Why the sisters dont have the same power than Railgun if they have exactly the same DNA? Railgun is level #5 esper, but her "sisters" only are level #2, #3 or #4, regardless they have exactly the same DNA. Why is this so?

Because Tree Diagram showed it was actually impossible to clone a Level 5 "Railgun" which was the original plan

  Before mass production of the clones could begin, the simulation that the Tree Diagram produced showed that it was impossible to create a level 5 clone of Mikoto despite genetic manipulation and use of the Testament. It showed that the clones' specifications reached less than 1% of that of the real Mikoto's, which was equal to that of a level 2.

Source: Radio Nose Project > Failure of the First Production Plan (1st Paragraph)

The original plan was to make "Railgun" clones for military purposes.

the Level 6 Shift program, the one to make Accelerator a Level 6, reused the previous work by calculating how many Level 5 "Railgun" it would take and then calculating the equivalent with the SISTERS

  However, the Level 6 Shift program – an experiment designed to make Accelerator, the strongest level 5 in Academy City reach level 6 – reused the project. The project began after Tree Diagram calculated that Accelerator killing Mikoto 128 times in battle, would allow him to achieve level 6; however, since 128 level 5 Mikoto clones could not be prepared, it was calculated by Tree Diagram that Accelerator killing 20,000 clones at level 2-3 would achieve the same results.

Source: Radio Noise Project > Second Production Plan: Level 6 Shift (1st Paragraph)

i suspect that the Level 2-3 range is because the Misaka Network is similar to the  Level Upper Network and Tree Diagram probably accounted for this (while Last Order is listed as a Level 3 while all the other clones are listed as Level 2-3, given she was made as a fail-safe to stop the SISTERS i don't think she was planned to fight as her ID is 20001 and outside Tree Diagrams 20000 calculation)

however from the beginning the second plan was designed to fail anyway because

    Aleister Crowley purposely wanted it to fail so he could have the sister clones distributed all around the globe for the massive AIM-field, which was a crucial part to his plan to eliminate magic

  but her "sisters" only are level #2, #3 or #4

Actually the only Level 4 SISTER is Misaka Worst who was shown to be difference in physical appearances (as noted by the linked Wikia, Misaka Worst is taller and have a larger chest compared to the SISTERS or Misaka). Misaka Worst was also created after Index accidentally destroyed Orihime 1 and Tree Diagarma and outside the Level 6 Shift Program


What is the Evangelion reference Araragi was talking about? At the beginning of Nisemonogatari before the opening, we see Araragi chained and handcuffed in the cram school with Senjōgahara being the perpetrator. At one point, Araragi said that he would be enjoying the moment more if it wasn't for the Evangelion reference.

What is the reference he was talking about? I didn't see anything which hinted at an Evangelion reference.

Adding onto the other answer, the exact thing that gets interpreted as an EVA reference is Senjougahara's line:

  You won't die. [Short break.] You won't die. Because I'll protect you.

It is clear that this is probably the content of the "reference", as Araragi makes the comment about wanting "no unnecessary Evangelion references" right after this line.

This is nearly identical to a line between Shinji and Rei in episode 6 of the EVA anime, as mivilar has pointed out. In that episode, there is an Angel attacking NERV, which has so far repelled the attacks against it. The solution is to use a very high-power rifle against the Angel from a distance, with Rei acting as a back-up or shield for Shinji.

Prior to the start of the mission, Shinji is worried, and asks Rei if she is scared. In response, she tells him that he shouldn't be scared, that "you won't die; I'll protect you." (The exact wording probably depends on the subtitle set.)

Aside: Naturally, this suggests that the EVA line is rather notable (something which did not occur to me when I first watched EVA). I would suspect that it has become so partly because of the pacing of the specific scene. Perhaps it's also easier to catch the mirroring of words in Japanese, as this is not a line with very idiosyncratic vocabulary. (Compare to Senjougahara's reference to Fullmetal Alchemist in Bakemonogatari, where the exact ordering or wording of "X kilos of A, Y grams of B, . . ." doesn't matter too much in terms of the ability of a watcher to catch the reference.)


Where can I watch Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko.: Henneko BBS? As the title suggests, I'm looking for the episodes of Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko.: Henneko BBS. I've been searching for a while now and can't seem to find anything regarding it, I only find the TV series (which i've already watched). So my question is:

Is it possible to watch Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko.: Henneko BBS online and when yes, where can I find it?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko is licenced by Sentai Filmworks according wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_%22Hentai%22_Prince_and_the_Stony_Cat.

If you go on the official website of Sentai Filmworks you will find the blu-ray here : https://shop.sentaifilmworks.com/products/the-hentai-prince-the-stony-cat-complete-collection

It is written :

  Extras: Clean Opening Animation; Clean Closing Animation; BBS Shorts
  (x12)

The BBS shorts are included. So you just have to buy the blu-ray.


Why is it that the majority of Gardes pilots are females? In Sidonia no Kishi, why is it that the majority of the Gardes pilot are females? I'm fully aware that they have a third gender, however, most of the pilots are taking the female form. Why is that? Was it ever been explained? Does being female help them in photosynthesizing?

First, you can't make that assumption given that there are at least 256 pilots and we aren't introduced to them all.

You are most likely referring to the ones that we see around Nagate?

Using pilots we've "met":

Hoshijiro, Yamano, Samari, the 11 Honoka clones and Momose of the Akai squad are female.

(There are actually 22 clones, 2 batches of 11, but only the first batch are in the anime as far as I remember)

Nagate, Kunato,

2 Members of Samari squad - Tsuruuchi, Tonami,

Seii,

3 Members of Akai squad - Midorikawa's Brother, Akai and Aoki.

Shinatose is the neutral gender.

  Female: 15

  Male: 8

  Neutral: 1

  The sole cause of the unbalance is the clones, that's why most appear female.

  [Why was a girl cloned? I don't know]

Note - For argument sake I've ignored all deaths.

I found this wiki to help you with characters.


What does the "503 day" refer to? In multiple fanarts and fanfic websites of Full Metal Alchemist, I have seen mentions of the "503 day". Here's an example:

I did read and watch Full Metal Alchemist and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood and I do not remember any mention of such a date. It does not match with the date Ed engraved into his State Alchemist Pocket Watch either.

What does the "503 day" refer to?

503 day is supposed to be the 3rd of May (5/03), which is the Edward x Winry day, or Edwin day in short.

There are two reasons for this coming into existence.

First, there's a jeans brand called Edwin and one of their logos contains the number 503.

Second, when Winry goes to Central City she's in room 503 of the hotel.


What exactly was Roswaal's role within Re:Zero? I have just finished the anime, and althugh given that the show did a really good job at tying up loose ends with the plot, I still do not get Roswaal L Mathers' purpose within the plot. According to my memory, he was/did the following:

   - Head of the mansion and the Mathers Domain
 - Helped with the fight between Subaru et al. and the majuu packs
 - Sponsored Emilia for the election

 ...But then he wasn't seen within the show afterwards (for the latter section, at least).

Did his character play a bigger role that I overlooked? (Or potentially in a later release of the manga that has not been anime-tized?)

Roswaal has ulterior motive. It is not shown in anime adaptation. Yet, anime covers only three first arks of the light novel. His motive is fully explained in ark 4.

   His goal is to meet Echidna, Witch of Greed. This is why he helps both Emilia and Subaru.


Why does Ganta have hexagons around his blast? In Deadman Wonderland, Ganta first has hexagons around his blast when the ball falls from the tower and is about to crush him. Later he gets it again when fighting and protecting Shiro.

The only other person who I know can do this is the Wretched Egg. So why is Ganta able to do it and have a lot more power behind his shot?

This isn't really explained in the show. As you can see, in the image below, the Branch of Sins manifestation is based on the power of the user.

However, if we take Episode 1 into consideration, we can see that Wretched Egg attacks Ganta and kills off his class mates. This is also what seems to be when Ganta should be receiving his powers. In that case, since Wretched Egg's powers have the hexagonal patterns around his/her abilities, then this would explain why Ganta has the same design, since Ganta got his abilities from Wretched Egg.


Where does episode 0 fall in the chronology? I was watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and the first episode that shows up for season 1 on Crunchyroll is episode 0. Because the show was played totally out of order, I couldn't figure out where it fit chronologically. I know it can't be before episode 1, so where does it fit?

The continuity is very slightly more clear in the novels. Episode 0 is the movie that the SOS Brigade films to show at the school festival during "Live Alive". In the novels, the Brigade makes the movie during The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, the second novel in the series, which is adapted to anime in the last four episodes of Series 2.

The novels The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya both take place before The Sigh, so the episodes based on those novels--"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" parts 1-6, "The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya", "Mysterique Sign", and "Remote Island Syndrome", all take place before Episode 0. As senshin mentions, "Live Alive", "Day of Sagittarius", and "Someday in the Rain" take place after Episode 0. "The Day of Sagittarius" was in the fifth novel, The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya, and "Live Alive" and "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00" (our Episode 0) were in the sixth novel, The Wavering of Haruhi Suzumiya. Both of these novels are random collections of shorts that cover different time periods.


Is Vegeta now capable to transform to SSJ3 or SSJG? Vegeta has achieved the SSJB power, so should we infer that he is capable to transform to other less powerful transformations seen on Goku?

How to Achieve SSJ3 Transformation

Well, there are no concrete way to achieve that form, Goku discovered SSJ3 form while doing training in the Other World. It is possible that according to Goku, time does not exist in the afterlife; as such, using Super Saiyan 3 there is easier. For Gotenks' case, they are basically geniuses at SSJ as they are 1/2 Human 1/2 Saiyan Hybrid. I covered this topic here (Are half-blooded Saiyans stronger than pure-blooded Saiyans?).

Could Vegeta Achieve SSJ3 Transformation

Also, there are no official answers to that yet. In theory, Vegeta did have the power, and he was strong and capable enough to achieve it. If he train in the Otherworld after he died during Buu Saga, he might push himself forward a bit more, making him easier to achieve the form. Vegeta witnessed Goku fighting Kid Buu in SSJ3 form, he understood that it was extremely powerful, yet it had serious drawbacks. It notably leads to extended levels of fatigue, even long after powering down. Through training, Super Saiyan 2 actually seems to be a more reliable, stable and more effective form. But, as always, vegeta spends all of his time playing catch up that he never even thought to consider a possibility of a form beyond Super Saiyan 2.

How to Achieve SSJG Transformation

This was easy. It is done by performing a ritual. It requires 6 pure hearted saiyans hold hands in a circle and transfer their ki into the Saiyan who is becoming the Super Saiyan God.

Goku is selected as the main Saiyan because you know, he's the main character. In episode 9 of Dragon Ball Super, Goku said he'll make Vegeta the next one if he failed becoming Super Saiyan God through the ritual.

