Is Naruto's most proficient move still Shadow Clones? After becoming Hokage, and so much more in ''Boruto'', it is safe to say that Naruto has learned a great deal more than when he was just a kid, and originally learned to use the Shadow Clone jutsu. He has been using it frequently since then, using it whilst fighting to pull off his Rasengan or to multi-task in his daily life. Obviously it is not his most destructive jutsu, but talking sheer mastery with it, I doubt he would be better at another jutsu.
But with how many jutsus and techniques Naruto has by now, is his Shadow Clone jutsu still the one he's the most proficient at? If not, then what is his most proficient jutsu, and when did it become his most proficient?

I think his strongest justu is Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken, but his most PROFICIENT jutsu would be multi shadow clone justu simply because it is an extension of his shadow clone jutsu, which is one of the first jutsu he mastered and he has been using it since he was 12 or however old he was when he defended Iruka.


What is the purple baggy fabric Sasuke wears? what is the purpose? What is the purple baggy fabric he wears? what is the purpose? why does he wear it?

I think you are talking about this belt.
This is just a rope that Sasuke uses to hold his sword, but it also serves as an ornament for his clothes.

Here is an image showing the belt holding the sheath.


Where was Sword Art Online published online? I heard SAO was published online before being published in paper (not sure if only the first volume or more). Now, the question is where was it published, which site?

I understand that the webnovel version of SAO is likely no longer available there. I'm more interested in the site. I tried googling it but I've got no answer, so I'm asking it here.

You will not be able to (legally) find the web novel version anymore as the author has pulled it out after agreeing to publish it with ASCII Media Works. As for the website it was published in, it would be on SAO's author Reki Kawahara's website.

Keep in mind that he used the pseudonym "Fumio Kunori" when he was writing this particular web novel series.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_Art_Online#Light_novels


Why couldn't Goku use the Nimbus to rescue the Ox King from the fire? At the end of Dragon Ball, when the Ox King was trapped, Goku flew into the fire on the Nimbus and had an extended conversation with the Ox King. Goku's previous demonstrations of strength also implied that he would have no problem lifting and holding on to the Ox King.

I did not read the manga, I only watched the anime. Is any specific reason given or implied why Goku could not have grabbed the Ox King at that time and carried him (either on the cloud or hanging onto him if Ox King could not fit or ride) out of the flames to buy himself and Chi Chi extra time to find a way to extinguish the flames?

It was most probably because Ox King did not have a pure heart, and so would not have been able to ride the Nimbus. Evidence for this is seen during the first meeting of Goku and Ox King, when rumors that Ox King murdered those who approached his castle for treasures (out of greed, of course) was confirmed by him when he admits his wrongdoings in front of Master Roshi.

Anyways, it is filler content and not part of the original manga, so no "official" explanation exists.


Why can't Earthland magicians use magic in Edolas without the X-balls? When Natsu, Wendy, Happy and Carla went to Edolas they couldn't use magic at first. Later Natsu and Wendy were given the X-balls to regain their magic usage. Yet even without the X-balls, Exceeds could use their magic. This is according to the wiki because they have their Magic located inside of their bodies just like the Mages of Earth Land.

  Presumably, this is due to the fact that they are the only beings in Edolas whose Magic is located inside of their bodies, just like the Mages of Earth Land.

If both have their magic located within their bodies, then why are only the Exceeds able to use their magic, but Mages need those X-Balls?

Also related to this question, I was wondering why the Exceeds even lost their magic usage to begin with. It was said that they need to have the right mind-set to be able to use their magic, but when they entered Edolas for the first time, they didn't know magic was limited, so they were supposed to have the "right mind-set" at that time right? So why did they lose their magic usage when they arrived?

To answer your first question: because it's said so. (Possible explanation could be that exceeds were laid there so their bodies has some mechanism that they just needed to awaken but mages needed the X-balls for that. But this is just a speculation as we only know as much as it's said: mages needed the X-balls, exceeds didn't.)

To answer your second question: they were not supposed to have the right mindset. They were pretty much in doubt about everything especially about themselves. What are they, what are they for... what they knew so far changed quite drastically in a few hours of time. While it's not stated explicitly in Fairy Tail, in most of the other universes (including RPGs) using magic needs quite some concentration, so that "right mindset" thing can be more crucial than you think.


What is a chai chai kick? Genshiken Nidaime, Episode 5, 19:34

Chai... Chai Kick! where did this come from?

It's probably from History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. As the Muay Thai boxer, Apachai Hopachai, one of Kenichi's teachers, has a special technique called the Chai Kick.


From what anime are these pictures? From this picture I was unable to identify from doing a Google image search, was this picture from an anime? I am wondering where this is from since I was watching a video clip and it didn't have the names of the animes that were compiled together. This one looks interesting though.

The only details I have is that she was looking at a guy waving his hair close by to a waterfall and that she hugged this guy in this photo here.

The first 2 images appear to be the main characters:

Mikasa Ackerman
Eren Yeager

from Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan).


Piano song when Golgius tries to takes Meliodas' sword in episode 5 In Nanatsu no Taizai, there's an ominous piano soundtrack that plays in season 1 episode 5 when Golgius tries to takes Meliodas's sword. It plays again in season 1 episode 15 when Guila kills the kids bullying zeal. And in Season 2 it plays in episode 5 when Galan pulverizes Meliodas's.

What is the name of this song?

I looked through the entire OST and couldn't find the song played there.
I think that track might be too simple and short to be included in the OST.

1 hour soundtrack:
Youtube
Playlist of the soundtrack
Youtube

But maybe I missed something.


Weird translation in One Piece Episode 132? In One Piece's Episode 132, when Luffy tries to apologize to Nami for messing up her drawn map, from what I can get (I may be wrong), Nami (gets frustrated and) says (in romaji),

Gomen de sundara, kaigun wa iranai wa

The translation in the anime is shown as:

If sorry was all it took, the Marines wouldn't be after us!

This translation seems a bit off; it seems out of the context. Although "kaigun" does mean Navy but I think from what I understand, Nami wanted to say,

I don't care if you are sorry!

Following this sentence, Nami says "Just get out!".
I wanted to know if my doubts are right and whether the translation is really a bit off. I think the word "kaigun" can be "kaigo" which can mean nursing or care but I am not sure.
Can anyone confirm this?

I wouldn't say the translation is off.
Nami is trying to convey that simply saying 'sorry' is not going to resolve the issue at hand.
Similar to how saying sorry to the marines would not make the crew any less of a wanted criminal.
Hence I don't care if you are sorry! doesn't really covers what she tries to convey. She may still care about him being sorry, but in the end it's only a cold comfort. It will not fix or rectify the situation.
Or in the context of the episode, just saying sorry is not magically going to repair or fix the damages done to the map. Which she just put a lot of effort into making.
So something along the lines of Being sorry is not going to fix this map! would probably better reflect what Nami was trying to say.


Does Tatsumaki wear panties? Some NSFW content and possible spoilers ahead.

I came across this question and was instantly reminded of another character who, at first glance, seems to be not wearing any underwear, too: Tatsumaki. Some people who think she doesn't wear any usually cite the following photos from the manga and anime as shown below:

Does she really not wear any underwear at all?

From what I was able to gather, yes, she does. From a Q&A,

  Murata : Hahaha there is no such setting about no panties

Furthermore,

  According to Murata, few years ago the animation team from Madhouse asked him whether Tatsumaki is wearing any panties, to which he answered she does.

The webcomic also depicts her wearing one and King even sees them.

While the images in the manga might seem to contradict these statements from Murata himself, she could be wearing a type of underwear similar to a C-string or G-string, in which case it would make sense that it's not that visible to the point that she doesn't seem to wear any. Murata never stated what type they were, after all and even joked about planning to use ONE's 'diaper-like' depiction of her panties when he will draw that particular scene someday.


Why is Utena able to beat other duelists? Every duelist is an expert on a different sword art (kendo, fencing, etc.), but Utena isn't, so she shouldn't be able to beat them.

That being said, there's the prince's image that falls from the castle into her, before she wins. Is that image why Utena can beat the other duelists? If so, what is the explanation for that image?

tl;dr: Utena probably wins because of some sort of spiritual or moral quality she has.
Why is Utena able to win?
In Utena's second duel, Utena is losing until she "absorbs" power from the prince. Moreover, Touga, who is watching the duel, says:

What was that just now?! Was that the power to bring the world revolution? The Power of Dios?!

This indicates that Utena is probably aided by something that has nothing to do with her sword skills---probably whatever the image of the prince signifies, as the image frequently appears falling from the sky or imposed on Utena's body just before she deals a finishing blow.
Incidentally, in ep. 15, Mamiya says, of the Student Council members:

Swords strong enough to defeat Utena Tenjou may have crystallized inside of their hearts!

Mikage counters this by saying that the "weak-hearted fools" on the Student Council have already been defeated by Utena before. The emphasis here isn't on the physical abilities of the duelists. Thus, there might be some "spiritual" or "moral" aspect to some of the duels.
I should also note that in some of the cases, it's not surprising that Utena is able to beat the duelists, even if we don't consider any "unnatural" causes. For example, in ep. 5, Utena wins the duel after Miki becomes distracted (when Anthy cheers on Utena). Similarly, in ep. 29, Juri leaves the duel after her locket is broken.
Who is the prince?
In Saionji and Touga's ep. 33 conversation, Touga says that Akio saved Utena as a child by showing her "something eternal".
Later, in ep. 34, the flashback to Utena's childhood in ep. 34 indicates that the prince who saves Utena is the prince whose image appears in Utena's duels. This is the Rose Prince, who in second flashback is revealed to be Dios and Anthy's brother.
Akio must then be a degraded version of the prince, or a "fallen" Dios---in the flashback, it is stated:

the prince [the Rose Bride] loves is no longer the prince she knew. Not anymore. He is now the End of the World.

Thus, Touga might be right about Utena winning with the "Power of Dios". (Being not entirely sure what the "Power of Dios" is, I hesitate to say that this completely explains Utena's victories.) If so, perhaps she is channeling this power towards the end of the duels, when the image appears.


Is it common for mangaka to maintain the same characters design between different titles? After reading rave-master and fairy-tail I noticed the high similarity in their characters. Some even being identical copies of the characters out of the other series.

So how common is it for a mangaka to maintain the same character design through out several of their manga's? Or is this just something Hiro Mashima does ?

