of the map of the continent, which has labels on it), none of them give us any letters that we don't already have from these two sources, meaning that we will never know what the circle-script equivalents of "Q" and "Z" are. And that, my friends, is the real mystery of Rokka no Yuusha.


Why does Togame's eye change? Sometimes in the series, Togame's left eye becomes purple with a cross inside. Is there a reason for that?

Togame's left eye changes whenever she is scheming or in an ambitious state of mind. This first began when she witnessed her father being killed, at the same time that her hair turned white. I do not believe it is explained why this change takes place beyond that witnessing her father's death changed her view of the world, but it could be elaborated in the novels.

It's also worth mentioning that Togame's name (とがめ) in Japanese is probably a reference to this eye, though it can be read in many ways. The particular reading here would be 十が眼, which could be interpreted as "eyeball shaped like 十 (to; the character for the number 10)". This is fairly unorthodox Japanese, but it's clear that this was one of the readings that the author intended.

Of course, Togame is the fake name that she made up for herself after her father died, so she wasn't called that until she got her cross-shaped eye. Before that, she was named Yousha (容赦). This is likely a counterpoint to another interpretation of her name, since 容赦 means forgiveness, while 咎め (とがめ) means blame or rebuke, which is fitting given how that incident changed her life towards seeking revenge.


Did King get any stronger? At the end of season 2 episode 1 , Saitama asks King if he's going to keep lying about being strong and King says he doesnt know. Then Saitama tells him he could quit or get stronger. Did King get any stronger as the story continues? (in the manga)

He supposedly develops a guilt and fear due to the lie he is hiding from others. According to the wiki,

  ...he decided to visit Bang in his dojo and asked him to train him, in order to become stronger. After getting rejected however, he desperately tried the same with Bomb's dojo and later visited one dojo after another, only to get rejected over and over again, thus making him even more desperate. As a result he eventually dropped the thought of getting stronger and even considered the idea to die while attempting to fight a monster.

Unless he has the drive or the will to become stronger again in the future, then no, he will not get any stronger anytime soon.


What does the text at the entrance mean? In Episode 2 when Madoka and Sayaka are with Mami looking for the Witch, after saving the Office Lady who had the "Witch's Kiss" they enter the building we see that there is text written on the wall at the entrance.

Now it looks English however i don't make out what it says, I am wondering if this text has any meaning and if it was in English in the original Japanese Version (the screenshot is from the English Dub)

The text on the wall are references to Faust, which foreshadows the plot for the anime.

Original Text:

Weh! Weh!
Du hast sie zerstört,
Die schöne Welt,
Mit mächtiger Faust;
Sie stürzt, sie zerfällt!
Ein Halbgott hat sie zerschlagen!
Wir tragen
Die Trümmern ins Nichts hinüber,
Und klagen
Über die verlorne Schöne.
Mächtiger
Der Erdensöhne,
Prächtiger
Baue sie wieder,
In deinem Busen baue sie auf!
Neuen Lebenslauf
Beginne,
Mit hellem Sinne,
Und neue Lieder
Tönen darauf!

On the screenshot, you can kinda see the "Neuen Lebenslauf" and some of the text.

Translation:

Woe! woe!
Thou hast it destroyed,
The beautiful world,
With powerful fist:
In ruin ’tis hurled,
By the blow of a demigod shattered!
The scattered
Fragments into the Void we carry,
Deploring
The beauty perished beyond restoring.
Mightier
For the children of men,
Brighter
Build it again,
In thine own bosom build it anew!
Bid the new career
Commence,
With clearer sense,
And the new songs of cheer
Be sung thereto!

The text on another wall, near Getrud's Barrier:

Verflucht voraus die hohe Meinung,
Womit der Geist sich selbst umfängt!
Verflucht das Blenden der Erscheinung,
Die sich an unsre Sinne drängt!
Verflucht was uns in Träumen heuchelt,
Des Ruhms, der Namensdauer Trug!
Verflucht was als Besitz uns schmeichelt,
Als Weib und Kind, als Knecht und Pflug!

Translation:

Cursed be, at once, the high ambition
Wherewith the mind itself deludes!
Cursed be the glare of apparition
That on the finer sense intrudes!
Cursed be the lying dream's impression
of name, and fame, and laureled brow!
Cursed, all that flatters as possession,
As wife and child, as knave and plow!

Spoiler:

   It is referring to the Faustian bargain that magical girls make with Kyubei. In exchange for their wish and their powers, they give Kyubei their souls.

Source: http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Episode_2#References_to_Faust


Did Touka become human after being attacked in Root A? In Tokyo Ghoul: Root A, after the wing-type Kagune of Touka was devoured by her own brother, she was not seen to use it again.

Did she become a human after that incident?

No, she is still a ghoul.

Ghouls can regrow their Kagune sacs, which is exactly what they did to Rize. Rize was kept restrained and bearly alive while they harvested her Kagune sacs and implanted them into dozens if not hundreds of humans, with only 3 known successes including Kaneki. You may also recall The fact that Jason had his sac eaten by Kaneki, but (I do not recall if the anime showed this) he still attacked Juzo before his death at Juzo's hands. His Kagune and body were turned into Juzo's Scythe, named after its source, Jason.

Touka is also shown to be still a ghoul in Tokyo Ghoul:re, the sequel to Tokyo Ghoul. So, rather, she just rarely actually uses her Kagune. She usually avoids fighting, and being an S-rank Ukaku type, she rarely needs to actually use her wings.


What are the differences of Near in the manga version? In Death Note, I've read that Near displays more emotions and (more interestingly) shows greater insight and deduction ability than his anime counterpart.

What are the differences of Near from his anime counterpart? Is the above statement true? (And if so, please provide examples.)

There is another question, How different are the anime and manga versions of Death Note, but that just takes into question the ending.

Appearance

In the manga, Near is only ever seen wearing white pajamas, while in the anime, his pants are light blue.

