How are the bijuu adapted from real mythology? I know that the nine-tails exists in many anime series (The notables are Naruto and Pokemon), as well as

   His name, Kurama, relating to fox demons across different animes, such as Yu Yu Hakusho.

I also know that the two-tails is adapted from Japanese mythology (The Nekomata, a cat with a split tail).

Does this convention apply to all/most other Bijuu?

The concept of the Nine Bijuu is based off Japanese mythology, although there are some parallels Kishimoto does not follow though completely with the myths.

It seems like Kishimoto is purposely using names with different kanji, but the same pronunciation, such as Kokuou in Naruto is 穆王 (majestic/respectful king), while Kokuou from Hokuto no Ken is 黒王 (black king). For Kurama, the Nine-tails, in Naruto it is 九喇嘛 (9 lamas/high priests), the real life Mount Kurama is 鞍馬 (saddle horse), and in Yu Yu Hakusho 蔵馬 (hiding/ownership/storehouse horse).

The Bijuu (尾獣)

Juubi, the Ten-tails, is a reference to Ame-no-hitotsu-no-kami, the Shinto god of iron-working and blacksmiths, Datara, and/or Daidarabotchi. The former for it's ability to forge living thing out of metal and the latter for giant size.

Kyuubi: 九喇嘛 (クラマ; Kurama), the Nine-tails, is a reference to the kitsune in Japanese mythology. The name Kurama probably named after the mountain in Japan. It is said to be home of the Tengu God Sojobo and, more importantly, the location where the technique Reiki was first learned. Reiki is the art of using chakra (universal energy) to heal other people. This ties into Naruto's life-giving energy ability he gains after tapping into the nine-tails chakra.

Here is the Wikipedia breakdown of Reiki:

  "Reiki is commonly written as 霊気 in shinjitai kanji or as レイキ in katakana syllabary. It compounds the words rei (霊: "spirit, miraculous, divine") and ki (気 "gas, vital energy, breath of life, consciousness"). The ki (better known as Chinese qi or ch'i) in reiki is understood as meaning "spiritual energy; vital energy; life force; energy of life"

Hachibi: 牛鬼 (ぎゆうき; Gyuuki), the Eight-tails, is based off the Ushi-Oni, a sea creature commonly seen with an ox head and the body of another multi-limbed creature. The name Gyuuki (cow demon) is another pronunciation of Ushi-Oni.
Nanabi/Shichibi: 重明 (ちようめい; Choumei), the Seven-tails, is probably based off the rhinoceros beetle which are said to be amongst the strongest creatures on the planet in relation to their own size. The name most likely is a reference to Kamo no Choumei, a 12th century poet who secluded himself on society, took Buddhist vows, and became a hermit living outside the capital. Choumei is most famous for his writings that were mostly about nature and natural events. If you recall from the manga, two of the previously unseen captured Jinchuuriki's were outcasts that were abandoned by their village when Akatsuki came to capture them.
Rokubi: 犀犬 (さいけん; Saiken), the Six-tails, Saiken is based off the turban-shell snail demon, Sazae Oni. The name comes from a compilation of Chinese legends called "In Search of the Supernatural". The Saiken (犀犬) in one of the stories (地中犀犬) is a type of dog-like creature with closed eyes, the size of small dogs, that like underground in pairs (male and female).
Gobi: 穆王 (こくおう; Kokuou), the Five-tails, is a reference to the the hanging horse head demon, Sagari, and the ghost whale demon, Bakekujira. Typically Kokuou translates to "king" (国王) in Japanese, referring to a "lesser king," one below the emperor. The name probably is a reference to the Chinese legend of King Mu of Zhou (周穆王).
Yonbi: 孫悟空 (そんごくう; Son Gokuu), the Four-tails, is a reference to the Satori, an ape-like creature that can read minds. The name Son Gokuu is obviously a reference to the Monkey King in Journey to the West.
Sanbi: 磯撫 (いそぶ; Isobu), the Three tails, is probably based of a combination of the spirit of eaten-turtles that haunt those that harmed it, Suppon no Yurei and/or the amorphous sea monster, Umibozu. Isopu is probably a reference to the shark-like demon sea monster with a barbed tail fin, Isonade.
Nibi: 又旅 (またたび; Matatabi), the Two-tails, is a referenced to the forked cat demon, Netomata. Matatabi is named after the Silver Vine or Cat Powder a plant herb similar to a hardy kiwi vine. Used as a healing herb for cats and affects them in a similar way as catnip. When ground up, it is used in herbal teas and bath salts.
Ichibi: 守鶴 (しゆかく; Shukaku), the One-tail, is a reference to the shapeshifting racoon demon, Tanuki. The Naruto One-tail bijuu shares several tanuki archetypes. One is from the Bunbuku Chagama tale, where a tanuki transforms into a tea kettle. In the series, the One-tail is said to have been sealed within one. Other versions of the taunki tale tell of the shrine priest being a tanuki in disguise, which ties into how the One-tail was supposedly corrupted a Hidden Sand priest. The name "Shukaku" probably refers to the priest of this tale.


After seeing Sailor Moon Crystal, will I miss anything by skipping the first two seasons of the original anime? I've been thinking of intermittently watching the original Sailor Moon anime (with subtitles) to get a sense of the plot (and to have something decent to watch).

Since I've already seen Sailor Moon Crystal and I've noticed that the first two seasons of the original anime seem to more or less cover the same material (and since Sailor Moon isn't a high priority series for me), I'm thinking of starting from Sailor Moon S.

If I start from Sailor Moon S, will there be any important plot points / character details that I will not know of because I won't have seen the first two seasons?

I did view the final recap episode of Sailor Moon R (and I could follow what was going on), but there wasn't enough detail that I'm completely certain I won't miss anything.

Great question!

After seeing Sailor Moon Crystal, will I miss anything by skipping the first two seasons of the original anime?

No... and yes.

No:
You are correct that Sailor Moon Crystal's 26th episode leaves off at the same point in the storyline as the end of the classic anime's R season.  If you go straight into the S season, you will not have missed out on any essential plot points, characters, or character details.

Yes: Sailor Moon Crystal is its own canon.  It follows the manga more closely than does the classic anime, but also has points where it veered away from the manga content in ways that conflict with both manga canon and classic anime canon. So there are 1) aspects of the classic anime's first 2 seasons which follow the manga in areas where Crystal did not, and 2) aspects/characters that are original to the classic anime canon and thus not covered in Crystal. The details about 30th century Crystal Tokyo differ significantly between the classic anime version and Crystal, but this will not affect jumping in from season 3 much since that material doesn't get mentioned again much from S onward. Likewise, the R season contained a plot arc that you'll have missed about the Makaiju tree and aliens who came to Earth, and the R movie contained an original story involving Mamoru's backstory, but as they are not referenced again later, you won't notice this at all. However, you will notice that some characters you met in Crystal are not in the classic anime (for example, Ittou Asanuma is absent from the classic anime until a tiny cameo in season 5, whereas Kumada Yuuichirou is a love interest for Rei original to the classic anime starting in the 1st season). So there will be moments where you'll notice things like, "I guess I'm supposed to know who this person is," or "I see that Mamoru actually transforms by magic into Tuxedo Kamen in this version," etc.

Recommended: Watch the first episode of the classic anime, then watch episodes 8, 10, 25, and 34 (the first appearances of Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako) so you can meet them in their classic anime personalities (Ami and Makoto are pretty similar to how you know them, whereas classic anime Rei and Minako are fairly different in personality from the personas given to them in Crystal). Then jump ahead to episode 90 (a.k.a. episode 1 of the S season).


What are the different knightmare generations? In Code Geass, those gigantic machines called Knightmare Frames evolve during the show. It starts with a mere robot that can only carry a gun and it ends with flying machines, shields, and the anime's equivalent of a hydrogen bomb.

So I was wondering, what are the different stages of Knightmares' evolution?

there is a total of 9 generations or "Ages" according to the wikia.

to summarize

1st Generation

these were effective just walking cockpits according to the wikia and weren't outfitted with weapons. though we have seen no examples of these considering that the Cockpit Ejection System was developed we can imagine the normal Knightmare Cockpits with legs

2nd Generation

this generation came about after the creation of several common systemd found in Knightmares like Factsphere Sensor and Landspinner Propulsion System. this allowed for the early Knightmare Frame prototypes to be developed. however these new technologies behaved erratically so the research was outsourced to a Britannian Army Special Division, the 'Special Dispatch Guidance System Division', and a private group, the Ashford Foundation. it was also in this generation that the term "Knightmare Frame" was born

  The bipedal weapon was nicknamed 'Knightmare' by the Army but its non-offensive equipment was referred to as 'Frame' by civilians. The union of those two terms gave birth to the name 'Knightmare Frame'.

3rd Generation

research done by the Special Dispatch Guidance System Division and the Ashford Foundation lead to the development of combat-effective Knightmares. this also pushed the value of Sakuradite due to it being paramount in making the Knightmare Frames perform to expectations.

the 3rd Generation is infact the earliest generation we see in the shown with the only one being the prototype Ganymede and its test pilot was Marianne. it was this which quickly made famous and being granted knighthood before she was married. however her assassination lead to the Ashford Foundation retiring from the Knightmare R&D

4th Generation

the RPI-11 Glasgow is the most commonly shown 4th gen Knightmare and was the first mass production unit for the platform. it was also the RPI-11 Glasgow which allowed the Britannian Empire to easily dominate Japan during the invasion in 2010 and became their baseline unit for the military.

while it later becomes obsolete it is still used by the Knight police and other countries/factions use the Glasgow as their base for Knightmare Development like the Burai which is produced by the Kyoto House for the  Black Knights and the Japan Liberation Front

5th Generation

Due to Britannia's success in Japan with the Glagow this generation saw the development of Anti-Knightmare weapons leading to create the RPI-13 Sutherland design to take on other Knightmares.