In Japanese it's called Star system

Earliest manga author who uses star system is Osamu Tezuka. See Wikipedia for details of his star system.

Japanese version of wikipedia has a page for Star system of manga/anime

Manga/anime section describe 3 categories.

Clearly defined same name character.
Osamu Tezuka, Fujiko Fujio, Shotaro Ishinomori, etc.
Different character, Different world.
rave-master and fairy-tail are categorized to this.
Other example is heal team in Time Bokan.
This contains Team rocket in pokemon.
Same character, Same world.
Negima, UQ Holder and CLAMP's manga are categorized to this.
Each story is happen in same world, but focus to different time or character.

Outside of this, there are spin off story.
Magical Project S from Tenchi Muyo, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha from Triangle Heart and Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya from Fate/stay night.

That Wikipedia page also mentioned about game.
For example, In addition to 2d action, Mario is protagonist of cart game, tennis game and other.


Is the song name "U and I" supposed to be Ui's name? In Episode 17 of Season 2 No Club Room, when Ui is sick, she wakes up and looks at the lyrics Yui wrote. I am watching the English-dubbed version and on the top of the paper the song is titled "U and I".

English-wise, this looks like Ui's name if written in Romaji and it makes sense given that Yui wrote it when she was caring for Ui, a time in Yui's life where she doesn't have Ui looking after her like she usually does.

So I am wondering, in the Japanese version, is this song supposed to just be Ui's name?

I'm not really sure what you mean when you ask whether the song is "supposed to be" Ui's name, but the following things are true:

The title of the song is the same in Japanese ("U&I").
A Japanese listener would certainly recognize this as the two letters in the romanization of Ui's name.
It is also likely that a Japanese listener would also recognize these as meaning "you" and "I" (as in "me"). (Compare: You wa Shock!)
Hence, I claim that this wordplay is clearly intentional, and that Japanese listeners would recognize this.
The song is quite explicitly "from" Yui "to" Ui. I don't know whether the dub translates the songs, but in essence, the lyrics are all about Yui saying how she needs Ui to be there for her, and how thankful she is for Ui being in her life.

Hopefully this answers your question.


Could All Might pass his quirk to multiple people by feeding them his hair? The quirk that All Might possesses is called All For One. It is a quirk that can be passed from one person to another and it gains more power each time it is passed. All Might gave Deku (Izuku) a sliver of his power by making him eat one of his hairs. If this is how it can be passed than isn't possible for that quirk to be passed to a multitude of people? Say, an army, for example.

All Might himself said:

  After I've given Izuku my hair/DNA, I've gotten a lot weaker

So it would either be a one time thing, or every new user would weaken him substantially so it would still be a small number, and probably of lesser effect.


Why didn't Madara start his own plan when he was still young? I've seen the newest episodes of the anime, and I was thinking:

I understand that he didn't have the Rinnegan right after the battle with Hashirama, but still, I can't imagine that his recovery from that battle would be so long. He remained alive, and he was the strongest Uchiha, and one of the strongest shinobi in the world (and now with the cells of Hashirama), so why wait for someone (because Obito got to him by chance) if you can start what you want, when you want? With his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he could have built an organization like the Akatsuki, and played in the shadows, just as Obito did. In this way he could have time to search for a pupil, and at the same time, the organization members would search for the Tailed Beasts, and after defeating them, keep them in a "vegetative state" until Madara awakens his Rinnegan to manipulate the Gedo Statue and collect the Bijuu's before he dies (note that he's able to steal the Gedo Statue's power, so with Tailed Beasts inside it, he could have been much stronger, despite his age).

Then pass the Rinnegan to the pupil-> Rinne Tensei-> resurrected Madara has his youth and force back, plus the Tailed Beasts are already in his possession. (And MAYBE even his pupil would've survived and both of them would possess the Rinnegan)-> straight way to Tsuki no Me plan.

Madara didn't know he was going to awaken the Rinnegan. He knew about the story with the Sage of Six Paths and the Juubi, he also probably knew about the existence of the Eternal Tsukuyomi. But without the Rinnegan, his plan couldn't have succeeded at all (because the Rinnegan is needed for the Gedo Mazo).

Since Madara didn't know he was going to awaken the Rinnegan, or what the requirements were, he couldn't have started his plan.

Sure, in retrospect, if he had known he would awaken the Rinnegan at a later point, starting to collect the Bijuu early might have been a clever move.

Note that even his current plan had flaws in it:

Obito never planned to resurrect Madara. It was Kabuto who made the fatal mistake of reanimating him (having been tempted by Black Zetsu with Madara's corpse), and thinking he could control him. Obito's plan was to complete the Infinite Tsukuyomi himself, and create a world in which Rin lives.


Does Trunks ever pretend to be weaker than Vegeta so as not to hurt his pride? This is a question regarding the anime but any reference from the manga are also acceptable. Please include season/episode, etc.

Vegeta's pride is a recurring theme and fuels his rage during fights. He demonstrates this by toying with his enemies, letting his opponents beat on him until they discover for themselves how weak they are, and by letting his enemies power up or transform so that he isn't fighting a weaker enemy.

I seem to recall there being a point at which Vegeta realized that Goku was holding back so as not to hurt his pride and this angered him immensely; I think it was around the time Goku demonstrated his SSJ3 form and was a catalyst for Vegeta willingly allowing himself to be turned into Majin Vegeta.

But is there an instance where Trunks also suppresses his power out of fear that his father will resent him for surpassing him just as Goku always does? This question occurred to be while watching Vegeta fighting Cell after having trained in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He repeatedly refers to Trunks as being strong but never as strong as himself.

A citation for Vegeta realizing that Goku was stronger would also be nice as a supporting reference but I am seeking answers specifically regarding Trunks.

Trunks actually said in the place of the anime you mentioned - when Vegeta battled the perfect Cell - that he surpassed Vegeta's power, but didn't told Vegeta since he didn't want to hurt his pride, he's telling this to Kuririn after being noted that he's been stronger than Vegeta, Trunks tells Kuririn that though Vegeta surpassed the SSJ level, he surpassed even that.

That being said, in his fight against Cell he found out that his level beyond that realm Vegeta could have acquired or maybe has, but didn't made that in the fight against Cell since it forces the user to power up the muscles and by doing that reducing the user speed.


Why does Zangetsu transform back into shikai mode when cutting Yhwach in half? Why does Ichigo Kurosaki's Zanpakutō (Zangetsu) transform back into its original form (shikai mode) when cutting Yhwach in half in the latest chapters of the Bleach manga (chapter 684)? Is it because it is the Ichigo's final bankai?

Before the final battle, Yhwach has absorbed Mimihagi, the right arm of the soul king, which governs stagnation (around 619). This means that Mimihagi is present during the final battle.

There are two mysteries within the final battle: how did Ichigo actually defeat Yhwach, when Yhwach could simply future shatter the sword, and why did Ichigo's sword regress to his original Shikai? The answer to both is Mimihagi. And we must answer the first before we can answer the second.

Mimihagi does not ever appear within Yhwach's future visions. We see Yhwach freaking out in 617 when Mimihagi intervenes. This makes sense: Yhwach can see the future, not the past.

After the Almighty fully activates, Yhwach's visions do not fail. Yet during the final battle, he gets shot by Uryu and cut by Ichigo. Obviously, he didn't foresee these events since they proved fatal. From what we know, we can deduce that Mimihagi is interfering with the powers of the Almighty. Yhwach cannot see visions involving Mimihagi, and since he absorbed Mimihagi, the Almighty will not behave perfectly when used on situations that he is in.

Before he is shot, Yhwach attempts to envelop the Soul Society in darkness. However, the power of Quincies isn't darkness. They wield weapons made of literal light. In employing Mimihagi's power so recklessly, he weakened the influence of the Almighty, allowing Uryu to fully disable it.

Now the answer to your question:

When Yhwach reached out his hand enshrouded in darkness to shatter Ichigo's blade, he accidentally employed the wrong power. He couldn't use the Almighty's power in that situation, so he inadvertently used Mimihagi. But Mimihagi doesn't destroy, it stagnates, it regresses. So instead of shattering Ichigo's blade, Yhwach forced it to return to the original form


Confusing power level multiplier Power levels are so confusing throughout the DBZ series.

For example:

Kaioken = x2 base
Kaioken x3 = x3 base
Kaioken x4 = x4 base

and so on...

SSJ = x50 base
SSJ Grade 2 = ?
SSJ Grade 3 = ?
SSJ2 = x100 base
SSJ3 = x400 base
SSJ4 = ?
SSJG = ?
SSJGSSJ = ?
LSSJ = ?

Fusion = ?
Fusion Dance = ?
Potara Fusion = ?

Frieza form 1 = 1x base
Frieza form 2 = ?
Frieza form 3 = ?
Frieza form final (full power) = ?
Future Frieza = ? (Same with final form?)
Golden Frieza = ?

Super Buu's Absorption = ? (times the victim's power level)

The unknown factor ("?") makes me confuse about their power levels. Any ideas? Thanks.

This wikia page summarizes the known power levels from the original Dragon Ball series up to Dragon Ball GT. According to the wikia page:

  All of the levels on this list are taken from the manga, anime, movies, movie pamphlets, Daizenshuu guides, video games and stated mathematical calculations. After the Frieza Saga, the only power level stated by a scouter in the series is that of Future Trunks. In the 2000s, V-Jump revealed the official power levels of Cooler in his Final Form, Broly in his Legendary Super Saiyan form, and Gogeta in his Super Saiyan form.

Therefore, we only have the power levels up to SSJ1, with the exceptions listed above.

The concept of numbered power levels was introduced in the Saiyan Saga. My theory is that Akira Toriyama quickly realised that this was a dangerous path: it is not easy to keep the same consistency throughout the series, especially when we know how forgetful the author can be. After the Frieza saga, no additional power levels were introduced. I will be very surprised if they make a come back in Dragon Ball Super.


Power of Ultra Instinct In the dragon ball universe there are plenty of methods to significantly boost the power level of the user. We have things such as Potara earrings, saiyan power ups etc. But more recently we were introduced to Ultra Instinct. As this is said to be a form attainable by anyone but mostly used by gods (which is even difficult for them to attain) how strong is it actually? Like how much does it power up an individual that uses it.

This question is mainly based on the episode of 115 where Goku used Ultra Instinct against Kefle as well as against Jiren in an earlier episode. In SSB form Goku was eventually outmatched even with Kaioken activated. We know for a fact that SS forms basically boost power and speed significantly at the cost of stamina and ki over time. Ultra Instinct is a state of the body, making it respond without having to process the thoughts; making the body capable of an instant perfect reflex to anything.