Could Vegeta Achieve SSJG Transformation

In theory, yes, very likely. Vegeta could have achieved SSJG form if he's the main one during the ritual, but yet it doesn't have concrete proof on that.


Has it been revealed what Jugo and Sugeitsu found in the lair? I've been following quite closely but might have missed this. What is it that Jugo and Sugeitsu found in Oro's lair? See: http://www.mangareader.net/naruto/574/6.

Yes, it was revealed in the manga. The scroll is a Jutsu Scroll for Shiki Fuujin: Kai, the method to unseal the Dead Reaper Seal.

It was thanks to this that Orochimaru was able to revive the 4 previous Kages, whose souls were originally sealed within the Death God.


Who is the demon who saved Cell from being killed from Vegeta? In chapter #4 of the Super Dragon Ball Heroes manga a demon with a hammer appears and saves Cell from being killed by Vegeta. Who is this demon?

The character you're referring to is Gravy, one of the strongest wizards during the foundation of the dark realm. He was a wizard in the Heavenly Realm. He basically joins Demigara and Putine to Fight against Chronoa(The Supreme Kai of time).


What is the music on season 3 episode 21 of My Hero Academia around 6:20? What is the music on season 3 episode 21  of My Hero Academia around 6:20?

The soundtrack is called Hero A, here's the link: Hero A and here's the link to the instrumental if the rap isn't up your speed: Hero A instrumental


What happened between Kaoru-tan's father and Hajime-kun? Kaoru collapsed from cigarettes and overworking, so I assume Hajime went to apologize to her father for pushing her too hard, while he can't find a proper job. I understand why Hajime would do so and why he thinks he deserves to be hit, but what would her father get angry about? I don't understand why he would even want to hit Hajime.

I guess I should post this as answer. As a father, you would want your daughter to have a good husband who has a proper job so she won't be having a hard time to word in order to sustain their needs. So Kaoru's father thinks that Hajime is not worthy of being her husband and that makes him very disappointed of Hajime.


would devil fruit users be affected in fresh water The sea stone, which is the weakness of devil fruit users, was said to have the same power as the ocean, and it was said that the sea rejected the devil fruit users. I understand that devil fruit users can't swim, but if they were standing in a river or fresh water of any sort, would they still lose all their strength and be unable to do anything?
I tried to search for it, but they closed it and archived it, so can anyone help please?

According to wiki there is a nice explanation about weakness of Devil fruit. I would like to highlight few points which might help you.

Oda stated in an SBS that Devil Fruit users are susceptible to all
types of water, not just seawater.
This includes the white sea surrounding Skypiea. He elaborated on
this, saying that "moving" water, like rain or waves, does not weaken
Devil Fruit users, while standing water does. This was also shown
first when Monkey D. Luffy was in the Dance-Powder induced rain and
did not feel his power slipping away, and again when on Zou, the sea
water that Zunisha used to shower did not affect him despite being sea
water as it was "moving" water.

So the main conclusion which is given in wiki that:
Devil Fruit user will not be restricted in the water if he or she is not physically touching the water.
So according to me it might affect as long as devil fruit users are physically touching them.
Photo
Luffy and Brook losing strength as a result of being submerged in water.


Which Pokemon are animal based? I have been thinking about this question for a while now. Since many Pokemon  are based around animals, which animals are Pokemon based on? I ask for the family of the animals, such as dogs, cats, mice and so on. The complete definition is in this link.

I would like a complete list if possible.

I tried my best to write down all of the Pokemons out there, here's the list :

Bird : Pidgey's Family, Spearow's Family, Farfetch'd, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Hoothoot's Family, Togetic & Togekiss, Natu's Family,
Murkrow's Family, Skarmory, Lugia, Ho-oh, Taillow's Family, Wingull's Family, Swablu's family, Starly's Family, Chatot, Cresselia, Pidove's family, Sigilyph, Ducklett's family, Rufflet's family, Vullaby's family, Fletchling's family, Hawlucha, Yveltal
Flightless Bird : Doduo's family, Delibird, Torchic's family, Piplup's family
Ancient Bird : Aerodactyl, Archen's family
Canidae : Vulpix's family, Growlithe's family, Eevee's family, Abra's family, Snubbull's family, Houndour's family, Smeargle, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Poochyena's family, Electrike's family,
Absol, Riolu's family, Lillipup's family, Zorua's family, Fennekin's family, Furfrou, Swirlix's family
Felidae : Meowth's family, Mewtwo, Mew, Hoppip, Skitty's family, Shinx's family, Glameow's family, Purrloin's family, Litleo's family, Espurr's family, Volcanion
Turtle : Squirtle's family, Torkoal, Turtwig's family, Tirtouga's family
Frog : Bulbasaur's family, Poliwag's family, Croagunk's family, Tympole's family, Froakie's family
Lizard : Charmander & Charmeleon, Treecko's family,  Scraggy's family, Helioptile's family, Lickitung, Kecleon
Caterpillar : Caterpie, Weedle, Wurmple, Burmy, Sewaddle, Venipede, Larvesta, Scatterbug
Pupa : Metapod, Kakuka, Pupitar, Silcoon, Cascoon, Swadloon, Spewpa
Butterfly : Butterfree, Beautifly, Vivilion
Bee : Beedrill, Combee, Vaspiquin
Moth : Venomoth, Dustox, Masquerain, Mothim, Volcarona
Rodent : Ratatta's family, Pichu's family, Plusle, Minun, Bidoof's family, Pachirisu, Emolga, Victini, Dedenne
Snake : Ekans's family, Onix's family, Seviper, Milotic, Serperior
Shrew : Sandhrew's family, Drilbur's family
Rabbit : Nidoran (male)'s family, Nidoran (female)'s family, Wigglytuff, Azurill's family, Buneary's family, Bunnelby's family
Bat : zubat's family, woobat's family, noibat's family
Cicada : Paras's family, Nincada's family
Duck : Psyduck's family, Duclett's family
Sloth : Slakoth & Vigoroth, Slowpoke's family
Ape : Mankey's family, Aipom's family, Slaking, Chimchar's family, Pansage's family, Pansear's family, Panpour's family, Darmanitan, Electabuzz & Electrivire
Bovidae : Abra's family, Tauros, Mareep's family, Stantler, Miltank, Shaymin (Sky form), Arceus, Deerling's family, Bouffalant, Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Skiddo's family, Xerneas
Jellyfish : Tentacool's family, Frillish's family
Equidae : Ponyta's family, Blitzle's family, Keldeo
Pinniped : Seel's family, Spheal's family
Clams : Shellder's family, Clamperl
Tapir : Drowzee's family, Munna's family
Crab : Krabby's family
Lobster : Corphish's family, Clauncher's family
Rhynoceros : Rhyhorn's family
Kangaroo : Kangaskhan
Seahorse : Horsea's family, Sklerp's family
Goldfish : Goldeen's family
Starfish : Staryu's family
Mantis : Scyther's family, Kabutops, Leavanny
Beetle : Pinsir, Heracross, Karrablast's family
Carp : Magikarp
Bass : Feebas, Basculin
Mollusca : Omanyte's family, Shuckle, Slugma's family, Shellos's family, Shelmet's family, Binacle's family, Goomy & Sliggoo, Zygarde
Seahorse Crab : Kabuto
Bear : Munchlax's family, Teddiursa's family, Cubchoo's family, Pancham's family
Hedgehog : Cyndaquil's family, Shaymin (Land form), Chespin's family
Crocodile : Totodile's family, Sandile's family
Ferret : Sentret's family, Patrat's family
Ladybug : Ledian's family
Spider : Spinarak's family, Joltik's family
Angler Fish : Chinchou's family
Salamander : Wooper's family, Mudkip's Family
Pig : Swinub, Spoink's family, Tepig's family
Remora : Remoraid
Octopus : Octillery
Manta Ray : Mantyke's family
Elephant : Phanpy's family
Racoon : Zigzagoon's family
Firefly : Volbeat, Illumise
Piranha : Carvanha
Shark : Sharpedo
Whale : Wailmer's family, Kyogre
Camel : Numel's family
Ant : Trapinch, Durrant, Genesect
Mongoose : Zangoose
Catfish : Barboach's family
Eel : Hauntail, Gorebyss, Tynamo's family
Coelacanth : Relicanth
Discus : Luvdisc
Cricket : Kriketot
Weasel : Sneasel's family, Buizel's family, Mienfoo's family
Skunk : Stunky's family
Hippopotamus : Hippopotas's family
Scorpion : Gligar's family, Skorupi's family
Freshwater Butterflyfish : Finneon's family
Dragonfly : Yanma's family
Otter : Oshawott's family
Centipede : Venipede's family
Hermit Crab : Dwebble's family
Chincilla : Mincinno's family
Sunfish : Alomomola
Flatfish : Stunfisk
Anteater : Heatmor
Mite : Magnemite, Bergmite
Dinosaur (if it's count as an animal) : Cubone's family, Lapras, Chikorita's family, Larvitar & Tyranitar, Breloom, Lairon & Aggron, Anorith's family, Tropius,
Bagon, Groudon, Cranidos's family, Shieldon's family, Gible's family, Dialga, Deino's family, Tyrunt's family, Amaura's family, Avalugg
Dragon (if it's count as an animal) : Charizard, Gyarados, Dratini's family, Flygon, Bagon's family, Rayquaza, Palkia, Giratina, Axew's family, Druddigon, Deino's family, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Goodra

That's my full list, I hope I'm not missed one of them.

Almost all Pokemon based on animal, that we're familiar with, or even animal that we doesn't know before.

Many of them are combined from two species at once, like Eevee's evolution that have some characteristic of Canidae and Felidae, so I put it on one of the family.

Source Various articles on Bulbapedia


Can Blight be cured with any kind of water? In episode 2 of Noragami, we see that when Yato's hand gets blighted, he can remove the blight from his body with water from the Shrine he sleeps at.

However, in episode 9 Hiyori successfully removes her blight with water from Kofuku house. Are there any criteria for the water that is used for cleansing a blight?

As said on the Wikia article on Blight:

  Blight mark without phantom eyes can be cleansed by washing it away using purifying water obtained from shrines or natural springs. This method only works for a God that is injured by a phantom’s attack or a soul that is infected from a wounded God.

Even though Kofuku does not have a shrine, I guess the water at her home qualifies as "purified" owing to it being her abode, and her being as famous/worshipped as the Seven Gods of Fortune.

Either that, or she has stored some "purifying water" at her home for dealing with blights like in the case of Yato.


