Is there any meaning behind Zoro's headband? When Zoro gets serious, he always wear his headband. Where did he get that? How did it become so important to him? Is there any back story about it (Maybe from a movie or something)?

There isn't any meaning or any special scene related to his headband.
According to the Wiki :-

  Zoro normally keeps a black bandanna tied around his left bicep and
  ties it around his head when he is fighting seriously against an
  opponent.

Atleast till now, nothing has been revealed about his headband. If it resembles something important, Oda Sensei will mention something about it in the future.
For now, we could just consider it as his style of dressing.


Where do the American and Japanese Transformers franchises meet? The original Transformers TV series was created by the American company Hasbro, and was adapted into Japanese as well. At some point, the Japanese franchise split off into its own continuity, launching its own set of sequels and spin offs.

The questions is: What part of the American franchise is considered canon by the Japanese one? Minor details such as name changes are not to be taken into consideration.

According to the Wikipedia article on Transformers:

  However, the Japanese broadcast of the series was supplemented with a newly-produced OVA, Scramble City, before creating entirely new series to continue the storyline, ignoring the 1987 end of the American series. The extended Japanese run consisted of The Headmasters, Super-God Masterforce, Victory and Zone, then in illustrated magazine form as Battlestars: Return of Convoy and Operation: Combination.

Also,

  After the first season of Beast Wars (comprising 26 episodes) aired in Japan, the Japanese were faced with a problem. The second Canadian season was only 13 episodes long, not enough to warrant airing on Japanese TV. While they waited for the third Canadian season to be completed (thereby making 26 episodes in total when added to season 2), they produced two exclusive cel-animated series of their own, Beast Wars II (also called Beast Wars Second) and Beast Wars Neo, to fill in the gap. Dreamwave retroactively revealed Beast Wars to be the future of their G1 universe, and the 2006 IDW comic book Beast Wars: The Gathering eventually confirmed the Japanese series to be canon within a story set during Season 3.

Robots in Disguise was a purely Japanese creation that was highly censored and then banned from cable TV in the U.S. because its original run in Japan ended at the end of 2001, and it had references to building destruction and terrorism.

Also,

  In Japan, the series Transformers: Cybertron showed no ties to the previous two series, telling its own story. This caused continuity problems when Hasbro sold Cybertron as a follow-up to Armada/Energon. The writers attempted to change certain plot elements from the Japanese version to remedy this, although this largely added up to nothing more than references to Unicron, Primus, Primes and Minicons.


Where do Darkness and Megumin live? In the beginning of season 1, we see Kazuma and Aqua in the stables quite often.  However, after Darkness and Megumin join the party, we don't see them in the stables, except for some shots in the ending credits.

Where do Darkness and Megumin live?

   Eventually, when they all move in the house, they live together.  But up until then, we don't see any "at home" activities of Darkness and Megumin like we do for Kazuma and Aqua.

Within the anime, there has been no mention of where Darkness and Megumin lived prior to obtaining the mansion (not that I recall). However, in the KonoSuba manga, Darkness and Megumin both had slept in the stables as illustrated:

That's probably the most evidence I could get.


What is playing on Shinji's walkman? Shinji's Walkman (I don't know the exact term in English, but I already know it's a rare cassette player that didn't take off except in Japan), but what I'm interested is the music he is listening on it. (More specifically, the cassette have 26 tracks, and a duration of around 1h30 if I trust my memory of the appearance of the player).
I've re-watched NGE and the RoE:1.01, and the music have a great importance on Shinji's development, but we do not hear enough for any app to recognize it, and the name don't seems to be revealed in the credits.

Did the name of the cassette/compilation/music Shinji is listening to revealed in the show, a interview or any other "official" source?

Take a look at this cut from Episode 4 (via the official storyboards), and also the Shinji Ikari character page notes that the two songs that play are:

  The two songs usually played on Shinji's SDAT are: Track 25 for "You are the only one" and Track 26 for "Blue Legend", respectively. The songs are from "Lilia from Ys", an image album for the "Ys" RPG series. The Vocalist is Kotono Mitsuishi, Misato's seiyu. However, Episode 02 has two Eva BGM pieces playing, while Episode 23 has a different vocal song for Track 25 instead.

Also on Youtube:

Aoi Legend, You are the only one


What does Major Kusanagi whisper to Batou at the end of episode 25 of GITS SAC? What is Motoko whispering to Batou in the end of the first series?

(Spoiler ahead)

   This is the scene where Motoko and Batou are ambushed by the Section 9 extermination squad. Motoko is the prime target and is ordered to be eliminated. Sniper on a helicopter shoots Motoko in the head, but before that Batou notices the red laser sight dot and alerts Motoko, to which she silently responds with the phrase in question. Since she's very calm about all this, I suppose it's something along the lines of "Survive".

She said 「な・あ・に」 (na-a-ni, "What").

In Japan, there's a TV program on BS2 channel called BSアニメ夜話 (BS Anime Night Talks), and on 26 February 2009, it's talking about Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Regarding that scene, the original storyboard revealed that she was supposed to say "na-a-ni". With cold expression, Major Kusanagi didn't convey anything to Batou even in that situation. Toshio Okada (anime producer & co-founder and former president of Gainax) responded with「ドSねーちゃんですね」("She is a very sadistic girl, eh.")

Fun fact: before this information was revealed, many Japanese fans theorized that she was actually saying 「と・け・い」 (to-ke-i, "(Wrist)watch") because

   she tried to tell Batou that she wasn't wearing a watch, which means that she was not the real Major Kusanagi, only a body double of her.

The fan theory was also strengthened by the close-up of her wrist after that scene (spoiler image below)

Source:

jademetal's blog post (Japanese)
Yahoo! Chiebukuro (Japanese)


Which chapter of the One Punch Man webcomic should I start on after seeing the anime? I just finished episode 12 of the anime and I'm under the impression that this is the end of season 1. I'd like to continue with the manga now. I don't want to read the remake; I want to read the original webcomic that started in 2009.

Which chapter should I start on?

You should start from Chapter 42 of the original manga.

After the destruction caused by Boros and his defeat by Saitama, the space ship is taken by Metal Knight. The Hero Association HQ is rebuilt.

Chapter 42 picks off with S Class hero, King (ranked 7) facing off a reptile monster and then, Dushimof, a machine god created by the Organisation.


How popular is the light novel of Mahouka Rettousei Koukou in Japan? How popular is the light novel of Mahouka Rettousei Koukou in Japan?

All I want is the current ratings and standing of this light novel series in Japan.

In terms of light novels, it seems to be the best selling series of 2014. Based on sales surveyed from November 18, 2013 to November 16, 2014, it ranks #1 with an estimated 1,599,614 copies sold.

However, if you look at individual volumes, Mahouka Rettousei no Koukou volume 13 ranked #5 with 226,371 copies sold. In comparison, Kagerou Daze V -the deceiving- ranked #1 and sold 398,038.

Hope that answers your question.

Sources: Anime News Network Top-Selling Light Novels in Japan by Series: 2014 & Anime News Network Top-Selling Light Novels in Japan by Volume: 2014


What was Shoto Todoroki attack about? In the fight with Midoriya, Shoto didnt want to use his fire part of the quirk and attacked only with ice. His father warned him that he was going to reach a limit if he didnt, Midoriya pushed him, and after a flashback Shoto turned on his fire part. Then I dont understand very well what happened. It seems he sends an ice attack first that Midoriya dodges, and later he uses somehow his fire in the attack, but it isnt very clear how. What was Shoto Todoroki attack about? Did he just use fire, did he use a combination of fire with ice, did he use his ice part just to estabilize himself? How was it?

He used both ice and fire in the last attack. However Midoriya dodged the ice attack. Also it's important to note that he never contacted with fire attack too. The impact(destruction of concrete walls with both quirks) was just so powerful to push him out of area while thanks to ice wall Todoroki was able to stay.

Also it's not asked directly but I want to tell why Todoroki's father knows about the limit. However this is a major spoiler from latest chapters.

   Todoroki's father has a limit too. He can't use too much fire since it harms his body. It's clear that he has much higher resistance to fire than normal person but there is a limit to this. That is why Todoroki is perfect for him. He can balance the effects of ice with fire and fire with ice.


Did all events in 13 episodes of Mekakucity Actors happen in just 1 day? I heard some rumors saying that all events in Mekakucity Actors (all 13 episodes) happened in just one day (in Mekakucity Actors universe).

Is it true?

Yes all the events took place in 1 day. There is no day night switch during the episodes after the moment he spills his drink on his keyboard. It is the 14th august. He then wants to order a new one, but due to the festival going on all shops are only available to deliver at the 17th as earliest date. However one shop is open despite the festival. He thinks he is unable to survive 3 days without his computer so he decides to go outside on the 14th of august. After this choice all the other events happen. Due to the flashbacks it looks like it all happened over a span of time, but in reality it was only 1 day.

Below I have linked the sources I used, along with my memory of the anime. I watched it when it aired so the only part I was confused about was when he spilled the drink and the time between him going to get outside. Hence the second source.

Source 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagerou_Project

Source 2: http://kagerouproject.wikia.com/wiki/Mekakucity_Actors_-_Episode_01


Pure Blood devil and their Chess pieces After war, the number of pure blood devil number decreased and almost went extinct except for 3 clan who did survive. So they are taking humans to increase their numbers in the form of chess pieces. I have only watched the anime and information about Raiser Phoenix's chess pieces was very little. However, it was mentioned that his own sister Ravel Phoenix was a bishop who was revived as demon. What does it mean - isn't she a demon already?

Does that mean Rias Gremory is also servant of higher rank devil, or every pure blood devil are king and they choose their chess pieces/servant except Ravel Phoenix's case where she died and revived as demon as other piece of chess?

And to be chosen as a chess piece, must the person die or not, since the word revived is used. What are the conditions for someone to be chosen the servant? Can it be anyone?

I read the light novel, and you got it wrong. It wasn't that only 3 devils survived. Think of it more like they were an endangered species (more than 3), and to increase their number one devil created the chess pieces. When a devil wants a servant, it doesn't limit to just humans, it can be any creature (devils included, i.e. Ravel). For example, a dragon that trains Issei is actually a devil as well. As for someone having to die before they can be a devil is false, it's more like they are just reborn as a devil when they are turn into a servant.

Both Rias and Ruval are pure bloods meaning their parents are devils. In Rias' case, she has no King, but she could if another devil wanted her as their servant (which is the case with Ravel).