6th Generation

the 6th generation showed no real improvement with Knightmares and thus is referred to as the "Missing Generation". despite this and it's seemingly overwhelming power the Gawain is a 6th generation model privately developed by Schneizel el Britannia and later (much to Lloyd Asplund's annoyance) perfected by Rakshata Chawla. also despite it being seen used more often by a 7th Gen Prototype the Gawain was actually the first Knightmare to use the Float System

7th Generation

the Lancelot was the first significant innovation in the technology and lead to the development of the Vincent series of mass production unit. however the Lancelot still remained as a unique unit due to the development of experimental technologies not found in the Vincent such as the BlazeLuminous shields

8th Generation

the 8th generation was primarily seen during the second season with advancements in Knightmares being lead by the heads of Camelot Division, Lloyd Asplund and Cécile Croomy for Britannia and by Rakshata Chawla for the Black Knights. the Knights of the round all use 8th Gen Knightmares as such prior to this (and possibly prior to Susaku's appointment as a Knight of the Round) if they did use Knightmares they were probably 5th Generation, possibly Gloucesters considering Cornelia and her bodyguards use of them.

9th Generation

as of the end of the second season this is the pinnacle of Knightmare Development with there only being 2 units, the Lancelot Albion and the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N., both of these making use of the improved Float System called the Energy Wing.

It is possible that there may be a mass production series of the 9th generation or even more generations after thus the years following the Zero Requiem however until the release of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection we wont know for sure


Which manga was being parodied in episode 5 of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei? In episode 5 of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, I think the following scenes might parody some manga. What I want to know is which manga the author intended to parody.

This is clearly a reference to the manga Black Jack by Tezuka Osamu. The doctor is referred to as "A detoxified Dr. BJ" in a previous screenshot:

The joke probably only makes sense if you know a bit about Black Jack, so here's MAL's summary of the series (based on the anime entry). Note that it would sound far less interesting if he were an ordinary doctor.

  In the medical profession, there is a name spoken in hushed tones, of an unlicensed genius physician who can save lives—for a price. His name is Black Jack, and he is a dashing, moody figure, caped in black, a Harlock of medicine, a man who lives by no rules other than his own—and the Hippocratic Oath. A man who would defy the will of God himself in the name of preserving life.

Anime News Network's trivia list for the show agrees that this is the reference being made:

  In episode 5, Dr BJ is obviously refers to Black Jack, from the anime/manga of the same name.


What is the song in Hunter x Hunter (2011) ep. 70 at 19:00? There's a song playing on Hunter x Hunter (2011) ep. 70 at 19:00. It's got strings at first and then a guitar.

I've looked all over and I can't find any versions of this song.

What is this song?

If you are referring to Hunter x Hunter 2011 Episode 70 titled "Guts × And × Courage" during the dodge ball match, the song you hear around 19:00 seems to be an instrumental version of the ending song Reason by the band Yuzu. If you would like a more complete list of the music used in Hunter x Hunter than can be found here: Comprehensive list of Hunter x Hunter Music.


Dragon Ball Super release date I'm sure you've heard the news about the new Dragon Ball series Dragon Ball Super, made by Akira Toriyama.

I've read about it and the release date is in June or July (can't remember).
We're talking about manga, right or brand new episodes?

If it's just the manga, is it already known when we can expect brand new Dragon Ball episodes?

Dragonball Super will be animated rather than a manga version and released on July 5th, 2015 in Japan

Source: http://attackofthefanboy.com/news/rumor-dragon-ball-super-go-long-100-episodes/


Can Hajime Nagumo eat monsters because he drank the sacred water? When Hajime Nagumo ate a wolf-like monster, he started to feel sick and/or die, but when he drank the sacred water he started to heal. Is this why Hajime Nagumo can eat monsters or can anyone eat monsters

Nagumo was indeed able to survive by drinking the secretions of the stone. Which in later parts of the manga we find out is actually.

   Ambrosia, a liquid secreted from the Divinity stone that heals all wounds. (except dismembered limbs)

The consumption of the wolf-like monster started the destruction of his body. Shattering his bones, destroying his organs, which would kill every normal human if not constantly healed by an external source.

Besides Nagumo, there is only one person likely able to survive the consumption of the wolf-like monster. Which would be:

   Yue, A vampire with the ability to regenerate all damage, that does not instantly vaporize her.

All though the limits of her regeneration are not yet known, and thus might also be unable to consume it.


What meaning does the phrase "Zawsze in Love" have? I've watched 16 episodes and the phrase "Zawsze in Love" (first said by Kirisaki) appears to be memorable both for her and Ichijou. But what does it mean? Is it a reference to something? Or is it another thing from their childhood?

"Zawsze" is Polish for "always."

So it's something along the lines of "always in love." The significance has yet to be revealed.

The original version is written as ザクシャ イン ラブ （愛を永遠に)

Which means more or less "forever in love."


What exactly is the Poya-gun? In every episode so far, Ryoka shoots/zaps Yuta with her Poya-gun, to which Yuta usually exclaims "POYA-GUN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

What exactly is the Poya-gun? It seems too advanced for her to have made it, but everyone writes it off as being a totally normal thing when she zaps Yuta with it. At first, I thought it might be occult-related, but seeing as how Yuta does not believe in the occult, it wouldn't make sense for one of his closest friends to use an occultic object in front of him on a daily basis.

Also, I have no reason to suspect that Yuta is not human, so his recovery is a bit superhuman if the Poya-gun is like a taser.

It's an electricity based self defense stun gun, comedically shaped like a retro style ray gun, likely of a not very high amperage as it doesn't seem to have much of a disabling factor on Gamon. People probably don't react because it's anime and nobody really cares that the 'main' is being abused by his friend. Of course, stun guns (tasers) don't actually work like the show implies the 'Poya Gun' does (as tasers don't have ranged ability, relying on you touching the arc to the victim for it to actually work.)


Source of Ichigo's shinigami power In Bleach chapter 673 it says that Juha is Ichigo's true father, so with his mother also being a Quincy,

...where did Ichigo get his shinigami powers from? (Up until this chapter, I thought he got his shinigami powers from Isshin.)

Short answer, from his father, Kurosaki Isshin.

Long answer is provided below with history of Ichigo's life.

This answer contains massive spoilers

First of all, you need to understand that Ichigo is unique in that he was born from a Quincy mother (Kurosaki Masaki) and a Shinigami father (Kurosaki Isshin, formerly Shiba Isshin). Because of this, he has the power of both Quincy and Shinigami.

During her mother's high school age, Aizen was experimenting with Hollowfication and created a hollow called White, who caused Hollowfication on Hirako Shinji and other captains of Gotei 13 to turn into hollow. The hollow, White, was then sent to attack Shiba Isshin (Ichigo's father, his family name was Shiba before he married Masaki and uses her family name). Kurosaki Masaki rescued Isshin from the Hollow but was Hollowfied herself. This caused Ichigo to have hollow powers in him as shown by White having a similar looks to Ichigo's Hollowfication form.

Isshin married Masaki and Ichigo was born. It was shown that Ichigo was able to see spirits since he was elementary school student where he saw Grand Fisher's bait and attempted to save it thinking that it was a girl who tried to drown herself. This attempt of his caused his mother's death.

Years passed and Ichigo is now 15 years old. A hollow attacked his house and Kuchiki Rukia saved him by transferring her Shinigami powers to him. This act awakens his dormant powers that he inherited from his parents. He later lost the powers Rukia lend him from Kuchiki Byakuya's attack. He regained it after training with Urahara, but this time it was his own dormant "Shinigami" powers. Notice the use of double quote there.

Ichigo fought the Shinigami to save Rukia, learned Bankai in the process. Then he fought Aizen's Espada to save Orihime, and eventually Aizen himself to save Karakura Town. To fight Aizen's godly powers he learned a forbidden technique from Kurosaki Isshin, called the Final Getsuga Tenshou. This technique caused him to lost his "Shinigami" powers.

He then regained his "Shinigami" powers after the captains of Gotei 13 and vice-captains Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia transferred power to Ichigo during the end of the Fullbringer Arc. Then the Quincy attacked, lead by their king, Ywach (some called him Juha Bach). During the fight his Zanpakuto was destroyed and to forge it he went with the Zero Division to meet the maker of Zanpakuto, Nimaiya.

It was during the forging process that it was revealed that the so called "Shinigami" power he has been using was actually his Quincy powers, which also explains why Ywach looks so much like Zangetsu. Now he awakens his true Shinigami power which Zangetsu has been suppressing.

So in conclusion, the "Shinigami" power that he has been using before he broke his Zanpakuto was actually his Quincy power which he inherited from his mother. His real Shinigami power is obviously from his father Kurosaki Isshin since Isshin is also a Shinigami. He can use Hollowfication since his soul was infused with Hollow Kurosaki Masaki sealed, the hollow White, inside her body.

As for what it means by

  In Bleach chapter 673 it says that Juha is Ichigo's true father, so with his mother also being a Quincy,

it is more in a spiritual meanings. Just like Odin was called the Allfather (means father of all), Ywach is the father of all Quincy since all Quincy's powers was born from him. This makes him Ichigo's father in spiritual means, just like Odin was father of Norse people.


What determines what zodiac a person represents? In Fruits Basket, different characters represent different zodiac symbols that they then turn into when they are hugged by someone of the opposite gender. What determines what zodiac a person represents? Is it the year they are born in? If so, what determines who becomes the cat? Additionally, does that mean that every cursed Sohma is born in a different year (discounting Akito)?

It is never explained what makes some Sohma born with the curse and some not and what animal they represent. The only rules seem to be that only one person can have an animal's the curse at a time and they must be part of the Sohma clan. The current condition where all animals are represented at the same time is rare.

Although some of the years do potentially match up (Ex. Shigure can be year of the dog 1982 and Tohru can be year of the dog as well in 1994, Ox is a year younger than the Rat, the Snake and the Dragon are close together), the year of birth isn't the single determining factor, since the ages don't match for all the zodiac members. (Ex. Momiji is the same age as Hatsuharu and slightly older than Kisa.)


Why was the masked man the same height as Minato? Tobi/Madara aka the masked man was revealed to be

   Obito Uchiha.

This was revealed in the Fourth Great Ninja War but I cannot how the masked man could control the nine tails? At that time, Kakashi, Guy and his other peers were 15 years old more or less, he should also be around that age. Why do we see that the masked man is around Minato's height?
Note: Minato was at this time a full grown adult in his 20s.