In L: Change the WorLd, Near is a Thai boy and the sole survivor of a village ravaged by disease. In the live action film, he has black hair, while in the novel he is described as the original Near in the series (while I haven't read the novel I would assume this means he has white hair).

Personality

Near shows much more emotion in the manga than he does in the anime, particularly his facial expressions. A quote from the wiki shows an example of this:

  When the SPK members were killed in the anime Near has a very stern look, but in the manga he is visibly upset.

His facial expressions were probably more towards his smiling when he got things right, which was used to foreshadow the end where he smiles after seeing Ryuk, confirming to himself that Light is Kira.

Source: Death Note Wikia site


Baki manga reading order? I'm interested in reading Baki but there to there are a lot of Baki series. Which are

Baki
Baki Gaiden Kenjin
Baki Gaiden Kizuzura
Baki Gaiden Scarface
Baki the Grappler Gaiden
Baki Tokubetsuhen Saga
Baki Dou
Grappler Baki
Grappler Baki Fighting
Hanma Baki

So are the order of reading them?

Reading Order:

Grappler Baki - 1991 to 1999
Grappler Baki Gaiden - 1999, Grappler Baki Spin-off
Baki: New Grappler Baki - 1999 to 2005, Grappler Baki Sequel
Baki Tokubetsu-hen Saga - 2002, Baki: New Grappler Baki Side Story
Baki Gaiden: Kizuzura - 2012 to 2013, Baki: New Grappler Baki Side Story
Baki Gaiden: Kenjin - 2013 to ?, Baki: New Grappler Baki Side Story
Hanma Baki - 2005 to 2012, Baki: New Grappler Baki Sequel
Baki Gaiden: Scarface - 2005 to ?, Baki: New Grappler Baki & Hanma Baki Side Story
Baki-dou - 2014 to 2018, Hanma Baki Sequel


How did Kal Snyder end up as the death note owner? When Higuchi died, the original death note was in hands of Light, so he becomes the owner again. After L dies, and Mello exchanges that death note for Sayu, how did Kal Snyder end up as the owner, if Light did not forfeit ownership of his death note between that time?

After Higuchi died, the Death Note was kept by the investigator so Light couldn't use the death note. After L died, the book was kept by Soichiro Yagami for quite a long time. At that time, Light had lost his possession of Death Note either by giving it to his father or by not using it for a long time.

When Soichiro gave the Death Note to the guy who kidnapped Sayu, he gave him the possession as well. At last, this guy lost his possession of Death Note after he died in a plane. The one who first touched the Death Note after that was Kal Snyder.


Why does Kasumigaoka get attracted to Tomoya? In Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend,

I don't understand how she is attracted to him? well she loves to flirt with him and make the other girls jealous on purpose.

Feel free to spoil it for me.

In Episodes 4 and 6 we find out about the history between Utaha and Tomoya. Tomoya was a superfan of Utaha's book series, and wrote a ton of praise for it on his blog. Utaha was impressed with how thorough his knowledge of her books was, and developed tremendous respect for his opinion, to the point that she tried to give him her unfinished draft. He refused on principle, which led her to start calling him "Rinri-kun".

As she developed respect for Tomoya, Utaha's feelings also deepened into something like love. She often seems unsure herself whether she loves him, though, and possibly she's afraid of being rejected as she was when she asked him for feedback on her partially finished novel, so she always makes light of it and flirts with him playfully so she can back out if she needs to. The upcoming sequel will probably expand on Utaha and Tomoya's relationship.


How did the Straw Hat crew become stronger in Enies Lobby? In Enies Lobby, everyone looks like they've suddenly become stronger (and have
new techniques). Luffy, learned how to pump his blood and his bone. Sanji, learned how to burn his foot. Nami, learned to do Fatamorgana. Zoro with his Asura?

Which part in the story that tells how they got such power?

I found an interesting answer to a similar question on Reddit:

  The main idea behind their power jump is that when the Strawhats first fought CP9, they were largely confused and unsure. All they wanted to do was get Robin back, and only attacked CP9 after they got in their way. Note that in the Galley-La mansion, Luffy tried to reason with Robin first, and only attacked Lucci twice: once to defend Paulie and afterwards while Robin was exiting the room. Zoro attacked Kaku only after Robin was leaving as well. It's the same with Sanji on the sea train; when he kicked Blueno, Sogeking was holding Robin. Sanji wasn't trying to beat Blueno, only make him let go of the kart.
  Does that mean the three of them weren't going all out? In a sense, you could argue that: Why go all out on an opponent you don't even need to defeat? Would defeating them have gotten Robin back? Absolutely. But the Strawhats typically avoid conflict unless necessary; as evident by the fact that Luffy only states he'll kick someone's ass after he has a reason too.
  I always saw two reasons behind the power jump. First, CP9 was the strongest group they had ever faced, and forced Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji to become stronger, which I'm sure definitely helped. However, the second reason is that, in order to get Robin back, they had to go through CP9. They couldn't talk to her like in the mansion, nor could they have kicked Blueno off the kart like on the train. Without defeating CP9, they couldn't get Robin back, and so they put everything they had into their battles because there was no other alternative.

A canonical reference is this:

Another point to be noted is that Luffy's new learned techniques of Gear Second and Gear Third make sense because he had been working on new techniques/moves after fighting Aokiji the first time, and Zoro's Asura can also be explained on the basis of the immense training he undergoes on a daily routine. Nami's learned techniques are mostly just various scientific uses of the perfected Clima Tact that she was given by Usopp.

  After the events in Skypiea, Usopp upgraded the Clima-Tact into the Perfect Clima-Tact, which was first introduced when Nami and crew were trying to catch up to the Puffing Tom with the Rocket Man. With a better knowledge of Nami's preferences and a handful of Dials to spare, he changed the Clima-Tact from a party toy with a few combat capabilities into lethal weapon capable of amazing weather powers that only Nami could unleash. With this, Nami became fully capable of fighting on her own, and just as superhumanly powerful, in a sense, as any other crew member.