What are the special advantages of a ruler-type servant over any other type of servant in Fate Apocrypha? From Wiki - Fate/Apocrypha:

Fate/Apocrypha takes place in an alternate timeline from Fate/stay
night. In the Third Holy Grail War, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia
steals the Greater Grail, smuggling it to Romania. Sixty years later,
the Yggdmillennia clan declare war upon the Mage’s Association in the
Greater Grail War, pitting two teams of Servants against one another.
Jeanne d’Arc is summoned as the mediating Ruler-class in the Holy
Grail war.

Later on during the war two ruler type servants, Jeanne d'Arc and Shirou Kotomine, are revealed as the strongest servants it seems, or at least the most respected amongst their respective teams of servants. What are the specific advantages of ruler-type servants over the other servants in a Holy Grail War?

One of their primary abilities is the ability to know a Servant's True Name and all their skills. in Holy Grail Wars like the Fuyuki, Trifas and Moon Cell ones were knowing a Servants identity allows a Master a greater advantage in knowing their weaknesses, there are limits to this skill which are shown with both Jeanne and Amakusa

True Name Discernment (B Rank): When summoned as a Ruler, status information such as the true identity, Skill and Parameters is automatically revealed when she directly encounters a Servant. However Servants with hiding capacity depend on her luck level to bypass this.

Source: Jeanne d'Arc (Ruler) > Abilities > Class Skills

True Name Discernment (B Rank): As a Ruler class, he gains this skill. Status information such as the true identity, Skill and Parameters is automatically revealed when he directly encounters Servant. There are certain limits, Servants with hiding capacity such as Saber of Red's Noble Phantasm Secret of Pedigree can mask out her identity, however it depends on his luck level to bypass this.

Source: Amakusa Shirou Tokisada (Ruler) > Abilities > Class Skills
as mentioned with both Mordred's Helmet, "Secret of Pedigree" hides her identity from them and requires a Luck check which Jeanne's being Rank C and Amakusa's being Rank B. it's possible that B+ to EX might be able to negate Mordred's Nobel Phantasm however quick skimming the Grand Order Rulers none of them have True Name Discernment.
Rulers also have the God's Resolution Skill which allows them to have Command Spells. Jeanne's being Rank A allows her 2 Command Spells per Servant and can not repurpose used ones. also she can not affect Heroic Spirits if they have given up their existence as a Servant but remained in the world

When the nameless vampire previously known as Lancer of Black and Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia abandoned his existence as a Servant, this skill was no longer able to restrain him.

Amakusa did have this skill in the past but it is unranked because he has lost it with his Command Spells being his own as being a Master and the ones that were given to him by the other Masters of Red, very likely acting in a similar manner to a supervisor from the church like Risei Kotomine
Finally Rulers also have a high Magic Resistance which is always a very desired skill in the Holy Grail Wars with normally Sabers having the highest rank. Amakusa's is at the equivalent to a string Saber's while Jeanne's is the highest rank, yet Sacraments like from the church are not affected. we can probably take Amakusa's Rank A as being the base as generally Saints are what qualify to be Rulers but Amakusa was an aberration due to Einzbern Cheating while with Jeanne it's probably boosted to EX because of who she is

In addition to the Magic Resistance of the Saber Class, she demonstrates a high anti-magic from her unwavering piety.

In addition to their class Skills, Rulers are supposed to be neutral during a conflict with Amakusa probably not being neutral due to how he was summoned as the Grail generally summons a Ruler, not a Master. they are also supposed to make sure Heroic Spirits follow the laws placed upon them. ie "the dead not leading the living"

A Ruler is also summoned to preserve the laws of Heroic Spirits to ensure they won't be violated, such as the law of "the dead not leading the living", touted as the greatest law of Heroic Spirits, and to maintain human history by preserving the illusion behind the Age of Gods so that people do not know about the truth behind it.

Source: Ruler (Second Paragraph)
while it was release much earlier, a probable reason why no Ruler is summoned to stop Gilgamesh or Angra Mainyu in Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night is probably due to the damage caused to the Greater Grail and the system thanks to the Einzbern summoning Angra Mainyu who contaminated the Greater Grail since the 3rd war.

i will add that the wiki lists Karl der Große as having God's Resolution and True Name Discernment however his wiki page only lists their ranks and not what they effects are and not having played Fate/Extella yet i don't have first hand knowledge what their effects are, however they are at a lower level so we can assume they are not as powerful
Also as stated by Swimsuit Martha who is a Grand Order Ruler, the Grand Order has altered the Ruler Class

“It is expected that I have it, but… seeing that it is not a Holy Grail War, what I know is that even the role of a Ruler has come to be altered in due course, do you not think so?”

this would explain why when you look at the Rulers listed as being in Fate/Grand Order none of them seem to have God's Resolution and True Name Discernment


What is the blue glow around trunks SSJ2? Is it some sort of pre-God Ki that is going to eventually transcend him to the level of a God? And how was he able to even remotely fight black after Goku and his dad were already defeated?

There is no official explanation, but manga #24 has given a very important hint that can possibly be the answer (spoiler)

   Trunks is officially a kaioshin apprentice, he can use kibito technique to heal other people, and since kaioshins have god ki, as kaioshin apprentice he probably has some grade of knowledge on god ki.


What are Tomura's extra hands exactly? What are Tomura's extra hands exactly? What are they for and what are they made for? are they artificial or made of organic material, is it known?

It is revealed in Chapter 222 that the hands are from the remains of his family.


Does Blast have psychic abilities? In the Databook it is said Fubuki speculates with Blast having psychic abilities, and has the ability to command trillions of robots (with his psychic abilities presumably?).  And recently a video claims

 Blast read Tatsumaki's mind in the manga when he met her and rescued her, by putting his hand on her head.

I don't recall how was this shown in the webcomic but I believe the interaction was even shorter. Is this confirmed now?
Does Blast have psychic abilities?

As of what I have witnessed so far I could say this about Blast:

Blast teleports Saitama, Flashy Flash and Manako out of the underground

Dimensional Travel: Blast possesses some sort of ability to generate portals which allow him to move through another dimension or transfer objects. When Blast generates a portal that resembles a black hole to teleport himself, Flashy Flash, Saitama, and Manako, he clasps his fists together and an infinity symbol appears across his fists

So, yes he has that power which can overthrow all of the S class Hero's combined.


Why didn't Madara absorb this technique? Madara has awakened Rinnegan in both eyes. He also has Senjutsu chakra and able to perform many high level technique. One of his technique is to be able absorb all ninjutsu/element. But I wonder why he cannot absorb Gai's Evening Elelphant technique. I knew it's stated in narutowiki that:
`

  The Evening Elephant is a high-level, forbidden taijutsu that can be
  performed by those users who have opened all Eight Gates.

  This technique is a continuous assault of five punches, with each "foot" as they are referred to being performed faster than the one before. It creates a cannon of pressurised air which bears the appearance of an elephant's leg, causing devastating damage to the opponent.

Why didn't Madara just absorb the air/wind from the attack? If it's a direct hit from the fist Madara may not be able to absorb it.

This has been explained before, during the battle of Gai with Kisame.

Kisame's technique absorbs chakra from the Ninjutsu technique and grows stronger while the opposite attack grows weaker, but it couldn't do anything about the Sonic Punch, Hirodora (Afternoon Tiger). This is because unlike nature manipulation techniques Gai's Gate technique utilizes pure Taijutsu.

Rinnegan can absorb any and all Ninjutsu techniques, because Ninjutsu uses Chakra to achieve nature manipulation, whereas Gai's technique utilizes the speed achieved by the Gates to create the destructive power of his attack from the atmospheric air itself, and which can't be absorbed.

Also, it is stated in the Manga that Madara in ten-tails Jinchuriki form only Senjutsu and Taijutsu work since he can absorb all Ninjutsu.


Does the Uchiha:Senju DNA ratio matter in awakening the Rinnegan? Is it possible for a Senju to awaken a Rinnegan? Suppose that a Senju got an EMS from an Uchiha and implanted it, would he also awaken the Rinnegan just like an Uchiha did, given that the ratio of Uchiha and Senju DNA is different than if an Uchiha awakens it?

Answer given by @Ero Sɘnnin in the comments.

Not every Uchiha is able to awaken the Rinnegan. Nor can any common Senju.

It is not the Uchiha:Senju DNA ratio that governs the Rinnegan's existence. It is the Asura and Indra chakra mixing.

Also, I think the chakra ratio doesn't matter as we see in Madara's case. Although more chakra can maybe speedup the process of Rinnegan formation.

Related: What if Hashirama had implanted Madara's cells into his body?


How is Levi so fast when attacking the Beast Titan's nape in season 3 part 2? In episode 17 of Attack on Titan season 3 part 2, when Levi takes out the Beast Titan's arm, eyes, and legs, Levi is in the air above the downed titan. When Levi goes for the kill, Zeke says that he doesn't have enough time to harden his nape. (YouTube video)

Levi was in the air, reeling in towards the Beast Titan. The ODM wire was still taut but the ODM gear was set to reel speed. It's demonstrated time and time again that when people using the ODM would listen to the order from the captains/whoever was in charge, they all move at the same speed and don't seem to rehook. They just stay there.

We saw Annie/the Female Titan harden quick enough to be protected from Oluo which was really fast.

But back to Levi, there wasn't any tall freestanding objects insight, so how did he move so fast? Please don't say it was gravity. He wasn't falling, he was reeling.

First : He's using more gas. as Mikasa did in S1 E7. I pinned. but how they can using more gas? there is no valve as you can see in the pictures I've pasted. I re-watched the Episode 7 and 8 from Season 1 multiple times but they said :

  No one knows how the ODM works except engineers

so I only can guess maybe they hold gas fire button(as you can see in the second picture there is two button on the handle , bottom button is for using gas) for long time or maybe push it rapidly or push it with more power. I really don't know and I searched whole of the internet and it seems no one knows :-D

And this is how ODM is work.

Second : He's an Ackerman as it explained here :

   The Ackermans have an "awakened power" displayed by some members of the clan. Levi Ackerman describes it as "knowing exactly what needs to be done, and it lets the Ackermans exhibit physical abilities far above the average human. Eren Yeager learns from Zeke that this is because they were the result of the old Eldian Empire experimenting with the Subjects of Ymir. They can manifest the power of the Titans as humans, without becoming a Titan or inheriting any of the Nine Titans. When awakened, the Ackerman gains the battle experience from every single Ackerman before them via paths.

You also can watch this video at 3:40 for proof the ability of Ackerman clan or Ackerman family


Does air bending have a sub skill, and if it does what is it? Water has the ability to heal, earth can bend metals, and fire has lightning. I am not sure if I missed what air had if it has any sub skills.

Each sub-skill is a relatively rare skill compared to the population of that type of bending that requires special training (with one exception) to learn.  As the population of air benders has been tiny and many nuanced details of the form have been lost over the centuries. Aang was a good airbender but likely didn't know everything as he was a child.  From this we can speculate that if there was one, it may have been lost.