Goku was able to dodge all of Kefla's attacks which seemed like slow motion to him most likely. But he wasn't powered up. Ultra Instinct doesn't provide ki and such it simply is a state of the body making your reflexes perfect with no time delay. So where does the power output come from? How come his punches and such are stronger with Ultra Instinct compared to all his other forms?

As far as I understand each time he was in his none powered up form, his base form. This means his power level is a lot lower than even kaioken in base form. How come he is capable of having such a damage output? Does this mean a designing flaw in Ultra Instinct?

What is the actual power of Ultra Instinct apart from making muscle reflexes perfect?

One very important factor which was mentioned multiple times in the episode was that Goku was fatigued. This was mentioned a lot of times by Champa and including Beerus. This is very likely the writers trying to say that if Goku was at full power, he would've been able to face Kefla. So I think one can't jump to a definite conclusion whether Kefla is stronger than SSJB+Kaioken Goku. The last kick landed on him by Kefla was obviously not as strong as her previous attacks so, in other words, you could assume that Goku was extremely fatigued which resulted in him losing his form All Super Saiyan forms are multipliers to the base form. We know for a fact that the SSJG multiplier is superior to the SSJ3 multiplier and obviously, the SSJB multiplier is a lot higher than the SSJG multiplier(Based on Goku's fights with Jiren and Kefla). The multiplier would remain the same whether Goku is fatigued or not but what would change is his initial base power. The UI transformation is also a power multiplier which also makes him reach a state with complete mastery of self-movement. This is because we see Android 17 remark on how goku managed to overcome the drastic power difference and go toe to toe with Jiren. Also, we see Picollo state how he was growing stronger with every blow. Finally, when Dyspo and Toppo attacked, we know for a fact that full power Toppo is superior to SSJB but UI Goku was easily able to push him back and not just dodge his attack. So it is obvious that even the UI transformation acts like a power multiplier. Lets say Kefla manages to achieve Super Saiyan 3 during the course of battle with UI Goku or if we see Jiren fighting seriously at full power against UI Goku, we can gauge it's power. As of now, we don't exactly know how strong the transformation is.


Is is possible that a shooting range is the whole court? In Kuroko no Basket's Episode 12 , Midorima said that his shooting range was the entire court. Can this happen in real life?

His shooting range isn't the entire court. I haven't watched the anime, but I have read the latest manga and his consistent shooting range is around half court. His statement is probably a bluff in this case.

No one can frequently hit shots from full or half court in basketball, it is simply too far. Most people throw the ball from those distances, because shooting doesn't have enough power to go that far. And throwing the ball means you are just lunging it, without aiming.

EDIT:

If you can hit a shot from full court range, you dont even have to pass in the ball. You can just throw it from there.


Do apples grow on trees in the Shinigami realm? In the Shinigami realm, there are other apples, that taste like sand, according to Misa Amane. Do these apples grow on trees in the Shinigami realm?

I think they may rather grow on a plant, close to the ground, because of the sandy taste. But I'm not sure whether there really is ground in the Shinigami realm.

I've also heard that nothing grows in the Shinigami realm.

Is there anything known about this? In the anime, there are not much scenes from the Shinigami realm.

From Death Note wiki

  Apples from the Shinigami Realm look like shriveled green peppers and do not resemble normal apples at all. Misa gave a juicy human apple to Ryuk and in return he lets Misa have a bite of an apple from the Shingami realm which Ryuk was carrying with him at the time. Misa takes a bite of the apple and then spits it out in disgust saying that it "tastes like sand".

It is not mentioned either in the anime or manga, whether these grow on trees or not.

It is mentioned though that

  Apples have become a very popular commodity or currency in the Shinigami Realm when Ryuk returns with an unknown quantity after the end of the series. In the manga one-shot, Midora bribes the Shinigami King with 13 apples she brought back from the human world in order to receive an extra Death Note, which she gives to C-Kira.


Does a series in Japan only get aired if it has more than 13 episodes? while reading this answer it said in one of the quotes

  After the first season of Beast Wars (comprising 26 episodes) aired in Japan, the Japanese were faced with a problem. The second Canadian season was only 13 episodes long, not enough to warrant airing on Japanese TV.

however i have a number of series which don't have even 20 episodes like Puella Magi Madoka Magica (12 episodes), Black Rock Shooter (Series) (8 Episodes), Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (the original series and A's, 13 episodes each) and a number of Monogatari series have less than 10 episodes

So i am wondering if what the quote says is accurate and if so how does a series, like the ones i mention, get aired on TV if they aren't long enough to warrant airing on Japanese TV?

No, 13 episodes are enough.

Wikipedia page in Japanese have different note for it:

  加えて、この作品と『メタルス』は元々は1つの作品だったが、当時海外では『メタルス』が展開中で日本放送が間に合わなかった。その為、本作（『メタルス』と『リターンズ』を含む）の未来に当たり、日本オリジナルの『ビーストウォーズII』と『ビーストウォーズネオ』を挟み放送することとなった。その為、最終回放送直後、抗議の電話が殺到した。

Translate:

  Originally this anime (Season1) and "Metals" (Season2) are same series. but at the time Season1 finished in Japan, "Metals" is not created yet. then, they create and aired original seasons called "Beast wars2" and "Beast wars neo" before "Metals". Many user complain it.

Based on aired date table in wikipeida,
It's always aired weekly in Japan but not in US.
Episode 1 in Season 1 is aired 9/16/1996 in US, and 10/1/1997 in Japan.
But Episode 26 is aired 4/1/1997 in US, and 3/25/1997 in Japan.
Japan side needs more episode for 4/8/1997.


Is Hakai a technique impossible for Goku to master? In the last chapter of the Dragon Ball Super manga,

 Beerus says that for using hakai he has to think only in destruction

Goku apparently tried to use hakai in the past, but it seems that he didnt master it since he says he failed using it.
Also, according to Dragon Ball, Goku can use the flying nimbus because he has a pure heart. Can a person like Goku with a pure heart do what Beerus says he has to do to use hakai?
Is Hakai a technique impossible for Goku to master?

No, for now. Hakai is a technique that can only be achieved by a god of destruction. If ur not a god it is impossible to master the hakai technique. But thats only looking from the anime. In the manga goku is able to learn hakai in a fight against fused zamasu. Sadly in the manga debut toriyama hasnt comfirmed for goku learning hakai to be canon.


Did griffin know about the beleith's activation? I just binge watched all 25 episodes of the berserk anime and I am curious to if Griffith knew that the Beleith was activating when the eclipse started? When they were in the river he thought to himself

  Stay away from me... If you so much as touch my shoulder we can never go back.

Did that have any significance?

I haven't read the manga and from what I've researched there is no second season to it.

You're thinking of chapter 72-73 of the manga, if you want to look it up (Volume 12).

Griffith sits in the lake, picks up the Behelit and remembers what Zodd and Wyald told him. "Use it. Call them. Our guardian angels!". As the solar eclipse happens, he most definitely realizes.

He then crawls backwards, away from the rest of the Band, hoping to not draw them Edit: Guts into the eclipse.

On the matter of sequels, the actual series has no second season. There are the 2013 movies (Berserk: The Golden Age) or the 2016 series ("Berserk 2016").


How come meat doesn't turn into spirit particles? In Log Horizon, Meow's burger meat come from a real animal, but when the animal is killed, why doesn't its body turn into particles and disappear like other monsters?

It's true that the meat or other ingredients used in food are obtained by killing monsters. I must clear the assumption that the monsters don't turn into spirit energy and disappear.

They do disappear.

The meat that is used for cooking is actually an item drop from those monsters. Which means that only the monsters that drop such items can be used for cooking.
In the first season of Log Horizon for instance, they started hunting Imperial Forest Boars for food. The meat obtained from that is actually an item drop. However, the wiki also says that a chef class player can also harvest the monster for more meat but how exactly is it done is not explained.
It might be possible that the monster just drops more meat when a chef class player kills it.


Why do the pistols and rifles not have trigger guards in Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood? I am assuming that the reason is that they didn't want to animate it. But really, I think it's a little odd seeing it, as it doesn't tackle on that much more effort to animate it.

Why do the pistols and rifles not have trigger guards? Because that is by design and not just because they do not want to animate it. Also, not all firearms in the anime do not have trigger guards.

This was one of the images I found when searching for firearms in Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. A complete list of firearms from the anime can be found here, as mentioned by @Maroon, in which some standard-issue firearms have no trigger guards.

In Wikipedia, it is stated that guns can have no trigger guard so

  as not to impair use with large cold weather gloves on, especially those intended to be used in arctic conditions.

While this might not be in arctic conditions, the fact that some characters in the anime wear gloves proves the point that this is for ease of use. It would be difficult to press the trigger with a trigger guard if you have gloves on, especially large and thick ones.


Does Okabe meet Maho in the Steins;Gate world line? If he does, how? In Steins;Gate 0, does Okabe meet Maho in the Steins;Gate world line? If he does, how?
Don't know if he does. I think it's up to our imagination, but maybe Okabe does meet Maho.

I would assume so seeing as his plan was always to continue on to a higher-up university and being together with Kurisu he most likely would have crossed paths with her sooner or later.
Although the difference of that timeline after Okabe saves Kurisu has infinitely differing events seeing as the timeline has shifted, there is no telling what might actually happen but my assumption would be the former alternative where he does meet her seeing as Maho would sooner or later meet up with Kurisu because she is Salieri just as Kurisu is Mozart.
Maho lives her life striving to become the equal of Kurisu so she would ultimately find a way to meet with her and go over Kurisu's findings while also striving to attain what she, Maho feels is attaining equal standing with Kurisu.
There is a possibility that Okabe and Kurisu don't stay together but I would hope that timeline wouldn't have to exist because of how downtrodden Okabe became in Steins;Gate 0 without Kurisu.
But to wrap this up I would say that no one could know unless they came out with a continuance for Steins;Gate because the changes could be infinite and we can never truly make time move the way we want it to.


Is this fluffy thing a rabbit? In Gochuumon wa Usagi Desuka?, Tippy, the creature on top of Chino's head, is introduced to be a rabbit.

Is it in any possible way a rabbit in real life, or is it just another RidiculouslyCuteCritter?