What is the background music played in ep. 2 when we are told of the conquest of Japan? What is the background music played in the first 30 seconds of episode two, when a narrator speaks of the conquest of Japan? This is the section before the OP is played.

I have heard all of the OST tracks from Code Geass, and the closest match is in  Code Geass OST #2 - Pessimistic Time. If you listen carefully after 0:40, the main instrument's melody is the same. The style and backing are different, but it's normal for there to be some variation between the original OST and the version used in the series itself.

If you want the full list of all songs that played in the series, you can check them here.


What specific event was the forking point between the two storylines? In Rebuild of Evangelion, the first movie is almost an exact retelling of the original anime series. But soon it begins to deviate more and more (and more /sad...), until I really wasn't sure of what I was watching anymore (but I digress).

So, lets consider both storylines as happening on parallel universes.

What is the event (onscreen or not) in the Rebirth series that is the turning point of the forking/deviating storylines?

While this may seem opinion-based, it is not. I am asking you to compare the rebirth movies to the original series, script or storyline-wise, and backtrack the visible differences to their sources, pointing to a specific event that happened onscreen or was mentioned that may be the cause of those differences, looking backwards for the cause of that other event. Pepper your answer with references, please.

You may add a few speculations in making your chain of causality, if the events have a significant impact or relation.

Here's a list of differences between the first movie and the original timeline

The most notable plot-wise is that Misato knew about Lilith, and she knew what Lilith's purpose was, and later before the Ramiel battle, she showed Shinji what Lilith was and explained why he needed to fight the Angels.

  The appearance and identification of the Angel Lilith at the end of the first movie and just before the commencement of Operation Yashima (Corresponding to Episode 06 of the TV series), unlike the veil of secrecy kept in the original series where Lilith was never seen until Episode 15 and wrongly identified as Adam until Episode 24.

  More notably, Gendo and Fuyutsuki speak about a "contract with Lilith," which did not exist in the old series. Lilith's existence may not be a mystery, but its role is hinted to take a different turn from its original series counterpart.

There was no mention of a "contract" with Lilith in the original time-line.


Are Jinchūriki immune to Genjutsu? So, everyone knows that Killer Bee instantly broke the Genjustu which Sasuke cast on him. How about other Jinchūriki? We know that Jinchūriki have a lot of chakra because of their Tailed Beasts and they could use this chakra to free themselves from Genjustu.

So, can we say that they are immune to Genjutsu?

If the Jinchuuriki and their tailed beast work together they can basically break every genjutsu put upon them since one of the counters against genjutus is to have the victim's chakra flow disrupted. This makes them mostly immune to them.

  A victim's chakra flow, if disrupted enough, can break the caster's influence. This "Genjutsu Dissipation" (幻術解, Genjutsu Kai, Literally meaning: Illusion Technique Dissipation) or "Genjutsu Reversal" (幻術返し, Genjutsu Gaeshi, Literally meaning: Illusion Technique Reversal)[7] can be done by the victim themselves, (assuming they realise they're under a genjutsu's influence) or an ally who emits chakra into them;[8] jinchūriki who have formed a good relationship with their tailed beast prefer the latter method whenever they need it.

Wiki


How much of the novel is covered in the anime? After watching the anime, I feel the need to finish the story through the novel. However, I do not know where in the novel did the anime end off or if it even followed the novel's plotline at all.

The question is that if I were to read the novel:
Where should I start?
Would I miss anything if I start where the anime ended?

I’m a great fan of Arslan Senki and read the novels in Japanese twice. Sorry it’s been almost 3 years since you posted your question, but I will answer all your doubts. I’ll start, however, by quoting the answer from Astral Sea as the choice of words might be confusing sometimes, but it gets clarified in his/her comment to the OP as I will explain.

“The anime was based of Arakawa Hiromu's manga adaptation of the original light novels”

It was properly clarified when he/she says in the comment: “The adaptation by Arakawa Hiromu is a manga, and the manga is also incomplete. The anime just used his manga art-style and characters to tell the story of the novels”

Basically, the anime took the art style from the manga when telling the story of the novels. The anime character designs belong to Shingo Ogiso as well.
The story itself was quickly taken directly from the novels as the only source as the anime caught up with the manga.

There were 19 chapters published when the anime started running (5th April) and also when it ended (27th September).

https://bookstore.yahoo.co.jp/shoshi-417773/

https://bookstore.yahoo.co.jp/shoshi-522005/

The first link corresponds to volume 3, which includes chapters 11-19 and was published in Japan on February 9, 2015.

The second link corresponds to volume 4, which includes chapters 20-27 and was released in Japan on October 9, 2015. It is important to note that the anime had already ended before this date though.

Just so that you know, episode 9 from the anime covers up to chapter 19 from the manga, and episode 10 covers up to chapter 23. So it would be something like that more or less.

After that point, episodes 10-25 from season 1 as well as all episodes from season 2 could not take the manga’s adaptation into account while adapting the novels as there was no manga to begin with.
The manga’s pace is incredibly slow. Even now, 2018, it still hasn’t started dealing with what season 2 covered (the latest manga Chapter 57 is adapting the last part from novel 3, whereas the anime’s season 1 covers novels 1- 4).

I’ll explain this later in more detail, but the manga’s adaptation is faithful and respectful to the novel source material. The anime’s adaptation not so much.

“So it does differ quite a bit from the original novels”

It gets clarified in his/her comment as well:

“The difference exists in both the anime and the manga compared to the novel. However, the difference is minimal so it’s fine for you to disregard it and go ahead to read the novels.”

The difference between the manga and the novels is minimal. The manga adapts the novels in a consistent and faithful way. The anime, however, is less faithful. Yet again, I’ll explain this later.

Now, these are the 3 issues that the OP has. I’ll explain all of them:

  After watching the anime, I feel the need to finish the story through
  the novel. However, I do not know where in the novel did the anime end
  off or if it even followed the novel's plotline at all.

