Song from Naruto episode 12 Anyone knows the song played in episode 12 of Naruto (classic btw), when Kakashi is speaking with Inari? And it's not sadness and sorrow, neither grief and sorrow.

Do you mean the music from the scene where Kakashi is out with Inari out on the pier at night?

It sounds to me like a guitar-only version of Alone (OST 2 track 18). I don't think there's an official release of this variant, but there are imperfect fan-spliced versions.


What are the races in One Piece? What are the races in One Piece?

We know that there are Humans (Ex: Luffy), Fish-man (Ex: Arlong) and Giants (Ex: Dorry and Brogy). So what other races are there?

Based on this website, it have 36 races.

Human
Giants
Dwarves/Tontatta Tribe
Longarm Tribe
Longleg Tribe
Snakeneck Tribe
Three-Eye Tribe
Mink Tribe
Kinokibito
Yeti
Fishmen
Merfolk
Skypieans
Shandians
Birkman
Merveillians
Automata
Cyborgs
Clones
Modified Humans
Space Pirates
Kumate Tribe
Okama
Nomads
Kuja
Torino Tribe
World Nobles
Wotans
Longlimb Humans
Zombies
Centaurs
Satyrs
Harpy
Toys
Homies
Klabautermann


How does Charmander breathe fire? Charmander is a small lizard-like Pokémon. It is a fire-type Pokémon, and is capable of breathing fire.

How do Charmander and its evolved forms do this? Is there any biological basis for it, and is it ever explained in canon?

I don't think our known biology can be applied to Pokemon. Blastoise has cannons, for instance, and Pikachu can shoot electricity (is not the same be able to create electricity to shock predators that attack you and actually shooting it).

I mean, we could make theories about how they can do all those things, but the designers just didn't think about it. It would be an interesting pastime, but pretty pointless, because they would be just that, theories.


Are the martial art techniques in Kenichi real? I've been wondering for a while are all the martial arts and martial art techniques in this series real? I used to be a former karate student, so I do know that the karate techniques used in the beginning 200~ chapters are legit.

As the series progressed, however, the karate techniques started to become a lot more complex and I have never even heard of them before.

Then they also started deviating from the standard martial arts and introduced some like pencak silat (which I never knew existed before).

If there are some fake styles or techniques, which ones are there*?

*Please don't use unreal fights to disprove. For example, when Akisame fought against that other master and they proceeded to counter-throw each others counter-throw, ultimately leaving them suspended in midair for half the chapter. The technique of a counter throw is real, but the manga just used it unrealistically.

Check this for a list of the martial arts used in Kenichi.

Some of the martial arts are of course just fictional or adapted, like Nyakwondo (a combination of cat moves and Tae Kwon Do) and even Furinji's own style. However, majority of the martial arts in the manga/anime is still legitimate and--based on personal experience as a former wrestling competitor in university days--relatively accurate.

Also, I won't rightly consider "fake" some of the variations, as martial arts in real life are mostly just variation of one another. Kung Fu alone is credited for inspiring at least a couple of major styles, and die-hard practitioners and fans alike will call fake on these other inspired arts. However, I must admit that Kenichi deserves an amazing suspension of disbelief with some of them.

Also, a bit out-of-topic:

   I personally find it amusing that you're a karate practitioner and you don't know prior to Kenichi about Pencak Silat when it's one of the most murderous martial arts in the world. While most martial arts are developed in defense, the likes of Muay Thai, Muay Boran, and Pencak Silat are meant to utterly disable, maim, and outright kill opponents.

 Granted, Silat is a huge discipline, but the Pencak variant is the recognized national martial art of Indonesia and it's been shown to be highly effective (a movie even had tons of people using it, including the "regular" street mook), not to mention Hayato Furinji himself had some issues with the art's complexity.


What is the gender of Chrona of Soul Eater? Well, I picked this manga when I saw that its publication ended, but after few chapters I noticed that Chrona gender changed! (No, not the litteral) So, is this intended of the author, or I just missed some translator note somewhere?

Chrona's gender was never revealed in the Japanese Soul Eater manga. There is evidence for both genders but not enough for either to make any conclusive statement. The creator has been asked what Chrona's gender is, but never answered.

In Japanese, this isn't hard to do. Most pronouns aren't gender-specific. While Chrona does use boku (僕) to refer to him/herself, which is a fairly masculine pronoun, it is sometimes used by females as well. However, in English (and many other languages), it's awkward to try to avoid using any gender-specific pronouns. The various different versions of Soul Eater in English use different pronouns, but all of these were added by translators and not present in the original version.

The official Japanese Soul Eater site confirms that this is not known:

  性別は不詳。

which literally translates to "Gender is unknown".


What did Chinatsu make? In the first season on Episode 6, they play with oil clay, and the clay model that Chinatsu make was censored.

What exactly did she make? Are there any pictures without the censorship?

It's likely a nod to how terrible of an artist she actually is.  That is, when she tries to be good.

Earlier in the same episode, she was reading off a picture book to the group.  At the very least, it freaked Yui and Kyouko out a ton.

The likely inference here is that her art sculpture is so bad, that censoring it is the only sane way to show it to the rest of the world.


What is the name of this song playing in My Hero Academia Season 2 Episode 9? What is the name of the song playing in My Hero Academia Season 2 Episode 9 at around the 16min-17min mark?

The track name is Chokushi Dekinai Urara kasa, if you have the OST collection it'll be in Disk 1, Track 21

Here's the song on youtube


How could Madara free himself from the Impure World Resurrection technique, while Tobirama can't? In Chapter 591, we see Madara Uchiha free himself from the influence of Kabuto's Impure World Resurrection/Reincarnation technique (Edo Tensei), saying that he was able to do this because he knew about the technique's seals.

However, in Chapter 620, we see the inventor of the Impure World Resurrection technique, the second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, wanting to be free of the technique, but was stopped by Orochimaru.

How was it that Tobirama was not able to free himself from the Impure World Resurrection technique, despite being its inventor and knowing all about the technique and its seals, but Madara can?

Credits: Linked images are from Mangastream's scanlations.

When Madara frees himself of the Edo Tensei, he performs the seal. But in the case of Tobirama, you can see that in the first attempt he only tries to crush the wall. Also in the next page you can read this:

Hashirama: You increased the restraining power using my cells.
Tobirama: Now that I sense better, his body is almost made of my brother's cells.

So Madara was able to free himself because no one restrained him before he performed the seal; in the case of Tobirama, he tried to destroy the wall first and Orochimaru was able to restrain him with the increased restraining power he has.


Why Vegito chose to use kaioken and not super saiyan blue evolution to increase his power? When fighting with Cumber, Vegito used Kaioken to increase his power. But now Vegeta has shown he can use Super Saiyan Blue Evolution at will in Dragon Ball Heroes. Since Kaioken stress the user body, why Vegito chose to use kaioken and not Super Saiyan Blue Evolution when fighting with Cumber? It was stated that for the canon main continuity, Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken x20 is equally strong to Super Saiyan Blue Evolution transformation

There isn't any particular reason, however, the only thing which makes logical sense is the fact that:SSBE was designed to be a Vegeta exclusive form similar to Ultra Instinct which as of now seems to be a Goku exclusive form or even SSJ3 which as of now is only a Goku exclusive form.We haven't witnessed a Goku+Vegeta fusion utilizing the SSJ3 form.Kaioken is a technique and similar to instant transmission which the fusions are capable of using. So it would make more sense for them to use techniques instead of a character exclusive form.Based on my previous point, it would be also interesting to note that based on the nature of Kaioken used with Super Saiyan Blue, ideally, it should be stackable even on top of SSBE as the form is simply an evolved state of Super Saiyan Blue. Which only leads to the conclusion that the fusion was utilizing Kaioken simply as a technique during the course of the fight.


Why do all Marine Vice Admirals (and higher ranking officers) put their coats as capes? Garp

The Vice Admirals

The Admirals

ex-Fleet Admiral Sengoku

Why are the coats always worn as capes? Is there an in-universe explanation as to why the Marines wear it in that way? The only character who I remember seeing, wearing a coat as it should be worn, is Gol D. Roger.

There has been no in-universe explanation as to why the Marines wear the coats over their shoulders.
The only in-universe information regarding those coats is that they are supposedly held up by the Marine officers' beliefs in Justice. As long as the Marine in question believes in the justice of the Marines or World Government, the coat will not fall! ... is what Oda said in SBS Volume 61, Chapter 596

Reader: You know the coat that all those commissioned Marine officers wear on their backs? The one that says "Justice". That thing never falls of no matter how much the guy wearing it moves, but how does it stay on? A snap stopper? Or maybe super glue? My husband says "it's rubber" (making it a circle and passing it through another circle). P.N. Koteni-
Oda: Too bad, nothing is on there. That is a coat that has "Justice" on the back. It never falls off, because to them, Justice never "falls"!! As long as that feeling stays in their hearts, THE COAT WILL NEVER FALL!!!

The out-universe explanation is described by the TV trope CoatCape linked in the comment by mivilar. It states that military leaders (and delinquents aka pirates) often wear their coat as a cape to show how cool the character is. The coat will never fall off despite the situation. The Trope also explains not to confuse the (Marines') Coat-Cape with (Mihawk's) Badass-Longcoat or the Coat-over-the-shoulder.

Sometimes, to show how cool a character is (or just how broad his shoulders are), all he has to do is wear his coat like a cape, as in not bothering to put his arms through the sleeves. This is often a trait of Japanese Delinquents or military leaders.
Don't expect them to slip or fall off, even up against powerful winds, explosions and any amount of running, jumping and acrobatics, unless it's for dramatic reasons.
Compare Coat Over the Shoulder. Not to be confused with Badass Longcoat, which often resembles a cape but is worn normally.


Why does Roy Mustang's flame alchemy work? The show requires us to suspend disbelief to the point where Roy Mustang can alter densities of gases or induce some chemical reactions, but not necessarily change elements themselves. It argues the energy required to generate 'real' transmutations is much higher, so you need something like the philosophers stone.

Now, the animes claim he generates explosions by altering oxygen density profiles in the air and triggering a reaction by creating a spark. See under 'Abilities' here: http://fullmetal-alchemist-database.wikia.com/wiki/Roy_Mustang

However, while oxygen assists combustion, it is not flammable by itself. Hence, the flame needs to travel along a path of oxygen and combustible material from Mustang to his target. The show offers no explanation for where this combustible material comes from.