Tippy is an Angora rabbit. A popular pet amongst French royalty in the mid-18th century and in Europe in the later part of the century.
A picture of a White English Angora rabbit from Wikipedia:

It was also officially confirmed from this magazine illustration (Japanese) in the Q&A in the lower left corner.

Is rabbit actually an item on the shop's menu?
Although Tippy, an Angora rabbit, is kept as a pet at Rabbit House, and in episode 1, Cocoa ordered for a rabbit out of ignorance, there is no such thing on the menu, since Tippy is obviously not for sale (lol). [...]


Could Goku, Vegeta or Trunks become super saiyan rosé by becoming a god of destruction or a kaioshin? In Dragon Ball Super, Goku was almost offered to be a god of destruction. I dont recall for Vegeta, but this might have happened to him also somewhere in the series  or the manga.

  According to the Dragon Ball Wikia, Super Saiyan Rosé (超スーパーサイヤ人じんロゼ
  Sūpā Saiya-jin Roze) is the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan
  transformation of a Saiyan who is an actual deity, as such it matches
  Super Saiyan Blue in strength. This form can only possibly be accessed
  by Saiyans who have proper god status

so could Goku, Vegeta or Trunks become super saiyan rosé by becoming a god of destruction or a kaioshin?

The simple answer to your question would be yes.
Super Saiyan Rosé as is said in the Dragon Ball Wikia, is the Super Saiyan Blue form of a true deity having his Super Saiyan 1 form exceed the power of a God.

What led me to believe this is this statement by Future Zamasu:

  "So this is what happens when a Divine being surpasses Super Saiyan God, instead of turning blue they turn pink."

Also, considering the fact that a Kaioshin's apprentice is the successor to a Kaioshin, we can say that if Trunks would have become the next Kaioshin, he would have been able to access this form, given that he has achieved Super Saiyan God or has exceeded it's power with his Super Saiyan 1 form.

Talking about Goku and Vegeta, if either of them would have become a God of Destruction, having transformed into a real deity, they would have been able to access this form and the Blue counterpart would have ceased to exist.

Again, these statements of mine can be backed up from the wikia:

  Future Zamasu gives a possible explanation of the form's color being due to a Saiyan possessing proper god status when they surpass Super Saiyan God, implying that it is likely that Goku, Vegeta, Vegito, or any mortal Saiyan Beyond God, could have obtained this form instead of Super Saiyan Blue had they held the position of a God such as Guardian (a position which Kami had once offered to Goku) or God of Destruction (as Whis considers them both to be candidates to replace Beerus, if he were to die) when they surpassed Super Saiyan God.

To discuss a bit on the comments posted on Gary Andrews30's answer,

Even though it was in a game, there are cases of non-Shinjin becoming Supreme Kais. An example being, Majin Ratopa being a former Supreme Kai in Dragon Ball Fusions.
This can be verified in the wikia here.
There would be a lot of difference in either of the aforementioned saiyans using Super Saiyan Blue or Super Saiyan Rosé. I'd like to back up this statement of mine using a few excerpts from the wikia.

  This form, like its blue counterpart, provides Black with precise ki control, needed to properly use the form. Unlike its Super Saiyan Blue counterpart, the ki control of Super Saiyan Rosé is so precise and efficient, again due to Black's status as a true god, that this allowed him to create various weapons of energy at will. Unlike Super Saiyan Blue, which needed additional training to fully master it, this form does not display any sort of stamina decrease.


Why do anime studios and producers discontinue making an anime? I've seen many series that just get discontinued, even popular ones. I'm talking about manga and light novel adaptations. Even though a lot of the story still remains left, and the first season gets critical acclaim. Some examples are Kaichō wa Maid-sama! and Baka and Test. Why do so many series stop after season one?

Most anime series are produced to promote the source material (manga, light novel, etc.). Thus for the producers its more important if the sales of the source material were boosted by the anime adaption. So even if an anime is quite popular - it should be noted that even quite successful anime only sell between 3000 and less then 10000 (more than that is rare is considered a very successful anime) discs per volume - there is often no point in producing another season if the sales of the source material increased sufficiently.


What is that frog toy that Misaka loves? Misaka really loves this frog. Where does this frog come from? Does it exist both in anime and in real life (I feel like I've seen this frog somewhere before)?

It is very possible that you have seen it several times in the anime ( even in the game), it is a gekota

  Gekota (ゲコ太 Gekota?) is a popular mascot found in merchandise marketed to children in the Toaru Majutsu no Index universe. A Gekota fan is called a Gekoer. Misaka Mikoto is a huge fan of the franchise it belongs to, and much to her consternation gets her labeled as someone who is childish.

And without a doubt there is also real life merchandise, and allot of look alike products, with a few samples bellow.


Was Mephisto aware that Yukio had Satan's blood in him after all? On Episode 6 of Ao no Exorcist, at around 21:30, Principal Mephisto Pheles tells his younger brother, Amaimon, to pass on a message to their other siblings. If the subs were right, it says: "...tell our siblings who are going mad with envy that our youngest brother is being raised under my wing".

On episode 23 however, Yukio offers his own Satanic blood to open the Gehenna gate, and at around 2:40 we can see Mephisto and Amaimon observing the chaos unfolding from above. Being the younger twin, Yukio is technically their youngest brother with their blood - in contrast with their conversation from episode 6. They do not seem shocked by the news that Yukio possesses Satan's blood after all, or they cleverly hid their reaction.

I am asking for clarification, preferably from manga readers: Was Mephisto was really aware of his erroneous statement and was it all really part of his plan or is this merely a (gasp!) narrative plothole of the anime?

I'm not sure if it's a plot hole but it's definitely a bit dubious. Yukio's body wasn't strong enough for Satan's powers, so they rejected him leaving him a pure human.

But Satan is still his dad, so I guess he might still have inherited stuff other than demonic powers. Maybe that includes Satan's blood type, assuming Satan has blood.

There aren't really any answers in the manga, because the anime goes in its own direction after episode 16 or so, but to answer the question, yes Mephistopheles definitely knew he was the son of Satan but that he had no demonic powers, no he almost certainly wasn't talking about him when he said our youngest brother.


Can an order be Remembered / "Sanity" be kept As we know, if Lelouch uses his Geass, there is a small gap in memory from the order until it has been done.

My question is, can it be arranged so that if Lelouch's geass is used on someone, that person will remember the order after it has been done?

For example, can Lelouch order "Hide this box, and remember where you hide it."? The keyword here is remember - as in the person I geassed will remember it. Notice it's not a direct order that is ordered by a query ("When I snap my fingers, tell me where you hid it")

Was this explored in the Anime? What about the OVAs or supplemental materials?

The Memory Gap depends on the order that was given mainly if the order strips away the free will of the target, and example of this is when we see Mao ordered to

  Never speak again!

Mao is unable top speak yet his will remains otherwise his memory would be a mess because of the constant order, however with Lelouch commanding Villetta to hand over her Knightmare it stripped her of her free will so she did not remember after the geass dispelled. With the girl doing the crosses on the wall the order was

  Make a cross-shaped mark on the wall every day at a specific time.

This would mean that the Geass lays in the subconscious for the specific time where it will activate and the girl would make her way to the wall, only after she made the cross and returned would she regain control but not remember what she did due to her free will being taken away.

With Euphemia's accidental order to "...kill the Japanese..." we see that she remembers the order when she fights against it as when she is dying the Geass activates again when she remembers Suzaku is Japanese however after she shakes it and remembering that she was thinking of killing Suzaku however she does not remember ruining the ceremony which see moment after when she asks Suzaku how it went, this hows that the free will have to be totally stripped from the target for the memory gap to occur (Euphies free will was stripped before she was shot but not stripped when she was thinking of killing Suzaku)

We have seen people ordered to forget, the first instance is with a unnamed male artificer who made the Zero Costume, the order was

  To make the Zero costume, destroy the evidence and forget everything about it.

This would indicate that there is a chance that one can find evidence and help them remember as we see when Suzaku listen to what was recorded from the Lancelot's com radio after Lelouch ordered him to Live. We also see Lelouch ordering Shirley to forget about him after her emotional breakdown caused by Mao so it stands to reason that if Lelouch can make someone forget he can make them remember, an implementation of this is seen with Mao when Lelouch uses Geass on himself to to forget his plan with Suzaku to prevent Mao reading his minds and remembering it when he looks at himself in a reflection


What are Mori and Honey doing? In the episode The Sun, The Sea and the Host Club. Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai are doing something with a couple of the girls in the background while Haruhi is under the umbrella complaining about the situation.

What is it that they are doing, and why does Haruhi act the way she does when she sees it? Does it have something to do with the class divide between her and the rest of the host club?

My guess is that it's supposed to be some sort of Kachāshī, a form of traditional Okinawan dance. They were on the beach in Okinawa but the dancing is wrong, which may be why Haruhi is going "???" at them.

For reference, here's the screenshot of the scene in question:

And some screenshots of the Okinawan dance:


Why Saitama doesn't want to unleash his full power? So far my impression of Saitama is him holding back his power.

Even when the "Strongest" Alien in the universe attacked him, he easily finished him with NORMAL punches. He hasn't unleash his full power and I'd like to know why.

Saitama wants to find an opponent worthy of his power.

He commonly fights enemies, killing them with one-punch, hence the name. He has found that launching a full punch kills almost everything he face. There's no challenge in that.

So yes, he is pulling his punches. There will be multiple times where he can easily destroy his opponent, but does not "try" until it has shown to be strong enough.

He is a hero for fun. Not to save people, but to enjoy the thrill and be himself.

I've avoided spoilers the best I can, especially since I'm not sure how far you are.


Why is Patry so powerful, if he isnt the true elf leader? Patry impersonated the true elf leader, but he isn't him. Yet, he was able to defeat a magic emperor, and he was shown to be very powerful. Why is Patry so powerful, if he isn't the true elf leader?

I don't think you can call him so powerful.  As an elf, he is more powerful than human; we all know that.
He is powerful because of 3 main reasons:

ELF POWER
William Vengeance body
four-leaf clover grimoire

We all about elves magic power so no discussion.
He got the most powerful human body of William Vengeance who ranked just after wizard king in clover kingdom magic night rankings(all the clover people recognize him as next wizard king), I think this is the main reason. All those elves who got magic knight squad captain bodies are powerful.
we all know the four-leaf clover grimoire considered the most powerful.


Is there a Fish-Fish no mi? Is there any Zoan Akuma No Mi that gives the user the ability to transform in fish (Fish-Fish No Mi)? If so can the user swim in the sea?