  Where should I start?

  Would I miss anything if I start where the anime ended?

Before that, I’m gonna add 1 extra question:

1. What should I read?

This is the only question I’ve added to your already existing 3 issues as I imagine that you, as an anime-only watcher, also have this doubt. I’m also going to take this chance to explain some basic information needed to answer your questions:

Arslan Senki is a Japanese novel series written by Yoshiki Tanaka. There are sixteen novels written between 1986 and 2017. A manga adaptation by Chisato Nakamura started running in 1990 and finished running in 1996. It had an original ending as it caught up with the novels. Because of its popularity, a second manga adaptation illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa debuted in 2013. An anime adaptation was made in 2015.

The novels are praised as a masterpiece in Japan, which is the reason they received adaptations in the first place and people kept up with them for 31 years. I would very strongly advise you to read the novels over every Arslan Senki adaptation.
However, there is no official translation as of now, and not much content has been fan-translated for the past 31 years. So… if you don’t know Japanese, I recommend you read the second manga. It is the most faithful adaptation you’ll find, and it’s in English.

2. Where should I start?

Depends on what you want to do and your situation.

-If you’ve just watched the anime and you want to read the novels (as I said, they’re regarded as a masterpiece) I would advise you to start from the very beginning. The novels are very long and complicated, so starting from the very first volume is the best option.

-If you can’t read the novels for language reasons and want to read the manga instead, I would advise you to start from chapter 19. The differences between manga and anime increase after chapter 19-20 (end of episode 9) and keep increasing ever since (for example, chapter 29 doesn’t exist in the anime).

-If you’ve read the manga and want to delve into the novels, you can start where you left off on the manga. Unlike the anime, the manga follows the original material quite faithfully.
To further help you understand the overall situation, I’m also going to tell you what the current situation is.
2.2 Current situation
The very first season of the anime covers novels 1-4. The anime caught up with the manga when only 3 manga volumes had been published. Those 3 manga volumes cover the first novel.
The second anime season covers the last part of novel 4 (as in the novel, Andragoras's escape from the dungeon is written before the funeral in St. Emmanuel) as well as novels 5 and 6.

The manga currently has 57 chapters and is now in the middle of novel 3’s last chapter where Sam reunited with Kubard and convinced him to fight for Hilmes and it is just before Arslan circulated the manifesto all around Pars.
As you can see, the manga has already covered (as of March 2018) half the novels seasons 1 and 2 from anime did. It took almost 5 years though.

3. Would I miss anything if I start where the anime ended?

You would most certainly do. The anime starts making more changes from the original novel source material after episode 10 from season 1, so I would suggest you start reading from chapter 19 or 20 (start of episode 10). This is obvious, but when the anime makes changes while adapting the novels, it also deviates from the manga’s faithful adaptation.

4. Are the manga and anime adaptations faithful to the original source material?

I’m rephrasing your doubt “I don’t know … if it even followed the novel's plotline at all.”

Anime: It has added quite a few scenes. Some of them seem to be very important, but don’t exist in the novels. For example:

The fact that Arslan saves Daryun from Arzang, the sorcerer, just before reaching Peshawar Fortress
The fact that Bahman gets killed by Hilmes
*The fight between Daryun and Hilmes at the end of season 1
*The fact that Bodin's men take the sacred sword Ruknabad
*The fact that Hilmes gets Ruknabad. In the novels, no one can take the sword except the chosen one who will take over the will of Kay Khosrow, the ancient great King.

And lack, among others, the following events from the novels:

The fact that Narsus defeats and kills Arzang. They even skipped Narsus saving Alfarid for the 2nd time, which made Alfarid fall in love with Narsus.
The fact that Daryun apologizes to Gieve for considering him an untrustworthy person. This event takes place after knowing that Gieve had saved Arslan.
The fact that Hilmes murders Kishward's very loyal subordinate and Azrael's brother.
Hilmes valuing Zandeh’s skill of gathering information by using his men.
The fact that Bahman accompanies Arslan to Sindhura and fighting bravery as a marzban.
The fact that Bahman dies in Sindhura
The fact that Salima, daughter of Mahendra, lets Rajendra arrest Gadhevi, who is Salima's husband.
The fact that a sorcerer tries to steal the secret letter of Bahman and Narsus cuts off his arm.
The fact that Andragoras tells the secret of Hilmes's birth to Sam.
*The fact that Daryun captures Etoile before the battle in St. Emmanuel.
*The fact that Merlain and Kubard defeat a Lusitanian troop together.
*The fact that Jimsa and Zaravant escape from Andragoras's forces and they start searching Arslan together.
*The fact that Zandeh throws Ruknabad into a crack in the ground, and pursuades Hilmes to once forget about it at the time when Ruknabad refused Hilmes and made a large earthquake hit.

("*" refers to scenes from parts of the story that have yet to be reached in the manga as it’s still behind the anime)

Whereas in the manga, all the events I remember that were added are just (Note: this list should be quite decent. Unlike the previous 2 ones, here I made a big effort to gather all the differences I remember having noticed when I read the manga):

The first chapter (which was also in the anime)
One short fight between Arslan and Kharlan (which was also in the anime). I wouldn’t really call it a fight, but in the novels Arslan and Kharlan don’t have that short crossing of blades before Kharlan fights Daryun.
The fact that Etoile hands a small religious book to Arslan close to a river and the conversation with his companions about it (the anime added the act of giving the Bible, though under different conditions and there was no chat about it between Arslan’s companions when they go to Hodir’s castle)
The sentence “one in one hundred million” used by Daryun (I think the anime used it once during the first half of season 1) as well as Arslan’s famous word “delicious” when referring to delicious food (the novels also use that word, but it’s more frequent in the manga. The anime used the word as well).
Farangis usually dresses like a man in the novels, whereas in the manga there’s fan service. The anime took the manga’s character designs, so obviously it includes such fan service.
The fact that Elam has a memory of Narsus praising his cooking skill
The fact that Kishward already has a wife and a son, whereas in the novels his wife and son appear much later.
When Daryun reveals Arslan identity to him, Daryun holds his hand. The revelation part is the same, but them holding hands at sunset is new.
The fact that Montferrart's brother is among Bodin's soldiers who were killed by Hilmes when Lusitanian soldiers were fighting over the sacred flag. In the novels, he wasn’t present there.
Jaswant (this character debuts in chapter 43 of the manga) sees Narsus painting, whereas in the novel it’s not described that she takes a glance at his painting.
The fact that the story of how Daryun got hold of his polearm is more detailed in the manga.
In one of the latest chapters of the manga (+55), Hilme’s secret is more explained than in the novels.