Even for a very skilled shinobi, I believe it's impossible to learn so much in just 2 years. Obito was about 13 and a mediocre ninja when he was presumed dead in Konoha and encountered Madara. Now, I know many of you might say that he was taught by Madara but at that time Madara was himself and his 80s, very weak, and his life was attached to the Gedo statue. Now in the battle between the masked man and Minato we clearly see that when Minato hits the rasengan to the masked man a whitish DNA sort of thing drips from his arm. That could have been Obito's senju DNA as his original right body was crushed but now I couldn't agree to this because of the first paragraph. Perhaps I am missing something else.

Obito had a part of zetsu attached to him , that explains the immense chakra to summon nine tails and also the height .
When the cave collapsed and the boulder fell on obito ,half of his body was under it and the other half was not after which he decided to give kakashi his sharingan . From the manga-599 onwards upto 605 , we see the entire incident happen , from the cave collapsing to obito meeting madara for the first time , he is also not able to support his own weight and hence part of zetsu and attaches himself to him and they train together since the attachment is not entirely stable .
Another reason for obito being able to summon the nine tails fox could be because he activated the mangekyou sharingan at such an early age .


What is the music at season 3 episode 18 when Yuga Aoyama was distracting the enemy? What is the music at season 3 episode 18 of My Hero Academia at 19:00 when Yuga Aoyama was distracting the enemy?

'Surpassing You' or 'Ochaco' from 3rd ost


What exactly is "Paradise"? In the Wolf's Rain anime, the goal of all the wolves is to reach a vague, nebulous goal called "Paradise". While there's a bunch of descriptions about what it looks like or where it is, what exactly is "Paradise"? Did they reach it at the end of the series? Was it just a pre-programmed, innate goal that's implanted that doesn't really exist?

Paradise seems to be largely related to many religions' interpretation of Paradise, a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless.[Wikipedia]

The wolves' Paradise is a place which, to them, is a final goal they wish to reach, and appears to be very closely linked to them. As one prophecy reads, "When the world ends, Paradise will open, but only the wolves know how to find it."[Wolf's Rain Wiki] However, it is speculated that Paradise is a place which cannot be found, but must be built.

   The goal of opening Paradise is achieved at the end of the series.  Cheza is the one who will lead the wolves to paradise, but in the final episode her death opens it, as the seeds that created her spill out and sprout when rain falls. In the same episode, Paradise is seen as a beautiful meadow filled with Lunar Flowers. However, after a short time, Lord Darcia's cursed wolf eye poisons Paradise, seen as a dark fluid leaking out of the eye and the white centre of the flowers darkening. The wolves never enter this paradise, instead being seen as true humans at a modern city. What can be concluded is that Paradise cannot be found, but it can be built.[Wolf's Rain Wiki]


How does Mai from the Pilaf gang become younger? This was Mai in Dragon Ball:

And this is Mai in Dragon Ball Super:

How does she become younger?

The Pilaf Gang gathered the Dragon Balls and wished for youth before the events of the Battle of Gods Movie. Though, it is never shown on screen, but it's mentioned in the movie and the series.

  Mai: Earlier, when we were finally about to get Shenlong to grant our wish, Pilaf-sama, you said "Make us young again!"
  Pilaf: Y-Yeah, but... there's no point in dominating the world when we're old, if we're going to drop dead right away.
  Mai: Maybe so, but we're too young like this!
  Shū: It was a relief for me. My life has been greatly extended, in dog years.


Which episodes of Detective Conan are canon? Which episodes of Detective Conan are canonical to the manga?

After watching the first ~20 episodes, I get the feeling that there are quite a lot of non-canon material so far.


Why was Kid sailing in Thriller Bark? At episode 629 and in chapter 700 we could see how Eustass Kid was sailing a smaller version of the Thriller Bark. Since Gekko Moriah has supposedly died, why is Eustass sailing his ship? What is the connection between any of the alliance and Moriah?

Im not completely sure whether this information is canon as the name is not written in the manga, but I doubt Toei didn't confirm such major news with Oda first. So what gives?

Those images does not mean Kidd is using Thriller Bark ship.

The message it wants to imply is that Absalom is the one that leaked the information about the pirate alliance Kidd is forming. The name Absa and the Thrillerbark ship hints that it really is Absalom that leaked the information.


What does this Treaty have to do with Ecchi Girls? In an email I got from JList talking about "ecchi girls" (their blog post), it talks about a Treaty of San Francisco

  Then there's one of the most entertaining character types, the ecchi girl who can't think of anything besides sex, which -- in accordance with the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco -- must always be paired with a dull-witted male main characters who's unwilling or unable to take her up on her offers.

What exactly is this treaty? and does it really have so much control over anime in which all "ecchi girls" have to be paired with dull male character?

You have two questions here:

  What exactly is this treaty?

and

  Does it really have so much control over anime?

The Treaty of San Francisco they reference is otherwise known as the Treaty of Peace with Japan. Representatives from 51 countries worked together to create this treaty at an opera house in San Francisco, CA. The treaty was ratified by 48 of the 51 attending countries, including Japan, on September 8, 1951. This treaty marks the conclusion of World War II and the world's reorganization of Japan as an imperial power.

As far as its effects on the anime industry, this is merely a joke that J-LIST is making.  The treaty has no effect on the anime industry.  If you are interested in learning more about the treaty you can read the document itself on the UN Websitepdf.

I followed up with Peter Payne owner of J-LIST about your question and his response was:

  It was just a random joke. That’s the treaty that officially ends WWII, so I pretended Japan was required to put dumb main charactors in all future harem anime to balance out the ecchi girls.

His reply in context can be seen here:
https://twitter.com/giraffesyo/status/647764344525053952


Why didn't Yukikaze vanish? In episode 20 of Tokyo Ravens...

   Natsume dies. At the beginning of episode 21, Hokuto (who is Natsume's familiar) appears to dissolve or vanish or something like that. However, in episodes 21 and 22, Touji is seen riding Yukikaze (her horse). Given that Yukikaze is also Natsume's familiar, why didn't Yukikaze vanish?

If you see episode 9 between 9:54 - 10:03, Kurahashi Miyo says, "Take this. It is the Tsuchimikado family familiar, Yukikaze. Nastsume's father sent it".

This explain why Yukikaze did not vanish

   but Hokuto vanishes after death of Natsume.

Here is the gif:


What is the current legal/licensing status of Macross in the USA? I know of Harmony Gold's claim to own exclusive US distribution rights to all Macross related materials, such as films, toys, and print media.  I also know that Japanese courts nullified the original deal Harmony Gold had with the studio that sold them the original licensing agreement based upon the fact that they in fact did not own what they were selling (it was originally a joint Tatsunoko/Nue production).

I am wanting to know if there is any chance of Macross: Delta or F coming stateside, well, ever.

Regardless of what happened in Japan, if I understand correctly what this link says, Harmony Gold owns the Macross trademark at least for US and it has renewed it until 2023 as indicated near the bottom of this Justia Trademarks page under Trademark Events

  2013-09-05 - REGISTERED AND RENEWED (FIRST RENEWAL - 10 YRS)


In Mobile suit Gundam ZZ, how was Judau able to control the separated parts of his Gundam? I believe it was episode 47 when Judau battles Hammon Karn's Qubeley. Hammon manages to get hold of the Gundam Double Zeta. In order to break free, Judau separates his Gundam (it has three components, each with its own cockpit). Then there is some nonsense about the two leaving their mobile suits, Hammon with a gun and Judau with some metal rod. When Judau returns to his Gundam, he is able to use his Newtype powers to take control of the parts of his Gundam and reassemble them.

Now, in other instances where Newtype powers resonate with the pilot's mobile suit and result in some kind of physical action, it is attributed to the Psycommu. However, this is introduced to Federation and Aeug suits until the 2nd Neo Zeon War (this was the first) and double Zeta Gundam definitely did not have a Psycommu system.

There are two other instances I found where similar occurrences happened. One was when Amuro prevented Axis from crashing into Earth in what was to become known as the Axis shock. The other was when Banagher was able to link the Garencieres with the Nahel Argama. However, these two instances involve Gundams with Psycommu systems installed.

What explanation for Judau's abilities are there? Does this supersede the realm of science fiction? Would this be a deus ex machina?

Edit: I believe my initial assumptions when asking my questions were a bit incorrect. The Psycommu system was around since the 1 year war, present in several mobile armors including but not limited to Lalah's Elmeth and Char's Zeong. In Char's Deleted Affair, it is incorporated greatly into the mobile suit designs on Axis and eventually led to the creation of the Qubeley. The Psycho frame on the other hand wasn't introduced until the 2nd Neo Zeon War. I had the two systems confused. It was the Psycho frame which allowed the Axis shock to occur and allowed Banagher to get the Garencieres into space. However, the question still stands, How did Judau manage to reassemble his Gundam which lacked the psycho frame and psycommu?

As far as I researched it was a combination of plew's spirit and Psycho Frame of Qubeley, but still no clear data can be found on this, but as a reference we can see in the final episode of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Kamille fights with spirits of his friends to destroy Paptimus Scirocco's mobile suit.


Is there an 'angel dance' outside of the Shirobako anime? In Shirobako episode 16, Ema is caught doing a little dance exercise on the roof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvlVueWyu18

CrunchyRoll's subtitles call this the 'Angel Dance' exercise. There's no results for that in english, but I was thinking maybe it's an exercise only really known about in Japan. For the most part, Shirobako has solid references to existing things.

Is this dance a real exercise or was it just created for the show?

According to what I read in a forum:

  Ema's Angel Exercise is modelled on the real-life Angel Exercise in the 70s.
  Bodybuilder Tsushima Seiji, under the name of Mukimuki Man (Muscular Man), comically did the Angel Exercise in the TV commercial for a sweet made by Morinaga and also in other TV programmes in the late 70s. (Morinaga's mascot is an angel, and the founder of Morinaga & Company Morinaga Taichirō was a Christian and learnt how to make Western-style confectionery in the USA.)