Perhaps flammable gases or water vapor (that could be converted to hydrogen) in air could be utilized to create explosions. However, these gases are present at levels lower than 1% in the atmosphere, and concentrating them sufficiently to create an explosive needs volumes several orders of magnitude larger than what Mustang has access to in the show. (intuitively, the atmospheric water vapor in the volume contained by a large living room will not fill a glass of water).

Given what I have argued so far, and without having to suspend disbelief further, how does Mustang's flame alchemy even work? It feels like the authors of the show are (erroneously) assuming oxygen is combustible.

All we know about how Flame alchemy works is described in the question.  As you note the description is incomplete.

That being said, we do know that creating flames in this way is a very complicated process and is a closely guarded secret.  This secret was tattooed on the Hawkeye's back by its creator and entrusted by Hawkeye only to Mustang.  A full explanation in-universe would, therefore, not make much sense.

We might never know what the exact mechanism is and it is not necessary to understand the story.

I can come up with several head-canons to justify this physics:

The mechanism does not necessarily involve chemistry. The Crimson
Alchemist creates explosions by combining contradictory alchemical
symbols.
An unstable explosive such as tetranitromethane or nitroglycerin could be formed in gaseous state.
My preferred one is for Mustang to produce large quantities of nitric oxide (NO). There is a slow reaction where 2NO -> N2 + O2 which is exothermic but NO is considered non-flammable. This is because the reaction is slow without a catalyst because the NO molecules have to collide to react.  At very high concentrations with other chemicals, a spark, and magic (alchemy), I like to imagine Mustang can induce a suitable violent reaction which I couldn't get to working in a lab.  The actual difficulty is finding a high heat of formation molecule containing only N, O, and C stable enough to disperse harmlessly without decomposing if he can't ignite it.  Several such compounds probably exist but it isn't necessarily something that if familiar or can even has been synthesized in the real world.  I suspect NO is too stable but is a starting point. NO (nitric oxide) explosions have been observed and require a spark to get started but also require some other fuel to be present.

Further speculation would constitute a fan theory so would be off topic on this site. I hope, however, this is enough to show you that an explanation is conceptually possible if not available (or possibly even known by the creator).


Why do characters in K-ON refer to each other by given names? In the anime characters seem to generally introduce themselves by their full names but immediately thereafter refer to each other by their given names. I haven't read the manga but I looked through the first few panels and Mio refers to Mugi by her nickname the first time she's mentioned, despite them having presumably met that same day.

As I understand it, it would be unusual for recent acquaintances to refer to each other by given name. Is there some kind of circumstance that explains this or is the immediate move to given names simply the author taking artistic liberties to establish the characters friendship more immediately?

The manga is the same on this point: the characters call each other by given name pretty much from the start. I think there are a few reasons, in-universe and out-of-universe, why this makes sense.

Mio and Ritsu have known each other since they were young, as we saw in an extra story in Volume 3, so it makes sense that they would already call each other by given name. Given Ritsu's personality, it makes sense that she would immediately jump to calling Yui and Mugi by given name, and neither of them are the type to object; Yui doesn't stand on formalities, and Mugi is always looking for ways to get closer to her friends. Azusa is an underclassman, so she would be getting the more familiar forms of address anyway.

Another thing to keep in mind is that time passes in strange ways in both the anime and the manga (but especially in the anime). Azusa appears in Volume 2 of the manga and Episode 8 of the anime, so an entire year passes in one volume / seven episodes. In the anime, Episode 4 covers the summer training camp at Mugi's villa; since the Japanese school year starts in early April, the girls have already known each other for at least two months by this point. Episode 7 is Christmas, so by now they've known each other for around eight months. If I were the writer in this situation, I wouldn't think it was worth it to have them all call each other by family name for five episodes and then suddenly have them switch to given names; it would be annoying and confuse the audience, who may not have taken the time to memorize everyone's given and family name right off the bat. (For instance, I've read the Genshiken original manga series about fifty times, but I couldn't tell you what Kugayama's, Tanaka's, or Kuchiki's given names are without looking them up.) Same thing if I were writing the manga; I would not have thought it was worth it to switch everyone's form of address halfway through Volume 1 when they've known each other for six months.

It's pretty common in "cute girls doing cute things" series for the main girls to all call each other by given name immediately upon meeting and forever thereafter. Everyone in Hidamari Sketch does it, even though Hiro and Sae are upperclassmen. (The Hidamari girls do use honorifics, though, unlike the K-On girls.) Same for Is the Order a Rabbit?, Kiniro Mosaic, Lucky Star, and Yuru Yuri. The only exception I can think of is G.A.: Geijutsuka Art Design Class, where everyone refers to Tomokane by her family name. My theory is that it fits the atmosphere these shows are trying to create. Part of the appeal to this type of series is the sense of being among a tight-knit group of friends, the kind of group where everyone speaks informally. It also makes the characters seem guileless and child-like; like children, they're living in a little bubble where social standing and deference aren't so important.

In more realistic anime, like Honey and Clover, or workplace-oriented shows like Wagnaria!!, characters call each other by family name as they probably would in real life. But for a show like K-On, realism is less important than creating an atmosphere, one which is harmed if the characters are too distant with each other. And the characters' personalities and prior relationships permit that sort of break from reality.


Why is anime produced faster than manga? Anime is colorful. It has voice and music. It contains tens of thousands of frames. It requires advanced computer software and high level of technology.

On the other hand, manga is nothing but a drawing with pen and pencil.

I would expect manga to be produced faster than anime under these conditions. However, it appears to be not the case. In most long running series, anime eventually catches up to the manga.

Is it because the mangakas are lazy, or is there another reason behind this?

Mangas are usually written by one person, called the mangaka. The mangaka has to come up with creative ideas, original scenery, character expressions and dialogues while making sure that the story flow is coherent and planning ahead to pick up the story in the next chapter and see if he/she can take it from there. The mangaka first has to draw everything in frames of various sizes (some of which are very difficult to fill due to abnormal proportions [to create effects]), outlines everything and then fills in the ink. Sometimes the mangaka even has to come up with a color cover page/chapter.

Anime production houses employ many individuals who don't have to work around the clock all the time (shifts reduce workloads on individual employees). They already have most of the original artwork from the manga, and they simply have to digitize it and add vibrant colors (not that it isn't difficult). Most voice recordings are done prior to the final graphical rendering.
The mangaka is more likely to be pressurized when trying to meet the next week deadline than anime production houses, because a shortage of ideas is a disaster for the manga but easy to deal with in the anime (just adding a filler often makes it up, regardless of the quality of the content). This means that the mangaka prefers to spend a little more time on the story to think and draw more carefully.

The list goes on and on, but for the sake simplicity, I've decided to end it here. Just a side note that most mangakas work an average of about 18 hours a day (almost no days off), which can't really be characterized as lazy.


Is it possible for a Demon to use a breathing style technique? I am just wondering since it doesn't have any requirements pertaining on using breathing style techniques you just only need to learn how to use it with proper training, Does it mean it is possible for a demon to use it?

Yes but I might be wrong in some details;

   Kokushibo is a member of the Twelve Demon Moons, holding the position of Upper Moon One. In his Human life, he was a demon slayer who trained him by a Breath of Wind user. And now as a Demon with an adept Demon Slayer Breath style(Breath of the Moon).


Why does Éléonore call Louise "Chibi-Louise"? In Zero no Tsukaima, when Louise's older sister, Éléonore, is first seen, she shouts, "Louise! Chibi-Louise!" She calls Louise this many times, as pictured below.

What does this expression mean, and why does Éléonore use it when the rest of Louise's family does not?

The word "Chibi" (ちび or チビ), means "short person" or a "small child".

Louise is the vertically challenged youngest sister in the family. So it makes perfect sense for her older sisters to poke fun at her with the name "Chibi-Louise". (or "short Louise")


What is the song in My Hero Academia that begins when Midoriya and Todoroki fight in Season 2 Episode 10 (before Todoroki uses fire) The song has these "harp" sounds in the background

You can listen to it here around 2:20 minute like this.

Thanks in advance!

I finally found it!

The song name is "Boku no Hero Academia Season 2 OST - Go Seize It"

Go Seize It


Why did Miss Monochrome become a bear? In Episode 4 of Season 2 of Miss Monochrome, Miss Monochrome wants to have an action figure made as merchandise for her concert tour. Her manager tells her it might be difficult, so she decides to become an action figure based on her own merits.

For some reason, this leads her to become a bear, as terrifyingly recounted in the following scene.

There seems to be some kind of silly pun in play here, but I couldn't make out what it was. What contortion of the Japanese language led Miss Monochrome to think dressing up as a bear would make her an action figure?

Based on Torisuda's clue, Figuma is a reference to Figma, a company that sells action figures. Higuma sounds similar to Figma and it means Sun Bear (hi/日 = sun, kuma/熊 = bear). Thus, Miss Monochrome turned into a sun bear.


Instrumental music playing in season 1 episode 5 when Kaneki & co. fighting Tsukiyama? There's instrumental music playing in episode 5 of season 1 of Tokyo Ghoul at around 19:50 when Kaneki, Touka, and Nishiki are fighting Tsukiyama.

What is the title, and the name of the album if it exists?

The sound track you are looking for is
 東京喰種-トーキョーグール- Or Licht und Schatten by Yutaka Yamada Whom created most if not all of the music in tokyo ghoul.

The track is 4:15 long, and the instrumental part that can be heard around 19:50 into the 5th episode can be found at 3:48, The instrumental part that is

This track was included as 25th track on the 1st OST cd. The 2 ost CD's can be bought as a bundle from cdjapan for around 28$


Why did Furuta leave Kaiko alive? It seems that Furuta's aim was to kill all members of the V and Wasshu clan members who were controlling CCG. So why does he not eliminate both the V and Washhu clans together?  Why does he keep Kaiko alive?

Considering the story that happened until Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 101, Furuta's aim has been to become the head of CCG (and to marry Rize LOL).

The reason why he killed the CCG head was to become the successor and lead the Doves/CCG so that he can kill all the other ghouls (Aogiri/Anteiku) and in order to do that he needs the external support of V (just like how Danzo did all the dark stuff using the ANBU [Naruto]).

Also if you think of it logically, if Furuta killed Kaiko or any members of V organization, then he would then make an enemy of all the V members along with Kaneki and others. So Furuta is using both the Clowns and V to become the single KING !!