Lastly, not all Kings are pure bloods. I'm pretty sure the first season explains that if Issei tries hard enough, he can get his own set of chess pieces making him the King.


What is the name of this manga involving spirits? The main character was a boy who could see spirits, which he eventually got used to seeing them around him. Apparently, his grandmother used to teach him how to exorcise spirits, but his memory was wiped at some point after that.

Anyhow, their family was supposedly responsible for protecting these cracks in the ground which led to the spirit world, and after his grandma died, he had to protect it instead. Oh, but because he didn't remember any spells, the protectors of the other cracks into the spirit world (at other places) came to his house to hold a meeting of some sort.

In the manga, there's also a pair of siblings who used weasels to fight or something..., or maybe those were their spirit animals... I don't quite remember.

Does anyone know the name of this manga? I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone does :)

This is Totsugami (MAL-link):

  Narukami Tasuku isn't just an average high schooler. He can see ghosts
  and demons, even though he doesn't want to. One day he was involved in
  an incident and found out that his family were totsugamimori, ones who
  protect the totsugamizuka. He is the only one remaining in his family
  and now, as a heir of totsugamimori, he was dragged into that world...

The siblings fighting with spirit weasels are: Takaomi Kozuka and his family.


Why didn't Naruto uses his full power that he demonstrated in `Boruto chapter 52` against Sasuke or `Kaguya Ōtsutsuki` In Boruto chapter 52 Naruto demonstrated unsual high power which made him so much powerful that he almost solely defeated Isshiki Ōtsutsuki.
So if Kurama had this power than why didn't he give that power to Naruto in his fight against Kaguya.
Naruto power is described as

Sasuke : Such tremendous chakra. He never told me he had move like
this. What is it.
Kurama : Think of it like nuclear fusion. It's
similar principle to how the sun produces energy.
Naruto : Nuclear fusion? What's that?
Kurama : never mind. the theory doesn't matter. My chakra and your chakra are serving as the kernels to produce a whole other new type of energy. That's all.

Because of the terrible after effects. Against Kaguya, they had better alternatives. And Naruto had many other cards up his sleeve too.


What is "Project Tsuki-no-Me" exactly? I know that Project Tsuki-no-Me was supposed to be "Madara's" Sharingan's reflection on the Moon itself, as Tobi declared during the Five Kage Summit. However, when he got his hands on the Nine-Tails Chakra from Lords Kinkaku and Ginkaku, the moon turned into a red one — it looks just like a regular full moon, but in red colour. So, is that the first stage of Project Tsuki-no-me?

The Sharingan has the ability to hypnotize someone just by making eye-contact with them.

From the Sharingan article:

  The Sharingan's final commonly-used ability is capable of inducing a unique brand of hypnosis that involves suggesting actions and thoughts to the opponent through genjutsu cast by simple eye contact between both parties

Obito was even able to control Kurama, commonly known as the Nine-Tails (九尾, Kyūbi), so you can imagine what Madara's Sharingan hypnosis is capable of.

Again, from the Sharingan article:

  [...] only Madara and Obito Uchiha have achieved this feat. It has been stated by Madara Uchiha that the beasts were slaves to those with the blessed eyes. When this was used against Manda and the Nine-Tails, their eyes took on the tomoe pattern of the users' Sharingan while under hypnotic influence

In order to hypnotize everyone, Madara needs everyone to look into his eyes. Therefore, he utilizes the moon as a reflector for his eyes so that he can apply Sharingan hypnosis on everyone who looks at the moon. The red moon is the start of his Sharingan reflection.

You might also want read this answer about Infinite Tsukuyomi:  Why is everyone affected by Infinite Tsukuyomi?


How did Chris gain the power of Garzey's Wing? As confusing a show is as Garzey's Wing, and with stuff coming from nowhere and never seem to get explained, how did Chris' mental self in the alternate fantasy world gain the ability of Garzey's Wing and how the Chris in the real world suddenly acquire the same magical power (in the real world)?

According to the Wikipedia article,

  Garzey's Wing is infamous for having a minimally explained plot, so most ideas of the purpose must be extrapolated. The protagonist Chris is abruptly whisked away to a parallel world called Byston Well while his physical body remains in his home world. Chris' spiritual manifestation travels to a new world, where he is thrust into a rebellion. Chris is told that he has a mystical power called "Garzey's wing", which causes large wings made of light to come out of his ankles, allowing him to fly and run quickly.

The reason that he gains the magical ability in the real world that he had in the fantasy world seems to be because of this:

  Chris exists simultaneously in Byston Well and the real world, and the two can communicate to each other through a necklace they both wear. Real-world Chris feels the bruises and pain Byston Well Chris experiences while fighting soldiers, and training he does in the real world allow him to learn it in Byston Well.

All in all, a main thing seems to be that it was simply not entirely explained within the show, which may have been in part because it was only three 30-minute episodes long.


How can Karen have so much power that she breaks pillars and causes so much destruction? In episode 07 of Nisemonogatari, we see that Karen gets into a physical fight with Araragi and causes a lot of destruction which is unlike a nomral human.

You have to keep in mind that the story is never ever told to us by an omnipotent narrator. Depending on the chapter (or episodes/arcs in the animated series), a different character tells us his story. Koyomi Araragi is the character that is narrating the story most of the time, so what you read/see/hear will almost always be from his point of view.

To give you an example of that, look at how Koyomi lets us see Kanbaru Suruga's room: full of books to the point where it looks more like a pool of books than anything else. Of course, Kanbaru's room isn't really that abnormal, she's just a girl with a lot of books in her room, probably just piled up in a corner next to her bed and desk. But from Koyomi's point of view, these piles of books in the corner are so representative of Kanbaru's room that the way he'd tell us how her room looks like is "It's a room full of books".

The same principle applies to Karen: she isn't really that powerful, but she's probably the strongest person Koyomi has ever seen. Add to that the fact that he has been bullied multiple times by his sisters and you get the image of a super-strong, destructive being.

Don't believe everything you see in these series. Keep in mind that any character can lie to you and twist the story at will.


Where does Sanji get his endless supply of cigarettes from? In the One Piece anime, there are numerous occassions where the crew runs out of critical supplies such as food, water, etc. However, Sanji never seems to run out of cigarettes. Furthermore, he is never shown to buy one in the anime.

I wish I could give you a canon answer but after a lot of searching I was not able to find one. Sanji with his cigarette was just something that was established with his character. If there was a long period of time that he went without one it just wouldn't feel right to a viewer because they are used to the cigarettes. I believe the longest period of time that he went without one was on Punk Hazard and he was in Nami's body, he obviously had some bigger distractions at hand that kept him from his addiction. I will continue searching to try and find a canon answer if I am able to I will update the answer accordingly.


Why can't Mirajane use magic for long periods of time? So, later on in the series, during the fight against Zeref, we see Mirajane use Satan-Soul but she also used souls that she had collected during the Tartaros arc. My question is: why can't she fight for long and how did she collect so many souls if she can't fight?

because you see multiple people run out of magic power throughout the show and she won't want to overdo it and be so exhausted not to move like Erza in the edolas arc and she might have finished the tartaros people off fast or with help


Isn't Flora's ability inefficient? I've been watching Claymore. I haven't read the manga yet.

Number 8, Flora:

  She's the fastest there is at unsheathing, slashing, and sheathing back her claymore.

As you can see, she unsheathes, slashes, and sheathes back so fast that the image of her hand seems to be static, whereas a bunch of slashes appear around the target.

But wait.

What is the point of sheathing her claymore back while attacking someone? Isn't that a waste of time? Wouldn't it be more useful to unsheathe and then slash countless times rather than sheathing back her claymore during a fight?

Proof that she's indeed sheathing after X amount of slashes:

This scene below lasts for several seconds. This means that she must continuously sheathe her claymore, otherwise this image effect wouldn't be possible:

There's actually a fencing style based entirely on the drawing of the sword called Iaijutsu. For a reference, the Ukyo Tachibana character from the game, "Samurai Shodown" uses this technique, drawing the sword as a form of attack and re-sheathing the blade all in one move. There is also Iaido, "a modern Japanese martial art associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard or saya, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard." Though in practice, the Iaido isn't a super fast movement. But again, the emphasis is on the sheathed sword being a starting point, so in order to perform another move, the sword has to be re-sheathed.

The Iaijutsu article mentions that there is two postures for executing the technique, the standing position or the kneeling position, but both involve the sword being sheathed and using the drawing of the sword as a strike. Obviously, there's no real world instance of someone doing this as fast as Flora, but the technique is that the starting point of the strike is from a sheathed sword.

Other well known users of this technique (though not necessarily the only technique that is used):

Goemon (Lupin III)
Himura Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
Ginkaku Uneri (Katanagatari)
Honoka (The Third)


Who are the three illusionists that have deceived Vindice? After re-reading Katekyou Hitman Reborn! for like the twentieth time, I noticed something that wasn't really explained.

Chapter 264

Who are the three illusionists?

Runner-Ups

Flan
Viper/Mammon
Mukuro
Daemon
Kawahira/CheckerFace
Chrome (Maybe)

The illusionists that could actually pull it are:

Mukuro
Flan
Daemon
Kawahira
Viper
Tyl Chrome (Probably)

For starters, they didn't count Flan. Flan was unknown generally. He was Mukuro's trump card and that worked on both Vindice and Byakuran.

Next, they said, "in this world". That part is very important. Viper and Daemon are not of that world. Viper was dead and I'm guessing Daemon was dealt with or was never known to Vindice.

So the remaining ones are:

Mukuro
Kawahira
Chrome


How is Walpurgisnacht's appearance predicted? We know that throughout the series the Puella Magi can only search for witches and don't actually know where they will appear ahead of time (Mami named places she searched and had to trace the witch with her Soul Gem), unless they get lucky and find a grief seed of a newborn witch (like the one Madoka and Sayaka found at the hospital).

Homura was able to know where Walpurgisnacht would appeared because she had prior knowledge from coming from the future.

However, in the first timeline, Mami knew Walpurgisnacht was coming and was training Madoka in preparation for the battle. Is it explained how she or Madoka knew?

As a matter of fact, Kyoko asked Homura the same question regarding Walpurgisnacht's appearance, to which Homura responds with a single word:

  Statistics.

Well... I think you can take Akemi Homura's word for it. She has experienced so many timelines, planning and fighting the Walpurgisnacht witch, gradually learning more and more about it every time.