Here's the video of the original Angel Exercise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpF9V3nQoK4


Where/whom did Madara donate his right eye? It's mentioned in chapter 602 page 17 that Madara gave away his eye to someone... But it's not mentioned whom. He also says that his eyes aren't his own (he could be referring to his brother's eyes). Most of the Q&A discussions I came across on Google say that it's donated to Nagato! It's mentioned in Wiki too, but I haven't come across any anime episode or manga chapter stating it. Has it ever been mentioned anywhere else, to whom did he donate his eyes (or at least his right eye)?

Madara did in fact give his eyes to Nagato. (Chapter 606 Page 16 ~)


What do the abbreviations mean in Dragon Ball Z? I have watch all of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and that which is available of Dragon Ball Super, but still can't figure this out. What do the abbreviations for the different Super Saiyan transformations stand for in DBZ? For example, I've seen "SSGSS." Does this mean "Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan?" What are the abbreviations for Super Saiyan 1 and Super Saiyan 2?

Yes, you are right. SSGSS stands for Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. I know it doesn't make any sense, but according to the info I gathered, "Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, more commonly known as Super Saiyan Blue, is a form that can be accessed after absorbing the power of Super Saiyan God and then combining it with the Super Saiyan form."

For other forms like Super Saiyan 1 and Super Saiyan 2, no fancy abbreviations are used. They are generally known as SSJ/SS for Super Saiyan 1, SSJ2/SS2 for Super Saiyan 2, and so on.
There are also other forms like USSJ (Ultra Super Saiyajin), which are sometimes confused with Super Saiyan 2 or 3, but note that they are different. You can find more details on this site also.


What is the technical term for the "consecutive, discrete zoom-in shots" and what is its origin? Let me illustrate what I mean with a GIF:

Usually, the scenes between the three or four consecutive shots don't differ much except the zoom-ins (or whatever shots are used).

A variation of this technique was termed the "threepeat tilt up" by a redditor, but is that the correct technical term for this kind of shots? Would the above GIF be called a "fourpeat zoom in"?

Also, was this technique borrowed from the film industry, or was it invented in anime?

These are consecutive axial cuts.

  Axial cuts are used rarely in contemporary cinema, but were fairly
  common in the cinema of the 1910s and 1920s.


What is the name of the song in the last episode of shingeki no kyojin season 3 part 2? Appears in the anime called Shingeki no Kyojin in season 3 part 2 episode 10, from 21:52 until the episode ends, it's the last episode of the season

The song you are referring to is T-KT, the 2nd song on the "Attack on Titan" Season 3 Original Soundtrack disc 2, composed by Hiroyuki Sawano.


After Hitagi End, does Nadeko ever meet Araragi again? So in Hitagi End, Deishuu then told Koyomi Araragi to stay out of Nadeko's life from then on. I'm wondering if Araragi ever meets Nadeko after that? (time-order, not release-order)(This is a light novel related question)

Off the top of my head... They meet in (happends after Hitagi End) Zoku-Owari. But that is kind of cheating. They may of possibily met in Off-Season... But I haven't gotten around to reading through the rest of the books. Then of course there is the new season...


What is the difference between the ending in the anime and in The End of Evangelion? Are the endings shown in the anime series and shown in The End of Evangelion different/alternate or are they same but in different places?

First the history of the endings.
Gainax studio went through a huge financial crisis near the ending of evangelion. They decided to end the series anyway, and went for a low-budget ending (the episodes 24-25).

The television series takes a very avant-garde approach and focuses on a first-person psychological account of the instrumentality process from the perspective of its main characters (primarily Shinji Ikari). ref

The fanbase reaction was brutal. From death threats to graffiti, hatemail and the likes. Anno's take on that:

On Evangelion's last two episodes , which upset many fans...
ANNO: I have no problem with them. If there's a problem, it's all with you guys. Too bad.
(emphasis given because of verbal cue given by Anno himself during the interview

Later they decided to do the feature animation "The end of evangelion", retelling the ending.
You have to take in mind that Anno's style of storytelling is very fluid. He would only work on a new episode when the previous was finished:

Toshio Okada: But--the last scenes were never fixed. When I talked to Mr. Anno a month ago, he said he couldn't decide the ending until the time came. ref

Anno comments on the development of the series:

Hideaki Anno: “The development of Evangelion gives me the feeling of a ‘Live’ concert. Whatever the story or the development of the characters, I made them without a plan. During the production, whether listening to various opinions or analysing my own state of mind, I kept questioning myself. I got the concepts from this personal stocktaking [self-assessment]. At first I had intended to make a simple work featuring robots.
But even when the main scene became a high school, it did not differ compared to other productions in the same style. At this point, I did not really think of creating a character with two faces, two identities: one shown at school, and the other inside the organization he belongs to [Nerv]. The impression of ‘Live’ concert that gives me the birth of Eva, was the team joining me in developing it, in the manner of an improvisation: someone plays the guitar and, in response, the drums and bass are added. The performance ended with the TV broadcasting ending. We only started working on the next script once the previous one was done. ref

So they made the film with the new ending, re-telling the story from another perspective. Some classify the first ending as the personal instrumentality inside Shinji's mind, the other as the external instrumentality.
Anno, in the best "death of the author fashion", said (and I am sorry I couldn't find the source) that the "true" ending lies with the viewer. When he started to make the new movies (the rebuild of evangelion), he is simply telling another evangelion story. Like folklore, the true story is nowhere to be found, all of them are true, depending only on the viewer's impression.

Hideaki Anno:
”Eva" is a story that repeats.
It is a story where the main character witnesses many horrors with his own eyes, but still tries to stand up again.
It is a story of will; a story of moving forward, if only just a little.
It is a story of fear, where someone who must face indefinite solitude fears reaching out to others, but still wants to try.
We hope that you look forward to the 4 new retellings of this story.ref

So the truth is that the real ending is all / any of them. The interpretation of what you saw on the screen is intentionally left open.


Where is Pride's Homunculus tattoo? My brother and I were talking about the symbolism behind the location of the Homunculi's tattoo's location (i.e. Greed's is on his hand because he wants to get a hold of everything, Gluttony's is on his tongue because he wants to eat everything, etc.) and after reading all of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga three times over, neither of us could remember the location of Pride's Homunculus tattoo.

In the manga and Brotherhood, Pride does not have an Ouroboros tattoo. He instead has only a small circular mark on his true form's body.

Below is an image of said mark, but definitely contains spoilers for anyone not finished episode 37 of Brotherhood (and perhaps could be considered spoiler material for anyone who has finished episode 64).


Is the manga Yozakura Quartet still translated? I'm thinking about starting the manga Yozakura Quartet and looked the releases up. I noticed that in Japan, 14 volumes are released, the last one in October. The English list only lists volumes 1 to 5 and I've been wondering whether the translation is still ongoing because I don't want to start a manga that I can't finish.

Is the English translation of Yozakura Quartet still ongoing?

Source of the releases: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=8801&page=28

No. After the original US publisher, Del Ray, ceased publishing manga, Kodansha USA took up all Kodansha licenses, but they mentioned that it did not have any plans to resuce any other titles.


How long does a Hokage stay in power? I was wondering how long a Hokage stays in power.

The 3rd was still alive when Minato was chosen as Hokage. So was Tsunade when Kakashi was chosen. Then the same with him when it was Naruto's turn. So how long does a Hokage stay in power?

As far as I know, it's never been mentioned exactly how long they can stay in office. But like you mentioned in your question, the 3rd, 5th, and the 6th were still alive when the next Hokage was chosen. I would assume they can stay in office as long as they want or back down once they feel their successor (if they've chosen one) is ready.

(I think Tsunade mentioned something about her term ending in Kakashi Hiden. Don't take my word though.)

I made some research, and everything I stumbled upon only mentions something like this:

  The Hokage typically selects their successor.

Meaning they can select who will become Hokage once they've died or stepped down. (Something similar to what I've mentioned above.)

Continued by:

  If they die or are otherwise incapacitated, the next Hokage is instead chosen by the daimyō of the Land of Fire pending approval by Konoha's jōnin. If one of the Hokage's predecessors is still alive, they may return to office rather than select a new Hokage, as when the Third came out of retirement following the Fourth's death.

Source:

Hokage

Sorry if my answer is not helpful. I didn't find much that would help anyway. I will edit and maybe add more to it.


What are the squinting faces (>_o△<, etc.) called? The squinting face that anime characters make can express a range of expressions. Here are two examples:

From this alone we might be inclined to call it the "cute crying face." However, consider the next picture:

The character (Rokka from Shoujou Yokai) still uses the same face, but does not display sadness. For context, the character was being used as a weapon to punch a villain in the manga and was happy to be able to defeat the villain.

From sadness to happiness to frustration, it cannot be pinpointed to one particular emotion. They do have cuteness in common, although it's not always used to emphasize cuteness.

What is this face called exactly? Does it even have a name?

In the media/anime-verse, they do not have any specific name for themselves.
The eyes themselves form a part of the Wingding Eyes:

For animated characters, the eyes are the windows to the soul—literally. So literally, that their eyes become their innermost thoughts projected in very clear symbols for all to see.

For example, the common ones mentioned include:

X or +: Dead or knocked out. Comical depictions of corpses or ghosts will have their tongues sticking out as well as this.

Spirals: Dazed, confused, terrified, dizzy, or knocked out.

Stars: Excitement, determination and dreaming of fame and fortune

In the real world, these >_<, >o<, >△< are a part of Kaomoji:

Kaomoji (顔文字) is a popular Japanese emoticon style made up of Japanese characters and grammar punctuations, and are used to express emotion in texting and cyber communication.

As mentioned on the site:

Japanese emoticons are extremely diverse. Some of Internet sources state the number of 10000 but, in fact, there are much more of them. Such diversity may be explained by at least two factors:

Unlike Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, which are usually written in single-byte character sets, Japanese writing requires a minimum of double-byte sets with a wider scope of characters;
Kaomoji can express not only individual emotions, but also complex actions, objects, and even whole stories.