@Edit: I don't read the manga, so I don't know if anything like this has already happened or not

We have not yet seen a Fish Devil Fruit user. They will not be able to swim underwater due to the Devil Fruit curse, but they will be able to breath underwater due to the Fish's abilities.

Seeing as there has not been a Fish Fruit user thusfar, this statement is speculated on the very similar case that we have seen, where a fishman had eaten a devil fruit. Vander Decken IX, a Japanese bullhead shark fishman, ate the Mark Fruit. In chapter 615, Vander Decken IX explains that due to the Devil Fruit Curse, he is rendered unable to swim. We can later see him in chapter 631, where he has put an air-bubble around himself to retain his energy and not to make him able to breathe. This last part is confirmed at the end of the arc, because even after the air bubble had been removed from Noah, Vander Decken IX did not suffocate and was seen alive, being arrested, instead of buried.


Where does the term "waifu" come from? I was stalking a forum looking for images to nab to use as wallpapers, and there was a post where posters were claiming characters as their "waifu".

Seeing how it is spelled, I would assume that what they mean is "wife"; however, it seems weird to use the term "waifu" rather than the normal Japanese term for wife (my understanding is that it's "Tsuma" (妻); however, I could be wrong).

So, where did the term "waifu" come from? If I am wrong, and "waifu" isn't what I think it is, could someone explain what it is and where it came from?

Origin
The prevailing wisdom1 is that the term "waifu" originates from a scene from the 2002 anime Azumanga Daioh; specifically, this scene from episode 15.
Some context: the male character in that scene, Mr. Kimura, is a teacher at the school the female characters in that scene attend. Mr. Kimura has a well-deserved reputation for being generally perverse and possibly a pedophile.
A rough translation of the scene follows:

TAKINO Tomo: What's this? A picture of a woman?
KASUGA Ayumu: Wow, she's beautiful.
TAKINO Tomo: Who is she?
KIMURA: My wife.
All: That can't be!

The astute listener will observe that Kimura uses the English words "my wife", rather than a Japanese translation thereof (such as 妻2 tsuma). When the words "my wife" are adapted to conform to Japanese phonological constraints (e.g. no terminal /f/), and then re-expressed in a Japanese syllabary (hiragana/katakana), the result is マイワイフ. Finally, when we romanize マイワイフ, we get "mai waifu".
Usage
The below graph shows that usage of "waifu" on the internet was effectively negligible until early 2007. This seems to suggest that "waifu" did not become memetic until some time after Azumanga Daioh aired.

There is evidence from the Animesuki forums that "waifu" (in fact, "mai waifu") was being used in its modern sense (rather than the literal standard-English "woman one is married to" sense) by May 2006. Interestingly, this appears to precede the rise in searches for "waifu" on Google Trends. I'm not sure what this means, but it probably means something.
Husbandos
There is also a male counterpart to "waifu": husbando. Unlike "waifu", "husbando" is not derived from Japanese3. Rather, it was developed by analogy, as an idealization of how a Japanese speaker might pronounce the word "husband". A "husbando" is basically the same thing as a "waifu", except male rather than female.
The earliest citation I've found for "husbando" is from October 2007 (again, on Animesuki). With some internet archaeology, I suspect it should be possible to show that usage of "husbando" began as much as a year prior to this citation.

Notes
1 I say that this is the prevailing wisdom, because I have no evidence that "waifu" was not used prior to 2002.
2 The Japanese equivalent of "mai waifu", in terms of usage among otaku and memeticity and so forth, is actually 俺の嫁 ("ore no yome", lit. "my bride").
3 ハズバンド hazubando exists, but I'm almost certain this didn't directly give rise to English "husbando". At most, it may have been an inspiration.


Why doesn't Himawari have a Jougan? Boruto has a Jougan because his father, Naruto Uzumaki, is a descendant of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, and his mother, Hinata Uzumaki, is a descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki. This gave him Kaguya's chakra and a Jougan (anime only). "Toneri didn't appear in Himawari's dreams and give her a Jougan" isn't the answer I'm looking for, as it is completely wrong. I just want to know why she also didn't get a Jougan as Hagoromo and Hamura's chakra would still mix when she is born, meaning she should have one as well.
Why doesn't she have one? Is it plot hole? Or is a Jougan supposed to be an OP Dojutsu meant for the MC only?

It is not a plot hole or something other than it. It is based on that she is still a child and has to mature in order to learn the techniques and the hidden agendas. Maybe in the future we might see her as a sage with powers comparing to that of Naruto and might even unlock the hidden potential inside of her because her grandpa is a byakugan user and he very much loves his grandchildren. So, we might be in for a treat to witness her greatness and she might spar with her brother in the future since you know, they are siblings with overwhelming powers


Where does Kobato fit into the CLAMP multiverse? Kobato includes characters from Chobits and Angelic Layer, as well as other CLAMP series, in its world. But it doesn't seem to be the same world as Chobits and Angelic Layer; for example, Chitose Hibiya's children don't appear to be persocoms.

Does Kobato take place in the same world as any other CLAMP series, or is it a standalone world that includes alternate versions of some characters?

(I haven't finished the series, so please use spoiler tags liberally.)

The Kobato page on the CLAMP Wikia has a fairly expansive list of ways that it fits within the multiverse. I'm not going to rewrite all of them, because that would be too long, so I'll just summarize them.

The alternate versions of some characters show up.
Her apartment complex shows up in other series (sometimes in alternate Japans).
A picture of Clow and Yuuko shows up in an explanation of the worlds.
Many characters have cameos.

Overall: some characters from non-modern-Japan show up with different identities, while series set in Japan are related to Kobato.


Does the Boruto anime have a different story line from the manga? I've read the manga of Boruto: Naruto Next Generation, and the story line is completely different, except for the first scene.

So did they create a new story line for the anime, or the current episodes are simply fillers and we will catch up with the manga eventually?

The anime version features an original story, starting with Boruto entering the ninja school (or "Academy").

From Anime News Network,

  This year's ninth issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is announcing Monday that the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations television anime will begin with an original story.

  (Emphasis mine)

From Japanese Wikipedia,

  テレビアニメ化にあたっては、映画や漫画よりも前の時系列にあたる忍者学校でのエピソードが制作され、アニメとノベライズにて描かれている。

  Regarding the anime adaptation, it tells the earlier story from the movie and manga about the ninja school, which is shown in the anime and novel.

also,

  前述の通り、原作を一から映像化するのではなく、前日譚となる「忍者学校入学編」から始まり、同編の終了後は原作者の岸本が執筆した『NARUTO -ナルト- 外伝〜七代目火影と緋色の花つ月〜』を原作とした「うちはサラダ編」が放送された。第39話では同じく原作者の岸本が執筆した外伝『満ちた月が照らす道』が放送された。

  As have been mentioned before, (the anime) doesn't start from the beginning of the manga but starts from the earlier life in "Academy" arc, then continues to "Sarada Uchiha" arc from Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, then "School Trip" arc. Episode 39 also continues to Naruto Gaiden: Michita Tsuki ga Terasu Michi.

As for now, there's no hint if the anime will adapt (retell) the manga/movie's storyline even though recent manga chapters sometimes refer to the anime's plot.

The manga itself starts as an adaptation from the movie (see What is the difference between Boruto: Naruto Next Generation and Boruto: Naruto the Movie).


What is Toji's "accent"? I was reading a scanlation of the Evangelion manga and noticed that Toji consistently uses a lot of "informal"-sounding speech. I chalked this up to poor translation quality — I tend to find this sort of thing distracting — but when I read a licensed translation to English, I saw similar language. For example, from ch. 20: "Ikari! Yer not allowed ta look!"

Later, Asuka accidentally provokes someone at the arcade. Someone, possibly Suzuhara, tells Toji to talk to the angered man because both have the same "accent". Thus, it seems unlikely that Toji's language is similar to, for example, Shinji's, when he asks Toji "Whadda mean?" after being asked about his exchange with Rei in the same chapter. In other words, it does not sound like Toji's habits fall within the "normal" bounds of variation in how people are supposed to talk.

What is this "accent"? What is Toji's language supposed to correspond to in the Japanese original?

According to this quite old Ask John column (or the Google cache of it, since the original page seems to have gone offline), Touji's accent in Japanese is Osaka-ben. Eva wiki and TV Tropes corroborate this.

In case the cache of the Ask John page disappears, here's a screenshot of it:

You can see in the second paragraph that Touji is listed as a character who speaks with an Osaka accent.

According to the wiki, the accent Touji speaks with in the English manga was supposed to be a New York/Brooklyn accent, which was also used to translate Osaka's accent in the Azumanga Daioh manga. In Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai and many other shows, a Texas or Southern accent was used.


What does this grinning gesture signify? The gif below shows Noriko from minute 11 of GunBuster's episode 3.

This is the dialogue directly preceding it:

  Noriko: I should at least memorize basic space manoeuvring patterns. [...]

  Smith: All that stuff is useless in real combat.

  Noriko: Why do you have to keep patronizing me?

  Smith: 'cause your such a cute little freshman.

  Noriko: I'll have you know that Onee-sama and I are the best
  team in the entire Top Squadron! A "solo" like you with no partner
  couldn't possibly appreciate everything we've been through together as
  a team. So long!

In terms of usage it seems somewhat interchangeable with the Eyelid pull taunt. I assumed it is meant to show defiance, kind of like baring one's teeth but in a more cheeky way?

The sound she makes is "bi-" I would say, but her action doesn't really fit any of the common uses of that onomatopoeia which I'm aware of.

I feel I've seen this before but I couldn't find it among any of the teeth and smile realated tropes on tvtropes.

So, TL;DR, does this have a name, is it repeated throughout anime and signifies something particular or is it just Noriko being random and I'm overthinking it?

My understanding of it is basically that they are making a face, except it's different to how we usually know it. These are how they do it nowadays:

They are all making a face and saying "bi~". It is exactly the same as how we make a face, but Japanese style. I don't have research evidence to support this, but I have consulted quite a few Japanese people who lived in Japan for quite a while and they all agreed to my statement, so I do think it's very reliable.


Learning instant transmission In the Dragonball Z anime series, as far as I remember, only Goku and Cooler (in a movie) could perform the instant transmission technique. Goku learned it from an alien race when he escaped from Namek after his epic battle with Frieza.