I suppose she's done a lot of data analytics about the witch with all the information she has collected throughout the timelines! Graphs, annotated sketches of the Walpurgisnacht witch and maps of Mitakihara city feature at Homura's residence. Also note that among the timelines shown, all of them place the fight scene of magical girls vs the Walpurgisnacht witch in one of the lakes/water bodies of Mitakihara city.

Here's Homura indicating the location of the witch...

Edit:

I would suggest that Mami knew about Walpurgis in the first timeline of episode 10 only because Kyubey said so. After all, the Incubators do plant grief seeds across the city, which hatch into witches. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the Walpurgisnacht was the work of the Incubators. In all their advanced technology and magic, the Incubators may even fabricate grief seeds which has the essence of an agglomerate of regular witches...


Are Japanese Students really not allowed jobs whiles in schools? In Hana and Hina After School (Hana to Hina wa Houkago) one of the main plot points it that neither Hana or Hinako are actually allowed a job and if discovered they could be expelled, to the point that Hinako  quit her job as a Model and

   in Chapter 14 (still reading) Hinako quit her job with Hana because Maiko posted online about buying something where Hinako worked.

Is this really something in Japan? that students like Hana and Hinako aren't allowed jobs and would actually get expelled for having one, even if it doesn't interfere with their school works? (as shown how Hana's and Hinako's work scheduled were changed so they could do their exams)

The constitution forbids labour for children under 15 full years (except for work in movies or theaters) as well as restrict the work for children under age 18 to light labour that is not dangerous or harmful (Source).
Apart from that the schools can have their own custom regulations like banning jobs.
Regarding the schools motivation:

  Students who wear a certain school's uniform are regarded as representing their school to the outside world. Therefore, most schools really impress upon their students that they have a duty to behave well outside, as emissaries of their school. And as high schools are very competitive and take their institutional reputations very strongly, that can mean a lot of pressure for those kids to stay in line. Many of them worked really hard to get into that school, after all.
  And so, yes, some schools do ban their students from having part-time jobs. The school wants the kid to study, and take part in school clubs and sports teams. If they get a job at McDonalds or something, suddenly that job becomes their identity, not being a student, and as far as the school is concerned that can only be a bad thing.
  Many students who need/want extra spending money do try to get around that rule. In a big city like Tokyo, it's easy to just try and blend into the crowd. But, as has happened in many school life anime over the years, it only takes one person recognizing you to blow your cover.
  (Source)

For whatever it is worth this PDF of a 2006 survey states that 40% of the high school students have part-time work experience (Page 4). So either not many schools have those rules or the students broke them.


What exactly happens to Kyuubei at the end of Rebellion? Note: this topic was somewhat addressed in this question, but remained unclear to me after reading the answers to it.

At the end of Rebellion, after Homura has rebelled and created the Homuverse where everyone can have their desires for love and friendship fulfilled, after the end credits, we see Homura in a field, holding her new soul gem and dancing around a mangy, scruffy, miserable-looking Kyuubei.

As the movie ends, the camera closes in on Kyuubei's face, and we see its eyes seem to be ringed with the same black field as the witches' curses.

What exactly is going on here? It seems clear that Homura is torturing Kyuubei for its many crimes, but what exactly is she doing?

They are burdened to deal with the world's curses. the reason why Wraiths existed was because of the world's curses that normally was reflected with the Witches

  During the conversation near the end of the series between Kyubey and Homura, Homura mentions that although Madoka's wish prevented witches from being born, the curses of the human world still remained and continue to haunt humanity in the form of "magical beasts" (魔獣), demons of unknown origin.

Soruce - ʞɹɐzǝɹ's Answer

When the Universe was being recreated Kyubey laments that it's kind should never have messed with Human Emotion when Homura reveals that her Dark Gem is the pinnacle of human emotions. When Kyubey tried to flee Homura catches him and says she still needs it's existsnce to deal with the curses of the world. after all, in Homura Universe, Magical Girls don't seem to need to fight anything anymore

  As she swallows the dark orb, she claims it is the pinnacle of human emotions, something more passionate than hope and deeper than despair: Love. Kyubey says Homura is no longer a magical girl or a witch, and asks what she is becoming. Homura transforms into a new costume and grows a pair of black wings. Homura says that since she is a being that brought down and imprisoned a god, it's only appropriate to call her a demon. Kyubey exclaims that his kind never should have experimented with human emotions, as this is a result they can't handle. Kyubey attempts to run away but Homura, now a giant, catches him. She claims that she still needs his existence to deal with the world's curses, and says she'll make Kyubey cooperate.

Source - Madoka Wiki: Rebellion/Synopsis

So Kyubey, or the Incubators in general, now exist to deal with the world's curses thus eliminating the existence of Wraiths and the need for Magical Girls to fight.

I assume at the end of the move where see a disheveled Kyubey Homura was forcing it to deal with said curses or even punishing it more, after all it's new existence is a form of punishment in itself


When did the Kin/Gin Brothers get their Nine-Tails power? Now I'm rather confused. The timeline doesn't add up to me. I was hoping someone to shed some light.

So here's how the events seemingly happened.

The hidden cloud had, for a period, attempted to capture the nine-tails.
As a result, the nine-tails ate the Kin/Gin Brothers.
To survive, they ate the flesh from his stomach.
The nine-tails spit them out, and they had his chakra when they were expelled.

That's all fine, but it doesn't add up.

It was said that between the five great villages, the Hidden Leaf was the first.
It was also said that after Madara's and Hashirama's battle, the nine-tails was sealed inside Hashirama's wife, Mito.
Shortly before Mito died, the nine-tails was transferred to Kushina.
During the short nine-tails attack on the village (after being freed from Kushina), the nine-tails was sealed again, inside of Naruto.

Now, we also know that the Kin/Gin brothers were at the same time as the second Hokage, Tobirama. Given that they were the ones who killed him.

When did they have time to get swallowed up by the nine-tails?. The Hidden Cloud village didn't exist before Konoha did, so it can't be before Madara's and Hashirama's battle, and right after that, the nine-tails was in constant Leaf possession.

So when? When did the cloud try to get the nine-tails?

According to this Naruto Wiki page (second and third paragraphs), the brothers were swallowed by Kurama before the battle between Hashirama and Madara took place (the battle after Madara's desertion from Konoha, when he used the Sharingan to tame Kurama).
This would mean they were swallowed before Kurama was ever sealed inside any Uzumaki.

Chapter 529, page 3

  Now, we also know that the Kin/Gin brothers were at the same time as the second Hokage, Tobirama. Given that they were the ones who killed him.

Although this is true, I think Tobirama and Hashirama are almost the same age, which would mean Kinkaku and Ginkaku's age is somewhere around both Senju brothers.

From what I understand, the timeline would go something like this (not sure about how much time between each "step"):

Founding of Konoha;
Founding of Kumo;
Kinkaku and Ginkaku get swallowed, when sent to capture Kurama;
Madara deserts and attacks Konoha, using Kurama;
Hashirama wins the battle, and Uzumaki Mito seals Kuruma inside of her.


Is Obito on Sage Mode? Recently in the manga, Uchiha Obito said that he sensed Sasuke concentrating chakra in his left eye and poof! He quickly defended himself in an instant with slight similarity to Naruto's Sage Mode, that's why I wonder if he is in Sage Mode. If not, where did his sensory ability come from?

Update:
Here's a proof of his transformation from Naruto Episode 640 Page 14:

Something that I completely forgot. During Sasuke's battle with Deidara, Sasuke mentioned that using his Sharingan he can see chakra, so even Obito should be able to do the same, when Sasuke concentrated his chakra on his left eye, Obito could see it, thus he dodged it. He need not be in Sage Mode to accomplish that.


What is the name of this song from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi? I recently was looking at the Sekaiichi Hatsukoi OST and I came across this one I really liked. Video is here from YouTube.

Just for reference it plays during Season 1, Episode 12 of Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and I was able to find the scene here.

Does anyone know the name of the song playing?

You're most likely looking for 恋は切なく (Koi Wa Setsunaku, Love is Painful), track 15 of OST 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NL-HCA67v0


How much did Date A Live anime cover the Light Novel? I finished the anime, so I was thinking to start reading the light novel but I don't know where to start.

You can check the Wikia, which says that:

  In April 2013, an anime adaptation began which covered the events of volumes 1-4 of the light novel which ended in June 2013. A dub of season 1 was released on 10th June 2014 by FUNimation. A second season aired on 11th April, 2014 to 13th June, 2014 which covers the events from volumes 5-7.


Why not export to America? I've come across many forums and fan-sites of various anime. It seems that of the 300 million people in America, there's a huge market for anime, specifically in the gaming and streaming industries (as evidenced by the JRPGs and Hulu/Netflix having specific anime sections).

Why aren't more anime that aren't renewed for second seasons in Japan sent over to America for investment and continuation?

Note: I understand when an anime is cut off because the Manga is not being written. At the same time, could the IP of an author not be bought and turned into an American anime?

It may come to a surprise for you, but the anime you typically watch is not what is considered mainstream in its country of origin, unless of course you watch shows made for children and families.

In fact, most of the anime that the international community consumes are what is called "late night anime." The overall ratings on these TV series are so low that the average Japanese person is likely never to have seen them. In other words, they are very niche. To compensate for low rating and viewership, these types of anime typically make money from Blu-ray, DVD, and other merchandise sales.

Since viewership is low, the budget for creating anime is pretty low as well. It's been mentioned by industry insiders that the average budget for a 1-cour, 13 episode series is about $2 million USD.

Low viewership of these anime is the result of a number of factors, the most prominent one being cultural. If you're not aware of how things works in Japan, office workers tend be expected to work 12 hour shifts regularly; students are also assigned large amounts of work (on top of any club commitments) and only get holidays and Sundays off. With all this work, who has time to stay up late to watch late night anime?

You're probably right, surely foreign investments in these productions can breathe new life into these productions. Unfortunately, the truth is a bit of a complicated one. As you may or may not be aware, all anime (with exceptions such as the Noitamina block) are glorified infomercials to promote not only manga, games, and light novel publishers, but also music production companies (who do you think profits off of those OP and EDs?), and general product advertisers such as Pizza Hut, and Lawsons. Product advertisers such as these don't care about sales, they're trying to sell themselves to you as opposed to the anime.