Did Shinji activate EVA Unit 01's Berserk Mode? During the fight with Zeruel when EVA Unit 01 loses all power, Shinji enters somewhat of a demonic state, stating the Angel give Ayanami back or face the consequences. After he says this, EVA Unit 01 reactivates and enters its berserk mode, thus starting its "awakening" process.

Now, this got me thinking, did Shinji himself activate EVA Unit 01's berserk mode in the heat of battle or was the timing just right for both EVA Unit 01 and Shinji?

In the original anime series, it was established that the berserk mode can't be triggered voluntarily. Moreover it was at least strongly hinted that the "berserk mode" is in fact

   the manifestation of motherly love and protection, as it always activated when Shinji's life was in immediate danger.

In the Rebuild continuity, there is the so-called "beast mode" that can be activated by the pilot, but it is only ever shown working for Unit-02, not for Unit-01. Therefore it is at least very improbable, if not outright false, that Shinji could have willingly activated this mode.


What happened to Nausicaa at the end of the movie? In the final act of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,

   the titular character gets trampled by the Ohmu stampede and lies motionless. The Ohmu then stop their attack, pick her body up, and do something which wakes her up again.

I seem to remember Miyazaki stating that he disliked that people found Messianic overtones in the movie.

   Did Nausicaa die, and get resurrected by the Ohmu? Or was she simply badly hurt and the Ohum healed her?

Strictly speaking, there is no way to know, as the creators have not said one way or another. However, we're led to believe the following (excerpt from Wikipedia):

   The herd, however, calms down, and the Ohmus use their golden tentacles to heal Nausicaä's wounded body.

Based on the use of the words "heal" and "wounded", it seems she never actually died.

Additionally, there is this bit from the Nausicaä Wiki:

   Nausicaä was badly injured trying to save her people from an attack by the Omhus. She stood before the rush of angry creatures, almost costing her her life. The Omhus, however, revived Nausicaä and she was brought back to conciousness.

Unfortunately, it's not cited to any specific source, but it seems to be the general concensus.


What does "ABJ" mean on some manga websites & apps? On some manga websites & apps (e.g. BOOK☆WALKER Global Store), there is a symbol that looks like "ABJ" usually at the end of a page

followed with

  The ABJ mark is a trademark indicating that this e-bookstore and e-book distribution service is an authorized distribution service that has been licensed for use by the copyright holder.

What does it mean?

"ABJ" stands for "Authorized Books of Japan".

Citing from Association for E-Publishing Business Solution (Japanese),

  The ABJ mark is a trademark indicating that this e-bookstore and e-book distribution service is an authorized distribution service that has been licensed for use by the copyright holder. The aim was to provide an environment where readers can read and subscribe with peace of mind, and to promote the development of a healthy content market.

It means that the digital service provider (e.g. websites, apps) is officially authorized and has been given permission to use licensed works. Services that have this mark always mean that they are legal providers. However, services that do not have this mark does not mean that they are illegal (e.g. Crunchyroll Manga) since there is a procedure needs to be done to get the mark.

Some supplementing quotes in English regarding the mark:

Manga Planet - Updates on System Improvement:

  Addition of the ABJ mark and short description to the footer

  The ABJ mark is a trademark indicating that this e-bookstore and e-book distribution service is an authorized distribution service that has been licensed for use by the copyright holder.

  We will continue to release e-books with rights properly processed to contribute to the development of the manga market.

Beaglee Inc. - Non-Consolidated Financial Results
for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2018 (PDF):

  Moreover, the Company has obtained permission to use the ABJ mark that signifies it provides full version services with permission for use of contents granted by the copyright holders.

The whitelisted services are listed on this PDF file (updated irregularly). From left-to-right:

Registration number
Service name
Operator (business company/person) - with the last updated date

Example of English manga sites that have been registered:

BOOK☆WALKER Global Store: ABJ 10291001
MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA: ABJ 10921042
Manga Planet Library: ABJ 11981000

In summary:

Has ABJ mark: always legal
Does not have ABJ mark: maybe legal, but most possibly illegal


What are the drawbacks of being possessed by a Loose Soul? Some of the girls conquered by Keima have issues that seem to be partially solved once freed from their Loose Soul (like Kanon's invisibility), but while Elsie sometimes ponders if it has any relation to the lost soul being inside the girl's heart, it is not confirmed.

Is there any solid reference in canon material of drawbacks of being possessed by a Loose Soul?

The only consistent drawback of remaining possessed is having your first child being the reincarnation of a devil from old hell. The main goal of a loose soul is to be returned, and since they do this through the first offspring of their host (see below), they wouldn't want to adversely affect said host too drastically.

Aside from that, like you say, certain girls that host a Loose soul have a particular "power", such as Kanon's invisibility, or Tsukiyo's shrinking. Even if not having a certain "power" as such, the Loose Soul can still heavily affect its hosts personality (e.g. Shiori, who has no specific power, but reads each book in the library and lives a secluded existence). These are all unique to a particular girl, and even though they vary greatly in severity, they are still definitely drawbacks that would leave less than desirable living conditions if left unchecked.

Deciding on the most potent drawback depends on the girl, I suppose, but there aren't any positives to take away from being possessed!


What or who is "Minami" in "Search for Minami"? In chapter 63 of Kare Kano, Arima appears on a television show called Search for Minami after he is recognised for his academic and athletic prowess. The beginning of the show is depicted in the manga, and it begins with:

  Hello! And welcome to the popular "Search for Minami!" Today, we're visiting Hokuei High school … Hokuei High School is Kanagawa prefecture's top school. Today's "Minami" is going to be out of this world … Well, then, let's bring our guest, Soichiro Arima-kun!

(I removed short exclamations that did not appear to originate from the key show host in this section, such as "I'm excited myself!") What exactly does "Minami" mean in this context? That it is left untranslated suggests that it is supposed to be an important name, but I have trouble finding anything that would fit the context. Is there some sort of cultural knowledge that I am missing here?

The Minami means Minami Asakura in the anime Touch.

When the anime aired, it was very very famous and everyone knew the character.
She is a heroine in the manga and she likes sports.

One daily news show called Super Time started a new corner "Search for Minami!" which finds sports girl every day and interviews them.

It's an 80's show, no one knows that now, but the author of Kare Kano likes these kinds of random jokes.


Is Digitamamon a parody of the tamagotchi? In Digimon Adventure (in both seasons), we meet Digitamamon, a profoundly evil, greedy digimon who looks like a giant egg with dinosaur legs and a crack in the shell where two yellow eyes stare out.

Digimon (which preceded Pokemon) is based off a toy for boys that competed with the Tamagotchi toy. Tamagotchi is a egg-shaped toy featuring an egg that quickly hatches into an alien being.

Tama-gotchi literally means egg-watch (with the second half being a transliteration of the English word 'watch')

Digi-tama-mon breaks down to digital-egg-monster (with digi and mon being borrowed from English).

Digitamamon is one of the few digimon with the word 'digi' in its name, suggesting something digital, but it doesn't look digital at all. That's why I wonder if it's related to the Tamagotchi, the first 'digital egg'.

That's an interesting hypothesis, but I don't think it's right.

As the Digimon enthusiast will recall, the eggs from which Digimon hatch are called "Digi-Eggs" in English. However, in Japanese, they are called "Digi-Tama" (デジタマ), from which the English is basically directly translated, since tama means "egg", as you pointed out.

It seems rather more likely that the name "Digitamamon" derives from "monster that is a Digi-Tama/Digi-Egg", rather than "digital monster that is a tama/egg". The latter interpretation might suggest a connection to Tamagotchi, but is unlikely, since (as you pointed out) it doesn't look particularly digital at all. However, it does look a lot like a Digi-Tama/Digi-Egg - see below.

That said, I think there still is a connection to the Tamagotchi in a different way: it's widely acknowledged that the Digimon product line is basically "Tamagotchi plus battles".

Recall that both Digimon and Tamagotchi are Bandai products. It's thought that the Tamagotchi sold well among girls but not boys, leading Bandai to introduce Digimon to capture the other half of the market. As such, even if Digimon and Tamagotchi aren't explicitly referencing one another, it shouldn't be too surprising that they will have some features in common, being produced by the same company and all.

An aside:

  Digimon (which preceded Pokémon)...

Not quite. The chronology here is as follows:

Feb 1996: Nintendo releases Pokémon Red and Green
Nov 1996: Bandai releases the first Tamagotchi
Jun 1997: Bandai releases the first Digimon virtual pet device

The Pokémon anime (Apr 1997) also preceded the Digimon anime (Mar 1999).


What is Crocodile's secret? In chapter 540 we can see Ivankov mention Crocodile's weakness. What secret weakness was he referring to?

It was never stated so any response would only be speculation.  With that said, I don't think its the water weakness as Luffy already knows that and wouldn't prompt the reaction Crocodile had.  Most likely knowing Oda its something embarrassing/silly.


How can Madara Uchiha use Susanoo when he does not have 2 mangekyou abilities in his eyes? How can Madara Uchiha use Susanoo when he does not have 2 mangekyou abilities in his eyes?

First of all, it is not mentioned anywhere that Madara doesn't have two Mangekyou abilities in his Sharingan. It is simply not revealed just like Izuna's Mangekyou abilities.

Second, as mentioned on the Wikia,

  Once a user awakens the Mangekyō in both eyes, or the ability of both of their eyes, they are able to perform Susanoo

it is not necessary to have any abilities specific to their Mangekyou Sharingan in order to perform the Susanoo.


When do Japanese high schools have midterms? Exactly which days of which month do Japanese high schools that use a 3-semester format (which can cause students to repeat a grade) typically hold midterms in the first semester? And how many days pass between taking the midterms and the posting of the grades?

In episode 177 of Sailor Moon, Ami (Mercury) and Taiki (Star Maker) tie for top grade when grades are posted in the hallway. Taiki mentions in this episode that the (fictional) comet they see is visible at the same time as the (real-life) Centarus constellation, which is visible in Tokyo from mid-March until mid-May, with its maximum visibility around the first week of April.

However, in the previous episode, 176, Nezu (Sailor Iron Mouse) is reading issue 7 of STAGE芸能 magazine, implying that it is mid- to late-June (since Japanese magazines come out a month, or half a month, before their publication date: 7 = July) and class 1-1 has a sho tesuto (quiz) in Math.