And not much content from the novels has been cut down. Obviously, the novels will have more details, but the important events are told faithfully, and the stuff that gets removed is the kind that is unnecessary and overdetailed for a manga (the manga format is quite different from that of a novel). To name a few examples of the events that the manga didn’t include while adapting the novels:

Once Vahriz asks Daryun what his impression of Arslan's features is at Atropatene, there is a line that Daryun says ("He  has a handsome features. I guess young ladies all over the capital city will talk about him in two or three years, but uncle...") right before Vahriz tells him that he was actually asking which one of the prince’s parents looks more similar to him. That line I quoted is not included in the manga.
The reason why Narsu’s father died is because he fell down the stairs right before he was about to leave his land and help Andragoras. This led Narsus to go to the capital city and made him famous for the first time as a tactician.
Amidst the sorcerers who have served the master sorcerer, Gundhi  frequently appears in the underground room to receive instructions. In case you don’t remember it, he is the one with an incomplete mask that doesn’t cover the right side).
The fact that Narsus has been rumored to have love affairs while working at court. Furthermore, Daryun has fallen in love with the princess of Serica. (Just 2 months ago, the author mentioned they are no longer a couple**)
When Daryun fights with Bahadul in Sindhura, Daryun gets bitten by a jackal and he chops the jackal's head and even makes its eyes come out.
About Pars legends, there exists a deep tradition of not eating sheep brain. Nevertheless, right when Arslan and his friends are in Sindhura, they inadvertently eat it in the food they’re given. It is stated that Daryun loses his appetite after that, yet Farangis is fine.

** Refers to an event that Tanaka has stated to have happened, but it doesn’t appear in his novels. He tends to do this sometimes, and his words/messages add new canon material not mentioned in the novels themselves (sometimes these new details/facts said by Tanaka are actually included in the second manga’s adaptation). This time it was mentioned on 18th January 2018, where we get to know that situation I explained before and exactly how it happens. If you google  31年目のヤシャスィーン you can see it on nico video website, but you need to have an official account and it’s raw Japanese as no English subtitles exist. In that conference he also mentions unimportant stuff like the fact that he had already decided the ending even before the second half of the novels had started, that while writing dialogues he says them out loud to make sure it doesn’t sound weird, that Daryun is dressed in black because he was reading the historical and psychological novel The red and the Black…

Also, the manga has more violent scenes that are in the novels but the anime skipped, like:

The fact that faKishward makes one of Sindhuran’s soldier swing his boss's head from his neck.

  Conclusions: The anime changes and skips events a lot, whereas the
  manga sometimes adds an element/detail to the story rather than change it.
  The manga adds very little, and when it does it is unimportant stuff,
  it doesn’t remove much content and it doesn’t change things,
  making the manga a good adaptation of the novels. The scenes and even
  dialogues have been following Tanaka’s original work.

This is slightly off-topic, but I wanted to mention a couple of important things:

First and foremost, the fact that I wouldn’t consider fillers the few things that the second manga added. This is because according to Tanaka’s secretary, while working, Arakawa inquires what might be necessary. Obviously, some minor details are necessary to fit the manga format and make the illustrations and the like, but Arakawa is very respectful and consults Tanaka/his secretary, who’s always very eager to see the end result of the work. Based on twits and the like, I’m not sure who’s more in charge of the supervision though, his secretary (the guy that tends to speak for him in the media) or Tanaka, but that depends on how much involvement the original author wants to have (Unfortunately, he’s already 70 years old and has already hinted he would like to stop working altogether) Also, as I said before, because the adaptation is very good and faithful to the original work.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21487693-the-heroic-legend-of-arslan-vol-1

https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=97707

Second, the fact that the first manga was done by Chisato Nakamura, a girl that turned Arslan Senki into a shoujo manga (for girls). I started reading it, but I didn’t enjoy it very much and dropped it.
Third, the fact I would consider fillers what the anime changed or skipped. It was stated that the anime production consulted Tanaka before changing stuff, but personally, I would say it was just a technicality. There were some important changes, and I don’t think they should be given much thought even though Tanaka approved them and said that he is happy with them.
And last, the fact that Arslan Senki has had 3 illustrators so far. It’s extremely difficult for a novel series to get this kind of attention, and his novels even got an audiobook.

https://myanimelist.net/manga/32793/Arslan_Senki

https://myanimelist.net/manga/51235/Arslan_Senki

https://myanimelist.net/manga/51233/Arslan_Senki

Novel:

Amano, Yoshitaka (Art)
Tanaka, Yoshiki (Story)

First manga:

Tanaka, Yoshiki (Story)
Nakamura, Chisato (Art)

Second manga:

Arakawa, Hiromu (Art)
Tanaka, Yoshiki (Story)

I personally hope a third season for the anime is made. I said that the anime’s adaptation is less faithful, but that is compared to the manga, by itself the anime’s adaptation is not so bad.

What I’m gonna quote comes from an interview to Arslan Senki’s anime protagonist actor, Kobayashi. This is my own translation, the interviews aren’t translated.
He starts complaining about how short second season was, not even 12 episodes.