Such promotion and advertising deals don't usually pan out when it comes to international markets. If you recall the Pizza Hut references in Code Geass, the US versions blurred them out. The exact reason was never explicitly stated, but seeing that Pizza Hut Japan was such an overbearing sponsor domestically (as in within Japan), it's possible the negotiations fell through when Bandai was negotiating with the US entity of Pizza Hut. Despite sharing the same name and brand, Pizza Hut in Japan and Pizza Hut in the US are separate and distinct entities with their own ideals on doing business.

On top of that, localization rights to license a show don't come cheap and often times these don't include a mechnical license to use the music. Most of these licensing costs are paid upfront and if a series is successful enough, royalties must be paid to the original production committees (which can range from 20 to 30%). This makes things bit cost prohibitive to just bring whatever over, so localization companies need to be picky so they can pull off a product or at least pull even.

Without actual products to sell, the profit making possibilities of investing in new anime are slim. In 2013, the anime industry in Japan brought in over $2.03 billion USD from Japanese and international markets combined. In 2014, the Japanese manga industry made more than $2.3 billion USD just in Japan. In Japan, the symbiotic relationship of anime and manga works because of the existing infrastructure and relationships. However, in the US, everything is fragmented, making coordination between distributors all the more difficult.

As for the studio, they don't sell the distribution and merchandising rights of a IP that no longer is in distribution. Why would they? If you do, you're essentially telling the fans that you're abandoning this product, which could diminish their respect for the company and its products. Similar things have happened in the past such as with Macross and Robotech. While there were some good things to come out of such an affair (such as making the US audience aware of the type of animation known as anime), there were some downsides as well (Macross can never officially be released in the US as long as Harmony Gold hold the rights). What's to say the owner of the IP won't reboot the series later, like they did with Sailor Moon Crystal, Dragonball Super, or Osomatsu-san? For better or for worse the respective IP owners hold on to the rights of their respective IPs to preserve the integrity of the series for for themselves, it's creators, and for the fans. Why sell off something your people toiled for months and years to make to some strangers oversees to do with as they like? You don't have a say once you sell off the right to your IP. Who's to say American companies will respect the visions and idea of the original creators and fans?

However, not all is grim. There have been talks of joint ventures with Japanese companies to invest in anime for the international market.

  Streaming video distributor Crunchyroll and Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corporation announced on Thursday that the two companies are establishing a joint venture which will invest in the production of anime for the international market.

  That joint venture, whose entity name and size of investment have not been revealed, will take part in the production committees of anime titles which will then be distributed by Crunchyroll.

  Sumitomo Corporation is one of Japan's largest general trading companies (sougou shousha). Its media division distributes content for cable television, terrestrial broadcasters, and cinemas. In recent years, it has increased investments in the business of creative content.

  In February, Sumitomo partnered with Japanese media company Imagica Robot Holdings and the public-private Cool Japan Fund to acquire SDI Media, a U.S.-based provider of subtitling, translation, and language dubbing services.

  According to the press release, Crunchyroll boasts 700,000 paying subscribers and more than 10 million monthly viewers. The report notes that international distributors such as Daisuki and Crunchyroll, as well as a number of Chinese companies, are increasingly taking part in production committees.

  With the rising cost of licensing content for overseas distribution, content providers can ensure that they win distribution rights by investing in production instead of competing and paying high license fees. However, Anime! Anime! Biz also notes that Crunchyroll's aim is not merely rights acquisition.

  Crunchyroll co-founder and CEO Kun Gao cites the increasing importance of overseas markets in the anime industry. In establishing the joint venture, the company aims to connect fans to the production of anime from the time of its inception. With the joint venture, Crunchyroll, which is traditionally strong in North America and Europe, can also expand its distribution network with Sumitomo, which is traditionally strong in Asia.

This is not to say only Crunchyroll is pursuing such a venue. Funimation and Netflix are doing the same. How well these new ventures will turn out is any one's guess. How well will these companies be able to reach international fans of anime, how well do these companies understand the current international market of anime and what fans want? Only time will tell...


Hataraku Saibou - does the cell have cells in their bodys'? In the Hataraku Saibou Anime, do the cells have cells in their body? and do those cells have cells?
by cells i mean little people running around the hosts body.
like infinate cells who are running around etc??? #RabbitHole

No, the cells do not have little people running around inside of them. You seem to be accusing the show of making a homunculus argument, a fallacy whereby a concept is explained recursively with itself, but this isn't the case. Importantly, these humanoid cells are not an explanation for what is going on inside the human body. Instead, the cells are an example of personification, whereby animals, ideas, or something else (in this case, cells) are given human characteristics. These humanoid characters are a representation of the thing itself. Of course, in the context of the story these human appearances are important and necessary, but there is no reason to assume the analogy goes so far as for the cells to have little people inside of them.
To illustrate the anatomy of cells, and how they don't have little people inside of them, here are pictures of an erythrocyte and a neutrophil, which is what the two main characters are:
Erythrocyte

Neutrophil

The two humanoid main characters represent the two types of cells above. A cell is the basic unit of life, and is not composed of itself (cells aren't made up of cells). Cells have organelles, cytoplasm, membranes, etc. We shouldn't confuse the personification in this story such that we believe the cell characters are exactly equivalent to human beings and thus end up with a recursive homunculus argument.
Full disclosure: I have only seen the first season of this show. However, you haven't provided any details that would make me think my answer is wrong. Such pertinent details might include, but wouldn't be limited to, a scene in the show where it shows little people inside of one of the characters.


Reason for kanji and reading in 頂の座 Hecate Character of Shakugan no Shana, Hecate, has a title of 頂の座, which is supposed to be read いただき・の・くら (and is pronounced as such in anime) being translated as "Master/Supreme Throne".
Info about about readings and meanings was checked with / found on Jisho.org

While 座 has similar meanings (seat/place/status/pedestal) and is also used in a compound for throne (王座) it has no reading くら and くら does not mean "a throne" (saddle/warehouse/treasury/contest). That said, there's a word for throne 位 with strikingly similar reading くらい.

Is it a play on something? Is it really switch between 座 and 位 (and would the くらい -> くら change signify something) or just an undocumented reading of 座?
(does not have to be an official explanation)

Maybe maybe even 頂 plays a role here? 頂 also means to "receive" and if くら means a "depository; treasury" maybe it can be a play on the - allegedly she's somewhat different in anime vs manga, but at least in the anime iirc she seemed to be sort of a shell/container (くら) yearning for receiving (頂) experience/emotions? Just a brainstorming

Kura is a valid reading for 座.

Wiktionary stated that it's another kun-reading for 座 which means "high place" as a suffix.

  Readings

  Kun: すわる (suwaru, 座る, Jōyō); くら (kura, 座); います (imasu, 座す)

  Affix

  座 (hiragana くら, rōmaji kura)

  high place

This also complies with Kotobank, an online Japanese-Japanese dictionary:

  デジタル大辞泉の解説

  くら【▽座】
  座る場所、また、物をのせる所。他の語の下に付いて、複合語として用いられる。「天磐座(あまのいわくら)」「高御座(たかみくら)」

  大辞林 第三版の解説

  くら【座】
  高く設けられた場所。「天の石座いわくら」「高御座たかみくら」「御手座みてぐら」など、複合語中にのみ用いられる。

Translation:

  Explanation on Digital Daijisen

  kura (-座)
  A place to seat, alternatively, a place capable to put a thing. Used in compound words. 天磐座 (amanoiwakura), 高御座 (takamikura)

  Explanation on Daijirin

  kura (座)
  A highly established place. 天の石座iwakura 高御座takamikura 御手座mitegura. Only used in compound words.

(For the explanation regarding her name and title, please read кяαzєя's answer)


Why is DIO evil/his motives? I do not understand what DIO actually wants and why he is so evil. He goes through something that isn’t too off what quite a lot of others go through except he becomes some sort of evil supervillain and obsessed with Joestars.
I don’t understand what his motives are and especially in part 3. In part 1 he could be seen as a rival to Joseph but in part 3 he adds nothing on to the story aside from memes. I don’t understand what his motives are or why he is even doing what he is doing does anyone know what his motives are or what he is trying to achieve?

Dio just wants what is rightfully his. And damn those that happen to stand in his way.
At first, he wants a warm meals, and damn those idiots for thinking they're better than him at chess. They don't deserve their coins if they can be beaten by him.
(Oh, and if his father, Giorno, could die so he would't have to look after him anymore, that would be swell.)
Then, when he gets adopted by George Joestar, he wants the Joestar family fortune. And damn that idiot Jonathan. That bratty upstart, who hasn't had a hardship in his life, doesn't deserve to have that just handed to him.
(Oh, and if George could die to expedite the process, that would be swell.)
An finally, once he becomes DIO, he wants... Well, it doesn't really matter any more. What ever he happens to want, he certainly deserves. He's no lowly human anymore. He's the most powerful being on the planet and what ever he wants (including human life, which he views at the level of cattle at the time) should rightfully be his. Since might makes right. Right? And anyone who got in his way, well they just damned themselves, didn't they?
(And if the pesky JoJo would finally die and stop pestering him with that annoying Hamon of his, that would be swell.)
That would answer the direct question, but I don't think that's quite the answer that would satisfy you.
No, Dio isn't exactly a complicated character. He doesn't have some almost but not quite justifiable reason to do his evil. He barely has a tragic backstory. (Well, it is quite tragic, but it doesn't really factor into his character or motivations.)
But that's not what people adore about him as a villain. Dio is a pure, uncompromising and utterly unredeemable force of nature villain. And his sheer confidence and utter dominant force is what draws readers to him. We know that by all accounts Dio should win.
Not because we want him to (I think that's what you are looking for from him when people said he was "an amazing villain"), but because we know just how powerful an entity he is. The heroes shouldn't stand a chance against him. And damn is he stylish and confident when is tossing the heroes (and random bystanders) around.
Who else, but Dio, would compare human lives to break?
Who else, but Dio, would torment Polnareff by repeatedly carrying him down some stairs?
Who else, but Dio, would command a random store assistant to bring him his severed leg? (And then kill her.)
Who else, but DIO, would think to finish his opponent by dropping a road roller on them?
He may not be the most complex villain there is, but he's far from a boring one.


How were the English translations of character names for Hunter x Hunter conceived? If Togashi originally conceived the names in Japanese, for example Furikusu, how was it decided that this would translate into the decidedly weird Freecss, with 2 's'?

How did Zorudikku become the decidedly English-sounding Zoldyck?

How is the official spelling of names like Zushi decided from Zooci, or Killua over Kirua? Or when Chrollo is used over Kuroro?