>_<, >o<, >△< and other expressions can be interpreted in different ways in the anime, depending on the scene being depicted, the character, the Wingding Eyes and their combination with the expression put on the characters' face.
The most common uses in anime are to depict:

Anger
Excitement
Embarrassment
Frustration
Jealousy
Pain (or to brace yourself against an incoming impact)


Why is the boot camp for the Survey Corps 3 years long? Because Japanese High School? At the ends of s01e02, the recruits are given a speech when joining the Survey Corps by Keith Shadis, and he says that they will be training for 3 years before they are expected to fight any Titans.

Why does it take 3 years to train a Survey Corp member?  That seems like a good deal for all the refugees and should have caused their ranks to swell, especially with the now overflowing motivation of urgency.  Three years of food and housing is nothing to sneeze at in those conditions.

For reference, most modern militaries have boot camps at most a few months long.   US military boot camps range from 6 - 13 weeks depending on the branch of the service. Advanced non-infantry job training may take longer.  Modern special forces may go through a number of schools after basic training, but still less than 3 years worth.  Historically, boot camps were much shorter and less organized.

Three years seems like an especially long time for a para/military boot camp, though it does correspond to the length of time in attendance at a Japanese high school, which is also a common setting for anime.  Is this more than a coincidence?

The biggest reason for that would be the 3D maneuver gear.

Modern army boot camp is held only for several months because they just need to learn to use guns, knives, close-quarter combat, learn to drive helicopters, tanks, humpvee, etc, which is easy compared to the 3D maneuver gear.

To maintain balance using the 3D maneuver gear even in still position is hard (see Eren's training). Now imagine moving around at high-speed swinging left and right, up and down. People not used to it would throw up. The 3 years are used to make the recruits used to the 3D maneuver gear so that they can move around correctly, because wrong moves means death in the jaws of the Titans.


What do vertical dots in a speech bubble mean? When I read manga, I sometimes stumble on speech bubbles like the one below. What does it mean? I have never seen something like this in other comics or graphic novels.

That's just usual dots like this "....". That's because originally, text in manga (which is in Japanese) is written vertically, like this:

Usually, I interpreted it as "The character have [something to say/opinion/thought/knowing some information] about the matters in hand, but choose not to say it yet". Well about why people that type it keep it vertical, that's their choice. And in the case with the screenshot you gave, IMHO typing it vertically looks better than typing it horizontally.


How did humans get telekinetic powers? I finished watching the anime production of Shinsekai Yori (From the New World), but was a little unsure of how the telekinetic powers of humans were obtained in the first place. Were they obtained due to natural mutations? Or was it the fault of science and modern technology? Or was it war and nuclear radioactivity due to war?

How was it that they obtained this "kamisama" power?

In part 1, chapter 7 (or, for a shorter version, episode 4), we learn the following from the false minoshiro:

It was only in the 2011th year of the Gregorian calendar that a scientist of a protohistorical civilization conclusively documented psychokinesis, hitherto thought to be a supernatural telekinetic phenomenon. [...]
Every prior experimental investigation of PK had been a disastrous failure, whether conducted in public or in a scientific facility. In 2011, however, a cognitive scientist from the Republic of Azerbaijan - Imran Ismailov - conducted an experiment in the nation's capital, Baku, that was a near-total success. At the time, the quantum-mechanical paradox in which the mere act of observing an object can induce changes in it was well known. Ismailov was the first to suggest that PK could be used to amplify this phenomenon to macroscopic levels. [...]
...The first person identified by Ismailov as possessing preternatural abilities was a 19-year-old girl by the name of Nona Mardanova. She could do nothing more than move a plastic ball, light as a feather, sealed inside a transparent tube. And yet, it is thought that it was she that caused mankind to undergo a transformation, as if she were a seed crystal in a solution, stimulating the formation of more like crystals. People from around the world followed in her footsteps, awakening a power that had 'till then lay dormant within them.

So basically, this is how it went down: some people were "inherent" psychokinetikers, like Nona Mardanova - they had abilities that normal humans didn't possess. Their abilities were, however, very limited, and not at all on the level of the people in Saki's time.
Ismailov conducted experiments on these people (specifically, on Mardanova; I don't believe he conducted any other experiments). We don't know what the experiments exactly consisted of, for two reasons: much information was lost over the thousand years that separate Ismailov from Saki; and Ismailov himself went to great lengths to ensure that nobody but he would know the full scope of the experiments.
Whatever Ismailov did, it "awakened" Mardanova. From there, it spread. We don't know how that happened either - the false minoshiro doesn't address it. It seems that once PK exists (i.e. the experiments on Mardanova happened), it spreads. Somehow. Even in Saki's time, people don't really understand how it happens - children are sometimes born without PK, despite the existence of non-PK users being an existential threat to society.


Who is Fu in Dragon Ball Heroes? So apparently in the new Dragon Ball Heroes anime an evil saiyan is going to be resurrected by a character named Fu. Who is Fu in Dragon Ball Heroes?

Fu is a character who made his debut in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. He is a mutation of the 2 main Antagonists of the game, Mira and Towa. He comes from the Demon Realm and was considered to be Dabura's successor, (Note: Dabura is the same Demon King from Dragon Ball Z whose sister happens to be Towa).Despite being an antagonist and having a rather evil appearance, you couldn't necessarily call him evil. He is a very powerful being and inherited his power from Mira and at the same time, he also inherited Towa's  intelligence, hence making him very interested in science. He was originally created in Dragon Ball Online and made an appearance in the guidebook, however, his first debut is in Xenoverse 2 in the latest DLC. You can find out more about the character by playing Fu's arc in the game.


Why not consider possibility of 3rd Kira when Misa and Light in prison? When L captures Misa and Light puts himself in prison and gives up the death note, L and the task force suspect that both of them have 'Kira powers'. Murders stop, which makes them believe Misa and Light were the only ones with Kira powers.

When murders return there could be three reasons:

Light and/or Misa were not Kira
Powers were transfered
There are more than 2 kiras.

However, they don't consider the third option.

I can see there's a leap between thinking of a single Kira and multiple Kiras. However, given they were already working with the hypothesis of 2 Kiras, why not consider the option of a 3rd Kira (without any power transfer)? This wouldn't discard Light and Misa of still having powers and thus keeping them in custody.

While it was never explicitly stated (to my knowledge) why they discounted the possibility of a 3rd Kira, I can come up with some educated guesses.

First, there was no evidence of a 3rd person acting as Kira while the first two were active.

Remember that the investigation started by looking into a single Kira.  The second Kira was discovered when Misa sent the video broadcasts as a way to contact the first Kira.  It was also further cemented that the second Kira was different from the first in the way they acted.  The second acted more recklessly (with less well thought out and deliberate actions), killed people that the original Kira would not have and was also shown to be able to kill without a name.  The only way they found out there was a second Kira is because the evidence showed there were two people independently acting as Kira at the same time.

The "3rd Kira" (Higuchi) acted in the same way as the first Kira.  This was intentional.  Light wanted to use this to alleviate suspicion that he was Kira.  By having Higuchi act the same way, there was no reason to believe that he wasn't the original Kira.  Meaning that when Higuchi was caught, Light should be (theoretically) cleared.

Second, L already had a plethora of evidence that implicated Light as Kira.  As far as L was concerned, Light was Kira.  He just needed a few more details (how Light was killing people, for instance) before he could arrest Light.

Then Light comes up with the prison scheme.  L is immediately suspicious.  Light was trying hard, almost too hard, to prove his innocence.  And L obviously couldn't take any evidence Light offered at face value.  So even while Light was in prison, L was working on the assumption that Light was Kira.  And when Light's personality underwent a drastic change when he gave up the notebook, it threw a wrench in L's theory.  Light when from a calm denial of being Kira to having a fanatical, emotional denial.  This evidence contradicted the Light-is-Kira theory.

L is now stuck between a rock and a hard place.  On the one hand, everything points to Light being Kira.  On the other, Light's behavior along with the continued killings seemed to exonerate Light.  And since the behavior change coincided nicely with the killings resuming, the idea of the power transfer was born.  And given that theory, why investigate a 3rd Kira that may not exist (and of which there was little if any evidence of)?

Third, let's play devil's advocate and assume L considered that there was a third Kira.  How did this person get in contact with the first two Kiras?  As far as the task force knew, there would be no special way for one Kira to find another (as evidenced by the second Kira needing to send the broadcasts to locate the original).  Also, how did they communicate and coordinate with Light and Misa?  Light and Misa had been under surveillance for quite a while.  Surely something would have come up that would have raised a few eyebrows, especially given the nature of Misa's messages when trying to find Light?  Additionally, if there was a third Kira, why did he show up now?  Why would he just resume what Kira was doing without making any changes?  (Remember that the connection between Kira (Higuchi) and the Yotsuba group hadn't been discovered yet.)  Every person is different (especially in their values, thinking and reasoning), so there should be at least some subtle differences between two Kiras.  And none of that showed up (yet).

Given all of this, there was no reason to assume a third Kira existed.  Investigating every anomaly by assuming it was a separate person would have led L on a hundred wild goose chases.  L was the best detective in the world.  His experience and knowledge would tell him that something else was going on.  Given that he knew Light and how smart Light was, he could very easily presume that every inconsistency could be Light's doing.  And until proven otherwise, that's what L did.  You don't throw out everything you know to be true because the accused offers an (unverified) piece of evidence of their innocence.  And given the mystic powers of Kira, anything was possible, and equally difficult to verify as being impossible.


Difference between a code and geass? Code seems to be obtained after your geass upgrades to full power and you kill a code bearer. What happens to your geass after you obtain the code? Do you lose your geass? Is code an extra power? What is the difference between these two?

When the Code is obtained, the one who obtains it seems to lose their Geass Powers. We see this happen with C.C in her flashbacks as beforehand she had the Geass Power to make everyone love her. In the scene where we last see with her Geass her Geass is now uncontrollable before the Nun admits she tricked C.C, from then on we see C.C's Geass Sigals on her forehead instead of in her eyes.

We can assume the same thing happened with Charles. At the end of the first season he uses his Geass to manipulate Lelouch's memories but he didn't have V.V's Code yet as later on in the second season when Cornelia infiltrate's the Order's Base she throws a knife at V.V seemingly killing him until he gets up and takes the blade out of his head. However at the Sword of Akasha after Charles "comes back to life" he doesn't once uses his Geass on Lelouch.