「あともうちょっとやりたかったな」と口惜しいような気持ちも感じつつ、短くはありましたけど、充実した作品になったのではないかと思っています。

  I felt kind of a missing feeling like “I wanted to do a little more”,
  but overall I think it turned out an enjoyable product.

But then he starts saying all the good things:

そして、もし3期があるんだったら、絶対にまた、成長した僕と成長したアルスラーンで、相乗効果を出すことができると思います。そういう風に、同じスタートで始まって、役と僕が同じように成長していく、不思議な作品です。
ーーアルスラーンの歩みと小林さんの歩みは重なっているんですね。
小林　本当に、いいタイミングで役をいただけました。僕にとっては、アルスラーンを見れば自分の成長具合がわかる。ひとつ、自分にとっての指標みたいな役です。ずっと大切にしていきたいです。

  And if there is to be a 3rd season, grown up Arslan and me could
  absolutely bring synergetic effects to it. Just like that, my role and me
  both started from the same page and we’re able to grow up
  together. This is such wonderful work of art.

  -So there is an overlap to you and Arslan’s growth.

  Kobayashi: I got my role at a very good timing. Arslan’s growth reflects how much I have grown up. He’s like my role model. I’d like to cherish this role forever.

And then, he repeats how much he treasures the experience and how much he wants the anime to continue until it reaches the end of the series.

宝物だと思っている役と作品なので、最後まで丁寧に演じきりたい。… たとえ何歳になろうと、殿下を演じきりたいと僕は思っているんですよ。最後まで、アルスラーンと一緒に歩んで行きたい。『アルスラーン戦記』は僕にとってそんな作品です。
ーーまずは王都奪還の日を、楽しみにしております！　ありがとうございました！

  This is my treasure. I’d like to continue playing this role till
  the end … No matter how old I become, I’d like to play a role as the
  prince and walk on our paths together. The Heroic Legend of Arslan is
  an art that makes me feel that way.

  -First of all, I am looking forward to the day of the return of the kingdom! Thank you very much!

Now, will there be a season 3? According to the anime's series composer and script writer, it will depend on the support fans give Arslan Senki. If it were up to him, season 3 would be being made as we speak, but unfortunately he also mentioned a few months after season 2 had ended that sales were a bit short of what he had expected.

「皆さんが盛り上がってくだされば、すぐ3期が決まるかと思います！」（上江洲誠）

  “If all of you get very excited, I’m sure season 3 will come
  immediately!” (Makoto Uezu)


Why hasn't Team Rocket's Meowth evolved? This is a question I have been wondering about - why hasn't Team Rocket's Meowth evolved, or rather (since it's kind of easy to answer that question) will he or can evolve?

The core to that question is that we see Meowth is envious of Giovanni's Persian, and when he imagines himself being petted by Giovanni he isn't imagining himself as Persian but as Meowth, so it kind of brings the question - is Meowth like Ash's Pikachu and doesn't want to evolve? I mean, he sure can imagine himself being petted by Giovanni as Persian, since its evolved form is surely better than Meowth itself, so it's clear why Giovanni would want Persian over Meowth, and Meowth should know that even so he doesn't imagine himself evolving, so that means he can't evolve from some reason?

I have a pretty good theory for an answer but I would be happy for a more sourceable answer if anyone has.

Meowth can't evolve because he can't battle.

As stated on Meowth's Bulbapedia article:

  Meowth normally does not battle unless there are extreme circumstances; his explanation is that his ability to talk and walk upright came at the expense of battling ability.

A good example of this is Pokémon: The First Movie, where Meowth and his clone are two of the only three Pokémon that don't get involved in the final battle (the third being Ash's Pikachu, who refuses to fight back against his clone). Because Meowth never fights, he never earns any experience, and therefore he can never evolve.

I guess Team Rocket could just stuff him full of Rare Candies until he evolves into Persian, but that then raises the question of where they would get all those Rare Candies from, as they're consistently shown to be short on funds.


Are the Dragon names based on anything? Just some random curiosity about the Dragons in Fairy Tail.

Acnologia,
Igneel,
Grandeeney,
Weisslogia,
Metalicana,
Skiadrum,
Atlas Flame,
Zirconis,
Motherglare,
Scissor Runner,
Revire,
Dark Dragon,
Rock Dragon

Are their names based on anything?

It seems some of their names have parts which relate to their nature:

Weisslogia: Weiss or Weiß is German for "white". Sting performs White Dragon Slayer to produce beams of sacred light, so we can see how White factors into Weisslogia's name.
Metalicana: Obviously, the use of Metal in its name reflects the Iron Dragon Slayer Magic Gajeel uses
Skiadrum: Skia or "σκιά" is Greek for shadow, and Skiadrum is the Shadow Dragon.
Atlas Flame: Atlas is the name of a Greek god, but I do not know how it would relate to the character. Images I have seen of this dragon show that it's totally wrapped in flames, and its title is also the Flame Dragon
Motherglare: This may be related to its Egg Magic. In most cases, mothers use a form of egg to give birth to children. In a lot of fictional works, Dragons lay eggs to give birth.
Scissor Runner: May be a reference to the two huge spines coming out of the top of its head and its chin
Rock/Dark Dragons: Obviously for their appearance. However, those aren't their names, but how they are referred to due to their appearance.
(Revire has a somewhat aquatic appearance, and its name is pronounced as "Rivaia", which kinda sounds like river. However, that is a long shot.)

I couldn't find anything on Acnologia, Igneel or Grandeeney.

I should point out that I have not read the manga nor watched enough of the anime (I have seen like 50 episodes), and I found out all of these by google searching for images, picking apart their names and looking up Wikipedia articles. Someone else may have a more accurate answer. These are just my observations and may help others fill in holes in their own research.


What is Itachi's illness? What was Itachi's mysterious illness?
Do you think Tsunade could have cured it? I'm aware that it is a terminal illness.
And when did Itachi get this illness?

The disease is never named.