It was a pretty awesome technique but no one else learned it or even attempted to learn it. Do we have any references in the manga or in the anime that suggest why no one else wanted / bothered to learn it?

Instant Transmission
Goku learned instant transmission on the remote planet Yardrat. Many others were capable of performing this technique, none of which were relevant to the show and thus not shown.
The only one, other than Goku, that was shown using the technique was Cell. Since Cell was partly made out of Goku's cells, he could sense how it needed to be performed by seeing Goku do so.
For the others, nobody just bothered to go to all the way to Yardrat to learn the technique. Why they didn't ask Goku is beyond me though. I guess it wasn't needed for the story and Akira didn't want anyone else to look as bad-ass as Goku.
Instantaneous Movement
Other forms of instant transmission were seen though.

Fortuneteller Baba and Kami only use this technique to transport people from the Other World to the living world. Mr. Popo, assistant to the Guardian of Earth, can use a version of this technique while sitting on his Magic Carpet.
Kibito uses this technique after being resurrected to find Supreme Kai and Gohan, and take them to the Sacred World of the Kais. He uses it again to take Gohan back to Earth after the latter had his full potential unlocked by Old Kai.
Kibito Kai, who gathered this technique from Kibito when Kibito and Supreme Kai fused, uses this technique on many occasions: he used it to save Goku, Vegeta, Dende, Mr. Satan and Bee from being killed when Kid Buu blew up Earth, and later, in Dragon Ball GT, to save the whole population of Earth from the planet's explosion.
Kid Buu using Instantaneous Movement
Kid Buu learns this technique by watching Kibito Kai perform it. In the anime, his technique is referred to using the generic name Instant Transmission.

(Non-)Canon user list
For a full (non-)canon list, see the full list here


Can Shizuku's vacuum cleaner suck nuclear weapons? Can Shizuku, who is the 8th member of the Phantom Troupe use her Nen ability to absorb a detonated or/and a non-detonated nuclear weapon?

Can it suck the radiation caused by such weapons?

According to Hunter X Hunter Wiki, Shizuku's vacuum (Blinky) can inhale nuclear weapon because it is not a living object, but if it is a conjured object Blinky can't inhale it.


Does the technique Kyoka Suigetsu make Rikuo intangible or just create illusions of him? In the anime Nurarihyon no Mago, when Rikuo uses Kyoka Suigetsu, enemy attacks appear to pass through him as if he were an intangible ghost. Is the technique creating illusions or actually making him "untouchable"? It is stated that he can "distort opponent's perceptions" with the technique, but it is also said that he can "distort his presence, even when he is still there". So: are enemy attacks passing through illusions, passing through him, or a combination of both these things?

The ability is named moon mirror because as it was explained "nurarihyon is the reflection of the moon" a distortion, and I would say that it means he can first , slow enemy's perception of him to move faster like an after image technique or second, his body ripples like water to allow him to move around attacks. His only weakness like this is cutting the fear which means his aura is masking himself but those two options are viable. I believe it is a bit of both because he can slow perception to allow him time to move but the ripple allows him invulnerability against weaker attacks because water can only ripple so much.


Kakashi's face without the mask I was wondering if Kakashi's face has ever been revealed without the mask. I finished the manga way back in 2014. And decided to go finish the anime. And the thought came back. So any chance it has ever been revealed and when?

It was originally shown in the book Naruto Exhibition Official Guestbook New Style: Scroll of Wind (or Fū no Sho for short), which was given to the guests who attended a Naruto exhibition held in Japan on April 25, 2015.

Fū no Sho:

It was then adapted into an anime episode (ep. 469), which you can watch here.

By the way, this is how he looks like:


Why are dominators activated for drones and robots? Aren't dominators enabled after a cymatic scan, which judges the living person's personality based on its brainwaves?

If so, why do the dominators get enabled in "lethal elimination" for drones in several episodes?

EDIT:

As people pointed out, for drones dominators often get enabled in "destroy decomposer" mode.

So far, dominators are shown to have only four enforcement mode. One is Non-Lethal Paralyzer used on targets with crime coefficient between 100 and 300. The other one is Lethal Eliminator used only for human targets with crime coefficient above 300. The third and rarely used mode is the Destroy Decomposer as mentioned by senshin and so far only used on non-human targets. Fourth is shown in movie only, called Explosive Destroy Decomposer.

Dominators have the Lethal Eliminator mode activated when pointed at drones because drones are non-living beings, therefore there is no need to use the Non-Lethal Paralyzer as it would be just a waste of ammo. Also since before activation Dominator scans the user to ensure its user's mental stability and that the user has the appropriate rights, pointing Dominator at drones or other non-living targets means that the user intents to destroy the target, which is why Lethal Eliminator or other lethal shots mode are assumed.

Dominators use destroy decomposer mode on drones mainly because the Lethal Eliminator mode makes the target grow bubbles and explode, which might be dangerous when applied to drones. There are two dangers, one is the explosion itself, since some sharp particles might fly out, and two is because only parts surrounding the shot will explode, which means some part of the drone might survive the shot. The left part might still function, which is why destroy decomposer is used to make sure that the target drone is completely eliminated.


Has Naruto ever killed anyone? Just a curious thought I had recently. Naruto has been in an awful lot of fights but I can't recall if he ever actually killed another person.

Technically speaking, Naruto never landed the killing blow on anyone.

Haku, even though beaten by Naruto, jumped in front of Kakashi's Raikiri.
Kakuzu, hit directly by the Rasenshuriken, survived, and later killed by Kakashi.
Pain's bodies were already dead. Nagato, the living puppeteer, sacrificed himself after hearing Naruto's resolve, with the Rinne Tensei, and revived all the people of the village.

You could say that Naruto was a major cause in all of these people's death, but he did not directly kill any of them.


Was there truly no magic in Sword Art Online? In the first episode, when Kirito was showing Klein the ropes of combat, the conversation goes

Kirito: However, there is no magic.
Klein: An RPG without magic? That is a bold decision.

However later on in the show, Kirito visits Lizbeth's shop in Temperature of the Heart.. Kirito is in shop for another sword, and shows Lizbeth his Elucidator.
Lizbeth responds with:

An Elucidator! This is the gnarliest magic sword a person can get from a monster drop.

If magic did not exist, how would there be a magic sword?

In SAO, there are no magical spells that players can cast. However, according to the light novel, SAO does have some magical items and aspects. Some of these items include gems which players could use to instantly teleport, heal or recover from poison. There is also the Divine Stone of Returning Soul that revives a fallen player.

This text and the following quotes are taken from the second volume of the light novel.

  The few magic items in this world where  had been excluded were all shaped like gems. Blue was for instant teleportation, pink for recovering HP, green for antidotes, and so on. They were all convenient items that produced instant effects, but they were also expensive. So in most cases people used cheaper items such as slow-acting potions after running away from a fight

Certain parts of the game could also be considered magical such as the teleportation gates used to move between floors, and the alters found in churches. These altars would allow a player to bless their weapons when facing undead opponents. Also, if a player was cursed they could use the altar to remove the debuff.

  It was the unmistakable mark of a church, of which at least one exists in every town. And through the altar inside, tasks such as removing the attack unique to monsters, «Curse», and the blessing of weapons to go up against undead monsters with, were possible. In SAO, where magic-based components barely exist, it could be considered a most mysterious place.

As for Elucidator, the light novel describes this as a demon sword, not a magic sword. However, both the English sub and dub refer to it as a magic sword. As discussed in the comments, I believe this is an error in translation. So there are no magical weapons in SAO, but they do seem to have other forms of magic.

  One is «Player made», which meant weapons made by us blacksmiths. The other included weapons that one gained from adventuring as «Monster drops». Needless to say, blacksmiths don't like drop weapons all that much. I couldn't even begin to count all the names like 'Unnamed' or 'No brand' that were given to them.
  But this sword seemed to be a very rare item amongst monster drops. If you compared the average quality of player-made weapons and monster drops, the former was better. But once in a while, «Demon Swords» such as this one appeared— that was what I heard.


Do we know Bakugou's actual hero name? I couldn't find any notions of his final choice in the manga, and I think he does not mention it anywhere. Is there any reliable source for his hero name, or it has not been decided / revealed yet ?

Hiroshiki's first draft has a name, that roughly translates to Ground Zero.

But in my opinion, Kachhan is not too bad either.


Which GetBackers episodes are filler? I'm watching GetBackers and after the fight against Makubex in Infinity Fortress i only find fillers and story with no plot-related history. Which ones are the fillers and which correspond to the manga?

After the point you mentioned the content is basically entirely filler starting with episode 26 (the beginning of season 2 of the anime). Other than the final arc (episodes 43-49) which provides some conclusion to the anime, it is episodic content. The final arc is anime-original and quite a bit different from the manga.

A few of the episodes of the anime are based on interlude manga chapters, but they're still episodic and don't forward the plot. These episodes were expanded quite a bit from the manga chapters which were comedic interludes that did not forward the story significantly. Episodes 26, 38, 39, and 40 are the only examples of this I know of, though it's been a while since I've read the manga or watched the anime so I might have missed one. These episodes still have a lot of anime-original content, so if you don't like the filler at all you probably won't enjoy these regardless of whether they're based on the manga.

So, in short, if you want the continuation of the GetBackers story, the only real option is to read the manga. The anime episode 25 corresponds roughly to chapter 83, the end of the "Return to Infinity Fortress" arc. The anime does have a bit of manga content after that point, but I doubt it would be worth watching if all you want is the story and you don't enjoy the filler episodes at all.


Why not re-indoctrinate the entire Squad 13? After Squad 13's failed attempt at a wedding, only the bride and groom are sent for re-indoctrination wiping out the relevant memories. But why stop there? Why didn't APE wipe the memory of every single member?

Everyone supported the wedding, and it probably served as a precedent to more relationships.
Obviously this makes the squad doubt Papa's benevolence, which compromises APE's plans.
Naturally everyone will try to restore the lost memories, which more or less works as they easily convince them that their relationship was real.

My only guess is that if they wipe everyone's memories they end up with a team full of strangers who won't perform as well as before, although that doesn't seem to be explicitly mentioned.

In episode 18, APE sends the Nines to apprehend the bride and groom due to their forbidden knowledge.

  Because Kokoro and Mitsuru are in a relationship and planning to have a wedding, as well as discussing forbidden knowledge about pregnancy, Papa orders the two to be re-indoctrinated

The reason why these two were the only ones taken to be re-indoctrinated was due to the events that took place in episode 17.