We also know that the Code doesn't have to be given/received willingly. The Nun who gave C.C the Geass powers forced her to take the code (though we are unsure how) and in the second season as C.C is about to reach the Twilight Gate V.V is seen wounded saying Charles "stole" his code

In terms of what the Code Bearer gains, from observations we see:

Ability to create contracts with others to bestow Geass
Immunity to Geass
Immortality

There is another power we only see once in the first season and used by C.C at the Battle of Narita where C.C feeds Suzaku "shock images" to immobilize him. However I am unsure if this is a power related to the Code or a natural power C.C has as neither V.V nor Charles demonstrates such a power.

Also, the Twilight Gates can be accessed by anyone who has Geass or the Code as Charles is seen at the Sword of Akasha without V.V with him at the beginning of the second season (where he first shows Suzaku the Sword of Akasha saying it's a weapon to slay God)


Who is the mysterious Programmer of Angel Beats? The Programmer is an unknown student from the anime Angel Beats. He is revealed to exist when Yuri, the leader of the SSS,

   decides to get to the root of what is causing malevolent creatures known as Shadows to manifest in the World.

The Programmer is widely credited with having created:

the Angel Player program
The AI
The Shadows

It is likely that he created the Angel Player program, as it existed before Kanade Tachibana entered the Afterlife.

It's almost certain that the AI was made by the Programmer, when he states that he is "simply obeying the rules" when asked what he is doing with the computers from PC Room 1.

Once love began to take hold in the World, after

   Yui disappeared,

The AI would have activated the Shadow program, also manufactured by the Programmer, to begin wiping out the SSS, Guild, and NPCs.

Now, the Programmer's background is one of mystery. It's a long story, so I'm going to take a leaf out of the Wikia's book here (with some minor edits).

  The Programmer's real name is unknown. But like Otonashi, he was never supposed to have entered the Afterlife, but somehow ended up there anyway.

  During his time in the Afterlife School, he fell in love with an unnamed girl who disappeared when her regret was fulfilled. Unwilling or unable to accept that, he decided to wait for her to return, which from the Afterlife School rules would require her to:

  Die during her teenage years (13 to 17 or so for a 4 year gap)
  Have a heavy regret

  If the girl lived an average of 85 years and reincarnated each time, there would be a 4/85 (teenage years)*9.83/1000(Japan death rate )*1%(Ad hoc chance of heavy regret)=~0.0004% every reincarnation. Each failure to hit this chance would lead to 85 years of waiting. A 10% chance to see her again would require 2.125 million years.

  The above calculations do not consider that the majority of the death rate is actually from the elderly rather than from teenagers.

  As expected, the amount stunned Yuri, due to the massive time required to be spent waiting. The AI explained that The Programmer lost his grip on sanity after waiting so long, and decided to create a program to turn himself into an NPC.

  As The Programmer felt that people who had resolved their sadness should not clutter the Afterlife School (much like patients should be discharged when they are cured rather than staying in the hospital), he created a program that kept track of the amount of love in the Afterlife School world. When the amount of love exceeded a certain amount, a "cleaning" program would be activated where NPCs would be changed into Shadows, which would in turn target humans and forcibly change them into NPCs, thus resetting the world into one where no humans existed.

(formatting mine)

So, who is the Programmer?

Theories are welcome if they're backed up with facts.

Here are a few possible candidates.

1. Yuzuru Otonashi

The Programmer's details match those of Yuzuru Otonashi's with striking similarities. Let's not forget that alongside the original ending of Angel Beats, Key issued another epilogue, aptly titled "Another Epilogue". In this, the main focus is another person that's arrived in the Afterlife, and he is surrounded by quiet, obedient NPCs. After challenging the reality of the Afterlife School, he is talked to by the Student Council President,

   The Otonashi in an alternate timeline, who hasn't moved on yet,

and he is told that if he has any questions about the world that they both live in that he should come down to the Student Council room. However, as

   Otonashi heads back to the Student Council room, a girl can be heard saying, "There's a rumor that he's waiting for someone."

So therefore, it's entirely possible that

   Otonashi is waiting for Kanade, and that this timestream somehow loops. Otonashi goes crazy waiting for Kanade, who has a infinitesimally small chance of reappearing in the Afterlife, but still, better than zero.

He turns himself into an NPC to be able to withstand the long wait, and creates the AI, or the "AI" to be able to maintain the requirements of the Afterlife, not allowing love to manifest, possibly therefore saving future arrivals from the pain that he has been exposed to. This may be why he creates Angelplayer, because he knows that if Kanade reappears, then she'll know how to use it, any maybe program it to move him back from his NPC state. The members of the SSS arrive after this, then, at the time of Episode 1, the timestream loops, causing

   Otonashi to revert back from an NPC.

Forgetting everything that's happened to him, the events continue their course the same way they did before –

   causing the timeline to repeat over and over and over.

2. Tachibana Kanade

Tachibana Kanade was one of the first people to appear in the Afterlife World, and also the only person who is able to use Angelplayer without help. Because she has this ability, she may be the one who programmed it. However, she has never expressed any recollection in creating the program.

3. Takeyama

Takeyama is great with computers. His behavior throughout the anime is somewhat mysterious, as he constantly refers to himself as "Christ", suggesting that he has some great power in the Afterlife World. He is the most logical choice because of his skill with computers, and his ability to interface with Angelplayer. However, he does require English translators to use the program.

4. ???

The AI tells Yuri that the Programmer existed before the SSS appeared, and turned himself into an NPC. The AI also tells Yuri that she wouldn't know the Programmer even if the AI were to say it. This, logically, means that the Programmer cannot be a member of the SSS, Guild, or Kanade, as Yuri knows all of these people. Or, the AI could just have been made to respond that way to protect the Programmer. Perhaps we may never know...


Why Gowasu didn't foresee that Zamasu will turn rogue? If Gowasu can really travel to future at any point of time, why didn't he foresee Zamasu turning rogue in the first place?. He could have foreseen this even at the time of choosing Zamasu as his apprentice?

NOTE: My answer is now complete. Thank you for your patience while I edit.
To answer your question, there are a lot of context clues given through the dialogue in each episode. I will point these out then list my answer below.
What we know
Firstly
When Beerus found out that Bulma built a time machine, he mentioned that time travel or tampering with the future is highly forbidden even for gods, and that he should destroy her right now for committing such a great offense.
This proves that gods have knowledge of time travel and have rules in-place for protecting continuity of the timeline. Also, he never scolds Whis for using time manipulation twice (once against Freeza and once to save Gowasu in the present), also proving that angels do not follow the same protocol as gods and humans.
Secondly
Gowasu takes Zamasu to a distant planet to observe a human-like species in development. He scolds him for killing a human once they went a few thousand years into the future because Zamasu committed an action that could have changed how that entire species would develop.
This proves that gods are forbidden to travel unless certain circumstances arise, but are also expressly forbidden from interacting with things in the future or past.
Lastly
Zamasu and Black both state in the battle with Trunks (the specific battle was the one where he transformed into a hybrid of SSB and SS2) that it is because of Trunks's actions during the Cell/Android saga of jumping back and forth through time that really helped them come to the conclusion that humans need to be destroyed.
My Answer
With those 3 key pieces of evidence, it is very apparent that gods can time travel and they can do so at will, but they MUST exercise a great deal of discretion and restraint when doing so and should only do it under certain circumstances.
Gowasu could have looked into the future to predict his death, betrayal and all of that, but if he did he would have arbitrarily taken actions to protect himself and changed the timeline which was forbidden. Now maybe he knew that and maybe he didn't.
However, Gowasu has stated that the role of a Kai (God) is to observe. So I highly doubt he would ever look into the future. His whole reason for even using the time ring the one time that he did was to prove a point to his student.
So in short, yes, Gowasu could have gone ahead and prevented Black's existence. But if he did, it would do 3 things:

Contradict his character
Ruin Black's existence
Make the current story arc (which I find very entertaining) disappear entirely.


Why does no one notice the 2nd generation Digi-destined in Digimon Tri? In the beginning of episode 1 of Digimon Tri, we see glimpses of the second generation Digi-destined (Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken; sorry I only know their English dubbed names) being destroyed by what looks like Alphamon.

Several (in universe) days have past since this event, so why has nobody inquired about what happened to them? I would imagine that they would be missing and somebody would notice.

Are the 2nd gen Digi-destined even alive after their defeat?

Disclaimer: This Q&A is about an ongoing series as of the time of the posting, and future episodes may reveal more on the subject or change the perceptions shown here.

Around a decade has passed since the defeat of MaloMyotismon and the restauration of the digi-world. The show did not yet disclose what happened to the 2nd generation digi-destined. It might be that they lost contact with the 1st gen, moved away, or any other explanation.

In our real world a decade is time enough to make even closest friends drift apart, more so when they are children, bound to move along with their parents when these parents change jobs or get transferred.

But I would hold my hat on that issue. It is very unlikely that Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi would allow digi-destined to not stay in touch. They even have a social network of sorts "Digi-destined of the World", that they use to warn the other digi-destined of the infected digimon returning to Earth.

So, their apparent disappeareance is more likely to be a plot device, to be revealed in future episodes. It is not like they don't care or are not in touch, it just wasn't shown on screen yet.


What is Fairy Vearth? The 'Fairy Vearth' that God Enel keeps talking about, the continuous land.
Is he talking about the moon?

Short-term concentrated cover series no. 9 "To the Fairy Vearth"

Fairy Vearth is a legendary land that Enel mentions throughout the Skypiea Arc. Enel wanted to travel to Fairy Vearth after he destroyed Skypiea. For this purpose he built his ship, Maxim.

After being defeated by Luffy, Enel headed off to Fairy Vearth, which turns out to be the Moon. There he found a group of alien like creatures - who have wings similar to the Skypieans - which Enel befriended.

Source


Why are Kakyoin and Polnareff so pleased about knowing the same hand signals? In episode 24 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Polnareff takes advantage of a dangerous situation to show off his knowledge of hand signals. A video of this can be found here.