This is actually quite common in manga/anime. It's often said that a character has some disease without the name of the disease ever being stated.

In some cases, the disease may be implied, such as in the case of said character suddenly being bald, in which case cancer is being implied. This can give a story some realism

In other cases, no symptoms are given or the symptoms are very generic, so that it's impossible to determine what disease the character has. This is done because it means less work on the author's part if they're not familiar with a disease that has the symptoms they want and means less time has to be spent developing things that don't have any relevance to the story.

In this case, very little information is given about Itachi's illness other than that it's terminal. It's likely that the author did this simply because what Itachi had didn't really matter to the story in any way. The only important thing is that it forced Itachi to speed up his plan, knowing he would die.

There is one other thing we know about his disease. According to Narutopedia, this disease had an effect on Itach's chakra. Because of this, it is reasonable to assume that this disease either isn't real or it's based on a real disease with this fictional characteristic attached.


Why does Final Fantasy contain "Final" in the title? Why does the Final Fantasy franchise of RPGs, anime, manga, etc. contain "Final" in the title?

Is it that the original concept of the first game was intended to portray the ending of a story? Was it derived from in-universe content?
Or is it because the creators did not plan to produce more games, and did not expect that any sequels would be desired?
Or was the inclusion of the word "final" chosen for a completely reason?

Hironobu Sakaguchi, a designer at Square (the company who developed Final Fantasy), was essentially creating what he saw as a magnum opus. After his lack of success with previous Square titles (nearly leading to its bankruptcy), this was his final attempt to live out his fantasy of developing games.
From Wikipedia:

Though often attributed to the company allegedly facing bankruptcy, Sakaguchi explained that the game was his personal last-ditch effort in the game industry and that its title, Final Fantasy, stemmed from his feelings at the time; had the game not sold well, he would have quit the business and gone back to university.

Wikipedia attributes this to another article, with a direct quote:

“The name ‘Final Fantasy’ was a display of my feeling that if this didn’t sell, I was going to quit the games industry and go back to university. I’d have had to repeat a year, so I wouldn’t have had any friends – it really was a ‘final’ situation.”
  — Hironobu Sakaguchi


Does Naruto ever hold the rank of chūnin? I am not familiar with the contents of any of the movies. Keeping this in mind, can anyone tell me if Naruto ever gets the promotion to chūnin (or Jōnin for that matter). Since he is clearly the Hokage in the last chapter of the manga, I wonder if he was made such while officially still a genin.

No, it was never shown in anime or OVA or manga (at the time of this answer)

Naruto didn't become chūnin in first chūnin exam, he missed the second chūnin exam due to his training with Jiraiya.

There is third chūnin exam mentioned in an OVA:

Chūnin Exam on Fire! Naruto vs. Konohamaru!

Where Naruto only got one hit but lost due to getting disqualified for using sage mode. But the same OVA also shows him qualified too:-

  In the end, Kakashi, Gaara and the others comfort Naruto by letting
  him know he can become a chūnin anytime he wants, as he has already
  surpassed his contemporaries, including Kakashi himself.


Why does Midorima's nails influence his shots? In one of the episodes of Kuroko no Basket, Midorima said that his shots depend on his nails. Why do his shots depend on his nails?

In addition to being a perfectionist Midorima uses the tip of his fingers to direct all his strength to the ball. It is not easy to shoot the basketball at that range.

The generations of Miracles have incredible talent, but their bodies can't keep up with them. Just like Aomine and Kise who have additional strain on their ankles with those quick movements. Similarly, shooting the ball in such a high arc puts strain on his fingertips, and we all know how irritating it is to wait for a nail injury to heal.

Something similar happens in another sports shounen, Diamond no Ace, where a fastball pitcher hurts his nail while pitching because he was putting all his strength on his fingertips.

TL;DR Midorima puts all his strength into the fingertips whick strain his nails. Thus he constantly maintains them to be always on top of his game.


Why is Senketsu the only Kamui that can talk? There are three Kamui in the show: Senketsu, Junketsu and Shinra-Kōketsu (Omnisilk Kōketsu).

Shinra-Kōketsu is on another level compared to other Kamui. However, Junketsu is the same as Senketsu, but he never talks. Is Senketsu different from other Kamui?

Senketsu is the only one Kamui that can talk or communicate. Senketsu can communicate only with Ryuuko. This is because Senketu was made by Dr. Matoi with some modification, i.e Dr. Matoi used Ryuuko's Central Nervous System's DNA with Senketu's life fibers, which is why Ryuuko only can communicate with Senketsu and wear it.
After the end of the battle in episode 17, around 6:00, there is a conversation between Ryuuko Matoi and Aikuro Mikisugi:

A : Dr. Matoi made further improvements and completed Kamui Senketsu. Senketsu's life fiber have been spliced with your central nervous system's DNA
R : What ?
A : That is why he can only communicate with and worn by you.

A is Aikuro Mikisugi, R is Matoi Ryuuko. The exact phrasing might depend on the subtitle set.
Ryuuko's Central Nervous System's DNA is the main reason why Senketsu can talk but other Kamui cannot.

But Satsuki was able to wear it and use it. The reason may be that they are siblings. Satsuki can hear and communicate with Senketsu. They are siblings so their DNA match to some extent, and Senketsu contains Ryuuko's DNA. This may be the reason but this is more what I think than a confirmation of existing information.


How was it possible to summon Sasori with Edo Tensei? As we know, Sasori has

   turned his body into a puppet, with a small "core of living flesh" being the only living part of it:

This question also states that when summoned by Edo Tensei,

  the reincarnated seem to retain any permanent body damage and physical
  limitations they received during their lifetime.

Obviously, Sasori would fall under someone who had suffered some physical...limitations. We know that

   after being brought back by Edo Tensei, Sasori eventually was released, and vanished like any other summoned shinobi (of flesh and bones), so it clearly wasn't another puppet:

So how was Kabuto able to summon Sasori? If the reincarnation retains body damage, wouldn't he only be able to reincarnate Sasori's "Living Core"? I doubt that the process of "enchanting", which Kabuto can perform, involves re-making the whole body.