In the following episode, 178, it must be before June 1 because the students have not done koromogae yet (changing from long-sleeved school uniform to short-sleeved, which I read on the web takes place on June 1st every year). On the other hand, in this episode, Yaten (Star Healer) is taping a TV show, and I read online that Japan has four television seasons: winter (January–March), spring (April–June), summer (July–September), and autumn (October–December), and that each episode of Japanese dramas are usually shot only a few (two to three) weeks before they are actually aired. The minor character Noriko accuses Yaten of "itsumo" (always) heading straight home after a taping, so they're a number of episodes into the series. This would indicate that episode 178 is, at the earliest, in early June so that the episodes can air starting in July.

I imagine that episode 177 is correct regarding the time of year for grade posting, and that episodes 176 and 178 are the ones that makes a mistake about the timeline.

I found this info about the Japanese high school academic year online:

Typically, the first day of a new school year is around April 8th, 9th. Summer vacation usually starts just before July 20th and usually lasts til the last day of August.
The students take their midterm exams at the end of May. Since the finals are given in July, that means the students only have a month and a half between midterms and final exams.

While midterm exams go on for two days, final exams last three days. For a week before both midterms and finals, school club meetings and other after-school activities are canceled. Students are also not allowed in the teacher's workroom or the copying room.

In high school, there are 5 periodical tests in a year (the midterm and the finals). There are some subjects which only require 1 test per term, some 2, others give no test at all, and some would base the student’s grade on classroom performance alone. Periodical exams are usually held within 3 to 5 days. There are some schools that give take-home exams or evaluation exams.

Your quoted info is right.
Most high school have first mid-term exam around May 20th.

The problem is magazine system.
As you think, most magazine's release date of issue 7 (July issue) is some day of June,
because no one buy July issue in August.

But some magazine have more wider shift from titled date.
JMPA (Japan Magazine Publisher Associates, which most Japanese magazines are members of) has the less than 40 day guideline for monthly magazine.
Publisher (and book store) can sell magazine 40 days before the titled release date or month.
(Weekly magazine have 15 days guideline.)

If the titled date is July 1st, publisher can sell the magazine after mid May.
Of course, this is most extreme case, but it's possible that people can read issue 7 in May.

To evidence, you can find example from Amazon.co.jp magazine corner.
For example, this magazine is July issue (07月号) but Amazon starts sending that magazine mid May (2014/5/17).
(Yes Amazon starts earlier than 40 days rule, and some book stores are angry about this, but Amazon says customer will receive the magazine after the date).

I think fashion magazine has earlier selling start date.
Using the above example, the magazine features topic on how to select swimwear, which most people prepares before summer but uses it in summer. The date rule fits the use case.

Weekly Shounen Jump is officially release on Monday, but some store selling it from Saturday.


What is the relation between the Girls und Panzer manga and anime series? Girls und Panzer has several manga series:

Girls und Panzer
Girls & Panzer - Little Army
Girls & Panzer - Lovey-Dovey Panzer

How does those three relate to the anime series and which chapter covered in anime series and OVAs? Is there any differences between anime and manga?

Girls und Panzer is an original anime and the GuP manga is an adaptation of the anime. Though the manga came out earlier in June 2012 as promition to the anime while the anime came out in october 2012. Both GuP anime and manga are practically the same except for some differences in perspective and events. The anime focused on Miho Nishizumi's perspective while the manga focused on Yukari Akiyama's.

Girls und Panzer: Little Army is a prequel manga for the anime and manga that came out in August 2012 about Miho's past.

Girls und Panzer: Lovey Dovey Panzer is a fan-made 4-koma web manga series done by Nii Marco about the GuP characters and it focuses on comedy. From that, eventually Nii Marco was hired by the GuP staff to make an official manga 4-koma series titled Girls und Panzer: Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu, sort of sequel to Lovey Dovey Panzer. Though it's still focuses on comedy.


As of 2014, are there any people at Gainax who worked on Evangelion (the TV series)? Back in 1995, the studio Gainax, under the leadership of Hideaki Anno, made Evangelion. This was widely agreed to be an epochal thing, and Gainax was hailed as a great studio. They followed up with a series of other critically succesful works - FLCL in 2000, Diebuster in 2004, and Gurren Lagann in 2007. (Which is not to say that all of their works were great - but some of them certainly were.)

Today, it is often said that Gainax has fallen from grace. Their recent works are... somewhat less epochal - Houkago no Pleiades in 2011; Medaka Box in 2011 with a sequel in 2012; C3-bu in 2013; and (currently airing) Magica Wars in 2014.

This motivates the following question: is there anybody left at Gainax who worked on Evangelion back in 1995? It's often claimed that a large part of Gainax (including Anno) left to form Studio Khara (for Rebuild), and that the rest of the good people (including e.g. Imaishi Hiroyuki, i.e. the Gurren Lagann people) left to form Studio Trigger. If it is, in fact, the case that there's basically nothing connecting 1995 Gainax to 2014 Gainax besides the institutional name, that would do much to explain Gainax's "fall".

In 2011, many main creators did drop out from Gainax. They are the members of the 'Gurren Lagann' and 'Panty & Stocking' creator.

Panty & Stocking with Garter Belt Wikipedia

After that, those members build a new company named 'TRIGGER Inc.' as the anime studio of course.

Trigger Company

When they make the anime 'Kill la Kill', answered the question of the 'Gainax drop out'.

ガイナックスを辞めた理由。新作「キルラキル」トリガー大塚雅彦代表に聞く１ - Why they dropped out from Gainax. We asked Otsuka CEO of the Trigger of new anime 'Kill la Kill'.

---Japanese---

  ガイナックスを飛び出し、身軽さを手に入れたかった

---English---

  We want to spring out from Gainax, and take the free from the burden for the new challenges.

In fact, they have continued the new challenge.

Little Witch Academia 2 Crowfunding

You can interpret this as the fall of Gainax. But I do not think so. There is no doubt that Gainax has grown them. When the grown birds leave the nest, their parents should be relieved. However, I think I might be the minority, but I think that they ought to be praised.

Today, Gainax is too large. I think that their current essential work now, grow the people, and make the affiliates. Studio Color, A-1, Trigger, those are the works of the Gainax I think.


Why did Scythe Master put lube on Ein? In Requiem for the Phantom (episode 3, ~6:30), the Scythe Master puts some kind of oil or lube on Ein's body. Why would he put lube on her body?

It is symbolic.  In this scene, he is cleaning his weapons.  In Gusseppie's mind, Ein is not human, she is a weapon.  An inanimate object, and in the same way he cares for is ruger, he cares for Ein.  While I don't think he was literally rubbing her down in weapons lubricant or copper solvent, I believe the intent was the same.


Has Shoji Kawamori ever commented on Robotech? Harmony Gold infamously dubbed Macross as the first part of the Robotech saga. Character names, music, and some story elements were changed or removed completely. This has long been a matter of contention between the fans of both series, as well as having a lot of legal ramifications.

But has the creator of Macross, Shoji Kawamori, ever commented on the existence of Robotech?

As per wiki :

  Series writer/actor Greg Snegoff said in an interview on the now-defunct Shadow Chronicles News fansite that, "afterward, we received compliments from the Japanese who thought our dialogue and stories were better than the original". However, Animag magazine (issue 11) and Animerica magazine (issue 9, volume 4) reports that the staff of Macross at Studio Nue and Artland, such as the original story creator and mecha designer Shoji Kawamori and chief director Noboru Ishiguro, expressed their concern over the Robotech adaptation, and surprise at its differences.

So it seems that he raised concerns about the same, and acknowledged the presence of Robotech

Further can be noticed in the interview clip here


What is the primary principle of controlling Jinchuuriki? What is the primary principle of controlling Jinchuuriki? I can think of two possibilities:

Control on hatred/negative thoughts;
Will and wish of tailed beast.

Killer Bee could easily get in a good relationship with Hachibi. We can recall the Falls of Truth incident of Bee, where he could easily pass it in a second, because he didn't have any hatred about anyone around him in his heart. So is it because he had suppressed negative thoughts, hence he got his tailed beast under control? Or is it because Hachibi himself is a really good guy, who is broadminded enough to lend his chakra to Bee?

Bijuu control can be achieved in 2 ways.

My (Madara Uchiha's) way, by force.
By earning the respect of the Tailed Beast in question.

In the past, when Madara battled Hashirama at the Valley of the End, he summoned and controlled the Nine Tails with the power of genjutsu, using the Sharingan.

   Naruto and Killerbee however, earned their respective Tailed Beast trust. The Tailed Beasts are ancient beings, very bitter about constantly being sealed and used by humans. They developed a deep resentment to humans. Naruto and Killerbee, by not succumbing with those powerful negative emotions, and showing their desire to work with, not against their Tailed Beast, have earned their respect, and achieved a whole new level of power.

The second method is by far stronger than the first.


What happened to everyone else after the ending of Death Note? I am not sure if I have asked this question before but deleted it, but I was just wondering if Matsuda and the other detectives found out that

 Light died

If they did:

Would they have made an investigation to see if somebody else had a Death Note and wrote his name in it?

Did they think that he wrote his own name with the paper he had from the Death Note?

Did they think that Ryuk wrote his name in the Death Note?

Or did they just go back to their regular lives, and

 tell Misa and Light's family that Light was Kira and that he died?

Those are the only options I have in my head, so I was just wondering if any of those options happened.

Several members of the Kira Task force (that Light was in charge of), as well as Near's team, were present during the climax where

 Light is exposed as Kira by Teru Mikami when Light's name is the only one not written in the Death Note.

The task force knew about Death Notes since

 Ren gave it to Kyosuke Higuchi and the task for caught him in possession of it

Which is revealed much earlier in the story.
Near realized Kira would likely use a catspaw to throw suspicion from himself so simply finding the person in physical possession of a Death Note wasn't enough.  He had to make sure he found the Death Note, and make Kira believe he'd won so he would show himself.
So Near

 Replaced the pages of the Death Note held by Teru Mikami (though Light was still the owner), and allowed Light to lure everyone to the creepy abandoned warehouse where Teru Mikami called Light "God" and wrote the names of everyone present, except Light.  Proving Light was actually Kira.

With Kira's real identity exposed, there was no reason to go hunting for other Kiras or other Death Notes - they had found the root cause.
Depending on if it's the manga/movies/anime Misa

 Kills herself, or it's heavily implied she does.