Kakyoin recognises the hand signal as meaning "Your underwear is showing", which greatly pleases Polnareff. The two of them share some kind of elaborate handshake to mark the occasion, the eyes of both characters being darkened (which, as far as I understand, usually indicates seriousness).

What on Earth is going on here? Why do Kakyoin and Polnareff know this, why is Polnareff so pleased and why do they share an elaborate hand shake afterwards?

Polnareff knows this by virtue of him being Polnareff.

Combining the individual gestures and their 'translations' makes the sentence that it does.

Pan (Japanese sound for clapping) + 2 (two) + ok (maru) + seeing something (mieru) = pan-tsu (underwear) + maru (entire) + mieru (can see)

Only Kakyoin is able to decipher what he's trying to say, since NO ONE ELSE chimes in, and they both share a bonding moment. That bonding moment is the amazing handshake, and their eyes darken to reflect the solemnity of the bro-ment.


What is the cause of Gangsta.'s drop in animation quality? What happened to the animation quality in the anime Gangsta.? Everything was so detailed and "perfect" to the last detail in the first couple of episodes, but it substantially seemed to drop its quality. Any reason for it?

As said @ton.yeung said and as stated in this article, the studio producing Gangsta, Manglobe Studio, went bankrupt :

  According to animeanime.biz , Manglobe Studio began procedures for bankruptcy on Sept. 29th after months of insolvency. The news of Manglobe Studio’s bankruptcy proceedings wasn’t common knowledge.

Therefore the quality dropped.

For the same reason (obviously), you should not expect a second season or another content related to Gansta, but there can still be a chance that another studio produces it if the Intellectual Proprety of Gangsta get sold.


Is there any other characters with 2 quirks like Todoroki? So it's stated in the last episode of season 3 of the anime that Todoroki actually has 2 quirks (it counts as 2 quirks) when students ask if Mirio has 2 quirks (it stated that he has only one, permeation, the "instant transmission" he uses is an application of permeation). So I wondered , is there any other characters with 2 quirks like Todoroki in the series?

I'll start by saying that Todoroki actually only has one quirk, called "Half-Cold Half-Hot", which is a hybrid of Endeavor's "Hellflame" quirk and his mom's ice quirk. At this point in the anime (I haven't read the manga), there are no characters that have naturally been born with more than a single quirk.

Hybrid quirks are not unheard of, since Todoroki explains the concept of quirk marriages in episode 20. Quirk marriages ensure either that a certain quirk is passed down for generations, or that two quirks are combined to create an even more powerful one, in the case of Todoroki.

That said, the characters in the anime that have been known to have more than one quirk are as follows:

The nine owners of One For All* (All Might, Deku, Nana Shimura, etc)
All For One
At least 17 Nomu (I count 13 at the Nomu factory, plus the 3 killed when Shigaraki loosed them on Hosu, plus the one from the USJ attack).

This makes for a total of 27 people with more than one quirk.

As well, during All For One's time in power before All Might defeated him, he may have used his quirk to transfer quirks to any number of individuals. It's unknown how many of them may still be alive, or whether they could pass these artificially inherited quirks down to their children naturally.

  * One For All is a combination of two quirks - a quirk that allows you to stockpile power in your body, and  a quirk that allows you to transfer quirks, as explained by All Might.


Details about the Crystal ball in the first episodes of Naruto I was starting Naruto and noticed the Hokage using a crystal ball to watch Naruto.

1) How does the crystal ball work?

2) What's its range?

3) What are its limitations?

4) Does any of the other characters in future episodes use it (tag spoilers)?

Much like many of the original concepts of the series (See, the Kawarimi no Jutsu), most of the "magical"-like aspects of the world has been scrapped, probably in hopes of the fans forgetting about them because they made no sense and had no explanation.

The Third Hokage's crystal ball is like that.

Not much had been explicitly explained, but it could be argued that the crystal ball is a display for surveillance cameras or other similar sensors, pre-set all over the village. This is only a wild theory though, it has no basis in the series whatsoever.


In Overlord, Carne Village has a big silver area towards the middle. What is it? (picture in description) It looks kind of like a lake or a large structure. Maybe it's just an opening with stone, dirt, or clay as the ground. Do you know?

If I remember correctly, that was a tower where the bell is situated.

  When the bell in the middle of the village square rang to signal noon, everyone would take a break for lunch time.

And no, that's not a lake. That's just a large open area with no structures in it apart from the bell.


How was The Dwarf in the Flask created? In the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, it was revealed that

   The Dwarf in the Flask was an experiment of the King of Xerxes and that it has Van Hohenheim's blood.

But it wasn't explained what method was used to create him. So, how was The Dwarf in the Flask created? Was it ever explained in the manga?

The backstory of van Hohenheim and Father is discussed in chapter 74 and 75. All we see is this:

The Dwarf in the Flask talks to slave no. 23, whom he names.
Van Hohenheim is taught to read and write, and ends up in a better position in the household.
The king wants immortality, and the homunculus tricks him and destroys the whole country, excepting Hohenheim.

The only thing relevant in these chapters to how the homunculus was created is this: it notes that blood was taken from Hohenheim to create the homunculus.

From chapter 74:

The notion that they have blood relation is repeated later in chapter 75, but this is the main thing we ever get as to the origin of the Dwarf in the Flask.

It's possible of course that there might have been more information in bonus material to the series, but the fact that the Wikia lacks anything beyond this and that I've never seen any serious commentary on this among fans of FMA suggest that this probably isn't the case.


Anime involving a love story and two samurai/assassin villages, previously on unfriendly terms, that were made to fight each other again Please help me find the name of this anime I've watched online maybe 3 years ago. This is how I remember it:

There were two villages with previously unfriendly assassins or samurais (possibly with supernatural powers) that made some sort of pact because a woman from one village and a man from the other were in love. They were always meeting somewhere in the middle of the path between the villages. It was almost sunrise and each wanted to stay together a little bit longer.

In the meantime, some weird bad person decided the villages had to have a tournament of some sort, and scrolls were given to the heads of the families. They had a fight, maybe both died? And a crow or some bird took one of the scrolls. The Romeo/Juliet (not their real names) parted ways. Maybe some spiderwebs now and maybe the scrolls were 10 for each of the strongest warriors.

And there was fighting. In the last episode, the only ones left were the Romeo/Juliet combo. I think the Juliet was seriously injured and one of them was blind. Furthermore, one of them took some kind of poison. They probably both died at the end, but I think the weird bad person died, too, maybe in a carriage carried by people, not horses.

I'm not sure about most of the stuff, except for the title of my request. :? If anyone can help me, I'll be happy to watch this anime again. Thank you.

This sounds a lot like Basilisk.

There are two warring ninja clans, one led by a girl, Oboro Iga, and the other a man, Gennosuke Kouga, who are both secretly in love with each other. They all have unique supernatural powers. During the course of the story, Gennosuke is blinded by a spell of some sort and they both of to fight each other at the end of the series.

It's very much like a "Romeo/Juliet" type story set in 17th century Japan.

More info:

Wikipedia
Wikia
Anime News Network
My Anime List


Kekkei Tota Bloodline limit passing My question is, if kekkei tota is a bloodline limit, then how did the 2nd tsuchikage (Mu) teach it to Ohnoki the 3rd tsuchikage (who are not from the same bloodline)? Or does kekkei tota work differently than kekkei genkai?

There's no indication that it's ever specifically stated one way or another that it's hereditary, and given that two people without any blood relation have it, it can be assumed that it is not hereditary. Rather, based on Shippūden episode 268, it seems that what is necessary is, at the very least, for the users to have an affinity for all three elements that the kekkei tōta uses. However, as Dust Release is currently the only known kekkei tōta, it's hard to say if that is definitively the only requirement. The Naruto Wiki addresses this.


Can the attack titan and the founding titan be splitted? Currently Eren Jaeger has the power of the attack titan and the power of the founding titan. Can these titans be splitted again or are those 2 powers supposed to remain like this forever?

There are currently two possible ways to inherit a titan's power:

Injecting someone with Titan fluid and have him eat a Titan shifter
Wait for the Titan shifter to die to have a random person inherit it

Going by the first scenario, the person with Titan fluid has to eat the person. It has never been proven or shown that eating just a portion would also grant a portion of the power so there is no way to know. As far as I know, there is no precedent to someone holding more than one Titan power like Eren, aside from Ymir (the first one), so there's also no information as to how to split power from an Eldian holding two Titan shifter abilities. Remember, too, that Eren inherited two Titan shifter abilities from his father (the power was never split).

For the second scenario, as mentioned here, a baby will inherit a power of a previous Titan shifter who died due to the curse. It was never mentioned at all that a baby can inherit two Titan shifter abilities from someone wielding both, only that one of the Titan's power would go to a baby born after the previous wielder's death. (Notice that it's singular, not plural) This is seen in Chapter 88.


Why does Hori treat her father so bad? In the manga Horimiya, the main heroine always treats her father poorly. Is there a reason as to why she does so? In the latest chapter (57) she states that there is no room for her father in the Kotatsu. In the chapter before, she doesn't give her dad any extra stew. From what I remember, both the mother and Hori treat her father unreasonably, but I don't remember a reason why. Is there a reason, or is it just some kind of running gag for comedy purposes?

It's supposed to be a running gag, the way my friend and I see it.
Although, an in-universe reason for Hori to treat her father badly would be because of the absence of her father for most of her childhood, which forced her to manage her stuff by herself, thus giving rise to frustration.
As the Wikia page on Hori Kyousuke states:

According to Hori, Kyousuke is rude, selfish and forceful. He jokes around on serious topics and has a knack to leave for long periods of time. He is also cheap, as when he was asked by his family to eat Beluga Caviar or Sharks's Fin Soup, he flatly denied them.

Their relationship is stated on the same page as:

Despite being Hori's father, she acts cold towards him. Hori doesn't mind physically hurting her father and performs an axe kick on him, when Kyosuke tried to act cool in front of Miyamura. Later on, when Kyosuke asks Hori to prepare him some food, she comes back with a bowl of soup and purposely jams it into the back of his head. He then apologized to Miyamura for Hori's "crazy domestic violence habits".