Although the Wiki does says that

  the reincarnated seem to retain any permanent body damage and physical limitations they received during their lifetime1

it also says that

  Kabuto can also modify his summoned fighters (...). While the technique usually reincarnates the deceased at the exact state they were in at the time of their deaths, Kabuto noted that he brought Madara back in a state that was "beyond his prime" and was reincarnated much younger than when he died an old man as well as instilling him with abilities he had acquired in his old age.

The best explanation (I can come up with) for this is that he was reincarnated into an earlier body, maintaining the abilities and memories acquired until the time of his death, much like Madara's reincarnation 2. Although I don't think he needs to re-make the bodies of the summoned, if it meant that, it was already proven that he could do it (it was made with Madara), so it would also be possible to make it with Sasori.

1 This piece of data is stated in the Wiki, but I do not recall if it was referenced in any manga chapter, so bear that in mind.
2 Naruto chapter 560, page 3. Kabuto explains Madara that he brought him beyond his prime.


Why do guys in anime often lack nipples? As shown in the images (from Free! and Noragami, respectively), guys in anime often lack nipples. This could be explained by vague Japanese copyright laws, but other anime occasionally show guys with nipples. Why do guys so often lack nipples?

Animated male nipples are not a matter of legal Japanese censorship (or copyright law). It is fine to air them on TV in prime time. As Ray noted in a deleted answer, Dragonball, viewed as a most-typical shounen anime aimed at children, features male characters whose nipples are easily visible.  Although the series garnered many adult and female fans, the characters are not particularly intended to look comely or provocative to the target audience. The innocuous nipples in Dragonball can be there because they are not intended to be viewed as attractive.

In contrast, mainstream character designs that aim to captivate the viewer in a romantic or sensual way are more likely to be nipple-free, because a well-known aspect of creating fantasy is to paint a rosy picture and subtly remove pesky details that can snap a viewer out of the lovely reverie back to stark reality (the old adage “less is more”).  Nipples are not considered to contribute toward this end, in the same way that Japanese people do not generally shave or wax (since this site is 13+ I'm not going to provide citation links but you could Google that) but we are never shown body hair in regular manga and anime: in real-life, we know these anatomically exist, but drawing them does not help the audience escape into daydream. (Hentai titles and hentai doujinshi have a different goal, so that is why you are more likely to see male nipples there than in mainstream titles.)

Free! is a bishounen (pretty boy) title, so the characters are intentionally drawn to be eye candy. Even more so than the earlier bishounen anime series, Free! and other more recent titles such as Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei Bu Love!, Uta no Prince-sama, Harukanaru Toki no Naka de, Kiniro no Corda, Dance with Devils, Diabolik Lovers, Brothers Conflict, K, Kamigami no Asobi, Starry Sky, Shounen Hollywood: Holly Stage for 49, etc. focus heavily on the eye candy aspect, such as including stages of undress, characters striking sensual poses, “camera” angles and lingering shots that accentuate their figures, etc. The character design is intended to garner fans who crush on the characters and buy all manner of merchandise sporting those characters.

Bishounen characters are not as prevalent in shounen titles as in shoujo, but they are now widespread (f you look at the bulk of shounen series from the 80s, 70s, and 60s, you will find far fewer bishounen characters there, especially as primary protagonists), partly based on changing cultural preferences (something along the lines of metrosexual) and partly on expanding otaku demographics (pulling in the potential female audience can be more financially-viable than it was in the past). Noragami is not marketed toward women, but it follows in the current trend within shounen series of those that try to appeal to readers/viewers beyond the target demographic.

Historically, the naked body was not considered to be attractive in Japanese culture. The classic Heian era (11th century) novel The Tale of Genji illustrates how people wore layers and layers of clothes (women wore 12 layers), and had sex while (nearly) fully dressed and in the dark (see pages 30-32 of The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu: A Reader's Guide by William J. Puette). Some consider the origin of bishounen to date as far back in Japanese literature as the protagonist of The Tale of Genji (i.e. Hikaru Genji as the proto-bishounen). Genji was the era's ideal man. He considered imagining his lover without looking closely as preferable to viewing the unattractive details of her actual body.


What is the actual reason behind the Nine Tails attack? In the anime, the nine tails were summoned by Madara/Tobi during Naruto's birth and made to attack Konoha. Later Minato saved the village. For what reason the nine tails was made to attack Konoha?

Madara/Tobi had taken control of the Nine-Tails, but during his battle with Minato, Minato removed the Nine-Tails from the control of Tobi. Then Tobi escapes from the battle.

This is where the Nine-Tails was summoned by Madara/Tobi in Konoha (chapter 502):

This is when Minato removes the Nine-Tails from the control of Madara/Tobi (chapter 503):

This is when Madara/Tobi escapes:

Now, since no one was present to control the Nine-Tails, he went on a rampage and thus attacked the village.

Initially, Madara/Tobi wanted to keep control of the Nine-Tails and use its power for himself, and destroy Konoha. But now the Nine-Tails was a loose canon destroying Konoha on its own free will.

   After Rin, who was someone very special to Obito, was killed, he was taken by hatred towards the Ninja world. Uchiha Madara had for long contained hatred for the Senju clan. After his defeat in the hands of the First Hokage - Hashirama Senju, had made the destruction of Konoha his vendetta. Madara saped into this hatred of Obito and toned Obito's thoughts to suit his own needs. When Madara/Tobi learned that Kushina is about to deliver a child, they made their move, as the time of delivering the child is when the seal is the weakest for a Jinchuruki. Having a Tailed Beast in his disposal would have been a great advantage for Madara, as he was already planning something that concerned the Bijuus.

Thus Madara/Tobi attacks Konoha, and in turn the Nine-Tails attacks Konoha.