I have not found an example in Avatar nor Korra but I'm a little behind on Korra (which is why I didn't answer quickly).

We can speculate many different interestng ways manipulating air could be specialized for different uses: sound bending, foam bending, breathe stealing, rapid oxidation, elemental separation, forcible phase transition (that could get gory),  etc. This, however, would not have any canon support.


An anime where a girl with pink hair, half naked (or completely naked), with supernatural power making limbs explode in the first episode In the first episode, a girl with pink hair, half naked (or completely naked), with supernatural power makes limbs explode. In the first episode or the second one, she's embraced (?) by someone. If I remember correctly, she's mentally like a child, or really lacks communication abilities.

Any help would be much appreciated!

P.S. Sorry for the terrible description, it's just that I have vague memory about it.

I think you are talking about Elfen Lied. It's really crazy, especially the first episode.


Is Mangirl based off a real story to some degree? Mangirl is about a group of girls who start up their own manga magazine called Earth Star Entertainment.

While I was looking up some info about the show, I noticed that the original manga was serialized in "Earth Star Entertainment's Comic Earth Star magazine" (Source: Wikipedia). This seems to be a real company with a real website that even shares its logo with the fictional company's logo in the show.

Is any of Mangirl based on anything from the real life Earth Star Entertainment? For example, were the creators of the real life company all females or all amateurs, similar to the characters in the show?

It's pretty difficult to find information about Earth Star Entertainment, but from what I can tell, I don't see any similarities. According to its website, it was established in 2006 and its current director is Masashi Kikuta and the president is K. Makuuchi. Masashi is a man's name, so presumably, Masashi Kikuta is a man. The major affiliated talent for the anime is a woman, but there doesn't seem to be any specific link to anything that you mentioned.


Can Mirio's quirk come back on it's own? The bullet made by Chisaki reverses a human back to the time when they were Quirkless. In theory, then, shouldn't Mirio's Quirk come back on its own as time goes by, just like when one's Quirk first appears?

No, it was mentioned the the bullet that hit Mirio was a permanent one. That means his quirk is gone for good unless someone reverses his body to the state before the quirk was lost. That is why they are helping Eri control her power so that she can help Mirio get back his quirk.


What are the differences between normal version and director's cut version of episode 6? According to Wikipedia - List of Gurren Lagann episodes, episode 6 has 2 versions:

The normal version which is first aired on May 6, 2007 in Japan, titled

"Sit in the Hot Tub 'Till You're Sick!!" (てめえら全員湯あたりしやがれ!!)
The director's cut version, which is released on DVD, having a different title

"There are Some Things I Just Have to See!!" (見てえものは見てえんだ!!)

What are the differences between the 2 versions?

According to the wiki:

  The uncut version of this episode features more explicity such as:

  More of Yoko's breasts are revealed. At the end of the episode, her top falls off completely-although we still don't see anything.
  Gimmy's penis is briefly shown. (This is actually not seen as taboo in Japan, as Gimmy is considered too young to be sexualized.)

  Scenes added include:

  Kamina trying to peek at the girls.
  The beastmen fool Kamina into giving up Gurren-by offering to remove the pixellation seemingly covering their nudity. (Of course, they
  aren't actually naked-just wearing tiny, skin-tinted swimsuits.)
  The beastmen using a shock collar-like device on the girls.


What fighting style is Lancer using in Fate/Zero? In Fate/Zero Lancer is using a fighting style with 2 spears, one in each hand. After doing some research, I couldn't find any similar fighting style in real life.

Is there such a fighting style using a spear in each hand in real life, or did the creators of Fate/Zero make that up?

There is in fact a style of fighting which utilizes two spears. The Irish used to use single-handed spear combat. This style of fighting was used only by those who already had great skill in double-handed spear combat due to the requirement for greater control and strength.

In this style of fighting, one would carry a one-handed spear in their strong hand, and either a large shield or a small shield and spare spear in their right. While the combat style wasn't specifically designed for fighting with both spears at once, this is clearly where the inspiration for the movements of the character are derived. Some of the ways he strikes in the show even have great visual resemblance to this fighting style.

Add that to the fact that his character is of Irish legend, one of the most famous knights of Fiana, and that within those legends, he does have two spears among his collection of mythical weapons, it leaves little doubt that our Irish, spear wielding combatant would be using Irish single-handed spear combat.

Reference

Irish Single Handed Spear Fighting Combat Guide on livinghistory.ie


Is Dracule Mihawk really the strongest swordsman? When Shanks entered the Battle of Marineford, it was to end it. All he used was a single sword to stop Akainu (considered as the strongest in the marines now) from killing Coby.

Mihawk left the battlefield saying that he had only agreed to fight Whitebeard. So is this just a normal reason for him to leave or was he scared that he would have lost to Shanks? Because, in the war Mihawk fought with other pirates except for Whitebeard so it seems a bit contradictory to what he said while leaving.

Then there was a scene where he actually tracks down Shanks just to inform him about Luffy's first bounty. Is there any particular reason behind this?

Also, does Mihawk has some relation with Shanks or is he scared of him?

If you look at the wiki page of Mihawk

  Dracule Mihawk is a member of the Shichibukai and the first one to
  be revealed. He is also the current holder of the title, "Greatest
  Swordsman in the World.

This should answer the title question.

As for the relationship with Shanks (it is listed under the Friends list),

  In the past, Mihawk was a rival to one of the most powerful pirates in
  One Piece, Shanks. However, Mihawk lost interest in him after Shanks
  lost his left arm. He retains a neutral, though somewhat friendly
  relationship with Shanks, and is able to track him down if the need
  arises. He and Shanks do manage to get along, regardless of the fact
  that the two are opposites in personalities. Shanks is also able to
  get Mihawk to join in when he threw a party to celebrate Luffy's
  coming, even when moments beforehand Mihawk had scorned how laid-back
  Shanks was.

  Mihawk even mused out an apology to Shanks during the battle at
  Marineford, where he declares that he will not be holding anything
  back against Luffy right before going after him. When Shanks
  showed up during the Whitebeard War, Mihawk left the battle, stating
  that battling Shanks was beyond the scope of the World Government's
  agreement.

So its not that he's really scared of Shanks, but just that he relishes the Frenemy kind-of relationship with him, and that's why moves out of the battle, when Shanks enters the scene.


Super Saiyan 4 vs Super Saiyan Blue in Dragon Ball Heroes, which transformation is stronger? Super Saiyan 4 vs Super Saiyan Blue is being reported to appear fighting in Dragon Ball Heroes. Dragon Ball Heroes it's an official non canon Dragon Ball videogame and manga. Which transformation is stronger?

Note: before marking the topic as "opinion based" notice most transformations in Dragon Ball are officially ranked in order of power through the anime, manga and official guides and websites.

(with the exceptions of Super Saiyan Rage and Legendary Super Saiyan / Super Saiyan Berserker that nobody can assure exactly where they are)

(Oozaru < SSJ1 < SSJ2 < SSJ3 < SSG < SSB / SSRosé < UI)

In Japan, the Dragon Ball Heroes website did a poll on who fans thought were the strongest characters and forms in the game. You can view the same here. As per the source, SSJB Goku is considered to be the third strongest character in the game while SSJ4 Goku is considered to be the ninth strongest character. SSJB Vegeta is considered to be the eleventh strongest character while SSJ4 Vegeta is the seventeenth strongest character on the game. So based on  the poll only SSJB is > SSJ4.However, certain characters in the anime like Whis , Beerus and even Omega Shenron, who are clearly superior to SSJB/SSJ4(In Super, GT) Are a lot lower down the list(Even below Yamcha). So there isn't really a perfect answer to your question.
Final ListTime Breaker Bardock
SSJ4 GT Gogeta
SSJB Goku
LSSJ4 Broly
Darkness Towa
SSJ3 Time Patrol Bardock
Tarble
SSJ4 GT Gohan
SSJ4 GT Goku
Super 17 (18 Absorbed)
SSJB Vegeta
Super Mira
Golden Frieza
LSSJ Broly
SSJ3 Vegetto
Majuub
SSJ4 GT Vegeta
Towa
SSJ2 Teen Gohan
SSJG Goku
Yamcha
Supreme Kai of Time
Syn Shenron
Whis
Runaway Mira
Amond
Resurrected Dabura
LSSJ3 Broly
Omega Shenron
Angered Beerus


What character is this man with a gigantic, red-white-black, mace-like weapon cosplaying as in Hyper Japan? This is a picture of a cosplayer with a red vest(?), black outfit, and a gigantic, red-white-black, mace-like weapon at Hyper Japan 2019. The date 13 Jul

What character is he cosplaying?

Asking around on Discord, that character is actually not from an anime or manga but rather from a game titled League of Legends. It's a skin from one of it's characters named Jayce. Not sure if this would be considered on topic, then. I'll leave it up to those who know better.

Anyway, here's a picture for comparison:

Credits goes entirely to Discord user 'Untarnished' who identified it.


I'm looking for a manga about a girl who can smell when people are sexually aroused I just remember reading it along time ago. I think it was something like, she wakes up one day and goes to school, where she realizes some people smell funny. I think later some dude tells her she can smell when the people around her are sexually aroused. I know it sounds really weird for me to be searching for this... It's not that I want to read it thatt much, but I just remembered reading it and it's bothering me since I can't seem to find it...

I'm pretty sure it's Para Paru :)

It is a shoujo manga about a girl who wakes up one day finding herself being able to smell certain scents from the people around her. She also hears a strange voice inside her head. Later with the help of a friend, she finds out that an alien got inside and is now living in her head, and it is the one responsible for giving her the enhanced ability of smell. The certain scents are explained and analysed to be associated to sexual arousal and physical attraction, as well as dishonesty and nervousness, etc.

There are other people in the same school who receive similar abilities in taste, touch and hearing. The manga is ongoing and touches on sensitive and mature matters such as rape and pregnancy.


What is Jibril's favorite game called? Jibril only plays one game, and there's an episode (or more) dedicated to her playing the game with the siblings.  However, on the wiki page, it doesn't say the name of the game, nor can I find it anywhere else.

As I recall, it starts with an S.

Shiritori

Here's an article about it on Wikipedia and here's the NGNL version from episode 6. Players take turns saying a noun which begins with the final kana (i.e. syllable) in the previous word, words cannot be repeated, first person to take too long or say a word ending in ん (the n sound) loses since no word in japanese starts with that sound. In their version of the game there is the materialization component which is if the thing you say is present it disappears and if it isn't it is created. i.e. in the game Sora says mantoru (mantle) which causes the mantle of the planet to vanish or biichi (beach) which creates a seascape.