   9'α holds up the childbirth handbook and asks if they recognize it. With Kokoro and Mitsuru's reaction, he says that they do. He asks for an explanation from Kokoro, since she's the one who dropped it. He says that it's strange, since it wouldn't have been provided in the study there, and it doesn't belong to her. Kokoro apologizes for not telling them all.
(emphasis my own)

While the rest of Squad 13 were involved in the wedding and planned a majority of it, it was the bride and groom who possessed the knowledge that APE considered dangerous.


Love Live: Yon, nana, and not shi, shichi? (Counting from 1 to 9) In the anime Love Live, when the nine girls count from one to nine in Japanese, they say:

  Ichi ni san yon go roku nana hachi kyuu

And not:

  Ichi ni san shi go roku shichi hachi kyuu

What is the reason?

Four (四) being Yon not being Shi, this is because in Japanese Death is written as 死 and pronounced as Shi

  There are six unlucky numbers in Japanese. Traditionally, 4 is unlucky because it is sometimes pronounced shi, which is the word for death. Sometimes levels or rooms with 4 don't exist in hospitals or hotels. Particularly in the maternity section of a hospital, the room number 43 is avoided because it can literally mean "stillbirth". (死産 - shizan: 死 - death/to die and 産 - childbirth/produce).

Japanese superstitions > Linguistic superstition > Numbers > Unlucky Numbers

Seven (七) being Nana and not Shichi is sometimes in the same boat because of the same superstition above, however

  7, when pronounced with "shichi", sounds similar to the number four (四 shi). It is considered a good number since 7 symbolizes "Togetherness".

Japanese superstitions > Linguistic superstition > Numbers > Lucky Numbers

Nine (九) in Japanese is Kyuu so i believe you are hearing it wrong.

However it should be noted that 9 can be pronounced as Ku however in this instance it is like Shi as

  Number 9 is sometimes pronounced ku — with the same pronunciation as agony or torture. Combs (kushi) are rarely given as presents as the name is pronounced the same as 9 4.

Japanese superstitions > Linguistic superstition > Numbers > Unlucky Numbers

and i have never been taught to use Ku1

1: only discovered Ku when i looked up Wikipedia for 7, in all my classes it has always been Kyuu


Was the figure Aoba found supposed to be Madoka? in Gakuen Polizi Chapter 3, Sasami Aoba comes across a girl who's looking through the trash, looking for something she lost which she can't buy again, similar to what happened to Aoba herself the day before, but rather than her badge, it's an anime figure phone strap.

Now, given that the girl's description says that the figure had pink hair and we see what the figure was, it looks very much like Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica with the bows and style of dress

Was this figure supposed to be Madoka?

Yes it is. Pink hair in bangs, dress similar to Madoka's. It is supposed to be Madoka. You can see example of Madoka keychain which serverd as an inspiration here:

Or actual phone strap here:


What is the weird hand gesture that Kazuma does in season 2 episode 3? At the end of season 2 episode 3 of Konosuba, around 20:47, Kazuma does a weird hand gesture during the celebration where he uses Steal.

I feel I have seen that somewhere else but can't remember.

What does it refer to?

This is a callback to the hand gesture Kazuma made in episode 5 of season 1 (Kono Maken ni Onedan o!, or "A Price for This Magic Sword!") when threatening Mitsurugi Kyouya's two hanger-ons with "gender equality".
Kazuma managed to best Kyouya in a duel using underhanded tricks, which prompted insults from Kyouya's two female companions and demands to return the spoils of the match, namely Kyouya's cursed sword Gram. Kazuma's response was as follows (at the timestamp 17:57):

I'm an advocate of true gender equality — a guy who has no problem doling out a dropkick to a female opponent. Don't think I'll go easy on you. I'll unleash my Steal ability right here in public. Cue weird hand gesture, indicating he might strip the ladies of their admittedly minimal clothing.


Why does Naruto's clothes not burn after wearing the Kyuubi cloak? I was watching Naruto Shippuden, episodes 35 to 45, and it is said many times that Naruto's skin burns when under Kyuubi's chakra effects. In those episodes, we see Naruto's skin is ripped off by Kyuubi's cloak when transforming into fourth tails.

Why does Naruto still have clothes after Yamato reverts the 4 tailed state? If Kyuubi's chakra destroys what is under the cloak, shouldn't Naruto be naked after Yamato's jutsu?

What you're describing are side effects to what's actually happening; exposing oneself to a bijuu's unfiltered chakra doesn't come at a cheap cost to the user.

The jinchuriki forms vary, but in essence, the host is regarded more as an endoskeleton when transforming beyond Version 2 into partial and full tailed beast mode.  A shroud of chakra surrounds the jinchuriki which is in the shape of (or is part of the shape of) the tailed beast within.  From that, it stands to reason that their host is underneath the layers of chakra, quite well-clothed.


How could Misaka 10032 be measuring Touma's life signals while holding his right hand Index episode 14 around 14:00 minutes.

Touma awakens to find his right hand on Misaka 10032's chest. 10032 then states that she placed his hand there herself, and that she was reading electrical currents to measure his life signs.

Given that Imagine Breaker is a passive power, how could that be possible?

So, is it

A white lie. She wasn't reading him. Not likely because Misaka clones usually don't lie and show little emotion.
A plot hole. They just forgot what power was in the hand.
An animation faux. She was actually holding his left hand in the Light Novel.

This isn't much of an answer, but as the question does specifically ask about whether there is a difference between the light novels and the other versions, here are my findings:

In Yen Press's English translation of A Certain Magical Index: Volume 3, which hand of Touma's that Misaka 10032 is holding to her chest is unspecified. Here's the quote:

  Lastly, he noticed Little Misaka's hands embracing one of his. It didn't really matter, but she was holding both of her hands to her chest...

Furthermore, it also isn't specified which side of the bed Misaka 10032 is sitting on:

  After all, the only person in the room was Little Misaka, quietly sitting on a chair at the side of the bed-

Misaka 10032's explanation for why she was holding Touma's hand to her chest are same in the manga and light novel: she says she's measuring his brain waves and pulse via bioelectricity. Neither offers any more insight than that.

From this, one might find it reasonable to conclude that it was indeed an error introduced by the anime and that by the ambiguity in the light novels, we should conclude it was Touma's left hand because it would be impossible for Misaka 10032 to read his bioelectricity from his right.


Why is Gotenks never seen going Super Saiyan 2, only 3? So, while watching DBZ (not super) I thought of something. Why can Gotenks go ssj3 but is never seen going super saiyan 2? Furthermore, how can Gotenks go SSJ3 at all if Goten and Trunks can only go SSJ? Am I missing something?

Daizenshuu #7 (Special Attack Index, pp. 124) states that Gotenks is able to go SSJ2. Fortunately I got a Japanese scan from a website, you can compare it with the translation.

[Read it from right to left]
- I covered the Gotenks' part with the red box. Those are the special attacks/moves he can perform.
- While in the blue box, it states "~SSJ2" and "~SSJ3" which means he can perform those too.
- You can visit here to look for translation for this page. FYI, do Crtl+F and type in "gotenks" in the search box on the top right corner to search for Gotenks.

You can briefly see SSJ2 Gotenks in both manga and anime. Gotenks never uses the form in combat, instead he bypasses it to ascend to SSJ3. (Source)

It is unclear that Hybrid Saiyans may become Super Saiyan faster than pure-blooded Saiyan or possess a naturally greater potential than their Saiyan parents. But, Gohan become Super Saiyan at the age of 11 (9 in manga). While Trunks and Goten were able to make the transformation to Super Saiyan at a far younger age than their fathers, at the age of 8 and 7 respectively. You can refer more from one of my answer about this topic here. If the statements above are true, it is likely that Hybrid Saiyans can achieve any form of SSJ faster than pure-blooded Saiyans.


What does "Khorosho" mean? In episode 10 of Love Live season one, when Yazawa Nico is woken up and everyone sees her facial mask, Ayase Eli comments saying "Khorosho". She says this also when Sonoda Umi is woken up and turns into a "demon". Given the context, I thought "Khorosho" meant something like "scary" or "frightening" but it was weird that NISA didn't change this in the English subtitles.

However, at the end of the episode when all the girls are on the beach holding hands and watching the sunrise, when Nishikino Maki thanks her, Eli says "Khorosho" and also Eli's sister Alisa says "Khorosho" when she's corrected in thinking that a red bean bun was a cream puff in episode 12. In both of these situations, I can't really imagine "Khorosho" meaning "scary".

So what does "Khorosho" mean? And why wouldn't it be translated in the English subtitles?

What does “Khorosho” mean?

It's Russian: хорошо.

I don't know Russian, so I can't claim to know how Russian speakers understand the word "khorosho", but I can tell you how Japanese speakers presume Russian speakers understand it. The Japanese understanding of "khorosho" is as an interjection used to express roughly "Wow!" or "Great!" or perhaps "OK." (cf. one, two, three). This appears to differ somewhat from how the word is understood by Russian speakers.

Understood as a fairly generic interjection, one can see why Eli/Alisa might have used it in the various contexts you point out in your question.

  And why wouldn't it be translated in the English subtitles?

I imagine it would've gone untranslated because it's a foreign word to Japanese viewers, too.

Aside - for reasons that are not clear to me, "khorosho" appears to be Japan's favorite Russian word. The Japanese destroyer Hibiki was surrendered to the Soviets post-war (and renamed Verniy). Thus, Hibiki in Kantai Collection also frequently says "khorosho", because apparently that's just a thing that [Japanese people think] Russians do.


Are the final events of DBZ considered canon? In Dragon Ball Z, the series flashes forward 10 years after the defeat of Buu and we're introduced to things like Gohan and Videl's daughter Pan, lazy teenage versions of Trunks and Goten, and a reincarnated Buu (Uub).

Since Dragon Ball Super begins sometime shortly after the defeat of Buu, are the flash forward events of DBZ wiped from canon, similar to the GT history?

My biggest point of confusion is the fact that Pan is 4 in the final events of DBZ which means she was born 6 years after Goku kills Buu. But at the beginning of Dragon Ball Super, Gohan and Videl announce they're pregnant with Pan. This could be explained easily if Super picked up some 5 years after Buu's defeat but Goten and Trunks appear to be the same age as they were in Z. So it seems likely that Pan is born way earlier than 6 years after Buu's defeat.