Is it all simply a translator's discretion, or is there input from someone else about what they might have been intended to be?

Because this is how it translates to phonetical English.
Furikusu basically sounds as "Freakks" (Sounds like Freak but with a bit more emphasis on k sound).
Kirua would be pronounced as Killua.
Kuroro is Chrollo.
This is because of the lack of vowels and consonants in the Japanese language. To compensate for it, they add a vowel of their own after a consonant. For example -

The English word "Freak" would be pronounced as "Furiku".
"Accent" would be pronounced as "Akkosento".
"Hunter" would be pronounced as "Huntoru"

Trust me, they are all right.
To understand this yourself, you can go here > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTYB3-pQk8o


What is the manga about a twin brother and sister called? I remember reading a manga a few years ago about that features a boy who dresses as a girl and his twin sister.

The backstory of the two was that the boy did not go to school and dressed as a girl at home to impostor his twin sister to escape their father's abuse, as he does not usually abuse his sister or abuse him when she is around. One time however, the father ends up abusing the twin sister (he was drunk or something), kissing her hair, saying it reminds him of their mother. Later the twin sister goes to their actual mother (who is divorced with him) for help but the mother brushes her daughter off, telling her to solve her own problems. So when it happens again (or something like that), she shaves her head completely.

Since then, even after her hair grew out, the twin sister does not let anyone touch her hair - not even her brother - with the exception of her female best friend (that if I remember correctly she has some romantic feelings for?).

Another detail I recall is that the father was a photographer and obsessed over taking pictures of a bird he has, but at some point the bird dies but I don't remember why.

The story is set after all of these have taken place, and is told in the perspective of another boy who goes to the same school as the two of them.

I'm quite sure it is Hanayashiki no Juunintachi.

Synopsis from mangaupdates:

  Sakura Aki is a penniless high schooler who likes to cook and does other "unmanly" things. His grandfather and father are disciplinary on gender roles and beat up Aki everytime he does a thing that women would usually do, like cleaning. When his father leaves him absolutely broke, and with his grandfather realizing Aki's "unmanly" flaws, he sends him to live at one of the dorms at an all girls' school that he runs, a school where distinguished young ladies of the country attend, the Hanayashiki - Flower Estate-, to teach him a lesson.

Sakura Aki is the name of the boy who went to the same school as the two girls - the twin sister (Ayame) and her best friend (Renge).

The background story about the twin brother (Kakitsubata) and sister (Ayame) is told in chapter 8 and 9 from the point of view of the twin sister. Actually, it's mostly about how Ayame developed androphobia and personality disorder due to unhappy family, and also how she and Renge became close friends. Your description in the question matches the content of these 2 chapters quite well, so I will just put up some images to show the similarities.

This page from chapter 8 shows Ayame in the past with shoulder-length hair, and a picture of the blue bird, which their father was obsessed with. Their father also kept a bird of the same species in a cage in his room.

Another page from chapter 9 shows Ayame cutting her hair off to "solve the problem", since her hair was grabbed by her father during the previous incident where she was about to be punched. She later shaved her hair clean and wore a wig to class instead.


Looking for a particular Gintama episode number I watched this series ages ago and I can't seem to be able to find the episode where Hattori and Gin are hospitalized.

I think it is Episode 67 (Season 2).

This is a clip from the episode.


After leaving the marines why did Aokiji join forces with pirates? Kuzan/Aokiji was once an Admiral of the World Government. After he lost in the battle for the Fleet Admiral position he left the marines and wander around on its own. And eventually a shocking news shock the World Government. Kuzan joined forces with

   Blackbeard pirates

which is regarded as a traitor to the government when he abuses his position as a Shichibukai.

  Question: Why did he joined forces with the pirate group which is a traitor and a threat to the government? Does he not believe in justice anymore in the World Government?

Aokiji might have his own self justice principles.  As he has previously seen the unjustice rendered by the present fleet admiral to the innocent people of Ohara when Aokiji and Akainu are fellow comrade Vice Admirals in the buster call operation, he might feel indignant to work under a person (Akainu) who has the pretence of killing innocent in the name of justice as they contradict with his own self justice principles. So he might have decided to join hands with Black Beard who proclaims his evil intentions to the world rather than pretending to be someone.

But why he joined hands with Black Beard is the mystery.  Maybe Black Beard might have given him an approbation of making Aokiji the Fleet Admiral after he himself took the world dragons under captives and make Black Beard himself the new World Ruler. Simply a cruel, arrogant person is more detestable than a cruel, friendly person. Or he might be sick of the marines' overall cruel operations to safeguard the world government who follow tyrannical measures.


Why did Rem die in The Last Name? We all know, that in The Last Name, L survives, by writing his own name in the death note. But why did Rem die then? I mean a shinigami dies when he kills a person, in a way that saves the life of another person. But L didn't die. So technically, Rem shouldn't have died, right?

In that movie, Rem died due to the rule where a shinigami will die if he explicitly tries to extend someone's life by killing another using the death note. This happened because Kira guided L towards Misa as the second Kira. Once L has proven that she is, she will be executed. That's why Rem killed L. And since Rem extended Misa's life by killing L, Rem died (Rule XVII:1).

L didn't die because before Rem did that, L had already written his own name in the death note that they confiscated from the news announcer. By the rules of Death Note, the first one written takes effect while the latter is ignored (Rule XV:1). So since L had already written his own name, when Rem wrote L's name, it did not take effect.

See Death Note Rules.


How did Zeref "Black Wizard" get cursed? How did Zeref get cursed? Some people think it was Mard Geer. I'm so sorry to trample on that thesis, but Zeref created Mard Geer and it is said that E.N.D, I mean Natsu, is the strongest demon who so happens to be Zeref's brother.

I was thinking that maybe Natsu cursed Zeref, but Natsu was out searching the world for his foster parent Igneel, right? Then I thought maybe Mavis cursed him? Not true either, because in the little flashback, Zeref already had the Death curse when he met Mavis and Mavis is way too sweet! Yeah some of you may be thinking "Mavis is the Fairy Tatican and she has won many wars" but I'm a Zervis shipper, sorry!

Then that had me thinking: does anybody remember that crucial detail (it happened fast but not fast enough) that Zeref 'lived' with all the monks, so maybe they cursed him? So then I did my research and some monks are, umm I don't wanna type evil, umm BAD. Most of the monks back then worshipped god. I watched a lot of religous anime! So that was soon to be proven wrong.

Yep, I can't answer my own question. I wonder if Hiro Mashima wanted us to think this?

Zeref experimented on forbidden magic which gave him the Contradictory Curse. So the more he values life, the more uncontrollable his power becomes. And when he doesn't value life, the less destructive he gets.
The same curse happened with Mavis who also used the forbidden magic. So basically anyone who experiments or conducts black magic is automatically cursed with the Contradictory Curse.


How did Frieza come to know of the dragon balls? I was watching Dragon Ball Z for the third time. When Vegeta after losing against Goku and others, comes back to Frieza's head quarters and recovers. There he comes to know that Frieza has already left to Namek, presumably to search for the dragon ballz. How did he come to know about them? Did I miss any episode or side story here or are we left to guess about it?

As per the dragon ball z wiki:

  Vegeta, after being seriously injured in his fight with Goku and the others, returns to Planet Frieza 79 to regenerate himself using a special Medical Machine. After fully recovering, Vegeta feels stronger than ever, as Saiyans have the unusual ability to reach higher power levels after healing from near death experiences. His self-proclaimed rival, Cui, informs Vegeta that his former boss, Frieza, was initially angry at Vegeta going to Earth and violating orders but decided to forgive him when he overheard the conversation between him and Nappa about the Dragon Balls on Namek (scouters also served as a transmitter, which Frieza used to overhear their conversation). Furious about the consequences of Frieza being immortal, Vegeta rushes to Namek himself, now openly declaring himself an enemy of Frieza.

More notably this segment:

  Frieza, was initially angry at Vegeta going to Earth and violating orders but decided to forgive him when he overheard the conversation between him and Nappa about the Dragon Balls on Namek

So due to Nappa's negligence and Vegeta's ego Freeza got knowledge of the dragon balls.

You can read this here:
http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Namek_Saga


Are all gold saints supposed to be equally strong? I've read some comments in internet where they refered to a supposed answer of the creator of Saint Seiya stating that all saints were equally strong. Is this true? This doesnt seem to be what's shown in the series and what fans in general think is saints like Shaka and Saga are usually ranked higher.

Unless there's an interview I'm not aware of, Kurumada never said that.

What he said is that what he really cared about was trying to create them all cool and powerful, but even him cannot say which one is the strongest.

You can check that here.


What did Uchiha Madara do to Obito with the Black Zetsu? Warning for this may contain spoilers

  As I read the Naruto Episode 656 Page 14, Obito cast Rinne Tensei then suddenly the black zetsu appeared then cast another Rinne Tensei then poof Madara is revived with real body. Now, I'm lost. What happened to Obito? Do Madara switched body with Obito? or does he consumed by the Black Zetsu?
According to the wiki, Rinne Tensei can re-infuse new life force energy to the bodies of those who have died. With that said, why Madara re-infused with Obito's body? and how come that Obito died (or is he dead)? What happened to the Black Zetsu? I don't know how to put this up but here's the image sequence:

He switched life forces with Obito. That's why he said: "Let's switch". Obito is probably still alive because of the Kyuubi foreshadowing that the Jinchuuriki of the Ten Tails has bigger life force than other Jinchuuriki's.

Madara is revived by Black Zetsu controlling Obito using Gedo: Rinne Tensei!


Are the "A Certain Magical Index" seasons connected? Can you watch A Certain Magical Index season 3 without watching the other seasons first? Do you have to watch them in order? Are all the Index seasons connected or is season 3 a new story?

The seasons of the anime adapt the light novel series which tells a single, continuous story following the same set of characters across many volumes. As such it's not recommended that you start with season 3 of the anime, since it assumes you already know who the main characters are and what major events already transpired in the previous story arcs.

Starting with season 1 is generally recommended for any sci-fi/fantasy series with a long, complicated narrative like Index. Missing even one episode can often mean missing crucial information that helps piece together character motivations and plot developments.


When will Fairy Tail (2014) be dubbed? I really love the Fairy Tail anime, but cannot seem to find more dubbed episodes in English after episode 175. Does any one know when FUNimation will continue dubbing the Fairy Tail anime?