How much does the Chuunibyou anime differ from the light novels? There seems to be a lot of exclusive content in the anime of Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, such as Sanae Dekomori, Kumin Tsuyuri, and Touka Takanashi (Rikka's older sister) all being exclusive to the anime.

What major differences (how differently do the events in the anime play out in the light novels) are then in the light novel compared to the anime? Why did the production make such changes?

According to this post, the Director, Tatsuya Ishihara mentions in a NewType article that:

Shinka Nibutani appeared in the novel, but Kumin Tsuyuri and Sanae Dekomori are anime original characters. The reason they were created was that there wouldn't be enough characters for a TV series. Similarly, the story has been arranged to have many new elements added.
"The amount of novel material we had was insufficient even though it was published via Kyoto Animation's KA Esuma label. In short, it feels more like an original series from our company. Because of that, we put so much effort into this series. 'Make it entertaining until the very last scene!' We put in every entertaining moment we could think of and arranged them together. The end is also different from the novels. We hope you enjoy watching it until the very end."


How did the World Government know about the clash between Revolutionary Army and Blackbeard Pirates? As the recent manga release of One Piece, we all know that Jesus Burgess infiltrated the Revolutionary Army HQ (Baltigo) and reported it to his Captain BB.

My question is how did the World Government know that the Blackbeard Pirates were planning on attacking the Revolutionary Army HQ. we could take note that the one who attack in Baltigo are Cipher Pol, not the Marines.

As I remember, Cipher Pol is directly serving World Government (Nobles). Even if that Information came from marines first. How did they know? Is Aokiji a spy?

I can think of one possible solution. The black den den mushi which can spy on people's conversations. I'm guessing that the world government (CP0 or the Marines) were either near Blackbeard or near Baltigo originally spying on either Blackbeard or Baltigo (since it is a suspicious country). Once they tapped into the conversation, they got confirmation of Dragon's location.

The other assumption is that CP0 followed Sabo from Dressrosa to Baltigo. After following them and finding their hideout they planned a full out attack but got there to meet the place in ruins due to the Blackbeard pirates. I doubt that they followed Sabo since the Revolutionary army were secretive and careful about everything they did.


Are there any religions in Pokemon? From what I remember, no character in Pokemon is shown going to any sort of religious house of worship, and there doesn't seem to be much if any mention of religion/religious beliefs until Sinnoh, where there is lore following Arceus's creation of the world. Are there any organized religions in the world, worshiping either Arceus or some other deity/pantheon?

It's not a religion from the present Pokemon World, but in the manga series The Electric Tale of Pikachu (Dengeki Pikachu), in the fourth chapter (Haunting my Dreams), Brock says to Ash that in "ancient times" the people who lived near the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town worshipped Pokemon as gods:


What is the song playing in episode 20 of Code Geass R2 at 4:20? In episode 20 of Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2, there's a song playing at 4:20.

What is this song?

I believe it is Strange Girl by Hitomi Kuroishi. I did a bit of research and reverse audio searching and eventually ended up in a wikipedia article which seemed to confirm this. I found the song so you can double check it in case I got the wrong music accidentally.


Why Hajime no Ippo stop producing more episodes? At first they stopped the production from 2000 until 2009, even though the manga is released every week and has already gained a lot of episodes and popularity.
Why would they not make more chapters of anime?

Probably the anime wasn't profitable enough to mantain a stable series. Hajime no Ippo's manga sells well, but not overwhelming well despite it's lots of volumes (more than 100, selling way less than big blockbusters like Naruto or One Piece, which have half that amount), so while being popular it isn't a big hit like other series. The old-school graphic aspect may be another issue, that style don't sell well nowadays.


What happened in the hospital at the end of the anime/manga? I don't understand where Johan went after he "mysteriously" got out of the hospital.  Dr. Tenma seems to be finally OK and I don't understand how after all this, Yohan still lived.  He was the one who caused all this evil in the first place!

A fantastic anime, but a confusing one at the end. Can someone explain what happened?

Obviously, this entire post is going to be spoilers.

  It's left as an open issue at the end of the series. Johan was operated on and saved yet again by Tenma and when he went to visit Johan at the police hospital, who was in a coma originally, Johan sat up and was talking to Tenma. But later we see the same room with an empty hospital bed.The conversation at the end was about which child Johan's mother wanted to keep, him or Anna/Nina. So there may be a clue in that.

Some of the possibilities:

  1. He died after waking up from the coma and talking to Tenma (Or Alternatively, the talking to Tenma bit could have been a daydream, but he died anyways)2. He was released and he's alive and well3. He escaped from the police hospital just like the beginning of the show and continues his ways.

.

  But the focus should be on the mother and her choice on which twin to give up and which to "save" and the title of the last episode, "The Real Monster". There's always been confusion as to which was which because previously we were told from conflicting memories. Some people think that the title of "The Real Monster" is the mother, some people think it's referring to everyone and the world, how the world can make anyone a monster, or, Johan is the real monster afterall. Each of these sort of correlates to one of the possibilities.If the mother was the real monster for choosing one twin and unwanted the other, Johan dies and Nina lives. If everyone's really a monster, Johan was absolved (for the most part, maybe not criminally) of all of his crimes because the world and the people in it are the real monsters. If Johan is the true monster here, then he escaped from the police hospital and continues to play the role of the "real monster".

So it's up to your interpretation. Who do you think the real monster is?


Why is Touya hiding a phone call from Yuki? Why is Touya hiding from Yuki that Rina called him? They didn't do anything wrong. It makes him look guiltier if he hides it.

I'll try to answer this as a whole since no episode or season has been specified.

Touya feels bad throughout the entire series and knows he's not really up to much good. In fact, he pushes away the girls who has committed some form of "adultery" with away many times. For this reason, we can conclude there is at least some feeling of guilt brooded within him.

However, the most plausible explanation (note, we can only speculate as the series never says) is Touya has feelings for Rina and does not want Yuki to know they talk outside of business. Touya spends a lot of time with Rina on the job a few times during the season but it was supposed to be strictly that.

One can only assume out of guilt and uneasiness, the natural reaction was to hide personal relations with Rina so that Yuki would not think less of him.


How did the Female Titan cut Eren's titan form? After she killed the Levi squad, Eren transformed to fight the Female Titan. In Chapter 29, Hammer, it looked like Eren was having the upper hand, but then the Female Titan turned around, and with one horizontal motion, cut Eren's titan form's head in half.

How did that happen? That part wasn't clear in the anime nor the manga. Did she take a tree and smacked him? Did she harden her hand and hit him?

See page 33, Chapter 32, "Compassion" from the manga.

The previous page followed discussion over Annie as a suspect in being the Female Titan. Mikasa asks Eren, having fought the Female Titan, if anything reminded him of Annie at all. Eren then remembers Annie's stance as a parallel to the Female Titan moving from that same stance into her kick.

The stance resembles Annie's style demonstrated in Chapter 17: Illusions of Force

The text is spoken by Mikasa to convince Eren that deep down he knows first hand how close to the similarities are.


How does one start being a Pokemon Trainer without a Pokemon Professor? In the games the main character always and their rival always start off with their Pokemon Professor giving them a starter pokemon (with the exception to Gold/Silver/Crystal where the rival stole their starter from the professor). in the anime Ash, Gary, 2 unnamed trainers, May and Dawn all got their Pokemon Professor.

But given that there appears to be only 1 Pokemon Professors in each region (Oak = Kanto, Birch = Hoenn, Ivy = Orange Islands, etc.) and we have seen there is so many Pokemon Trainers in the League Qualifiers in the anime it's seems that if every trainer went to the same Pokemon Professor they would be inundated with work looking after everyone's pokemon when they catch more than 6, so much so that Oak shouldn't really have the time to be jet setting around the world like he does for radio shows.

So how does one start off as a Pokemon Trainer if they don't have a Pokemon Professor?

There are all sorts of ways one can get his/her first Pokémon. In the Black and White manga, Black borrows Pokémon from Bianca's father to have mock battles (I don't remember if he actually used them to catch his first Pokémon, but this shows that trainers could borrow someone else's Pokémon to catch their own). In the anime, episode 3, Ash Catches a Pokémon, Ash is able to catch Caterpie without even battling it, so sometimes it isn't even necessary to have your own Pokémon first. Also in the anime, in episode 4 of the XY Season, A Shockingly Cheeky Friendship!, Clemont catches Dedenne for Bonny and says he'll hold on to it until she is old enough to become a Pokémon trainer.

So, clearly one doesn't need to go to a Pokémon professor to start off. One also doesn't need a Pokémon professor to take care of excess Pokémon. In the anime episode Lost Leader Strategey, it is shown that Paul's brother Reggie takes care of his Pokémon.

Information about the referenced episodes can be found at http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/


What does the “5D’s” mean in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s? Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s is the third incarnation of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Having watched the first season (dub), I still have no clue what the 5D’s in the title is supposed to mean.

Was it just something that sounds cool in Japanese? Or is there actually meaning to it?

The 5D's is meant to represent the legendary 5 Dragons (Signer Dragons) that the protagonists (Signers) use in order to fight the antagonists (Dark Signers).

These dragons are:

Stardust Dragon
Red Dragon Archfiend
Black Rose Dragon
Ancient Fairy Dragon
Black-Winged Dragon

   This was what the initial story made to believe anyway, because later on in the series, there is one more protagonist who awakens as a Signer and obtains a Signer Dragon; Leo obtains his after a duel where his life was on the line along with his sister Luna and Jack (both of whom were originally confirmed Signers). The sixth dragon is named Life Stream Dragon


Where can I acquire a specific copy of Let's Go!! Love Summer? I am the curator of an exhibition on Easter Island in popular culture (http://www.moaiculture.com) and I am trying to track down a few missing items. If you can assist we will acknowledge you in the exhibition. There is a specific issue of 'Let's Go!! Love Summer', which appears to be out of print. Does anywhere know where I can read a copy online or purchase from a seller. Best - Ian

This appears to be the cover of a fanbook for Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!, an anime and light novel series. The back cover specifically names the Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! LOVE! sequel to the original anime, so content may be specific to that part of the series. (As I am unfamiliar with the series and also no access to the actual pages, I do not know for sure.) The title "Let's Go!! Love Summer" is a reference to a character song in the anime.

Unfortunately, the fanbook appears to be out of stock, judging from a Google Translate copy of the webpage. It is possible that someone might resell it somewhere, but I am not an expert on where to locate such sales.


Who is the woman who sings the ending song for "In the Beginning: The Bible Stories." I would like to know the name of the woman who sings the ending song for "In the Beginning: The Bible Stories." It is very hard to find detailed information about this show.

You can find the information either in the Japanese Wikipedia article for In the Beginning: The Bible Stories or the corresponding aniDB entry under the Songs tab.