As for the task force, my guess is they continued working as an anti-Kira taskforce in some capacity, at least in the manga, because

 The manga ends with a group of Kira's followers praying for his return.

Youtube link to the end with several characters


What's the song in Bleach episode 119 from 17:15? In episode 119 of Bleach, what's the song from 17:15?

It's "Torn apart", the 20th track of Bleach Original Soundtrack 2 album by Shiro Sagisu.


At which chapter does the Tokyo Ghoul anime deviate from the manga? I watched Tokyo Ghoul and I know that from season 2 it deviated from the manga, so I decided to read it and see the other version of Tokyo Ghoul. But I don't want to start from the beginning as it's almost the same, so I want to know which chapter was the first one in which the manga and the anime were different.

If you don't want to read from the beginning, start from Chapter 67 if you finished watching the first season.

This is the first chapter adapted by the first episode of the second season, and as you mentioned, the second season deviated entirely from the manga. Some arcs were altered or only partially shown, starting from the Post-Aogiri Tree/Timeskip Arc.

However, as mentioned by the people here, if you are planning on reading the manga, I highly recommend you start from the beginning. It might seem tedious but there are a lot of things not included in the anime. It might be an understatement to say you are missing half the experience of Tokyo Ghoul if you do not read the manga from the start.


Can gold be transmuted in the Fullmetal Alchemist continuity? In the Fullmetal Alchemist manga/2009 anime, we learn that alchemists must obey three rules:

  Do not oppose the military

  Do the transmute gold

  Do not do human transmutation

Moreover, at one point in the early manga (probably chapter 3, according to Wikipedia), we see Ed transmute what appears to be gold from rocks, when he is duping Yoki into selling him rights to Youswell. (However, in the context of my question below, this might also be attributed to early-installment weirdness, since in the corresponding episode in the 2003 anime - episode 9 - I think we see Ed giving Yoki rocks that have been coated with gold from coins Ed got from Yoki.)

Both of the above seem to imply that transmuting gold is possible in the FMA universe, yet this seems to be contradictory given some other manga details. In the first chapter, we learn from Al that with alchemy, one can only transmute like from like. Being me, I read this to imply that the sort of conservation of mass alluded to when chemical equations are balanced generally applies in terms of what alchemy can do the FMA universe (at least in the more practical, mundane examples we see in the manga). (On a second read, I'm really not sure if that's a "correct" interpretation.)

Thus: is transmuting gold actually taken to be something possible in the FMA universe (or is it even possible to come to a conclusion about this)?

Yes, transmuting gold is possible (at least in the manga). The reason why it's forbidden is stated later in the series: It's forbidden so nobody can destroy the economy by making the gold worthless.

The mass is also conserved, I see no problem there. A ton of coal makes a ton of gold. Equal mass :).

Note: In the first adaption, Ed did not transmutate gold but instead coated the coal in gold. Either it's not possible in the 2003 anime or he didn't want to violate the law. (Thanks to キルア)


Do Metal Bat and Tatsumaki get any closer to Saitama at any point of the story? In the opening of season 2 of One Punch Man, there is a shot where you see Saitama with his friends (Genos, King, Bang , Fubuki) and also Metal Bat and Tatsumaki. Is there any obvious reason why Metal Bat and Tatsumaki are there? Do Metal Bat and Tatsumaki get any closer to Saitama at any point of the story in the manga?

For Metal Bat, they don't have any significant interactions so I doubt they'd get closer.

For Tatsumaki, I'm not sure if this can be called getting closer but they

  fought during the Psychic Sisters Arc

(this is canon as the webcomic is where the manga is based from). Afterwards,

  Saitama displayed concern and interest toward Tatsumaki, as he ran after her to see if she would be alright flying home with her injuries...Saitama then asked her why she became a hero if she's trying to cut relationships with people.

At this point, Tatsumaki almost revealed her past to Saitama but didn't. Instead a flashback was shown when she first met Blast, which, to me, reveals Blast's true identity. To quote from the wiki,

  She witnessed a man defeating a giant multi-eyed monster. His name is Blast. His appearance has a strong resemblance to Saitama. In fact, Blast said to Tatsumaki that he is a hero for fun, echoing Saitama's words. Blast ends his conversation by telling Tatsumaki that she has to be strong, because not everyone can save her. This motivated Tatsumaki to become a hero, and this is also a reason why she wants to be alone and cut relationships with people.


Is there a term for "two-faced" or "reverse-tsundere" characters? Is there a (Japanese) cultural term for reverse-tsundere-type or two-faced characters who are sweet on the outside, but mean people on the inside. Like Kanako from Oreimo and Akira from Lucky Star?

Actually, the term is still tsundere.

The word is derived from the terms tsun tsun (ツンツン), meaning to turn away in disgust, and dere dere (デレデレ) meaning to become 'lovey dovey'.
  — Tsundere, Wikipedia

There are, then, two types of tsundere: Tsun (Type A), and Dere (Type B).
Type A, also known as harsh, is what we typically consider tsundere; they are typically angry, mean, or pessimistic on the outside, but have a sweet side that they reveal to characters they like (or in other similar situations).
Type B, also known as sweet, is the reverse of Type A. These characters are typically sweet and kind on the outside, but have a hidden meanness inside of themselves that they sometimes unleash, usually in a response similar to that of Type A.
Originally, the term seemed to refer to Type A only, but has expanded over the years:

The term was originally used to describe characters who began with a harsh outgoing personality, but slowly revealed a soft and vulnerable interior over time. Over the years the character archetype has become flanderized, and is now generically associated with a character who flips between the two emotional states at the slightest provocation.
  — Tsundere, TVTropes

So, it seems the way the word tsundere is structured, it can have either tsun as the default mood, or dere, meaning it can be used to describe either variation of a character. In your case, though, you're looking for a "Type B Tsundere".


Why Oreimo changed the actual brand name in Akihabara In the anime, primarily ep2 when Kirino first come to Akihabara, I noticed many of the brand name or billboard was altered, リバティー/Liberty was changed into ワバチィー/wabaty, タカラダ/Takarada to タカダ/Takada, ガシャポン to ガチャポン, Laox to Taox, Labi to Labla, Gee! to Guu!, McDonald's to McDoneld's etc.

I wonder why they made such changes. They could have kept all the brand and billboard the same as they are in real life, but instead, they made so many subtle changes (while the maid cafe remains almost entirely intact).

Since many of these easter eggs are placed in a very obvious position, and animating such a complicated background asks a large amount of effort. I don't really believe these are purely the animator having fun. Are there any other reasons? Like copyright or advertising?

P.S. I am asking this for my essay, so please do think of it

P.P.S. image retrieved from this website.

P.P.P.S. feel free to leave any other thoughts about this

TV Tropes has an entire page dedicated to this phenomenon: Bland-Name Product.

Replacing brand names is a fairly common phenomenon in media. As Dimitri mx mentions, this is probably because the studios want to avoid using trademarks to play it safe. This is why parody names like "WcDonalds" and "EcDonalds" are so common in anime.

Toradora casts a snarky lampshade on this practice:

Sometimes the anime actually does use the real names, if they get the product placement properly arranged behind the scenes. For example, this was the case with Pizza Hut in Code Geass. (Hence the "Pizza Hut supports the Rebellion" memes.) For more detail, see Have there been any anime with actual product placement?

However, taking the steps to formally arrange this kind of thing requires more effort and comes with more risk, so I can see why anime productions tend to go with the less risky parody names.

For example, consider High Score Girl. This manga got into legal trouble because it directly featured lots of 90s video game content, even though its publisher, Square Enix, took steps to secure formal consent for the use of the games' characters from the various companies. In 2014, SNK Playmore launched an IP violation claim against Square Enix because of this manga, which resulted in the recall of all the volume and digital publications of the manga. It took about a year before the two parties reached a settlement and the lawsuit was withdrawn.

This case had more to do with copyright than trademark, but it's still a good example of the kind of trouble that could come arise if you're not careful enough with handling the intellectual property of others... High Score Girl really did include a lot of stuff though, so this was a particularly complex case. For reference, here's the copyright notice in volume 1 of the manga:

So many...


Naruto Shippuden episodes after The final battle After watching the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke and the Naruto Uzumaki episode, I stopped watching the series because I thought it was over. Now i see there are about ~15 more episodes.

Are the episodes after the 479 - Naruto Uzumaki (480-500) canon? Or are these episodes some fillers after the actual plot?

Yeah, they are filler (well at least compared to the manga version) because the manga ends after their fight and we only got one more chapter in the future when both Naruto and Sasuke have become parents. (also we got a quick look at other characters).

Some of the episodes (483+) do show some flashback for the characters that we did not know before but they were never shown in the manga before, so if you follow the manga they are still considered "filler". And there is also the weeding :P.

Anyway the situation on them is not 100% clear, i guess it depends how you define filler for yourself.

Here is a list that can help you for a bit.

https://www.animefillerlist.com/shows/naruto-shippuden


Reason for the change in the eye colour of Naruto During the fight of Team Asuma and Kakashi vs Kakuzu and Hidan, Naruto eyes changed. It's like the Fox's eyes but still in blue.

   This is before he mastered Kurama's, the Nine Tails, chakra.

When Kurama possesses him his eyes color would change to red, but during this fight his eyes were blue. Is there a explanation for this?

I don't think there is an accurate answer for this, but I think he might have been using the Kyuubi's, aka Kurama or Nine Tails, chakra without it taking control over him. He has done this a lot of times in other episodes, but his eyes turn red. What I mean by this is that every time Kyuubi lets Naruto take some of his chakra, Naruto's eyes turn red then (sometimes) Kyuubi's chakra start to surround him. This only happens when Naruto gets taken over by his emotions. Also notice that his whiskers get darker.

Also every time Kyuubi gets mad his eyes reflect on Naruto's. Kyuubi said this happened before when Naruto was in Sage Mode when he was talking with Nagato. He said that he was so mad some of his chakra "accidentally spilt", so his eyes were mixed in with the Sage Mode in Naruto's eyes.

   Before Obito put the other half of Kyuubi back in Naruto (during the war Naruto kinda died, but before that he got to tame Kyuubi), Naruto finished talking to Hagoromo, The Sage of Six Paths, and came back to life than he went to rescue Gui. When he did he turned around to see Madara. His eyes were in Sage Mode but had Kyuubi's eyes mixed in there. (Notice in the anime Naruto's eyes were not red but orange unlike when he was talking to Nagato.)