It looks like my original comment does link to the release of season 2 of Fairy Tail, but a different season 2 as I assumed. It links to the release of Funimation's second Fairy Tail season aka episodes 49 to 72 and not to the 2014 sequel series aka all episodes going from 176.
I ended up saving face though as I eventually discovered that Funimation had actually announced their release date for their seventh season not too long ago. As you can see below, Fairy Tail season 7 (aka episodes 176 to 187) is scheduled for June 30th 2015.
The schedule can be found here.
Update
So the release should have been tomorrow, yet it seems the release has been delayed by six weeks. If you look at their current schedule, Fairy Tail season 7 seems to be moved to August 11th 2015 as mentioned by shadowx123.


How and why did the Tailed Beasts grow up? From the start of the series, we saw the Tailed Beasts as large, vicious, and angry entities bound inside the bodies of their jinchuriki. They were shown to despise the humans who bound them and used their power for personal gain. But they weren't always like this.
Initially, they were shown as small and emotionally open towards the Sage of Six Paths. While I understand why they hate humans now, I don't understand why and how they grew larger from their small size to something equivalent to an 'adult size'?
They are now shown as a large mass of chakra. When they die, they reform. Also, as we have seen, when the Kyuubi was divided into two separate parts, his size was reduced. But that reduction in chakra didn't make him small again.
So can anyone explain:

How did the Tailed Beasts grow from chibi to adult size? (Do they grow up like normal animals?)
Also, do chibi Tailed Beasts have less power and chakra than their adult forms?

This would just be my best guess from reading the series thus far and also outside influences, but I think that the chakra which form the tailed beasts also have a psychic impression with which humans communicate and interact. This psychic impression, through experience, grows what we perceive as a personality and has its re/actions based on this.

The physical form (and perceived growth) they take on may also be due to human influence. As they have interacted with the species over time they have noted that these creatures grow old and die. Not only this, but they start from an infant form and, over time, change in height, temperament, and language ability.

Since the entire lives of the tailed beasts since the death of the Sage of the Six Paths is not detailed it is impossible to know when the tailed beasts saw different levels of maturity. I would also guess that this would have a human influence as well, but mostly from the jinchuuriki (human hosts) that the beasts dwelled within. As the hosts grew older and died this possibly reflected within how the beasts manifested themselves as they moved from host to host over the generations. It is also through seeing the lives of these human hosts and what their role in society was that contributed to their sour feelings towards the human species.

As for the chibi tailed beast having less power? If we consider all beings within this universe start out with no manual to their powers and not a lot of instruction we can also infer that the tailed beasts came into existence not knowing the extent of their power. I say "extent of their power" only because after the corruption of ninshu into ninjutsu that the techniques we think of as powers came about as a concept. The tailed beasts most likely have had the same chakra reserves as before but started life without the desire to use them as humans would.


What does the Valis symbol in Danmachi look like? In the Danmachi wiki the Valis symbol was described as a "V" with two lines through it. What does this look like?

It looks exactly like how it is described. Similar to the Yen symbol ¥.


While Rido possessing another body, will their bite turn the victim into a vampire? Rido can transfer his soul into/possess other people's bodies.

Now, if he bites someone while in that other body, will they turn into a vampire? Or would it be like if any other non-pure blood bit them?

No, they wouldn't because what Rido does is possession where he is controlling another's body, as such he can only do what the other body can do. This is shown with Shizuka Hio when she was possessing the body of her relative Maria Kurenai and was able to use Maria's abilities

She could also possess the bodies of other vampires like Rido Kuran, resulting in obtaining their powers, such as using Maria's body to see through the eyes of birds.
Shizuka Hio > Powers and Abilities

Also, while Rido was in Senri's body, Rima was able to attack Senri, indicating that the forced obedience the lesser vampires have to Purebloods does not apply, rather the hesitation to attack Senri at first was because it was still Senri's body that they'd be hurting. If Rido's status as a Pureblood was transferred to Senri and thus allowing him to create Level D's, then this obedience would have been transferred as well.


Sengoku as General Inspector? After the War, many things changed with the Marine.

There are new unknown Admirals, but does anybody know what Sengoku's new position is?

(After timeskip, he doesn't seem very serious any more)

I found this in the Wiki:

  Sengoku the Buddha was the fleet admiral of the Marines during the
  first half of the series. He was the successor of Kong and the
  predecessor of Sakazuki. He was also one of the major figures along
  with Whitebeard, Shiki, and Monkey D. Garp during the times when Gol
  D. Roger was still alive, and still continues to be in the present,
  even after his resignation from the Marines. Sometime during the
  timeskip, he became a General Inspector.

Does anybody know what "General Inspector" is?

The people writing the wiki on Sengoku just forgot to link the rank's name to it's corresponding wiki page, because if you read the wiki page on General Inspector you can read the following:

  "General Inspector" (大目付 Ōmetsuke?) is a special rank which has the duty of detecting and investigating instances of maladministration, corruption, or defection in the Marine organization. The only known General Inspector at the moment is the former Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

So I was wrong in my comment, thinking both Garp and Sengoku received the same rank. In chapter 594, as shown in the picture, Kong indeed suggests Sengoku to stay for the young marines, the same way Garp did. And according to the wiki Garp supposedly became an Instructor, while Sengoku became a General Inspector. Both cases have not been verified by the manga though.


How did Kirito regrow his hand in episode 10? In episode 10 of Sword Art Online, Kirito was attacked by Kuradeel. Kirito's hand was cut off by Kuradeel while saving Asuna.
Later in this episode, Kirito was shown to have both of his hands undamaged.

How could have Kirito regrown his severed hand?

The explanation you are looking for can be found at the very end of Chapter 15 of the LN, after Kuradeel was killed by Kirito:

  I pulled Asuna in closer with the left arm that had the body part loss status imposed on it for three minutes.

This explains why he has his missing hand back later in the episode, probably even before reentering the town.


What music plays at 16:23 of FMA Brotherhood episode 62? I can't find the track name. Its when Armstrong comes to the King Bradley's corpse and has a monologue.

Finally got it, it's called The Day the Sun Disappeared. It's the 17th track from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Original Soundtrack 3.


Why go through so much trouble to show a character is staring by having her say or shout "stare"? In several anime shows, when a character is staring at another, the character actually says "stare" (sometimes with the "stare" in written form too not unlike manga - not the subtitles).

From the context and the animation, the stare is obvious, so why go the extra mile and literally shout "stare"??

This is not about the lightning display when two characters stare into each other. It is about saying or shouting stare when staring.

I understand that in manga you have to put those things in written form, so this question is restricted to anime media.

In Japanese, there is actually an onomatopoeia/mimetic for the act of staring: じー jii (or something similar to that - mimetics don't generally have strictly prescribed spellings as far as I'm aware). To the English speaker, this seems bizarre, because staring is not an action that produces sound, so why would there be an onomatopoeia for it? Nonetheless, for whatever reason, Japanese is a language rich in mimetics, and often has mimetics for concepts that lack equivalent onomatopoeia in English.

So to the Japanese audience, it isn't terribly weird that there would be a "sound effect" accompanying someone staring at someone else. Now, I don't know that it's necessarily often the case that "the character actually says 'stare'" - certainly the character's voice actor will say jii, but I don't think that this corresponds to the character themself saying jii. I think the idea is more that using jii there as sort of a "sound effect" just emphasizes the fact that someone is staring at someone else.

Anyway, this causes a problem for subtitlers - clearly something is being spoken, but this particular utterance is something that simply does not and cannot occur in English. I don't know what a good solution to this is, and I guess that nobody else does, either, and this is how we end up with subtitles that make it look like the character is literally saying the word "stare". Which looks really stupid in English, but is there a better way to go about it? Not that I'm aware of.


What happens when two selectors have the same deck colour? When Selectors battle, there is a large wheel or clock that decides which Selector goes first.

The Selectors are represented by their deck colour (eg. Yuzuki - Red Deck, Ruko - White Deck)
The image below is from when Ruko battled Yuzuki, And it's clear that Ruko gets to go first.

But how could we tell who goes first if both Yuzuki and Ruko had the same coloured deck? Would the wheel be entirely one colour?

As of season 1 of the anime there have been no same-deck battles but maybe there is some external source of information about this?

In episode 11 of Selector Spread WIXOSS, There is a same-coloured battle:

    between Mayu & Ruuko (Black vs Black)

It seems like when the selectors are battling with the same deck colour, they can choose who goes first.

This also ties into the real game - where there are no hard set rules on which player goes first. (although I presume this advantage is offset in some way)


Why did they change the Lightning Cutter's name to Chidori? Initially they referred to Kakashi's move as Lighting Cutter (Raikiri), but then they stopped calling it that and called it Chidori from then on.  Any specific reason for this? Seems really odd to change a move's name after establishing it as something else.

The magic of wiki:

  The Lightning Cutter is an enhanced and concentrated form of the
  Chidori with the same effects and drawbacks. According to Might Guy,
  it gained its name after Kakashi split a bolt of lightning with it.
  Because the Chidori is already powerful on its own, the Lightning
  Cutter requires better chakra control, which is exemplified in its
  appearance. The Chidori appears as simply a mass of white electrical
  chakra in the user's hand, while the Lightning Cutter is more focused
  (and blue in the anime).

tl;dr: It's still a Chidori but when Kakashi's using it, it's more refined and famed for cutting a lightning bolt ergo dubbed Raikiri.


Which chapters of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei manga are animated? I'd like to know which chapters are not in anime, so I could read just them in-between watching episodes, so the whole experience would be in manga release order.

I've seen this marvelous Google Spreadsheet for Nisekoi and ideally an answer with something like this would be the best.