The ending theme is Rainbow Blue sang by Reimy.


What does Minato's teleportation kunai say? So I've been wondering what Minato's teleportation kunai said, but I have found nothing. I can only recognize the first and second characters. The first one means Shinobi, and the second one means love. I can't understand the last two.

So my question is if anyone knows what Minato's kunai say.

忍愛之剣 (にんあいのけん 又は しのびあいのけん)

Sword of Shinobi's Love

That image is not accurate. The person who drew the picture clearly didn't pay much attention to the characters.

There is a YouTube video called "Did Naruto lose his six path sage mode" The cover photo has these four characters

Also, if you google these 4 characters, you will see there were a lot of people that have asked this question before


What's the name of the song in Naruto that plays in episode 203 at 0:43? What's the name of the song in Naruto that plays in episode 203 at 0:43?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QwXScAUvNE

The song is known as "Childhood Memories". It was not included in any of the Naruto OST releases. However, there are many versions of it available on Youtube, such as this one.


Why does Grisha Yeager have to love someone? In attack on Titan ep 58, Eren  Kruger says that Grisha has to love someone inside the walls or else “history will repeat itself”.

Why?

Probably "love" means have a child.  Mold the child's thinking and the child inherit the attacking titan with the same ideals of them. Maybe if he doesn't pass the power, the power would be lost and some new baby would inherited the power. It could also mean that in the past, maybe the attacking titan was lost during a fight and then a new born inherited the power. Which could explain how Marley only had 7/9 powers,  Padaris had 1/9, the attacking titan was lost, and somehow Kruger was given that power. Pretty much no one knew that Kruger had Yrmi's blood in him.  Maybe that caused a problem and made history repeat itself.
There are different translations, I recall only to get married start a new family, and continue the mission to find the royal family and their power. I thinks that the family was just to fit in better, and child to pass the power.


Translation of alphabet used in Konosuba Is there a complete translation of the "letters" used in the world of Konosuba? I'm talking like the ones seen on their adventurer cards. I'm positive each symbol corresponds to a letter of the English alphabet, but I want the complete list of them if possible?

Here's Megumin's card:

An enterprising person over here has provided a translation table for the letters and some of the numbers, in multiple typefaces:

Someone somewhere may have put together a more complete version; this version is from just after episode 3 or 4, and more sourcetext became available as the show went on.

As you surmise, there is a simple one-to-one relationship between the English alphabet (and related glyphs like punctuation and numbers) and the KonoSuba alphabet. However, beware: the actual text that is enciphered is not necessarily in the English language - some of it is also in romanized Japanese. For example, someone in the linked thread deciphered this part of your image:

As this:

koumazokunonakademouiitsunotensaimahoutsukai. b
akurestumahoutoyobarerusaikyomahounomiruyokunimor
itsukare. soreshikatsukawanaishitukawanai

Which may seem like gibberish, but in (somewhat typo-laden) Japanese, it's Megumin babbling about EXPLOSION. Roughly, "A wunderkind magician, even moreso than the average Crimson Demon. She is enraptured by the mightiest of magicks: EXPLOSION. She won't use any other magic, and plus - she can't." This particular text is cobbled together from various bits of copy about her character, as far as I know.


In Melty Blood, is Shiki Nanaya the master or servant of White Len? I'm really confused as to whether Shiki Nanaya is the master or servant of White Len. At first, he seems to act as a Familiar created by White Len, but then he says that he'll be a good master to White Len. There's also the fact that he only came into physical existence outside TATARI because of White Len, since every other appearance outside Melty Blood he has been a persona of Shiki.

So, is he White Len's master—like how Shiki is Len's Master—or are the roles reversed, and she is the master keeping his physical existence in the world (as Familiars can only be in the world if supplied with prana from their master)?

White Len's contract with Nanaya (this is the supressed personality of Tohno Shiki, from Tsukihime) is a symbiotic (yet seemingly contradictory) one -- she maintains his existence with her TATARI powers, while he supplies her with the prana she needs to survive.

However, in the White Len ending in Act Cadenza, Nanaya clears states that he is in the "master" role:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4O_rLYRESs#t=454s


Are Servants also given knowledge of future heroes? When a Servant is summoned by the Holy Grail, they are gifted with the knowledge of the modern world so they can easily adjust. When it comes to determining the strengths and weaknesses of an enemy Servant, the Servants themselves seem to be able to rely on a pool of data, as shown during the prologue of Fate/Stay Night: when Rin and Archer face Lancer, Archer reveals that he has deduced Lancer's true identity.

However, during this same scene, Lancer is frustrated because he doesn't know of any hero who was an Archer but also used twin swords, given that we know that Archer is

   a future alternate version of Shirou who became the Counter-Guardian EMIYA.

When a Servant is summoned, are they also given the knowledge of the legends for heroes who appeared after that Servant's death? (i.e. Gilgamesh is probably the oldest legend, and as such he predates most others and thus wouldn't know about other legends that occur after his death unless supplemented by the Grail)

In episode 4 of Fate/Zero anime, when Lancer identifies Saber as King of Knights, he says:

  No Heroic Spirit summoned by the Holy Grail could ever mistake that
  golden blade.

That's the only indicator I can think of that somewhat points to the answer for your question.

Furthermore, Lancer's true identity,

   Diarmuid Ua Duibhne,

is hero of a myth in the period between II and IV century, while Saber's true identity is

   King Arthur,

whose legend took place between late V and early VI century, which means that Lancer couldn't have known Saber's legend when he was alive.

After writing above, I looked at TYPE-MOON Wiki and found this:

  They [Servants] are not granted knowledge on other Heroes through the Grail, but
  rather from knowledge gained within the Throne of Heroes. Witnessing
  traits of other Servants can allow them to deduce their true names
  with the knowledge even if they are from incompatible eras.

   Aberrations like Saber, who is not part of the Throne of Heroes due to
 her circumstances, are able to identify those whose legends would have
 been known to them in life, such as Cú Chulainn, but cannot identify
 the legends of later Heroic Spirits like Gilles de Rais even after
 being directly named.

No source is offered for the first part, and if that's true, it would indeed contradict with Fate/stay night's Archer's case, since he is a complete heroic spirit who properly entered Throne of Heroes, yet other heroic spirits have no knowledge of him.


Who was the little girl being possessed by Orochimaru during his fight with 3rd Hokage? I am wondering, during Orochimaru's fight with the 3rd Hokage, there's a little girl whom Orochimaru possessed.

Who was that girl? What is her ability, or why did Orochimaru choose to possess her?

I tried browsing the net and replaying the sequel but still can't find that little girl in the story.

I believe you are talking about the girl Orochimaru "became" during the fight with the 3rd Hokage on the roof during the Chunin exams (Ch. 121). I just went back and read that part of the story and I don't believe her identity was ever stated. This is the episode in the anime where he rips his face off and reveals this girl's face:

In other words this is the girl he used as his vessel.


Wasn't Dr Marco a sacrifice? This is kinda spoilers if you haven't watched all episodes, but my question is:

Wasn't Dr. Marco one of the few sacrifices? Envy didn't want Marco to die, but in the end wasn't used by Father.
Or did I miss something? Was Marco only captured to create stones?

From the Full Metal Alchemist Wiki:

  Knowing this, the Crystal Alchemist attacks Envy using his hidden transmutation circle to critically damage the Homunculus' core stone.

Knowing this, he likely has not seen the truth. And as such, would not have been a sacrifice, right away.

However, it's not unreasonable to think that the homunculi may have forced him to see the truth once they were ready, (similar to Mustang.)


Where are the places mentioned in Nausicaa located with respect to the modern world? The opening page of the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga implies that the story is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, and the themes of the book don’t have much impact if it’s set elsewhere. But where on Earth is it set? We are given maps, and city names, and suggestions of different languages and cultures. Did Miyazaki have a specific real-world location in mind and if so, where?

According to the maps depicted in the manga (and ignoring any differences with the movie):

It is implied to be parts of the Middle East and Caucasus region. With the Black Sea on the left (Inland Sea), Mediterranean Sea on the right (Ocean of Salt). Perhaps alluding to the fact that the magnetic poles might have shifted around the time of the Seven Days of Fire and the modern time depicted in the manga.

Torumekia might possibly be considered to be a big portion of real-life modern day eastern Turkey, with the Autonomous States of the Periphery making up part of southwestern Turkey and Syria.

It seems that the Dorok Principalities might be the area between Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

The Sea of Corruption has seems to have covered much of the southeastern part of real-life Central Asia.

Not all land masses will be one to one with modern day maps as the story is likely set around 3780 to 3850 CE. Perhaps due to flooding and terraforming thru the years.

The manga introduction mentions Seven Days of Fire happened roughly a thousand years after the Industrial Revolution, which is assumed to occurred around 1780s to 1850s CE if we so off modern real-life history. Therefore the Seven Days of Fire likely happened roughly around 2780-2850 CE. The manga is mentioned to be set about a thousand years after that event, so roughly around 3780 to 3850 CE would be a guess.


What exactly are the rollbacks in Higurashi? We know that the "mini-arcs" in Higurashi (When They Cry) all start with a sudden rollback. After some terrible events, the town looks normal again.

Closer to the end of the anime we are being shown that

   It's Hanyū who is responsible for the rollbacks, and she helps Rika keep her memories of what happened before the "rollback"

Now my question is about what those "rollbacks" really are. The wiki article, for example, says that they are

   time travels, and what Hanyū does is reverses time to let Rika relive those days again.

However, when I was watching the anime itself, I clearly remember Rika saying that

   what they did was traveling between "worlds", trying to find a "world" where everything was right (i.e. no murders).

Basically, if the first version is right, then

   all the murders didn't actually happen, because the time was reversed each time. In the second case (changing "worlds"), however, all those murders would be for real in each particular world.

Was that possibly just a bad/false translation of the subtitles I was using? And which version is right, after all?

I think the correct answer lies between what you're saying and what Wiki is saying.

Here's a definition of "kakera" (usually translated as "fragments") from Umineko no Naku Koro ni (the installment of WTC after Higurashi) EP4's TIPS:

  Worlds of different fates and circumstances are called kakera, and
  witches who are able to cross the ocean of endless kakera are called
  Voyagers.

Hanyuu is taking Rika through different kakera, but she is also going back in time. If she just went to the same time in a different kakera, it might be too late for Rika to do anything. I believe towards the end of Higurashi, Hanyuu also states that her power is weakening and she can't go as far back in time.

If you're interested in knowing why/how Hanyuu has these powers, I'd definitely recommend playing the Umineko no Naku Koro ni sound novels or maybe even reading the manga. Don't watch the anime though... It doesn't cover that far into the story.