Do these events reconcile or was the end of Z undone to make room for Super to tell new stories?

In Dragon Ball Super , Dende makes a mention to Uub and he tells Goku it would be good he trains him. That's meant to connect Dragon Ball Super with the end of Dragon Ball Z. And as for Trunks and Goten appearance, in Dragon Ball, 4 years passes between Goku meeting Bulma and killing King Piccolo, and his appearance (which is almost identical to Goten by the way) doesnt change. So yes, the final events of Dragon Ball Z are canon.


Why Kisara is able to cut through metal with her sword? AFAIK, Kisara is a regular human who has no superhuman habilities (correct me if I'm wrong). Why when she was attacked by Tina Sprout she was able to cut Tina's metal gatlin gun in half with her sword? Is because she's a very skilled martial artist? Does she have some superhuman hability or metal prosthesis that makes her stronger like Rentaro? Is her sword a special sword or it's made of varanium or something? What is it?

You are correct, Kisara is in fact just a regular human as pointed out in the passage below

Rentaro looked at the scene dumbfounded, shaking. He considered—Who was the strongest member of the Tendo Civil Security Agency? Was it himself, who possessed the abilities of a mechanized solider? Or Enju, who manifested the superhuman physical powers of the Cursed Children? Or Tina, who had the qualities of both? “Papa, no! She’s the most dangerous out of everyone here!” The night before Operation Rapier Thrust, when Tina and Kohina were about to fight, this is what Kohina shouted about Kisara when Kisara went to intervene. Even though Kohina thought that she could win or at least put up a good fight against Tina and tried to continue their match, the moment Kisara intervened, she put her swords away. Even Kohina, an Initiator, understood that she was at too much of a disadvantage if she had to fight Kisara. Against Kisara, an ordinary human.
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 4 (light novel): Vengeance Is Mine (p. 204). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

So while Kisara is just a regular human she is insanely powerful, so powerful in fact that even an Initiator as strong as Kohina does not want to fight her. She has been trained in the Tendo Martial Arts (similar to Rentaro) since a very young age and has even developed several of her own secret techniques in her pursuit of revenge against the Tendos.

She’s beautiful, thought Rentaro from the bottom of his heart as he looked up at his fellow pupil, at the same time unable to suppress a shudder. There was not a single opening in her stance, and there was something about it that made Rentaro certain that the moment he stepped within reach of her blade, he would be cut down. Rentaro discreetly took his smartphone from his pocket and looked at its LCD screen. It was almost time to leave for school. She would move soon. Just as he thought, there was almost no need for him to wait. Kisara exhaled softly, and her clear voice rang out. “Tendo Martial Arts Sword Drawing First Style, Number 1—” Her scabbard rang, and her sword was unsheathed with the speed of a lightning bolt: “Tekisui Seihyou.” The slash made an extremely modest whoosh. But the top half of the target in front of Kisara—a carved wooden target wrapped in cloth—was blown off with a destructive blast, and pieces of it flew into the dojo’s walls. The most astonishing thing of all was that there was a distance of more than six meters between Kisara and the target. Rentaro gulped. The striking distance of a sword catapulted by its sheath to accelerate when drawn was equal to the length of the sword plus the length of the swordsman’s arm and step. However, the Tendo sword-drawing technique has something more than that. It was not like Rentaro had seen all of Kisara’s techniques, but he knew that she could slash up to three times her striking distance. And this was data from three years ago…
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 2: Against a Perfect Sniper (pp. 13-14). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

Now, about her sword Yukikage (or Snow Shadow) there isn't much revealed in any of the light novels, the passage below contains about the most information

Then, he realized. Rentaro thought she had been using her usual sword-drawing practice sword, but although the black scabbard and base and red cord looked similar, this was a real sword. “The murderous blade, Yukikage, huh…?” “That’s right.” As Kisara stopped working and looked at him, she dusted off the scabbard and held it up to the sunlight coming in through the window. Bathed in the morning sun, the wavy temper pattern on the blade scattered the light, filled with a charm that drew in all who looked at it. Kisara looked at the blade absentmindedly and murmured, “Satomi, did I ever tell you what ‘murderous blade’ means?” “No…” “In Zen, it’s the opposite of the life-saving sword; it negates all human delusion. This…is the sword that will hunt down all the Tendos, Satomi.”
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 2: Against a Perfect Sniper (p. 15). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

During the fight with Tina in the office however, it is explicitly mentioned that Rentaro hears the sound of steel as Kisara slides the blade out of the scabbard

“Kisara! The floor… Cut it………!” He could sense Kisara behind him suddenly leaping to action with the sword in her hand. “Tendo Martial Arts Sword Drawing Third Style, Number 8—” Her deep exhalation made the air in the room tense in a second. With all the noise from the gunfire, he shouldn’t have been able to hear it, but Rentaro was sure he could hear the clear sound of steel sliding out of the scabbard. “Unebiko Yuusei—Go swiftly, Yukikage!” The calamity that occurred immediately afterward could scarcely be called a physical phenomenon. It felt like Rentaro’s field of vision was cut into a number of pieces, and along with the cracking sound of an icicle being cleft in two, all around the room were cuts carved in every direction.
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 2: Against a Perfect Sniper (p. 108). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

Given that it is never explicitly mentioned that Yukikage is made from Varanium (in the light novel it is always mentioned when blades/weapons are Varanium like Kohina's swords) and given its coloring and the mention of steel in the passage above we can probably assume that it is just a regular Samurai sword (katana), albeit one that has been in the Tendo family for generations.
So, in the end it appears to simply be that Kisara is an unnaturally talented martial artist and that the Tendo Sword style is much more dangerous (and fantastic) than any style that can exists in reality. So it is her martial arts abilities that allow her to cut through the gun (and the floor!) and not any special property of Yukikage.


What makes an S-ranked shinobi? I'm not entirely sure what the criteria are that need to be met before a ninja is considered to be of S class. It looks to be some sort of combination of speed, strength, jutsu, etc. Does one additionally need some special techniques or bloodlines? Like Mangekyo Sharingan, Mokuton, Sage Mode, high class summons and/or kinjutsu? Are jonin like Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy S ranked? If so, at what point would you say they show the skills to be acknowledged as such?

The ranking classification is mainly used for techniques and missions. For eg: "X is an A-rank technique" or "Y is a B-rank mission".

The ranks determine the difficulty or level of danger involved in the mission or technique mastering/usage.

Out of the six ranks, only the S-Rank is used to classify a shinobi's class.

  S-rank is usually used to classify techniques intended for highly experienced jōnin and Kage-level shinobi. S-rank techniques are almost always unique to a single user, and as such are trademark abilities of that user.

Normally, S-rank isn't titled to Jōnin or Kage level ninjas.

  "S-rank" is also a designation given to extremely powerful missing-nin, earning them a place in their village of origin's Bingo Book.

S-rank is used to classify only the most dangerous and powerful missing nins because of their level of skill, exceptional skill set and usage of (ultra) rare techniques.

So, for a shinobi to be classified as "S-Rank", they must have a unique and very powerful skill set and most importantly, they must become a missing-nin.

source: Naruto Wikia


Are there any anime series with neither an opening or ending song? I have watched quite a lot of anime over the last several years. And I noticed that I haven't seen a single anime which lacked both an opening and an ending song. There are some anime that don't have ED songs or don't have OP songs.

But are there any anime that have neither of these?

Depends what you're looking for. Besides credits and providing a transition into the show, OPs and EDs also serve the purpose of presenting the sponsor messages when the show airs on real TV. These are always present on TV in some form.

That being said, if you grab a BD or a DVD of a show, the sponsors/credits are removed and you can skip the intros and have just the show. I know that there are also some shorts that aired online that didn't have any songs, but it's a small minority and things that most people never hear about.

So no, they don't really exist since they're necessary on television for financial and legal reasons.


Attack on titan chapter 79: possible flaw? In Shingeki No Kyojin's latest chapter (chapter 79), beast titan throws a stone like he is playing baseball. But the story takes place in a time when baseball wasn't even known. These are the pictures:

Is this a flaw or a problem in the Japanese to English conversion? (Maybe the author did not intend baseball).

Or could it mean that Reiner, Bertolt, Annie and the beast titan are from a different time-line? (I don't think it's possible. If that's the case, they could have just used nuclear bombs instead of titans).

It is heavily implied, that world where events are set is our world in distant future. Remember castle Utgard? There was tuna cans with English writings only Ymir could understand.
It is just residents inside of walls being ignorant of possible past knowledge, possibly due to memory manipulation.


Was Majin Buu able to turn people into physically anything? Majin Buu has a beam where he can turn people into chocolate or assortments of candy. In one episode he turns an old man into a carton of milk. In another he turns a village of people into a white clay? like substance to make a house. Does this mean he is able to turn people into physically anything, say for example.. a gun or money?

It's not clearly explained in neither manga nor anime, but my understanding of this ability is that he can turn anything (remember he turning rocks into candies?) into lifeless stuff, so turning people into monkeys might be too much for him.

I mistook monkey for money. Since gun and money are lifeless stuff, I would say yes.

PS. People turned into lifeless stuff may still be conscious depending on how strong they are, for example, the fusion of Goku and Vegeta was turned into a candy yet still can fight, and Uub was turned into a chocolate by his own beam yet still can turn himself back.


Why was The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya broadcast out of sequence? When I watched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya on DVD, the episodes were shown out of order. It was somewhat funny, since in the previews, Haruhi and Kyon argue about which episode number comes next, but other than that, I didn't see the point of it. It didn't have interwoven plot threads, or any in-universe reason to be shown out of order. It looks like in other releases, the episodes were arranged in chronological order, so it must not have been essential to the viewing of the series.

Put simply: Why did The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya have a version that was not in chronological order?

As far as I can tell (and admittedly this is a bit speculative), the reason was to spread out the plot to avoid having the second half be entirely episodic. The creators knew that the main plot (episodes 1-6 in chronological order) would not take a full season (14 episodes), but the next major storyline was not for a while, so they had to insert some episodic content. However, these 6 episodes don't leave much room for breaks, and equally importantly they would rather use canon content from the light novels than make up their own.

So the creators used content from future light novels. This let them intersperse the plot with the episodic material. The 6 plot-related episodes are all in order among themselves, and the others are placed in whatever order the director thought was best (e.g. in terms of character development).

I'm looking for something official to confirm this, but I've had no luck so far. Barring that, this seems to be at least the prevailing opinion of most people on the internet.