According to Japanese Wikipedia,

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (1st season):

Chapter 1, 2, 8
Chapter 3, 4, 8
Chapter 6, 9
Chapter 5, 7
Chapter 45, 42
Chapter 17, 18
Chapter 15, 26
Chapter 14, 19
Chapter 27, 28
Chapter 23, 22, 24
Chapter 53, 33, 29, anime original
Chapter 55, 46

Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (2nd season):

Volume 1 + recap, chapter 10
Chapter 12, 85, 50
Chapter 74, 71, 90
Chapter 100, 22, 100
Chapter 68, 35, 98
Chapter 13, 47, 97
Chapter 54, (end of Volume 5, 9, 10 + anime original), chapter 36
Chapter 107, 94, 65
Chapter 34, 108, anime original
Chapter 106, 113, 111
Anime original, chapter 11
Chapter 99, 78, 51
Chapter 81, 112, 52

Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (1st OVA/2.5th season):

Top: Chapter 126, 109, 70
Annotation (Middle): Chapter 138, 150, 69
Bottom: Chapter 149, 130, anime original

Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (3rd season):

Chapter 126, 134, 103
Chapter 154, 129, 103
Chapter 163, 96, 104
Chapter 141, 145, 104
Chapter 174, 166, 105
Chapter 128, 157, 105
Chapter 158, 83, 153
Chapter 153, 165, 160
Chapter 124, 172, 169
Chapter 176, 156, 169
Chapter 86, 183, 159
Chapter 170, 178, 183, end of Volume 15
Chapter 187, 179, bangai-hen

Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Bangai-chi (2nd OVA/3.5th season):

Top: Chapter 136, 184, 190
Bottom: Chapter 181, 193, 140

Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (Blu-ray BOX Commemoration):

Top: Anime original, chapter 231
Bottom: End of Volume 24

Recompiling the list to show the corresponding episodes to the manga chapters:

Chapter 1: S1E1
Chapter 2: S1E1
Chapter 3: S1E2
Chapter 4: S1E2
Chapter 5: S1E4
Chapter 6: S1E3
Chapter 7: S1E4
Chapter 8: S1E1, S1E2
Chapter 9: S1E3
Chapter 10: S2E1
Chapter 11: S2E11
Chapter 12: S2E2
Chapter 13: S2E6
Chapter 14: S1S8
Chapter 15: S1E7
Chapter 17: S1E6
Chapter 18: S1E6
Chapter 19: S1S8
Chapter 22: S1E10, S2E4
Chapter 23: S1E10
Chapter 24: S1E10
Chapter 26: S1E7
Chapter 27: S1S9
Chapter 28: S1S9
Chapter 29: S1E11
Chapter 33: S1E11
Chapter 34: S2E9
Chapter 35: S2E5
Chapter 36: S2E7
Chapter 42: S1E5
Chapter 45: S1E5
Chapter 46: S1E12
Chapter 47: S2E6
Chapter 50: S2E2
Chapter 51: S2E12
Chapter 52: S2E13
Chapter 53: S1E11
Chapter 54: S2E7
Chapter 55: S1E12
Chapter 65: S2E8
Chapter 68: S2E5
Chapter 69: O1E2
Chapter 70: O1E1
Chapter 71: S2E3
Chapter 74: S2E3
Chapter 78: S2E12
Chapter 81: S2E13
Chapter 83: S3E7
Chapter 85: S2E2
Chapter 86: S3E11
Chapter 90: S2E3
Chapter 94: S2E8
Chapter 96: S3E3
Chapter 97: S2E6
Chapter 98: S2E5
Chapter 99: S2E12
Chapter 100: S2E4, S2E4
Chapter 103: S3E1, S3E2
Chapter 104: S3E3, S3E4
Chapter 105: S3E5, S3E6
Chapter 106: S2E10
Chapter 107: S2E8
Chapter 108: S2E9
Chapter 109: O1E1
Chapter 111: S2E10
Chapter 112: S2E13
Chapter 113: S2E10
Chapter 124: S3E9
Chapter 126: O1E1, S3E1
Chapter 128: S3E6
Chapter 129: S3E2
Chapter 130: O1E3
Chapter 134: S3E1
Chapter 136: O2E1
Chapter 138: O1E2
Chapter 140: O2E2
Chapter 141: S3E4
Chapter 145: S3E4
Chapter 149: O1E3
Chapter 150: O1E2
Chapter 153: S3E7, S3E8
Chapter 154: S3E2
Chapter 156: S3E10
Chapter 157: S3E6
Chapter 158: S3E7
Chapter 159: S3E11
Chapter 160: S3E8
Chapter 163: S3E3
Chapter 165: S3E8
Chapter 166: S3E5
Chapter 169: S3E9, S3E10
Chapter 170: S3E12
Chapter 172: S3E9
Chapter 174: S3E5
Chapter 176: S3E10
Chapter 178: S3E12
Chapter 179: S3E13
Chapter 181: O2E2
Chapter 183: S3E11, S3E12
Chapter 184: O2E1
Chapter 187: S3E13
Chapter 190: O2E1
Chapter 193: O2E2
Chapter 231: BD-E1
Volume 1: S2E1
End of Volume 5, 9, 10: S2E7
End of Volume 15: S3E12
End of Volume 24: BD-E2
Bangai-hen: S3E12, S3E12


Crocodile Logia Defense Explanation Crocodile explained that he has trained his Logia to the point he can activate his sand defense off of reflex. Can anyone tell me what chapter/sbs this is? I don't remember and I need it for a video.

Check:

Episode 110: "Merciless Fight to the Death! Luffy vs. Crocodile"

Reference: http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Chapter_178

  However, as Crocodile continues to try to explain to Luffy why he will never win, Luffy cuts him off by clocking his face with a haymaker, that although doing no physical damage, shuts Crocodile up and enrages him. Before the three minutes are up, Crocodile decides he is done playing with Luffy, even though Luffy says to have been fighting seriously the whole time. He then shows off his first impressive attack- Desert Spada (Desert Sword in italian). It sends a blade of sand towards Luffy that he once again narrowly dodges. Crocodile compliments Luffy on his nice reflexes, and claims that had it hit him, he would have certainly died. Crocodile finally explains to Luffy why he will never win - unlike Luffy, Crocodile trained his Devil Fruit powers to the point of mastering them. He claims that any Devil fruit power can be powerful in a fight as along as someone knows how to use them properly. Crocodile says to Luffy that if he has proper training, even his his skills can be as formidable as any - but claims that Luffy's not there, just like all the other fools who waste time obsessing over their abilities Crocodile attacks again instantly afterwards with Desert Girasole (Desert Sunflower), creating a large pit of quicksand that Luffy just happened to be standing in. He escapes however with another bazooka.

Chapter 178 page 5 of manga


What happens to the lifespan not collected by Shinigami? In the Rules of the Death Note (i can't remember exactly which rule) and said by Ryuk himself when he was explaining things to Light ealry in the series, the main difference between a Human using the Death Note and a Shinigami using the Death Note is that Humans don't gain the difference in lifespan when they take a life while Shinigami do.

Now considering all the people the Kiras took the life of, they all could have been potential targets for Shinigami to increase their life.

So i am wondering, what exactly happens to the lifespan that normally would collected by a Shinigami when a Human uses the Death Note?

This is actually covered by the Rules of the Death Note:

  How to Use: LIX

  A human death caused by Death Note will indirectly lengthen some other
  human's original life even without a specific intention to lengthen a
  particular person's original life span in the human world.

It is likely that this simply means that the person killed "prematurely" has extended other people's lives as they go about their lives differently than if the person was there, thus events leading to their deaths may change.

No other rules of the Death Note cover what you are looking for. Glancing at a few likely places in the manga and reading over the wiki, I cannot find anything specifically stating if anything happens.

Due to Misa's death shortly after the series, we can assume that she gained no extra life span from her efforts. Even when she reduced her life span to a quarter by trading for the shinigami eyes twice, she should have still lived a long time if killing someone influenced her life since it would have been added afterwards.

Additionally, we know that the shinigami owner of the death note does not gain the life span because they did not write the name themselves.

Based on this, I would say that the left-over time is wasted. Other people's lives will be influenced due to the rule above, but the "remaining" time is not distributed in any means.


Why was there an 'Immortal Object' sign when Eva shoot LLENN in the 1st Squad Jam? In Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, in the 1st Squad Jam tournament, when "Boss"/Eva shoot LLENN/Karen, the sign 'Immortal Object' appeared. Therefore, LLEYN/Karen didn't die.

But "Boss"/Eva also said something about 'Scan Terminal'.

So, why was there an 'Immortal Object' sign?

LLENN has her 'Satellite Scan Terminal'in her left breast pocket, which is in an 'Immortal Object' according to Squad Jam rules. That is why bullets could not pass through it.

This is the same as her using dead bodies as shield, as they were also 'Immortal Object's.


Which adventurer has the highest level? So in the anime several adventurers reached level 6. Which is the level one of the protagonist of the story (Aisu) has. Is this the highest level an adventurer has reached in the story? Which adventurer has the highest level?

It's "Champion" Otar of Freya Familia, he is the only level 7 in  Orario

Ains said it in Danmachi: Sword Oratoria - chapter 34: Bell Cranell

EDIT:

As for comment of Joe W:

   Yes, Ottar is not the only level 7 in the world based on the Danmachi fanbased Wiki about Ottar. But based on discussion who is the other level 7, it seems it is not introduced yet even in the light novel version


Why wasn't Hama still controlling Katara? In the episode The Puppetmaster when Katara learns that Hama was responsible for the disappearance of people during a full moon Hama then goes to control Katara with Bloodbending.

Short after forcing Katara to her knees she is able to get back up on her own and fight back showing no sort of resistance or strain as if Hama was no longer controlling her.

It wasn't like Hama couldn't Bloodbend because she controlled Sokka and Aang later on and it's not that she can't control someone bending because Katara stopped her forcing Sokka killing Aang by taking control of her body.

So why wasn't Hama controlling Katara and instead allowed her to fight?

If we analyse the episode,
Hama isn't actually fighting but rather forcing Katara to willingly use bloodbending.
Hama only attacked Katara because Katara refused to learn the art of Bloodbending. She was horrified to learn the technique and by the idea of controlling another person's body.
In Avatar Wikia, Bloodbending is stated as:

a sub-skill of waterbending which allows a waterbender to hydrokinetically take hold of and manipulate the various fluids within an organism's body. This technique is referred to as the darkest, most powerful, and most feared of all bending techniques and is the only art known to endanger the user's mental state.

Going Back to the Episode "The Puppet Master"
Hama Teaches Katara the Southern Water Bending Style
They Meet an old woman in an Inn named Hama which then teaches katara the Southern style waterbending and also a series of techniques in order to obtain water in places devoid of any obvious water sources.

Following her demonstration, Hama offered to teach Katara a powerful technique that was only possible during the full moon. When Katara expressed hesitance due to the rumors of disappearances, Hama reassured her that two master waterbenders under a full moon should be able to handle anything.