Lost name of multi book series about a girl knight and a bipolar guy I'm trying to remember the name of a multi-volume story. Each volume was perhaps 20-25cm x 10cm x 3cm thick, perhaps 120 pages?

Not in colour - black/white line drawing with some cross hatch shading (not grey scale shading in the rubbed style).
Story has a girl in a large waterproof underwater + warrior suit, like a knight but bulbous and big.
She has some sort of "magical" abilities, I think. Not all that sure about this bit.
She visits castles and keeps, helps people with problems, quests, etc.
Story has a flying ship thing run by a manic-depressive (bipolar) guy who dresses like a dandy.
This guy also has a maid/cook girl with an odd disease - she has holes and missing limbs, I think it's called "Null disease". Other people across the lands have it as well.
Knight girl meets up with flying ship guy.

I remember the books from about 12 years ago, maybe? Not sure when they were written. I also remember them being in English AND left-top-right reading, not right-to-left style.

found it!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aqua-Knight-v-Yukito-Kishiro/dp/1569316341/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398461089&sr=8-1&keywords=aqua+knight

Aqua Knight - Yukito Kishiro


In Overlord, if Ainz obtained the guild weapon of the 8 Greed Kings, would he be able to control the NPC's? It's said that the guild base of the 8 Greed Kings is guarded by powerful beings which I'm assuming are NPC's. If Ainz gets the guild weapon, could he obtain the loyalty of those NPC's?
If destroying the guild weapon destroys the guild, what would happen to the NPC's? In Yggdrasil I'm assuming they'd disappear, but in the new world I'm assuming they'd just be without a master and free to do as they wished, right?

We (the community) are not sure if the "powerful beings" are actually NPC's.
As you said, we guess they are, but they could also be many other things. New Worlders, golems, or who knows what. PDL (platinum dragon lord) can use wild magic and has created some pretty impossible things according to Yggdrasil rules, so that leave a lot of unknowns.
You are correct about if the guild weapon is destroyed, it destroys the guild. At least that is what's in the LNs, but we never saw an example of this in Yggdrasil.
My personal guess was that you could destroy the guild, then take it over and create new NPC's. It would be sort of a letdown if you capture a guild and your stuck with someone else's npcs. There is probably a way to delete them and gain your guild's NPC levels back.  Each guild has a set number of NPC levels, so they are very important to use them wisely.
However... the new world isn't Yggdrasil. The magic and mechanics are very similar, but there are some strange differences. A great example of this is Ainz's death knights. If he uses a corpse they last forever, which wasn't possible in the game.  These changes could potentially create unknowns.  Maybe the NPC's will automatically disappear, maybe ainz has to kill them... maybe there isn't a way to get the NPC's levels back.  Maybe it will reprogram them to follow Ainz, or they will become their own beings and be broken from the NPC system of the guild.
There are so many unknowns that it is really hard to say how it might work.  We don't even know if Ainz can create NPC's in the New World. Ainz mentions it requires a dev kit... but would it even work?  Man it's a tough question.
I've been hoping that the author writes about Ainz taking over the 8 greed kings base. I think this could answer a lot of questions we have.

Can ainz take it over?
Can he move it?
Can he create NPC's?
Could he transfer them over to Nazarick?

It endless, but maybe someday we will learn more.


What is the name of a Cartoon Network anime whose second season plot was based on time travel? My best guess is that the anime aired on Cartoon Network sometime between 2004 and 2008, for at least one and probably no more than two seasons. I don't remember many details other than that it was a kind of action-adventure anime with several warrior characters trying to save the world from some evil. What was memorable about it was that they failed at the end of the first season and the world was destroyed. But the second season made clear the heroes through some magic had escaped into a parallel universe at an earlier point in the timeline, wherein they succeeded. It was unusual because most shows don't go into such depth about how time travel would probably work by sending you to a parallel world instead of your own timeline.

It is indeed Xiaolin Showdown.

It was broadcast between 2003 and 2006 consisting of 3 season. Each character was master of an element:

Big dude (Clay) - Earth
Girl (Kimiko) - Fire
Dot-Head (Omi) - Water
Remaining Boy (Raimundo) - Wind

It's actually an American production, but set in Asia. They protect the Shen Gong Wu from the evils that desire the treasure.

The first season ends with their failure and they need to travel back in time and create an alternate future resulting in their success. This is what the second season mostly deals with. In the third and final season the warriors travel to the Ying-Yang world to retrieve Omi's good chi.


What happened to Lupin? In Episode 3, after Death the Kid makes his appearance in front of Lupin, Kid "senses" Patty is off center and thus the formation is no longer symmetrical. As he complains about it to Liz, Patty watches Lupin escape though the manhole.

Now Lupin had a huge sack of Human Souls with him when he escaped, which is obviously a bad thing since devouring human souls allows one to gain power quicker but leads one down the path of being a Kishin. This would be something that can't be ignored by Death or the Overseeing Death Scythes.

So I am wondering, is it ever explained what happened to Lupin and the souls he stole after he escaped from Kid?

This is quite a downer of an answer, however there really is nothing more.

After escaping, within neither the anime nor manga, is Lupin mentioned again. I personally read Soul Eater and watched it, I don't recall any more sign of him, and this 'thesis' is backed up by the wiki:

  Debuts -
  Manga - 'Death the Kid',
  Anime - The Perfect Boy. Death the Kid’s Magnificent Mission?

As you can probably assume, this is indeed Episode 3, which I trust is the appearance you are referring to (being his only). It mustn't have ended with such a bad fate, as the use of the human souls, as we probably would have heard about a new Kishin being born.

I doubt it, as I'm not following it, however there is a possibility his name is at least mentioned in Soul-eater Not!, however I have yet to hear anything regarding that.


What is the meaning of the title? What is the meaning of the title "Barakamon" from the anime Barakamon?

The title "Barakamon" means "cheerful/energetic person" (元気者) in the local provincial Gotou Island dialect (this seems to be the case with just about all the episode titles), where most of the series takes place, on one of the islands off the western coast of Kyushu.

The first episode of the anime is titled "ばらかこどん" (Baraka kodon, meaning "[a] cheerful/energetic kid"), which is obviously referring to Naru.


In the last episode of "Your Lie in April", what was enclosed in the envelope? This is where the letter by Miyazano Kaori is being read out. The English subtitles said,

  P.S. I'm enclosing something that I've always treasured.
  If you don't want it, feel free to tear it up and throw it away.

I can't understand Japanese; I don't know if she was being more descriptive there. All I can see is a part of a picture of two females in skirts, and one or two little kids. One of them appears to be an adult or an older girl, and the other, a young girl. But I can't recall such a scene in the series. What exactly was she talking about, and what was the picture that was enclosed?

If the voiced description in Japanese was insufficient, does the manga shed more light on it?

At the end of the episode, the photo that you mention can be seen sitting on Kousei's desk. Kaori treasured it because it was probably her only photo containing her and Kousei or even her only photo of Kousei.

It is a photo of young Kousei and Kaori plus another unnamed girl(most possible  Kaori's friend), probably after one of Karima's contests. Kaori was, most likely, there for her friend which probably participated in the said contest. There is a chance that this is the contest in which Kaori saw Arima for the first time, the one that motivated her to start pursuing music.


In Sword Art Online, is Kazuto (Kirito) Suguha's cousin, or is he adopted from unrelated parents? It's mentioned multiple times that Kazuto is Suguha's cousin, not her brother. However, the key conversation in question seems to imply that the explanation was made up on the spot. To me, it seemed as though that was best alternative Kazuto's mom could come up when Kazuto confronted her unexpectedly; in reality he's really adopted from unknown parents. I couldn't find a good clip of it, so here's the clip in a reaction video, which is close enough:
https://youtu.be/X8DD3tMzrsg?t=1239

Earlier in s1 ep15 Suguha mentions that she and Kazuto look nothing alike. To me, that was included to specifically suggest that they're unrelated.

Admittedly I'm relying on the english dubbed version and I've never read the Manga, so I was hoping there was more in the original sources.

According to the light novels they are cousins.

  Kirigaya Minetaka and Midori, husband and wife’s own child was
  Suguha, while Kazuto was Midori’s sister’s, this meant that he was the
  child of Suguha’s aunt. Her aunt and her husband, without a choice, left
  their only child, who was not even a year old, and passed away in an
  accident. The serious nature of the injuries they bared eventually
  putting an end to their lives, and Midori was left to take charge of
  Kazuto.
  That fact was told to Suguha by both her parents during winter
  two years ago, around that time, Kazuto was trapped in a virtual reality
  game, going by the name of «Sword Art Online». Suguha who had
  already received a big shock from the incident, was in a cruel state of
  confusion; she went to Midori, asking why she did not tell her earlier
  and why she was the only one not being told, and took out her
  confusion on Midori.

A bit earlier it is stated that his parents were surprised when Kazuto asked after his real parents so I find it unlikely that they would have lied to him.

  “... Even now, I recall that incident like it happened yesterday.
  That time when Minetaka-san and I were watching a movie in the
  living room, and Kazuto suddenly said from behind, ‘Please tell me
  about my real parents’ “.
  Suguha motionlessly gazed at Midori’s charming lips with very
  light rouge, a light nostalgic bitter smile appearing on them.
  “At that time, I was really surprised. Kazuto was only 10 years old.
  Till Suguha entered high school... it was a secret that we had planned to
  keep for 7 more years, but he found out about his Juki Net’s erase
  records.”

Both excerpts are from the prologue of the third light novel Fairy Dance (translations by Baka-Tsuki).


Why didn't Hashirama, Tobirama and Minato use rinne rebirth? Madara used rinne-rebirth to become alive again after being in edo-tensei version. And it is clearly stated that alive version is way stronger than edo-tenseid' one. Why didn't hokages use rinne-rebirth to fight in better condition against Obito and Madara in Great Ninja War.

Because the jutsu requires a Rinnegan to use it and there wasn't one available on their side.
It is also unclear whether someone summoned by Edo Tensei could use it on themselves.
Madara had Black Zetsu force Obito to perform the jutsu to revive him.
Source


Did Kirei know about Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet, or was he just lucky? In Kirei and Kiritsugu's final fight, Kirei uses Command Spells as his Mana source.

That rendered Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet ineffective. Was that on purpose? That is, did Kirei know about Kiritsugu's ability and use Command Spells as a Mana source to counter it?

To note:

Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet must have been a pretty well-guarded secret, or Archibald El-Melloi should not have been caught off guard by it;
Using Command Spells as a Mana source is pretty unconventional;
In the anime (have not read the Light Novel), there is no indication that Kirei knew about Kiritsugu's ability before the fight;

Most of Kotomine's Command Spells are actually inherited by his father and the previous supervisors of the Holy Grail Wars at the end of the war, since a Master can only obtain 3 from the Holy Grail.