 In Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring one of the Shins staves Naruto in the stomach. That makes Kyuubi mad, but Naruto tells him to calm down. I'm not sure if his eyes turned red or not because of the manga only being black and white, but I'm going to say they did.

All of the information I gave says that Kyuubi gives Naruto some of his chakra which makes his eyes turn red, but when he was fighting Kakuzu and Hidan he didn't seem mad. But maybe like @Ayase Eri said in the comments the studio could have just messed up and put blue instead of red in his eyes, or they just didn't and it supposed to be like that.


What is this song from Ep 111 13:35 of Hunter x Hunter? What is the song on episode 111 at 13:35 of Hunter x Hunter? I'm dying to know and I've been looking for a while but can't seem to find it.
I don't know if this is useful information but in case it is, I am watching on Crunchyroll.


Shizuo Heiwajima gets shot on which episode I can't find that clip I know when the Yellow Scarves gets overtaken by the Leader of Blue Squares and one of the Yellow Scarves gang member shots Shizuo and blames Masaomi for that but i cant find that episode.

The scene is from episode 22. It begins around 21:20 and ends at about 21:55, at least on the Japanese bluray.

You probably haven't been able to find it on YouTube due to the content ID system; there is seemingly some background music or something during that scene that causes it to get instantly blocked.


Why does Sasuke have only one Rinnegan? In the latest chapters of the Naruto manga (673 and 674), why does Sasuke possess only one Rinnegan and not both?

For starters: Sasuke's Rinnegan is not the same as Kaguya's/Madara's Rinne Sharingan (not to be confused with Madara's Rinnegan, I'm talking about the one in the middle of the forehead of both of them).

Sasuke's Rinnegan has 6 tomoe, Rinne Sharingan has (at least) 9.
Sasuke's Rinnegan is blue, Rinne Sharingan is red.

The reason Sasuke only has the Rinnegan in one eye was not mentioned or explained in either the series or the data book. So we can only speculate.

In no particular order, here are my speculations:

Hagoromo only gave Sasuke enough chakra to awaken the Rinnegan in one eye.
That's the best Sasuke can do without fusing Asura's chakra.
It's the cool factor.


Non-independent stores in the UK that sell manga Which stores is the easiest place to purchase manga from?

Are there any supermarkets or main stores that sell them or can they only be bought from independent stores?

I would suggest checking if you have a local forbidden planet, they have locations all over the UK and always had a wide selection available; their website is here http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/

I found most book stores generally have a small manga/anime section. Depending on what exactly you are looking for you may do better looking online, the best site in my experience is http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/ which returns over 100,000 hits when I search just on the word manga.

There are many other online options which you can find using a search engine.

I hope this helps.


There's any clue on why Battle Programmer Shirase ended so abruptly? There's any clue on why Battle Programmer Shirase ended so abruptly? I couldn't find any interview or related material about it, even in Japanese. It's sad that is, 14 years already? Without end or an explanation.

If you look at the archived episode guide link for the series, you'll notice that it mentions "part one", implying the series was originally planned for at least another part.

No specific reasons were publically give for the cancellation. Internet rumors speculated that either something happened in production, where someone upset the wrong person high up, or something like that. An alternate theory suggests it might be due to the content, particularly with matters involving Misao's age and the recurring lewd hijinks surrounding the main character (who is about 28)and here. None of these rumors have been substantiated in any way.

It's important to note that the series aired late at night so it's not something an younger audience might accidentally catch by chance. The multiple segmented short anime broadcast format was experimental at the time and did not do so well and has since been discontinued.

It's important to note that the director's message thanking viewers and mentioning the fansub community were removed from the end of the final compiled episode, which fueled speculation of possible personal disagreement within the production committee.

While there are no longer any archived detail some netizens in Japan, mentioned that the second part was supposed to switch to a regular full episode format like in an OVA format. But none of that materialized. What happened will have to remain unknown.

Interesting but not completely related tid bit. The screenplay and character design for the series shares similarities with a incomplete (R18?) doujin game, Tomurai.

You'll see in the TV series credits the variation of the name I assume to be "JR Sakurajima".

It seems it was reworked to fit the anime.

You can still find bits and pieces here and there thru the archives. It give some slight background not covered on the series itself, like Kei Shirase's blog and America King's website. They are just fun Easter eggs.


Why would 《 and 》 be used in a translation? In Shikkoku no Sharnoth ~What a Beautiful Tomorrow~, some words like Metacreature, Illuminati and Old One have 《 and 》 on either side. you can see them on Part 3-1 of the Web Novel

  I feel like this black form is the same as those 《Metacreatures》.

and here on the index page

  the 《Omnipotent》 man (his name is Leo)

now at first I thought this was a style choice by Amaterasu Translations since Hikari no Valusia ~What a Beautiful Hopes~ hadn't been translated (and Amaterasu Translations said they may do them one day) however it shows up in Aoishiro when words like 《Sword》, 《See》 and 《Power》 and it was translated by Shijima. The 2 Visual Novels are also done by different groups.

Now I would get it if it was just name, however 《Power》 doesn't seem to be a name as it's normally used to describe what a lot of the heroines are taking from drinking Shouko's blood or what Yasuhime-sama receives from the trees she planted.

So is the use of 《 and 》 a style thing for translators outside of Japan or is there something in the Japanese language which calls for the use of these?

It's the same way in the original. The line about "Metacreatures" is:

  黒い塊は、それら《怪異》と同じように思えた。

So in this case, it's probably just a matter of the translators using the original punctuation (you will notice that they do the same thing with dialogue, using 「」 as in the original rather than “”, which is standard in English).

As for why the original itself uses 《》: Logan is right that these are not typically used in Japanese:

  These are Guillemet marks, which are used as quotation marks in some languages like French and Greek (notably not typically in Japanese though, which uses 「．．．」, though they can be used sometimes and are referred to as either 二重山がた [ni-juu-yama-gata "double mountain-shaped [brackets]"] or 二重ギュメ [ni-juu-gyume "double guillemet"]).

《》 are basically used however the author wishes to use them (e.g. this answer on Japanese.SE shows one way that 《》 is used in a Japanese dictionary). I'm not familiar with Shikkoku no Sharnoth, but a quick skim of the web novel suggests that the author is using 《》 to surround proper nouns with a specific in-universe meaning, like 怪異 ("Metacreature"?) and 大消失 ("Vanishing"). Kind of like how we would (and the translators do) use capital letters to identify proper nouns in English. Japanese doesn't have capital letters, so the 《》 is an alternate way of achieving the same effect.


What manga is this image with a depressed girl from? I think this is a manga, but I'm not sure which one.

I have tried other sites to get this question answered, but no dice.

This is from the manga Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui! (often translated as "It’s Not My Fault That I’m Not Popular!"), which incidentally is getting an anime adaptation starting in July. Wikipedia offers the following synopsis:

  Having been well-versed in the world of otome games, fifteen-year-old Tomoko Kuroki believes herself to be popular. However, upon entering high school, she discovers this is far from the truth as she winds up being an unsociable loner and is forced to take a long hard look at herself for the first time in years. The story follows Tomoko as she attempts to improve her social status as she progresses through high school.

This particular panel is from chapter 7, page 6. Here's a scan of the full page to compare:


What are the Norse Mythology References in Alfheim Online? In one of Yui's Trivia Corner Segments from Sword Art Offline 6, she says that  Alfheim Online is mainly based off of Norse Mythology, so there are a number of references to it in ALO.

The only reference that I know of is that the World Tree in Alfheim Online is supposed to represent Yggdrasil, with the 9 Fairy Nations around The World Tree being the 9 Realms that are connected to one another by Yggdrasil.

Thus, I am wondering what other Norse Mythology references there are in Alfheim Online.

The references are as follow. I'll divide it into its categories. Also note that I'd refer to SAO as ALO here since the story takes place in Alfheim Online and not Sword Art Online's Aincrad.

Worlds

Alfheim (Norse: Álfheimr) means the land of fairies. This is the world where the players live. Funnily, the races that live in this land are not from Norse mythology, but is actually from England, Ireland and Scotland, with the exception of Salamander. More about the races in the races section down below.

Jotunheim (Norse: Jötunheimr) means the land of giants. The creatures that live here are the giants. Tonki (Jellyfish Elephant, Kuzuha/Leafa's friend/pet(?)) is one of those giants.

Nilfheim (Norse: Niflheimr) is the land of ice and snow. It is referenced in ALO as the cause of change in Jotunheim, that is the outbreak of ice giants from Nilfheim, which is located under Jotunheim, cause the change in Jotunheim's once green lands to that of ice and snow.

Muspelheim (Norse: Muspelheimr) is land of fire. In ALO it is located under Nilfheim.

Yggdrasil (Norse: Yggdrasil) the three that connects the 9 worlds according to Norse mythology. Out of those 9 only Alfheim, Jotunheim, Nilfheim and Muspelheim mentioned in ALO. Out of those 4 only 2 (Alfheim and Jotunheim) are actually shown.

NPCs

Thor (Norse: Thor) the god of thunder, wielder of the magic hammer Mjolnir, son of Odin.

Freya (Norse: Freyja) is a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death.

Thrym (Norse: Þrymr) is king of Jotunheim. In ALO he is a king of Nilfheim who invaded Jotunheim along with his ice giants.

Weapons

Excalibur is a sword belonged to the legendary King Arthur of England. It is also one of the sword featured in many video games, mainly Final Fantasy. In Final Fantasy series it usually is one of the strongest swords. In ALO it is a sword promised by Thrym as a prize for slaughtering the original dwellers of Jotunheim (Tonki's race).

Mjolnir (Norse: Mjölnir) is a magic hammer of Thor, capable of summoning thunders.

Story

Thor missing his hammer is one of Norse legends, where Thor lost his magic hammer Mjollnir. It was said that his hammer was stolen by the king of the Jotun, Thrym. Thor, although reluctant, agreed to Loki's suggestion to dress as Freyja in his attempt to get the hammer back. Thor later killed Thrym and get his hammer back. This is referenced in ALO with Klein finding a female NPC with HP bar locked in a prison made of ice. Later during the fight between Kirito's party and Thrym, the said female NPC revealed himself to be Thor. Thor then killed Thrym much like in the legend.