Hama Reveals Bloodbending and offered to teach Katara

That night, Hama led Katara into the forest and told her about bloodbending and its ability to control another living organism. Horrified by the idea of controlling another person's body, Katara refused to learn bloodbending. Hama argued with her, stating that it did not matter whether she wanted to learn it or not, because the power to use it existed either way. For trying to wipe out their entire culture, Hama extolled that they must have vengeance upon the Fire Nation. This outburst led Katara to realize that Hama had been causing the villagers to disappear, but the latter angrily stated that the people of the Fire Nation deserved the same treatment that they had given to her and all the southern waterbenders. Hearing this caused Katara to adamantly refuse to learn bloodbending and to try to stop Hama from further terrorizing the town.

Hama used bloodbending against Katara to temporarily force her into submission

"They threw me in prison to rot, along with my brothers and sisters! They deserve the same! You must carry on my work."
— Hama to Katara.

Katara soon regains control of her body, reminding Hama that she too draws power from the moon, and is powerful enough to overcome Hama's technique. The two begin to battle, each drawing water from the grass and trees surrounding them, but it quickly becomes obvious that Katara is the superior combatant.  Hama's bloodbending is useless on her.

When Katara appears on the cusp of victory, Aang and Sokka arrive to assist her—and succeed in doing little more than providing Hama with an advantage, as she uses bloodbending to control them like puppets to attack Katara.
Katara evades their attacks and manages to freeze both Aang and Sokka to two separate trees to stop them, but this proves to be only a temporary solution. Hama frees them both and resorts to sending them flying at each other, with Sokka's sword pointing straight at Aang. At the last second, Katara desperately uses bloodbending to subdue Hama and protect Aang.

Hama succeeded in making Katara use Bloodbending

Hama remarked that her work was done, as Katara had already willingly used and mastered bloodbending. She laughed maniacally as she was dragged off, leaving Katara in tears.

Hama surrendered herself knowing that she had now passed her technique bloodbending onto another waterbender from the same tribe (Southern water Tribe) which is Katara.
We can Infer that Hama isn't actually fighting Katara but rather forcibly teaching her to use Bloodbending and to pass her art onto another waterbender, which is against her will.
here is a review on the The Puppetmaster from IGN

Great aspect of this episode was Hama's origin story, which we saw through flashbacks. In addition to showing us how she (Hama) was captured by the Fire Nation and later developed bloodbending, it also did a good job of making her a sympathetic character. While her actions were clearly out of line -- namely, kidnapping innocent Fire Nation civilians -- you could understand where she was coming from after being locked away for so many years. She even made some good points about the morality of bloodbending and how using it was not a choice but a necessity: "The power exists, and it is your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war."
Of course, the highlight of this episode was the final showdown between Hama and Katara, which dovetailed nicely with Aang, Toph and Sokka's investigation into the "Full Moon spirit." But I think [the part where] Hama was demonstrating her bloodbending on Katara, and Katara rising above it adding, "You're not the only one who draws power from the Moon." This, followed by Katara's own mastery of waterbending, which far exceeded Hama's amateur skill level. Regardless, Hama accomplished her mission -- to pass on the art of bloodbending to another waterbender -- thus concluding the episode on a noticeably dark note.


Who are these OS-tan? XP-tan and 98-tan are easy to recognize, but who are the others? This page only tagged 13 with no location.

All the girls are Windows OS-tan. From top to bottom, left to right, the characters/objects in that image are:

NT-san
Vistake (Windows Vista)
SE-tan (Windows 98SE)
Dreamcast lolly
1.0-tan
Inu-T (Windows NT Workstation)
DOSKitty
WinCE
3.11-tan
98-tan
SE's mechbox
95-tan
ME-tan
2k-tan (Windows 2000)
XP-tan
Homeko (Windows XP Home)
Moseko (Windows XP Media Center Edition)


Are “The Dirty Pair” actually a part of the “Crusher Joe” universe? Or are they just a film parody in that universe? The worlds of The Dirty Pair and Crusher Joe seem to overlap. But it's never been clear to me if the The Dirty Pair (aka: "Lovely Angels") were actually a part of the Crusher Joe universe or were they just a parody entertainment film in the Crusher Joe universe?

For example, in this clip in the film Crusher Joe (1983), the team is clearly watching a film of the The Dirty Pair. Is this all just a layer of meta-reference?

Yes, both Dirty Pair and Crusher Joe are in the same universe/continuity.
Aside from the fact that both were written by Haruka Takachiho, Dirty Pair took place around 20 years before Crusher Joe.
From Japanese Wikipedia on Dirty Pair,

This work which was also written by the same author who had written Crusher Joe shared the same universe and linked to Crusher Joe 20 years later.

Dirty Pair OVA series review by Otaku USA Magazine also states

The series was created in 1979 as a set of novels by Haruka Takachiko, starting with the publishing of Great Adventures of the Dirty Pair, released in the U.S. by Dark Horse comics. The novels were done in connection with another of his works, Crusher Joe, [...]. Crusher Joe is similar, though a bit more serious, fare about a group of galactic mercenaries who have their adventures a couple decades after the Dirty Pair.

Lastly, from TV Tropes on Dirty Pair (Warning, TV Tropes link),

Novelist Haruka Takachiho first created the Pair in 1979, in a series of stories published as Light Novels set in the same continuity as his other series Crusher Joe (which debuted 2 years earlier).

Crusher Joe article on Wikia  described the connection in more detail (in accordance with the Japanese Wikipedia counterpart):

It takes place in the same general universe as the Dirty Pair light novels with cameos between the two franchises.

 The two series officially crossover in the light novel Dirty Pair's Rough and Tumble where Kei and Yuri meet Crusher Dan, the father of the series protagonist Joe.

In the Crusher Joe: The Movie, A movie of the Dirty Pair is shown at a scene taking place at a drive-in movie theater.

 In Dirty Pair: Project Eden, the four main characters are shown briefly on the monitor in the Lovely Angel while Mughi is controlling it.

Apart from that, the drive-in Dirty Pair movie on Crusher Joe was adapted from The Great Adventure of the Dirty Pair, the first series of the light novel.
From Japanese Wikipedia on Dirty Pair,

The first appearance was in Crusher Joe movie's scene on The Great Adventure of the Dirty Pair movie.

From Japanese Wikipedia on Crusher Joe

In the middle of the movie, there's a scene where Joe watched Dirty Pair movie. It's the movie about The Great Adventure of the Dirty Pair[10].
[10] From The Great Research of the Crusher Joe, page 118 about "Drive-in theater".


How Can so many weapons from Saito's world exist in Halkeginia? Saito went to Halkeginia from a portal that appeared in front of him in normal world:

At the time of the summoning, he had just picked up his laptop after attempting to get it repaired in Akihabara.
Walking home a portal of some kind opened in front of him; and Saito's
curiosity getting the better of him, he touched it and was sucked
through.

After this, he traveled to Halkeginia and become Louise's familiar.
But this portal only appeared at Saito's world because Louise used The Summoning spell, to summon a familiar (destiny?). At that time, nobody knew that Saito's world even existed.
So, how can be explained all other stuffs from his world that appeared in Halkeginia? Like all those weapons and airplanes used by him:

SIG Sauer P226

M72 LAW

A6M Zero fighter

Mitsubishi-F-2A

Flak 88 anti-aircraft/anti-tank gun

I didn't read their manga/novels, is it better explained there?
(Weapon names and images taken from this Wiki).

People and items cross over all the time.

Siesta is a descendant of a Japanese person who wound up there. She actively uses this in her attempts to win Saito over.

There's a Japanese girl's school uniform he gets a hold of (which he has the Princess put on, I think, since it fits her). There's a naughty magazine, as well. The girl who gave it to him thought it was some powerful, forbidden tome.

Saito tries to use the plane to cross over during an eclipse, but turns back to help Louise. The plane probably came through on a similar link between worlds. I vaguely recall the anime suggesting it was probably the exact same event, which occurred periodically every few decades.

In other words, the worlds are intrinsically linked by their nature, and the summoning spell just created a particular forced link. These crossed over relics are used to connect Saito to his old home, let him use Gandalfr powers on exotic (to the others) weapons, and comedic relief (forbidden tome = dirty magazine).


Which anime story came first, Accel World or Sword Art Online? I saw over the internet that Accel World came out sometime in 2009 and Sword Art Online came out around in 2013, but it seems like many people saying SAO came first than Accel World.

Which came first, Accel World or Sword Art Online?

Accel World came first. According to their Wikipedia pages, Accel World light novel started in February 2009 while Sword Art Online started in April 2009. If you are referring to anime release, then the same can also be said since Accel World anime started airing in April 2012 while SAO anime started airing in July 2012.

As pointed out by @Memor-X, some people say that SAO came first but this most likely refers to the chronology of the events in both stories and not to the release order of light novels/anime because as mentioned here, the events in SAO happened before the events in Accel World on the same universe/timeline.


Why Bakugo didnt fight Mirio Togata with the other students? In the anime in the last episode of season 3 all students fight Mirio Togata with the exception of Todoroki and Bakugo. Todoroki is asked if he isnt going to fight by Eraserhead and he says he doesnt have his temporary license and Bakugo just wasnt there. Why Bakugo didnt go with the other students to fight Mirio as training?

Bakugo was still under "house arrest" as punishment for his previous fight with Izuku which is why his only appearance in this episode is collecting everyone's rubbish as part of the punishment.
As stated in the previous episode Izuku was allowed to rejoin classes early by presenting a written apology.


Why do so many anime and manga have timeskips? In Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Reborn, and possibly many others, there are timeskips. Why are these so prevalent?

There can be many reasons, but I personally think that the most important one is to give an opportunity for the characters and the story to develop to a new phase.

Naruto is a perfect example for it. What did we have in the first part? We learned about the main characters of the series, got acquainted with them, got familiar with their personal stories. We also learned about who were the true antogonists of the series. With that knowledge, we came to the time-skip.

But what was the situation before the time skip? All of the main characters were too weak to really be able to compete with the antogonists. What if Pain (spoiler)

   came to destroy Konoha in the end of the first season? What would happen?

The anime would probably have ended just there, that's what. By including a time leap, the characters are given the opportunity to change, gain new abilities and powers. A lot of background events might have happened. After the time skip the series are almost reborn: while the readers/watchers already know the personalities of the main characters well, they once again have no idea of their abilities and powers, no idea about the current situation in the world. It opens a lot of opportunities for the story developing. It's also so easy to use, and to correct mistakes with. If you see there's a mismatch somewhere in the story, you can always explain it by the events that happened during the time leap! Very convenient, isn't it?