  In addition to his own Command Seals on his lower left arm, he also has Command Seals inherited from his father that cover his right arm from the elbow to the wrist. The supervisor of the Holy Grail War is entrusted with the Command Seals recollected from previous Holy Grail Wars, so he has access to a great number of them.

He of course got all of the Command Spells that Risei Kotomine had after Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi killed him. And because his Magic Circuit is still underdeveloped by the time of the Forth Holy Grail War, he uses Command Seals as makeshift Magic Circuits and sacrifices them, similar to how Shirou sacrifices the Magic Circuits he made during his training when he does Projections (as noted when he projects Excalibur).

The Origin Bullets utilizes Kiritsugu's Origin of "Severing and Binding"

  The "Severing" aspect will cause prana stored within the Circuits to ignore the paths within the body, flowing chaotically and destroying it in the process. Afterward, the circuits will be bound together again with the "Binding" aspect, albeit in a chaotic and useless manner, thus rendering them permanently inoperable and destroying the target's magecraft abilities.

However, since Kotomine is using Command Spells as Magic Circuits, the Origin Bullets affects the Command Spell Kotomine used and leaving the others intact. Kotomine doesn't fight like an orthodox magus which Kiritsugu has fought in the past, and the fact he was even born with with Magic Circuits is abnormal by itself, so Kotomine isn't your typical Magus.

As for what Kotomine knew of Kiritsugu's abilities, while he probably didn't know them at the time he was still a skilled Executor, it's noted that he's skilled enough to judge the type of bullet by the sound of gunfire and able to analyze the situation calmly. Coupled with his own physical prowess and how he uses the Command Seals to reinforce his own body and equipment, he probably figured out Kiritsugu's bullets weren't normal and prepared a suitable Anti-Magus Defense (devised from experience hunting strange Magi in the past for the Church) backed by Command Spells as replacement for a Magic Circuit. And as we can see, he quickly worked out how to defend against Kiritsugu's bullets.


Why does Rin have sharp, pointed teeth? In Free!, Rin is shown to have sharp, pointed teeth (like a shark). I would say it was just stylistic, but it has been canonically mentioned by one of the characters. Has the author (or the light novel) given any canonical reason for his teeth to be pointed, or is it just symbolism of him being like a shark?

I think Rin's teeth are depicted as sharp to give off Rin's attitude towards his former teamates Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa. If you remember during the series Rin had went to Australia to become stronger and faster in swimming. But a couple years later even though he put so much effort in whilst in Australia he still couldn't beat Haruka.

This is probably the most accurate time to say when Rin became more aggressive and serious. I think his sharp teeth are suppose to tell the viewer that he is serious and gives off his more aggressive personality and persona.

This is just my impression though. I dont actually think they made his teeth sharp for an actual purpose rather than to display his change from when he was a kid to when he lost and decided he had, had enough of losing to Haruka.


Is naming things a fantasy in Japan? In a lot of isekai manga, the main character comes across someone or something (e.g. a slime monster) that has no name, and must give a name to him/her/it.  Every time, the one who is given a name accepts it, is happy, etc.

For example:

In Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken, Rimuru names all his villagers
In Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi, ch. 10, the main character has to give a name to a newly tamed slime
In The New Gate, Shin (ch. 10) and Schnee (ch. 26) give names to newly tamed beasts

Since isekai manga kind of aim to make true all the dreams/fantasies of the reader (e.g. the main character is super strong and has successful romance), why is there such a focus on giving names?

I think you meant to say "fetish" rather than "fantasy"?

Not that I'm aware of, but in many cultures, naming is of great significance, there are often attitudes that being given a name or title is perceived as a great honour.

Catholics does this, for example, when they receive their baptized name; as well as Buddhists, when they receive their dharma name.

Many monarchies have a tradition of the monarchs taking on a new regnal name when the new monarch ascended to the throne.

It's also common trope for feudal servants/subordinates serving a new master to take a new name, it's a sign of throwing away their past and therefore subservience to the new master.

Another common trope is a new pet being drawn to feel happy when they're first named. Often the trope goes that the pet feels unhappy/angry/uncomfortable while the owner scrolled through a few names that then got rejected before they ended with the one that the pet seems to respond well to (IRL, this is likely just reflection of the owner being happy for having finally picked a name, because chances are the pet doesn't care or understand).

This is definitely not unique to Isekai genre.


Who created the iconic character designs for the KyoAni look of K-On & Tamako Market? I'm very enamored with the KyoAni look for the character designs for these two shows that are easily distinguished by the round eyes and mouth. I want to find out more information on the artist responsible for this design. I worry that they may have perished in the recent Kyoto Animation Studio tragedy. Surely people who worked on these works did, but I don't know how to find out because I currently am only in the beginning stages of learning Japanese. I would very much appreciate any information anyone could give me in this area.
Thanks!

Nowadays, seems like that style has just been hardwired into KyoAni since the character designer for K-On! and Tamako Market, Horiguchi Yukiko, has already left the studio.
Going through a brief history of KyoAni's character designers:
DISCLAIMER: I'll be skipping the Munto movie series and the anime it spawned as it's pretty much the same deal as AIR in terms of staff. Also, many more people than those I'll be mentioning have formed part of the animation department of KyoAni, but I'll be focusing on those that got at any point in time credited as Character Designer or Chief Animation Director.
Their first big solo anime seems to be Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (2003), inheriting the franchise from GONZO, bringing back the first season Character Designer and Animation Director Horiuchi Osamu. He'd reprise these roles for FMP Season 2 in 2005, but that's the last of him with KyoAni. He's just here for historic reference, I don't think he had that much influence in the KyoAni style.
In between the FMP seasons, they made AIR (2005), an adaptation of a KEY Visual Novel (get used to this), by the hand of Character Designer and Chief Animation Director Aratani Tomoe. Of note here are Ikeda Kazumi and Ikeda Shoko taking over as Animation Directors for certain episodes; and also being Key Animators alongside Nishiya Futoshi and Horiguchi Yukiko. You could call this the early stage of KyoAni's style.
In comes 2006 with The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, now with Ikeda Shoko as Character Designer and Animation Director. This time, Nishiya and Horiguchi got to direct some episodes themselves along Aratani and Ikeda Kazumi, they all worked in Key Animation as well.
Later that year, they all worked on Kanon (2006), a new adaptation of yet another Key VN, this time with Ikeda Kazumi as Character Designer and Chief Animation Director (CAD). The rest of the team mentioned earlier also worked as individual episodes Animation Directors and on Key Animation.
Spring 2007 brings us our star. Horiguchi Yukiko gets to be Character Designer and CAD for Lucky Star. Same as before, we get all our familiar faces working on Animation Direction or Key Animation, with a new addition: Kadowaki Miku on Key Animation. Lucky Star (and the first season of Haruhi to some extent) seems to me to be the middle point between the KEY adaptation style and the later KyoAni style, I believe working on this, adapting the 4-koma chibi style of the manga, helped cement Horiguchi's style for later works.
Later that year, Ikeda Kazumi is back helming Clannad, again with a KEY adaptation. The regular team is at it again, but this is the second to last work with KyoAni for Aratani, and since her last work was the finale for the Munto series which I said I won't be expanding upon, this is the last we'll see of her in this overview. I believe she had an important role in nurturing the talents in KyoAni through her work in AIR and Munto. Clannad After Story in 2008 continued with the same staff sans Aratani and is to this day the most beautifully crafted of any KEY VN adaptation ever made.
2009 was a big year for KyoAni. First with 2 Haruhi ONA series with Nishiya at the helm, followed by K-On! with designs by Horiguchi Yukiko (and Kadowaki gets a role as Assistant Animation Director for ep 12) with her style now in its full glory, and Haruhi Season 2 with Ikeda back as Character Designer but with Nishiya as CAD (and Kadowaki as a full-on Animation Director herself for episodes 7 and 13). This is the year that pretty much set in stone the artstyle that you're looking for. It can be clearly seen how Horiguchi's style had permeated into the rest of the team with Haruhi S2, where you could see in some episodes more similarities between it and K-On! than with the first season, same deal with the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya movie in 2010 (Also, K-On! S2 also aired on 2010).
In 2011, Nishiya is back as Character Designer and CAD for Nichijou, and then back to Horiguchi with the K-On! Movie. The Ikeda siblings seemingly left temporarily, as they had no participation in the K-On! Movie.
Now, it's 2012, we start with Hyouka, with Nishiya back at the head, with a more... let's say elegant (?) style, while still resembling Horiguchi's, this is what will become what I like to call late KyoAni style. Later that year, Ikeda Kazumi is back leading Chuu2Koi, and here is where you can see how much of an impact Horiguchi had made. Despite her not having any role as Key Animator, nor directing animation in any episodes, you can clearly see that her style from K-On! is all over the place.
Horiguchi is finally back in 2013 with Tamako Market, her last TV anime with KyoAni. That same year, Free (Nishiya) and Kyoukai no Kanata (Kadowaki's debut as Character Designer and CAD, and also Takase Akiko joined as Key Animator) further develop the late KyoAni style into what we see nowadays. Chuu2Koi S2 brings back the softer style even without Horiguchi, and the last we see of this pure Horiguchi style from KyoAni will be 2014's Tamako Love Story.
After her leaving KyoAni, seems like she's been working on the mixed media idol project "22/7" which had an anime last year (the idol project seems to have started on 2016 tho), and the Graphinica movie "Hello World" from 2019. She was also the illustrator for the Kokoro Connect light novels. Those would be closest chances if you want more of her undiluted style.
KyoAni on the other hand went on to develop its style with Amagi Brilliant Park in 2014 (Kadowaki). The Ikeda siblings seem to be the ones that were most influenced by Horiguchi, Hibike! Euphonium in 2015 (Ikeda Shoko's comeback) and Musaigen Phantom World in 2016 (Ikeda Kazumi) have a much closer style to Tamako Market than other later works of KyoAni. But Nishiya clears the way to the late style with 2016's masterpiece Koe no Katachi and culminating with Takase Akiko's debut as Character Designer in 2018's Violet Evergarden (in between these 2 it was mostly sequels and spin-offs from Free and Euphonium).
What was the point of this overly long explanation instead of just saying "Horiguchi Yukiko"? Because I believe that the style in KyoAni's work is not simply one person's work. Even though the biggest influence comes from Horiguchi Yukiko, the current state of the style was made possible through KyoAni's own work ethos and a lot of work from Nishiya and Kadowaki who developed the style after Horiguchi's departure. Them alternating character designers and animation directors helped nurture new talent and create a style of their own that wasn't just a single person's but the studio's as a whole.
And about the arson incident, unfortunately it took the live of Nishiya Futoshi, may he rest in peace.