Races (Bonus Section)

Cait Sith in its original myth stole people's soul before they are collected by gods upon their death. In ALO, they are beast tamers. Silica and Shinon are Cait Sith in ALO. Cait Sith originated from Scotland.

Spriggan are small fairies said to be guardian of treasures. They are said to be mischievous. It has the ability to transform into huge creature. Kirito is a Spriggan in ALO. Kirito also used a transformation magic to transform into The Gleam Eyes which is a reference to this ability. Spriggan in ALO also known to be very useless in magic due to their magic being mere illusions (reference to their magic being for mischiefs).

Gnome are small, humanoid Earth fairies. Gnome in ALO are known to be master miner. Agil is a gnome.

Imp are small goblin like creature. Imp in ALO are not very well explored with the only known Imp is Konno Yuuki/Zekken.

Leprechaun in its original myth are said to have hid a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.  Lisbeth is a Leprechaun in ALO.

Pooka originated from Ireland. Pooka or Púca means ghost or spirit in Irish. It is not well explored in ALO. Sasha is a Pooka in ALO.

Sylph are wind spirits. Sylph in ALO are master in wind magic. Sylph is also the race that has the most known characters. Lady Sakuya - Lord of the Sylphs, Leafa, Recon, Sigurd (Exiled), and Erika (Asuna's alter account) are Sylphs.

Undine are water spirits. Undine in ALO are also master of water magic. Asuna is an Undine in ALO.

Salamander in ALO are known to be master of fire magic. This is a reference to a type of salamander (animal) that is resistant to fire, called fire salamander. Salamander in ALO is unique in that it is the only race not based on English, Irish, or Scottish myth. Klein is a Salamander in ALO.


At which age are ninjas revived with Edo-Tensei? The question is easy: At which age are people, when they are revived using Edo-Tensei? Are they exactly of that age they died? Or can the user of Edo-Tensei decide, how old the ninjas are?

According to the Naruto Wiki page on Edo Tensei, when summoning

  the reincarnated seem to retain any permanent body damage and physical limitations they received during their lifetime.1

I think this means that normally they would be resurrected with the age they had upon their time of death, as well as physical conditions.

However, as we know, and the page describes in the enhancements part, (quote follows, as is on the site)

   Kabuto can also modify his summoned fighters, as he did with Madara Uchiha. While the technique usually reincarnates the deceased at the exact state they were in at the time of their deaths, Kabuto noted that he brought Madara back in a state that was "beyond his prime"2 and was reincarnated much younger than when he died an old man as well as instilling him with abilities he had acquired in his old age.

So, basically, I think that the user may perfect the Jutsu in order to obtain the results he wants, provided that he has enough skill and knowledge on the Jutsu to do it.

   Or maybe only Kabuto can do it like that.

1 This piece of data is stated in the Wiki, but I do not recall if it was referenced in any manga chapter, so bear that in mind.
2 Naruto chapter 560, page 3.


Why are manga cover pages not relevant with the current arc? In manga cover pages for the tankoubon version, I find it funny that the cover page always/often is not related to the content of the book.  Usually there is a big event of sorts that are drawn on the cover, but nothing in the book tells the reader about that event or even describes it.

In some series, like One Piece, Maruto, Magi, Toriko, etc., the cover of the manga would be present in the current chapter or at least be about the events of the current arc or plot line.  But in other series, like Hayate, Zettai Karen Children, Kurosagi, the pattern of irrelevance is consistent, with most of the cover art showing events that never happen in series.

Is there a some sort of marketing reason for this trend?

Is there some sort of marketing reason for this trend?

This answer is based on general book publication, not to manga book (tankobon) specifically, but I believe this also applies to tankobon.
The main purpose of a cover art is to promote the product.

The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e., to promote the product it is displayed on, but can also have an aesthetic function, and may be artistically connected to the product, such as with art by the creator of the product. - Wikipedia
(Emphasis mine)

Seth Godin wrote a blog article about this, focusing on the physical form,

Is the purpose of the cover to sell books, to accurately describe what's in the book, or to tee up the reader so the book has maximum impact?
The third.
It's the third because if the book has maximum impact, then word of mouth is created, and word of mouth is what sells your product, not the cover.
Tactically, the cover sells the back cover, the back cover sells the flap and by then you've sold the book. [...]

On the other hand, this is what Guido Henkel thought on his blog, focusing more on the digital form,

So, let me ask you this question… what is the purpose of the cover?
The purpose of a book cover is not to perfectly illustrate the story down to the smallest detail or to showcase every aspect and facet of the plot. [...]
The sole purpose of a book cover is to help sell the book. A book cover is a selling tool! Nothing more, nothing less. It serves the purpose to attract eyeballs and then get those people intrigued enough to click on the cover thumbnail and learn more about the book, which, hopefully, will then result in a sale. If visitors on Amazon do not notice a book cover because it is easily overlooked and disappears among other covers, it serves absolutely no purpose and is actually detrimental to the author because uncounted potential sales are lost right there.
[...]
You always have to keep in mind that for the most part you are trying to sell books to people who are not familiar with you and who do not know the book or the story—at all. It is the cover that will hopefully draw them to it. It is the cover that will hopefully connect with them and intrigue them enough to find out more. [...]

While both had a contradicting view, neither mentioned that the purpose of a book cover is to illustrate the content of the book.

One Piece cover page was always/often not related to the content of the book (well just some of it) in the past. But now, the cover's always related to the current chapter. Why did they change that?

I haven't researched about cover art on serial books, but I have a hunch that on later volumes, the more important thing is to retain current readers. By this time, current readers already have an idea about the story. That's why by using the story plot as the cover, the author can draw more attention to the current readers, while hopefully still attracting new reader's curiosity (to buy earlier volumes).
Again, Guido Henkel mentioned this on his blog,

Only then will you be able to tap into new readers. Readers who are essential for growing your customer base not only for this book, but also for your next.
(Emphasis mine)

Anecdotally, unless I've already heard/known about the work (in which, I don't care about the cover at all and just buy the tankobon), I only look at the cover art (and the title, if browsing online), and if it's interesting enough, then I'd read the detail (online)/synopsis (back cover)/if possible, read some of the early chapters. By this time, I won't care if the cover art is related to the story/content or not, nor do I expect it.


Why is the leader of Tanuki Society a "Trick Meister" According to Google a Meister is

  denoting a person skilled or prominent in a specified area of activity.

But why is the leader of Tanuki Society a "Trick Meister"? I don't see any of the characters play tricks and Kinkaku and Ginkaku mainly seem to just bully Yashirō because of his family name.

Here's a really good collection of references about Tanuki folklore: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/tanuki.shtml

Some of the things that it mentions:

  Tanuki assumed human form, haunted and possessed people, and were considered omens of misfortune. Many centuries later in Japan, they evolved into irrepressible tricksters, aiming their illusory magic and mystifying belly-drum music at unwary travelers, hunters, woodsmen, and monks.

...

  These tricksters can transform into any living or inanimate shape. Real Tanuki live in the lowlands, forests, and mountain valleys, and therefore Tanuki are most often shown playing tricks on hunters and woodsmen. But they also enjoy misleading learned scholars, and therefore shape-shift into Buddhist monks (as do foxes) with a deep knowledge of the sutras. They can cast powerful illusions (like foxes), turn pebbles and leaves into fake money or dung into a delicious-looking dinner, conjure up mirages of entire cities and palaces, appear as one-eyed demons able to produce thunder and rain, rob the bodies of the dead, and cause pebbles to rain from the sky. In some tales, they are even gifted calligraphers.

Throughout, it portrays tanuki as trickters, playing various kinds of tricks on practically everybody. So it makes sense that the title of the leader of the Tanuki Society is a "Trick master". Additionally, the article goes into some detail about the evolution of some of the lore, and less about playing tricks:

  Although the Japanese continue to classify Tanuki as a yōkai 妖怪 (monster, spirit, specter, fantastic/strange being), the creature today is no longer frightening or mysterious. Instead, it has shape-changed into a harmless and amusing fellow, one more interested in encouraging generosity and cheerfulness among winers and diners than in annoying humankind with its tricks. Tanuki are also portrayed as cute and lovable characters in modern cartoons and movies -- even as mascots in commercial campaigns.

So perhaps following the evolution of the lore, the show doesn't portray them playing tricks on people all the time.


Why is Midoriya considered a "True Hero" by some villains? In epiosde 43, one of the villain from Vanguard Action Squad of League of Villians prevents another villain from going after Midoriya saying that his action was Stein's personal desire even when Midoriya was on the top priority in the kill list.

The disillusionment that Stain and (some) villains have of the hero society is that too many heroes are only in the business for fame, glory, or money. Supposedly, Stain saved Midoriya from the flying Nomu because he saw that Midoriya exhibited traits of being a true hero and would genuinely risk his life for anyone. Many of Stain's later copycats like Spinner would follow this ideology and also respect Midoriya since the later part of Stain's fight was recorded and streamed (making it somewhat public knowledge that Stain respected Midoriya).


Why are manga read from right to left? Has it always been so? Why are manga read right to left? Has it always been so? Are there any exceptions?

(Flipped mangas are excused from this question.)

The traditional Japanese written language goes from right to left.
Books in Japan tend to start from the "right-most" side.  It's only natural that manga publications follow the same format.

Traditionally, Japanese is written in a format called tategaki (縦書き?),
which copies the traditional Chinese system. In this format, the
characters are written in columns going from top to bottom, with
columns ordered from right to left. After reaching the bottom of each
column, the reader continues at the top of the column to the left of
the current one.
Modern Japanese also uses another writing format, called yokogaki
(横書き?). This writing format is horizontal and reads from left to
right, just like English.
A book printed in tategaki opens from what a Westerner would call the
back, while a book printed in yokogaki opens from what traditionally
in Japan would have been considered the back.
—Wikipedia


My hero academia season 3 ep 13 My hero academia season 3 ep 13 what is the ost when they going in dormitory? (First minutes)

The OST is : Watashi Kara Kimi e
(Season 2 OST)

Here's a link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr3G4zTyP50


What is Naruto's second element? After a long time of hard work, most ninja get a second Nature element. While Naruto's first one is wind, I don't recall his second one being mentioned.

What was Naruto's second nature ability?

Naruto's natural affinity is Wind Release, which he learned from Asuma Sarutobi to flow into his weapons to increase their offensive might.