Hence, the way I see it, these scenes depict Hori taking out her frustration on her dad in a comedic way for the users to read.
However, she definitely doesn't hate her dad, as can be seen in this page and in few other scenes.


Why does Sora no otoshimono have different ending themes per episode? I've finished watching the Anime's First Season and I noticed that every episode in the anime has different ending themes.

As you can see in this list of episodes. Heaven's lost property has different ending sequences and different ending themes for a 12-episode series anime. Is there a significant reason for this?

It has different endings because they are after scenes for each respective episode and shows what is happening after each episodes misadventure.


What's the name of the violin score played by Shaiapouf when Meruem is born? In the episode where the Chimera Ant King Meruem is born, Shaiapouf plays some vigorous music with his violin. I want to know the name of the song he played.

In episode 91 The Strong × And × The Weak, King Meruem is born. After his birth, he goes to the top of the ant hill where Shaiapouf plays a song titled In the Palace ~ Lamentoso.

This particular song can be found on the Hunter × Hunter (2011) Original Soundtrack 3 as track number 10.


What is the difference between Kabuto's sage mode and Naruto's sage mode? So Kabuto and Naruto both can use nature energy to enhance themselves, in other words they can use sage mode but when Naruto uses it his eyes become like the eyes of a from. And when Kabuto uses it, HIS eyes become like the eyes of a snake.

So my question is-

What is the difference between those 2 sage modes? Why does one make a user resemble a frog and the other one makes him resemble a snake when both are using natural energy?

It is known that where you learn sage mode affects it. Naruto and Jiriya both learned from the toads, and because of how it was learned on Mount Myoboku, they took on Toad characteristics. Naruto mastered it though, and as such only had his eyes transform, but Jiraiya took on many traits, from warts to frog like hands. Kabuto learned Sage mode from the Snakes in Ryuchi Cave, and as such took on Snake characteristics. Jugo's clan, or at least Jugo himself, Absorbs it naturally, and his personal side effect was the darker personality as he lost control.

As for Hashirama, we do not know where he learned Senjutsu, but the theory is that he mastered the Slug variant, since that is the third of the triple deadlock animals. However, Mitsuki seems to be able to use sage mode without having learned it from somewhere. This makes it most likely that if you learn sage mode from the Snakes, Toads, or some other animal that can teach you, you take on their traits, and mastery limits those traits to the eyes. If you learn it on your own, thanks to genetics or something else, you take on a unique transformation, like Mitsuki and Jugo. The best evidence for that theory is the curse mark, which is Jugo's method, but every user who transforms using it transforms differently. Again, that is a theory that just seems to fit somewhat.

Unfortunately, that is just about all we really got on it. Kishimoto did not go into full depth of quite a few things, and Sage mode is one of them. If we are lucky, then the Boruto manga might explain Mitsuki's Sage mode, and that should fill in a lot of the gaps.


How did the Hyuga clan come to be? So as we have seen in the Hagoromo filler:

  Hagoromo didn't inherit the Byakugan and could not pas it over so a clan (Like Uchiha with Sharingan) Can be born. and we see that Hamura has the Byakugan, but he leaves and goes to the moon, and we see in "The Last: Naruto The Movie" That he formed a clan on the moon and there was a whole civilization there, but before he takes off for the moon there was no mention of his romantic life and no indication that he took someone with him.

So when was the Hyuga clan formed? did Hamura came back and took someone and formed a clan? or is this just a plot hole?

Before going to the moon, Hamura's bloodline on Earth continued, which eventually would become the Hyūga clan and the Byakugan was also passed down to them.

There is no mention of Hamura's love life or his children, but at this point the only logical explanation would be that his lineage continued through someone (who's never shown in the anime) and thus formed the Hyuga.

Also, there is a direct descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki mentioned in "Naruto: The Last" movie belonging to the same clan, Toneri Otsutsuki not exactly someone who is responsible for creating the Hyuga clan.

Here's more about Hamura Otsutsuki, his lineage and abilities: Hamura Tsutsuki wiki


What is the first ever produced anime and manga? What is the first anime ever produced in Japan?

And what is the first anime film and first anime series produced?

I heard that it was Astro Boy, is that true? And what is the first ever manga produced in Japan?

What is thought to be the first anime was a 3 second clip that is 50 frames long, called Katsudo Shashin. In it, a boy writes 活動写真, which means "moving pictures" on a board. Its creator and date of creation are unknown, but it is thought to be from circa 1907.

There is an anime short from June 1917 named  なまくら刀 (An Obtuse Sword) that is 2 minutes long and a 1918 film adaptation of Urashima Taro, or 浦島太郎 that are thought to be the first films. The Kyoto International Manga Museum cites Imokawa Mukuzo Genkanban no Maki from April 1917 as the first Japanese produced animation, though the Wikipedia article implies that there were previous works.

The first color anime feature film, which is sometimes considered to be the first anime by modern standards, is Hakujaden, which was created in 1958.

おとぎマンガカレンダー, or Otogi Manga Calendar, was the first anime series to be produced and the first to be televised. It ran from 1961-1964. Astro Boy first aired in 1963, making it one of the older anime series, but not the oldest. However, Astro Boy was the first 30 minute anime series as well as the first anime series that aired weekly.

Manga is a little bit more complicated because comics existed and it's hard to draw the line between where something stops being a comic and begins being a manga. Sazae-san was a comic strip published from 1946-1974 that has the longest ever anime series based off of it. Astro Boy is more generally referred to as a manga, and it began in 1951. There doesn't seem to be one specific manga cited as the first manga, though it seems to often be consider to have begun after WWII, as explained in this.

Edit: To add to this, Momotaro: Umi no Shinpei (桃太郎 海の神兵) was the first feature-length anime, which means that, at 74 minutes, it passed the 40 minute mark to be considered feature-length.

Edit 2: Some new information has been added based on information in the Kyoto International Manga Museum


What happened to Suguru at the end? At the end of Mahoromatic (second season), what happened to Suguru?

   After Mahoro dies, the final episode reveals that Suguru was so distraught over Mahoro's death that he becomes a cyber bounty hunter who hates robots now. So he was wounded after being betrayed by his partner and then he sees Mahoro again. We know she died, but not in a way one normally would. We find that she has become the "Id" (I may be remembering incorrectly these terms) of humanity, so she's sort of still around. Does Suguru die and he's just hallucinating Mahoror or is he somehow metaphysically reunited with Mahoro?

This is a classic Gainax Ending, i.e. an ending where a lot of things happen which are ambiguous or just plain don't make sense. The trope is named after the studio Gainax, famous for these sorts of endings (see also "Neon Genesis Evangelion" or "Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt"), the same studio which produced Mahoromatic. To put it simply, things happen in the anime, but there's no explanation for exactly what happened.

In the case of Mahoromatic, this is understandable. The second season of the anime ended in 2003, while the manga continued until 2004, so at some point the anime studio was forced to either wait to create another season concluding the anime or else come up with their own ending (they chose the latter). Anime-original endings are not uncommon among manga adaptations.

Anyway, here's everything that I've managed to gather from it:

   Suguru is now a bounty hunter on the Saint-Earth colony. He works with a comrade, but that comrade later backstabs Suguru in an attempt to collect the bounty on his head. As he is seriously wounded or dying, he sees Mahoro again. Matthew also makes a vauge related comment related to "leaving something behind" as she leaves the Earth to search for more life, which seems like it may be a reference to Mahoro. It's not clear in what form she has been reborn (human, android, or something else entirely), or if she's just a hallucination. Even if she's alive, Suguru is most definitely seriously injured, and it is not explained whether or how he survives.

If one browses through forums and blogs, there are tons of speculative interpretations of this, and none seem to have any official sources backing them up. The only conclusion I can come to is that the ending is ambiguous, perhaps deliberately so. There do not seem to be canonical answers to any of these questions.

For what it's worth, the manga ending is somewhat easier to understand, but it is quite different from the anime ending in terms of the points you have mentioned. There are some similar details, so it may be that the author had some rough idea what he wanted to do but had not finalized the details at the time of the anime's ending.

   Matthew (the leader of Saint) was the original basis for Mahoro and the one who proposed her to Suguru's grandfather originally. 20 years after the events of the main story, Suguru is now a Vesper agent and works tirelessly to defeat their enemies. Matthew meanwhile is leaving Earth to search for new life somewhere else, but decides to give birth to a human girl who is the reborn version of Mahoro. As Mahoro ages she begins to remember about Suguru. After one mission, Suguru returns to his home on the Earth, only to be greeted by the reborn and newly human Mahoro. It's implied that they live happily ever after. In this ending it's clear how Mahoro was reborn, and that Suguru did not die and was not hallucinating.


Kakashi's chakra nature I haven't read the manga, but I have been watching the anime. Kakashi seemed to use earth style before inclining to lightning style.

So can a shinobi learn to master a chakra nature other than his chakra nature easily ? Or does Kakashi have both the chakra natures ?

Kakashi Hatake's natural affinity is towards Lightning Release. Being a Jonin (now Kage) level ninja, he is adept in using multiple releases.

Kakashi's nature affinity was confirmed to be Lightning Release by the use of Chakra paper, in episode 55 of Shippuden (courtesy of @krazer):

Earth Release is not his natural affinity, and hence he had learned it (along with other releases).

  So a shinobi can learn to master a chakra nature other than his chakra nature easily. Is that so?

Yes, shinobi are capable of using multiple chakra natures (eg: Jonin, Kage, Missing Nin, etc.):

  Jōnin are generally able to use at least two types of elemental chakra, proficient genjutsu, and decent taijutsu skills.

  source: Naruto Wikia

It is common (but not easy) for shinobi to master elemental chakra apart from their affinity.

In Kakashi's case, he was able to use the following Releases:

 Kakashi Hatake

From Nature Transformation article:

  Shinobi have an easier time learning to create and control chakra natures that match their affinity, although even then it may take any number of years. Shinobi are not limited to the nature they have an affinity for, and it is in fact common for jōnin to have mastered two natures. Although it is technically possible to master all five natures, it is very rare because of how much of training is involved; Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Mū, Kakashi Hatake, and Orochimaru are the only shinobi known to have done so via normal means.