Via Six Paths Sage Mode, Naruto can utilize all Five Nature Transformations, as well as Yin–Yang Release. He can make perfect use of the latter to revitalise life-forces, heal whomever he touches, and even restore missing organs. This ability, however, has its limits as he was unable to fully restore Might Guy's leg after his use of Night Guy, or save Obito Uchiha from Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones.

With chakra from the Tailed Beasts, Naruto can also use Kekkei Genkai such as the Magnet Release, Lava Release, and Boil Release from Shukaku, Son Gokū, and Kokuō, respectively.

TOP-LEFT: Sage Art: Magnet Release Rasengan
LOWER-LEFT: Sage Art: Lava Release Rasenshuriken
RIGHT: Boil Release: Unrivalled Strength (Naruto uses in Manga only as of 4/11/2016)


What does Ikumi mean by "Sand that looks like it's from Koshien"? In the anime Jinsei - Episode 2, a boy asks them advice on what to give his friend as a Birthday present that doesn't come off as cheap.

Ikumi gives this advice:

I googled Koshien and all I was able to figure out was that it's a Baseball stadium built for High School tournaments. Does this mean that Koshien is a very important place in Japan? But even if that is so, why sand?

I hope someone can explain this to me. Thanks!

Koshien Stadium is the site of the finals of two national baseball tournaments for high schoolers in Japan (referred to as "Spring Koshien" and "Summer Koshien"). Making it to Koshien means that your team is extremely successful, one of the best in the country. Making it to either of these is a dream for many Japanese high schoolers who play baseball. Players who make it to Koshien often have successful professional careers after high school. In addition the sand from Koshien is literally a sacred object in Shintoism (there is a shrine outside the stadium). Losing teams at Koshien are allowed to take a bag of the sand home as a souvenir, which is to teach them the value of earnest effort even in defeat and supposedly holds life lessons.

As such, for many Japanese high schoolers, Koshien (and anything associated to it, especially the sand) is something of a dream. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan, and these tournaments are famous enough that almost every Japanese person would know them and understand this reference.

For a sports-fan like Ikumi, this seems like a perfect present. The fake Koshien sand is actually quite cheap, but it seems valuable given the history and tradition.


What's the difference between streaming anime via Steam and Crunchyroll? On the Steam anime sale a little while back, I noticed that Steam has added support for steaming anime. One example is Gintama. When this sale was on, there was a large banner saying these streams have something to do with Crunchyroll, whilst not as apparent anymore, you can still see this connection in Steam by visiting the 'Visit the website' button in the store. Which for Gintama, takes us to this Crunchyroll page.

For the complete list of these you can visit the Anime Streaming Videos Steam Store page.
Where the Crunchyroll streams, for me, start at Gintama and ends at Izetta: The Last Witch.

Are these streamed via Crunchyroll?
If so, what advantages and disadvantages do I have for paying and streaming them through Steam, rather than Crunchyroll?

In technical terms, there is little different between the anime on the two source platforms. There are some minor encoding improvements with the steam release, but this is probably not a strict attribute of the content

I imagine it is more likely that Crunchyroll has an older version of their encoder on Steam videos in the internal rush to get the partnership out (Purely a hunch, but as a software developer myself, many companies work in a MVP "Minimal Viable Product" release environment, and do cleanup later).

Therefore, I would assume that their encoding is likely to change, even if they do not update to their site's encoder, they have a team of developers working on their encoders to try to get maximum performance out of their servers (this caused some backlash when Crunchyroll degraded quality substancially  in the past).

For comparisons of image encoding, see this Reddit thread.

There are a few licensing differences between streaming via a Crunchyroll subscription and purchasing a title to stream on Steam.

The most significant of which is that a purchased title will not expire. Often Crunchyroll will expire titles that are underperforming in exchange for newer titles. When you purchase a title on Steam, you do not have to worry about this happening.

Also of course, you do not have to pay recurring payments to keep access to your titles.

Thanks to @Peilonrayz for pointing out that Stream releases are also censored.

I believe the partnership with Steam is mostly a strategic move by Crunchyroll to develop a dual pricing model of their services. This can be seen also with the introduction of their Manga Store, for manga that are unavailable with their subscription.

Partnership with Steam also gives Crunchyroll access to a significant target market. Anime and Gaming overlaps significantly.

I imagine that this is mostly driven by growth goals set by investors and demand from publishers - Similar to the Spotify or Youtube model, streaming does not net much money for a series per view ( Crunchyroll claims counter to this, but has not provided figures to date ) - however, if titles are sold individually they can net much more. For larger series in particular, this is a much more lucrative option.

I imagine that in the future we will see this pricing model develop further.

--

TLDR: There is not much difference than the way you would like to pay for the content. This move is more motivated by investors and producers


What's the song when Mikasa talks to her squad leader while on the mission helping Eren to seal the wall with a rock in episode 12? On season 1 episode 12, there's a song when Mikasa talks to her squad leader while on a mission helping Eren to seal the wall with a rock, as shown on the following picture.

What's that song?

It’s Vogel im Kafig. It’s on the OST or you can find it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/M2LdF1RlSL0.


What game are António, Carlos and Jobim playing? In Cowboy Bebop, there are three men that are seen recurrently: António, Carlos and Jobim.
They are most often found playing cards.

What game are they playing? I don't remember it ever being stated in the anime. Was it ever stated elsewhere?

It was never revealed in the anime and it isn't said on the wiki or anywhere else of relevance.

  They seem on speaking terms with many supporting characters, and
  though they run into the main characters often there is not much
  attention paid to them (or even mention that the main characters have
  seen them before).

This is the closest I have ever seen their mention to a card game.

  ... Spike
  and Jet have arrived and ready to hit the tables, with Jet having a
  good feeling after having a dream involving Charlie Parker. The two
  split off with Jet playing the slots while Spike mills around the
  tables, gaining some chips after helping three old men win a card
  game. Eventually he settles on a Blackjack table where Alice is
  dealing ...

Here are all the episodes they have been featured in and it isn't said or shown in any. So it was never stated and in general they mainly acted as comic relief.


How did the first vampire come into existence? The question is simple. What is the origin of these vampires? Where did they come from? How did the first PURE vampire come into existence?

The oldest known vampire is alucard. He came to be a vampire by drinking the blood of the fallen from a battlefieled thus dropping his belief in god and turning into an unholy creature.


Why does Himura Kenshin say ～ござる (~gozaru) at end of every sentence? Why does Himura always end almost every sentence with gozaru in this show? Is this normal for people in that time period?

～ござる is commonly known as a more polite way of ending a sentence, but it's also common in historical dramas because it is a bit archaic-sounding. ANN has an entry on this in their lexicon here. A more detailed analysis of Kenshin's speech patterns can be found here.

EDIT: It was pointed out in chat that there's a closely related question with a really good answer on the Japanese  Stack Exchange.


What are the processes involved betwen job submission and rewards? According to Fairy Tail Wiki, there are different types of jobs with different levels of difficulty. From my understanding, any guild member can apply for the job and gets permission according to their level. There are some exceptions where the client ask for specific candidate(s), like in the case of Warrod Sequen. Marijane seems to be involved in job processing.

So I want to know the details on how the jobs are processed - from the moment the client submits the job to when the client rewards for job completion. If there are any other processes that are not mention below, feel free to add them to the list.

Are jobs submitted to every guild as advertisement or only to a specific Guild?
Is every job accepted by guild? And who is responsible for this?
Who is responsible for assigning the ranks of the jobs and giving permission to guild members to take the job if requested?
How does the payment work after the jobs are completed?
What happens when the mission fails?

If different guilds have different processes, then please use Fairy Tail guild as example.

Okay after doing some research I will try to answer this to the best of my ability. For a disclaimer after a few hours of searching I couldn't find a source that explain the job system in detail.

1. Are jobs submitted to every guild as advertisement or only to a specific Guild?

As we already know that there is a job board in every guild hall that has a listing of jobs that are currently available to mages to complete for compensation. We can assume very important jobs that need attending to immediately are most likely posted through every guild with the idea that enough mages will look at it and someone will accept the job. For smaller jobs with smaller rewards they are most likely categorized by locale. A mage is not going to travel all the way across Fiore for a small reward. These jobs are most likely posted only in the guild closest to the area of request. Another good assumption is that every S-Class, SS-Class, 10 Year, and 100 Year jobs are all posted to every guild hall. The reason being that there are not that many S-Class mages so they would need to be posted throughout every guild hall so the few S-Class mages have a chance to see them.

2. Is every job accepted by guild? And who is responsible for this?

We can assume that not every job is accepted and completed. This is why there are 10 year and a 100 year jobs. As for how jobs are accepted it is a safe bet that the guild will contact either the Mage Council or the patron about the acceptance of the job. For an example if Natsu accepts a job he tells Mirajane and she contacts either of the two about the job being accepted. Once the job has been accepted if there are any other guilds that have the job posted they most likely are contacted to remove the job and keep it removed unless the job does not get competed.

3.Who is responsible for assigning the ranks of the jobs and giving permission to guild members to take the job if requested?

As is known there are multiple tier levels for a mage. They are as follows: Guild Master, S-Class Mage, Mage. As we have seen in the anime there was a special area in the Fairy Tail guild hall that was only accessible for the S-Class mages. This is most likely a first check system in place so that regular mages are not allowed to accept S-Class jobs. It is also very likely that the Magic Council has detailed lists on every Mage in a legal guild and knows exactly how many S-Class mages there are in every guild. Once an S-Class or above job is accepted they probably have to approve it before sending the acceptance to the patron. Communication could possibly be handled by use of Lacrima.

As stated in the wiki the Magic Council: " are responsible for the events caused by Mages." This means that all of the events or jobs that can have mage involvement are constructed by the Magic Council. It would make sense for them to rank the jobs because most of the Council are very powerful mages and should be able to gauge how easily a job can be completed.

4. How does the payment work after the jobs are completed?

Like with most job it doesn't make sense not to assume that after the job has been completed and verified the patron will send the payment to the guild. The guild will them distribute the payment to the mage.

5. What happens when the mission fails?

We see this happen with Gildarts Clive, he undergoes a 100 year job and is unable to complete the job. Like I mentioned earlier if the job is not completed it will go back on the board until the next mage accepts it.

Once again this is not a 100% for sure correct answer to this particular question. I merely put an answer together from research based on the different wiki's and situations from the anime. If I find an actual explanation as to how this works I will modify my answer accordingly.